The Abbott 6

For part of Kamryn's 4th grade science grade she needed to pick a creature from the ocean and do some research on it. She needed to find out what it ate, where it lived, it's predators, etc....etc.... After she compiled her research she was required to put it all together and make a poster to present to her fellow classmates along with an oral report. She worked REALLY hard on this project at home and at school. This is where the story gets good!!
One day while researching her chosen topic "Sea Urchins" at school, her teacher told her to get on the computer and find the information she was still needing to finish up her report. Kammy had one specific question she needed to find. That question was "How Much Does a Sea Urchin Weigh?" So....she did what anyone would do.....She Googled it!! You gotta LOVE Google!!

SOOOOO...... How much does a sea urchin weigh, you ask???

Unfortunately her and her teacher decided that was NOT an appropriate answer....although it would have been funny during the oral report.....(apparently Kammy is a little more reserved and more appropriate than me!)

She eventually found the correct answer....(which of course wasn't nearly as entertaining) and she ended up with an A+ on the assignment!!

GREAT JOB KAMMY!!

So....I've been thinking ALOT lately about the next 10 years!! You may ask "WHY?" Mike and I just celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary on December 2nd. As I was laying in bed that night thinking of the 10 years that we had just survived I started to get a little sad. I started thinking of all of the things we had been through in those 10 years. The birth of babies....nursing....diapers....first words....first steps....reluctant potty trainers....defiant toddlers...rocking sad or sick babies for hours on end....1st days of kindergarten....wiggley teeth....a gazillion visits from the tooth fairy....a gazillion visits to the ER....quite a few moves to and from Tillamook (UGGHH)....baptisms....sitting at sporting events for hours on end....a few hospital stays....different jobs...orthodontic bills....different cars....defiant teenagers...1st days of Jr. High.......
No wonder I'm sad....these things are all DONE...we've experienced them....
Everyone says when the kids are little to cherish that time because it goes by quickly....they weren't lying....10 years seems like forever when you are up all night with a crying baby....and even more like an eternity when you are up all night worried about teenagers!!
My dad asked me a few weeks ago as I celebrated my 34th birthday..."Do you feel older?" In the past I've always answered "NO!" This year I said emphatically "YES!!" I feel older because of what the next 10 years may bring....I feel older because I feel like I'm entering a new season of my life....a season that brings....4 teenagers...1st days of High School....1st loves....trying to keep daddy from cleaning his guns on the porch when boys show up to date his baby girls....proms....trying to keep daddy from assaulting the boys that show up to date his baby girls....driving teenagers....a gazillion more visits to the ER....graduations....college....marriage.....and dare I say grandchildren!! Seriously???!!??
As I lay in bed that night I shed a few tears for the 10 years that have past....I shed even more for the 10 years that are yet to come........

The definition of Accountability is......the quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions.
Awesome....
How many of us are truly accountable for ALL of our actions? I'm pretty sure I'm willing to accept responsibility for my actions that result in GOOD. Not sure I'm willing to accept those that don't. Those are the one's that go unclaimed. I've been thinking a lot about this topic. I've been thinking how maybe I need to be more accountable for the things I don't necesarily want to claim and work towards changing those actions into good. That is easier said than done.
For example, my weight loss endeavor. I feel like I need to be more accountable.... to who??....I have no idea....but I'm guessing it's probably my self. Dang it!! So here goes....from now on....I'm accountable for my actions....good and bad. I need to accept the responsibility I have to myself to make "ME" healthy. I need to quit blaming others for my weaknesses and be accountable for the chocolate Costco muffin I ate last week....and the 2 pounds I gained over the weekend....because no one forced me to eat like crap and not exercise.....I chose to....now....I've decided to pick myself up....dust myself off....and get my booty to the gym. I'm choosing to not eat a Costco chocolate muffin today. YAY me!!
To some this post may be rambling....and probably doesn't even make sense....but it's my blog and it's my therapy....you chose to read this boring post...guess what...You are accountable for that!!

So...this afternoon I decided I had better tackle the growing mountain of laundry sitting on my couch. It's a good thing we don't get many visitors....otherwise I might put them to work folding. I contemplated rocking out to my favorite music while I did my chores but opted for the peace and quiet to gather my thoughts and enjoy the quiet while it lasted. Lucky for me it's a nice day and I decided to open my windows to let the fresh sunshiney air in. This is where I get REALLY lucky.....all of the sudden I hear the F-bomb cut the air like a knife. I'm pretty sure I had NO idea it could be used at least 5 times in the same sentence. So....me being the nosey neighbor run to the window to find out what in the world would be causing this profanity. Apparently the neighbors behind us were in one heck of a fight. The profanities continued for almost a 1/2 hour. So much for my peace and quiet. I felt so bad for the receiver of such language and hoped the children I heard crying in the background wouldn't be scared for life. So.....the point of this whole post is to thank my husband for not using the F-bomb. I am thankful that he is intelligent enough to come up real words during our conversations and thankful that I don't have to endure the piercing sound of the F word in my ears on a daily basis.

Where did a year go? Last time I posted we had just finished up Halloween 2009. Nathan had just celebrated his 10th birthday. Maddy had just gone to ODS. Kammy turned 8 and got baptized. Kiley was playing Volleyball. So many things change in a year. Of course now the kids are all a year older.....except Nate....still waiting for his birthday to come around. Kiley's getting ready to head off to ODS. Maddy became a teenager and is in Jr High (Lord Help Me).....Nate's playing football.....the girls are all in dance class.....I'm in my 2nd year of college (Lord Help Me)......and Mike....we'll.....he's our constant....nothing really changes with him.....Oh Yeah....he's a year older too!!

So....instead of bore you with my ramblings I decided to do a photo tribute to catch you up on our blog-less year of insanity that we so lovingly call LIFE!!


The Holidays....who doesn't love making gingerbread houses. We enjoyed a trip to Grants Pass for Thanksgiving....and thouroughly enjoyed staying home for Christmas this year......Somehow we even fit in a trip to Boise to visit friends!

Spring Break brought a much anticipated trip to DISNEYLAND!! It was the kids' first trip on an airplane and everyone's first trip to Disney...except mine!! We had a blast and can't wait to go back!!





Our Summer couldn't have come soon enough and never failed to keep us busy. We had tons of fun and we are all sad to see it slip away as the new school year starts!!



Well....that's it.....the last year all wrapped up in this one little post. I'll try not to be MIA for long...but I'm not making any promises!!
Until next time....

Take a breath and just do it.....that's what I decided to do today.....It's almost been a year since I posted here. 1 YEAR!!! The days turned into weeks...the weeks into months and here I am totally overwhelmed at the thought of catching up on my Blog. I'm not exactly sure how to go about catching you up on a year of our life. How about 1 word....Crazy! Ok...done...Blog caught up...can I be done now?? Seriously, I don't know where to start so stay tuned as I dust off the old Blog and try to summarize a whole year's worth of happenings....