It was a long day...

Today began very early and has yet to end. We met with the director, counselor and house parents at the ranch to talk. They spoke with Carlton while Scott and I toured the ranch. What an impressive program! Then the house dad toured Carlton while we followed up with the meeting. Scott and I both have prayed for a good intervention. A program for Carlton. Today that prayer was answered. Carlton was accepted into the program. They are faxing our list tomorrow of the things he will need to get together. We will take him next Thursday morning for his intake. Carlton really liked the ranch. He would rather be home but is "cool" with being there. SO many hopes are wrapped up in this for Carlton!

After leaving the ranch we drove into Memphis to meet with Sam. Sam has has a good last couple of days. We were able to have our family session and then Sam was able to go off campus for an hour. The session began a little slow. Samuel ran from staff earlier this week and when they caught up to him he grabbed poison ivy and rubbed it all over himself (to get back at staff...of course that turned out well!!). He is covered in poison ivy! They have been giving him benedryl which did make his sluggish. We were able to make it to Steak and Shake (for shakes) and visit a little. The end of the visit was really nice.

We drove home, arriving back in town at 5:30, picking up pizza for all the kids and made it home to all sit down and eat.

The exciting news of the dinner table? Seth has made the 6 year old All Stars team. He is so tickled! That's a little bit of an understatement...he danced around for nearly 10 minutes:) In wonderful good sibling form everyone was so excited with him (and for him). There is nothing much better than getting share great news with the ones who love you and want you to succeed! Yeah Sethie! Below is one of his exciting catches that mom nearly missed (thus the blurry pic). He is a great 1st baseman!



We are fed (blogged) and now are headed out the door to watch Michael, Dan and Ryan play.

My big girls did such a good job helping out today with babysitting...my big boys too! Only a few mishaps that were good naturedly handled. When I talked to Chelsea this morning she mentioned that Rosie was up the tree(that being our big pine tree). Chelsea patiently said, "I feel pretty sure she will be there when you get home." I said that I doubted that and Chelsea laughed softly and said, "You'd be surprised at how long she's already been there. But don't worry I have someone watching her from the window." Apparently Chelsea asked everyone to do a chore before going out to play. Not a big deal...unless you are Rosie in a tizzy. Chelsea and Sarah tag teamed the day. Chelsea did comment that she would try to conjol her from the tree before Sarah took over. Sarah is not as "tree hugger friendly". Rosie did come out of the tree and removed herself to her room...a good place for her. John caught Michael in the kitchen with a Ziploc full of dad's coffee. Apparently someone somewhere told Michael he could catch fish better with coffee...not sure the exact "tale". But it did involve taking something without permission. Now that is resolved. I am very thankful for understanding big Sib's. Thankful for them keeping the rules consistent while understanding the motivation. It sure does help! Thanks biggies:)

MSYC

Stuart left last night for MSYC. He is really excited about his summer. Being a counselor is something he will be great at! My kiddos will sure miss Stuart! He has organized softball games everyday he has been home. This big brother sure will be missed!

A long day....

This morning is our final interview with a Ranch program Scott and I really want to see happen for Carlton. We have been in the process for a couple of months. I am so ready to fast forward this morning until after lunch and just know what will happen. Instead, Scott, Carlton and myself will be meeting at 10 am for our interview. This program is exceptional. It is everything we would like for Carlton. We feel he could see success. I really do hope that this works out.

We also have a family session with Sam in Memphis after lunch.

We have a long day ahead of us. I am extra thankful for my tag-teaming girls Chelsea and Sarah! They (along with big brother help) will be watching my Indians. Today promises to be long, but I sure hope at the end of it we will have some great successes to talk about!

FREEDOM

I saw this post on another mothers page this morning and loved it. Freedom comes at a tremendous price. It always has and I imagine it always will. For my guys? When you begin watching it....do not stop! Ten minutes and twenty-six seconds is the very least you can give to this tribute for these incredible men and women....and I cannot forget the families. Families who give and love!

I have been waiting...

"I believe you are overly dramatic in your belief o... I believe you are overly dramatic in your belief of this matter. I in no way find this shirt your son wants to own to be disrespectful or inappropriate. This band is way good and has no vulgar or profane lyrics. The term "sickest" in our day means cool... so they are forever the coolest kids. That is awesome and not inappropriate at all. You need to chillax and not make such harsh assumptions and judgments. Not everything is a sexual reference, you need to learn that. Your harsh false judgements will only lead to you making a fool of yourself. Being uptight about things like that when you have no place or understanding is uncalled for and disrespectful to your son and the rest of us sick kids."

When I began blogging I did not expect everyone to have my same thoughts. Get real...we are all different. I did not expect to always be in the middle of the road. I am not a middle of the road kind of person. I drive right where I want to;) My thoughts here are just that...'my thoughts'. I am not trying to please anyone but God. The comment above is one I have been waiting to talk about. I did not approve it when it was sent to me a long time ago(nearly 3 months ago). I let it sit. Why? Because I can. It's my blog. I don't have to post anything I choose not to post. After stopping and looking at it a couple of times, not often because it was not worth that much thought, I decided to talk about my thoughts on it.

First, it's very obviously sent by a teenager. I think any adult could tell. I love the 'overly dramatic' comment. Again, obviously a teenager. I am not overly dramatic. I am decisive. If I choose to not like the group(either music group or special interest group). I don't. My thoughts. Thankfully as a parent I am not beheld to anyone elses judgement by my Lord.

My judgements are not really harsh. They do come from study. The following is from one of this groups songs:

Hey....
You always seem to catch me when I'm lying
About the stupidest of things
Okay....
Stand there while I stab you in the back
With the words I never never ever should have taken this so far

Go ahead and buy yourself a drink
Cause you know you're deserving of it
Go ahead and cry yourself to sleep
And think how you hate me so bad

Go ahead and buy yourself a drink
Cause you know you're deserving of it
Go ahead and cry yourself to sleep
And think how you hate me so bad

Partial lyrics from "Believe Me I'm Lying" by Forever the Sickest Kids

As a parent I definitely reserve the right to choose for my children. Does this make me a "fool"? It makes me an adult. I live in this wonderful country. I live here and enjoy the same freedom as everyone else. That freedom allows us to each worship as we please..... shop where we please.... go to school where we please....watch movies as we please. And....listen to music of our choice, as we please. I am very thankful for those freedoms. We did not get those freedom from people as the one who emailed me....those freedoms came from men and women who did not CHOOSE for us....but allow us to choose for ourselves. The very writer of this email to me has a freedom that is precious. I do not have to agree with the writer to respect them. Not agreeing does not naturally imply disrespect....only choice.

I am old:) Getting older everyday. I could simply say that when I think of sickest kids I think of this article I read in an article from MSNBC:


"More kids are getting diagnosed with bipolar, ADHD, allergies, and asthma in this decade than in previous decades. Some attribute this increase to improved diagnosing, others to over-diagnosing. Still others view the sick-kid trend as the proverbial canary in the coalmine: More children are getting sick because they are fragile and affected by an increasingly industrialized world."MSNBC


When I think of sick children I think of just that...sick children. The name is not cool to me...but again...that is TO ME. I really am not the least bit concerned about "the rest of us sick kids"...you can simply choose to stop reading my blog. You are not my concern. My child, my children are. It is not with disrespect I talk to my children. It is with respect..teaching them respect to others and to themselves.

I have said this before and I will say it again. The whole issue that this began with was whether I chose to allow my son to wear a T-shirt with the groups name on it. As to wearing of clothes...wearing their t-shirts? We don't even wear t-shirts that say "Sister for sale...cheap". I am perhaps more respectful than many.

This whole sickest kid thing will no longer use up any of my time. I think I have clarified my thoughts. Now? Respect is the word. Respect my thoughts as I respect the thoughts of others. But understand that respect and agreement are not the same thing.

Chelsea and Adrienne

Chelsea's sweet roommate Adrienne is getting married this Saturday. Chelsea is a bridesmaid and will be traveling to Nashville on Friday. Adrienne has been a wonderful friend. Just graduating from the nursing program she will be working with Vanderbilt. It is wonderful for young people to begin their lives together and she is certainly prepared:) Plans are for an outside wedding in her back yard....so we are hoping this rain will taper off and the sun is shining when Saturday arrives:)

In Pursuit....

As I was logging into my blog I noticed that a new blog, the ones they say you should take a look at was 'In Pursuit of a Three Headed Monkey'. Call me crazy but I will look for positive perspective anywhere and it is very very positive that I am not looking for three headed monkeys:) I am in pursuit of many things but monkeys are not one of them. Who needs monkeys with a house like mine anyway! Today Bronte' went back for his second round of shots. The vet said he had an extra set of toes (apparently a GP thing) for power. The vet actually told Jacob he was going to be a "beast". I asked Jacob,"Are you SURE he used the word beast?". rofl...Yep, he did. Who needs three headed monkeys with a beast? We have been trying to downsize on dogs, so we did not add another until Lady died. Now, after adding the Beast, it has become apparent that our Ladybug is expecting. It is hard to be unhappy with the impending babies. My children will be crazy happy. We have been very lucky in the past to find sweet homes for our puppies, I am praying these will not be any different.

Heavy rains have kept my Indians inside all day. That is a tough thing for my crew. I really do not have any extreme couch potatoes. I have a bunch that will sit through a loved movie, but not through hours after hours of TV. I imagine it is a result of my not letting them watch to much during the school year. But also a result of having to much fun outside. At Seth's baseball game the other day one of the coaches was talking about kids who begin playing ball...the ones who have not spent a lot of time outside (and get to hot and fizzle while playing) and the ones who cannot run (they simply have never run hard against others) and the ones who have no understanding of baseball (some have never even seen a game before they play). Then he said, "Seth is not like any of those. When he is running for the base you can see in his eyes that he intends to beat the ball there. He knows whats going on." I always smile when people comment about my younger boys aggressive ball playing. They are not harmful aggressive, simply athletically aggressive. They know how to play and they mean to win. I think with 12 brothers they also understand that winning is not always going to happen. You work at it and in the words of Seth, "sometimes you win and sometimes you loose". I do believe Scott's words that "wining (or losing can) become a habit". I do agree, and while you want your children to be positive and win. There are so many many good lessons in losing! If you are like my little boys? Those lessons will instill in you a driving ambition to do better next time. But, knowing there is always sometime faster, always someone taller, quicker, who jumps higher or hits further. The key? DO YOUR OWN BEST! If you beat you every time? You're getting better every time.

Our games are cancelled tonight due to the heavy rains. Did I mention it already that we have been inside all day? lol...It really does bear repeating;) It is nice to not have plans for the evening. I can't say its "a nice quiet evening", but it is nice. We have not had many of those this summer:) I am trying to enjoy it..lol. Although my innovative guys have found a ways to play baseball inside without a ball(ball throwing in the house is off limits). I walked into the living room to see them batting (with their hands) and throwing around a loosely waded ball of paper. They quickly assured me that their "ball" would not break anything. Very true. That said, the game did not last to long. Apparently their ball might not break anything but sliding into make believe bases sure will! My boys never ever fail to humor me....even if, as mom, I cannot always laugh (out loud) at their shenanigans!

Backstop

Scott and the boys have been working today on the backstop. We had a very hot morning, then thunderstorms with a lot of rain(much needed) to cool everything off. Scott is trying to get it finished before the rain begins again. It looks great!

My Daniel

I asked everyone to run get ready for church last night. Not a hard task, one everyone knows how to do. We had been busy and I walked downstairs to ask everyone to line up to leave when Daniel got in line....looking like this! lol;) I had to take the picture....then explained why he need to change. What a funny guy...I am just glad I actually looked at him before we left the house! Scott, Carlton, Michael and Daniel dug holes and poured concrete for our baseball field backstop. I was really tickled listening to Daniel tell me "We went with Dad to Wowes (Lowes) and got some wood dat was four times four times ten". Today they should be able to put up the metal fencing and trim it out and voila' a wonderful ball field! Stuart has played ball everyday with my little ones. I know we ALL are going to miss him when he heads off to camp later this week. But, I know that camp with love him too! He is a really fun loving guy. He has so much patience with little children. It is a wonderful strength.

Well, I am off to make biscuit and chocolate gravy (you would think my kids would get tired of it sometime).

Jason Sims Article

05/25/08
Man Drowns at Hagg Lake
Washington Co. Sheriff's Office - 05/25/08
Summary of Event:
A man swimming at Hagg Lake today, May 24, 2008, drowned when he was unable to make it back to shore. Sheriff's marine deputies responded and attempted to find the man, but they were unsuccessful, his body was later recovered by a regional dive team.

Details of Event:
On Saturday, May 24, 2008, at 6:13 p.m., Sheriff's marine deputies were called to the Sain Creek area of Henry Hagg Lake on a reported drowning. Deputies responded and attempted to locate the missing man, 27-year-old Jason Sims from Portland, but they were not able to find him.

A regional dive team was called in to recover the body of Mr. Sims. His body was recovered at about 7:30 p.m. near where he was last seen. Deputies investigating the drowning talked to Mr. Sims friends and family who told them that Mr. Sims and a friend were attempting to swim across the area where Sain Creek empties into Hagg Lake. Mr. Sims was unable to make it across and attempted to swim back to shore. He went under the water and never resurfaced.

Mr. Sims next-of-kin were notified of his death.

Sad day for our friend Thomas

Scott woke me this morning at 1 am to tell me that our dear friend Thomas' only child and son Jason had drown. I got on the computer and had Thomas a ticket to Oregon by 1:30am. Thomas and Scott left this morning for the airport in Nashville. Thomas and his son's mother ruby are very close. Ruby raised two wonderful children. I know Thomas is extremely thankful for her love and devotion as a mother. Ruby is waiting on Thomas to make the arrangements. I wish the distance was not so great so we could be with Thomas and Ruby. We are praying that Thomas' flight arrives safely and he can do what he needs to do over the next few days.

This article ran about this accident.

speedo

I am in love with speedos reversible swimsuits for my girls. I have bought them new with tags on eBay this year. I paid 12.99 for Mary Lita's(above) and three other ones. That is cheeper than Wal-Mart! Because they are reversible they have excellent lining. The opposite side is a different pattern which also lends itself to helping give a great swim suit. I bought a couple last year and they were wonderful! They have them in adult and kids sizes (although the kid ones are cutest). I have been reading and loving Laura's mini infomercials and thought I would add on of my own (lol..only not on baby stuff).

Sometimes I feel like my blog is so very redundant. Parenting often is. Makes me wonder why my kids don't get tired of the monotony of my talks and simply do well? Victoria sits beside me wailing "Tasha made me mad" in response to her horrible behavior. I am so sorry, I have said it a billion times "no one else has to power to make you mad, you choose." I just hope that all my children live to be adults, live to be parents (lol...the ultimate in understanding). I read so many blog of moms who have grown children and blog about the understanding, acceptance and appreciation that comes from grown kids (who are now parents). I am not sure appreciation is exactly what I want (I mean we allll want it...but it is not key), I do want understanding. I want my children to live strong joyful lives. I believe that comes in Christ. I believe it comes from being all you can be. From living well. THAT is what I want for my children.

In the midst of the "living well" thought, I sometimes struggle with simply hoping my children live. I have some who have some really chancy choices going on. Some whom I simply have to lay in God's hands. There are so many behaviors, so deep I am not sure how to combat them at times. For example.....This morning I made biscuits and chocolate gravy for breakfast. The bottoms of the biscuits on one of the pans burned. I was cutting them off and still using the biscuits. Zachery, who is never full and never satisfied, insisted that I leave the bottoms on his biscuits. He wanted "more". I explained why I was doing it, I explained that it would not taste good, but he wanted "the whole thing". Good judgement? He is not full. He ate the whole thing. He was "glowing' because he got more than the others. In his mind he was "living well". I suppose I sometimes need to remind myself that "living well" is unique to individuals, yet has to be the same in Christ. Some parts of our living is open to discussion, some is not.

Twinning

I have a couple of kiddos that are close in age. I know of people who adopted children making them "twins" by age. Daniel and Ryan are both 9, their birthdays are Oct 29th and 30th. One day separates these guys. Different as they could be! You can see them in the bottom picture, catching side by side. I love these two guys! We have adopted mostly in sibling groups and "twinning" was not a thought. But, these guys, as most my same age kiddos seem to be, are incredibly unique:)

Puppy Pool time

Silly Bronte' has been sitting in his water, so Jacob went today and bought him a pool. He loved it:) He is really a funny silly puppy.

crazy catcher

Ryan is a crazy diver when it comes to catching. He does a great job. I loved these shots...even crazier that he caught the ball!

Base running

Michael has had a good season playing ball this year. He is a good hitter and being left handed is a great asset. He loves base running:)

weekend

This week has gone by awfully quick. As I fixed dinner tonight I thought about our summer and our plans. We seem to be very busy. I enjoy having everyone close (although, truthfully, I would like to go to the bathroom without someone knocking on the door with a question). Personal space/time is at an all new low. Tonight I did laughed as I cooked dinner. We had rotini, Alfredo sauce, baked salmon and chicken. Zack was reading the label on our chicken.... "we are having southwestern chicken beast!" I smiled as Tasha rolled her eyes correcting the "beast" with "breast". Zack just wanted to know what kind of beast that was? rofl

The weekend is here...a very nice thing! I love summer weekends. Scott is home and we are able to work and enjoy our time together. A very nice blessing.

Doug

Doug's first jump of the year. He did actually make it all the way around...lol.

POOL TIME

Today was our first day at the pool. Our pool is not open, but the Winborns were sweet enough to let us swim at their pool. My kids had the best time! The water was extremely cold but not a single person complained. As we left the pool everyone lined up to see how far they can swim underwater. We do it every time we leave the pool. The reward? Those who can swim furtherest get in the pool first next time we swim. the winners? boys number one guy was.....SETH! Crazy guy swam the whole length underwater. Scott and I both talked tonight about his will. He has such a strong one...he wanted to win and he did, hands down. The girls? Mercedez swam 2.33 laps underwater, Rosie and Tasha swam 1.75 lengths.

keyboard whoa

I have had keyboard whoa. You know the kind where you keyboard develops a mind of its own and typing is utterly frustrating? That is what I have. Much is happening around the Smotherman house. Sarah is at the beach with her friends for their senior trip. Having a very nice time, her poison ivy is still ragging and she will have to have another shot when she returns. Stuart has been here all week. I love having him home! Last night Stuart, me, John, Joseph, Doug,Kelsey, Jacob, Kade, Emily, and Caleb went to the 12:01 showing of Indiana Jones. One of my boys(Doug) said, "That was not very realistic." rofl! Since when was Indiana Jones realistic?

Before leaving for the movie I received a call from the staff at Youth villages about Sam. I have not blogged much about Sam, it is really hard. Hard to know what to say, hard to find the words. Sam is really struggling right now. He does not feel worthy of love. How very heavy that makes my heart! He is being very aggressive. The call last night was about a hold he had to be put in. Last week his worker mentioned trying to find what motivates Sam. If I knew he would be home. Sadly, so far, there is no rhyme or reason to Sam's behavior. I know the dedication of the staff at Youth Villages. I know that this is likely Sam's last chance at intervention. I do know that in spite of the negatives ....Sam has had success and positives. We can sit and talk to Sam in a meeting and he is actually 'there' with us. He can communicate in a much better way. He takes ownership for his behavior. He is moving forward, but his impulse control, anger and aggressiveness are so tough!
I will have a phone conference today at 11:00 with Sam and his counselor. Sam does not like to have them by phone. Next week Scott and I will both be able to be there for the sit down family session.

This has been the first week of summer break for my children. I have loved it. I cannot seem to get much done, but love having everyone here (even the whiner beside me who is whining about not 'getting' to eat. I think the right words would be 'is choosing to not eat because he thinks he can substitute cereal with cookies').

Chelsea will be finished with her short course tomorrow...yeah! It will be very very nice to have her home.

Extremely sad to me currently is the news about Steven Curtis Chapman's youngest daughter. Run over in the driveway by an older brother. This is so near to my heart. I have yard players and drivers. It is so scary. My heart goes out to this loving family as they care for their children. So incredibly tough to loose a daughter to such a tragedy, but also to have the driver be a son. This family will need prayers for a very long time.

Blessings and perspective bring my Thursday morning to a beginning.

Family Picnic

Our church had it annual family picnic at Pickwick Sunday night. It is so nice to eat, fellowship and worship with our church family. The weather could not have been more beautiful! It was a really nice evening!

Saturday ballgames

Saturday morning ballgames are so nice. I love the sunshine. Personally my camera loves the sun and I love getting great shots. Mostly I love that Seth always does better on a Saturday mornign than Tuesday nights. Games are a fun start to the day! Seth had a great game, winning by one:)