Energy Drinks

So today I'm feeling pretty much spectacular.  I have motivation and energy. 

I feel like cleaning.  And mothering.  And sewing.  And homeschooling. 

It gave me an idea.  I have never had an energy drink.  I see them when I check out at the Dollar General.  They are small.  They are in a bright red (energetic looking) container.  And they say they will give me FIVE HOURS OF ENERGY!!!! 

Now when I'm feeling sluggish, and tired, and I have no energy....I don't want to drink an energy drink.  I want to cuddle up in my recliner in my jammies with my pink blanket, and possibly do some whining. 


BUT now that I'm cleaning and feeling fantastic.....five hours of energy doesn't sound too shabby. 

Do they work?  Are they safe?  Will I clean my house with a smile and a song like Speedy Gonzalez?  Will Heath come home tonight and stand with his mouth hanging open in wonder and awe because of the amazing transformation of our home and children? 

 Will it just land me in the hospital due to too much zest and vigor?

I don't know.....but I'm thinking about it. 

If I do happen to get in my car and drive to the store and purchase and energy drink, drink it, and then live to tell the story I will let you all know what happened.

P.S.  Don't hold your breath.  ;)

 We were riding in the car today and Luke said, "Stop talking about Washington DC. You're making me hungry! I said, "Washington DC isn't exactly known for it's amazing cuisine." Luke said, "I know. But Washington DC makes me think of monuments, and monuments make me think of the seven wonders of the world, and the seven wonders of the world make me think about pyramids, and pyramids make me hungry." I said, "How do pyramids make you hungry?" He said, "You know....the food pyramid, and the pictures of the eggs, and meats and stuff."

And look how pretty the sky was at my house!  Very cool.

I'm loving the normalness.

We have been busy lately!  Well, not we, more like Heath.  He has two jobs now.  A full-time one doing marketing for a construction company, and a part-time one delivering pizzas for Dominos.  He works about 60 hours a week now and we never see him!  At least we can start catching up on some bills.  We had gotten behind when he moved to Milton to join us because the job hunt took longer than we were hoping/expecting.  It was rough.  Thank God for employment! 

My Daddy has generously lent Heath his hunting truck to go to work on.  If I had any sense I would have taken a before and after pic of it when Heath cleaned it up.  It didn't even look like the same truck!  Now the children and I still have the van during the days.  This is wonderful!  We have never had two vehicles.  Well, we did, but we sold the second one because it wasn't worth the insurance payment to us because we never used it!  With him working so much it's great that I am able to go to the grocery store, or take the children to the park or the library.  These are good days for me.  I am so thankful for Heath's jobs and life is feeling so.....ummmm.....good?  You see why I don't write blogs too much?  To be such a talker you would think that I would write better! 

Our days have definitely developed a rhythm to them. We have never had a schedule AT ALL, but now we almost do. We wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, clean up the house, do some school work and then play for the rest of the day. I'm not sure that is exactly a schedule, but for this non-scheduling family it feels like one. And I like the structured feeling it gives me. It makes me feel like I am in fact accomplishing stuff! And that's a good feeling. :)

And here is a picture of LillyAnne helping me sweep.  It's one of her favorite things to do and it's super cute.  What a blessing she is to us all!

P.S.  The other night Londyn came out of her room and said, "LillyAnne keeps tackling me and trying to bite me!!!!"  I teasingly said, "Oh, is she a crazy mean sister?"  Londyn said in a very serious voice, "No, she's lovely and it just tickles."

Word of the Day is: Biddy

We are being foster parent to some baby chicks (which we call biddies).  I thought everyone called baby chickens biddies but apparantly I'm wrong.  People keep asking me, "What's a biddy?"  A biddy is a baby chicken.  I now try to remember to call them chicks.  Anyway, we do this every spring, this biddy getting thing.  We get them when they are tiny and when they grow big enough to be rough and tough, they will go live at my Daddy's house. The children love to play with the chicks and raise them and Daddy is always happy to get a few new chickens. It's a win-win situation. We have eight this year. In all years past we have had three. The difference is that every other year I go buy the chicks and this year Daddy did. The children just sit in the backyard and watch them for hours. Especially Levi. Last night I went out to get him because it was dark and he hadn't come in. He was sitting in the yard and had all eight biddies cuddled up sleeping in his lap.  He's such an animal lover.
Here are some chick pics. I hope you enjoy!

The Big Surprise

My Daddy called me today and asked me to feed the horses because he had to work late. When we pulled up Levi said, "Star has a baby!!!" I was getting ready to tell him it must be some other baby when I looked and saw that it was hers! Of course I didn't have my camera with me. I didn't think she was due for another month. When Heath got home from work we took him to see the baby and took our camera with us. It's too bad because the pictures aren't that great at night, but you can see what he looks like. He doesn't have a name yet. I was hoping for Moon Dancer because his mother's name is Silver Star. Silver Star and Moon Dancer. It sounds good together right? And who does he look like??? I'll give you a hint; his sire is a big palomino stud! lol It sure added a lot of excitement to our day. Yay for baby horses!!!

Beach Trip

We took a trip to the beach last Monday. It was great. I thought LillyAnne might be afraid of the water, or that she wouldn't want to get in the sand. Boy was I wrong! LillyAnne loved EVERYTHING about the beach. She loved playing in the sand, eating the sand, splashing in the water, all of it. We just went for two hours in the afternoon. There are barnacles that grow on the pier and the children were "feeding" them. They were so disgusting. No one was really at the beach and I was paranoid because Heath, Luke, Levi and Londyn were so far out in the water and they were the only substantial shark meal that I could see. They didn't get eaten though, or even bitten, and everyone had a great time so it was a great trip. :)

My Daddy came by and picked up the children this morning. He took them to Waffle House and then to buy some chicks. I told him we would be chick foster parents. When they get their feathers they can go live at his house. The children love raising them. We get some every spring. I told Daddy to get three. He came home with eight. I said, "You were supposed to get three!" He said, "I got everyone two in case one died. They would still have one." I said, "That would be six!" He said, "Two for me too." So typical. They are precious. I would have pictures but it was rainy today so they would only be pictures of chicks in a crate. I'll see if I can't do better than that. But here's a picture for you...of the artwork on the garage that Levi drew with a sharpie. Those things need to be outlawed.

Also LillyAnne is a walker!!! Big things are going on at the Newcomb house. :)

Living a Legacy Conference

I'm back from the Living A Legacy conference. All I can say is WOW. What a great time we had. It was just fantastic. All the speakers did a great job. The food was delicious. I was expecting spagetti or lasagna but they served some high quality yumminess. The facilites were beautiful. The conference was encouraging and uplifting. I can't say enough good things about it! What a blessing! I believe that soon you will be able to download or order all of the sessions. If you can I would highly reccomend it. It was just wonderful. If they have it again next year Katie and I will definitely be attending.

Packing

I am packing for my Living a Legacy conference! I'm so excited. I'm also a tad nervous about leaving my children behind. I will be gone for two nights. They have never been without me for two nights except when I was at the hospital having a baby and they have only been away from me for one night one time, when Londyn was just a few months old. Thankfully I'm leaving them in the very capapble and loving hands of their Daddy. I know he will do great. I'm super excited!