Check my facebook, I was trying to load a video of Ivy running.

Obviously, I am not blogging as often. Facebook seems easier to manage. Lots going on. Ben went to UWF, got a running scholarship, loves it. Savannah is in South Africa and desperately needs more supporters, but believes this is a walk of faith. Evan loves Chicago. Joel is taking a "real" class at the high school. It is going better than he hoped. Ivy went to high school fulltime. It is an adjustment. She is running fantastically(s that a word?). Anna-Laura is running XC this year. It is better than she thought it would be. Jeanette hopes to join a strings group and will be doing Odyssey of the Mind. Trinity wanted to be homeschooled, but is ok with staying at her previous elementary school. Grant wants to read a Star Wars book, so he says he is willing to do the work to learn to read. He is FOUR!!!!! Can anybody say Evan-clone. Liberty now says her name is "libby" and is trying to potty train. I am still working on the ghostwriting book, it is slow going.

In other news:
Michael has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. His blood sugar was so high that when he began following the diet, his eyes swelled up. his eyesight can be alternately fuzzy, near/far or just painful. The drs. say it may be 6-8 weeks before they settle into a pattern. SO.............he has been put on disability for that time. To say we are living frugally would be an understatement at this point.
however, we have been able to get his sugar levels down. He is doing all kinds of projects around the house and for other people. For him, the stress level is down.

Hi there from our maze of boxes. Actually it isn't that bad anymore. We have located most of the needed items. Well, except that printer cable...

The new house is great and not so great. It has lots of typical "foreclosure" issues. Which is why we were able to afford it! In other news, I got a different van. after spending weeks and lots of money, we and our mechanics had to concede that Ben's white van was not going to ever have air conditioning without the purchase of a brand new compressor, etc. that would cost more than the car! So, as summer dragged on, we hunted for a replacement. At long last, we made a convoluted deal with a friend an bought a jump seat online so my Honda Odyssey would seat eight. You KNOW this is a Chastain blog, so the seat was shipped to our address on base, but we did not find out about it until too late. Who knows what happened to the seat. hopefully we can try to track it down this week. in the meantime I am road tripping to see relatives.

Just in case you are wondering about my strange typing, I have just realized someone hit the insert button and I can't figure out how to shut it off. It is so frustrating that I am signing off now. Hope to have pix when I return.

Let me know if you need the new address. Our phone numbers have stayed the same.

IT's my Birthday!!

Now if I could just remember how old I am. Oh my, or do the math. Never mind, let's skip that part, though I am accepting gifts in the form of service.

We are signing for our house, FINALLY. As usual, the Chastain "summer vacation" did not go as planned. We MUST move this weekend, and have this house clean by Wednesday(July 1). Also, the other house is not clean(at all) and then there is the little matter of packing and shifting lots of large furniture.

My red van is gone. I am sad. I have been driving Ben's white van which I am told will be mine for the duration. I can't come to grips with it. Someone told me they were selling an 8 passenger vehicle when this first happened. The kind she mentioned, I had never heard of. Once I saw it, I could not get it out of my head. As it turns out, we cannot afford it, at all. But now I am always thinking how nice it would have been. Then I feel guilty for not being happy with what I've got. The truth is, I have cared very little what we drove over the years, as long as my children and stroller/groceries fit. Why am I suddenly so taken with this particular car? No idea.

Back to my birthday. It's a strange thing. My mother told me that they almost changed it to the day I was adopted in October. It would have changed who all my friends were, because my grade in school would have been different. Just a random thought. As it turned out, my parents had three more children, 2 born in June and one July 1st. So, I fit right in. Funny how little things like that make a difference.

Enough philosophical birthday musings. However, I just want to say I will NOT be celebrating my birthday in the same manner as my sister chose to observe hers yesterday. I will NOT be filing for divorce. I will NOT be having a tattoo changed from Kanji to a flower. I will NOT be drinking margaritas or going to a dog park. Now there IS a difference!

(my computer will currently NOT let me add a picture. I'll try later)

Life at Supersonic speed!

This month just sped by. All that end of the school year stuff. I have tons of pictures. Awards night, Field trips, reader's theatre, Graduation, beach days, car wreck, new house, grandparents. I could leave the longest post in the world trying to make up for lost time. I would never make it on Twitter. I have not got the time to keep up with that, anyway.



Currently, we are experiencing an onslaught of car woes. I was rear-ended, and the driver left. My insurance decided to total my car, against my protestations. Ben had a flat. The sliding door fell OFF my car. We moved my seats to Ben's van and made him start driving Savannah's car. It had a flat. Today it overheated and is back in the shop.



We are closing on a house this Friday(PLEASE Pray). It needs work and moving ourselves seems overwhelming. BEcause this is hanging over our heads, we cannot look for a new(to us) vehicle of any sort. Liberty has been in destructo mode, coloring herself( to include her nails), a doll, 5 shoes, a box, the wall and several bricks with sharpie marks. Fifteen minutes later, she dumped glow in the dark nail polish down her front.



10 runners came to breakfast this morning, then played video games. We primed Trinity's dresser for painting and Jeanette packed 10 boxes! We are in the middle of vacation Bible school where I am doing the nursery. We have 3 physicals scheduled for this week, a visit from the pest control man and Ivy and Anna will be off to AWANA camp on Friday.



I'd love to be witty and philosophical at this point, but haven't the time, or quite frankly, the energy. However, If you do not read Savannah's blog, please check it out. Time is closing in for her to get her support. If you would like to see more photos, go to my facebook page. I hope to put more up soon, but no promises!

Mother's Day

I sent cards to our mothers and grandmothers this year, but could not squeeze gifts out of our budget. I know the family was a little concerned about what to do for me. Ben and Joel solved the problem. They went crabbing on the bay with their friends. I LOVE crab. With help from Michael, they prepared a meal for mother's day. It was fantastic!

As we were about to sit down, Ben received a phone call. His friend was bored at his job, and wanted Ben and Joel to come hang out. He is a beach chair attendant. Ben explained that he could not go as it was mother's day. Edgar(the friend) offered a free chair, umbrella, and possibly kayak, if only I would come, too. I thought about it for 5 minutes. HMM, did I want to go sit on the beach on mother's day. Michael sealed it when he offered to keep Grant and Liberty. It was a gorgeous day at the beach.

Joel, Edgar, Ben

Savannah got me these! In the Philippines they are called "chom poi." I believe they are seasoned, dried plums. I have loved these since I was introduced to them in Vietnam when I was five! Savannah said people were looking at her strangely when she said they were my mother's day gift. Everyone else was purchasing chocolate macadamia nuts for their moms. She told them she has a weird mom. I said that made me proud!

Ok, so Melinda linked me to some kind of Super sized family list. Today's post is on Road trips.

I NEVER drive through the night. I have a game plan for ime, but I am not a slave to the clock or mileage. If kids have to go to the bathroom or just stretch, that is ok with me. We do not own DVD players or game boys. On the reverse, we also do not sing rounds or join in hand slapping games. We DO bring alaptop that we hook up to the sound sysytem and strap to a stool so the whole car can see. We only watch a movie after everyone seems REALLY bored, and then usually only one. For a 10-12 hour trip, we MIGHT watch two. I carry snacks and drinks, but we stop to eat, so we can get out and stretch. Everyone gets to bring their own bags of stuff to do. We try to get where we are going by supper time. By then, I am done. We like to play mad-libs and some times "are we there yet" games. The kids like to be assigned a certain color car to look for, and jeep/punchbuggy spotting is popular. Though no punching is allowed. Ben has an ipod, but Savannah puts hers on the car stereo. I guess that's it.