Happy 10th Birthday, Andrew!

Hard to believe, but Andrew is now 10! He's so excited to have reached double digits. He also wants you to know, that the balloons were not his! They were left over from my sister's birthday. Having a birthday so close to Christmas can be tough. Andrew actually enjoys getting everything at once. The only problem is being inbetween two holidays, he must wait for his birthday party with friends. Today we had his birthday dinner at my dad's house. Andrew requested marinated steak (on the grill), mashed potatoes, and peas. We had an enjoyable day together and this morning the entire children's worship service sang to him.
I still can't believe how old you're getting! (I know you think this means I am getting old-but you're wrong) My prayer for you is to let God take total control of your life and lead you in the right direction. We love you very much and are very proud of you!

December Happenings

We have had a very busy month! We had a wonderful Christmas. We also had many other activities. I thought I'd share a few with you. Scott's dad is a retired Marine. He and his wife are in charge of Toys for Tots in Richmond, In. We thought this would be a perfect opportunity for our two oldest boys to see how fortunate they are. We had to leave our house at 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 22nd, so we could go to the Marine Corp. club and work Toys. We had a very humbling experience and plan to work it every year (if possible) for now on. This is Frank (Scott's dad) proudly wearing his dress blues and Scott.This is what getting up so early does to Scott. He hates having his picture taken and I warned him if he didn't take a decent picture I was posting this. He didn't seem to care, so here it is! Also he seems to have needed a razor for Christmas.

Yes, this is what this man really looks like! Our history books must be wrong, Abe is still alive! Joshua was so excited to have his picture taken with him and wants to have a copy to show his teachers when he returns to school. (Lonnie is so used to this he was so kind to have his picture taken with the kids. He does profit from his unique look. He plays Abe Lincoln for events)

Meaghan, my baby sister, turned 18 on the 21st. We had her birthday dinner the night of the 22nd, after our return from In. It was a long day!

We celebrated Christmas with my mom and step-dad, Steve, on the 23rd. Here is a rare picture of us. My mom also hates cameras, but she did this for me! Here's my mom, me and Steve.

On Christmas Eve, we celebrate Christmas with my dad's side of the family. This is a picture of one of our games. We played Taboo and it was a fun time. Thankfully, no blood was shed, it can get rough with this family. Joan is trying to get her team to guess, Scott holds the buzzer, and I'm not sure what Paul is doing. (He is Martha's brother)

This is Joshua and Andrew proudly displaying their favorite Christmas gifts. We bought two rats for them. Yes, I said rats! They are very clean animals and can be trained like dogs. Joshua has named his Heidi, and Andrew has Sandy. The tail was the biggest part for me to overcome, but I'm now used to it. We all are having lots of fun with them.

I pray you all have a Happy New Year!!!

From Thanksgiving to Tree Trimming

I've been missing for awhile! I've been reading everyone's blogs, but not commenting much. I've been so busy with things at school, it's been chaos. Here's a little update on the family:
Thanksgiving went well again this year. There was 20 something people there and we also have to add to the dining room table. We also set a table up in the living room for people to eat. I'm so blessed to be part of a family that eats together and allows others who don't have family to join our celebration.


This is a glimpse of some of the festive chaos.

I thought I'd throw in a better picture of Scott and me. I told him he had to look like he liked being in a photo with me!


The decorating began on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Aaron is obsessed with Christmas. I do mean that literally. He is upset that we don't have everything we own out. We can't bring everything out because Aaron plays with it all and tries to put it all in his room. It's really fun around here at this time of year.

Jared hangs ornaments.

Aaron and Andrew add their share.

Joshua doing his part.

The finished product. I allow the kids to do all the tree trimming with minimal help from me. They enjoy it and I enjoy it being part of them. Of course, you can tell that it is decorated by children by the placement and type of ornaments. I think this is the fun part. I can hear Martha gasp at the sight of it. :) (She's the decorator of the family, not me)

Molly's favorite place to lay. I don't know what it is, but every year she lays under the tree. She doesn't try to climb it, or mess with it in any way.

I pray you all are doing well!

Hard to Believe

My baby is 5! I'm having a hard time with this. I guess because he's the youngest of 4, and I know this is the last one, I don't think I'm ready for this. I've enjoyed the most time with Jared. I had to work after having all the rest, even though it was part-time. It still is so different to have been blessed to always be home. Jared is smart and funny. He's honestly, at times, a complete monster! I wouldn't trade him for anything and I thank God for blessing us with him. Happy Birthday, Jared! We all love you very much. Thanks for helping mom when your brothers are at school. He loves to help me clean and cook. I'm already dreading sending him off to Kindergarten next year. I know I'm going to treasure the rest of our time alone!

A picture to go with the post below.

Not the greatest picture and the sun was in our faces, but a picture!

Happy Birthday, Scott!

Today is my wonderful husbands 33rd birthday! If I had a recent picture of him, I'd post it. He tends to run from the camera, or look like it's a mug shot. Sometimes it is hard to believe how long we've been together. He had just turned 18 (on the 18th) and I met him on the 30th. We have been together all our adult lives! He is a wonderful husband and father, and I love him dearly. Seven years ago, my grandmother died on his birthday. I had just had Aaron 3 weeks before and Grandma went into the hospital the day Aaron was born. When I received the phone call that she died early in the morning on the 18th, I was so upset. The one thing I didn't want was for her to die on Scott's birthday. Scott was very caring and understanding, but I felt like the worst wife in the world. There was no cake, cards, presents, or even family at home for him that day. I spent the whole day making funeral plans with my family, while he was at work and then came home to an empty house. What I love about him is he didn't mind at all. His main concern was for me and the kids with our loss. He thinks of us first, before himself, and is committed to making our marriage last.
Happy birthday, honey! I love you dearly!

This was written very late. His birthday is on Oct. 18th, I just am now getting on the computer!

I Never Could Run Fast

So I've been tagged! The deal is I have to list 7 random things about myself and then tag 7 other people. So here it goes......

1. I am not afraid to speak my mind or confrontation. In fact, I've been known to eat my words and stick my foot in my mouth more times than I care to count.
2. I am biologically an only child. My dad adopted my step-sister when I was 27. He married her mom when I was 20, so we only lived together for 1 year. (She is 17)
3. I am 1 and a half years older than Scott. Our anniversary was yesterday (the 24th-pics later) and his birthday is in October. So when we got married he was only 19 and I was 21. I had to sign for our hotel room on our wedding night because he wasn't old enough!
4. I do not feel like I am missing out on some big bonding experience because I do not have a daughter. I love my boys!
5. I am horrible at math! I actually still count on my fingers! (I know this is sad)
6. I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was 5 years old and my Pap had his first heart surgery. I was accepted to nursing school 1 week after his death. I know he would have been proud. (I never finished nursing school-parents divorced at that time etc. so I did become a Medical Assistant and can give shots, draw blood etc.)
7. Football is my favorite sport. I am so glad my boys play. The Chicago Bears are my favorite team (outside my home team The Bengals), and I am still bitter about the superbowl! lol

There is my 7!

Happy Birthday, Aaron!!!!!

It's so hard for me to believe that Aaron is actually 7 today. He's been very excited about his birthday. Today we will spend the day as usual for us on a Saturday, at a football field. I did manage to fix breakfast and bake Aaron's favorite, chocolate chip cookies, for everyone today. He received Diego sheets (he's been really wanting) 2 bathtub toys (when we moved we now have 2 bathtubs, our other house only had 1 stand up shower) and a Dora book. He is finally learning to read and it's been so much fun. He's come a long way and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. Happy birthday, we love you!

May We Never Forget

This is the phrase we so often hear associated with todays date. I often think how could anyone forget? The sad part is so many people do. No matter what your feelings are about the war, the reason we have our troops over seas is because of today's date. Growing up my mom always said she'd never forget where she was when Pres. Kennedy was assassinated. The closest I came to that was when I was in the 7th grade and the Challenger exploded. I was in history class when the anouncement came over the speaker and we were asked to pray. That feeling can never compare to how I found out about the World Trade Center. We were in the process of moving from northern Ky. back up to Cincinnati. I was staying with my parents while we were working on our house so my oldest son could start kindergarten. Scott was still staying at our other house during the week. ( His job is by the airport and he ships things by air.) I had just dropped Joshua off at school and didn't have the radio on. When I arrived back at my family's home, Andrew, who was 3, came running up to me and said "A plane hit a big building and it exploded". I had no idea he was serious. My step-mom was watching the news and Andrew was in the room with her and he saw the whole thing happen. I had to tell Joshua when I picked him up before he saw Andrew. This was all Andrew talked about for days. He had no idea what he had witnessed on the t.v. I had to drive to our old house that day and it was so eerie. The noise of the planes was always around, and this day was quite. I was even concerned about my husbands job. How long would this go on? Would it affect how he worked? I cried for days. My biggest issue has always been that these terrorists took OUR people and turned them into bombs for their evil use. The people on those planes has always bothered me the most. I can't believe it's been 6 years since that horrible day. Things have changed in our world. I continue to pray for this country and its leaders. I especially pray for our military. Today all my boys proudly are wearing their Marine Corp. shirts. They are honoring their uncle (my bil) who will be deployed for his second tour of Iraq Nov. 1st.
God Bless the U.S.A. and may we never forget.

1st Grade!

Aaron was finally able to start school today! It was only 1 week late. He was so happy to go. It's his first time to eat lunch at school. He started last night wanting to make sure all his things were in order. I just pray he handles a full day well!

Praise be to God!

Update on Aaron: He is doing much better! When I took him to the doctor the other day, I thought we would definately be put in the hospital. Everything that went into him, came right back out. He has a muscle disorder so when he get sick he gets worse than most and it takes longer to heal. The doctor said he didn't know what we were doing right, but he didn't need to be put into the hospital, and he didn't know why. The only reason why is because of the power of prayer. Jesus touched my son so he could stay home and not be poked non-stop in the hospital. It's been a very rough week, but it could have been so much worse. He is on the mend now. He missed this whole week of school, but with Monday being Labor Day, he should be fine to start on Tuesday. Thank you to everyone who prayed for him. God has been good to us and I know he will continue to touch him.

Please Continue to Pray

Update: Aaron still isn't doing well. Yesterday he threw up and continued to have diarrhea. Since he still had some energy, I kept him home and continued to push fluids. He woke up this a.m. with diarrhea again. The worst part is I think he's urinating blood. He has done this in the past and has had multiple tests because of it. He has an appointment this morning with our regular doctor (I thank God for this-he knows Aaron best) to see if we need to go to the hospital. I am desperately trying to avoid that and I may not be able to anymore. Thanks for all your prayers to this point and please try and remember us today.

Please Pray

If you would please pray for my son Aaron. He's had diarrhea for 8 days now, and I'm afraid we may end up in the hospital. School starts tomorrow and I know he won't be going. That will also be hard for him. We need a miracle! Thanks.

I Am Alive.....

.......barely! I really hate to move. I know there are many of you that will agree with me. Moving with children has always been a challenge, but moving with a special needs child in the mix is only understood by those who've done it. School doesn't start until the 28th and I can't wait. I need them all out of the house so I can get things organized. I'm very tired of living out of boxes and bags. Throw in the fact that I am team mom for Joshua's football team and "head team mom" of all the team moms (a position I was appointed at a meeting I was not in attendance for) with a charity game coming up for Shriner's Hospital, it has been even more interesting. I am receiving baskets for the auction being added to all the junk in my house. I also am the chair for The Family Fun Committee at the boys elementary school. We are doing an ice-cream social for Open House. This a.m. I had to order 900 more cones and 24 more gallons of ice-cream. Life is never boring and for that I'm thankful. I do sometimes wish for a little quiet! I am including these pictures to prove how much of a mess I really am in. If you do not hear from me for a long time, please send someone to check under a pile! This was our old house. We had moved some beds. This is how I woke up and found Andrew sleeping one morning.

These curtains really need to go! These are found in Aaron and Jared's room.

The mess in Aaron and Jared's room.

Bringing all the laundry over and sitting it in my living room/dining room. At least Joshua was able to sit and eat breakfast. (I don't normally allow hats at the table, he was about to leave with some friends to go to Kings Island)

This is our closet size bedroom. We cannot shut the door yet.

The mud room. I will love having this when it is organized. The curio is going in the yard sale tomorrow.

I can't wait to cook real food again. I am so tired of eating out! The kitchen is small so the boxes are really in the way!

The basement where everything else was thrown.

The endless mounds of laundry! I will hopefully return soon........

Moving

Please pray for us. We are in the process of moving into a different house. Aaron has a difficult time with change and has had many issues over the last few days. We also had to give one of our cats to my dad. Our new landlord is letting us keep only one. My sister has a cat already and my dad wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but he caved and did it for me and the kids. I'm supposed to be finding her a new home. I'll update after the move, please try and remember us in your prayers. Thanks!

The Trouble of Only Having Sons....

....is they play rough. In other words, when you finally have a daughter for a week, she becomes part of the chaos. In this picture you can see the boys have made Rachel their quarterback. You may also notice the other two are in full gear. Rachel is just placed in position without any protection. This photo was taken the next day at a bowling alley. You can see she survived the football practice and was unharmed. Isn't she beautiful? I think she must really be mine. hehe

My Daughter is Coming for a Visit!

Yes, you did read the title correctly. I know you all think I have just 4 boys, but I have a daughter that I get once a year. Her name is Rachel. That is actually what I was going to name two of my boys had they been girls. Ok, so Rachel isn't really my daughter, but I love her just the same. My dear friend, Tina, was my neighbor. Rachel and Joshua are the same age and were in class together. In 2003, Tina needed someone to help with Rachel for 2-4 wks. during the summer. Tina's grandmother helped with the kids and was going home for a visit. Well, during her visit, she fell and broke her hip. The few weeks turned into an entire summer. It was the greatest! Rachel truly became part of our family. Tina has sinced moved to Kentucky, near Louisville. It has been so hard to have her farther away. It is so great to have Rachel for one full week every summer. The boys call her their "sister" and Scott and I enjoy a "daughter" for a little while. Rachel has asked her mom if she thought she would be "blog worthy" after this visit. I told her I was so excited she was blog worthy before she even gets here!! I will take lots of pictures for new blogs. We get her tomorrow evening. Please pray for her families safe trip and for her mom's seperation anxiety!

Update

The good news is the rash is gone and no one got it! We still don't know what it was, but at least it's gone!

Strange Rash

We in the Clark household prefer to do things differently. I have always had illnesses in unusual ways, and now my children take after me. Aaron has an undiagnosed "syndrome" that has baffled doctors since his birth. Now Jared has a rash that the doctor can't figure out. If you look closely and have ever had an allergic drug reaction, this is what is looks like. However, he hasn't been on any medicine, used any new soaps, detergents and so on. It doesn't itch, but does hurt if touched too much. This is the reason for him to be half naked. The doctor said it could be a virus (and be contagious) so give him benadryl and keep him away from the general public. Now for the rest of us, we just sit and wait to break out! It is all over his body, with the exception of his head.

I'm Back, and I Finally Have Pictures of My Husband!

I can't even try to begin to explain to you all how incredible this trip was. I hope the kids learned as much as I did! I know that traveling with 31 5th and 6th graders sounds frightening (I was actually scared to death), however, it was a blessing! These kids worked so hard and put all their efforts into God's kingdom. It was amazing. This is our Children's Pastor, Julie. Her theme for this week was to let God stretch you. This is her and a girl named Kayleigh demostrating a stretching doll. We joined Trevveca Church of the Nazarene for this week. They had 6 kids and 3 adults that worked and had fun with us all week.

This is our van. We had 7 boys with us everytime we were in our van. On the way home we had to add more due to an emergency with one girl (she is fine) but the last 2 hours home we had 10 boys!

This is Scott driving our van!

This was my favorite sign on the road into the YMCA Camp that we stayed at.

We had 2 Scotts on the trip. My Scott is the one in the red shirt. Scott H. drove a moving truck down with all the luggage and supplies. During our trips through town, he rode with us. It was great to get to know him better!

We also had 2 Leslie's. The Children's Pastor at Trevvecca is also named Leslie. It was fun being around someone with the same name. It's not something that happens often to me.

This is Terry. She came with her grandson, Anthony. She is an amazing lady. She is a wonderful christian influence. She only has one leg. She had her left leg amputated at age 40 (she is now 72) due to bone cancer. She is a miracle from God. She walks with crutches that you use with your hands (not the ones that go under her shoulder) and makes it look so easy! She was a blessing to have on the trip.

I love Drew! He was in my car the whole week and I spent a lot of time with him. I would threaten to tell his aunts in my blog if he gave me a hard time about anything (that's how I got this picture)! I called him by best friend. I had so much fun with him. He worked hard all week and was great with the kids. He was also in my group that canvased the neighborhood. He did an amazing job. Brenda and Jana can be proud!

We worked hard all week, but had so much fun too. This is at one of the restaurants that we went to. This is Drew, Matt and Tanner.

This is Sarah. She is 19 and has just been called to be a Children's Pastor. She is working with Julie this summer. She is technically not an intern yet, but we have been working her hard! She looks like she's 12. Every restaurant gave her a kiddie cup and had her order from the kids menu! We had fun with that! This is her with her kiddie cup!

Pump It Up was another place we went to. If you've never heard of it, it is huge inflatables that you can jump in and they have slides and obstacle courses. This was Scott with his own game for the kids. He would run and jump on the one side while another kid was laying on the other. When Scott would land, they would go flying. Needless to say, Scott had a great work out that night. All the kids wanted to fly.

This was Scott coming down the slide at the end of an obstacle course.

Now for our work pictures........




This was our puppet team for day one.

This is the library we worked with and for. They allowed us to put our "celebration" and VBS on there. They gave us a room to hold the service and set up outside.

This is the neighborhood we passed out flyers to invite to our VBS. The first day was a bit scary, but by day 2 we had no fears. We were well accepted!

We made cottoncandy for the kids. Scott H. was covered!

Singing and hearing stories about Jesus......

Joshua and Dakota helping two kids with a craft......

Scott helping kids with a craft (this really touched my heart, I don't have much opportunity to see Scott with other kids)......

This is me with a lady named Carol and 2 of her grandkids. She is a new christian and I told her I would pray for her.....

This is Dakota painting a child......

We also did work outside for the library and the neighborhood. This is me mulching....

Boys picking up trash......

This is all of us outside the library. They were so thankful and great to work with!

After 2 days in the neighborhood, we helped a hispanic church. Pastor Pedro Cruz and his wife have been there for 3 years. They started with 60 members, and now have 172. They do everything alone and were very grateful for our help.

This fence needed to be removed and the swingset inside needed to be relocated.......

Pastor Pedro helping out......(this is after the swingset was moved I'm a little out of order)

Drew putting on new grills after the doors had been painted......

Amanda and me painting the rails.....

The swingset in its original place......

This is the shed we were going to paint. The week before our arrival, a storm knocked over the tree and smashed the shed, with all their lawn equipment and tools inside. We tore the shed apart and disposed of it........

Landscaped the church.......

Had interior painting to do....... (This is Derek)

We had such a great time! I know that I've been changed by this experience, and I pray many others were too. It was very hot and humid, and the work was hard. These kids were a pleasure to be with and I'm so thankful I was able to go. I'm proud of each and every child for all their efforts and attitudes!





This is Joshua and Dakota our last morning there.