Christmas & New Years....what is your resolution?

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Well, as you can see Christmas was fun at our house!
I have been gone most of the week at work and just generally keeping up with the house after a crazy week last week.

Christmas was a great time and we enjoyed having family to our house on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. We love having family gatherings at our house and we were blessed to have all but 2 brothers-in-law in attendance (one had to work and one was sick!). All 15 grandchildren made it on Christmas eve and Christmas day brought only 7 (and a much quieter day!).
Yes - we did get snow on Christmas day so we can say we had a white Christmas.
We will also have a white New Years!

Tonight we have a few friends coming over to ring in the New Year.
Tomorrow will bring the house back to normal was we take down all the Christmas stuff both inside and out. It will be cold getting the exterior lights down but with a few of us working it will be done in no time. The girls will not be happy but on Sunday they are going to clean their rooms (while I clean the upstairs and the basement). I did not clean the house this week and that will mean that Monday it will be REALLY bad. I have a dentist appointment too (yes, I'm giddy with excitement REALLY) so I will need to start on Sunday to get it all done. But it will be good to get everyone out of the house and back to school and work. It seems like they have been home forever. I love them but they need to keep themselves busy with things other than tv, computer and ipods :} Their minds need to be busy....with schoolwork ;}

We have not gotten their semester grades yet which I am very surprised by!
I really want to know how they all did - some of the final test scores have not yet been posted either - I hate that!

I don't really have much in the way of New Year's resolutions.
I do have to say that I am taking control of our grocery budget and will be cutting it in half.
Don't act shocked!
Really, we need to cut it in half!!
I have tracked the last three months and we have spent over $1,000 per month in groceries. That does not include eating out!
That is RIDICULOUS!

So, I have started going to CVS and earning bucks that can be spent later on things like toilet paper and other items. Today, I earned $4 just by purchasing 2 boxes of kleenex, 3 2 liters of Coke (for our party tonight), 2 Secret deodorants (hello, teenager daughters in the house!) and 1 tube of toothpaste (that I also had a coupon for - $1 cvs buck plus .75 coupon total cost of .24 cents!). Everything was on sale (buy one get one or had savings bucks included). It was kinda fun to see how much we saved! I am also looking for more coupons and will be shopping during the sales. I went to Aldi on Monday but I don't think I really saved anything plus it took me 20 minutes to get there so I don't think I'll be going back but will be doing the coupon thing instead. I may add Walgreen's to the mix but we will have to see. I'll keep up updated on our progress! And please don't feel sorry for the kids - there is plenty of fruit in the fridge that never seems to get touched yet they complain there is nothing to eat :}

If you have any grocery savings tips you would like to share, pass it along!

Hugs and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!!

2009 Christmas Letter

Every year we send out a letter in our Christmas cards.
This year we opted out of sending Christmas cards (and put the money we would have spent on cards to purchase gifts for one of the boys at The Children's Home) but we wanted to do a Christmas letter anyway.
Hang onto your hats....

2009 was a whirlwind for us.
I have no idea what we actually did but I was always tired!

Bill continues to work at the Cat plant in Morton.
He was promoted to supervisor with 65 folks under him.
Although we went through a 3 week rolling layoff during the summer months,
we are thankful that he has a job.
He continues to ride his bike in the basement (he peddles and peddles but never gets anywhere!) and do strength training to stay in shape.
Yes! He is feeling his age and wishes he could get out to run again.
Not going to happen :}

I am still working at Coldstone Creamery decorating cakes.
They have added pies and cupcakes (and ice cream sandwiches come February) to my "to do" list each week. Yes! I still enjoy coming home smelling like chocolate and ice cream :}
I continue to work with the 6-12 month old babies in Mops on Fridays and take my Precept Bible study on Tuesdays. Combine that with running the girls to their various activities and I have a 40+ hour a week part time job!

Gabby is a sophomore this year. She is taking the typical sophomore classes including but not limited to "How to make your parents crazy in 10 minutes or less" (to which she is currently getting 100%).
She enjoyed playing softball in Morton at the 14U travel level during the summer along with volleyball open gyms
AND taking behind the wheel drivers ed.
That's right folks! Gabby is driving!! I have to say that the guy walking his dog through the school parking lot the first day of her driving will never forget it. Poor guy was just walking his dog.....
She will get her license in March.
The highlight of her year was making the varsity softball team
as a freshman last spring.
She was also involved in the flag corp for marching band and playing on the sophomore volleyball team. Of course,
driving should be thrown in there somewhere!

Abby is a freshman this year.
She fulfilled her goal of playing every sport she could in her 8th grade year.
This year she played with Gabby on the Morton 14U Travel softball team and made the freshman volleyball team. She is still playing her violin and would like to play in the church Christmas orchestra next year. She has decided that she would like to do something in the medical field "when she grows up". We were not surprised by this as we have never been able to read her handwriting. Sorry, Mrs. Smalley, her handwriting from kindergarten has not improved!
Abby's highlight of the year was playing 5 softball games in one day to place 3rd in the state tournament. She got the game winning
hit to keep them in the tourney.
The coming year will bring her drivers ed training and I have to say it isn't fair to the parents to have to do drivers training two years in a row! I certainly hope the same guy isn't out walking his dog.....

Last but not least is our adopted daughter.
Edris.
She is our foreign exchange student from Madrid Spain.
She falls right between our girls in age so she is a sophomore with Gabby.
She enjoyed swimming on the swim team and
has a few ribbons to prove her ability.
She did not enjoy the two a day practices but misses it now that it is over.
She also plays the piano and guitar.
She will be returning to Spain in June - two days after her 16th birthday.
Yes!
She will get to start dating two days before she leaves for home.
That is what I call perfect timing :}
She is not allowed to drive while she is in the states so we are granted a reprieve while she is in the country.

As a whole, we are enjoying life.
We moved back to attending Bethany Baptist Church in early August (due to the drive time) and miss the folks at Bethany Community dearly. We still keep up with them through Facebook and such.
We are blessed to have a wonderful church family
in addition to our fabulous family!
My side of the family continues to grow and my parents are happy to say they have 15 grandchildren. Bill's side is holding with
1 grandson and 6 granddaughters.

We are so thankful for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
He is the reason for CHRISTmas after all!!

Merry Christmas
and
Blessings to you all!

ps - for those of you that follow the dog/pool drama. We continue to be dog and pool free at our house. Much to Bill's dismay!

Oh to be 15 again!

Happy 15th Birthday Abby!

She was so excited!

She scored a locket - that she specifically asked for!
Yes! There is a girl under there somewhere :}

She also got a new wool coat complete with hat and scarf to match!

Gabby had to get in on the fun!

I finally got around to snapping some Christmas pictures.
Our decor hasn't really changed since last year.....

Our tree is in a different corner...

The mantle spakles nicely but I'm an idiot when it comes to my camera so I could not figure out how to keep the flash from going off so I could show the lights!
DUH!

The stairway shows a little sparkle....

We actually got a little snowfall today and Abby was thrilled!

I love our welcoming wreath!

These little trees are so fun!

We are anxiously awaiting the next two days to be over.

The girls are still working on finals.
A few final grades are in...
Gabby 96% on Spanish
Edris 96% on World History and 88% on Chemistry
Abby 94% on Algrebra 1 Honors

There are more grades to come from Friday's finals but the teachers are slacking and haven't gotten them listed yet. It makes us crazy!

All three are studying in the sunroom with the fire blazing.
It is fun to see them in there quizing each other.

This week will bring me at work Monday - Wednesday to make sure that all the cake orders are filled on time with plenty of reserve for those last minute planners!

Christmas shopping is officially finished.
Everything is wrapped and all donations have been made.

I have a feeling I will be taking the girls out to do some shopping on Tuesday night.
They have not made all their purchases yet.
It seems they have not purchased anything for me yet...
I would be happy with them just simply doing what I ask when I ask
but don't tell them that :}

Hugs all!

5 Things I Love

Darling Patrice over here gave me a gift and I love gifts especially at Christmas time!

I'm supposed to tell you all about the 5 things that I love. This may take A LOT of thought!!

1. Of course, my family would be first. I heart them - most of the time anyway :} They put up with me and still love me even when I am crazy.

2. My laptop - for obvious reasons! I am very protective over my laptop and get a bit annoyed when someone else is using it. Don't they know that I need to be checking in on my peeps?!

3. Snow! I love snow - remind of this in February and March please! I love the white stuff and getting stuck at home. It is a great de-stresser to have to stay at home and not be able to get out of the house.

4. My Rowenta iron. I know it seems weird but I do have to iron about every other week. I absolutely FATE ironning but I love my iron! It stays hot and doesn't pee on my clothes. My DH is also thankful for my iron. To date, it is my longest lasting iron - I have had it for over 5 years :}

5. Chick flicks. I adore girl movies! Any kind, funny, sad, drama - whatever! Sadly, Bill does not share my love....

I think I'll see if there are any on tv right now....

Hugs!

ps - you can grab the button and share the 5 things you love!

An Almost Perfect Day!

Another busy week has come and gone.

It is hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner.

Our house is decorated and looks pretty.
(Pictures to come soon)

There is candy waiting to be made
and
a few gifts left to purchase.

The girls are gearing up for finals.
The teachers are piling on the homework in an attempt to finish up the semester.

The weather has turned cold.
We have yet to see any snow accumulation.
We are supposed to get 1/2 inch tomorrow.
We shall see!

Today was our churches yearly Christmas muscial.
The choir and orchestra put on a great show.
They ended with our favorite song.

Glorious Impossible.

Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3McszuxhOcQ

Obviously, that is the Gaither boys singing but we just love the song!

Tonight we are enjoying watching Gabby freak out watching "War of the Worlds".
Add that to the Alabama win over Florida
and we had a GREAT day!

The coming week will see us making candy.....
chocolate popcorn
turtles
peanut butter cups
chocolate caramel cups
chocolate covered pretzels
chocolate caramel pretzel sticks
peppermint bark

Most of it will be wrapped up and put away for Christmas eve and Christmas day with some going to our sweet neighbors.

I almost forgot!

We got to see Santa and Mrs. Claus at Walmart tonight!

See!

I told you it was almost perfect :}

Hugs!

200!!

Can you believe it?

This is my 200th post!

You have been counting right?!

(Please say yes!)

I need a reason to keep coming back....

OK, off to a different subject.
Look what we found in the garage...

I could not get those crazy daisies to bloom all summer!
So, we move them into the garage for the winter and
BAM
one blooms!

Maybe I'll leave them in the garage next summer :}

Yesterday we spent the day in Chicago.
We had the crazy idea that shopping in Chicago on Black Friday would be fun.
It was for a little while.
And then more people came...

Here is a picture of one of the shabby trees they had at 900 N Michigan Ave shops.

It was HUGE!

I found these in the Coach shop.
They were an EXCELLENT deal!

We went to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch/dinner.
After a bit of an issue with our reservations, we got seated and got to enjoy a nice meal. We ordered the cheesecake to go and had it when we got home.

YUMMY!
Cheesecake is my favorite dessert.
I love all desserts but cheesecake is my favorite!!

Abby terrified us this morning.
She started screaming at 7am.
Apparently, she turned her head this morning, felt a "pop" and felt intense pain in her neck.
A quick call to her doctor got us moving to the ER.
They said it looked like a muscle strain, prescibed muscle relaxer and ibuprofen and sent her home. She is enjoying the meds and the heating pad today.
She will continue the meds through tomorrow and we will see how she feels.

It has been a long day and Gabby is wanting to do some running.
I'm starting to get frustrated with that kid!
She needs her drivers license but I can also see that she will be doing alot of running here and there but doing absolutely nothing in the process.
Today her friends want her to go play on the recess equipment at the grade school.
What?!
Aren't you 15+ years old?!
Don't you want to be treated as a 15 year old?
Does it seem weird to anyone else???
Did I do stuff like that at that age?
I can't remember....

Time to wrap this one up!

Hugs to all :}

Pies & Cupcakes & Trees oh my!

I'm done with work for the week.

I made 14 of these...

5 of these...

4 of these...

1 of these...


and 9 cases of these...

Yep!

I'm tired of ice cream :}

It has been a long week already and I'm looking forward to spending time with my family.
We all live within a half hour of each other but we don't get to see each other nearly enough.
It will be a sweet time for us all!

I have caved this year and am allowing the Christmas decor to go up before Thanksgiving. Please note...NO LIGHTS WILL BE LIT UNTIL THANKSGIVING IS OVER! My rule is usally hard and fast. Let's not skip a great holiday to get to another. This year, we are headed to Chicago on Black Friday. My selfishness is causing me to change my mind this year. I want to spend some fun time with the girls. I don't want to be working at home while everybody else gets to have leisure time and enjoy their time off. I need a break too. So, we will all be busy tomorrow getting the tree up AFTER I get my nails done - priorities you know!

The girls will be running through the door in just a few short minutes.
They will be hungry but relieved to not have to deal with studies for a few days.
Tonight will be a restful evening!

The odds of me getting to blog again before Thursday are pretty low so

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Again?!

I have been sick.

AGAIN!

I have NEVER

in my 42 years

had such a sick fall!

It all started after I had lunch on Sunday.
Shortly after,
I was sick.

It was
AWFUL!

On the up side
I lost 7 lbs
and am now back at my goal weight :}

Today I was back to my old self.
Minus junk food.

I have decided that I need to start eating better.
My family does too!

My fridge is full of fruit and veggies.
I did not buy all the snack food that I usually buy.

I bought fruit and veggies instead.

The kids will eat whatever is in the house.
If there is no junk food, they don't eat it.

I'm sneaky!

Yes, they have figured it out :}

Abby doesn't care.
She eats tons of fruit and veggies anyway.

It doesn't seem to bother Edris either.
Two thumbs up!!

Gabby, on the other hand says...
"Mom! You forgot my jolly ranchers!"

Yeah, that girl needs some more work!

It is hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving.
I officially purchased two Christmas gifts this week.

Yee Haa!!

We are planning on heading up to Chicago on Black Friday.
I'm not sure that is the smartest thing we have ever done.
Bill would like to go to see all the lights.
I'm thinking the second weekend in December would be better.
But that might mean dealing with snow.
I am hoping that if we get up there by 10 or 11 most of the crazy shoppers will be back home and in bed taking a nap by then.
I can hope right?!

Time for me to curl up with my blanket and watch some tv before bed.

Hugs all!

What to do....

Another week closer to Christmas

and I have purchased.....

NOTHING!

How can I possibly by this close to Thanksgiving and I have
NOTHING
to put under the tree when it goes up
in less than 2 weeks.

My family can tell you
this is NOT normal!

I am usually so on top of things.
I have birthday cards and gifts all ready to go weeks before they are needed.

I'm a planner
(and thus the reason for my really cool cell phone)

Are you sending out Christmas cards this year?
I just don't know if I should or not.
I usually do but could really do without that pressure this year!
Maybe I should do my Christmas letter on my blog...

That would be a good way to save some cash too.
Hhhmmmm

We have had an enjoyable day.
The girls all enjoyed some paintballing.
Bill and I enjoyed a quiet house.
Football has been on tv most of the day.
Alabama is on now.

That said....
I need to take my attention back to my team!

Love and hugs to all!!

Life just rolls on

The weeks continue to fly by and I continue to cough and hack my way through them.
I have had this cough for way too long but it won't go away.
I am on my own cocktail of drugs.
Tylenol (because I get a headache from coughing)
Benedryl

Mucinex
It seems to be doing the trick but the Benedryl makes my tired.
Naps have become a daily occurance on the weekend.
To say I am frustrated with this is a huge understatement!

Last Saturday was Edris' last swim meet.
I have video but I can't get them to load.
Stupid Blogger!
She did well and the JV and Varsity both won.

Work has been good.
We have a new ice cream.
Brownie Batter.
SO. GOOD!

Bill's birthday was yesterday.
Yes.
I know.
I didn't blog about it!
He turned the big 43.
We older folks prefer not to acknowledge birthdays.

We are enjoying the large carrot cake from Sam's.
YUMMY!

It was good to see my Bama take LSU yesterday!

The first half they did not look so good but they came out strong in the second half.

I took my car in on Friday for a 80,000 mile check up.
This car has the most miles on it than any car I have ever owned.
I'm proud!
While it was in the shop we (Bill has every Friday off until the end of the year) decided to test drive a few cars. The girls will inherit mine when Gabby gets her license in March and I will need something to drive.
I am a Honda lover.
I have had my eye on the CRV and the Civic.
I know.
Two very different vehicles.
We took them both out.
I enjoyed the Civic.
It was fun to drive.
But I feel in love with the CRV.
Bill has had one before and liked it.
I did not drive it very much.
I have a few other cars that I want to test drive before making my final decision.
The Volkswagon EOS convertible is SO. CUTE.
The BMW is also cute but a bit too pricey for me.
Not sure I like the German interior.
I think my heart still belongs to Honda....

The farmers in the area have finally been able to get into the fields.
The last few days have been GORGEOUS!
I think they are really putting in the long hours for fear of the next round of rain coming through.

We saw our 2nd wettest October on record.
Our neighbors (the house that the mob lives in - another story for another time)
had their power turned off and now have a basement full of water.
The landlord had a fixit guy come by on Friday night to get the sump pump running.

There is a lllllllooooooonnnnnnnggggggg extention cord running from our house to theirs.
They are unsure whether the guys that were renting just left or if they are out of the country. The house still has their belongings in it but they have not paid their bills.
I would say that they aren't coming back.
We would be ok with that!

I am still keeping up with my blog reading even if I don't have the time to blog.
So good to see that you are all doing great!

Blessings and hugs all around :}

Gabby, this ones for you!!

Yesterday was Gabbys last marching band competition.
It was a long, cold day!

The morning started VERY early.
When I say VERY early,
I mean 0 dark hundred.

The kids were going to be fed breakfast before they started their long day.
I was just hoping the kids would be able to enjoy the day!

Bill and I headed out to ISU.
His alma mater.
It had been a long time since we had been on campus.

Our kids were all hyped and ready to perform.
They performed a good show but walked off the field knowing they had not done their best.

Add that to the fact that it was cold, (about 45) windy,
and rainy when the kids started their show.
The color guard got to wear these outfits...

AND little sandals that did not cover their feet.
Their feet were numb before they hit the field.

They did not have to do a parade yesterday.
But here are some shots from last weeks parade at U of I.




Here are some shots from last weeks performance at U of I




Gabby is in the midst of the red flags and yes, they are huge!
10 foot flags.
The girls call them BIG RED :}

After their performance at ISU in the morning,
they were scheduled to perform again in the evening.

This would be their last performance of the season.
They were gearing up to perform their best show of the season.

The anxiety was in the air.
Would they be able to finally nail this show?
Would they all get flags?
Would they be in tune?

The answer to all the questions is
YES!

They did their best show of the year!
They knew when they walked off the field that they had nailed it!

They placed 1st in their class
AND
won GRAND CHAMPION.
Grand Champion means that they got the best overall
scores including the classes that they did not perform in.

They finally brought home the BIG trophy!

All of their hard work paid off!
It was exciting.
Some of the moms had tears....
their kids are seniors and it was their last show.

Gabby doesn't know if she will do color guard next year.
It was hard for her to do volleyball and color guard at the same time.
Although last nights victory may get her to do it again.
She did enjoy the performing portion!

Here is our favorite guard picture of her from this year...

This was taken by a pro during a half time performance
before they had their official color guard uniforms shown in the first picture.
I love the flags that surround her.
Bill loves the muscle showing in her arms :}

We are SO PROUD of you Gabby
but of course,
we don't want you to perform your best for us
but for
Your Audience of One!

We love you, Gabby!
CONGRATULATIONS!!

4 day weekend!

We continue to have dreary days here in the midwest. We have had 2 inches of rain in the last 36 hours. Ugh! I know that we go through this every year but this year seems like all it does it rain. I should be thankful as we have not had to water our lawn the last two summers but this mowing the grass into November is crazy!!

The girls finished up volleyball Wednesday night. It was a relief and high anxiety all at once. All three of our teams went three games each (it is the best of 3 you know). It was the best set of games we had seen all year! I'm so glad we are done with the season. Now we can be home at a decent time and have dinner from home too.

Edris will finish up her swim team a week from tomorrow. I thought she had another month but that is for the juniors and seniors. I have to say, I will not miss getting up at 5:30am to get her to school by 6. I know she won't miss it either!

The girls had yesterday and today off for teacher conferences. I headed in yesterday to talk to the teachers. It took awhile but I had good reports! Gabby and Abby have all A's, a huge deal when they have spent many nights at school until 9pm. Edris is doing better! She has been struggling to understand what needed to be done. Her teachers have been pleased with her efforts and so have we :)

Sickness has been running thru all of our schools in the area. It seems we have 3 different illnesses running at the same time. H1N1 has been diagnosed as well. It takes the kids out of school for about a week. So this 4 day weekend comes at a good time. I am praying that the schools scrub everything down before the kids return on Monday. The past few weeks the grade schools have seen 100+ kids missing from school. On Tuesday the high school only had 60 kids missing.

Tomorrow brings the last marching band competition. They have two performances tomorrow! One at Illinois State University in the morning and one at a high school in the evening. Last weekend we were at the University of Illinios. I have to say it was the most action that field had seen in awhile. If you keep up with football, you already know that U of I is terrible this year. Anyway, we won 1st in our class at U of I last year. No such luck this year. The only thing they brought home was a 1st place finish for the flag corp in the parade portion. You need to take into consideration that their field show was a fiasco. The band director did not place some of the flags in the right place resulting in 2 of the girls not getting a flag. One of the girls hit herself in the nose with her flag and had a gushing nose bleed (I think this was enough to win as she completed the performance and was only 1/2 through when she hit her nose). Can you say blood everywhere?? Last but not least, one of our drum majors popped his shoulder out. Yep, it was not our night that was for sure. Now that the "big" show is over, we are hoping that they settle down tomorrow and rock out their show. I have a few pictures but I am hoping that I get some better ones tomorrow so watch for them in the next few days. I have to say their show gives me goosebumps every time I watch it.

For those of you that did the flag corp when you were in school, I have a question for you. How many of the flag corp girls were injured during the marching band season? Can you believe that we have had 3 major injuries?! Gabby chipped her tooth, Chassi hit her nose last weekend and a few weeks ago one of the helpers threw a flag in the air and it came down on her nose. She broke her nose and had to have SURGERY yesterday. I have to say I never thought of it as a dangerous sport but it certainly turned out to be! I don't know if Gabby will chose to do marching band again next year. We will leave that up to her...

Well, there are a few things that I need to finish up because I'll be gong the whole day. Time to fold that last load of laundry and put away the dishes in the dishwasher. What would I do if I had to do all of this by hand?!

Hugs!

My life in ***'s

Insanity continues at our house so I'm thinking bullets are needed.

I do have some pictures of all the fun from this weekend but haven't had time to work with them yet....meaning they are still on the camera and I'm too lazy to get them off!

* Abby had a freshman volleyball tourney
*They did not do well
*Gabby had a marching band competition
*They did not do well
*Edris stayed home
*She is the only one that did well!

*We have parent teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday
*Yes, they still do this in high school

*The kids will still have athletic practices
*GGGRRRRRR

*We are all healthy for the moment

*I have been busy at work
*Cakes, pies and cupcakes are dominating my dreams
*Pumpkin ice cream is now available

*BAMA CONTINUES TO WIN
*I probably won't have a job next week when they beat Tennessee next weekend
*Course I won't be able to watch it because we have TWO band competitions on Saturday
*Yes, I said TWO!
*GGGRRRRRR

*This is the last week of volleyball
*YIPEE

*I have found myself falling asleep around 8:30pm
*I must be getting old :}

Time to get to our last home game of the volleyball season. It is senior night so we have to take food for the late dinner we will get to eat with our seniors. We are hoping that the varsity team will go far in post season play! I'll keep you up to speed cause I know you all care ;}

Hugs!

I am alive!

Yep, I am still alive!

Seems like life has taken over our house and left no time for anything else.

Since homecoming we have been going to band competitions, swim meets, and volleyball games.

Shortly, life will slow down to a much calmer pace.

I love this time of year!

That means that in the coming months when it is freezing outside, I will be comfortably cuddled up with my blanket and a book in the basement with a football game on tv and my space heater cranked up to high!

Love.

It!

This past week caught me off guard with sickness that knocked me on my bum.

It started with a simple cough and congestion that has been hanging on for the last month. I decided to call my doctor to see if he had any suggestions for me. I was tired of coughing and having that general feeling of tiredness all the time. They finally called back to say that it was viral and that I just needed to continue to take the meds that I was taking. Shortly after that call, my small lunch decided to reintroduce itself and thus began my slow death! Let me tell you, I was ill just smelling the meals that my poor family was making for themselves because I could do nothing more than run to the bathroom.

GROSS!!

By Wednesday I was on the road to recovery but did not make it off the couch until late in the day.

Thursday, I had to run to the grocery store because mother hubbards cupboard was bare. I felt like taking a nap half way through my trip! I made a quick call to my boss to let him know that I was better but unless he provided a bed for me to take a nap, I would not be in. Bless him, he told me not to worry but take my time getting better.

I was back to normal by Friday and with it brought a night at the football field to watch our high school boys in their last home game of the season.

Bbbbbbrrrrrrr!

It was cold with the temps in the 40's but it was so much fun to see the boys win 41-20!

We have had days and days of rain so the field was a muddy mess. That meant that the band got to do their halftime show on the sidelines. Sadness for the seniors as it was also their last home halftime show to march.

We all got to sleep in this morning as there was no swim or volleyball practice!

Did I hear a Woot Woot out there from agreeing parents??!!

Gabby had to be at school by 10am for their band competition today.

I really don't understand the band competitions.
They do a parade competition to show their parade show and then SEVEN hours later, they do their field show!

WHAT?!

Why don't they do their parade show followed by their field show?

Wait!

I know!

They want people to stay all day so they make TONS OF MONEY on food!!

If they did the parade and field show together, the bands would simply leave when they were done and not bother staying for the awards portion.

In these colder days, I think it is crazy to make the kids stay out in the cold for the whole day doing absolutely nothing!

OK!

Maybe I'm getting old!

Gabby is enjoying the whole band competition stuff (but she does not enjoy getting yelled at by her peers for making a mistake and I am with her on that one!). She has not knocked out any more teeth (although one of the gals took a flag to her nose on Thursday). Yeah, I'm thinking they need to quit throwing their flags in the air!

Did you notice the new pictures on the blog??

Yeah, my bud Patrice ROCKS!!

We are still trying to figure out why Gabby's hair looks red.....
She is a blonde although it is getting darker each year.

I can't believe how much older my girls look!
They are growing up and I love 'em more each day!!
I know that they won't be around much longer so we are enjoying each and every day!
Watch for Edris' picture to pop up there too (she is our adopted daughter you know :}

Before I close I must say.....

GO BAMA!

&

ROLL TIDE :}
score at this moment 3-0 Bama!!

Hugs!

Homecoming 2009

Goodness, I don't know where to start! It has been a busy few days :}

This is homecoming weekend for us so that means a parade, football game, and a dance. No dates for our girls this year (do I hear an amen from all the momma's?) All the girls went with groups of kids.

I'll try to walk through a bit of the parade for you - cause you all wish you could have been there - did someone just laugh?!

Here is Gabby on her sophomore volleyball float. I'm still laughing about the headband! I asked her if she remembered her legwarmers :}

Each girl on the sophomore team gave a t-shirt to one of their teammates. I love the saying on the back of Gabby's! It reads: "True champions aren't always the ones that win but those with the most guts!" That describes Gabby to a tee (which is why she is always hurt).

This is Edris' swim team float. She is the one in the black t-shirt. She loved it and smiled the whole time!!

Abby loves this picture and I can't believe I caught it :} She is the one with her mouth open!!

Here are our girls! When Abby saw this picture she said "Man, that girl is crazy but you can't help but love her!" Almost made me cry!! My girls love each other :}


Here is Edris showing off her hair. It is really cute but the picture does not show it very well. She had her hair straightened and then the gal added some waves. She will definitely have the only hair style like this one at school. She does not like to look like everyone else and this style suits her to a tee!!

Here is Edris in her outfit. She looks really pretty and was ready to hit the town :}

Abby was ready to go long before the other two and she was the last one that needed to leave. She let me do her make up and she actually wore some jewelry!!

This year we let them get their hair done and I did their nails at home. Can't do both this year - just too much money!! They all had a great time and loved their "dos"! Isn't she a cheeseball?!

Here are Abby & Gabby together. We never did get all three together - they were not all ready at once and Gabby was the first to head out the door followed by Edris and then Abby. I am sure they will be home full of excitement and I sent the camera with them so we should get some fun pictures!

Our football team won their game last night to make this the perfect weekend!! It did not rain on our parade and it has only been sprinkling off and on today.

Tomorrow will bring my girls looking totally different. They have a round robin softball tournament so they will have their softball garb on again. This time playing for a team closer to home.

Stay tuned for the results!! School pictures are in too - those to come shortly!! All 3 girls took GREAT pictures so now you will just have to wait to see them :}

Hugs!

50 Questions

Kelli listed this cute litte Q & A on her blog and invited others to copy and post it too because she is nice like that!!! Thanks Kelli!

1. Where were you three hours ago?
picking the girls up from school

2. Who are you in love with?
my DH, of course - 20 years!

3. Have you ever eaten a crayon?
nope but when I was a kid my brother dropped one down into the car vent. Every time we would turn on the heat, it smelled like crayon!

4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?
nope

5. When was the last time you went to the mall?
about 2 weeks ago

6. Are you wearing socks right now?
nope but my feet are cold so I should be....

7. Do you have a car worth over $2000?
yep

8. When was the last time you drove out of town?
yesterday

9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?
no, but I really want to see the new Jennifer Aniston movie!

10. Are you hot?
no but I'm not cold either

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Diet Pepsi

12. What are you wearing right now?
my jammies

13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it?
I wash my own car unless it is really cold outside....

14. Last food you ate?
3 double stuffed oreos

15. Where were you last week at this time?
probably asleep on the couch

16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
nope

17. When was the last time you ran?
It has been a few weeks. I have been sick with a cough so it is kinda hard run while coughing.

18. What was the last sporting event you watched?
Big 10 girls Volleyball Wisconsin V Iowa tonight.

19. Your favorite animal?
dogs & anything that doesn't live longer than a year if it is living at our house!

20. Your dream vacation?
No doubt - Maui!

21. Last person’s house you were in?
My sister's on Monday.

22. Worst injury you ever had?
I fell down the stairs almost a year ago. Twisted my ankle and I still have trouble with it sometimes.

23. Have you been in love?
Yep, with my DH, my girls and my extended family!

24. Do you miss anyone right now?
My FIL. He has been gone almost 8 years.

25. Last play you saw?
My nieces play last November, Horton Hears a Who!

26. What is your secret weapon to lure the opposite sex?
Bringing home Coldstone Ice Cream?!

27. What are your plans for tonight?
Finishing this post and doing iron transfers for a volleyball t-shirt for Gabby.

28. Who is the last person to send you a Facebook message or comment?
Ronda

29. Next trip you are going to take?
A trip to bed!

30. Ever go camping?
Yep, when I was younger. It rained every time! Now we "camp" in hotels :}

31. Were you an honor student in school?
Nope, but my kids are :}

32. What do you want to know about the future?
Will the Cubs ever win another World Series??

33. Are you wearing perfume or cologne?
Bath & Body Moonlight Path - my kids wear it too!

34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor’s visit?
Nope, been there, done that!

35. Where is your best friend?
On the couch eating ice cream

36. How is your best friend?
Overwhelmed with work!

37. Do you have a tan?
Yes, a softball mom's tan (or a farmer's tan!)

38. What are you listening to right now?
CSI New York and the crickets

39. Do you collect anything?
Sometimes I collect my thoughts but then I lose them again!

40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know?
My MIL which is why I miss my FIL

41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over?
Last summer, going 71 on the interstate. Just a warning.....

42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw?
Yep, at every restaurant!

43. What does your last text message say?
Are you coming to pick me up?

44. Do you like hot sauce?
Nope!

45. Last time you took a shower?
This morning, but I could probably use one now :}

46. Do you need to do laundry?
Yep, white clothes.....

47. What is your heritage?
Princess of the King

48. Are you someone’s best friend?
I hope so!

49. Are you rich?
I am rich in blessings!

50. What were you doing at 12 AM last night?
zzzzzzzzzzzz

That about does it! How about you?

Hugs!

I'm a sassy wimp!!

I took Edris to Walmart on Saturday.

She needed a few things....

shampoo
conditioner
hair styling products
(you know all the important stuff!)

She also needed razors.
She decided that instead of razors she would get this...

So she did!

I asked her if she had ever waxed her legs before...

Yes!

Doesn't it hurt??

No so much....

Ummmmm, I have tried this stuff before....

YES!

IT DOES HURT!!!

Apparently my 15 year old can handle more pain than me :}

I'm a wimp!

Yesterday, I spent my day visiting with my mom and I got to have lunch with my sister. It was a sweet time to just relax and enjoy each other. After lunch, I headed for my hair appointment.

I decided that I needed something new.

Michelle showed me a picture in a jewelry catalog of a really cute "do". I told her to go for it!

She was thrilled (apparently, everyone that she had shown the photo to didn't want the style)

In the salon, I was described as "Sassy".

I'll take that title :}

What do ya think??

I love it AND so does my DH!!

Score :}

Not only did he notice, but he also loves it :}

Off to work for me....

Hugs!

A little of this and that

Are we already into the middle of September??

How is that possible?!

We have yet another busy weekend behind us.



Our football team lost BIG on Friday night.

Ahem.....

42-0

Yep, you read that right....

Our score was

zero

In our defense, it is the toughest team in the Mid-Illini conference.

I thought they would at least have scored once or twice!

On the other hand....

(yes, I'm liking the dot dot dot's tonight)

the marching band did very well yesterday.

They had their first field show and parade competition.

They got first place in the parade, drum majors for parade and field show and 2nd place in the field show. We are not sure how the Grand Champions scored well enough to receive their 1st place trophy as they didn't have their whole show put together but somehow they did.

It was a fun day overall and we got to spend some quality time with Gabby (who injured her shoulder last Thursday night diving for a volleyball during a game and popped her shoulder out and then right back in. She is sore and had to do the parade and field show in a sling because she can't twirl her flag. She looked pretty though!).

Our other two were at home doing homework and watching tv.

Abby and Edris helped me help a gal move into her new apartment yesterday too. It took us all of about 30 minutes to get everything moved into her apartment. Nothing like moving lightly :}

This week looks to be just as busy are our last 3 have been with volleyball games and swim meets and practices throughout the week.

I start my semester of bible study this week as well.
I am continuing to do the Precept study. This time in Genesis.
I love to study this way, verse by verse.
It helps me to see things more clearly and I always come away from my study learning something new each and every week.

Alas, I will also have homework to go with it :}

I am continuing to recover from cold/sinus/allergy issues.
As long as I keep taking my over the counter meds, I can function without too much trouble.

The trees in our area are slowly starting to turn some beautiful shades of red and orange.
I love this time of year!

Tomorrow I will put away my patriotic theme and get out my fall decor.
It isn't much but it does get us in the mood...

Halloween will be here before we know it!

So, how was your weekend?

Let me know..

I'm waiting!

Go!

Now!

Hugs!!

SORRY!

Exhaustion is setting in and my eyes are heavy but I need to connect with my blogging friends.

I am sure you are feeling neglected.

I seem to be putting you dead last in order of importance.

You aren't!

REALLY!!

We have been incredibly busy these last few days.

And remember my last post that stated that....

I.

WILL.

NOT.

GET.

SICK!!!

Yeah, well I was exhausted thru Friday and Saturday and rested much of the evening and day. I was back to normal duties on Sunday and yesterday Bill and I actually went to the parade that Gabby was marching in.

Parades are fun about once or twice a year.

We are at out limit!

Alas, we have another one this weekend.
I think we will bow out of it and just go to the field show later in the evening.

Eyes are drooping and I need to close.
Edris needs to be at school by 6am tomorrow.

Need I say more?!

Hugs!

Wins all the way around

A swim meet and 3 volleyball matches

=

4 winning teams

All of my girls are winners tonight :}

Even though Abby didn't get to play because she was home sick....

her freshman team still won!

Edris' swim team won their meet as well

AND

she got to compete in a relay!

She was happy :}

Gabby's team had to add a bit of pizzazz
and went to three games.

She was a beast in the serving position
and racked up the points to help them win the third game.

We are all tired tonight and got to eat dinner at about 9pm.

Pretty typical on game nights.

Good thing Edris is used to eating late
cause we will have at least 3 nights a week like this :}

Abby will be heading back to school tomorrow.
I would like to thank her for sharing!

I am starting to feel a bit of a scratchy throat....

I.

WILL.

NOT.

GET.

SICK!

We have too much going on.

There is no time!

Hugs all!

Time for fall ya'll

This is the last official week of summer.

I am ready for fall and winter.

Hey!

Don't throw things at me!!!

With fall and winter brings fewer chores for me.

I am tired of mowing the grass,

vaccuming grass that gets tracked into the house,
sweeping grass out of the garage because it keeps getting tracked into the house.

This will allow me 6+ extra hours a week!

I have no idea how I will spend those extra hours.
Probably sleeping!

Abby came home from school early.
She is sick.
Fever, drainage (yuck!) and a cough.
Today her chest was feeling tight so a quick call to the doctor ended us
up at our prompt care for xrays.
The xrays are clear (unless the radiologist sees something the dr. didn't).
He gave us a prescription and sent us home.

She is now sleeping all curled up in bed with all her blankets pulled up around her.
She has to keep track of her peak flow numbers and has been using her inhaler.

We are praying that it does not go into bronchitis as it usually does.
She goes from a cold to bronchitis so quickly that it is scary!

Time for me to get dinner ready.
I'm thinkin' that chili sounds good!

Hugs!

Football Season!

This week has just flown by!

We have officially started the high school football season.

YIPEE!

Unfortunately, our team lost on Friday night. BUT, it was a good game :} Our boys played hard, they just ran out of time. Edris enjoyed her first football "match" as well! We always send the kids to enjoy the game with their friends while Bill and I enjoy it with our friends. We meet up at the end of the game. Abby sent me a text when there were 2 minutes left in the game. She was ready to go home. REALLY?! Needless to say, we stayed to watch the rest of the game. What is WRONG with the child?!

Yesterday Gabby had an all day band retreat, Edris had swim practice and Abby had volleyball practice. Needless to say, I drove back and forth from the school 4 times before noon. But, I did get a lot done in between time!

We enjoyed pizza out at a local pizza place last night. It is always good to get out with the whole family. We get so little time all together!

Off to a meeting with our exchange student coordinator. Catch ya'll later!

Hugs,

Parades

Saturday was a busy day at one of the local parades. Many of the small towns in our area of celebrations like Old Settlers Days, Pumpkin Festival, Marigold Festival, etc. All that means that our high school marching band is busy during the fall months marching in parades and marching band competitions.

The next few pictures do not need an explanation. They will simply define what kind of town the parade was located at!

Impressed aren't you! I wasn't thinking very quickly - if I had been you would have seen a video of the above car bouncing up and down. Yeah, I know makes you jealous doesn't it?!

Here are some shots of the band in the first parade of the season and a picture of Gabby. Go Gabby, Go Gabby, Go Gabby!!!!

After this busy day and treating ourselves to a sugar cookie as big as our heads (hey, what they lacked in parade taste, they made up for at the food tents!) we were tired but blessed!

I want to give a heads up to parents out there with teens. Gabby had a bad reaction to the Monster energy drink. She had one after the parade and when the effects where wearing off, her heart was beating really fast, she got dizzy and her face was really warm. After checking online, I figured out that she was coming down from her energy "high" and her body was not responding very well to it. I had her drink a bunch of water to try to get it flushed from her system. She finally fell asleep about 11:30-12am. From now on, she will only be able to drink Gatorade, water, or Powerade. No Red Bull and no Monster!

Sunday, we spent the morning at church, had an afternoon softball meeting for next summer's softball team, and made a quick trip to Walmart to pick up a few things that we HAD to have for school.

I have a great video of Gabby "dancing" but I can't get it to load. Guess I'll leave you in suspense until I can get it going :}

Hugs :}