Metaphor help..no I really need help!

Can someone turn this simile into a metaphor, please?

Teaching kindergarten in the public school system is like herding cattle.

Feel free to elaborate- thanks.

Sick of the Cooties

BLECH! Mike and I are sick with colds. I feel like a little kid. I am pouty, grumpy, achy, crazy hot, dopey..you name it. We found out Mike's physical is schedule for this Tuesday. He is a little nervous because if he doesn't pass, he loses his chance to take this job. God is bigger than cooties..he has to be, he invented them. For now, we are snuggled up, heavily medicated, watching Harry Potter while I work on homeschool lesson plans. Fun Fun Fun. Hopefully the meds won't affect my teaching plans.

A Dream Come True

So, many of you have heard by now, but I had to bloggify it. Hot Lips is officially a firefighter recruit for the Reno Fire Department. He got the call today asking him to report to the academy on September 4th. This day is especially great because it was his dad's birthday. His dad died a few months after we were married, so it is a little bittersweet. This is certainly a time for a dad to be proud of a son.

Thank you all for your prayers. He is now waiting for his information packet, then he has to pass a background check and medical physical. All prayers are welcomed throughout that process. We will keep you updated. God is moving much in the Brewer house. Some of it is a bit of a stretch, and some of it is actually putting our money where our faith is. It is easy to say we trust him, but another when we are asked to live it. I apologize ahead of time for the rotten example I am sure to set over the next few months. Prayers for my sanity, energy, and for my role as athletic supporter; it can be a sweaty job...or is that schweaty?

Summertime is Just Getting Started

Beep Beep Coming through!
This is Addison's more glamorous side.


Birthday treats and water filled arm farts... Made to be brothers.

We have become big supporters of the new Reno farm team, Silver Sox. My favorite part of being a kid is not caring that your glasses are cheap, cheesy, and crooked. (Notice Eli, lol)

Summer is about half over. We are still trying to fit in a camping trip, some more gardening, and some more swimming. The next thing we are waiting impatiently for is the Rib Cook-off. All are welcome to visit. Just look for us near the noggin sized onion blossom stand. We will be the fools with corn in our teeth and a lemonade in our hands.

Not so professional hair model

Here is my first attempt at being a hair model. My friend, Marie invited me to be her hair model in a nationwide competition that I REAAAAAALLY want to win. It took a couple of days, a few uncomfortable positions, and frankly, a lot of laying around while people fiddle with my hair, but these are a couple of proofs from the shoot. I had so much fun. It certainly didn't take a lot of brains to do this job, but it took a big step outside of my shell and a lot of working on my rotten posture. If Marie wins, we get to go with her hair buddy, Josie, to Barcelona to do it all over again. Wish us luck :D

The Next American Idol

Doesn't my nephew Adam look remarkably like Sanjaya? I am scared. He straightened his hair because a girl at his school said she thought he would be handsome. It is amazing what 12 year olds will do for a girl.

I did not write this...It was a devotion I read this morning. Interesting though.

AN INVOCATION OF STRENGTH**Are you looking for peace in your life? http://journeyofjoy.com/questions/peace.htmlby Suzanne Benner

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loves us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word" (2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17).

Are you weary today? Is your strength failing? Often we find ourselves in situations that require us to pour out physical and emotional energy at such a pace that there is little or no time to be replenished. Raising young children is one such season of life. There aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish all that needs doing; the necessity for constant vigilance is draining and a moment of rest seems weeks away.

Being the primary care giver to someone who is sick or aging is another period of unrelenting demands on your energy. Beyond the physical demands, grief often takes an added toll.

Perhaps it is the strain of broken relationship that is exhausting you. Estrangement from a friend, sibling, or son or daughter exacts a heavy price from your peace of mind. Confession, forgiveness and working through the issues take more strength than you possess. Many times we desire to do these good things that God has called us to, but become discouraged and tired. Thus it is wonderful to discover that our God gave us eternal encouragement and good hope! More than a momentary pick-me-up, by God's grace and love we have access to a continuous supply of hope and encouragement. Feelings fluctuate, but God and His word stand firm forever. Keep clinging to Him.
Questions: What does eternal encouragement and good hope mean to you? How has it been a reality in your life?

Isabelle

I am not saying I don't love her for a lot of other reasons, but Isabelle has only been gone for a few hours and I am exhausted. That girl is such a huge help around here. My husband is home because I am working on homework and he is off on weekends. He is only able to offer limited advice and help through the low points of the redneck race. He just randomly hollers stuff like "Addison, stop licking that!" or "Sam, stop crawling up on the entertainment center" or "Addison! Dang it, can't you poop in the toilet yet!?" or "Sam, stop crawling on me. Go skin a cat or something." I am not overly certain what that last one means. It scares me. Between sayings like that and that deer head hanging on my wall, I am beginning to think I married a redneck.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOOU!

Samuel Fisher has turned one!! YAY, Baby. We played in the sprinklers and that ginormous ball in the picture. We grilled and just spent time together as a family. It was relaxed and perfect. His birthday presents included this sweet speedo, a push walker, a John Deer tractor to ride along on, squeaky blocks that Moby can't seem to leave alone, and an insane spinning toy that makes way too much noise for a children's toy.

My mother got him these speedos. They are really only appropriate on little boys under two.
Sam is just starting to take steps. We got him this walker hoping to help him along. Notice the ensamble: speedo, push toy, princess wand. I love it. Fascinated by the fire from his candle, he became a little violent when I pushed it away from him.
Mike decided Sam needed to celebrate his first birthday as a man; we had grilled corn, steaks, and beer.
MMMMM. Finally a taste of birthday cake. I decided to steal my brother's tradition and make Sam a JELLO cake each year for his birthday.
I have now celebrated our last first bday. sigh. It is nice, but a little sad. We are teaching our last baby to walk, eat, and make kissy noises. I talked to a friend today who said she thought about writing a book called Eighteen Christmases. She said that is really all we have with them. I got teary immediately. Even though I have been awake with Samuel for the past two nights while he is teething, I am working hard to cherish every moment. Even the not so fun ones.

Sam

I decorated Sam's name to hang above his bed. Eventually it will say "Sam I Am," but for now it just says Sam. I love it. Apparently so does Sam :D

Why I like Mike #15

He sure knows how to treat a lady.

Click on my title for further details.

Layla's a graduate

This is Layla, her teacher Ms. Stephanie, and her friend Erin on graduation day. Everyone is getting so big. Layla is anxious to start kindergarten, but I am a little nervous to be her teacher for fear of holding her back. She is turning out to be way smarter than I am, and I don't want to screw her up. Elijah is looking forward to be the oldest kid in class. Next month we have to take Isabelle shopping for uniforms for school this fall. That is going to be weird, but we are looking forward to this new season in life. I will still have three students (and one mister messy Sam) but with Addison as a preschooler, I doubt there will be a day without serious humor. I figure, by the time I am done homeschooling my children, I will have greyed years before I was supposed to, but my laugh lines will be my most prominent wrinkles.

I think I am getting old

Theatrical Trailer Tonight, my sister-by-law-friend-by-choice and I went on a date. I like to date people regularly to keep things lively. Anyhoo, we started at Applebee's and finished with a movie. We watched Mr. Brooks with the past his prime favorite, Kevin Costner. It was a pretty decent movie. Lots of comic relief (although I must say, whether the movie was intentionally comedic or not makes no difference for me; I find humor in the most unhumorous situations. i.e., like when my other sister-by-law-friend-by-choice called me for the fourth time in a morning. Only this time she was calling to say that her earlier remarks of "where the heck is my housekeeper! That lady better be dead or in an accident!" were no longer appropriate considering her housekeeper died in a car accident on the way to her house. I know..not really funny, but kinda funny.)

Again, I digress. The movie is worth the watch. Only, I jumped so many times I nearly peed..twice. After each incident, I hollared CLEAR. That is what people yell when they want to get their heart beating again. I was completely my mother. I had it all-the gasping, the heaving chest, the OH MYs in a way too loud voice. I either need to get out more, or I need to limit my time in public. I am not sure yet. Lucky for us there were only 6 people in the theatre.

Just in case I didn't have enough lives to ruin...

I thought I would plant a garden. We have a great backyard. We have a brick planter box that spans the entire perimeter of our backyard. While my mother-n-law was in town, she instructed us in the art of planting, weeding, seeding, and soiling. She has the greatest garden and taught us a bunch. Even how to plant our cucumbers in a hill. We planted cucumbers, jalepenos, green bell peppers, watermelons, daisies, eggplant, crookneck squash, cherry tomatoes, pumpkins, any herb you can think of, and an insane amount of wild flowers. It feels great to take care of our plants. The kids have had a great time checking to see if they have sprouted any yummy treats. When we first got started, Mike's mom asked if we would have to worry about squirrels. I said no, of course in this populated area. Little did I know one little such varmin would come right from the Brewer household....our own resident Squirrel, Addison has been picking the tomatoes! She knows she is wrong to do it, but that doesn't stop her from snatching a little green one and taking off hellishly across the yard. I think she may be a rabid squirrel. Every time she does it, I think of that creepy racoon Will Ferrell tried to hug on Elf. lol.

MOBY

Fathers Day seems to be a time of big changes around our house. Last year I had Sam I Am on the 13, just a few days before Fathers Day. This year, we had a new kind of baby.

This little guy is the newest family member at the Brewer gang. I arranged for Mike to stop by at Lou and Joni's to pick up his fathers day present after work a few weeks ago. He knew what he was getting, but we told the kids he was bringing home a friend. We cleaned the house all the while I fielded a zillion questions about our mystery guest. They were certain it was Pappa Shaun (McConnell) but I told them Daddy's friend was only about two-years-old. WHAT!? They were completely stumped. Mike called when he was around the corner and I made the kids come in the house so there was no early peeking. It was perfect. The kids all went running outside to meet their new friend. Moby was so excited he peed on EVERYthing to leave his mark. He has definitely realized he is not the leader of the pack with so many others competing for attention, but he has found his place at the Brewer's.

He is a great snuggler. Sam regularly uses him as a pillow and Moby loves to sleep at the base of Isabelle's bed every night. Addison calls him "Movie Dog" because that is how "Moby Dog comes out in squirrel language. We have also dubbed him Molblerone, MoMo, MoMan, Moby Richard, and Mo-mer.

The kids wake up every morning and let him out, feed him, and fill his water bowl. We are working on his listening skills so we can let him play out front more, but he gets a little excited at the sight of new face to lick.

So thank you, Friends, for giving us the greatest fathers day present ever for our family.

Oh Thank you Lord!

Math is all done. I got an A. YAY for A's!! That is all for now. Oh, but hey Jessica, remember when you tried to crochet and it was scary? Just wondering.

Conversations in Bed

This was inspired by meesta Ben's post about deep thoughts and his mattress.

Me- You know what is a terrible name for a sandwich?
The Man-what?
Me- loose meat sandwich. It is gross.
The Man- I had a pulled pork sandwich today.::giggle::
Me- ew! That is equally as gross.
The Man- There is Pulled Pork, Loose Meat, Chicken Jerk...
Me- ew. And tube steak. That is gross. I am hungry.
The Man- I think I want to shower before bed.
Me- Kay....

Brew-ha-ha at the Brewer's Pad

Just thought I would give a run down of life and the goings on around here.

Today, Layla Grace graduated from preschool. We are very proud. She got to recite one of their verses over the microphone, which just proved that she really could be a rockstar someday.
She will be homeschooled for kindergarten next year.

Isabelle is almost totally signed up to attend her new school- www.coralacademy.org
She is looking forward to mingling with outsiders. I also think she is a bit apprehensive about stepping out into the school scene again. It has been 4 years since she has been enrolled in a school. :/ It will be great though, because it is totally God calling her to school.

We are ecstatic over her choices of teacher-they are the Mo and Jo of Reno. SERIOUSLY so weird. SHE is totally organized like Joelle, and other than her odd habit of talking over you when she knows what you are talking about, she has Jo's super skills as a teacher. HE has the fro to match his southern counterpart. He also recognized Eli's sweet Napoleon boots for what they are, which gives him an 'A' in our book. He is a math wiz, which will help to cover the areas Isabelle isn't as strong in. We are happy with either teacher.

Addison gave Sam-o-sauraus a haircut. So special. He is shaved completely now to hide the hideous bald spots she gave him. So special. The greatest part for me is when Sam waves, he does this Hitler salute. We look like we are proudly sponsoring the great white race around here. I keep threatening to give him a little Hitler 'stache to go with his new do.

Tonight I take my final exam in math class. This class has been crazy painful for me.

Mike passed the physical portion of his Fire Fighter's test earlier this week. We are waiting to hear where he ranks to see if he gets scheduled for an interview. Many prayers needed!

We have a new addition to the family. His name, depending on whom you talk to, is Moby, Movie Dog, Mo, MOMO, Moby-licious, or Moby-kins. These last two are just weird so we are trying to steer the kids back to Moby. Elijah wanted to give him a middle name. I suggested Richard. To me, it is really the only name that fits. In real life he is a large golden lab retriever. He is super. Even Addison loves him now.

Addison has taken to putting her self in time out. It is helpful because it saves me time, but it is strange.

We have been painting and downsizing. Getting ready for spring has never been so stressful or pretty. We have all new furniture in the living room, and the kids have new room set ups. Things are moving a whole lot slower than I was expecting, but it looks like a brand new house.

We are still awaiting the Wheel check. Soon...very soon. :D

That's about it!

HIstory

Let me just say that I love history, but sometimes I feel better before I learn about things. The Man and I are watching some special on the history channel about the craziness of the 70s. Hilarious generation for the most part....except for Mr. Jim Jones. ::shudder:: For those of you not as familiar, he was the "pastor" that began a church turned commune and then encouraged over 900 of the people to drink their lives away to cherry Flavor-Aid cocktail. I have heard this story in an off the cuff sort of way. Tonight, though, they showed video taken during the mass suicide. They gave it to the babies first. Then they encouraged the families to lay down together, face down, kind of in a pile. There were clusters and rows and rows of people. Those little babies. I don't like sadness. There was one little chubby baby boy, right around Sam -0-Saurus' age. He was laying down next to his mommy. ::sniff:: Stupid emotions. Stupid people. Stupid Jim Jones. Stupid history.

Why I like Mike #14

HE IS HOME!! The Man had a fun filled weekend where he allowed the fish of the east to control his brain. But now, he is right where he should be...asleep soundly on my living room sofa while I tap tap away on my puter. I never thought I would like him as much as I do now. I always thought we would just be existing after 11 years of marriage. God has done a great job of keeping my Hot Lips irresistible. I know that 11 years of marriage and 30 years of bdays isn't really old, but when I was younger, I thought life was over near 25. I remember when Mike and I were still dating. He told me he would be willing to wear cowboy boots when he is 26. I don't know why he picked THAT age, other than we both must have thought 26 was really old! i still haven't been able to get him into those boots, but we have a better grasp on what elderly really means. Here, let's do word association-

black-white

old-new

elderly-Louie (not Louise)

see..we have a better grasp. ::snicker::