- UNDER THE WEATHER -

well, i've been feeling a bit under the weather lately & hopefully will be better tomorrow - we've got a VERY busy weekend planned & i want to feel 'chipper'

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tomorrow (friday) madisyn's coming over for a few days & brittan can't wait - barbara's working on getting loudnie's visa tomorrow (she was to get it today, but they said to pick it up tomorrow at 11am, so we're praying it happens) - she'll be taking loudnie to miami as that's where her parents will be picking her up as they're in miami visiting family & will be driving home with her - then on saturday, barbara's bringing shnaider to me (our 2nd 'hands that heal' medical child) - she'll be staying with us until tuesday morning, then on wednesday (providing she brings loudnie out tomorrow), we'll head over to my sister in laws for loudnie's homecoming!!

- MADISYN'S NEW 'DO -

well, here's her new 'do! - madisyn got her hair done today & it's fabulous!! - she's been working on a new style for a week or so & they finished it up today (isn't it adorable!!) - brittan's really wanting to get her hair done too & after seeing madisyn's, she's wanting to have it done all the more now (not that it'll look like that, but at least it would be a 'new do' for her too!) - just thought i'd post!!

- WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITH HER? -

do i put her in handcuffs??

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do i lock her up behind bars??

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i truly have no idea what i'm going to do with ruby (age 5 & small for her age)! - brittan got up at 5am & found ruby standing upon the kitchen counter! - she put her in our bed (which's what happens every morning when she gets up for school as ruby typically wakes up between 5:30-6:30 so she brings her in at 5, ruby stays asleep & then when she does wake up, she's in our bed with us & doesn't have the opportunity to wake her sisters (YEAH!)

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i, not knowing all that went on, woke up before my alarm went off to the sound of 'clinking' - i rolled over to find ruby staring at me as if she was a deer caught in headlights - keep in mind she's deaf so i've got to sign everything to her when she doesn't have her CI on - i started asking her, "what are you doing?" - "nothing", she said - she just acted funny, so i pressed the issue & asked again & again was told the same answer (but i knew i'd heard something) - me, being the persistent one of the family (*smiling*) i asked a 3rd time & demanded an answer & that's when i found her 'treasures' - she'd about 10 quarters in her hands - i said, "WHERE DID YOU GET THESE???" - she got out of bed & took me into the kitchen & pointed the the girls' 'token jars' (glass jars they earn plastic tokens in for doing jobs, etc.) - i said, "no, where did you get the $ from?" & then she said she didn't know (GRRR) - i was so frustrated as this' how i woke up this morning & i was in no mood to 'guess' & play this little game so off to our bed i sent her

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at this time it's just me & the 3 bear cubs as spike left early this morning for a meeting & brittan was already at school - i called spike & see if he could shed any light on the subject & he did - he said, "did you see the note brittan left you this morning?" - "nope", i said - he shared that brittan woke up at 5 & went to get ruby, but she wasn't there - she came into our room thinking maybe ruby had waken up & i'd taken her in with us in the middle of the night, but she wasn't there either - she began searching the house & found her standing upon the kitchen counter - she pulled her down, put her in our bed & started getting ready for school (leaving me a note to share of her findings)

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after hearing all this, i made ruby show me again where the $ came from - again, we walked into the kitchen & she kept pointing at the token jars - it was then i remembered they'd received quarters for easter in their baskets at my sister in laws house & there were no quarters in them at all - i said, "show me how you got up there" to which she proceeded to hook her toes on the bottom ledge of the bottom cabinets & then with her other leg, hiked it waaaay high up on the counter, then with monumental strength, heaved herself up there - she then showed me how she confiscated all the quarters that she felt were now 'hers', then she showed me how she gingerly walked along the counter, ACROSS MY STOVE, onto the other counter, up to the refrigerator, which houses on top... 2 baskets (1 full of snacks for lunches & the other full of plastic ware) - she could only reach the first basket as the other was out of reach due to her only having 1 free arm as the other one was gripping the top cabinet for stability - she then signed to me, "no snacks... only forks & spoons" GEEEZ

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i think of what could've happened & it makes me ill (her getting into the knife drawer, her turning on the stove that she walked across, her falling, etc.)

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we're in the process of moving so i've got to really be creative as to how i confine her in the night so as to not leave the room a mess, but it's obvious a baby gate doesn't work - i already use a baby monitor, but we didn't hear her - anyone have any suggestions??

- ANOTHER THING ADDED TO MY DAY! -

well, as i'd mentioned yesterday about all that i'd going on today, there was yet another wrench thrown in midday today - A HOUSE SHOWING!! - we'd a 1 hour notice, but only had 30 minutes to get the entire house ready for a showing as we were already gone from the house & had to go back to 'get it ready'... but we did it! - dustin was here so he helped me & spike played 'carpool mom' & gathered both kiara & karleigh from school - he then got them lunch, 're-checked' the house for me, making sure it was ready to show, picked brittan up from school, ran a couple errands, then went to a local buffet & got everyone started eating dinner after calling me & telling me to stop there on the way home from my 2½ mapping (for ruby's CI) at riley hospital

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also, here's a comment from the blog post i put up yesterday...

< Thehotrod5 said... HAHAHA Can I get a pic of you in roller skates????? >

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well angie, here's a picture (posted below) that spike took of me today after i'd gotten home - i don't know why i decided to wear that crazy santa hat, being that my outfit's pink & the hat's red it really did NOT go well at all! - i don't think i look all that bad for as busy as i was today, do you? - next time, i'll try & get a good picture of me & not one where i look so (what's the word...) 'thrown together'

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PS: also angie, just for the record, you're a brat, Brat, BRAT to write what you wrote on your blog today - i was almost in tears reading it at the thought of all the $$ i'd have to come up with to head to colorado on a regular basis!!! - you think you're funny, but you've had it now - just for that the answer's NO, you can't use my pink outfit (below) for this weekend - i know you've been asking for a long time & i was alright with it, but not anymore, you've got to wear something else! - i'm sorry, but i feel i've got to put my foot down somewhere & here's where it starts - now, stop crying about it, suck it up & move on girl as you brought this on yourself!

- OUR DAY/EVENING & TOMOROW -

i got up this morning & went to my nieces house to watch her boys/nephew as she'd to take spike's mom to the doctor (don't worry sharel, she's doing great!) - the boys were wonderful & we all had a great time

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tonight, we met with some friends/family (zach, licia, henley, trey, dad, mom, madisyn, rob, angie, aubrey, bob, cheryl, jenna, spike, myself, dustin, brittan, kiara, ruby & karleigh) at the golden corral restaurant here in town for dinner - we were there from 5-8:30 so i'm sure they were glad when we left!

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we then came home & dustin came with us as he's going to be doing some yard work for us in the morning so he just stayed all night - after the bear cubs went to bed, spike, dustin, brittan & myself all sat down & played a couple games of euchre & had a blast

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tomorrow morning i'll get kiara off on the bus (8am), take karleigh to school (9am), take ruby for pickies/shots (9:15am), pick kiara up from school (11:15am), pick karleigh up from school (11:30am), rush home & drop kiara & karleigh off with spike as i've gotta rush out the door to take ruby to riley hospital & need to be there at 1pm so with getting home about 11:45 & needing to leave BEFORE 12, i'll not have any time at all - better put my roller skates on now!!

- CAN YOU SAY... F A B U L O U S ? -

that's exactly what it was this morning at church... FABULOUS! - there was about 1+ hours of praise & worship & then it was topped off by about a few minutes of preaching & man was it great! - pastor piercey sure knows how to sing & get things a movin' & pastor mccamey had a great word

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dustin came with us & after church we grabbed brittan a sandwich & took her to a local nursing home where she & some other kids her age all put on a 'senior prom' for the old people (old music, painted the ladies fingernails, they all danced, etc.)

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the rest of us went to monkey BBQ (mongolian BBQ) for lunch & it was FABULOUS too! - we then ran some errands as we'd an open house today & 3 families came!! - then when we finally arrived home, i did bills while spike let the girls watch a movie, then it was their bedtime - a busy week this week so i'll catch up when i can

- GOIN' TO PLAY... AT CHICK.FIL.A -

well, the girls needed to run off some winter 'cabin fever' today so we took them to chick-fil-a to play in the play area (for free) - we got a coke & watched them for about a hour or more - they had fun & here's some pics to prove it! - hope you enjoy (they sure did!)

- SILENCE IS GOLDEN -

we're starting to work harder around here on ASL (sign language) & to do so, we're trying to think of fun ways to 'practice' - we're going to take 1 hour per day & the girls will put a bandage on their mouths & they can ONLY sign - today was the first day of trying this & the girls thought it was fun, but then it also made them work harder at communicating (which was hilarious to watch)

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spike, brittan & myself are going to work very hard on signing everything we can when talking to anyone (even if ruby's not around), as it'll get us practiced up & even though it might look silly to some, it can only help improve on our ASL vocabulary

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ASL finger spelling practice game is a good place to practice - i've been doing it & so hopefully in time, it'll make me faster!

- WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE COURSE OF A DAY? -

yes, that's a question that was written on a blog of someone i know, asking the blog world... "what do you do in the course of a day?" - here's my answers as it is right now (but keep in mind, around here, things can change at a moments notice!)

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first of all, i'm a wife to spike & a stay at home mother to our 5 (soon to be 6) kiddos - dustin's 22, brittan's 16, kiara's 5, ruby's 5, karleigh's 4 & a newborn due in august/september - we attend church every week & love it - we're very active with our extended families (camping & vacationing, etc.)

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monday-friday: i get ruby up at 6am, dress her, feed her & get her on the bus (monday-wednesday) - i get kiara up at 7:30, dress her, feed her & get her on the bus (monday-friday) - i get karleigh up at 8am, dress her, feed her & drive her to school (tuesday & thursday)

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i then get things done around the house while i wait for 11:15am to come around (as that's when i pick kiara up) - some of the things i do from 9am-11am are: laundry, start dinner, make beds, pick up clutter around the house, dust, vacuum, blog, check emails, etc. - i then head to get kiara at 11am & we get some lunch - since i have to pick karleigh up on tuesdays & thursdays at 1pm, i usually use that time (11:15-1pm) to run errands, grab lunch, etc.

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from 1:30-3:30 the girls lay down to rest or sleep & then we've to watch for ruby monday-wednesday as she gets off the bus at 4pm - after she arrives home, we're all here, rested & ready for the evening - the girls work on 'school work', play, have snack time, read, etc. as i finish up on household duties, fix dinner & we all wait for spike to get home

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if we've got somewhere to go or something to do in the evening, then when spike gets home, we all load up & out the door we go, so we're not out late as the girls go to bed at 8pm - if we're staying home, then we've dinner, clean up the kitchen afterwards, let the girls play with daddy for a bit since they've not seen him all day (unless he's worked at home, but even at that, he's not 'seen them', as he's been working) - after dinner, somewhere about 7pm, i get them in their pj's, brush their teeth, settle them down & then at 8pm it's prayer time, hugs/kisses & we're done (for that day!)

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in my free time (can someone please tell me what this really is??), i work with rebekah hubley as we're co-founders of a ministry we started, called 'HANDS THAT HEAL', where we help get children out of haiti on medical visas, find them doctors, hospitals, host families, etc. to take care of them while they're in the states, make sure they get the treatment they're in need of while they're here & then get them back to their biological families in haiti at such time they're cleared by their doctors to travel - this ministry's really only just begun & we already have our first little one here 'widline' & another is coming next week 'schnaider', so god's really moving in a big way!

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i also help families stateside, with helping new adoptive families through the process of compiling their dossier - i help answer their questions, make phone calls to haiti on their behalf (almost nightly... yes, comcast knows me by name!), take pictures & videos of their children whenever i travel to haiti - we also try & get to haiti as much as possible & that's usually a couple 3 times per year (it's about time to go back too!) & whenever we go, we work with 2 different agencies while we're there

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i also work for Shiloh Adoptions out of kansas - i've been working with them now for several months, love the people i work with & what they represent - i'm currently helping 3 families (each family's adopting twins!) & am waiting on several other families that have contacted me regarding haitian adoption, to see if they've decided to 'get on the adoption roller coaster with me!' - what i do for shiloh is helping families build their family bigger through the adoption of a child(ren) from haiti & i love it - haiti's where my heart's at & forever will be

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i then, along with my best friend angie, plan & coordinate a haitian family camp one time per year (february) in lafayette, indiana, where people from indiana, ohio, illinois, iowa, kentucky, tennessee, michigan, haiti, etc., who have an interest in haiti (whether it's families that have adopted from haiti, are adopting from haiti, thinking of adopting from haiti, work with missions in haiti, etc.) no matter what agency you're working with, get together for the weekend - it's a great time to get families that all 'look the same', together for a fun weekend where the kids can stay in contact with other families 'like theirs'

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i also, with having a child that's profoundly deaf (ruby), try to work on learning as much ASL (sign language) as i can - she attends a local deaf school, but as she gets older, she needs us to know more than we know now & i don't want to hinder her in any way, so i'm working hard on signing faster & learning more - one thing about it's, with us being with kyle & angie so much, it really helps as angie's fluent in sign & teaches me soooo much!

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i also love taking pictures & have a wonderful time playing around with my camera - it helps as i've got beautiful subjects to photograph as well! - i'll take them to the park, an old covered bridge, a creek, etc. & snap away - i do nothing with the pictures once i take them (except pass them on to grandmas), but i like it & it's fun!

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saturdays are used for going out of town to spend time with our best friends kyle & angie caswell, getting together with family, spending the day lounging & watching movies, taking the kids to the park, etc.

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sundays are used for going to our church & doing last minute errands before starting a new week

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we also have our home for sale as we're busting at the seams now & we're adding another little person - we've a floor plan picked, a lot picked out & a pre-approval for another mortgage so we can move into something larger, WHEN this house sells - i'm constantly picking up, packing up & doing whatever we can to sell this place - we like the house, but we need more room - when we do sell, we'll be moving into an apartment or small house until our new home's built & then move again to our final destination about 4 months later - WHEW, that makes me tired thinking about it!

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well, there you have it... a day in the life of lori shepler!... now, who's next?

- A FUN WAY TO 'SHARE' -

as most of you know, we're adopting 1 more child (& then we're done!) - we're hoping to find out on april 15th whether it's a boy (deon) or a girl (ahniér) - i've been thinking of how to 'share' the sex with the entire blog world & have decided what i'm going to do is this...
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i do the girls hair around the middle of the month anyway - i'll have them all ready to go, when i head to the hospital that morning - then when i get home, i'll fix all their hair in either pink or blue, take a picture & then blog it

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whatever color you see in their hair, you'll then know the sex/name!! - i told the girls about this tonight & they're so excited - don't forget to be watching on the 15th!!! (oh my goodness, i'm sooooooo excited)

- IF YOU NEED IT, I'M SURE HE'S GOT IT! -

that's right! - my dad stores everything & throws almost nothing away - one time we'd a camper (class c) & the little girls were to sleep up on the top 'bunk' above the drivers seat - i was afraid they'd fall off & mentioned in front of dad, "man, what we need is something like those 'mesh' things people put across their tailgates - then we could still see the kids, but they'd be 'locked in' & they couldn't fall, but still easy to get out when they needed to" - dad walked over to the garage, turned around & handed me a brand new one! - i said, "where did you get that?" - he said he'd had it for a long time & couldn't even remember where he got it, but never had used it & gave it to me! - i heard the other day that my brother called & mentioned something to dad about 'going out to look for an odd car part of some sort' & yep, you guessed it... dad had one layin' 'round! - it's like this all the time with all kinds of things from bolts, tires, wire, mesh hubcaps, rims, tailgate things, etc. - i know 'let's make a deal' could come to his house & he'd win for sure, because if you need it, i'm SURE he's got it!!

- HOW FAST CAN YOU TYPE? -

66 words

Speed test

- MOM GOT A NEW THONG! -

well, this' another one of brittan's funny stories from when she was younger (age 13, so not all THAT young!)

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we'd just gotten kiara home & were having a garage sale at our house - a neighbor lady of ours, that we'll call 'sue' (that's always had 'her opinion' of us adopting black children), stopped by for the sale

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sidenote: kiara had just turned 1 the weekend prior & for her homecoming/1st birthday, a friend of ours threw a party at my brother in law/sister in laws house as they had tons of room, pool, horses, etc.

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while here, sue said, "thanks for letting brittan come over the other day to play with our daughter 'teresa' & eat dinner with us - we'd dinner guests that night & brittan was telling us ALLLLL about your pool party that you recently had" - i thought it was odd brittan would've called it a POOL party as we hadn't called it that, but it was a party & there was a pool, so i let it go

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i said, "yes, we'd a fabulous time" - she said, "she also told us that you'd gone out & purchased a big thong that was bright pink with flowers on it" (keep in mind the party was a 'luau theme' & i'd purchased a big FLIPFLOP PINATA filled with candy for the kids) - i said, "well, she was talking about the pinata as it was in the shape of a flipflop - 'sue' said, "no, she said a thong & that it was pink with flowers on it" - i said, "yes, the flipflop pinata was bright pink with flowers on it" - she said, "well, i think she would've said flipflop OR pinata if that's what she was referring to... don't you???" - she then turned & walked off to her car, still thinking i'd purchase a big thong that was bright pink with flowers on it for ME to wear!!!

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those that know me... my size... my weight... etc. please erase the mental pictures that you now have in your mind, because no, i did NOT, will NOT & have NOT ever purchased or wore (not that it's any ones business) a thong... EVER!!

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i know that out there in blog land, i'm someones... blog material!!

- CARPOOLING, PIZZA HUT & REST TIME ahhh -

well, karleigh & i went out this morning to run errands (she thought a good 'errand' would be to hop on over to disney world for the day!... keep in mind we live in indiana), then we got kiara, went to pizza hut for lunch as we had 2 free kids meals (YEAH!) & then it was home for rest time/movie time

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our kids go to bed every night at 8pm, but on tuesdays, they go down at 7:45 due to us watching american idol (i love that show!) - since they go down a bit early on tuesdays, i don't have them to nap those days, but instead they can watch a movie & just rest - well, sunday we were going over to my sister in laws house & i mentioned on the way over to the girls that they didn't have to nap that day - karleigh (with her head bobbin' & her hands on her hips, really sassy-like) said, "why, coz it's american idol night?" - that girl's too smart for her own good!

- TAP TAP TAP -

a nurse on the pediatric ward, before listening to the little ones chests, would plug the stethoscope into their ears & let them listen to their own hearts - their eyes would always light up with awe, but she never got a response equal to 4 year old david's comment

gently she tucked the stethoscope into his ears & placed the disk over his heart - "listen", she said - "what do you suppose that is" - he drew his eyebrows together in a puzzled line & looked up as if lost in the mystery of the strange tap-tap-tapping deep in his chest - suddenly, his face broke out in a wondrous grin & he asked, "is that Jesus knocking"

- A NEW NAME?... angie this' for you! -

today the girls got up & as they were playing i began to hear, "zachary?", "hey zachary, what are you doing?", "want to play with me zachary?", etc. - knowing that it was just the 3 bear cubs in the bedroom & there were no zachary's in there i went to investigate - i asked kiara, "who is zachary?" - kiara said, "it's my friend (& pointed to karleigh)" - i said, "why are you calling her zachary?" - kiara said, "mooooooom, because she's been karleigh waaaaaay too long!"

- THANK YOU KARLEIGH -

out of all our kids, karleigh by far & going away seems to be the most remorseful of any of them when she disobeys - she's ALWAYS without fail, the one that comes back to me (either right after 'the situation' has happened, or before she goes to bed & apologizes for whatever it was that she did that day, says she'll try really hard not to let it happen again & then always asks for my forgiveness) - tonight we were in the van & i was on the phone & chaos was running wild in the back seat - they all received a stern talking to when the conversation ended & they also got their new sunglasses taken away from them on the ride home (& i made sure to turn as many times as i could to let that good 'ole sun do some shinin' in too!) - we got home & she went on & on to me about how sorry she was & how she didn't act the way god would've wanted her to, etc. - she explained that "when mommy's on the phone, we're all to be quiet for you" - i just think it's sweet that she's already thinking of other peoples feelings & it's not just to get out of trouble (we get lots of apologies that way by all of them!), but it's sincere - thank you karleigh, that means a lot!!

- LOOK WHAT WE FOUND! -

look what we found! - well, we found exactly what we're looking for & it's on ebay, but still has like 6 days to go - we can't take out a loan due to us getting our new home mortgage pre-approval (that's one of the requirements is to NOT get a loan until we close on the new house... bummer!) - spike said if we'd the money to get this, then we'd just turn around & sell my mini van which we've only had 1 year & it was bought new, due to him knowing we could get enough money out of it to pay for this one - mine's got VERY low miles & is in excellent condition, but i can't sell it until i've something else to drive (stuck between a rock/hard place)

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whenever the time comes that we do get one, it'll be something like this as it's got cloth seats (that's exactly what we've got now & what we're looking for!), it's got enough room for 12 people & even plenty of room for my strollers, etc. - go to ebaymotors.com & then in the search bar type in 150227384361 & you'll see it & what all it's got - oh my goodness!!

- WHAT DO YOU WATCH ON TV? -

here are our family favs!! - every night we manage to watch leave it to beaver, little house on the prairie & andy griffith & the girls love it! - it's almost a nightly thing as sit down to dinner sometime from 5-7pm & these are the best things on - when leave it to beaver's coming on, karleigh says, "& jerry mathers as... the beaver!" as she's seen it so many times

- RAINY DAY/NIGHT -

well, i'm off to bed as it's been raining here most of the day & so far all evening - it's 12:30am & i'm bushed - got to carpool tomorrow, run errands & clean this house - continue to be praying for this place to sell - right now there's 6 of us living here & will be 7 in a few months & it's cramped now! - thanks & nite all