Good News, and Bad News

Hello blog world!!! For those of you that are worried the Russell family had fallen off the earth, we haven't. We've just been REALLY, REALLY, did I say REALLY busy. But now things are starting to slow down with all the summer youth activities done and our summer vacation finished. So anyways, we have good and bad news. Which would you like first? Okay good, I'll give you the good news first. The good news is I've got alot to tell you about. I'll start soon and when I do I will do a month by month update starting with July. Now onto the bad news. The reason there hasn't been updates for a bit is because we were busy, but also I have to wonderful children who like to get into things together, and well, the oldest tied my laptop cord around his brothers ankle and when the littlest one started to run off the laptop flew off my desk and hit the wood floors. And so the 6 year old laptop bit the dust. A huge bummer to me!!! I did decide last week to pull out our almost 10 year old desktop computer. And all I can say about that is S------L---------O----------W. It is so SLOW that I can't even blog on it. My gracious hubby is letting me us his work laptop when he isn't on it, but that is few and far between. But hopefully he will let me us it long enough to get you all updated. Until then just keep checking back and I will most likely be updating without pictures to begin with and then I will add them to my Picasa account. I've got LOTS!! Okay well I've really missed the blogging world and I hope you all have missed me. Stay tuned!!!!

Oh Where is My Hairbrush

Okay, all I can say is just get used to it I suppose. There just isn't enough hours, our shall I say energy in a day for me to post. And I'm not apologizing this time like I do every time. All I can is always check back, because the post will come. So for now, just be prepared.

So, what have we been up to? Well since my last post I flew the boys down to Florida to stay with grandparents while I went with Barry and our youth group to summer camp. I'll post about that later. Anyways we flew down on Wednesday, June 24th. It was only a 48 minute flight, but I'm sure it felt like 48 hours to the flight attendant. You see, Eli is probably the WORST traveler EVER. I'm so serious too! He cries the whole time he is in the car if its more than 15-20 minutes. And I don't mean a small cry, I mean a screaming cry. It's terrible!!! So I had the brilliant idea to fly. To me a 48 minute flight of crying is WAY better than 6-7 hours of it. And so to save what little sanity I have left we flew. With this trip I realized that Eli's problem has NOTHING to do with traveling, but ALL to do with being contained or held against his own will. He hates it, I mean absolutely hates it. And well so does everyone that is traveling with him. And then to top it off, why the heck do they board people traveling with children 30-45 minutes before departure?! I came to the conclusion, they obviously DON'T have children.

Okay so anyways the trip was good once we arrived. I was there with the boys until Sunday. My mom had my nephew for the time I was in Florida. And man was that an experience within its self. It was crazy! It was pure chaos, but pure fun too. We chilled, went swimming, took pictures, and went to the beach. I was exhausted at the end of each day, and I'm not sure how my mom held up being her age and all. Love you mom! Any ways here are some photos that I took while I was there. To see more click the photo folder called June 2009 to see more. Enjoy!

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

Okay did I not tell you earlier in a post that I had A LOT of stories to tell you. Believe me they are still coming too.

Anyway as you read in an earlier post my Mamaw passed away last week. So Barry I drove up to Ohio on Thursday evening. That in its self is a whole other story which I will get to later possibly.

So okay we finally arrived in Ohio at my Nana's house on Friday afternoon. Everyone was rushing around getting ready to go to the calling hours. Isaac was a little confused because no one wanted to play with him and that I was trying to get him to take a nap so we could go to the funeral home. He kept saying that he didn't like funeral homes and he wasn't going. I would jokingly say, "well honey, no one likes funeral homes, but we have to go tell Mamaw bye." He fought the nap and I eventually gave up. I knew once we got in the car he would crash out.

Well as I got myself cleaned up Barry got the boys ready. As Barry was getting Isaac ready he started talking to him about what we were getting ready to do. He told Isaac that a funeral home is a place where we go to tell family and friends good bye and to show their family that we loved the person and them. He also told them that the people were in there and they were like asleep but forever. We get in the car and like I said, Isaac was asleep before we ever got out of my Nana's neighborhood. We decided to take a detour because traffic was ridiculous and I figured Isaac could stand to sleep as long as we could let him. We finally arrive at the funeral home and I get Isaac out of the car. I tell him that we were there, at the funeral home. He seriously set straight up and said, "Yea! I get to see my friends that are sleeping for long time!"
And if that doesn't make you laugh then the next happening will.

We walk into the building and there are people, strangers, every where. My mom met us and Isaac wanted to go with her to find his beach Nana (that is what he calls my Nana). So she took him into the calling room where family and Mamaw were. And as she walked him up to the front he very seriously and worriedly says, "Hey...why her head laying up in that box little Nana?"

Its always nice to get a good laugh in situations like that isn't it?

Oops

Okay so I was going thru some pictures that I had downloaded awhile back, like February, and found this shot of Eli. He had gotten a hold of one of Isaac's markers and well, you can tell what happened. Just thought it was cute because he is looking at the camera like he is posing for head shot at the police department.

Happy Father's Day

Just want to wish my dad a Happy Father's Day.

Dad thanks for being such a great example to my boys and Barry. And thanks for loving me for me and always encouraging me to be my own individual. For letting me make mistakes, and then helping me pick up the pieces when I failed. And most of all thanks for showing me how to parent. I love you Daddy!!!

Boy, Oh Boy!

A few Sundays ago I brought the boys home from church and was fixing them lunch. Isaac had gone into our bathroom to use it and Eli was in his booster seat. All the sudden Isaac yells for me to come in to the bathroom with him.

Momma come here!!!
What Isaac?! I'm fixing lunch.
I need to tell you somefing.
Okay I'm coming buddy.
Hey momma! Guess what?!
What buddy? Hurry Eli is fussing.
My wiener say, (in a funny squeaky voice) "I need to go pee pee butt."
Oh really, your wiener said that bud?
Yeah and then my butt say, (in a deep silly voice) "No wiener you not go pee pee. I go poopy."
Momma did you hear that?

Oh dear me. There is too much testosterone in my house!!!!

A Life Lived

Once again I apologize for the time span between posts. But believe me a lot has gone on and I've got the stories to prove it. Just hold on and you will see.

June 15, 1918- June 10, 2009

First off I want to take a moment to remember my Mamaw, June Argabright. She passed away last Wednesday, June 10th after living a very LONG blessed life. She would have been 91 years old this past Monday (June 15), but I guess God wanted to celebrate that birthday with her instead of us with her. My Mamaw was an amazing women. Every time I saw her she would have this catching smile on her face.

I'm not sure if it was always there or if I brought that smile to her face, but she always had it when I was around. She was fun and always put it straight to you whether you wanted to hear it or not. She leaves behind her wonderful husband, my Papaw, Ish. She has 4 children, 11 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren (two of those are mine). When Isaac was born we began the 5th generation. How many of you can say that?

Any ways she was a women who never judged, she might tell you what she thought of the decisions you were making, but she never judged you and she always loved you. She was always concerned about her family and wanting to help them out. I love(d) her and will miss her SO much. I just hope that I get the privilege of living that long of a life and blessing my family like she has blessed hers. You will be missed deeply Mamaw, we love you.

Tarzan the Monkey Boy

Here is how it all started...

I'm outside sitting on my wonderful screened in back porch and I look in thru our glass french doors and see Isaac swinging to and fro, like Tarzan, on my curtains.

"Isaac what do you think you're doing?" I said

"I being a monkey boy, and swinging," he said.

"Well you're not Tarzan the monkey boy so don't swing on my curtains. You're going to pull the rod out of the wall and then I will be very sad and probably cry," I said.

"Stop it mama. You're silly," he said as he gets off the curtains and goes about his business of annoying his little brother.


Here is how it ended...

The next day Barry and I have a Senior Banquet at church for all of our seniors. We got our wonderful sitter Katie to come over. And....

My cell phone vibrates.

"Hello," I answer.

"Nikki its Katie, and well I was changing Eli, getting him ready for bed, and..." she begins.

All sorts of things start racing thru my imaginative mind, like he fell, got sick, so on. So I say very calmly, "Okay."

"Well Isaac was swinging on the curtain at the back doors, and well they fell down....I'm sorry." She said.

I very calmly responded, "Oh my, okay, well sit him in time out and don't worry its no big deal."

She very softly said, "I'm sorry and okay."

And we got off the phone.

Well, we get home and saw the damage, not bad at all actually, and I even like it better with out the curtains. Any ways I asked Katie how everything went other than the curtain mishap and she said fine. She then went on to inform me that as soon as the curtain rod feel, that Isaac grabbed his face (just picture the Home Alone kid here) and said, "Oh NO mommy is going to be very sad and probably cry."

Hey at least he remembers what I had told him the day before. It's just to bad he didn't stay off of them. Oh well, I can't fret the small stuff right.