Attica's Citizen's of the Year!

Congrats to my dad John Dill and Larry Grant of WFWR 91.5 radio station for being chosen for Attica's Citizen's of the Year and WLFI's Heroes Among Us! Well deserved!!!!

Local men heroes to Attica athletics: wlfi.com

Oh That Dusty!!!

I was going through my emails and came across this paper Dusty wrote when he was in the second grade. He is now in the 5th grade, so he would probably be embarassed that I posted it! But, he can't be anymore embarassed than his sister was when she found out he handed it in to his teacher! Or poor Steve when he saw it and Dusty made it sound like Steve does nothing around the house, when it really is quite the opposite. Steve helps out quite a bit around the house! We all got a good laugh about it then! And we will be keeping this so we can show it to his children someday! Oh, and I know this may be a little hard to read, but click on the picture. It will bring it up bigger and it's much easier to read!

All Alone and I Kinda Like It!

Sshhh, you hear that? That's right, you don't hear anything! Because it is silent in my house today! Steve is at work and the kids are at school. And I am enjoying my last federal holiday that will allow me to be home alone until Columbus day! All of the other federal holidays are also days where my family gets to be home too. The kids were supposed to be off today also, but the snowstorm a few weeks ago caused them to have to go to school today to makeup the days they missed. Don't get me wrong, I love being with my family. But sometimes it's just nice to have the house to yourself. I was starting to feel kind of bad for feeling this way. I would get on Facebook and one person is desperately missing her kids while they were at school. Another was pining for her husband while he was at work. And I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me! Why am I not missing my family? Here's the thing, I do miss my kids when they are gone somewhere for a few days. And I miss my husband when I am away from him for a day or two. But, that doesn't happen very often. I understand there are divorced people who have to be away from their kids every other weekend and on holidays. I would HATE that! So, I would probably cherish every minute I had with them. But, Steve and I aren't divorced, so we don't normally get time away from the kids. They do spend a lot of Sunday afternoons with my dad and Sharon. That is nice. I also get every other Wednesday off and they are in school. The problem with those days??? Those are the days a week that Steve is off! So, it is very rare for me to have the house to myself. I can clean without anyone being in my way. And I can have my music on while I am cleaning. As loud as I want! I can take a nap without anyone bothering me. I can watch whatever I want on the TV in the living room. It's just NICE! And I have decided I'm not going to feel bad about it! As the old saying goes "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"! Now if I can just find somewhere for the 2 dogs and 2 cats to go, It would be even better!

He's 14!!!!

Jordan turned 14 today. 14 years ago, he couldn't wait just one more day so we could have a firecracker baby and a Valentine's Day baby! Oh well, he stole my heart a day early that year! I am not sure where the time has gone. I know I still feel like the 23 girl that had him. I may not look like it, but I feel 23! It's just really hard to believe that the once super chubby baby boy has turned into the tall lanky kid that he is today. He used to say he was going to marry the two twins in his preschool class, McKenzie and McKayla and his Aunt Dawne. I think they may have some competition now as he seems to be talking to a different girl everyday! He's been busy on this birthday weekend. Yesterday, he had an all day choir concert. I picked him and his friend Bryce up from there and we met Mom and Ricky for dinner. Mom always takes the kids out to dinner for their birthdays. He really wanted Texas Roadhouse, but Mom called and said they couldn't even get into the parking lot because they were so busy. People must have all been going out for their Valentines dinners. So, we settled for Grindstone Charlies and were under strict orders not to reveal that it was his birthday. He didn't want anyone singing to him! Including me! I tried to wake him this morning singing happy birthday. He didn't love it so much... Anyway, after dinner we went to the mall so he could spend some of that birthday money that was burning a hole in his pocket. And then this morning, he went to church, then stayed after so he could help out with the Valentine's dinner there. He's been a busy boy! So, I will have to make his cake and dinner tomorrow night. It makes me weepy to think he will be 16 in just 2 years! Happy Birthday Jordan! We love you!

Love or Money? I choose Love!

I have been watching a show on VH1 called "You're Cut Off". It's about a bunch of spoiled little rich girls who's parents or husbands have grown tired of supporting them, so they cut them off. These girls are just pitiful! They lack the basic skills to take care of themselves because they have always been catered to. And they spend, spend, spend and are the some of the most ungrateful little brats you have ever seen. It's seeing people like this, that actually make me thankful that I can't give my kids everything they want. I used to feel bad that I couldn't give them whatever their little hearts desired, but as I grow older, I see my kids are far from deprived. They go to school in nice clothes. The older kids two have cell phones. They have plenty of electronic devices. They just don't have EVERY electronic device. Their cell phones are the free phones that you get with your plan and they have to do the dishes if they want to keep them. Dad and I pay for the plan, they can help us a little around the house! And my kids aren't too good to shop off of the clearance racks. In fact, they learned you get more by shopping off the clearance racks! I see how other kids act. Some act like they are entitled to anything and everything they want. And the sad thing is, their parents just give in to them! I will tell you, my kids never threw temper tantrums in the store because I wouldn't buy them something. The reason for this is because they knew a temper tantrum sure wasn't going to work with me! In fact, now they rarely ask for anything at the store. They have learned that I will probably say no, so they don't even waste their breath! Now if I offer, that's a different story!

I sometimes wondered if the kids really understood where I was coming from or they thought I was just a mean mom. Or if they thought that we were dirt poor because they didn't have everything their friends had. But Jordan eased my mind not long ago. On Halloween, we were trick or treating and there were kids everywhere. I made the comment that I was glad that we had parked and walked instead of trying to drive around with all of those little kids darting out everywhere. Dusty said "Yeah, if you hit a kid, we can get sued and we are broke". This just really hit a nerve with Jordan. He said"Dustin, we are NOT broke! There are kids in my school that wear the same thing 3 days in a row because they don't have any clothes to wear. We are NOT broke"! That just really touched my heart. It just showed me that he got it. He knows that even though he doesn't have everything he wants, he has enough and is far from deprived. And I'll never forget when Bryson was about 8 or so, that reality show "The Simple Life" with Paris Hilton was on. I asked Bryson "Wouldn't it be great to have all of that money? You could have anything you wanted!" Her response? "Mommy, if you had everything you wanted, what would you wish for?" My heart melted! Maybe my kiddos have helped to teach me a few things! I just wonder if any of the girls from that show will ever understand that life isn't about money, a fancy house or cars. And it's just sad that they have so much, but act so ungrateful and entitled! I am thankful for parents that taught me to be grateful for what I have. We didn't have a lot of money, so when we did get something nice, we appreciated it! And for the times that I didn't appear grateful, I am sorry! I now know how hard you guys worked to give us what we needed and wanted. I think that we have done a pretty good job of teaching our kids to be thankful for what they get. They are pretty darned good kids! And we are so lucky to have them!

I stole this quote from a friend's facebook page...I think it fits this subject and the way I feel about my family and my life.... "It does not matter how much money a family has. If there is enough love in the home, that family is richer than any millionaire ever could be". Yep, that pretty much sums it up!