Coby Jack Tinsley

I uploaded these pictures in the opposite order that they showed up, and I'm too lazy to switch it!

This has been both a fun and sad week. Well, and crazy, but that is really a given! So...we went on our 5 hour trip, as I posted before, and I still intend to get photos up from that trip. On our way back, we picked up baby H, a friend's little girl, and we watched her until Thurs. We got home on Sat., and our dog Maggie was in the front yard. The dogs (Coby and Maggie) are always in the back yard and we don't let them out on purpose. We hollered for Coby, but he never came. On Sunday Autumn went to pick up little cousin B to keep him for a week (yep, that's 2 extra little ones) and I took some of the girls to church. Me and my crew drove around looking for Coby near us, but didn't find him. So I called Autumn to tell her of our failed search, and she told me the news.......He was on the side of the highway just 1/2 mile from our home. DEVASTATED!!!!!!!! I yelled......not the right reaction, but I yelled......then I apologized to the girls later. Coby was my dog. I didn't even want ONE dog when we got Maggie. But Maggie is such a great dog, and something in me just wanted one for myself. So we went to the shelter and picked out Coby. We all loved this dog. Sister 3, A, especially loved him. Of course she loves all creatures, but her and Coby just seemed to bond really well: they both push REALLY hard on you when lovin on you, they both can STINK up a room, they are both stubborn, and they are both really loving and sweet. So when we told the girls........of course we were all just heart-broken. So how did they get out of the yard? Well, we have this neighbor who has a son who is mentally challenged, and we have had lots of situations where we had to call the sheriff on him. He had let our dog out before, so there were locks on the gate, but he loosened the fence at the corner and let them out. So, I realize this is "just a dog" to most people, but this was part of our family and we have to figure out how to help ourselves and our kids grieve.
Of course there were tons of questions and they just couldn't believe it. S kept saying, Toby wouldn't run into the street. He knows to watch for tars.
It has just been so sad. So we decided we all needed closure, and today we had a "service" for Coby. We let the girls pick out their clothes and how to do their hair, and we picked a tree to be "Coby's tree". We gathered some "flowers" from the field and all said a few words about him. S had been praying for God to help Coby, and A informed her that we can't pray for dead people. A: When people die, they already made their decision and they are either with God or the devil. Like Elvis. He did bad drugs and now he's with the devils but maybe he's with God but it won't help if we pray for Elvis, so we can't pray for Coby either.

Did you follow that? Well, welcome to our world of following random thoughts! So we made it clear that in our service, we would just say words ABOUT Coby not TO Coby, cause we can't talk to dead people or animals!

When we headed out to the "service" S thought we were going to the church. Makes perfect sense....we always have service at the church! She asked, Is everyone going to tome and say something about Toby?

So we had our service. They said how they liked Coby to follow them around, wake them up in the mornings, cuddle with them at nights, etc. M sang a song about Coby. There were tears. It really was sweet!

We love Coby very much, and the girls are ready to love another dog, but I'm not so sure I am ready for another dog. Autumn loves to look at the dog shelters websites anyway, so she already had some in mind to look at. I don't know how soon we will get another dog, but the girls have enjoyed looking at the pictures of dogs. S doesn't seem to have an opinion on any of the dogs. H gets stuck on a few that she really likes, but she would go for whatever. She asks us about ever 2 or 3 hours if we have filled out the application for a dog yet. A wants another dog, but she looks at me to get my reaction before she decides if she wants that dog. M begs for every dog we look at. I told her We can't just get every dog we look at. We saw a lot of kids at the shelter before we got you. If we would have just gotten the first ones, we wouldn't have you! We have to wait for the right one, not just the first ones. She understood perfectly and hasn't pushed anymore!

So, why was our week fun? Well we had those two precious babies visiting, and we had TONS of fun! Really, I think that was the Lord's timing that the two babies were with us. They helped to keep our minds off of Coby. Also, I was working a day camp this week and M and H attended this camp. We had SO much fun! Our town puts the camp on and we focus on healthy eating and anti-bullying. We also have a lot of fun activities.....soccer, archery, tennis, golf, art......it is TONS of fun! So it has been a good week, even in the midst of heart ache. Good thing our joy comes from the Lord and doesn't depend on our circumstances!

Confession

You better becareful if you are pouting or crying around me if I have a camera in my hand. I WILL turn around and take a picture and THEN try and figure out what is wrong!

I really love this picture of A. I don't know why.....poor girl is crying, but I still love this picture.

There she is..........littlest sister throwing one of her famous fits!

So why am I showing you pictures of my children crying and pouting? You might be thinking: what in the world is she thinking?

Well, I have a little confession............I started this little blog here to document little moments, conversations, and occasions in my life that I just don't want to forget. However, I guess I just ASSUMED that people might leave comments and tell me what they think! Yeah, so I guess I'll be a little pouty and selfish.............LEAVE ME A COMMENT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE!!!!!!!(Imagine me crossing my arms in front of me, stomping my feet and whining REAL bad while saying this!) Just kidding.......actually I'm sitting on my bed and laughing at myself cause I think I'm real funny!

Little Fishy

Like I've said before, I'm trying to remember funny or great stories from the past and document them before I forget them. So we will go back to the time when we first got A. She had turned 3 a few months before, so, as you can imagine, our new little 3 year old talked so cute. She didn't say her r's (still doesn't and she's 6). Her "r" sounded more like the "y" sound, and her "ck" was a "t" sound. So when she said, I like your car....it sounded like......I lite youwr tie. Her "g" sounded like a "d". So when she said...."good job".......it sounded like......"dood job"
I know we are supposed to really help kids talk right, but it is so cute when they don't. I know, I know......it isn't going to be cute if they still talk that way when they are 18, but it was really cute at age 3. Her little raspy voice just made it all the cuter!
Also, her "f" sounded like a "b" and her "sh" had more of the "ch" sound. So, with all of this in mind, let me tell you a little story about this little girl, and every time she speaks in the story, you have to read it out loud and pronounce it as she would..........if you don't do it, the story just won't be that good. Also, when you are saying her lines, you have to say it in a raspy little voice. Ok, so you don't have to do the raspy little voice, but you do have to pronounce things the way she would.
We got A beginning of March, and we went to my aunt's house for Easter. I'm thinking this was their(aunts, uncles and cousins) first time to meet A, but even if wasn't their first time to meet her, it was their first time to be around her for very long at all. So, my aunt got the girls a little fishy game........the game where the little fish "swim" around and you have to catch them with the little poles. Of course the girls wanted to play the game. "Please tan I play the dame?"
So we let them play. M and A were playing at the table, and we were all around, not really paying attention, but just talking, relaxing, etc. I hear M say: "You better come here ya little fishy. I'm gonna get you ya little fish!"
Of course, A wants to mimic everything that her oldest sister does, so she repeated everything. Now, just remember all of the pronunciation rules I stated earlier, and imagine you are us......sitting around just kind of listening.
This is what we hear: "Tome here you little fish ("f" ="b" sound and "sh" = "ch" sound) I'm donna det you ya little fish." It took us all a while to figure out that she was talking about a fish, not a naughty word!

Fast forward a few months to August. Autumn asked the girls what they wanted to get me for my birthday. A was VERY quick to decide EXACTLY what she wanted to get me. "a birthday party and a fish". Remember the proununciation rules.....Autumn forgot the Easter incident and apparently we didn't talk about fish alot, so Autumn did not recognize the "fish" word. Autumn had her repeat her wishlist a few times, and every time, it sounded the same. Why in the world would A want to get THAT, and how does she know that word anyway??? So my birthday passed, and A got me a birthday party. No fish. Autumn just couldn't understand what she wanted. It wasn't until a couple of months later that A was looking in some water that had tadpoles in it and she was saying: "I'm donna det you little fish". Autumn realized that she really wanted to get me a fish..........not the other thing!

Are we there yet?

This weekend was fast and furious. We left on Thursday afternoon and travelled 5 hours for our step-sister's wedding, stayed Thursday night and Friday night, came back Saturday, plus a few more things this weekend. So it was just plain crazy! BUT, it was SO much fun! Our friend Becky went with us on our 5 hour trip, so it was 7 of us in a 7 passenger van. Good thing Becky is easy-going and doesn't mind screaming girls on the 5 hour trip! The girls really do pretty well on trips. You know...there ARE those screaming fits from the 2 little girls, but IF they go to sleep, they do much better! Well, too bad S didn't go to sleep! We started this 5 hour trip, but Becky had to stop at the post office, and it was more on the way to stop at the town 15 min. away instead of go back to the one in town. So we got to the post office and pulled in to drop off the mail, and yep, we got THE question.....Are we there?

REALLY???????? And can you guess which girl said this???????...............Probably most of you guessed sister 3, A..............and you would be right. Yes, that is how we started this 5 hour trip.

We get a little further (couple of hours maybe) and the question comes again............and again........and again. We try to give creative answers besides......No, not yet. We gave answers like......well, we are here, not there, but we are here....(we were hoping this would just confuse them! And we gave answers like....yep, we're here, do you like it? But, saying the same things over and over to that same terrible question becomes not funny fast even to Becky and I, who laugh at EVERYTHING. so we told them to NOT ask that ANYMORE!!! We were getting pretty close, so Autumn told them, Girls, it will take about an hour to get there.......that's about 2 episodes of Full House. Full house is their new favorite show. They think it is new and wonderful, and they even wonder if the Tanners are real and want to take them on vacation with us. We are just fine with them watching Full House because even the "good" disney or other shows, just have an attitude about them. Not that they are terrible, we just don't want our girls to watch them all the time at the house. Believe me, they don't need any help with attitude....they have plenty......and more to share! So......back to the car story.........we get about 15 min. from our destination on our 5 hour trip, we (the adults) are in full conversation about something, and I'm sure littlest sister wasn't happy about something cause she was pretty grumpy cause she didn't have a nap, and H yells out from the back..........Is Full House almost over?

My first thought was......Oh poor girl......she doesn't know that Full House was over before she was born! But then Autumn reminded me what she said about it taking 2 Full House shows to be there. Wow..........good job miss H for finding a new and creative way for asking the age-old question.............ARE WE THERE YET??????????????

I will post pictures from the trip later!

The "C" word....

You know you've heard those words...."Mom.....she said the F-word!" Or whatever word they said. We all dread when our children say naughty words! We all dread when our kids will do naughty things...but we know it will happen. SEVERAL times, one of the girls have come in and said....She said the F word. To which we ALWAYS reply.....What is the F word? The response? FART......ok, yeah, that isn't bad. But we say, Well, that isn't a nice word, but it isn't a BAD word, but we just don't use it because we want to act like little ladies!

This has also happened with the S word. Trinity......(this is always said with the high, whiny, I'm tattling voice)....she said the "S" word!!!!!! Of course again we reply.....what is the "s" word? And the answer??? STUPID or SHUT UP. Again, we go over the face that those are not nice words and we need to say nice things from our mouths.

So, today, Autumn was at home with the girls. A comes up in the tattle, whiny voice......Autumn......M said the "c" word!

So this one is easy......she must have said crap (a word we NEVER use in our home!). But we have NEVER heard ANY of the girls use that word.....what in the world? But, smart Autumn asked....What is the "c" word?

The answer?????? HATE

Yep, the "c" word is hate!

Don't mess with my sister!

I love my sisters. I love that we are close. I don't know what I would do without my sisters! Our girls are close. They are truly best friends, especially the little girls and the big girls.

People ask me all the time if the girls fight......well, yeah....they do. They fuss more than they fight. But you know...they just pick at each other. BUT if someone ELSE tries to pick on one of their sisters, then WATCH OUT!!!!! Let me just tell you a story about that one.

The girls ride the bus for a SHORT time across town to meet Autumn at her work. In that VERY SHORT time one day, there was a new boy at the school who rode the bus and boy did he make the wrong move. This boy, who is in the same grade as sister 2, H, is the kind of boy who likes to pick on people. Let's just say he visited the Principal's office the first day of school. So this boy got on the bus and started to pick on H. Nothing bad I don't think, just picking on her because he knew her from class. Well, he picked the WRONG girl to pick on, let me tell you! Sister 3 and 4, yes, the littlest sisters went right over to him, and started punching him. Yes they did! Well, A had gotten stung by something, and it had started to swell, so we sent some antiseptic spray...actually we went and personally gave the spray to the teacher. What we did not count on was the teacher sending the spray home with A in the outer pocket of her backpack. So what does the girl do when she feels her sister is being threatened by the big mean boy? Not only did the two of them punch this kid, but A pulled out the spray and sprayed him in the face with it! Yep, she did! Oh dear, what do we do with these girls? I don't think we will have to work on the area of self defense, or should I say sister defense! So this 8 or 9 year old got beat up by a 4 and 5 year old! Let's just say that this kid did NOT pick on ANY of the girls again!

Yep..................I LOVE sisters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What if I were God.....

At the beginning of the school year, Autumn would drive 3 of the girls to school then go on to school herself, and I would take A to her school, then go on to work. As the year went on, we got smart and drove together. However, I do miss my one-on-one time with A in the car for those few minutes. She is a question asker, to put it lightly! She is a thinker...her mind goes from something very thought-provoking and deep to something very off-the-wall in a second! I never knew what I would get in the car in the mornings as far as conversation goes. So one morning, she was fairly quiet and I had the radio on. Sometimes, although I hate to admit it, when the radio is on, I get to listening to the radio conversation and completely tune out the girls and give them the oh yeah, or that's nice, every once in a while. Well her question caught my attention this particular morning. She says: What if I were God?

me: Well, what if you were God? What would you do?

A: Well, pwobly I'd die on the cwoss.

Hmmmmm.........she's really thinking this morning! Me: Yep, I guess you would die on the cross if you were God......well you'd send your son Jesus to the earth, but that would really be you...nevermind.......yep you'd die on the cross.

Then she crossed her little arms and threw them against her chest, got her best pouty face and whiny voice almost crying and said: Hmmmmmmfffffffffff I don't want to die on the cwoss!

Me: It's ok, A, you don't have to die on the cross. Jesus already died on the cross for us...that's why we...... (I was interrupted.......)

A: Do you think Elvis is in heaven?

Oh my this girl.........she is one funny girl!

So the next morning, I was anxious to see what kind of theological discussion we could get into. So I say: So, A, tell me something deep.

A: Water....She didn't miss a beat! Yep, she's right, water is deep!