Big Girls Don't Cry -- Do They???

Well I know I am a big girl and I shouldn't cry, right? I haven't actually shed any tears but I sure have felt like it! I have had an earache for the last few days and thought it would go away if I used some of the homeopathic drops I have but, NO SUCH LUCK! I told Jerry I would go to the doctor on Monday if it didn't get any better, but since I saw 3:00am, 4:00am, 5:00am, 7:00am, 8:00am ... and was getting NO relief with the drops, I decided to give in a go to Arnett Clinic. I got in there around 5:05 tonight and was done and outta there by 5:30, WOW! I don't think I have ever been seen, treated and released that quick. The doctor took one look and said, "yep, it is all swollen and you have an ear infection". UGH! I thought only little kids got ear infections? : ) Anyways, I am happy I went and hope those drops work quick. Another good thing about getting medicine was, it was on the $4.00 list, YEA!

Happy 12th Birthday Talon

WOW, I can't believe it, but Talon turned 12 today!!! He entered this world at 1:53 p.m., just 38 minutes after I arrived at the hospital : ) He weighed in at 5lbs. 13ozs. and 19 1/2" long. He was sooo tiny and sweet! He arrived 3 weeks early, we were totally shocked! We figured it would be like the doctor said "most 1st babies don't come on time, so...". He has been our out-going, entertainer from the start! He is full of life and loves life (most of the time, ha : ). --We went to Sara & Tony's tonight so we could watch the "big debate" on their new internet something-or-other, it was pretty neat. We decided to take a cake along with us for Talon and make a night out of it. We had fun making memories; eating, hitting the pinata, watching those crazy politicians and playing music. The older kids are getting pretty good playing together, I see them becoming stars some day, ha! Thanks for having us over guys, we had fun! --Happy Birthday Bubby, we love you!

I Love You Bubby!

He got an ipod shuffle and some skins for it

How many Dad's does it take to hang a pinata?!? : )

Kallee's turn
Kerri's turn
Nae Nae's turn
Hit that thing Talon
This isn't the best picture, but I love the expression on his face -- it shows he is

putting his all in it!

Kailey helping Adalyn
Nae Nae was the winner, the one who knocked that poor donkey's head off : )
Jam session at The Derscheids
Talon playing his electric guitar
Kallee playing the keyboard : )

Brit playing her bass

Nae Nae playing her mandolin

FCA Picnic

Toady was the school picnic at the TPA Park! It was a beautiful day! We had a wonderful lunch -- thanks to all of you Mom's that participated! Before lunch (and before I arrived) the kids had a softball game, a volleyball game and some good old fashion playground playin'. After lunch was time for "team games", which was a lot of fun. The kids seemed to have a great time, thanks Mr. Coleman and all you other teachers for planning this fun day!

On your mark, get set, GO...

...keep those balloons in the air as long as possible!

Hot-Potato with a balloon

Future FCAers -- Kallee & Kendrick
Kallee got so excited when I told her she could ride the bus back to school!

Ebay Bargains

Today I have spent a lot of time posting things on Ebay, so if you need any good bargains, stop by and check out what I have up for bids. My seller name is: janiece94. I have several ladies items (shirts, sweaters and skirts), but I also have a few kids items too. Happy looking and bidding!

Senate Bill # 1738 -- "The Protect Our Children Act"

I had a family member call me and urge me to do this, so...here goes. There is currently a bill in the senate that will be voted on, next week (Sept. 26th). It is Senate Bill #1738, "The PROTECT Our Children Act". This bill has to deal with extra funding to help those in law enforcement to catch more online child predators. This is a SERIOUS crime that is being committed ALL over the world; in our own homes, neighborhoods, towns, etc. Please read the following and contact your state senators and encourage them to vote YES on Senate Bill #1738. The below information gives you step-by-step directions on how to contact your senator, it is VERY easy and VERY quick to do! I chose not to use the "form letter" they posted, I just typed in a simple message, urging them to vote YES. --Before you read this next portion, I must say, I am normally not a big Oprah fan but... the information below was taken from the Oprah website (http://www.oprah.com/), which also contains: a TON of information on "Types of Children Sexual Predators Target & Prey Upon", "Signs Your Child Might Be at Risk Online", "How to Minimize Chances of an Online Predator Victimizing a Child", etc. The information she had on her site, is very informative and something ALL parents should read and put into practice!!! I know you think it might never happen to you or anyone you know, but chances are; it has already happened to someone you know, you just don't "know about it". PLEASE do your part in keeping "our" children safe, contact your state senators! Thanks : )


Help Pass Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act

Hundreds of thousands of children are victims of sexual abuse each year. Due to the sheer lack of resources, law enforcement is unable to follow up on the majority of leads they have. The PROTECT Our Children Act will:

Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.
Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.
Act Now! Your U.S. senators will be voting on the bill soon, so it is crucial you contact them immediately. Go to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm to find contact information for the senators in your state. Search for your senator by name or state by clicking on the arrow from either drop down menu. Contact information is provided here. To send an e-mail, click on "Web Form" below his or her name, and e-mail your letter to make a difference! Call Your Senators If you choose to contact your senators by phone, be sure to tell them, "Vote yes on Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act."Write to Your Senators If you choose to write a letter, fax, telegram or e-mail, you may use the following sample letter—and modify it how you see fit.

Dear Senator:
I know that you believe, like I do, that we must do everything possible to protect children from sexual predators. That is why I am asking for your help. Last year alone, U.S. law enforcement identified over 300,000 criminals who were trafficking in movies and pictures of young children being raped and tortured. Experts say that one in every three of these criminals has local child victims. Child pornography trafficking over the Internet has given us a trail of evidence that leads straight to their doorsteps, but the vast majority of these children will never be rescued because investigators are overwhelmed, outnumbered and underfunded. As your constituent, I urge you to do everything in your power to pass the PROTECT Our Children Act (S. 1738, Biden-Hatch). This bipartisan legislation passed the House 415-2, but it is now the victim of petty partisan politics. Now that we know where these children are and how to protect them, there is no excuse for the Senate to fail to take action this session. (Your name here)

Instructions for How to Copy and Paste the Letter To copy and paste the letter into your senator's web form at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm, point your mouse arrow at the beginning of the text that you want to copy. Click your left mouse button and hold it down. While holding the left mouse button, drag your arrow to the end of the text that you want to copy. Release the button. The text should be highlighted. Place your mouse arrow over the highlighted text, click your right mouse button once and let go. A new menu should appear. Select Copy from the drop down menu. When you get to the message form field for your senator at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm, point your arrow at the beginning of the message field that you want to copy your text to and right click with your mouse. Click Paste from this menu. Submit your form and help our children!

Purdue Game

On Saturday we went to our first Purdue football game of the season. The company Jerry works for (American Family Insurance) always sponsors a game each year and they hand something out too. Last year they passed out AFI bandannas and this year they passed out little sports towels, with Boiler Up on them. Of course Jerry volunteers each year to help pass out these freebies, so in return...the company gives him free tickets. This year the boys and I decided to help, therefore, we all got free tickets and a free meal, YEA! I like these kinds of perks that the company has to offer : ) We had a very nice day to hand these out, it was kind of hot, but better than raining like is was suppose to do. If you haven't ever been to a college game, you need to go! This was not a first for me, but I still enjoyed the pre-show and the 1/2 time show, like it was a first time for me : ) I LOVE seeing the band perform, it is SO great! I wish you could buy tickets just for those shows and not have to stick around for the whole game, ha! We were so excited, they made a touchdown within the first few minutes of the game! Needless to say, they lost by a few points, after going into a double-overtime. Oh well, they tried to beat those "Ducks", but they couldn't.-- Miss Kallee said she wanted to spend the day with Mamaw, so they went yard sailing and she got lots of great treasures. Thanks Mamaw for watching her so we could have a nice time at the game and so she wasn't totally bored out of her mind, at the game.

We passed out around 2,500 of these things.
The opening gates to the stadium

Daddy, Keegan, Talon & Mommy

This was just some of the band coming up the sidelines.

This is part of the 1/2 time show

The tribute to America they do, at every game -- "I AM An AMERICAN"!

Absolutely AWESOME!!!

The band leaving the field, they of course keep the crowd going during the entire game!

Leaving the stadium

Payton Still Needs Prayer

I just received a call, that Payton has been back in the hospital twice since his surgery. He keeps getting infection and such, so they haven't been home a whole lot since he was released the first time (about a week ago). PLEASE keep him and his family in your prayers, I know they appreciate them!

Trip to MI - 9/08

Here are the last few pictures I took on our last trip to MI. We (Jerry, the kids and I) all rode together in the motor home, but we towed our van so I could stay another week. My Dad's brother Mac, and his wife Helen, celebrated their 50th so we decided to take Dad to their party. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive, one way, so we didn't know if he would go by himself, so we asked him if he would like us to stay to take him. --While we were there, the girls, Kallee & CJ managed to talk Papa into taking them for ice cream a couple of times. The first time they were the only ones allowed to go with him, but the next time they took all of us, ha! Going for ice cream was a nice treat, especially after cleaning out closets and such all day. When we cleaned out Mom's sewing closet, we found all kinds of "treasures". Us girls thought most of it was junk, but Kallee & CJ had a blast dressing themselves all up with the fabric and such. They played and played and played with that silly stuff. --On some of our down-time, Shirley got out her sewing stuff and was able to get some more work done on the baby quilt she is working on. Of course the girls thought they needed to help, so...she gave them little pieces of fabric and some pins and they "went to town" creating their blankets. All in all, we had a wonderful trip "home"! After being gone 21 days these past two months, I am happy to be home for awhile.

Kallee and Uncle Mac
Aunt Evelyn, CJ & Uncle Mac (the older two are my Dad's siblings)

Mac & Helen's gang
Mac & Helen with their kids

Here is the cute, little ice cream shop we have to visit at least once while in Shepherd!
The girls had just taken baths, so we decided to throw them in their pjs
and take them for ice cream.
Even little Maverick liked the ice cream : )

Papa and the girls enjoying their ice cream.
Yummy!

Kallee & CJ in their beautiful evening wear!

The girls looking lovely!

Papa's always a good sport when it comes to playing with the litle kids!

I think she looks so stinkin' cute in these silly glasses ; )

CJ trying out Shriley's glasses

The girls busy with their blankets

Her silly glasses wouldn't stay up for some reason ; )

Aunt Shirley and the girls, "making blankets"!