Happy Birthday to Gran

We had my Gran's 92nd birthday party on Saturday. Sherrie came up with the idea of having a "card" party. We sent out emails to everyone we could think of, and printed flyers and handed those around too. The idea was for family, friends, and anyone else, to mail a birthday card in care of one of us (mostly Sherrie) and we would put them in a basket for Gran to take home and spend an evening opening and reading. At last count, there were 81 cards from California, Colorado, Arkansas, Illinois, and of course, home. Cards are still coming in and we will take those to her. If you sent one, please know that she LOVED it. I talked to her this morning and she had already read through them twice. We also did a come and go party for her and didn't tell her. Mostly we kept it a secret because if she had known, she would have refused to come! Even at 92, nobody wants to mess with her! LOL. Its a good thing thats not hereditary, huh?!?!

A little too much football..

Dillon crawled into our bed, as usual, around 4:00 am, snuggled into his Daddy's right arm, and went to sleep. My alarm went off pretty early. Its one of those really fast beep-beep-beep (pause) beep-beep-beep ones that's enough to wake you up but not quite enough to glue you to the ceiling. So, I hear the beeping and get up as fast as I can at that hour, and about the time I hit the foot of the bed, Dillon, still sound asleep, yells:

TOUCHDOWN.

That was it, still asleep, he went back to drooling on Chris's arm.

Growing Pains II

Dillon is refusing to get a hair cut. Now by refusing, I mean he doesn't want to and I haven't forced him. (Hopefully he knows better than to flat out REFUSE) Now any of you that know my husband knows that this is driving him insane! That fact that Dillon's hair can actually touch the top of his ears is eating at Chris like a mange mite on a mutt. Chris keeps (what's left of) his hair in a military style cut. He calls it a "go anywhere" haircut. Dillon has very thick, wavy hair. Its getting harder to control and he loves it. He gets in front of the sink and mirror every morning and wets it down with his Daddy's comb and gets it JUST the way he wants it, grins really big, and walks out. I think it's the most adorable thing ever, Chris has to leave the room! I realize as the kiddos grow up that there will be tons of opportunities to go to battle with them over any number of things. I am trying to instill the idea into Chris that we are going to have to pick our battles and letting Dillon grow his hair a little longer won't necessarily mean he is destined for a life of crime, or even hot checks. Its just a little independence coming through.

However, my fear for the future is: if this bothers Chris THIS much, how will I survive the teenage years with both of them??!!

Oh! AND...a BOY called Masen last night. You should have seen CF's reaction to THAT!

Maybe I'll take up drinkin'.

Growing Pains

Conversation in the car yesterday:

Dillon (to Masen): I'm asking Santa for a Razr phone.

Me: Why? Who are you going to call on a cell phone? (he is just 6 yrs old after all)

Dillon: Sissy.

Me: But you live with Sissy, why don't you ask Santa for something you can enjoy. You won't use a phone much.

Dillon: Fine. I don't want anything.

Me: Do you want me to call Santa and tell him you don't want anything at all for Christmas??!

Dillon: Yes!

Me: I think you just want to be mad and act ugly.

Dillon: Yep.

He pouted the rest of the way home and promptly got sent to his room for having an ugly attitude. After a few minutes alone on his bed, he changed his mind and decided to act nice. We had a conversation about "why" he won't get a cell phone from Santa and he dealt with it. I won't say he flat out accepted it, but he dealt with it.

Santa needs a xanax.

To Our Family In California

May God bless you and those you care about. Stay safe.

Weekend News

Well, friday night Chris decided it was time to take the front porch apart and begin to fix the water damage. Now, two things you should know about my husband, 1. carpentry is NOT his thing; and 2. neither is patience. My blood pressure instantly began to rise as did my anxiety level as I anticipated the mess, the fit, and the aftermath. Dillon on the other hand was THRILLED and walked around with a hammer stuck into his carpenter jeans. Getting the new plywood up was a challenge since Chris only had me and Dillon as help. The process involved backing the truck under the porch and me with my feet on the truck bed leaned up against the bricks of the house balancing the plywood on my head until Chris could get enough screws in place to hold it, all the while with Dillon supervising. Masen and I made our escape in the early afternoon and headed to the fall festival at Wilburton where a crazy indian man sold her a crystal and sang a prayer over her. She is very proud of her Choctaw heritage and thought this was cool. I was ready to call security.

Yesterday Masen had a rodeo. She ran a 19.34, her fastest yet. Dillon and I went shopping.

AND as a shout out to my husband...the porch turned out GREAT. He did a fantastic job and I had to eat my words as I have always said he cant build anything square or level. Turns out, he can, when he wants to!

Happy Fall Y'all.

You'll just have to forgive me for this one....

Last night my husband made one of his "only from HIS mind" comments that made me laugh out loud. (But then again, my sense of humor IS kind of odd) Conversation:

CF: Have you ever tried to lay back and take a George Bush (his reference to our president saying he likes to take 15 minute naps during the day)

CF: and had a (apparently VERY persistent) fly try to nostril screw you?

MJF: (shooting tea out my nose) WHAT did you just say?

CF: No I am serious. This fly would NOT go away, like it was on a mission to increase their species. Picked up the flyswat...no fly. Closed my eyes...sucker flew right back in.

MJF: This is why our marriage works....stimulating conversation.

Things I HAVE to say....

1st of all, big storms last night in our area. A tent collapsed at Tulsa Oktoberfest hurting more than 2 dozen people...what I HAVE to say on this is WHAT THE HOO HA WERE THEY DOING THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE? For days our local weather stations have been predicting SEVERE weather, not rain, not wind, not storms, SEVERE storms. This is Oklahoma people, did you really think you could hide from a severe storm under the beer tent??? AND radar showed the storms heading that way before I headed to work yesterday, so its not like they didn't know!

Next: Ellen Degeneres and the dog scandal. I have dealt with a rescue organization and from experience...those people can be nuts! We decided to adopt a basset a few years ago and upon receiving my application, the basset rescue people ATTACKED. They were so rude that I honestly thought, oh my goodness they have my home address I hope they dont try to kidnap Chip! No seriously, I did. And what horror was on my application that produced this response? I didn't let my 75 pound basset live in the house. Because, according to them, dogs are family members and how dare I make my family member live outside. (Does this mean I have to let Chris in????) Of course, I managed to call one them an ugly name in the end, which my loving husband will NOT let me live down...

Birth control pills in middle schools???!!! I thought the whole issue with condoms was that they not only prevented pregnancy but they prevented STD's. Now this middle school in a different state wants to make birth control patches/pill available to pre-teens? Yeah, I get it, kids have sex, but do you really want the school making the decision about a Rx drug for your child? Was their condom program a failure?

OK, and now......I GOT MY NEW CAMERA. Chris couldn't take the whining and gave me my Christmas present in October. Canon Digital Rebel XTI 400D. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

What I didn't See

Yesterday we were all out in the yard, Chris and the kids were at the barn and I was in the front yard with the puppies. Macy and Dillon were taking turns leading Happy Appy to the fence and climbing on him bareback. All of a sudden I hear this "ruckus" in the back. I can hear loud kids voices, then a clanging metal gate and finally Chris yelling. By the time I get to the barn, this is what I see: One spotted horse running in the big pasture still wearing his bridle with One very pissed off man marching after him and Two children standing forehead to forehead and nose to nose. My first thought was to make sure no one had fallen off since the horse had made his escape. Come to find out, my two beautiful, sweet little angels had gotten into an argument, Dillon said Sis was bossy, Sis shoved him, he dropped the reins.....you see where this is going. The end result was a captured horse and two kids spending about 10 minutes standing nose to nose. If they moved, their Daddy made them go back. Talk about TORTURE. Can you imagine the PAIN of having to stand with your forehead touching your arch enemy and not being allowed to even talk??? I just said, Welcome Home Dear (He worked cattle at Wardville all weekend) and went into the house to take a shower. The kids recovered from their trauma in time to guilt trip their Daddy into ice cream at the store, and another weekend came to a close!

And how was YOUR day??

AAAHHHH FRIDAY!

Another work week comes to an end. Sounds great until you realize there really isn't an "end", its actually circular. Friday leads to Monday which leads to Friday which leads to...well you get the idea. So, the best we can do is enjoy each moment. You know, carpe diem. So this weekend I am going to spend time playing with my kids, watching them run with their puppies in the yard or ride horses, or just watching Hannah Montana. I like to just observe them. I like to watch them figure things out, you can almost see the wheels turning. I like to catch my daughter when she thinks no one is watching, and she is talking softly to her horse or her kittens. She looks so sweet and young and innocent and all the things she is supposed to be, and is. She is truly one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever encountered. She talks to her horse, he is her confidante and decision-making helper. When she is riding and its just her and him in the pasture, she is closer to who she is more than at any other time. She amazes me.

The boy, he is ALL boy. Let's climb trees and chase the cats or put the cat INTO the pen with the dogs. (dont worry, the cat LOVES it, no really) The minute he was born, (ok, actually the minute the Zoloft kicked in and kicked out the depression!!) I said he had my heart. He has one tiny dimple in his right cheek. I love that dimple. When he opens up into a full, ornery smile, I could just pull that dimple off and eat it up. He is learning to play Kum By Yah on his guitar. He can now stand and almost walk on his hands. He likes to aggravate his Pa Pa by calling him Hairy Monster or teasing him about being bald. He is full of all things boy and snips and snails and puppy dog tails.

One thing everyone should know about me, I know how blessed I am. Everyday I have to walk on this earth, I am grateful to God for the blessings in my life. My life is full with blessings and I pray never to forget that.

Ya'll have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday.

Grade School Politics

So it has begun. Actually, it began on day one of classes. The whole female who is popular, who is smarter, who is better at sports, who is playing with who, drama that we all endured and prayed our own daughters wouldn't have to. At nine years old, these girls are aware that society looks at those with athletic ability or good looks differently than those not so inclined. At nine years old they are learning and teaching each other that its more important to score baskets or have a boyfriend (!) than to have a good heart and treat everyone fairly. Chris and I talk sometimes about how we may have done our children a disservice by teaching them to think about other people's feelings and to try to be kind hearted. They frequently get bowled over by the I WANT AND I SHALL HAVE kids. Still, I hope I am giving them a foundation in their character that is more of what God wants instead of what the world dictates. They won't be elected King or Queen of their class, they won't always play in every basketball game, they might grow up with one or two true friends instead of 30 hero worshippers, but they will grow up knowing that it matters how you treat people and it matters who you are in your heart and not who you think you are in the world. There is still enough Powell in them that they will definitely let you know when you've crossed the line, but both of them have a tender heart and I am so proud of how they are growing up. They are doing a beautiful job.

Camera Woes

Anyone who is around me for very long knows I love my cameras. Chris bought me a Canon Rebel YEARS ago when Masen was born. Later he bought me the digital version and WOW that camera is awesome. OR let me say WAS awesome. A few months ago it started giving me an err99 code. After lengthy research on the internet and trying every trick suggested, still nothing. Now this camera is not one you want to just run out and purchase with pocket change. (IF you DO have that kind of pocket change...well, we'll talk later) So I bought a simple Nikon Coolpix to have for snapshots. Let me tell you, its like driving a Bentley and trading it for Fred Flintstones foot car. I am having serious camera withdrawal. So, anyone out there with a few spare hundred or so, I am taking donations. Hey, I'm not proud, buy me something! HA!

Ugh and dont even get me started on trying to buy one on an Ebay auction!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Foris Family blog! Chris, Mickie, Masen, and Dillon will be checking in on occasion to give you some updates and insight into life with the Foris clan. Check back often and leave us a message.