Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas. We went to bed early last night,10ish, and got up around 5:30. I remember as a kid getting my poor parents up as early as 4 am. Chuck and I just couldn't sleep! It was pouring rain and continued until about 11 am or so and now the sun is trying ever so hard to break through the clouds. We enjoyed Christmas dinner last night which consisted of Prime Rib (a real treat as we rarely eat beef), broccoli and carmelized onion salad, smashed potatoes(Jen made), and Yorkshire pudding which I had never even tasted before but it was fabulous! I could get into real weight trouble with that. John made a beautiful and tasty Christmas pie. I have no idea what we will have today. The leftovers were not many. We ate like field hands. LOL! Tim gave a very nice blessing beforehand as we understand how fortunate we are to be so blessed. We will be visiting family in a few days and look forward to that. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Eve Eve

Just a quick note about this photo. Doesn't Santa look a bit grinch-like? No wonder most of the kids were crying. Michael was quite brave though and wanted to hug him and Santa kept unhugging(is that a word). Anyway, Ho Ho Ho, or rather He He He.

Home from NYC @ Christmastime!

We are back from New York City and boy did we have fun! So much fun! My eyes have seen so much that they are so tired! Skating at Rockefeller Center, the giant Toys R Us with a real ferris wheel just inside the front door, the Wax Museum (of course we had to vist there!), Little Italy, Chinatown and SoHo, Entire State Building(as Michael calls it), Statue of Liberty, and the World Trade Center Site which was so moving and sad. My goodness! It is still so hard to believe that those towers are really gone until you see it. So sad.

We also, just last night, saw U2 in concert in Charlotte at the new Bobcats arena and that was a spectacular show. Wow! What a busy 5 days we have had. It feels nice to have no place in particular to have to be this morning. Now I need to concentrate on Christmas decorating. Our tree is still not up. Hopefully we will be done this weekend. I am so ready to settle down a bit.

Day After Thanksgiving Bonfire

Our neighbors invited a few of us to gather round the fire to share in some good times. It was fun and the s'mores were yummy! I think Michael enjoyed himself the most. He was Mr. Entertainment. I look forward to the next one!

December 19

This is eerie how closely this describes me. I don't go for horoscopes or astrology but I wonder how they came up with this?

***Your Birthdate: December 19***

You are resilient, and no doubt your resilience has already been tested.
You've had some difficult experiences in your life, but you are wise from them.
Having had to grow up quickly, you tend to discount the advice of others.
You tend to be a loner, having learned that the only person you can depend on is yourself.

Your strength: Well developed stability and confidence

Your weakness: Suspicion of others

Your power color: Eggplant

Your power symbol: Spade

Your power month: October

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatdoesyourbirthdatemeanquiz/

Cirque Du Soleil

We had a grand time at Varekai this weekend! I would post photos but cameras or recording devices are not allowed inside. It was very exciting and each member of the family enjoyed themselves thoroughly. What fun!

Other Grand News! Our friends', the Benjamins, baby was born and they should soon be on their way home from Florida with their new bundle of baby boy joy! We can't wait to meet him!!! They are waiting on adoption papers to be signed by the all the proper authorities and then they will be home. Yippee!!

Davis' 15th Birthday

As promised, a photo of Davis' birthday, although a few days later. I can't believe my sweet little Davis is so grown up. He came into our family at a very difficult time and had a mom who was out of it for the first year of his life, but he couldn't be a kinder, gentler soul. Last night was his first swim practice ever. He says it feels good to be in a sport again. Jen has really been looking out for him, getting his gear together for him and showing him the ropes. I'll be making the trek to Pfieffer University everyday for a while I guess.

October Birthdays

I'm going to try real hard to catch up for the month of October. Michael turned 5 and Davis turned 15. I have been so slack in my journaling this past month. I've been reading a lot which has taken up writing time. I read "A Widow's Walk" by Mariann Fontana and I just finished "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. Both stories are true and heart wrenching but for vastly different reasons. The first is the story of a 9-11 firefighter widow. The second is about a severe drug/alcohol addict. I will not soon forget either book.

We took Michael to Chuck E. Cheese on the 13th for his birthday. He loved it. He was aces at skeeball! It was just the family and then home for cake and presents. He is such a pawootie!

Tomorrow, hopefully, photos of Davis' party. Have a great day!

Finished Object

I just finished Jenileigh's sweater. She chose purple 100% Peruvian Alpaca wool and it was so soft and so nice to knit with. When she tried it on the for the first time she couldn't get it over her head as I had bound it off a bit too tightly. So, I "tinked" (knit backwards) back two rows and bound off with needles  two sizes larger and voila! Now the boys are lining up to be the next one in line for me to knit them a sweater. I better get busy huh? Have a great week!

First Day of PreSchool

Yesterday was Michael's first day of Pre School. It is his last year "at home" before he goes off to kindergarten. I can't believe how much he has grown. My  baby...

Katrina

My thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by the Hurricane. It is so much worse than we anticipated, though I had a very bad feeling about Katrina before she hit Florida. Please send money if you can to the Red Cross or other organizations found here: http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/animal_environ/hurricanes/?source=AOL&cmpgn=NEWS&RTP=http://news.channel.aol.com

Second Day of School

The second day of school has come and gone. Everyone seems happy with their new year. John loves the challenge of the third grade year. He likes being treated like a more mature and responsible person. This is good for his self esteem. Jen is challenged by a bunch of honors classes and Davis is also. So far so good.

First Day of School is here!

Once again, back to school. I feel the usual feeling of ...how does the time fly by so quickly? -and every other cliche....my babies, my babies. I pray they have a perfect day. They are all excited and nervous at the same time. I can't wait to hear how it all went.

A Spot of Tea

Here are the boys enjoying some chai tea. They love it so much they have it everyday with lunch. They are becoming quite English. They have it with 1/2 and 1/2 and sugar in the raw. All of the kids drink it as do I but Tim doesn't care for it. He just loves his coffee too much. Tea has so many things going for it and I do like the English. My favorite shows on the telly (LOL) are on BBC America. Anyone heard of Footballer's Wives(drama) or Coupling(comedy)? The Office was a hoot too, but it has stopped showing. The american version is not nearly as funny to me. If you get a chance, watch em. :)

A New Sweater

Here is Tim modeling his sweater that I finished up last week. It is by no means perfect but wearable. He seems to really like it, bless him. With the 90 degree weather we've been having he won't be wearing it anytime soon. I am now working on one for DD. She picked out some pretty purple alpaca wool. It is so very soft and lovely to the touch. I'm also working on cotton dishcloths for teacher gifts at Christmas. Dishcloths are easy and I need something mindless after working on more difficult things. After the camera battery recharges I will post more WIP(works in progress).

Love to Laugh

Michael slept in a little this morning so he missed the early morning pancakes. I set my coffee down on the table near him while I cut and warmed up his pancakes. I gave them to him and walked back toward the fridge asking, "Do you want some milk?" and he says just so deadpan...."No, that's okay, I've got coffee." (He does not drink coffee) Anyway, I laughed and said...."You are so funny! You could be a comedian when you grow up." and then he said..."What's a comedian?" to which I answered..."A comedian is someone who makes people laugh as their job."

Michael responded so very seriously..."Mama, that's a clown."

My new favorite movie is "March of the Penguins". It really is a love story. I read an article about how the movie studios were reluctant to release wintry type movie in the middle of summer, but I have to say it was perfect. Besides, the movie theaters keep their thermostats down to about 60 degrees so you feel icy to begin with and all that wind and snow blowing around you feel quite cold, which isn't a bad thing when the temperature outside hovers around the mid 90's. Anyone that enjoys a good love story and nature should really go see this movie. Morgan Freeman narrates and I could listen to him read the Iliad. It is rated G and I think family movies should get as much support as possible to prove to Hollywood they can succeed and people will come to the movies if we aren't assaulted by profanity, vulgarity and violence. Okay, stepping off soapbox.

Well, we'll be off to Charlotte for an othodontist appointment. Have a great day!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Summer is here for sure. Today it is supposed to hit triple digits. It would be a good day to stay inside but the kids want me to run them around to various places. John wants to spend birthday money and Michael wants to help him. Davis is meeting up with a friend at the movies. I may break down and go myself. I've been interested in the "March of the Penguins" movie. It is rated G so I could take the little ones. I just love penguins. They are adorable, especially the babies.

I have an appointment with a cardiologist on Thursday as I have developed a new heart murmur. I am NOT looking forward to the visit. Hopefull it will be alright though. Most likely the murmur has developed from the radiation I had to the lung/chest area 14 years ago. But hey, I'm here today because of the treatments, and by the grace of God so be it.

I came across this picture.....

I was looking through old pictures today, scanning some that were taken before digitial and I found this, which is one of the few pictures of myself I don't mind. It is rare, so don't expect to see more pictures of me. LOL!

Our Garden

Check out our garden. Tim built this contraption and it actually works pretty well. No weeding and it cuts down on pests. Tim loves a challenge. :)

Family

On Friday we had a small family reunion with members of both sides of my parent's family. It was so good to see all our loved ones. Chuck hadn't seen some of them in about 20 years or so.

Back from the Beach

We are back from the beach and this morning I just said good-bye to my mom and dad, brother and 8 year old son. He is going to spend time with grandparents in Mississippi. It is sad but very quiet around here. We had so much fun at the beach as you can probably tell from the photos.

The younger two made the paper!

John and Michael both made the newspaper the last month of school. They were so proud. John even got interviewed for helping write a booklet on the History of Mount Pleasant. How fun! Michael was included with his class, about half of which were going on the Kindergarten. He still has one more year of preschool and then on to the elementary school. Time is going by so quickly.

Completed Project!

I finished my first really hard project and I can't believe how prettily it turned out! This is so cool! It's a wool tote that you throw in the wasing machine when you're done and it felts. Here are some before and after pictures of the bag. It is a bit hot to use for the summer but it will be nice for the fall/winter. It took me about 2 months of knitting off and on to complete. My fingernails do not like wool. They get very dry and brittle when I knit with it. I'm not sure what to do about that. However, I am looking forward to knitting another. I purchased purples for the next one. We'll see.

Watched the season finale of "Lost". It really made my blood run cold when the boat people took Walt. I cannot wait until the fall to see the new episodes. I have never gotten so caught up in a show. Really intriguing. I hope they don't have some lame story line. But knowing the JJ Abrams creator it will be amazing. I also discovered a great website at abc.com to get little hints and clues. Cool and a bit spooky.

Well, Tim has taken off the bubble from the pool and I guess we will be swimming in the sunshine for the rest of the summer. Gotta go dig out the sunscreen (or not according to new medical findings and vitamin D). All puppies and people are doing well. Looking forward to a nice long summer. The kids don't go back til August 25th!

 

 

Summer is about to begin. Kids have one more day of school. Wow! That school year went by fast, but then again, they all do.

Prom 2005

Prom has come and gone. Here are some pictures! I think she had fun!

Another Gorgeous Spring Day

The play IS the thing. DD was wonderful! Hard to believe that's my baby girl up there transporting the audience into the story. I think she has the bug. So many people came up to me and said she had found her calling and what a natural she was. I hope now she will believe dear huby and I when we tell her. She would always say that we had to say those things because we are her parents...Come on Girl, you are good! DS#1 saw it for the first time on closing night and at the end gave her the biggest hug. He wouldn't let go. I guess he couldn't believe it either. Whew! What a night! There was cast party after the play was over at one of the girls' homes with a bonfire and tons of food. I know she was glad it was all over! For more play pictures, click on My Photos under Favorite Sites on the left side.

Now it's off to church. Tim and I are filling in for the 4 year olds' Sunday School class. Have a blessed day!

The Play's the Thing

An update....all the puppies have been sold except the one we are keeping. Her name is Baby Bella and she looks just like her mama. It is remarkable how well she has taken to house training. She is rambunctious and wild as young pups should be. The Yorkie and the pup are at extreme odds these days. Precious does not find the humor in a clumsy ball of energy trying to tackle her. Baby Bella outweighs Precious by more than half so you see the reason for fear on the Yorkie's part.

Tim's mom is here for a few weeks and she got to attend a play last night that DD is in. She plays Anita in West Side Story. I didn't get to go last night but I intend on going tonight with Deb and Dave. From all the reviews, DD does a fabulous job. They have no microphones so her training in projection really helps her be heard. She also has some dance scenes and dancing was never her thing but they say she did very well. I am so excited for her.

DS #1 is still in the Outer Banks with the Academically Gifted English class. They will be back tonight. They left Weds. morning and traveled all the way east and then south spending the night along the way. He has called me three times so far. One time was for permission to take and Advil due to a headache. Poor guy. He is such a homebody and does not do well if he stays up late at night. I bet this is what happened. Anyway....

DS#2 was quite impressed with his sister's performance. I think he saw a new side to her. He really wants to stay home from school today, but I won't let him. He missed school Monday picking up his Grandmama.

After the play last night we celebrated Mrs. W's birthday with cake and presents. I think she was surprised! What fun. Sadly though, DS#3 missed the festivities as he fell asleep long before they all got home. I had to stay home with him as both babysitters were in the play, DD and Hannah. As with most things we do, we must attend in shifts. Ha ha.

Well, better run do laundry. We are drowning in it. I can barely get into the laundry room. Ciao for now.

Puppies for Sale

Lab Puppies for Sale......Aren't they adorable?

Fancy Hair

DD got her hair done in an updo in a trial run in preparation for prom in April. I thought it looked pretty cute. Her dress is very sparkly, peach strapless and looks so pretty. I will, of course, post pics after prom.

Puppies are Growing Up

The puppies are growing as you can see!! The first picture was about a week and a half ago and now they are already weaned. Time for them to find new homes. Anyone need a labrador retriever? All is well and good here. God Bless you all.

Sad News

We got up this morning and one of the black male puppies had died. He was just off to the side and looked like he was sleeping but didn't make movement towards nursing.  We can't figure out why. He was so big and healthy looking. All the experts say it is not unusual and expected to lose one, maybe two puppies in a litter, but it is still very hard. We are all sad this morning. :( I hope that no more die. I'll keep you posted.

Puppies, Puppies Everywhere!

Our New Lab Puppies!!! Poor Mama Duchess looks beat!

Jen Turns Sixteen!

Happy Birthday to you! My sweet baby girl is sixteen! I cannot believe it! Where has the time gone....into the wrinkles around my eyes and the grays in my hair, that's where. I imagine more grays as she drives alone for the first little while. Aaaa!

Davis is really getting good on the skateboard. He ought to be. He's on it enough. Ha!

Brrrrr! Cold!

23 degrees......and snow! It's been snowing this morning, though it has stopped for now. We are supposed to have more this afternoon and evening, mostly sleet and freezing rain. Tonight we are celebrating Jen's birthday! She turns sixteen tomorrow but being the busy teen she is, she has other plans for tomorrow so we will celebrate tonight. We are having her favorite meal, salmon and Alhoa salad. Should be yummers.

Duchess is growing bigger by the day. Her puppies are due at the middle or end of February. Should be some excitement around here for a while(like there's not enough already!)

Well, I better get back to birthday prep. I also want to start knitting a cap...we gotta keep our heads warm now!

Happy MLK Day!

Today there is no school, which I did not realize until about 3:00 yesterday afternoon. We could have gone somewhere! Of course, Tim is not off, so that wouldn't have worked out too well, would it? He is off tomorrow. We may go have lunch together. That would be fun and a change of pace for us both. I really wish we could go to a movie as well. My choice would be "Phantom of the Opera". I have the soundtrack and have been listening to it everyday. Sad that I can't get out to the movie theater. I guess I'll get it on DVD. Jen has been singing along to it and I swear I think she could do that role. As it is, she is trying out for Maria in West Side Story at the high school. I'll let ya'll know if she makes it. She really wants to do the singing, just not too jazzed about the acting part. I think she is just afraid to put it out there, in front of everyone..KWIM?

Well, off to the days chores, and hopefully a little knitting if I'm lucky! Ta ta!

Another Day at Home

Another day at home in a row! These are so rare! DD's hair looks fabulous. She is happy with it, I think, but who knows, she's 15! Ha! She started a new semester yesterday and she hates change more than anyone I know, always has since she was a wee one. I still remember her at about 4 years old saying, "I wasn't expecting that!" about one thing or another. I thought that was hilarious, such a grown up phrase coming out of such a young child. To this day, she still uses slightly odd phrases. She cracks me up, even when she doesn't meant to do so. DS#1 had a bunch of algebra homework that she helped him with. She loves algebra and I hope he learns to like it as well. He makes wonderful grades but doesn't seem to really like any particular subject. I guess time will tell. DS#2 came in with a homework sheet with about 6 problems on it and it took him about an hour. He just hates to buckle down and do it. He's in 2nd grade. What will he be like in 8th? DD and DS#1 have always been very self-motivated. DS#2 has to be cajoled all afternoon into completing assignments. It is frustrating. DS#3 is too young for homework, thank goodness. I'm sure we will have challenges ahead of us with him as well, as with all kids.

Well, tomorrow is a run day...run DS#3 to preschool, run to the grocery store, run to wherever. Hope I can knit a bit! Until next time....

After the Holidays....

Well, I'm here in the house and it is so quiet, save for Michael. I am stubbornly resisting the school rountine. Today I hope to clean up the house, though I'm not doing so well yet, eh? My main goal is to save all the photos of this goofy computer so I can reboot it to get off all the glitches. I can't get it to synch with my smartphone. :( Plus, there are other problems which I won't bore you with here.

Watched almost all of the Auburn game last night but my eyelids couldn't handle it. I did read that they won, which my Auburn friends will be happy about, as are we. What a great season they've had.

We had to turn in the motorhome we rented for the week last week. It was so much fun and something I know we will do again. One day, we hope to buy one, but I think we will most likely have to wait until retirement and by that time we'll probably have to live in it! Ha!

It was so wonderful seeing all the family in Mississippi last week. We really miss them all. The kids enjoyed seeing all their little cousins, aunt and uncle and grandmother. We got to also have lunch with extended family and that was awesome. It is sad we don't get to see more of everyone. Then it was on to Brandon to visit my Mom and Dad and brother Chuck. It really is hard to leave. We really wish we could pack everyone up with us and bring them here.

Well, I've got to get these photos organized and on to organize and clean the house. Lucky me! :) Then I get to run dd to Charlotte for a hair cut/style. I enjoy the moments we have together as I know there aren't too many years that she will be at home. Okay, enough sad thoughts. Tomorrow is another day....;)