So, I am "firing" live. I have had too many people telling me that they have issues, with reading... or commenting.. or whatever... so.. you will now be able to follow  the trials, achievements, and antics of the Hammond family, Texas chapter, on taniasboys.blogspot.com. Hope to see you all there!!!

Today was our first day out with no one grounded or in trouble!! YAY!  We got to go to Burnet to visit my friend Stacy and her son Jed. She asked if the boys could help her by moving some wood. So they loaded it up in the truck and we drove it over and they unloaded and stacked it. It went alot faster with the 3 extra pair of hands than it would have with just her and Jed.. who is 7. They had a great time! The best part was, the pay! They got to ride Jed's dirt bike and 4 wheeler! They also have 2 horses! Princess and little Belle.. I think is her name.. Anyway, they couldn't ride the horses, but they got to get up and pet them.. that was FANTASTIC! Princess was the friendliest. She really liked Gavin. She was following him EVERYWHERE. It was funny, he would turn around and there is a horse head right behind him! Ethan also took Gavin for a ride on the four wheeler. That was big fun! I have some pics that I took with my phone. I hope they come out ok!

Yay!!  Today for the first time in 3 weeks.. I think.. maybe 2.. Anyway, Ezekiel finished all his make up work and corrections yesterday... With the exception of a couple pages of Language that he did last night, when he was tired....... So yayayayay!!!  This afternoon we are going to a friends house so the boys can help her get some stuff done. I am going to take my camera too because she has a dirt bike, and four wheelers... those kind of toys! :) I will have some pics of the boys having fun! Happy Friday everyone!!

I just wanted to take a moment for a public service announcement! Seems that the only email I get anymore is forwards from people with things anywhere from.. if you love God you will pass this on.. to, if you want the government to stop this.. sign this and pass it on... Thing is with these things, one or two things happen... We have an emotional response... ie.. That made me feel happy, it must be good and right, therefore i must pass it on... or, we truly believe that we will be showing God we don't love him if we hit the little delete key... Well, believe it or not, the truth about Gods love and his care for us has been handed down for generations before computers were invented... and you aren't going to break the line of love from Christ if you don't send on all these emails! The other thing, when you get the ones that are looking for a signiture, and for you to forward it on to get all the signatures you can.... We think, here is a way I can make a difference! I will be letting all down if I don't do this and I will be to blame if this isn't fixed! Well, a good course of action is too do some research.. don't hit forward or delete right away. Look it up! you can go to a site call snopes.com and find all these different chain letters, and forwards and viruses.. it will tell you if they are for real or not. If they don't have it listed yet... then you can check with someone "in the know" people like my hubby that work in computers every day. They can tell you if a virus is really something to worry about. A little caution never hurt anyone. I mean... if someone told you that if you drive on a certain roadway at a certain time of day... that something bad would happen.. are you going to automatically rethink your day.. your route.. your life... or are you going to think it through and maybe look into it before you derail everything you do? anyway, just something to think about on this beautiful, glorious Wednesday!

Week that is... I have some great pics to share. First, my two youngest boys made cookies this week for valentines day gifts. They worked really hard.. they made the cookies... and then cut out the shapes.. and made the frosting and decorated all themselves! The only thing mom did.. was help them remember to do the math on a double batch, roll out the dough.. and take pictures!!!  The other big thing for our family was Erin graduated! YAY ERIN!!!  She got her degree as a medical assistant! So, I have some pics of that. In other news. We have decided to take next week off of school. I am still going to work with Ezekiel on his make up and corrections.. but we are drowing.. so, something must be done. Please continue to pray for us through this trial. I would like to come out on the other side.. still liking my children!! Thanks to all! And Sydni will tell you I would be remiss if I didn't add a beautiful Texas Hill Country sunset!!

So, many of you who have known me for a while, know that I had heart surgery 13 years ago... when Ethan was almost 2 months old... Well, recently, I have been having issues again... and on top of that.. Ethan had an episode last night. So it was off to the pediatrician for us this morning... EVERYONE should be as blessed with us in that category!!! Our doc out in Abq was FANTASTIC  and we really adore our doc out here. He is fabulous!!! Anyway, he wants Ethan to get evaluated by the pediatric cardiologist just to be on the safe side.. so we do that march 2... I had a cardio appt today.. and he put me on a low dose beta blocker... that is to keep too much blood from pumping in my heart so I don't have the problem anymore. Anyway.. please pray for Ethan.. that if he does have my SVT thats all thats going on here1  love to all!

I think any one that has kids that are old enough, will understand. Why is it... that you have this sweet, great, adorable baby.. Then they hit 2.. and all of a sudden.. it is like someone flips a switch and they turn into awful, evil, little meanies!!! Then you get them trained out of that, just in time for 4 to hit... And now you have a whiny, bratty, little child that is going to demand all things in his or her own way... and in comes the era of arguing!!!  Then, by the grace of God, you get them trained out of that.... Then along comes 8...... Then you have another switch!! Then it all happens again at 11.... then all over again at 13.... I think you get the idea!   So, God has given us His Word.. And we know that it provides all things for life and Godliness! Praise Him! We know the way to "train them up in the way he should go....."  But I wish I could understand why God made these little people this way! I understand that it is all a part of sin.. and maybe that is the answer... Maybe I am looking for something deeper that isn't even there.. but man, I have 4 boys in my house on most days.. and all of them are at one of these places or another. I have a new teenager that is looking for his independence. We need lots of prayer here because we want to show him that we trust him, and that he can have some independence, however, he isn't old enough yet to do all the things he wants to.. and he can't understand that. Then we have one that is getting ready to turn 11 that wants so badly to be seen as a big guy... not one of the little kids, that he tries to be just like his big brother... in all the wrong ways... All the nastiness that Ethan shows him, he is trying to show too.. He makes mean comments from time to time, mostly about himself... Then I have an 8 year old, who would love to be much bigger. We have dealt with anger issues with him, and both the younger ones we are constantly dealing with chores issues... Then... my sweet, darling, little nephew... He has been the light of our lives for the last 2 years and 1 day! He is so smart and fun and funny... all my boys adore him.. We are sooo thrilled and blessed to have him here!!  And yesterday he turned 2. FULL BLOWN 2 I mean.. the claws have come out! Something that last week, would have been so easy.. all of a sudden he has to be nasty and have a fit! So, please pray for us with all these stages in our house right now. Lord willing, I would like to handle all of them with grace and patience and help all of them grow into smart, strong, loving, Godly men!!

Well, we are still working on getting school caught up.... I was hoping to be done this weekend.. but... Time is not our own.. and God had other plans. One of the things we did was got Gavin's 2 year pictures done. I will post a couple on here. We had a good time. Then Erin and I went birthday shopping for Gavin's 2nd birthday on Tuesday. I also got something for the kids... hair goo for Ethan.. and toys for the little boys... of course, they can't have them yet.. because Ez is still grounded..and Ash just hasn't been behaving in a way that I want to give him a gift right now. Anyway, got the house clean today, so I can think again... Then back to the grind tomorrow... Hope all have a great week! Here are the pics! Enjoy! Sorry for the little update... I decided I should have added a pic of his mom too.. hahahahahahahah

So.. at first I was motivated by my good friend Sarah's blog.. where she has a very great picture of her baby with bed head... Well, I have a similar picture of my "baby" So, I have to post it cause I am a copy cat... Differences are... Ethan was a little older than Abe is.. and his wasn't bed head.. he had just gotten out of the bath.. and his "do" is a product of my towel drying his hair!! Then I decided it would be fun to play a little then and now.. so I have Ethan when he is 1... and then I thought... it would be fun to post a picture of Ethan and Gavin right after Gavin was born.. and one of the two of them now.. so you get to see Ethan at 1...Gavin and Ethan Feb. of 07  and then Gavin and Ethan Feb of 09! Enjoy!!

I just discovered that I can change the font.. this is pretty! Anyway, we are starting to get caught up with school.. Ezekiel has a looong way to go, but he is getting there. My hubby was terrific and made me a spread sheet for the kids grades. So, I can type in the page number... or lesson or whatever.. and then I type in the number of problems and the number correct.. and it calulates the points for me! It is sooo great!! Makes things sooo much easier!!! Our family has the stomach flu right now... Gavin started with it, and then Ezekiel started with it last night, and now he and hubby are both down.. Lord willing, it will end there. So we will see. My treatment went ok yesterday.. it was ok... very very painful, but if it helps, I will gladly do it again and again! Well, thats our update! Happy Thursday!

This has been and will continue to be.. a big week. We are working on making up school.. Ezekiel has to do the stuff he has been skipping.. but all the boys have lots of corrections they are doing. Ethan did a little too much.. playing around.. sillyness... not taking his lessons seriously.. So, he has to do alot of corrections on things. Gavin has had a stomach bug.. thats always fun! I have been in a fibro flare for the last 2 weeks that has been worse than I have ever experianced before. Steroids didn't help this time like they have in the past, so today I get to go in to the doc *again* and I am going to get trigger point injecions. The idea of that is, I am going to get shots of saline and little bit of lidocane in lots of different places on my body.. I think most will be in my neck and back. I am kinda a little nervous about it.. Then tomorrow we take Gavin to the specialist.... That should be intteresting because he HATES dr's.
This weekend though.. The fun gets to start!!!  Gavin turns 2 next Tuesday!!!  So, that means.. after pay day on Friday.. Aunt T gets to go SHOPING!!! I have been having a good time trying to decide what I am going to get him! hehe I asked him this morning what he wanted for his birthday present.. and he said.. candy! I said you want candy? What kind of candy do you want? He said.. My eye ball! ..... I don't think he quite understands yet..
Anyway, please keep us in your prayers. Hubby is under alot of stress with all that is going on in and around the family.... Plus he has work to deal with.. and bills.. and.. and... and... I am soooo glad I am not the head of household! Too much on the mind!
Have a good week!

Well, seems like just weeks ago that I was talking about Ez not doing all the schoolwork that he should have done.. and how we were pushing through to get it all done... Oh wait.. that was just weeks ago! And yet, here we are again. I have learned 2 things from this experience. 1. As much as I love my children and want to be able to trust them to do what is right, I can't always. 2. Being a lazy mom, doesn't benefit any of us. As we speak.. it is super bowl Sunday. Ezekiel's favorite team *the steelers* are playing, and he is grounded. As soon as he was caught up from the last time..He started again. I don't understand it! So, yesterday and today we have been redoing stuff. Yesterday he did Science completely.. and history... today he is doing correction on his History.. and then hopefully we will move on to other subjects. Ethan... is failing math. We are going to have to probably start this book over to some extent. I don't know if he doesn't get it.. or if he doesn't care.. or a little of both...
So, lesson learned for me is. I need to get an "in" box. Make the kids turn in all their lessons. Grade them every single day.. Take the time to be able to talk them through things that they don't do well. I need to be more disciplined before they are going to right?! So pray for our week. It is going to be a long one I have a feeling.

My honey past his test! He was allotted 6 hours and he finished his test in around 4.  He is now... The first ever..... Microsoft Certified Jedi Master. :)  The leader of the class had to send out a message announcing the first Jedi Master in the program! hahaha He is not the first ever Microsoft Certified Master... Just the first Jedi master.. Have to make that clear. :)  The other fun thing that is going on is that the person that is the head of the Exchange program for Mircrosoft... Is putting on the Certification papers.. that this person "rocks" in Exchange. So from now on.. Hubby rocks in Exchange! hahaha That will be fun to put on a resume! haha Thanks for all the prayers. I am so proud of my love! God has blessed him with a wonderful brain and the good sence to use it! :) 

This is the first time since our move that we have experienced a freezing cold Texas morning! I know... sounds strange. From what I have seen and been told, our first year here, wasn't a typical weather year for Texas. There was tons of rain.. and the temperatures stayed mild all year. This year... Not so much!  It isn't unusual to see the temps go from high 70's to the low 50's in the space of a few hours. Yesterday, our day started out at 55 degrees in the morning... by dinner time it was in the 30's. This morning, I got up to a nice toasty 25 degrees. Over night we got what they call freezing rain *isn't frozen rain...snow??*  Anyway, Erin's car doors were frozen closed this morning so it took a bit for them to get out of the house. So, I made a nice winter breakfast this morning of malt o meal and hot chocolate!
In other news in the Hammond household.  Happy 60th dad!!!!  I love you so much! I thank God for you every day! I miss you terribly and I hope you are doing ok!!  We will be calling soon... *once all the peeps are out of bed*  The other thing going on here today, hubby gets to retake his lab that he failed in Washington for his Masters Certification!!  He gets to do it from home, which I think will really help him... He will have (for your sports fans) the home feild advantage as it were. He will be in his own office, on his own computer. I know he will do fantastic! Please do be in prayer for him as he is nervous about this test.  Thanks to all! Bye for now from frozen Texas!!!

I think probably every child in the history of mankind *and in the history of canned black olives* has stuck the olives on the tips of their 5 little fingers. I remember doing it as a child *and last week* and all my boys did it.... Well, my little nephew Gavin is no different. Erin told me she tried to put some on his fingers at christmas and he would have none of it! So, I decided since todays lunch recipe called for olives, that i would give it a shot.... He not only let me put them on... he LOVED it!!  I took a couple pics... so cute.. so, use this moment, to think back and go back in history to when you were young and sticking these things on your own little filangies!!! :)

I think everyone knows by now from all the pantsless pictures of my sweet nephew, that we are potty training. Yes... he does wear pants.. sometimes.. hahaha it is just easier for him to get his undies off by himself, if that is all he has on. Plus, it saves on the laundry.   So, we are working now on having him go by himself. He does at home... He will go in the bathroom, take care of business *so to speak* and then come out naked bottomed telling his mommy what he did on the potty. He hasn't quite gotten there here yet. He likes to be taken. So, I am encouraging him to go on his own. So... today, he tells me..."I go pee I go pee" we ran to the bathroom and I said ok. Take off your undies and lets go! He takes off his undies... moves his stool over in front of the potty... climbs up on it.. then procedes to climb onto the potty... This isn't a big surprise, he usually climbs up and sits.. Standing isn't something he is expert at yet.. and we are still trying to get the pooping thing down.... Anyway... next thing I know.. he is STANDING on the toilet seat.. peeing. It went right into the potty... not a drip anywhere but in the water!!  Then.. he climbed down and said I all done! Wash hands! Flush bye bye yuckies!  That was it.. hahaha It just really hit my funny bone, so I thought I would share.. I needed the giggle today so that was good. That is my story. Have a great day!

We just got back from Dallas! Had a great trip! This is a picture of everyone that was taken with Ezekiles camera! I now have a new favorite ring tone too! My sis Shaphan was nice enough to send me a voice clip of my little neice saying, "aunt tania you got a text!" So, easy to see why that is my favorite! Gavin did have a hard time with us not being here. He cried for Aunt T every morning, this morning, when they got here, he said... bye bye mommy! hahahaha nice to be missed!!  Hope all have a good Wednesday!

So, Ezekiel wanted something to do today... So he asked if he could make a cake. I said he could... or that he could do cupcakes if he wanted! So, he did. He made it all by himself... Mom was laying on the couch while he did all the work! He even made the frosting himself! I don't think I have ever made home made frosting that turned out that well! I spy a budding chef!!!!   I am going to put pictures of him and his cupcakes on here, along with some pics of the other boys just because!

Well, we made it through the week. Ethan finished all his tests. I will send them out tomorrow (I hope... ) That will be nice to get those in and then we can see what his grades are like. hahahaha  Ezekiel was able to finish all his make up work. He missed out on playing with his cousin 2 days this week... and then he had another play date with a good friend of his that he was going to miss out on. I told him if he didn't finish his make up work by Wed. night, he wouldn't be able to play with his friend on Thursday, or play at PE on Friday... That worked... He got it all done.. and he said he learned what not to do. So, we will pray that this is all over and we don't have any more problems with that. 
The boys seem to be enjoying the basketball with our homeschool group. I was going to take pictures, but... I forgot my camera... so I was going to use my phone. I got a couple pics.. but not very good.. because I also had a potty training BORED almost 2 year old.. so.. we went to the potty 4 times in an hour and a half.. becasue when they are training... you go when they say... and he was saying... becasue he was BORED. hahaha So, next week I will try and not forget the camera, that way I can get some good pictures. Being in the home school group this year has helped the boys get some new friends. Ezekiel has his friend David that has come over here a couple times.. And a little girl came over to me today and asked me for my phone number so she and Asher could play together sometime. So I went and talked to the mom and I think we are going to try to meet at a park. Ethan... well... he has all his friends there... I dont think he has made any new ones but I also don't think he has tried  
Hubby gets to retake his lab for his new cert either the last week of Jan or the second week of Feb. We are praying hard for the last week of Jan! He continues to do well at work. His numbers are the highest in his group which is a great thing for him. I am so proud of him. And thankful for him. God really blessed me with my honey! I praise God for his grace! I totally don't deserve this INCREDIBLE family! Love to all!