Ladybugs & Stinkbugs

In honor of Annie's birthday, I'm going back and looking at pictures of previous birthdays...It is so hard to believe how LITTLE she used to be! She was this chubby-cheeked little cherub that you just wanted to squeeze and hug. Jeremy jokes that I got what every little girl always wanted: a real live baby doll to play with!

And she definitely is that. I still enjoy her so much, and I thank God for her every day.

So, in honor of my sweet baby, here's the first of 4 photos:

2005

...to walk! We keep saying we need to get him a walker, but since we haven't yet, he made his own!

New Insight into this age old question. SARAH PALIN: Before it got to the other side, I shot the chicken, cleaned and dressed it, and had chicken burgers for lunch. BARRACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change! JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road. HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from day one that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me. GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here. DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun? COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road. BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken? AL GORE: I invented the chicken. JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it. AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens. DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems. OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road. NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks. PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American. MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information. DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told. ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone. GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough. BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road. ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road. JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace. BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted. ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken? COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Thanks to Leanne for sending this to me, and Mike for, well, making the pumpkin throw up!

I think the weekend finally caught up with us. The kids have been very cranky with each other (and mommy), and I have been cranky back. It took Matthew 2 1/2 HOURS to understand "column addition" in math today - and that was his FIRST SUBEJCT. We are having money issues, the house is disgustingly dirty, and we are way too busy this week. Can you tell I'm NOT having a good day?

Annie has NO FEAR!  Our church's Fall Festival was held last Sunday, and she got up on the stage with her friend and sang - in front of everyone.  She's dressed as a Ladybug, so that's why she looks funny.

All our kids - except Jake - made their own little hats and we painted their faces red with black noses.  They wore matching white t-shirts, and we put their "numbers" on the back - M. Downs 1, A. Downs 2, A. Downs 3, J. Downs 4.  Jeremy says we have first downs through fourth, and that's all there is!

I thought you would enjoy the video.  This one may be a little bit small - I'll try to get a bigger one uploaded later this week.

I'm posting my answers - copy the whole thing and comment with your answers, too!

A) Four places that I go to over and over: church--bed--ballet--Sonic
B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly): Jeremy--Landra--Mom--Ryan
C) Four of my favorite places to eat: Tokyo--Pei Wei--Sonic--Crazy Jose's
D) Four places I would rather be right now: Nowhere--in a pool--with Jeremy--with my kids
E) Four people I think will respond: Rebekah--Mom--Sandy--Georgia
F) Four TV shows I watch: Heroes--Lost--90210 (OLD not new)--Home Improvement