Finally!!

This is one stop that Martha has made since she was last in blogland. I finally was able to meet my new little (ok, not so little) cousin, Silas. I was thrilled to see Martha and the family. It has been so long, that I cannot remember the last time we were together. I didn't see her the whole time she was pregnant, so I know it's been a very long time. As you can see, Silas doesn't like the camera constantly being in his face. He did look for one photo with me. He didn't smile, but I now know for sure that he does smile often. (Just not for pictures) I was blown away by how much he looks like Troy! He is definately his father's child in the looks department.

Jared was so excited to see him in person. He loves babies and has been anxiously awaiting his first meeting with Silas.

Overdue, but Worth the Wait!

Jared turned 5 in November, and Andrew turned 10 in December. This is the years of the "friend" birthday parties. The time of year is so hectic that it is difficult to have a party. Andrew originally wanted a sleep over with multiple boys. Our house is rather small, so we didn't think this would be a very wise idea. It's too cold to do things outside. Our opportunity arose when Jared was invited to his first "friend" party without us. Our friends from church had rented a place called "Pump-It-Up". I've been there with church groups before and knew how much fun it was. I did some checking and figured if I had the party on a weekday, it was cheaper. If I split the party between 2 kids, both of the birthday kids are free. My kids had an inservice day today and are out of school. It was perfect. Valentine's Day for the Clark's was spent playing on huge inflatables. Andrew could invite so many more boys to come and play than he could ever have in this house. We all had a blast! We had 26 kids in all. Only 2 were girls! Thankfully, they have 2 older brothers, so they fit right in. We did have one toddler join us at the end. My favorite picture of Joshua. Scott was pushing him on a scooter, and I was attempting to take a photo. I jumped out of the way at the same time he was turning to avoid me. The result was me taking the photo, as I was falling on him. Yes, he survived the fall with minimal damage.

Not only do the kids have a great time, so do the adults. My dad so kindly took Aaron on this obstacle course. With Aaron's muscle disease, it makes it impossible for him to climb the wall inside the course. My dad took him through to lift him over the wall. I never would have been able to lift him that high. (Aaron weighs 74# and it is dead weight)

This is a VERY unattractive photo of me, but I thought I'd show you how much fun I had. I raced on one of the obstacle courses with an 18 year old girl. (She's the older sister of one of Andrew's friends) She stopped and waited for me to catch up so we could go down the slide together!

I am not brave and attempt to make a cake myself. I can say I wasn't so pleased with some of the flaws in the cake, but it tasted good. (Martha, the icing was buttercream)

The boys got to sit on a throne to open presents. The were the "kings" for the day.

It was late, but well worth it party. We all had so much fun. What a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day with all the ones I so dearly love!

Where's My Pancreas?

Yes, this is the question I heard last night as Aaron was going to bed. The next sentence is, "They look like brothers". Yes, this is a stuffed pancreas. When I was working, a new drug came out (I think it was a diabetic drug) and they created these stuffed toys to promote their drug. I not only have these two, I have a liver and a kidney. It has been funny over the years to watch my children cuddle with these body organs. Aaron has just recently discovered the pancreas. It is his new favorite toy to sleep with. Since we have two and as he puts it, they look like brothers, it is so exciting for him. While he enjoys them, Scott and I will enjoy chuckling over his cute questions.

Don't Run in the House!

How many times have I yelled that? Does anyone ever listen? No, they don't! This is the reason I yell that all the time. Working in a doctor's office for 11 years taught me that walls vs. heads = walls win. On Saturday, the 29th, we were getting ready to leave the house. The boys had all received gift cards and cash for Christmas and were eager to spend. As I was finishing getting Aaron ready, Scott and Jared were playing in the kitchen. Jared turned to run away from his dad and smacked his head into the wall. Blood began to gush from his scalp (head wounds bleed the worst) and all he wanted to do was lay down. He looked as though he wanted to sleep. We decided to take him to Children's Urgent Care. They wrapped his head in this to apply a numbing solution to the wound. As we waited, Scott shared his MP3 player with Jared to listen to music.

The final result ended with only 2 staples. We were thankful, the original thought was at least 4.

Jared's doing just fine now. Has he learned to walk in the house yet? No, he hasn't. I can still be heard yelling "Don't run in the house!" daily.

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!