Work in Progress

Week 4

2012-01-30T08:49:00.000-08:00

Sunday January 22nd
After church, we went home ate lunch and headed back out for a sledding date with the Garrison family. It was a great afternoon with lots of fun.

Monday January23rd
Our 13th wedding anniversary. It was just a normal day with Eric working 8am-9pm. He did however surprise me with this delivery to let me know he was thinking about me. Very sweet.

Tuesday January 24th
Is it spring?!?! It sure felt like it. We had to meet the farrier at the farm again and the boys enjoyed trying to catch chickens. They now want chickens of their own.

Wednesday January 25th
I don't have a picture for today. Just a video of the boys jammin' down in the basement.

Thursday January 26th
Thursday is, by far, my busiest day of the week. No time for a pic this week.

Friday January 27th
Got home from the boys basket ball practice and made supper super quick so we could go to Daddy's basketball game at 8pm. He got out of work just before 8 and rushed across town to make it. It was a busy night for us all. Here is what time we were eating dinner.

I made shrimp scampi with spinach and grape tomatoes. Takes about 5 minute to make, if you have the shrimp defrosted and your spagetti cooked ahead of time. Notice the to-go dishes!

Saturday January 28th
Parker had begged me to take him to see the movie Courageous at Baptist Fellowship. It was one of the best movies I have ever seen. I laughed, and cried, and laughed, and cried. Talk about an emotional roller coaster! From our discussions over the past few days, I know Parker took away some very important lessons from the movie. Most importantly, that if we do what is right...God WILL provide.

Week 3

2012-01-21T06:48:00.000-08:00

Sunday January 15th
Kaleigh had a friend over and they worked on bracelet making.

Monday January 16th
These two are like water and oil, so it was nice to see them sit down and do something together. Kaleigh was teaching him how to make his own cool bracelet.

Tuesday January 17th
First snowfall of the year! And Daddy was home for a few hours hours in the morning to play in it with them.

Wednesday January 18th
We started a new unit on Magnets and Electricity. The boys are currently reading this book.

Thursday January 19th
Blake helped me cut up the veggies for my soup.

Friday January 20th
We went to church for Tunes, Testimony and Treats. We call it Triple T night. Parker led a song with the band. He did GREAT! I see a future worship team member :)

Saturday January 21st
Eric got to use his plow THREE times this week. Yes, that is right, three snow storms in ONE week!

Week 2- 2012

2012-01-16T16:20:00.000-08:00

Sunday January 8th
The boys have been begging Eric to wrestle for days now. He kept telling them '"No" because of a terrible kink in his neck. It was painful just to move his neck. He must have been feeling better, because this time when they asked, he said "YES!" And Kaleigh gets in on the action, too!

Monday January 9th
Kaleigh and I went to the barn to work on our horses and meet the trimmer. This is me and my guy, Nick.

Tuesday January 10th
Eric is trying to make the dream of his two girls a reality. We have begun to clear out an area for a riding ring :) This was the before picture. Nothing but down trees and ALOT of vines and brush.

And this is the after picture. We have a LONG way to go, so until the day actually comes, we dream and keep leasing our two horsey pals, Pride and Nick.

Wednesday January 11th
Mac was cold. :) So we gave him a blanket.

Thursday January 12th
It was 'Crazy Hair Night' at youth group. My children totally hooked me up and helped me do this crazy doo.

Then I did Blake's hair...they both went with a patriotic hair theme.

And Parker's.....

Friday January 13th
Oh cool..I'm just realizing as I type this that it was Friday the 13th. Kinda appropriate because this picture shows that I can NOT get the pink out of my hair from Crazy Hair Night. Yup, I called my hairdresser who told me because my hair was chemically treated, has highlights put in by bleach, those strands of hair will absorb any color that touched them. So from now on you can call me Pinky :)

Saturday January 14th
A good friend of the boys, was playing a game against our other town team, so we went down to see the game.

Week 1

2012-01-09T07:13:00.000-08:00

Sunday, January 1st

My in-laws were finally back from their trip to WV, so we celebrated Christmas with them.

Kaleigh opened her gift from Uncle John and Aunt Lee Ann.

Blake showing off his cool light up drum sticks from his aunt and uncle in WV.

Parker got the entire Star Wars book series. Later in the week, I found him reading on the floor by his night light, well after I had put him to bed. How can you get mad at a kid for reading?????

Monday, January 2nd
Eric and I got deer number two put in the freezer. Now we won't starve :)

Tuesday, January 3rd
We played a game of Quirkle before bed and this is where we found the cat when we went to clean up.

Wednesday, January 4th
Kaleigh got her ears pierced when she was three years old. At the age of 4, while taking a sweatshirt off her head, her grandmother accidentally ripped her earring out. There was blood and tears and we could not get an earring in her ever again. Well here we are, 8 years later and she finally decided, with the help of her friend in NC, to try her holes out again. Yay Kaleigh!

Thursday January 5th
When the boys got these helicopters for Christmas, Eric and I took bets on how long they would last. We both lost. It lasted four days :(

Friday January 6th
I had my eyes on these pair of boots for several months, but never bought them because I couldn't justify spending $50 on a want, not a need. I left hints for Christmas, but didn't get them. I walked into Kohl's to spend my Kohl's cash before it expired and was thrilled to see the price had come down to $38. I also had to return something. Between my credit for my return and my Kohl's cash, the boots cost me $6.00!!!

Saturday January 7th
We were dog sitting this week while my mother was in Ohio. The kids wanted to make sure Ally was buckled and safe. LOL!

Project 365- The Final Week of 2011

2012-01-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

As I post this, I can't believe I made it through another year of Project 365. I am so excited to make it into another blog book where we can look back years from now at all we have done and how we have grown. Here's to another year of blogging! Here we come 2012!

Saturday December 24th
Parker found this project online and thought it would be perfect to make for his chocolate loving great grandmother. Blake decided to make one for Memere too. I was fun and easy for them. All it took was a foam cone, a hot glue gun, toothpicks and six bags of Hershey kisses.

Sunday December 25th
Since we moved into the house in 2003, my grandmother has been sleeping over on Christmas Eve so she can enjoy the kids opening up all their presents. At 94, it is a cherished memory for both her and the kids.

Kaleigh holding the Harry Potter DVD collection she got from Pepere and Memere Constant in Florida.

Parker and the Light Saber he wanted for Christmas.

Blake couldn't decide which of these gifts were his favorite so he posed with all three.

Even Missy got a Christmas present....a package of kitty treats.

Kaleigh modeling her 'Abonamable Snow Monster' slippers.

Parker and Mem watching a movie.

The handsome chef. He made a delicious dinner of salmon, loaded mashed potatoes, and veggies. My contribution to the meal was fresh homemade bread.

We had quesadillas for lunch in my new maker.

Then we had many mean games of Quirkle. It is a fun game for all ages that gets your thinker thinking strategy.

Monday December 26th
The kids and I spend all day cleaning up the living room and restoring the house from the whirlwind that Christmas brought. I had warned my husband to make sure he took his shoes off at the door because we had just spent all day cleaning and I would like it to remain that way for more than two hours. Lo and behold he ran through the house while playing outside with the boys and tracked mud from the front door to the back door. After dinner he graciously cleaned his mess up so he didn't have to see fumes continue to come out of my ears.

Tuesday December 27th
Kaleigh was so sweet and made Daddy a cup of coffee. Mmmmm, coffee you can also chew. LOL!

Wednesday December 28th
Domino time with my favorite two year old.

Thursday December 29th
I took the kids to the library to see Mad Science. Cosmic Chris is just hilarious.

Friday December 30th
The boys had a friend sleep over on Thursday night. So on Friday they spent their day playing wii, basketball and then wandered out to the side yard and helped Eric split and stack wood.

Later that evening, we finally caught one of Eric's basketball games.

Saturday December 31st
I finally finished the basement cleaning project that I started earlier in the week. It was a disaster down there, so bad you could barely walk. I am very proud of my hard work. Now the boys have a great space to jam in.

Later that evening, we went to the Boyden's for their annual New Year's Eve party.

Ken the infamous Quesadilla King.

There were a bunch of games and lots of laughs. It is such a blessing to get together with good friends for good food, fun, and fellowship.

Week 51

2011-12-24T12:06:00.000-08:00

Saturday December 17th
The boys had their very first basketball game of the season. The game was neck and neck the entire time and out team was able to score a three point buzzer beater to win the game. Parker was excited that he contributed two points to the score.

Sunday December 18th
After church, we went to Eric's Aunt Janet's house for a family Christmas party. The cousins really enjoyed each other's company.

The rough and tumble boys: Sam, Parker, Blake, Andrew and Zander.

Kaleigh and MaryAnn

Zander just loved hanging with Blake.
After we headed back to church for the final performance of 'One Quiet Night.'

Monday December 19th
Parker was a big help. He filled and tied all the goody bags for my Olympian Christmas party.

Tuesday December 20th
Parker had been asking to go hunting with Eric, so they headed out around 1pm. They saw a big buck out in a field, but unfortunately Eric missed. Parker enjoyed his time but admitted that being 20 feet up in a tree was quite scary. Guess he has his father's heights phobia.

While they we out bonding, Blake and I worked on his gingerbread village.

Wednesday December 21st
Parker worked on his gingerbread house.

Thursday December 22nd
What do you do in December when it is 55 degrees outside? Teach your little brother how to rollerblade.

Friday December 23rd
The kids both had friends over in the afternoon. Em brought her roller blades and the two of them spent hours rollin' down the driveway.

While the boys had a mean game of Nerf War.

Week 50

2011-12-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

Saturday December 10th
Whenever the kids find a tick on one of the animals, they always call us to get it. Eric refused this time and was 'coaching' Blake on how to get it out. I thought it was humorous.

Sunday December 11th
I taught Jr. Church again. The lesson was on Commandments three and four. I focused mainly on the fourth, and decided that they could decorate the name of Jesus with colored sand and glitter. That is fun for a bunch of 3-6 year olds, right? Let's just say I did not think about the pound of sand that would end up on the floor. Oh well they had fun and I was lucky to have my three kids as helpers, along with two of their friends.

Monday December 12th

It's not every day that one of these flies directly over your house. I thoroughly embarrassed my kids by standing on the deck, yelling "HELLO UP THERE!" I kinda felt like Horton in Horton Hears a Hoo. By the time I ran in and grabbed my camera, it was long gone.

Tuesday December 13th
Knowing that Eric would be at work from 8am-9pm on his actual birthday, the kids and I decided to celebrate early. Kaleigh made up a scavenger hunt for him to find his presents.

Wednesday December 14th
Our family was teaching Chesney the term 'pig pile.' Blake was the lucky recipient.

Thursday December 15th
Kaleigh had been bugging me for several days to paint her nails Christmas colors. I finally caved.

Friday December 16th
My friend Victoria recently started at a new salon. She is much closer to me now and her salon was running a December special of a color and cut for $50! Last time I got a color and cut it was $95 at another salon, and I just couldn't afford that again. Seeing it had been almost a year since my last color and cut I decided to go for it. Kaleigh hadn't had her hair cut in a very long time either, so she joined me.

Victoria has 'hair bling', which is all the rave now. So Kaleigh brought her own money and got a few strands put in.

I got a partial foil to hide those lovely grays and got about 6 inches cut off. I like how it wisps out at the bottom.

Week 49

2011-12-11T10:28:00.000-08:00

Saturday December 3rd
The kids and I woke up at 6am and headed out to NYC. I wrote all about it in a separate post.

Sunday December 4th
Did I mention I am now teaching Jr. Church on some Sunday evenings. We are going to be studying the Ten Commandments. What is better for a bunch of 3-7 year olds than edible Ten Commandments?

Monday December 5th
Kaleigh baked her first chocolate cake from scratch this week. I was in and out of the kitchen and happen to come in when I saw her digging in the baking powder with a regular spoon. I made sure that she knew that she needed to use a measuring spoon and not a regular kitchen spoon if it calls for a teaspoon. She told me she knew and then said, "Wait it calls for a teaspoon , not a cup?" Oh boy! Glad I caught that mistake, but what other mistakes had she made while I was not present? I had no idea what the cake was going to taste like. I must report it was the most delicious and moist chocolate cake I have ever eaten! Good job Kaleigh!

Tuesday December 6th
Happy 94th birthday to my grandmother! We took her out for lunch and spent the afternoon with her.

Wednesday December 7th
Kaleigh's 4-H group had their Christmas party. I let Kaleigh have the camera, but didn't have much to choose from in the way of pictures. This lady in the stripped shirt is one of her leaders, Mrs. Brett-Davis.

Thursday December 8th
I had my best friend over for tea and some girl talk. I am so grateful for her. She will listen to me vent, cry with me, and pray with me in the hard times and laugh till we cry in the good times. Too bad I was so busy gabbing that I forgot to snap a picture..oh well I love you Mrs. Awesome! :)

Friday December 9th
The kids went to see the lights in Hartford with their grandparents, while Eric and I did some Christmas shopping. Here is a blurry shot of the Statue of Liberty in lights that Kaleigh took. Their descriptions of it all makes me want to head out there. Maybe I'll take my grandmother some evening.

New York City

2011-12-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

The kids and I took a bus trip to NYC this past Saturday. They were excited to see the sights and sounds, having never been to the city before. The boys passed the time playing with their DSI's on the way.

The first thing we did when we got there was head down to ground zero. There was not much to see if you didn't have tickets, but we picked up a book they were selling on the street corner to add to our History collection. Kaleigh took this shot on one of the new Trade Center buildings.

After we hopped on the subway and made our way to the Ferry to catch a glimpse of Lady Liberty. The kids were very bummed that she was closed for renovations.

Kaleigh took this shot of the World Trade Center towers.

One of the coolest parts of riding the subway, was this group that jumped on and sang 'Feliz Navidad' with their instruments and then jumped off again. Kaleigh was happy to give them a dollar because she thought it was so cool.

As we were getting off the subway, Parker said to me, "Mom, I think that lady has a cat in her bag." It wasn't, but I had to laugh and take a picture of it.

Blake with Minnie and Elmo.

Kaleigh got this cool hat from a street vendor.

Kaleigh, my mother, and my aunt got in line to get into the American Girl store, while I went about 1,000 feet to the Lego store with the boys. I kid you not, it took us almost 45 minutes to get into and through the building. The streets along Fifth Avenue were insanely crowded and it was zero fun for me. I was extremely disappointed in what I saw. I imagined huge Lego creations of the Statue of Liberty or other New York hot spots and there was none of that.

After that we went across the street and into St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was massive and beautiful. The kids took about 50 pictures on their DSI's

At 6pm we boarded the bus and headed home. The day wasn't all I hoped it would be, but I learned that I am not cut out for bus trips to New York right before Christmas and on a weekend. Next time we go, it will be during warm weather, on a weekday, and with someone who can read a subway map better than me...because I stink at it!

Week 48

2011-12-05T07:13:00.000-08:00

Saturday November 26th
We have been fortunate enough to have temperatures in the mid 60's this late in the year. So, the kids and I took full advantage of it and took the dog for a walk at the Windham Airport. I got a kick out of the sight I saw when I looked into my side mirror. The kids got a kick out of the dog slobber that kept flying in the back seat and nailing Blake. LOL!

Sunday November 27th
Had my grandmother over dinner and to decorate the Christmas tree. After dinner, we had a mean game of Monopoly going on.

Monday November 28th
Parker is in charge of laundry in our home. I frequently have to remind him to switch over the load from the washer to the dryer. When I didn't hear him for a while I went to see what the hold up was. This is what I found.....Thankfully he had taken the clothes out BEFORE he climbed in.

Tuesday November 29th
Parker was the only one done with his schoolwork. It was nice outside and he asked in the sweetest voice, "Mom will you come play nerf war outside with me?" How could I say no? Wanna know the truth, it was actually alot of fun finding hiding places and trying to sneak up and shoot one another. First one to get five shots on the other player wins. I won by one. We are not the type of parents that let our kids win all the time. In our house, you have to earn your win fair and square.

Wednesday November 30th
These two are so adorable to watch. Chesney just adores Kaleigh and follows her everywhere. Kaleigh is sooooo good with her. I think she sees Chesney as the sister she always wanted. Here she is reading a story to her in the schoolroom.

Thursday December 1st
Parker and Eric spent some time this past week clearing a path around the edge of the property for Parker to ride his quad. They finished a pretty good sized section and the boys spent some time riding it together.

Friday December 2nd
It's the boots! This year Eric had gone out hunting almost a dozen times and hadn't even seen a deer. Each time his feet would freeze in his old beat up boots. He hemmed and hawed about getting new boots, because they were quite expensive, but in the end we both agreed it was worth it because the meat he gets from hunting cuts down on our grocery bill a tremendous amount. So he bought the boots and the first time out with them he got a deer. We both joked that it was probably the smell from his other boots that were keeping the deer away.

Trimming the Tree

2011-11-30T19:21:00.000-08:00

When I told the kids we were getting the tree on Sunday, the first thing that Blake said was, "Can Mem-Mem come over and decorate with us?" Of course my response was "YES!" At 93, she doesn't get out much, so I look for any reason to get her out of the house. She came over last year to decorate, but it never occurred to me to ask her again this year. The memory obviously stayed with Blake and he wanted to make more memories with her this year...and so the tradition begins. Here are a few pics of our time together.

Kaleigh thought a little santa hat clip would put all us girls in the Christmas Spirit :)

Parker getting the lights ready

I prefer white lights...but hey...it's the kids decorating masterpiece, so they chose colored lights.

Kaleigh her her favorite ornament..Hello Kitty.

Blake putting on some decorations

Parker being silly pretending to eat this candy ornament.

Mem-Mem getting the ornaments ready, making sure they all had hooks.

My favorite ornament that was given to me by my best friend because she knows how much I love the Little Mermaid movie. (See I have a Santa hat too :)

Took this exact shot last year too! Love, love , love these peeps!

Week 47

2011-11-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

Saturday November 18th
The kids and I went on a hike with our dear friends. It was fabulous! Unfortunately all I had was my cell phone for pictures.

Sunday November 19th
Kaleigh and I went on a trail ride together. We have both been looking forward to this day. It was the first time I took Nick out of the ring. I was so excited I forgot to stick my camera in my pocket.

Monday November 20th
My poor hubby was home sick. It was interesting playing charades trying to guess what he needed because he had no voice.

Tuesday November 21st
Basketball has started up for the boys. We can be found at the gym every Saturday and Tuesday now.

Wednesday November 22nd
My children have gotten more Christmas shopping done than me so far. Parker was pleased wrap the gifts he purchased for some of the special ladies in his life.

Thursday November 24th

Eric ran the Manchester Road race while I cooked. We had a fabulous dinner with just the five of us and spent the afternoon relaxing and watching movies. Late afternoon, we headed to Rhode Island to surprise his grandmother. It was a fabulous day!

Friday November 25th

The kids and I blasted our Christmas music and spent the whole day in our jammies decorating and cleaning the house. They really got into it. It was a wonderful day.

Parker took all the fall decals off the windows and then washed them.

Blake organized all the wii games and put them in a new home so we could put decorations up where they used to be located.

Kaleigh cleaned the bathroom, then began the decorating.

Week 46

2011-11-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

Saturday November 12th
The kids thought it would be nice to do a pet picture in front of the dying fire. It screams Christmas card to me. Too bad I don't send out Christmas cards, maybe I should start.

Monday November 13th
This is the current book we are doing for Bible Study.

Tuesday November 14th
Found Parker buried in the couch listening to Christmas music. Thought he had fallen asleep so I snuck up to take a picture and he opened his eyes and jumped up.

Wednesday November 15th
The dog found a dead deer and dragged most of it to our front yard, where he proceeded to roll in it. Needless to say, he was in need of a bath. Well, he is too big for our tub, so he gets showers.

Thursday November 16th
Kaleigh is determined to turn Chesney into a horse lover. She occupied her with this Fur Real Pony while I conquered this mountain of laundry.

Friday November 17th
We watched Edward Scissorhands as a family and after it was over, Eric came around the corner with a bunch of pairs of scissors on his fingers. It was so funny we all laughed and laughed.

Week 45

2011-11-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

Saturday November 5th
This is a ball puzzle that Kaleigh got from a birthday party she attended. It came with NO directions and the children took it apart without Eric or me looking at it. We have spent WAY to much time trying to get it put back together. So far no one in the family can get it. :(

Sunday November 6th
Now that the kids are carving pumpkins on their own, the one carving set we have isn't going to be enough. So when I saw these in Walmart for $.96, I bought a couple. I love after holiday markdowns!

Monday November 7th
Love sunsets!

Tuesday November 8th
I voted today, how about you?

Wednesday November 9th
Parker loves things hot and spicy just like his Daddy. Here he just added Daddy's homemade hot pepper to his chicken noodle soup!

Thursday November 10th
Kaleigh and I went to the Equine Affaire in MA. Can't wait to go back next year!

Here Kaleigh rode a mechanical horse and got tips on her positioning and technique. After that we went to a few clinics.

Friday November 11th
Eric and I attended the wedding of his cousin Ashley and her new husband Bill.

Boy do I love this man!

Week 44

2011-11-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

Saturday October 29th
The kids slept over their grandmother's house the night before, so I took advantage of no kids for a few hours and got some things around the house done. I finally cleaned out and organized my Tupperware cabinet.

Sunday October 30th

We woke up to about 8 inches on the ground. Although most of the state was without power, we never lost it. It was nice and wet, GREAT for snowmen!

Monday October 31st

What is better than Mummy Dogs on Halloween?

The rest of the week I failed to take pictures. It probably had something to do with the fact that I worked all week. Tues, I was doing some afterschool tutoring for a friend of a friend. Wed and Thursday, I watched my friend's little girl. And Friday I worked 8-3 doing inventory at a friend's place of business.

That was my week in a nutshell!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

This year was like all the rest, in that, two weeks before Halloween I was asking the kids what they wanted to be and they were saying "I don't know." I throw out about a dozen ideas and eventually they bite onto one of them. This year, Parker was torn between going with a Barrel of Laughs, or Noah in the Ark. He eventually decided to go with the barrel, because it was an original thought. We have seen a bunch of Noah's at church, but never a Barrel of Laughs. It was so funny when Pastor Sonny asked Parker what he was, he said "A Barrel of Laughs" and then handed Sonny this joke to read.

The young couple invited their elderly preacher for Sunday dinner. While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the minister asked their son what they were having. "Goat," the little boy replied. "Goat?" replied the minister, "Are you sure about that?" "Yep," said the youngster. "I heard Dad say to Mom, 'Today is just as good as any to have the old goat for dinner.'"

Everyone got a laugh out of it!

Blake decided to be the Holy Ghost. It was the easiest costume I have ever made! LOL!

They both won second place in the costume contest!!!!!

Kaleigh is in the teen group and they don't really dress up, but she wanted to wear this hat, so I painted a shamrock on her cheek and told her if anyone asked her what she was, she could say...' Lucky!'

Halloween is NOT just for kids in my book. I love to dress up too. Funny thing was, I had to go into a store, on my way to church, to return something. The kids refused to come in the store with me dressed like this. WHY on earth could THAT be? LOL!

Pumpkin Carving 101

2011-10-31T19:01:00.000-07:00

This year I convinced my hubby to hand over the carving reins to our three children. I must say they did remarkable for their first time ever! The hard part, taking out the insides, was done at the Halloween Party that they had on Friday. So Sunday evening, they picked out their patterns and got to work. Eric showed them how to tape their templates on and start poking the holes.

After that, Daddy handed them the saw. They worked so well. At one point, Kaleigh got into a bit of a jam on the legs of her wolf, so Daddy helped her out.

We stuck the candles in, lit them up, shut off the lights, and enjoyed!

Parker's final project.

Kaleigh's wolf

Blake's pumpkin that he carved 100% by himself!

Can't wait to see what they come up with next year!

Homeschool Halloween Party

2011-10-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

On Friday we went over to, our dear friend, Donna's house for our annual Halloween party. This year another dear homeschool family, the Durnings, joined us. We had 9 kids total. The first activity on the list was Donna's tye dye t-shirts.

Then, we headed around back to play shave the balloon. They all got lucky and nobody had their balloon full of shaving cream pop on them.

Next, it was Donna's game of pass the pumpkin. It was a huge balloon filled with water and the kids had to pass it around, the child who was holding it when Donna stopped singing was out. They really liked the game and Blake ended up being the winner.

After the messy activities were over, the kids went inside to have snack. Karen brought pumpkiun shaped sugar cookies and all the fixings for the kids to decorate and eat.

While we cleaned up for the next activity the kids were sent outside to Karen's scavenger hunt. Here is a video of the kids having absolutely NO fun! :)

After they had found all the items on the list, they cam inside to decorate glass jars. We had pumpkins.

And ghosts.

Then it was time for some science. Donna showed the kids how to make Gak. They loved it!

Then it was my turn to do a little pumpkin math with the group. We had three groups that estimated the circumference of the pumpkins and then estimated the number of seeds that they thought were inside their pumpkin. They made use of tally marks to keep track of seeds in groups of tens. Then we compared the estimates to their actual findings. I thought it was a good activity that all the ages could participate in.

Lastly, the children practiced their oral skills by getting up in front of the group and sharing something they had written, read, or drawn. Blake wrote a scary story, and Parker told the group about a scary book he had read, and Kaleigh wrote this acrostic poem.

Happy times
Absolutely cool
Lurking in the woods
Lost in a corn maze
October
Witches on brooms
Eerie
Eating candy
Not scary, or is it?

They all did a GREAT job!

Week 43

2011-10-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 22
I spent the entire day on the couch with chills and feeling like I was going to throw up. When my hubby got home from work, he made a fire for me. First one of the season!

Sunday October 23rd
Feeling much better than the day before I headed out to my appointment before church to give blood.

Monday October 24th
I found this idea for milk jug ghosts in the Family Fun magazine. All it took was a milk jug, a black permanent marker, and a string a white Christmas lights. This was our art for the day.

Parker was happy to drill the wholes in the back for the lights to be put in.

Tuesday October 25th
Parker finally got a real mattress for his bed. No more futon for him. He LOVES it!

Wednesday October 26th
Sick again! I came down with a terrible head cold. It only lasted 48 hours thanks to prayer and all these herbs! YAY!

Thursday October 27th
First snowfall of the year.

Friday October 28th
We had our homeschool Halloween party. I have so many pictures, I am going to write a separate post about it.

Week 42

2011-10-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 15th
Our church held a missions conference and my job was to teach and entertain 4 and 5 year olds for 6 hours! Kaleigh and her friend Rachel helped me. The day went well. Here are some things we did.

We made prayer books. The kids colored the flag of the country the missionary serves in and then glued the prayer card on the page with the flag.

We had an Around the World puzzle that a group worked on.

We read a story about a missionary.

And then did a bunch of crafts. We made sheep coin banks, a foam craft and some sand art crosses.

It was a great day and I got to bond with some great little people! Later that evening my brother and sister in-law came over for dinner. It was great to love on my nephew!

Sunday October 16th
We said goodbye to the Bhandari's. They were missionaries from India that stayed with us over the weekend. They are dear to our hearts and we really enjoyed having them in our home.
( Picture to come )

Monday October 17th
Mondays are crock pot meals. The kids have choir while I am at bible study, so it is nice to have our supper ready and waiting in the crockpot when we get home. If anyone has any good recipes for the crock pot I would love to hear about them!

Thursday October 20th
I try not to let the little girl I watch sleep more than an hour if she falls asleep. So on this day I got her up about 3pm after her 1 hour nap. We began playing on the floor and next thing I know, she was asleep again. She clearly wasn't ready to wake up. Hopefully, she slept for her parents that night.

Friday October 21st
We had two free tickets to Six Flags to use by October 30th so we decided to go check out the Fright Fest there. The kids were super excited and assured me they wouldn't be scared. I did not know what to expect because we had never been. We talked a great deal about how there might be people in costumes and makeup there. Well, two out of the three were able to handle it. One of my children who will remain nameless, ~~Blake~~, left the haunted exhibits in tears. We paid for it that night with numerous nightmares and an extra body in bed with us.

I thought the ghosts on top of the building as you entered were cool.

Kaleigh on yet another horse..LOL!

Me trying my best to look scared.

The boys in front of the Gotham City roller coaster.

This is where all the scary stuff happened. It wasn't that costumes that get you. It is people jumping out from behind things, yelling and reving their chainsaw that gets you.

The kids rode the scrambler about four times in a row.

This was a little show in where they 'cut off' someone's head. Then they put her head on a shelf where it started to talk. Parker was amazed and wanted to know how they did it. Daddy, of course, explained the entire illusion.

Aside from the scary parts, the entire family thought this was the best time to go to Six Flags. There was hardly anyone there and there were NO LINES. They rode each major roller coaster at least twice with no wait!

Week 41

2011-10-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 8th

Spent the day at the Lebanon Lions horse show

Sunday October 9th

Kaleigh had a friend over after church and they did a little experiment.

Monday October 10th

Met a friend at Buell's. Between the two of us we had 10 kids! It will proabably be our last year. It is just WAY too crowded for me and they closed the candy apple factory. I can get apples and hay rides elsewhere for a lot less stress and less traveling too. Farewell Buell's....it has been a great 10 years!

Tuesday October 11th

Kaleigh's 'Keepers of the Home' group learned about candle making. She is really starting to like this group.

Wednesday October 12th

No pic

Thursday October 13th

Eric brought me home this yummy arrangement!

Friday October 14th

Our church hosted a missions conference. John and Lee Ann came up to participate and the kids were thrilled to see them and Levi. Kaleigh took a bunch of pictures. Here are just a few.

Lebanon Lions Show

2011-10-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

Today (Sat. 10/8) was Kaleigh's last show of the season. The day started out quite frantic because I completely forgot to set my alarm clock. Instead of getting up at 6:30am, I didn't wake up till 7:15. At that point it was get up, get dressed, and fly out the door. We needed to be driving out of the farm between 8 and 8:15am to make it to the show on time. The show was scheduled to start at 9am, but was about 15 minutes delayed...Praise God! Upon arrival, we quickly got Kaleigh registered for her 9 classes, and started getting her dressed and Pride tacked up. The very first class was showmanship and her and her horse needed to look polished.

Pride won her the blue ribbon in showmanship for his excellence in being able to pivot on his hind leg. That's it give your boy a big kiss!!!

We changed shirts and moved on to the next 6 classes. Western pleasure, equitation, and command. Followed by Open pleasure equitation, and command. Kaleigh got four blue ribbons (1st place) and two yellow ribbons (3rd place).

Time was running out, so she completed her trail class.

She scored another first place ribbon in trail.

Her last class of the day was Pole Bending - trot only. I wish I had video taped the whole class so you could see how awesome they did compared to the other horse and riders. You would have NEVER known that this was the first time they competed in this.

She definately went out on a positive note, next year she will be in a whole new level because she will be competing at the canter. Lord help us! :)

Week 40

2011-10-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 1st I got tired of looking at weeds and a piece of backer board as my entryway, so I decided to do something about it. I started pulling weeds before I realized I should take a picture. This picture really doesn't show how terrible it looked, but here is before:

And after:

Sunday October 2nd
Our family went over to help a friend, who is laid up, get started on their only source of heat in the winter. Here is Blake flexing his muscles in front of the wood pile.

Monday October 3rd
Kaleigh's favorite snack, other than ice cream, is cracker's with cream cheese on them. This is a quadruple stacker!!!

Tuesday October 4th
Parker in training. He is getting older and is desperate to take over mowing the lawn.

Wednesday October 5th
Kaleigh had six pumpkins come out of the garden! Blake saw this pumpkin in a magazine that I had, and decided to duplicate the idea. Meet Franken-Pumpkin!

And Parker is making the Mummy.

Thursday October 6th
I went to get my camera and saw about a dozen of these types of shots on it. Oh man pre-teen girls! :)

Friday October 7th
The boys went fishing with Daddy.

Time for some fish and chips!

Week 39

2011-09-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

This week was not well documented in the picture department, but it's all about the memories. My favorite memories from this week are as follows...

Monday September 26th
The kids had their first home school class of the school year at Mystic Aquarium. Kaleigh and Parker are in the 4th- 7th grades class and LOVE IT! Blake is in the 1st-3rd class and he thinks it is okay. After class we walked around the aquarium. We spent the most time with one of the Beluga Whales. He likes to scare little children and get a reaction from them. He comes up to the glass, opens his mouth and goes toward them. It is hysterical to watch and even more hysterical that he does not bother with the adults. Here are a few pics of the kids with him.

Tuesday September 27
No picture today, the kids are taking a Native Americans and Geography class at the home of a fellow homeschooler. I pick the boys up after an hour and forty-five minutes and Kaleigh stays for the Law class. She is really enjoying it and it has started some really interesting conversations.

Wednesday September 28th
We now know first hand the term 'Mangy Mutt'. Our poor pooch is dealing with mites. He is now confined to the mudroom and his room is vacuumed and washed daily. He is on a borax and peroxide bath 2x a week and apple cider vinegar bath 2x a week. Let's hope and pray this all natural approach will work and I can avoid the vet bills and the harsh medicines.

Thursday September 29th
In the morning, the kids did a great job decorating while I vacuumed and washed ALL the floors in the house, stripped the beds. Everything is now getting washed in HOT water and dried in the dryer till the dog is better. The thought of mites in my house is really creeping me out!!!!

Friday September 30th
After school was done, we went to the farm and worked. Kaleigh began getting ready for her show on Saturday.

Camp Berea

2011-09-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

Every year the women's retreat at Camp Berea is a blessing, and this year was no exception. It amazes me how God works out all the details to speak truths to our soul when we need it. To understand what I mean, I must give you a little background. I have been homeschooling for eight years now. The past two years, I have not been finding joy in it. I began to pray and wonder if homeschooling was still something God wanted for our family. There was no clear sign from him, so I remained still and kept on keeping on.

Fast forward to Camp Berea.....I registered the day before and ended up being placed in a cabin with three other seasoned ladies. The first thing I learned about one of them was that she had homeschooled all four of her children up through high school. Two of them had already graduated college and were out in the work force. One was in college still, and the other was a senior in high school. Sharing late night talks with her and my other bunk mates, I could see that my feelings were not unusual and got some concrete advice as how to 'fix' things. Because I was a public school teacher, I have a very difficult time with putting that type of schooling under the rug. My day at home looks very much like their day would if they went to school. She reminded me that it was ok to drop the regimented schedule and just have fun and play learning games and talk, talk, talk and read, read and talk some more.

The other bunk mate and I had something in common as well. We are both mothers to girls with a chromosome deficiency. Her and I cried together and laughed together as we shared stories of the joys and struggles of having a child with special needs. Her daughter is now in her twenties, holds a job and has made it very clear to those around her that she was formed in the image of God with the soul purpose to glorify him....and that they do. When a doctor stands in a room and tells you that they are shocked at the things your child is doing because they shouldn't be able to do them, all I can say is PRAISE GOD!!!!! My daughter is a miracle from the Lord and I need to keep that in the front of my mind on those hard days when she is struggling and when I am at a loss as to what to do.

My goal for raising and teaching my children is not to have doctors and lawyers. It is to raise children who love and serve the Lord. And for that, he will provide me with what I need.

Week 38

2011-09-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 17th
We had my grandmother over for dinner so she could watch Blake open his gift she got him. I'll let you watch the video to see what she got.....

It was perfect timing because his drum instructor feels that after 8 months of learning notes, rudiments, and other drum related words I don't know how to spell, he is ready for the full set! And he is thrilled!

Sunday September 18th
After church we decided to go check out a car show at Dodd Stadium. It was okay, something different to do as a family, but I don't think I would go to it again.

We went back to church that evening for a very special reason :)

Kaleigh and Dean

After church we took her to Friendly's for ice cream to celebrate her accomplishment.

Monday September 19th
Happy Birthday Blake! His day started out with a toaster strudel. These are only bought around here on special occassions. He figured he would make it even more special by putting his name on his toaster strudel.

His day didn't go as he would have liked. We ended up needing to take my grandmother to the eye doctor. What I thought was going to be a couple hour process, ended up taking five hours. He learned some valuable lessons that day about putting others first. He handled it graciously and after we got my grandmother home and settled, he went shopping for his birthday gift and got favorite pizza..Dominoes!

Tuesday September 20th
This silly kid sat in the hamper to wait for me to finish my make-up this morning and got stuck!

Wednesday September 21st
I don't know why, but I find watching Blake hula-hoop is hilarious!

Thursday September 22nd
Took the kids to the farm so Kaleigh could ride her horse. The little girl I babysit loved all the animals EXCEPT the big horses. When they got too close to her she would start to cry and tighted her grip on me. I guess she won't grow up to be a horse lover like Kaleigh.

Friday September 23rd
Deb and I made it safe and sound at the Women's Retreat at Camp Berea in NH.

Week 37

2011-09-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 10th
A litttle friendly game of wii before bed.

Sunday September 11th
Looking back on this picture and seeing the date that it was taken, I'm thinking perhaps the discussions of 9/11 we had during school this week made Blake a bit uneasy. It is very cute that he looks to his big brother for comfort. They look to each other, really. They are the best of friends!

Monday September 12th
Our dear friends came over for a visit. Kaleigh taught the girls how to make bracelets.

Tuesday September 13th
How can you NOT love that face? The boys have SO much fun with this ferret!

Wednesday September 14th
Kaleigh learned a new game at Bright Lights and was eager to teach the boys how to play it. I say any game where you get to eat a cookie is a good game!

Thursday September 15th
The kids took their final dip in the pool as the weather is forcasted to dip into a high of 64 for the next few days, and their grandmother is closing it.

Friday September 16th
As part of our Earth Science studies, the kids have been studying cave formations. We did an experiment trying to grow our own slagmites and stalactities. After three days we have a stalactite growing!!! Exciting! It just goes to show it does NOT take millions of years like the scientists say. Only the right conditions.

Punk Parker

2011-09-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

Parker was EXTREMELY overdue for a haircut. We were going to RI to visit my aunt. The kids were getting ready and Parker came into the bathroom to show me his mohawk. I informed him that it wan't going to stay without gel, so we put some in and did it up nice and high. It was fun for him for the day, but I didn't want this style to become a habit so I was sure to cut his hair nice and short that very night. :)

Week 36

2011-09-10T06:18:00.001-07:00

Saturday September 3rd
We went to RI to visit my aunt.

Sunday September 4th
Kaleigh went to a friend's house after church so the boys asked if they could have a playdate too. We had Joe and Logan over for an afternoon of, wii, swimming and of course some lightsaber action.

Monday September 5th
Busy day of taking a friend home from the hospital, working at the apartment, and a mean game of backyard baseball.

Tuesday September 6th
It was the first day of school and we packed up and went over to my in-laws to stay with my FIL so my MIL could go back to work. We teased him asking him if we were babysitting or elderlysitting.

Wednesday September 7th
I had a goal to finish this book before school started with the kids. I missed that goal by two days, but am happy to announce that I finished all 1,594 pages of Ted Dekker's Circle series!!!

Thursday September 8th
Pride was due for new shoes so we met the farrier at the farm in the a.m. Bye Bye $100 :(

Friday September 9th
It was a work day at the apartment. Parker was eager to help out by painting. Kaleigh helped take all the spacers out of the tile and Blake helped me rip out carpeting. That's what I call teamwork!

Week 35

2011-09-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 27th
In preparation for hurricane Irene, we went to the store to pick up a few last minute items. Blake brought along his Wal-mart gift card he got for his birthday. Most kids would probably buy toys, this is what he bought. He is obviously not thrilled with what I buy for groceries.

Sunday August 28th
Hurricane Irene struck and we lost power around at 4:53am. We made the most of our wet and windy day playing board games. It is nice to finally have kids old enough to break out my old monoply game from when I was young. No more Monoply Jr. for us!

Monday August 29th
Still no power, but I planned ahead and bought four bags of ice. So this is our refridgerator for the time being.

Tuesday August 30th
Still no power. But friend's of ours gave us their generator so we could salvage the food in our freezer!! Thank the Lord for such giving friends!

Wednesday August 31st
Power has been restored...Praise the Lord. The first thing I did once we had running water again was clean the toilets and the fridge. The fridge was easy because we had lost what couldn't fit in the cooler. The toilets smelled like a bad porta-potty. They only got flushed when someone went number two. I had been prepared and filled the tub up with water for flushing. It was a good thing we got power back, because I was just about out of water.
I spared you a picture of my dirty toilets... you can thank me later :)

Thursday September 1st
Kaleigh cut some of her flowers she planted in the garden this year and made this beautiful centerpiece for the dining room table.

Friday September 2nd
We had a family night out and went to a Connecticut Tigers game.

The kids brought their own money and indulged on souvenirs and treats.

We enjoyed some very cool fireworks after the game!

It was a lot of fun, affordable, ($7 a ticket) and the kids LOVED it!

Week 34

2011-08-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 20th
Was the last day of the tag sale. The sale ended at 2pm and the help I had to clean up was God sent. I was out of there by 5:30pm. We raised $5500 for missions. While I was doing this Kaleigh was out at her FIRST teen event with the youth group. They went to an event at Dodd Stadium and watched a Tiger's game.

Sunday August 21st
Our family attended the pig roast and Luau for Uncle Bill in RI.

Monday August 22nd
What do you do with a bunch of tomatoes, zuchinni, and yellow squash from the garden. You make this. I call it goulosh, but don't know if it has an actual name. You saute garlic and onions in some olive oil, then add your venison hamburg, add your veggies, some salt and pepper. Serve over rice. YUMMY

Tuesday August 23rd
Finally got that family day at the beach! Blake played football with Daddy...

While Parker did some boogey boarding...

Blake dug in the dirt looking for sand fleas to use as bait...

The boys headed out to fish...

While Kaleigh and I read our books...

It was a GREAT day!

Wednesday August 24th
Wednesday I received a phone call from my FIL asking me to call my MIL at work and have her come home because he fell off the roof of the barn. I suggested he call 911, but he didn't want to do anything till we got ahold of her. So I called her and immediately called him back to try to assess his injuries and make sure he stayed conscious till help arrived. They flew him to Hartford Hospital via LifeStar. He is one lucky guy to still be alive. He will be hurting for a while due to the 13 broken bones he sustained in his fall.

Thursday August 25th
The kids had one final playdate before school starts. I took them to see Mars Needs Moms at the library and then back to our house to play.

Friday August 26th
Spent a long overdue evening with the Garrison family. Dinner and games. The kids were up till 11pm playing hide and seek. Here they are pig piling on Eric. LOL!

Maine Vacation

2011-08-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

Maine Vacation!!
We usually go on a camping trip every year. This year we decided to combine our trip with an out of state wedding. It worked out well. We stayed at a little campground called Green Valley in Vassalboro, Maine.

We got there on Tuesday, around 4pm, and began to set up shop. The forecast called for rain so we took extra precautions to avoid getting wet, and set up our canopy over our tent.

Wednesday was a wash out, so we went to the Maine State Museum.
A cool chair make entirely out of antlers.

Daddy playing teacher.

Parker in front of the capitol building.

Thursday we headed over to a place called Monkey C Monkey Do. It is a high ropes adventure course. We all LOVED it!

Kaleigh on the zip line. She is the one on the left.

I wish I had the camera the other way, but I was trying to get the sudden drop in the shot. Here is Parker on the drop swing.

After our adventure was over, we went to a lobster place down the road for dinner.

The next couple of days we spent relaxing around the campground. The kids spent time playing, fishing, and enjoying some of the activities the campground had to offer. I took the opportunity to relax and read. I was able to read about 600 of my 1589 page book.

We have these crystals we throw in the fire to make it turn colors. The kids love it and Blake refers to it as "romance". He woke up one morning and asked us if we did our "romance" last night. We got a kick out of THAT question.

The campground had a huge pirate ship that the kids spent some time playing in. They even had Story Hour there, which was of course a cute pirate story.

Kaleigh was the only one besides Daddy to actually reel in a fish!

Friday and Saturday were finally warm enough to shed the pants and sweatshirts and enjoy the lake.

Just listen to the sound of laughter as they play 'King of the Lake'

Being Silly

Saturday afternoon we headed up an hour north to attend the wedding of Tessa and Forrest. It was a beautiful wedding and we wish nothing but the best for this wonderful couple.

I thought this was a adorable shot of Kaleigh and her father walking up the isle together. To think this could be her in a wedding dress 10 years from now is quite scary!

Sunday we spent packing up and heading home. The traffic was a nightmare, but we made it home safe and sound and had a wonderful time as a family. Praise God!

Week 33

2011-08-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 13th
We were still in Maine, and headed up an hour north for the wedding of Tessa and Forrest.

Sunday August 14th
We packed up and headed home...what should have been a 4 hour ride home turned into close to 6. So good to be home! I was happy to be able to tackle the three loads of laundry from our trip.

Monday August 15th
Our friends from down south were in town and stopped by to surprise us. Well the kids were surprised anyway. I had known they were coming for weeks.

Tuesday August 16th
Enjoying time with our friends.

Silly girls went shopping with my mother and bought matching hats. They HAD to model them for us.

Wednesday August 17th
Loaded up all the tag sale items that I had been storing in my basement. Next stop was the church's storage unit.

Thursday August 18th
A couple of my tag sale helpers

Friday August 19th
This is just one of three HUGE rooms that were FULL of stuff.

Project 365-Week 32

2011-08-15T06:20:00.001-07:00

Saturday August 6th
Tough to see who is who...but this is most of the Sharp Family.

Sunday August 7th
Is it any wonder why my kids didn't want the weekend to end? Look at all these awesome cousins!

Monday August 8th
No picture for this day, I was too busy cleaning and packing for our vacation.

Tuesday August 9th
First day of our Maine vacation. This was our home for 6 days.

Wednesday August 10th
It rained all day so we went to the Maine State Museum.

Thursday August 11th
We enjoyed the day at this outdoors, high-ropes adventure course called Monkey C- Monkey Do.

Friday August 12th
It was finally warm enough to shed the sweat shirts and long pants, so the boys went swimming.

Sharp Reunion

2011-08-07T18:57:00.001-07:00

We got a little bit of a later start than I would have liked. The kids knew I wanted to leave the house by 2:30pm and gave me updates every ten minutes as to what the clock said. Clearly they were excited and wanted to get to the reunion. We arrived at Camp Westwood around 4:15pm and everyone helped unload all of the food that was in my car for our team lunch. Then we headed off to OUR cabin. Nuthatch has been our cabin for the past three years and will hopefully remain that way for the remainder of our reunions :) We spent the next several hours catching up with out of state family and enjoying time around the campfire.

First thing on the agenda Saturday morning, after breakfast, was the traditional soccer game.

Everything went well, until as two very aggressive girls went after the ball. One of them (me), ended up on the ground with a huge lump on my shin.

The rest of the day was spent playing tennis, volleyball, zumbaing, swimming, and playing games.

The girls found some time for bracelet making. Kaleigh is really into it now.

Sunday morning we spent a little time in praise and worship and the Word.

Parker was thrilled to be able to help with worship this year.

I got a kick out of where Luke put the pacifier for his daughter...LOL! Creative when you don't have pockets.

Claire and Carson, our Maine relatives.

Derek (from Florida) and Mikey (from Rhode Island) don't know that this picture will someday be used against them someday. Gotta love these two!

It was a GREAT weekend with GREAT people and I look forward to next year!

Week 31

2011-08-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

This week was not too good in the picture department...but here is what we did.

Saturday July 30th
Was spent at the Windham County 4-H Fair. Kaleigh and Pride didn't do so well. Pride was NOT listening and Kaleigh was frustrated. But it was a learning experience for all. In between Showmanship and her trail class, Kaleigh lead Hannah on leadline.

Sunday July 31st
We went back to the fair to watch a few friends compete.

Monday August 1st
Had a playdate with dear friends.

Tuesday August 2nd
Took the boys and a friend to Six Flags as part of Parker's Birthday Present from JUNE!

Thursday August 4th
Today was the last day with my little buddy before he goes off to Kindergarten. So I let him pick what he wanted to do with his day. He said, "Let's paint!" I think I can handle that!

Friday August 5th
Packed up and headed to the Sharp Reunion! Nothing like ending the day with a little campfire and smores. MMMMMM!

Week 30

2011-07-27T05:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 23rd
We spent the day in North Stonington at Kaleigh's 4-H horse show.

Sunday July 24th
This picture needs a little background information. Eric came home after doing sound for the evening service to find Parker and Blake in the shower. He proceeded to dump a cup of cold water on them while they were in there. He went about his buisness and began to change the roters on his car while the boys gathered squirt guns for payback. They atttacked him while he was working. I snapped the picture just as Eric got up to go after them. I love the look on Parker's face!

Monday July 25th
We went to the Klim's for a playdate.

Tuesday July 26th
Eric had planned a long overdue family trip to the beach. We got to the Groton/New London bridge when the axle on the boat trailer broke. He called a tow truck and sat on the side of the highway and waited for it, while the kids and I headed home. Then he and his dad spent all afternoon trying to get the trailer out from underneath the boat so it could be fixed. Guess that family day will have to wait.

Wednesday July 27th
Kaleigh finally got around to having her birthday sleepover.

Thursday July 28th
The girls playing a Country Dance Game on the Wii.

Friday July 29th
Was spent getting ready for another horse show and trying to avoid death while putting the boat back on the trailer. Too busy for pics :(

Mouse Traps

2011-07-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

We got together with fellow homeschoolers and friends yesterday. The kids get along really well and we love how creative they get with their play. Yesterday was a perfect example. The boys got a hold of some mousetraps and it was non-stop laughter and excitement for HOURS! Here is just a snippet of their time together...

Then they tried to scare the girls with the traps.

Who knew mouse traps could be so entertaining. It brings me back to the days when cardboard boxes and pots and pans were their favorite toys. Guess what the boys are getting in their stockings this year for Christmas ;)

New London County 4-H Fair

2011-07-23T17:54:00.001-07:00

Today Kaleigh participated in the horse show for the New London County 4-H. Our day began as we left the house at 6am to head over to the barn. Kaleigh was a big help to me as I tried to get the horse trailer hooked up to the new truck for the first time. Then, she headed to the ring to lunge Pride, while I gathered all the tack, brushes and neccesary equipment. By the time I was done, it was 7:00am and we had a half hour to get him sparkling clean and load him in the trailer. We were rolling out of the farm about 7:40am. We safely arrived to the fairgrounds at 8:30 and had about a half hour to get registered and set up for her first class, Showmanship.

She didn't do too well in Showmanship. The judge thought Pride looked fat and greasy. So our new nickname for him is Guido. At least Kaleigh learned the things she needs to practice before the next show.

After Showmanship, she tacked Pride up and headed over to the trail ring. She got first place for her performance in trail.

After about an hour of waiting, she got to complete her last three classes, Pleasure, Equitation, and Command. Unfortunately, she was the only one in her division, so there was no competition. She was bummed because she likes competition.

After that, she decided to have some fun and enter in a couple of the games. She did Sit-A-Buck, in which the rider places a dollar bill between their seat and the horse. The last one left with the bill still there wins. It is harder than it sounds and she came in second.

Then she tried Musical Envelopes.

It was a HOT day and we were glad to get out of there around 2:30. But the fun didn't stop there. Once I got back to the barn around 3:30, all the stuff that we had brought needed to be unpacked, the trailer needed to be cleaned out and put away, and there is ALWAYS poop that needs to be shoveled from stalls. It was 5:00 pm by the time I left the barn and I was completely drenched in sweat. It was a fun, but tiring day!

Week 29

2011-07-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 16th
The kids came home from camp. We all went out with my grandmother to a spagetti supper to hear all about their week at camp. Sorry no pic :(

Sunday July 17th
Parker missed Missy I think.

A few minutes after taking the first shot, I called him into the kitchen for something. When I went in the living room, I found he had put the cat down and tucked her in. :)

Monday July 18th
We have seen Mama bird coming back and forth to this nest for a month. I was shocked to finally see babies...big ones at that!

Tuesday July 19th
Eric had about 45 minutes after coming home from working at the apartment before he had to head back out for band practice. He decided to grab a swim with the kids and they were pleased to have some time with Daddy.

Wednesday July 20th
Kaleigh has been working hard polishing up all her tack for her upcoming horseshow.

Thursday July 21st
Kaleigh snapped a picture of me working hard painting signs for our church tag sale in the 97 degree temps.

Friday July 22nd
One word...HOT! BTW this thermometer is in the shade!

Week 28

2011-07-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

This week was a fairly productive week for me, the kids were away for the week at camp and I was able to get many cleaning projects done around the house that I have been putting off. Of course I left some time for play :)

Saturday July 9th
I dropped the kids off at church at 8am and waved goodbye as they headed off to Word of Life camp in NY for a WEEK!

That evening Eric and I attended the second wedding of the weekend, my cousin Robin and her husband Bobby.

Sunday July 10th
Yup ANOTHER wedding. This time it was for Eric's childhood friend, Matt.

Monday July 11th
I had a softball game.

Tuesday July 12th
Spend the day scrubbing boogers at the rental property for five hours and then took two loads of tag sale items from a friend's house to the church storage unit. Yup, I was pooped!

Wednesday July 13th
Had a softball game in the rain. Got to play and look at this :)

Thursday July 14th
Had some fun with my little buddy I watch.

Friday July 15th
Spent the morning out of the trails with Loree, Tux and Dottie.

Then headed up to Boston with Eric to watch Thane Stimson fight in his AFO competition. Ever see the mixed martial arts cage fighting on TV? Yup that's what he does. We were thrilled to see him take away a win and continue as an undefeated champion.

Week 27

2011-07-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 2nd
John and LeeAnn are here from West Virginia, so we went to the Putnam fireworks with them.

Sunday July 3rd
Was spent at the in-laws relaxing poolside and lovin on my nephew.

Monday July 4th
At the in-laws again for a retirement party for my father in law.

Tuesday July 5th
Took Mac to the vet for a hot spot gone bad. Poor cone head.

Wednesday July 6th
Blake had a pretty good case of swimmer's ear. I was able to take care of it with alcohol and vinegar drops. In explaining what swimmer's ear is and why this works, I mentioned how the inside of this ear looked all white and wrinkly. He of course wanted to see it and begged me for a picture. Of course, he couldn't see the white, but at least I made an effort for him :)

Thursday July 7th
Kaleigh had her last swim lesson so I took a shot of the group that had been together over the last two weeks.

Friday July 8th
We had two celebrations today. Eric's Uncle Gary got marrried......

and Kaleigh turned 12!

Rocky Neck

2011-07-06T06:06:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends from PA were up this week, so we headed to the beach on a cloudy Saturday morning. It was forcasted to rain later in the day, but the kids didn't care. They just wanted to go crabbing on the rocks. So we did. The kids spent HOURS crabbing.
And I took lots of pictures of them enjoying it! Two other friends joined us with their brood. There were 14 of us in all.

Parker dropped his line and was trying to retrieve it.

The day ended up turning out beautiful, so we all headed over to the beach.

Kaleigh playing frisbee

Parker eating as usual :)

These two crazy boys got out of the water and covered themselves with sand. Then repeated the act about 5 more times. Silly!

Blake jumping waves

The ladies

Week 26

2011-07-06T05:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 25th
We had company from PA, so we hit the beach.

Sunday June 26th
Kaleigh and I headed off to the church picnic, while Eric and the boys headed out to the air show in RI.

Monday June 27th
First day of VBS. I taught one of the third grade classes. Nothing like 250 kids having fun all week and learning about the Lord!

Tuesday June 28th
Kaleigh had her first swim lesson. She can swim, but still does the doggie paddle. She wants to be able to pass the swim test when she goes to camp in a few weeks. They require an overhand stroke.

Wednesday June 29th
The boys had Nick over after VBS and spent hours on the water slide.

Thursday June 30th
Kaleigh's friend Maddie came over after VBS today and I failed to take a picture.

Friday July 1st
VBS is over and we are EXHAUSTED!

Week 25

2011-06-25T05:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 18th
Spent the day at Hopeville Pond with the Olympians.

Sunday June 19th
Church, a quick Father's Day celebration,

and then off to RI to celebrate Grammie's 80th birthday!

Heidi and I were surprised when her shock turned into sobbing. But she assured us they were tears of joy.

Monday June 20th
Oh the things this ferret tolerates!

Tuesday June 21st
We had planned to go to Six Flags for Parker's birthday, but Blake woke up with a fever and feeling VERY yucky. So Eric stayed with him while I took Parker and two friends to see Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3-D.

Wednesday June 22nd
Happy '9th' Birthday Parker!!!

Thursday June 23rd
This is what walked straight across my front lawn. I went out to take a picture of it and it just stood there. I got about 15 feet away from her, before she bolted!

Friday June 24th
About a year ago, my MIL and I got a gift certificate from a wonderful lady at church for Norwich Inn and Spa. It took us a LONG time to find a date that worked. We both got a 80 minute Swedish massage.

Olympian Campout

2011-06-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

Due to threatening thunderstorms, leaders decided to have the annual camp out inside the church. It worked out beautifully because of the large space of the new fellowship hall. The kids ate a delicious meal of spaghetti and meatballs and wasted no time getting into game mode.

We had some parachute games.

Some Sharks and Minnows games. For all you old folks like me, it is a new variation of tag :)

Some praise and worship...

An entertaining, yet important reminder on the Parable of the Seed.

Then onto more games...
I know there is no way of telling, but this is Parker under here!

Some form of volleyball....

A dress-up relay race....

And of course...the Limbo!

After an evening of no sleep, we packed things up and headed to Hopeville Pond for some swimming and sand castle contests.

Although, entertaining and trying to get 54 children to go to sleep at midnight is draining, it is a blessing to see them all enjoying being together and learning about the Lord.

Week 24

2011-06-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 11th
What do you do when you have to be somewhere at the same time as your kids? Call Memere!
Eric and I were priveledged to be part of the wedding of this special couple.

While Memere took the kids to their 100 inning game/trophy ceremony. Thanks Memere!

Sunday June 12th
We headed to RI to attend the wedding shower for Eric's Uncle Gary and soon to be Aunt Sharon.

Monday June 13th
No pics :(

Tuesday June 14th
My birthday began with this beautiful boquet the kids went out in the rain to pick me.

They also made me a card and bought me a book. My dear hubby made me cry with his card and then we all headed out to RI to buy my birthday present.

No, it wasn't really for my birthday. It is for plowing and pulling the horse trailer. But that was the joke for the day.

Wednesday June 15th
Finally got around to washing my floors. Due to a bum wrist, I wasn't able to tolerate the hands and knees method.

Thursday June 16th
Kaleigh had her horseback riding lesson...BAREBACK! You go girl!

Friday June 17th
I went to Eric's cousin's house to work on this surprise for Eric's grandmother's 80th birthday.

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Nathan Hale Homestead

2011-06-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day we started a unit on Early American History that we will continue through the summer. The kids have been learning about many battles and people during the American Revolutionary War. They are actually really into it. One of these brave souls, was Nathan Hale. He grew up in Coventry, CT and was one of 10 living children. At the age of 13, he went off to college at Yale Univerity and became a school teacher. During the war, he served his country as a Captain in the Army. He went to stay in British territory at a cousin's house and spied on the British. Storing all the information in his boots, he set out back to his commrades to give them the information he had collected. His cousin, however, had betrayed him and the British were waiting for him. They captured him and he was hanged.

The ladies giving us a tour of the homestead were VERY informative and gave the kids a good glimpse of what it was like to live in the 18th century.

Their first stop was the schoolroom.

Boys typically were taught in school. Girls were not educated, but Nathan Hale believed in education for everyone, so he taught a special class, for girls, in the morning from 5-7 a.m. The kids learned about some of the things they would learn, as well as some of the punishments they would recieve for misbehaving in class.

Blake had to stand and hold a heavy log.

This girl had to stand and hold a sign that said "Noisy girl"

Then, we had the classic "Nose against the wall"

Last, was the dunce cap and if that didn't work...the switch across the knuckles of back of the leg.

Then it was time for recess. They had fun playing with the toys they had back in the day!

We, then, went into the homestead, which Nathan never lived in. He had died during the construction of it. I couldn't take pictures in the house, but the kids learned about the life of many of the members of the Hale family, and what their daily life would have looked like.

I was able to take pictures in the kitchen because if had been remodeled. The kids learned about cooking and herbs. They made lavender sachets to stick in their pockets. They needed something to make them smell good because they only bathed once every few months. EWWWWW!

The kids got to try writing with quill pens.

It was a great day with good friends!

Week 23

2011-06-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 4th
Today was a busy day for us. The boys went to a butterfly exhibit with Grammie, then to a wedding with me. After the wedding, I dropped the boys off with Daddy and took Kaleigh to a bridal shower for our dear friend Tessa.

Sunday June 5th
Eric was at church doing sound from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm. So, I let the kids have a friend over to take their mind off their missing Daddy :)

Monday June 6th
Kaleigh was the only 6th grader to take and pass the Steadfast award at church. Her reward was not only that she has hidden a GREAT deal of God's word in her heart, but also was sent a college scholarship and a free week of camp at Word of Life Bible Institute.

Tuesday June 7th
My summer reading has officially begun!

Wednesday June 8th
FIRST swim in Memere's pool!

Thursday June 9th
Being silly with the float.

Friday June 10th
We went on a field trip to the Nathan Hale Homestead.

A Day with Grammie

2011-06-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

Grammie asked the kids if they wanted to go to a butterfly exhibit on Saturday morning and the boys were happy to check it out. Here are a few pictures of their Saturday with Grammie.

When they got back they RAVED about it. They wanted to go again the next day, but our schedule wouldn't allow for it. Oh well, next year!

Week 22

2011-05-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday May 28th
Kaleigh rode her Pride with her 4-H group in the Memorial Day Parade.

Yeah, I got into it too :)

Sunday May 29th
TWINS! He hates it when this happens. He told me to change, but I refused...hahaha!

Monday May 30th
Grammie picked up the kids to swim and Eric and I stayed home to tackle some projects at home. We joined the kids at her house for dinner and Daddy swam with them. The water temperature was way too cold for me!

Tuesday May 31st
Eric is sooooo close to being done with the deck.

Wednesday June 1st
The boys enjoyed all the steamers Memere had gotten them on Memorial Day.

Thursday June 2nd
The kids and I had picked up these HUGE marshmallows at Walmart earlier in the week and they were dying to roast them.

Can somebody help me, I'm stuck!

Macaveli to the rescue!

Friday June 3rd
My new under 400 calorie breakfast kick!

Week 21

2011-05-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday May 21st
Pride has been dealing with an abscess in his foot, so in between baseball and a birthday party, we were there twice this day to soak his foot. This is what I saw when we went to leave. I absolutely LOVE this picture AND this horse. I think I might make it into a poster for Kaleigh's room.

Sunday May 22nd
Another birthday party....this time at The Trampoline Place.

Monday May 23rd
I love the fact that Blake will find something constructive to do if he is all done with school and the other two are still working.

Tuesday May 24th
Eric's latest project. A back deck off our entry way.

Wednesday May 25th
80+ degrees = getting wet. They hooked the garden sprinkler up and drove bikes through it.

Thursday May 26th
Went in to wake Kaleigh up and thought the foot hanging out of bed, along with covers up over her head, was cute.

Friday May 27th
The boys blew up the "hamster ball" their Aunt and Uncle got them for Christmas. They thoroughly enjoyed it!

Week 20

2011-05-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday May 14th
4 pairs of Jeans for $17.00. Yeah baby!

Sunday May 15th
It was a rainy day so Eric was able to tackle the mountain of papers that needed to be filed.

Monday May 16th
Chinchillas were the subject in Kaleigh's Jr. Zookeeper class.

Tuesday May 17th
How do I love a man that can do repairs on his own? Let me count the ways...1, 2 hundred dollars :) SAVED!

Wednesday May 18th
We had a visit from dear friends. The kids stayed very busy making goop, playing video games, and making a craft.

Thursday May 19th
Today was the first day since Sunday that we had a break in the rain. Amazingly the field was well enough for the kids to have their game.

Friday May 20th
My MIL picked the kids up around 3:30 and took them for an overnight. Eric and I enjoyed a dinner out and then went to a Celtic praise music concert. The family band was very comical and the father was a dynamic speaker. It was a nice evening without kids. I don't think we have had a date-night since our anniversary in January. :(

Week 19

2011-05-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday May 7th
Ladies Banquet at church. Eric doing his "short stuff" skit.

Sunday May 8th
Kaleigh took this picture of us and turned it into a lovely creation on Smilebox for Mother's Day.

Monday May 9th
Kaleigh's Jr. Zookeeper class revolved around rabbits this week. Thank goodness it was something cute and cuddly this week. :)

Tuesday May 10th
I took Pride on the trails with some friends. I am waiting for the picture from my friend.

Wednesday May 11th
The boy's new pet. Did I mention that it ate the toad they had in the tank as their pet the day before?

Thursday May 12th
I took this picture last week for Mexican theme night at church and never posted it because it was so blurry. I'm going to use it seeing I didn't take a picture today.

Friday May 13th
Gold level reward night for Olympians- Laser Tag!

Ladies Banquet

2011-05-09T06:45:00.000-07:00

Every year many of the men in our church work like dogs to honor us on the Saturday before Mother's Day. They cook for us and entertain us with a comedy show. My hubby worked many late nights on this skit, getting the music ready and the moves down. It was of course, my favorite. Enjoy!

Week 18

2011-05-09T05:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday April 30th
Opening Day of Baseball started with a parade down Main Street...

An introduction of all the teams, coaches and sponsers...Go Seadogs!!!

A game time! Parker is thrilled to be one of the pitchers.

Monday May 2nd
Today was the first day of classes at the homeschool co-op we joined. Kaleigh is taking a JR. Zookeeper class and held a giant cockroach. YUCK!!! I'm going to see if I can get the picture from her teacher.

Tusday May 3rd
Eric went turkey hunting with a coworker. Bet those turkeys didn't see him!

Wednesday May 4th
Blake got tired of waiting for me to finish helping Kaleigh, so he asked his brother to listen to him read.

Thursday May 5th
It was Mexican Theme Night at youth group. Kaleigh dressed up as a taco. I was proud that she came up with the idea all on her own and made the costume too!

Friday May 6th
We went to Eric's softball game. Kaleigh always enjoys Avery's company.

Field Trip

2011-05-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday April 26th, after school was done, Eric took us on a surprise field trip to a Fish Hatchery nearby. I had never been there, and it was very cool to see and read about the whole process. After we explored inside, we went outside to the holding pools. There were three tanks that contained Brook, Rainbow and Brown trout. The guy who worked there, was kind enough to bring a bucket of fish food out for the kids to feed the fish. It was so cool I had to take a video.

Week 17

2011-05-01T18:00:00.001-07:00

This week is pretty lame as far as pictures go. This seems to be the case for me every year around this time. My life consists of baseball with the boys and horseback with Kaleigh. Only so many pictures you can take in a month of those things, ya know? So this is what we have for this week.

Saturday April 23rd
Baseball in the morning and cantata in the evening.

Sunday April 24th
We took this photo for Easter.

Monday April 25th
We laid low today and took the day off school to try to recooperate from Cantata. Kaleigh had her horseback riding lesson in the afternoon.

Tuesday April 26th
What happened to spring?

I have no pictures for the rest of the week :(

Friday April 29th
I came home from a bridal shower at church on Friday night, to find Eric playing Angry Birds on his phone again. He's addicted!

Easter Day

2011-04-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

Easter day started with church and all three choirs and the worship band singing together.

The sight off all those people singing together with the video of all the work our church has done around the world to spread the gospel brought me to tears. It is clear that our focus as a church is in the right place.

After, the kids finished singing in second service, the boys and I headed home to get a few things and spend some time with my mother and grandmother.
Easter basket time! After a couple hours, the boys and I met Eric and Kaleigh at his parents house for lunch. We were thrilled to be able to spend the afternoon with Eric's grandparents from Rhode Island.

Of course, the kids couldn't wait to get outside and hunt for eggs.
Then the boys enjoyed a few games of BUMP on the basketball court. Four generations of basketball players! At 6pm, we all headed back to the church to perform in the final night of our Easter production. We were very excited and hopeful, because a dear friend that I had been getting to know, and had talked frequently about Jesus, over the past year was going to be attending. After the show, our Pastor always gives a salvation message and my family was elated when Mr. Sally, our friend, found us and told us he had said the prayer and accepted Jesus. Kaleigh was so thrilled she must have brought about ten of her friends over and told them all. He is eager to learn and will begin joining us on Sundays. So pray for his walk with the Lord.

A Day With Cousins

2011-04-25T19:21:00.001-07:00

This was the third year of our 'Cousins Get Together' over April vacation. This year it was Glory's turn to host and we were happy to have Marsha and Alyssa join us in the fun!

Parker was thrilled to be able to bring his quad and go out riding with Mikey.

The rain did not stop Charlotte and Blake from cruising on bikes.

Kaleigh and Meredith stayed inside and ventured out for a bit to climb trees with Alyssa.

Old Friends

2011-04-24T20:00:00.001-07:00

Monday, April 18th I had a long overdue visit with my friend Shea. It had been three years since we last saw one another. She is special to me because she was bold and cared enough to share the love of Jesus with me 13 years ago. You see we have been friends since freshman year of highschool, in 1989. Infact, we used to party together. Then, after graduation, she found the Lord and got all weird on me, well that is what I thought at the time. She was always talking about Jesus and what he had done in her life. Going to a bar was no longer something she was interested in. Although I believed in God, I wasn't ready to give up on my FUN. Years later, after a bad breakup, I decided I wanted to speak to Shea. The number I once had was not in service anymore, so I had no way of getting ahold of her. Three days later, my phone rang, and it was Shea. The first words out of her mouth were, "Connie, the Lord has impressed on me to call you". God now had my attention! He knew I was ready to hear how much he loved me. He loved me so much, that he died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins, past, present and future. I never had a problem believing this about Jesus, but I had never reached out to Him and given my life over to Him. On November 17, 1997 I accepted Jesus as my Savior and have never looked back. All the weight of hurts, unforgiveness and sins were lifted off me that day. I could pysicially feel my burden of sin being removed. Over the past 13 years I have seen God do amazing things. I could probably write a book about them all. I have found pure joy and fun in life that I never thought was possible. So thank you Shea for your friendship and obedience to follow the Great Commission.

Project 365-Week 16

2011-04-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

This week was busy with rehersals and baseball, but I did manage a few pictures for the week.

Monday April 18th
Got together with an old high-school friend. Our kids had a fun playing together and Kaleigh did well mothering the youngest so Shea and I could chat.

Tuesday April 19th
We headed to RI to get together with Glory and kids. I did post more on our day in a seperate post entitled A Day With Cousins.

Wednesday April 20th
I got nothing!

Thursday April 21st
I picked up a craft at the dollar store that we could do when Ryan came over. They came out cute!

Friday April 22nd
Opening night of our Easter Show

Lord I Lift Your Name On High

2011-04-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

This one is for you Aunt LeeAnn! Parker can't wait to jam with you in October.

Ranch Rodeo Round-up

2011-04-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, (April 16th) Word of Life students that run the summer camp there, came to our church to run a special youth event. They had carnival type games...

bounce houses.....

pony rides.....

face painting.....

a petting zoo....

and a salvation message...

After the event, we had the privilege of hosting two of the young men from the group. The kids thoroughly enjoyed their company and were sad to see them off on Sunday afternoon. They are now looking forward to seeing their new friends this summer at camp.

Monday Mania

2011-04-18T06:44:00.001-07:00

Monday April 11th was sooooo busy I decided to write a separate post just to document the craziness of the day. We got up and did our morning routine and were out the door by 9am for a Lego engineering class that I had signed the boys up for. I made a few stops along the way, on our 40 minute drive, and we were at the museum by 9:50. While the boys were in class from 10-12, Kaleigh and I sat in a nearby room and did her school work.

At noon we packed up and headed back toward our neck of the woods. We stopped at a Chinese restaurant and had lunch then headed to Kaleigh's horseback riding lesson at 2pm.

She was all done about 3:45 and we headed on to choir/bible study at the church from 4-5pm. From there we stopped at my in-laws up the road and shoveled in some food so I could get the boys to their baseball practice at 6pm.

At around 7:30 the boys finished practice, I stopped and picked up Kaleigh, who had stayed at her grandparents and we headed home. We arrived home around 8:30 pm and headed straight to bed. I DO NOT enjoy these types of days but it seems to be what our spring is like. The good news is that the boys love their Lego class and I have signed them up for another session in May. The time is different so we will see what our Mondays look like come May.

Project 365-Week 15

2011-04-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday April 9th
I was too busy between church cleaning and baseball practice to even think about a picture today.

Sunday April 10th
Parker has learned his first praise and worship song in chords...Lord I Lift Your Name On High

Monday April 11th
The boys had their very first Lego engineering class, which they LOVED!

Tuesday April 12th
With a cat, a dog and a ferret roaming the house, I invested in this! It is much easier to pull out for those little accidents than my big carpet cleaner.

Wednesday April 13th
This is where my mother puts bad boys AND dogs. JOKE!

Thursday April 14th
Mac's Lyme Disease has been flaring up this week and Parker was sure to give him lots of love to try to make him feel better.

Friday April 15th
Eric used his much needed day off to cut more brush and burn the brush pile he had started this past fall. The boys were very eager to help.

Project 365-Week 14

2011-04-08T19:34:00.001-07:00

Saturday April 2nd
I attended the wedding of a dear friend of mine from church. She looked absolutely gorgeous!

Sunday April 3rd
We had the teen service at church. They did an amazing job with music, skits and preaching.

Monday April 4th
Kaleigh has been working on her photography for this year's 4-H contest.

Tuesday April 5th
Brought the kids to church for Choir practice.

Wednesday April 6th
Blake had a dentist appointment.

Thursday April 7th
Parker was enjoying Chesney's bike. LOL!

Friday April 8th
We had rehearsal for Easter Cantata at the church. It is a family affair with the kids and I acting and Eric running sound.

April Fool's

2011-04-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

April Fool's is usually a big pranking day in our house. Luckily, I had arranged the prank on Eric the night before because on the actual day, I wasn't feeling good at all. I sent Kaleigh out to video tape the prank but it is hard to tell exactly what I did to my darling husband. First, I put tape over the key hole so that he couldn't get his key into the ignition easily. Then, I made sure that everything was on full blast in the car for when he did start it. And finally, I set up bubble wrap under the front passenger tire so that when he began to back up he heard this loud noise. As you can see from the sudden stop of the vehicle, he wasn't expecting that! LOL! "Wait until next year", is all he keeps saying. I say, "Bring it"!

Parker needs an honorable mention for his prank. I thought he was being sweet making pancakes for his sick mommy. But I should have known better. He put in an insane amount of salt and pepper that made the pancakes unedible. You just wait till next year buddy when I'm not sick and can get you back!

Project 365- Week 13

2011-04-02T05:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 26th
While the boys were at a birthday party, Kaleigh and I spent a few hours with my grandmother at the convalescent home. Kaleigh did Mem- Mem's nails and make-up. Kaleigh said, "You are the cutest senior in the building". These are the memories we are both going to cherish.

Later that evening, we picked up the boys and headed to church for Triple T Night. The kids sang with the band and played some percussion, had some yummy treats, and gave testimony to what God was doing or teaching them in their lives. It was a great day!

Sunday March 27th
We had a baptism at our church with 35 people being baptized, from ages 6-86! What a blessing!

Monday March 28th
I hadn't really taken a picture for today so I decided to take a picture of my new hair-do I got last Friday. I didn't want to completely dye my hair so my hairdresser put in some strategically placed highlights to hide the gray. LOVE IT!

Tuesday March 29th
Ended up taking Blake to the E.R. for breathing trouble and high fever. Posted all about it in a separate post.

Wednesday March 30th
No picture today :(

Thursday March 31st
Last day of March! Time to decorate for Easter!

Friday April 1st
This is where I spend most of the day. I was sick with a terrible sore throat, headache, dizziness, and chills. I ended up perking up a bit in the afternoon, after breaking down and taking some Tylenol.

Asthma?!?!

2011-03-30T06:13:00.001-07:00

After being tired all weekend, Blake started coughing like a seal on Sunday night and woke up with a low grade fever. Croup again, I thought. Parker had gotten it at the tail end of our vacation several weeks ago. Not a major deal.
Well, by Tuesday afternoon, Blake was audibily wheezing and complaining that he couldn't breath. The fever that was once low-grade was back and blazing hot. So at 2pm I called the doctor to see what he thought. In the back of my mind was the thought of pnemonia. The doctor finally called me back at 7:30pm and advised that I bring him to the E.R. So I did.

At the E.R. they took us right in and did a chest x-ray and gave Blake a breathing treatment. His wheezing stopped immediately and so did his coughing.

The doctor looked at his x-ray and saw no pnemonia but did see signs of asthma. I asked a million questions and am hoping and praying that she is right with her take on the situation. She thinks that this upper respitory virus has brought the asmtha on and that once he is over this virus, the asthma will go away.

Until then, we have this nifty inhaler for when he can't breathe again.