The Great Flu of 2008

We all had the flu last week. All 10 of us. It wasn't a pretty sight. Or site. Jenise and Shepherd got the flu first- with an ear ache. They were both in agony. We all pretty much got it after them pretty quick. We went to the doctor and got antibiotics and Tamiflu to help reduce the flu symptoms. We also had strep throat. It wasn't a fun week to be in our house. :)

But we survived. The neighbors were very nice and helpful- they brought over soups and some other food to help out. Very nice. :)

Sebastian

Sebastian's birthday is coming up at the end of this month. One of the following photos was taken this past weekend- and the other photo was taken in 1999. He has grown a bit since then.

Back to Ms Stella's

Until we had our house fire and had to move to North Alabama, we went to Sunday morning meeting at Ms. Stella's. She knew we were coming down to work on the house this past weekend- so she invited us to spend the night with her- which we gladly accepted. It sure was good to get back! Ms. Stella is an awesome cook- she made roast with roasted potatoes and carrots, as well as had a German Upside Down Cake and Peach Cobbler for dessert.

She also has a yard full of daffodils. We could always tell that Spring was just around the corner- because early every February- the Daffodils would begin to bloom in her yard. I think that I have taken pictures of the kids sitting in those Daffodils almost every year. Here are the photos from this past weekend. I will look for some of the older photos of the kids and post them later.

Updated Kitchen

Well, after all of the smoke had cleared- and the debris had been carted away from the fire- this was the final result. A beautifully restored house. The following photos are of the kitchen- all of the contractors and subcontractors did a really wonderful and quick job. Special thanks goes to Mr. Jim Martin- he was the contractor for this job- and he worked quickly and was patient with me as we worked through the complications of working with fire claims. A special thanks also goes out to Brian Jones of Alfa Insurance- as he was diligent in making sure that all of our needs were taken care of. Alfa Insurance really stood with us and supported us through this ordeal.

Work on House in Clanton

This past Saturday- Feb.16, we had a great day working out in the yard at the house in Clanton. The kids all pitched in and worked hard. Special thanks goes out to Ron Van Houten for coming over and helping us out- big time. He personally hauled almost 10 cuyd of mulch around the yard. His help was greatly appreciated. (You can see a glimpse of him in the second photo- dumping off another load of mulch from the wheel barrow.)

The following photos show the yard with the mulch spread around, as well as some photos of the kids helping out.

Haircut for the Boys

This past Saturday, I took the boys to BH's barbershop. BH was my barber when I was a kid. He said that he has been cutting hair now for 40 years. It was good to get back and talk with him again. The boys got a good haircut as well!



Waiting in the lobby



Shepherd needing his clothes washed as well as a haircut



The reading material in the barbershop was interesting- even upside down.



Prices. BH even does house calls. Flat tops are only a $1 more than a regular cut.



Sven ready for a cut. Boy, he WAS shaggy.



Shepherd getting a great haircut.



BH's Barber and Style

Play-Dough Master at Work

The following photos are of our 2 year old daughter, Sascha (aka- the Play-Dough Master. ) She is serious about her creations. She looks very intense.

Snow Today!

It snowed today! See the snow on the roof tops in the photo? Oh joy! Snow again in Alabama. The kids are excited- but they quickly got over it. :)

The last photo shoes how the kids would rather spend a cold, snow day.

Shoes

We require the kids to remove their shoes before entering the house. When you have a family of 10, the shoes tend to stack up outside the door. This is how our shoes are lined up outside our back door. Hmm, I notice that there are quite a few pairs of shoes missing at least one shoe- a normal occurrence that keeps happening despite our best efforts. When we are ready to go somewhere, one of the kids invariably has to spend 10 minutes looking for a missing shoe. Aargh! :)