A little bit about these girls.

Saturday and Sunday has been filled with kids. Lots and lots of kids! Just like last weekend I had all of the girls here. From Left to Right: Alysa, Stella, Paige, Madison, and Emma. What you don't see is Keri and her boyfriend in the living room watching a movie. I can say that all of them are really good kids.

We have done everything over the weekend. The weather stunk and most of them had colds, making it a challenge to keep them all entertained. Emma played Hide and Seek for a little while with Keri.

She hid in the clothes that I needed to fold. Keri found her with the camera. Emma is only 3, but she is a little too smart for her own good. Both her and her sister Madison are attention needy at times and rarely get along on anything. If we can, we keep them doing seperate activities to avoid the fighting.

Emma likes to sneak off when you’re not looking and I think that she is the perfect child to have around the house. She becomes a great teaching tool for a teenager that needs to learn patience.

Madison however wants what everybody else has. She is only 6 years old and is built like a little tank. I have to keep an eye on her all the time. If she is not the center of attention, she will do something; anything to get that attention. Good or bad, it won't matter. With the right influence however, she is a good girl. Usually all it takes is a little firm tone and she's easily refocused on behaving herself. These two don't have a steady father figure in their lives, unfortunately, which means they love to climb all over me. Having them around is always entertaining to say the least.

Their Mom works on the weekend, goes to school during the weekdays and goes to Port Richards whenever she gets the chance. So, I can kinda expect them back next weekend.

Alysa is like having a second mother around, especially with Emma. Anytime Keri or I need an extra hand in dealing with their rougher moments she steps right up to help. She’s very capable in redirecting their attention onto better things to do and appears to instinctively know what is troubling them. Alysa is the more sensitive and sensible one, between her and her sister Paige. Alysa is 9 years old and Paige is 7. They are both cheerleaders and are good playing by them self. Stella, being 8 falls right in between them. Paige and Stella are in the same class, but after school it’s Alysa who asks for Stella to stay over. The two of them have a lot in common. She's the one that has talked Stella into becoming a cheerleader. Yeah for me!! Now I have to deal with Pom Poms too.

Paige is the stubborn one. She’s abrupt and tells it like it is, whether you like the answer or not. With me she doesn’t seem to be too difficult to deal with; maybe, because she’s a lot like me. I find it easier to deal with her by explaining things more clearly to her. If she understands what you are wanting from her and why, then regardless of whether or not she likes it; she will do as you ask. She won’t allow the other kids to take advantage of her. If you made her a promise, you had better remember it. She will!

With all of these kids over this weekend, I still managed to find time to clean the house a little and keep the basic chores caught up. By Sunday evening, it was time for all of them to go to their own homes. I found myself chatting with a friend online, texting Karla via my cell phone and brushing the girl's hair out all at the same time. I feel for you ladies that have long hair and I'm glad that the army requires me to keep mine short.

-Ken