Yeah, it's me, actually blogging here on Xanga!!! I think the earth just shook a little! My last post was entered on February 12. Today is May 9. That's almost three whole entire months!!!

The reason for my silence? There's a number of them, actually. First and foremost was lack of time. I was simply too busy to sit down and write anything. I had numerous projects in the works. I was doing sample projects for Stampin' Up! to be used on the convention display boards (24 projects to do in about a month's time). Also, I had a design team position with a scrapbook sketch website open up to me and that has been taking up my time as well. Not to mention the monthly design work I am still doing for Stampin' Up! and entering projects for this year's Artisan Award. I wish I would have kept track of the number of paper crafting projects I have completed within the last few months. I know the number would boggle my mind.

Last month I was also doing school lunches. One meal a week for the whole month. Yes, it was crazy and some days I thought I might lose my mind, but I got through it, one day at a time.
On Thursday I sent off my package to Stampin' Up! containing all my convention display samples. What a relief! It was good to be done. Now I simply wait for the paycheck to come!

The other main reason I haven't blogged in a while is that I opened a facebook page. I found that to be so much easier to keep in touch with friends because it only takes a few minutes of my time to write a quick note here and there rather than a lengthy blog post. So that's what has taken me away. Although I still prefer facebook over xanga because of the time factor I find that sometimes I still like to write. I still believe it's good for the mind and soul to express thoughts and feelings in written form. For me it helps to sort through things and get more focused on what it is that I really want to say. I'm not a big talker and I think it helps me express myself in words better when I exercise my thought process by getting words out on "paper".

This week was field trip week at school. I went with Nathaniel to the Baltimore Aquarium and Fort McHenry on Tuesday, and Eric went with Isaiah to Hershey Chocoloate World and Indian Echo Caverns on Friday. Even though the day at Baltimore was a very long one, we had a great time. It was good to get the extra time with Nathaniel. We spent the entire bus ride there (about 2 1/2 hours) playing hangman and trying to see how many restaurants we could find.

Here are a few of my favorite photos of the day.

I was in charge of this group of handsome guys! Nathaniel and his two best friends, Ethan and Todd. What a great bunch of boys. Such great kids! They were intrigued by this boat and the submarine that were docked in the harbor.


What an amazing number of little fish in all kinds of colors and shapes. I was reminded over and over again how creative a God we have. He didn't stop at creating one or two kinds of fish, but hundreds of different species and so many variations. Same with the rest of creation. So much variety! I think He did it all for our wonder and enjoyment with the purpose that we would know how amazing He is by looking at and admiring His creation.


Sea anemones. Such unique creatures and so beautiful!


The boys checking out the sharks. Those were their favorite by far. We spent more time looking at the sharks and stingrays than any other fish or sea creature. They couldn't get enough. They were amazed by the size of the sharks and stingrays and by the number of razor sharp teeth the sharks had in their mouths.


It was fun to watch these guys get excited about one display after the next. They would come up to the tanks, exclaim and talk and pound each other on the shoulder, excitedly exclaiming about how cool that particular thing was, and then move onto the next display and repeat it all over again.

The dolphin show was one of my favorite parts. They are such beautiful, magnifiscent creatures. Just look how high this dolphin jumped out of the water to touch the suspended ball!


They are so intelligent, too! Love them!


Although this picture isn't clear I still love it. We were patiently waiting to be let into the 4-D show.


Nathaniel and me.


Fort McHenry. This is the place where Francis Scott Key watched the battle for Baltimore take place during the war of 1812. He wrote the words to the poem that would later become the Star Spangled Banner here in this harbor.
 

This is one of the soldiers quarters inside the fort. I couldn't believe that they slept on a wooden platform with no blankets or mattress of any kind to cushion them. In the background you can see shelves that held drums and American flags.


Some of the boys practicing their salutes on the brick wall/walkway that runs around the fort.


And now onto the photos of Isaiah and his field trip day with Eric. They were supposed to go to Hershey Chocolate World, but when they got there they found out that electricity was off from a tree falling on some wires so they were not able to go in. I thought it was strange that a place like that would not have some sort of back up for events like that. There were lots of buses full of disappointed kids there that day.


So they headed to Indian Echo Caverns to start out instead.
Isaiah standing in front of an Indian Teepee.
   

Some of the stalactites inside the cave.


Interesting rock formations. Probably caused by water.


Isn't this underground lake beautiful? I wsish I could have seen it. I'm sure it's even more spectacular in person.


Isaiah and some of his school friends enjoying the tour of the cave.


And because they had extra time to kill they went to the playground and to McDonald's for ice cream. Eric said McDonald's was running out of ice cream and all they had left was vanilla. What a shame that they didn't get to even have chocolate ice cream after the disappointment at Hershey Chocolate World!!!


Isaiah enjoyed his day very much and I was glad that Eric was able to go with him since I couldn't go. It was good for Isaiah to get to have his daddy all to himself for a day.

Oh, and I need to include some pictures of Chloe too. She was sad that she wasn't able to go on any of the field trips and can't wait until it's her turn to go to school. She's got a long wait ahead of her!
She's going to be turning four in a few weeks. I can hardly believe it! The other night when the boys were over at grandma's practicing shooting hoops Chloe and I went for a walk down the back road.
There were lots of dandelions in seed head and we had fun blowing the seeds in the wind. Rather she had fun blowing and I had fun snapping photos.







She loves our evening walks down our back country road, just like her brothers did and still do. I need to take the time to go on those walk more often. Especially now that the weather is so nice in the evenings.

Nathaniel and Isaiah are eagerly anticipating their school field day. They are busily practicing basketball and thinking about the races they are going to enter. It's always a fun day for the kids and I hope that we have nice weather for it.
With field day approaching that means that the end of the school year is almost here! Yikes!!! It seems like the last few weeks have just gone by so fast! I'm not sure I'm ready for the busy summer to begin, even though I love summer. I just feel like I haven't had the time to put the thought into our summer activities like I would have liked to. Oh well. Last year I had things planned for the kids to do in case boredom snuck up on us, but with all the swimming, camping, and other activities we had little time to be bored.

Nathaniel will be going to summer camp this year again and both boys are anticipating going to the weekend camp with their church friends. That means during summer camp week the two youngest kids and I will be doing some extra special stuff. Isaiah is glad that next year he will finally be old enough to go to camp.

I am going to go now and actually get some other things done on my to do list for today. I have both my parents and Eric's coming over for lunch tomorrow in honor of Mother's Day. I still have some cleaning to do and some food to make and I would like to get some cards made yet for my wonderful Mother and Mother-In-Law.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mothers and Mother figures out there in Xanga land. Don't forget to honor your Mother tomorrow. I'm going to enjoy the day surrounded by my precious kids. Thanks, God, for making me a  Mom. It's the best thing in the world!

Today is a bitter, cold, and blustery day. I'm so glad I can stay inside today where it's nice and toasty warm. Hopefully by the time I have to venture out to do grocery shopping tomorrow it will have gotten a bit warmer. I don't mind winter, but I hate being cold. I guess that doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? I like the hunkering down and staying inside and at home side of winter, but I don't like having to freeze in the process.
We have been getting a tiny bit of snow here and there. I wish it would just dump a ton of snow. I love the stuff. I wish that we would have several inches, or even feet, of snow all winter long. It is so beautiful and it makes the cold more bearable.






The children have been enjoying the little bit of snow we've gotten so far. Chloe got to enjoy the falling snow while her brothers were at school.


Catching snowflakes on her tongue.


One evening while it was snowing these big beautiful flakes, the kids went outside to play and stayed out until it got dark.


Preparing to blast a snowball at me.


On Saturday my family got together for our Christmas celebration. We went to my sister's house for a delicious brunch prepared by my mom. After we had all eaten our fill we had some games for the children to help dispel some of their energy before we settled down to open gifts.

Helping my sweet little niece, Brianna, to hit the pinata.


We started with the youngest and worked our way up. My husky farmer nephew split it open before it got to the older ones. I don't think they were too bummed. Especially when they got to have some candy!


My sister planned a game for the kids with a big bag full of assorted clothes. When the music stopped whoever was holding the bag had to close their eyes, reach inside, and wear the article of clothing they had pulled from the bag. There were lots of giggles all around, but the little girls especially thought it was really funny.

Lafaye looks adorable wearing a purple hat. Red hat society?


Fourteen of the twenty grandchildren all sporting their article of clothing.


After a few more games it was time for gifts. My mom and dad (aka Grandma and Grandpa) passed each child's gift out one by one.
Chloe got a personalized sport cup and a stuffed mouse named Furfal. She's been keeping both right by her side ever since.


That night Chloe wanted to sleep with both her gifts. I said it was ok to sleep with Furfal, but not the sport cup. She opted to keep that right beside her bed instead. Furfal has been a constant companion since Saturday, even going with her to Sunday School!

Nathaniel and Isaiah got a combined gift this year. A dart board. Now we have two, but that was ok. They hung it up in their room as soon as they got home. Right beside their other one. That way if they miss one, it might hit the other.


Cassie wastes no time digging into the book from Grandma. I can't believe how grown up she's getting!


The best part of the whole day was seeing my mom so excited about the gift to them from all of their children. A digital camera. My mom's been wanting one for years and she was fairly bursting with excitment over her new toy.


The kids had a craft time with Aunt Sheila while the rest of us prpared the food for supper. The children had fun glittering and gluing and coloring. It was a great activity to keep them occupied and out of our hair while we got the food ready.


My beautiful niece, Alexis, concentrates on her picture.


Abbi (yet another adorable neice) shows off her sparkly angel.


Eric got ahold of the camera.
Maybe if I ignore him he'll go away!


Fake smile. Take it already!!!


I'm not sure why I look like the cat that swallowed the canary. Smuggly mischeivous.


Three little cousins share giggles and a box of paper dolls.


Last night we were out of electricity for about and hour and a half. That was a new experience for the children as they discovered one thing after another that can't be used when the electricity is off. "What about the fridge, Mom? And how about the toilet? Can we flush it? Why can't I use any water, Mom?"
Chloe was a little scared becuase it happened right before she woke up from her nap and so everything was dark and we had the candles burning when she got up. After a while she got used to the idea and had a good time reading books with Isaiah via flashlight.


Losing electricity, even for a small period of time, sure makes us thankful for all the times we do have it. Makes you realize how much we depend on it for everything.

Yesterday Chloe had the honor of meeting her twin at church. We had always known about a little girl also named Chloe Weaver who was born on the same day as our Chloe, but had never had a chance to meet her or her parents. They live out of state now, but were in PA for Christmas and happened to be at our church (where they attended before they moved) yesterday. So the two Chloe's got to meet. They were shy, of course, and didn't know how to act around each other. It would be so nice if the two of them had a chance to get to know each other in the future. It's not otetn you meet up with someone by the same name who also shares the same birthday as you.

This is what we found a few times when we got up to go to bed.


She sneaks out of bed to go to the bathroom, or something of the sort, and instead of asking us to tuck her back in she lays down on the floor and goes to sleep. I think it's the thought of trying to see how long she can stay up before she gets found out, but sleep takes over before too long.

I can't believe that Christmas is this week! I am all done shopping, thank goodness, and only have a couple more gifts to finish and wrap. I still have to make the gifts for the teachers and bus driver. I'm planning to whip them together this afternoon while Chloe is napping. It better not take longer than I anticipate or I am up the creek! Tomorrow is the boy's last day of school before Christmas vacation.
I don't like to procrastinate so much, but I felt like I couldn't help it this year. For starters, Thanksgiving was late which made the gap between holidays shorter. Not as much time to prepare. Also, the project I was working on that took a lot of my time (remember the one I couldn't mention) took most of my spare time during the month of November which left only Decmebr to get everything done for Christmas. I didn't get any extra fun Christmas projects made this year. I usually try to do a few every year to add to my collection. Oh well.

Oh, and that big project. I guess it's safe to discuss now. I was asked this year by Stampin' Up! to be a display stamper at their Leadership conference held in Orlando in January. I won't be attending the conference, but they always have huge ispiration display boards set up and each year they chose several demonstrators to make samples for the display boards. I had to do a toal of 30 projects in all. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it very much, but it was a challenge. The product they chose for me to use was not what I would normally pick out for myself, so I had the challenge to work a bit out of my comfort zone. It was good for me and I hope I get the honor of doing it again sometime.

Tomorrow our Christmas vacation officially starts when the boys get off at noon. They are so excited! I am looking forward to the vacation as well. They don't go back to school until January 5th, so it's a nice long vacation too. I don't have a lot planned besides the normal Christmas stuff, of course. I just may put the to work getting some housecleaning done that went neglected before. At any rate, it will be nice to have them home for a couple of weeks.

Blessed Christmas to all of you out there in Xanga land!