Thursday Thirteen

13 Things Floating Around In My Tote Bag (aka..my huge purse)

1. Coupons
2. Sudoku Book
3. Recall notice for my 'new' van
4. Loose tic-tacs that fell out of the container
5. Tons of pens and pencils
6. Tons of receipts
7. Several random gift cards with just a little left on them
8. Tissues
9. Loose change
10. Gum
11. At least 2 tubes of Chapstick
12. Dental flossers
13. A Spoon (What? You don't carry silverware around?)

What random things are in your tote/purse/murse/briefcase/backpack/etc.?

Stacy

It's a Boy and a Boy and a Girl!

I am now a grandmother of triplets!

I know, I know, I kept it quite a secret. Well I actually didn't find out myself until this afternoon when Teen called to let me know.

You've heard of or watched that show "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant"? I didn't know I was going to be a grandmother. Apparently Teen knew for a few weeks that this great event was going to happen, but failed to share it with his parents.

So without further adieu, here is the first picture of the triplets:

From left to right they are my grand-eggs: Thomas Edward, Jayden Michael and Samatha Marie. They are all healthy and just beautiful.

Teen made the crib himself and the blanket they are using was his kerchief from prom.

We are so proud of these little buggers...errr...eggs.


And I even got to babysit them tonight while Teen finished his Christmas shopping. Aren't I a lucky grandma!

Stacy

Fake Birthday

Last weekend we went to my parents "Other House" to celebrate Little S's birthday. My parents have a time share that they have the first week in December every year. We usually go there for the weekend with them and celebrate his birthday early. He will turn 7 on Dec 17 and since it is so close to Christmas we try to make a big deal about it early in the month.

Little S had a hard time when he was littler trying to figure out the whole time share thing and celebrating his birthday more than once. So it became a big joke that we were going to the other house to celebrate his 'Fake Birthday" since it wasn't on the right day.

This is the cake we got him this year: As you know from several posts here he LOVES his big trucks. And every year for his birthday my parents get him a new one.

Here he is opening a small present from grandma and grandpa. Hmmm....why is it so small? A truck certainly can't fit in that box.

Or could it? In case you can't read see what it says:

Little S, Here is a Fake Truck for your Fake Birthday!

He thought it was funny, until he realized that there wasn't a big truck.

But Grandma and Grandpa wouldn't disappoint him like that, they soon brought his real present out for him.

You can tell by the look on his face that he loves his big trucks!

Stacy

Snow!

Today was bound to be a good day cause when I woke up this morning we had SNOW!!!!

I absolutely love the snow. And a fresh blanket of snow just makes everything right.

I don't mind driving in it, I don't mind walking in it and I don't mind sitting on the couch curled up with my favorite blanket a cup of hot chocolate or coffee and watching the snow fall.

As the snow melts it can make a dirty muddy mess. Then suddenly a storm moves in and we are covered again by a fresh white blanket of snow making everything clean and fresh again.

It reminds me that no matter how much of a mess we make, no matter what the storm, it is all covered by Him.

Isaiah 1:18 tells us: Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

This is just one more reason why winter is my favorite season.

Stacy

November 30

Whew....I made it! This is at least 3 years in a row, maybe 4 now! WooHoo. I was kind of burnt out for a while and only posted every couple days, but this month has gotten me back in the swing of things. I can't promise I will continue to post every day, but I am going to post more often now.

When I first started blogging many moons ago, I would look for things each day to write about. Then I thought maybe I was getting a little boring. Last year I liked the theme that NaBloPoMo had for the month and I followed along with that. This year, I just tried to think of things each day. There were a couple of days that I struggled, but for the most part it just flowed right out.

So who wants to join me for another month of posting. I know there are several of you out there that used to do November NaBloPoMo every year and you didn't this year. Why don't we all band together and go for it in December? We can take weekends off if you'd like.

Let me a comment if you are willing to take on December with me. And no weekends, mean not having to worry about posting on Christmas or New Years!


One more last note: Happy Birthday Tony!

Stacy

November 29

Finally an extended warranty that pays off. Thank you Best Buy!

In August 2008 I got a new computer. At that time my dad got the 3 year extended warranty on it. He had problems with a computer once and he was able to get a complete replacement when they were unable to repair it.

I have always been a little leery of extended warranties as many times they seem like nothing but a racket. You pay a little extra and then when something happens, there is always some excuse as to why this or that isn't covered.

In August of this year, I started to have some problems with the computer. I took it over to Best Buy and they stated at that time that it was a software problem. That I would need to get the restore disc's from Dell, back up all of my information and then restore the computer back to factory settings. They offered to handle all of this for me, but naturally it was for a price.

Since I wasn't working at the time, I had a friend back everything up and then I restored it. But something still wasn't quite right. It was still slow and locked up at times, but I blamed it on a slow internet connection.

Then about a month ago, I shut it down and when I tried to bring it back up, it would come up to the "Safe Mode" settings but as soon as you would pick a setting, the screen would go black. I finally got it to come up and told everyone not to turn it off and to limit using it until I could figure out what was wrong with it.

Well, last Monday, Hubby came home at lunch time and it was locked up. He didn't remember anything about not shutting it off and once it was off, it was done. It wouldn't come back on at all.

I took it back to Best Buy and they determined that the Hard Drive went out in it. Unfortunately they were unable to recover any of my information, but on the bright side, I have everything up until 3 months ago.

I picked it back up today and I am so impressed with how fast this computer is and all that I can now do on it. I forgot what it was like when I got it brand new.

Thanks Tony for getting the extended warranty and thanks Best Buy for honoring it and fixing it so quickly.

Stacy

November 28

Thanksgiving is over, it's back to reality tomorrow. I have enjoyed my nice long weekend. We did a lot of nothing and a little of nada and a LOT of driving.

Friday afternoon I drove into Pittsburgh to pick up Teen's girlfriend from college for a few days. It's a long story but basically her parents weren't going to get her. She worked Black Friday morning since she wasn't going home and then I picked her up after work.

Teen slept out in the living room on the blow up mattress while Hubby slept on the couch beside him and GF stayed in Teen's room. Teen had to work for a few hours on Saturday so she just hung out in his room and played online until he came home.

She left a little while ago to head home. Her roommate was home for the holiday so she road back with her.

We went out for a little bit Friday morning and I got a new Christmas Tree. Our old one was a pre-lit and several of the rows of lights no longer worked. It is now up and decorated. The last one was all white lights and this one is colored. I also bought some new decorations and we got it all decorated. It is taking me a while to get used to it. I have had the same theme for the past 6 or 7 years so it looks so different. I may have to rearrange some things yet.

We bought a few other things that morning as well, but not too much. I don't like the big crowds. My sister-in-law is one of the nuts that stands in line all night waiting for something. CRAZY! I would never do that.

So what about you? Are you a Black Friday up at 3:00 am to stand in line type person, a get there right after it opens and if you get a deal you get a deal type person, or do you just say forget it and sleep in? I'm the second type. Although I may get up a little early tomorrow and see if there are any good deals online. I am dying to get my hands on a Kindle!

Stacy

The holidays are upon us. Every year I wait for this commercial to come on tv. Eat 'n Park is a family restaurant chain that started in the Pittsburgh area. You can click on their link here to check them out. All three of my boyz grew up going Eat 'n Park with their grandparents before they started school.

They are famous for their Smiley Cookies and each child gets one at the end of the meal.

So without further adieu, here is my all time favorite Christmas commercial:

I don't even know what it is that makes me love this commercial, but it just touches me for some reason. I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I do. And if you are in the Pittsburgh area and have not gone to Eat 'n Park, you need to eat there. The great service, family friendly atmosphere and food are all worth it.

Stacy

November 26

My boss at work is from Greece. He came here a little of 15 years ago for college and then stayed here. He speaks English well but has an accent that sometimes confuses me. I know, not hard right...lol He has called into the office asking for Keith and I have transferred him to Kim as a result of his accent and me not hearing him right. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes he doesn't find it amusing.

When I first started there my hand were dry one day and I didn't have any lotion but i noticed a bottle of Bath and Body Works in the drawer that the intern had left behind. Not thinking anything of it, I used a little after checking with the other girls. One of the girls commented that it made the whole room smell really good. And after lunch I put a little more on and went about the day.

Then the boss comes out and asks me: "What are you wearing?"
I was a little confused and said: "Excuse me?"
He asked again: "What are you wearing?"

I had no idea what he was talking about and seriously thought that something I was wearing was not allowed, such as my shoes, shirt, etc. I had only been there about 2 weeks so I thought maybe I had somehow unintentionally violated the dress code.

Then one of the of girls got this look on her face and she realized what he was talking about. The smell of the lotion was bothering him. During this HR happened to walk through the office and wanted to know if everything was ok. So I told her that the boss had just asked me what I was wearing.

Oh, my, goodness...she pulled him aside and told him that he cannot ask a female worker a question like that. It was a huge hilarious misunderstanding on every one's part and we all laughed about it afterwards.

Fast forward to this past Monday. Our office got to be 79* in the afternoon and we asked if the air could be turned on as it was awful stuffy also. So the boss turned the air on and came out and was talking to us and one of the other girls said she was just fine and cozy. I said if it got much cozier they were going to find me asleep on my desk. She also said that she had long underwear on and was still a little chilly.

So they started talking about long underwear and how he once bought a pair a long time ago to go pheasant hunting and they were scratching and uncomfortable to him. But when he went home to Greece he had bought some UnderArmor to wear. Then they talked about how a couple of the other girls were long underwear through the winter as well.

And without even thinking he turns to me and says: "Do you wear underwear?"
Now I knew what he was talking about but I couldn't resist: "What did you just ask me?"
I swear he turned red on the spot. And he made me swear that I wouldn't tell HR what happened as in his words: "I don't need HR on my a$$ again."

It was so funny and we all laughed about it forever. All except HR that is...lol

Stacy

November 25

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Hubby's brothers for the day and had a day filled with food and laughter.

We played the White Elephant Game. My sister-in-law and myself each bought a bunch of small gifts and gag gifts and wrapped them up. Then you all sit around the table and roll the dice. If you get doubles you get to take a present off of the table. Once all of the presents are claimed you continue to roll for a set amount of time, we chose 10 minutes, and if you roll doubles you steal a gift from someone else. It gets to be a riot as you have no idea what you are stealing.

Usually there is one gift that everyone thinks has to be the best gift and it gets taken again and again. This time it was a bag of pretzels that were wrapped up in a shoe box. Everyone wanted the shoe box.

Here are some of the presents that were unwrapped this year:
A pringles container full of dum-dums and smarties.
Lottery scratch off tickets
Candle
Mancala Game
Box of Tissues
Calendar
Pez dispenser
Silly striped toe socks
Baseball cap

There were about 20 gifts in all and it was so much fun. If you are ever looking for just a fun little game to make everyone laugh and have a good time, this is it. My SIL and I decided at the last minute to play the game this year so we got all of the gifts but you can always just have everyone bring a wrapped present that day for a game later.

And I have no idea why it is called the White Elephant Game, but it just means you are supposed to bring something that you already have laying around. You know that awful mug that someone gave you and you refuse to drink out of? That is a great one to use. Or those photo frames you got one year from Aunt Jane that are pink and you have all boys? That is a great gift to wrap up as well.

Maybe you can sneak this game into your holiday season this year. And if you do, please let me know how it worked out for you and if you had as much fun as we do.

Stacy

November 24

I have heard enough bad news for one week. I seriously think that there should be a limit on the amount of bad news one person can receive in a certain time frame. Thankfully none of the news directly affects me, it just breaks my heart for those friends and loved ones of mine that are dealing with these matters. Here are just a few:

My Mum's friend Judy was shot in the back by her husband during an argument. You can read the articles here and here. My Mum was able to talk to her today. She is in a lot of pain and has a chest tube as the bullet went through her lung and is sitting next to her spine so they are unable to remove it. She is depressed and worried about what will happen to her husband. How very sad.

Our neighbors dog went in for a minor surgery to have a cyst removed and was found to be full of cancer so they had to have her put to sleep. Little S is so upset, he used to 'walk' her and play with her almost every day. She was a very gentle yellow lab.

I'll try not to make this one confusing but Teen's girlfriend (on and off for 3 years) her brother-in-law's brother was killed in a car accident yesterday morning. You can read that article here.

I just got a phone call on our church prayer that one of the girls in my Sunday school class' father just passed away.

So I have had enough for one week. How about if you share some good news with me in the comments.

Thanks,
Stacy

November 23

Why does it seem like those 3 days before a long holiday weekend are longer than 5 regular work days?

It is only a little after 10PM now but it seems as if this day has gone on for at least 2 days. 6am seems so long ago.

The kids are done now until Tuesday. Monday here is an 'un'official holiday in PA. It is the first day of Buck Season and I believe most of the state shuts down that day.

Teen & Tween are at the Sadie Hawkins dance tonight. Little S is watching Disney or something in his room.

am getting ready to settle in and watch Biggest Loser and hopefully not fall asleep.

Stacy

November 22

Here is a 'What would you do?" scenario I need help with:

While Teen was in Alabama my friend Heidi flew down as her son was also on the robotics team. Before Teen had a chance to buy a Souvenir T-Shirt she bought one for him. She also bought one for another friends child and her own son. Heidi's son didn't have a backpack with him and put it in one of the other kids backpacks.

Unfortunately the other kids backpack was stolen. They were able to find it later, but it had been cleaned out.

So here is my dilemma. Teen didn't buy a shirt because Heidi bought him one. Her son no longer has a shirt cause the backpack was stolen. And it wasn't discovered until after Heidi was on the flight home and was unable to buy another one.

So what would you do?

Stacy

November 21

Today I am taking advantage of the little rule in this years NaBloPoMo and using a Wordless Weekend post option. <---well, i guess it isn't completely wordless now is it?

I love this picture. It is the first day of kindergarten 2009 for Little S.

Stacy

November 20

The B.E.S.T. Robotics competition is done and over. Teen will be traveling home at 6am tomorrow and should arrive here somewhere around 11pm. Yes they have school on Monday. Sure hope he doesn't have to work Monday as that will make a very long day for him.

The placed somewhere in the 40's out of 61 teams. They are a little disappointed but here are some facts.

This is the very first year that our school has had a team compete. This program was started in 1993. Therefore some of these teams that he competed against have been doing this for 17 years. I think just the fact that this is their first year and they were able to beat out 18 regional teams to make it to Auburn, Alabama. There were only 60 other teams that made it.

There were 8 rounds and each of the 13 students had to take turns playing or cheering/sitting out. Teen was in 3 rounds. During the final round that he was in, he had to start with a 20 second penalty from an error the prior students made. When it was time for him to start he somehow jumped the robot backwards and it went out of bounds therefore disqualifying them from that round.

Teen took his error pretty hard and when they walked off the stage he walked out of the arena for some air. I knew he was upset and called him. He would kill me for telling you this but he walked outside because he was crying. See he did the programming on the robot and in his mind two things happened. First the team was counting on him being able to make up for that 10 second penalty and second he had no idea what happened that the robot jumped and went out of bounds. So instead of gaining points for the team he lost them.

I talked to him and tried to explain to him that there were 8 rounds. He didn't make them lose points for the other 7 rounds so one error in one round that he was involved in did not make the whole team fail. The whole competition was a group effort and shouldn't fall on his shoulders alone.

I wish that I would have been able to be there and to give him a big old hug, dry his tears and make him feel better. It broke my heart knowing that I couldn't do anything to make it right or better.

But after I got off of the phone with him, I realized that this is about to happen more and more in his life. He will soon be graduating and living at college. I won't be right there to pick up the pieces. All I can do is talk to him, give him encouragement, listen to him and love him. And above all of that pray for him.

Stacy

November 19

Five Things I'm Doing This Weekend

1. Watching a Movie with Hubby - Grown Ups is on the top of our list

2. Trying to catch Teen's B.E.S.T. team online

3. Going to Thanksgiving Dinner at church Saturday evening

4. Finish reading 'The Help' so I can return it on Wednesday

5. Giving Teen a big ole hug when he gets home from his trip

What are your plans this weekend?

Stacy

November 18

First off I want to say that the Robotics Team made it to Alabama. They had a slight delay as the bus radiator blew but they were able to make a temporary fix so they could get back on the road and to the hotel. After dropping the kids off there the driver took the bus over for repairs so they could make it back home.

Tonight my niece and I went to card making class at my church. It is a small group of us girls who like to get together and make greeting cards and such. We always have a nice time and great conversations as well.

I have always loved to have conversations with my kids in the car. Sometimes though when I pick up Madison she is quiet in the car and other times she is a little chatter box.

Tonight we were talking away and she called someone a 'd-bag'. I looked over and asked her if her mother allowed her to talk like that and she said she didn't even realize it was a bad word.

So we were laughing about it and then I asked her if she even knew what that word meant. To which she replied that she had no clue. And the whole time she is laughing and giggling. I thought she maybe knew but didn't want to tell me she did.

But I soon realized that I was used to boys and they don't giggle when they are embarrassed or confused. My boys look at me with a blank expression on their faces and wait for me to tell them the answer. We have talked about everything from books to sex and they never seem to blink an eye.

So I then proceeded to explain when the word really meant and I think if I could have seen her face in the light she would have been 15 shades of red.

I am pretty sure it will be a while before she uses that term again...lol

I am so very thankful for my boyz, but hanging with my niece sometimes is so much fun.

Stacy

November 17

Well we just got back from seeing off Teen for his trip to B.E.S.T. in Auburn, Alabama. Please pray for safe travels. And if you click on the link above they will be streaming the competition live on Saturday!

On another note, my baby (Little S) will be 7 in a month. SEVEN! Where the heck did that time go?

On yet another note, Laurel got a good report last week from her doctor. Her cancer counts are down and the chemo seems to be making her less sick with each treatment. YEAH! Sometimes things happen for a reason. Not too long ago the FDA pulled the meds that Laurel had been on and she had to start a new chemo regime. And now the counts are down. I believe that God is performing a great work in her body and she will be in remission soon!

And on a final note at church this evening the kids finished packing boxes for Operation Christmas Child. They drew pictures and wrote notes to insert in the boxes. If you have never heard of this program, check it out. It is a wonderful ministry headed up by Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son.

Stacy

November 15

I recently borrowed 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett from the library.

It is her first book and it sucks you right in. I am not very far but when I sit down with it, I can't stop myself from reading. It is the early 60's and is the story of 3 women and their life back then. Two of them are black maids and one is a white daughter of a cotton farmer.

If you are looking for a new book to read I highly recommend getting this one.

Stacy

November 14

Lazy days here. Football season is over and this is the first year for the soccer program at the school so there aren't a lot of games for them.

Yesterday Teen went to Pittsburgh to visit his girlfriend with her parents and made it back in time to go to work so he wasn't around.

The rest of us did absolutely nothing and it nice for a change.

Tween recently borrowed Glee Season 1 from the library so we watched a bunch of those episodes.

Little S played on the PS2 and read some books to the cat. He borrowed a book from the library that was titled "Stories to Read to Your Cat" so he did and it was cute.

Hubby watched football and napped.

I can't remember the last time I did nothing all day but look forward to the next time I can do it!

Stacy

November 13

The last time I was at my Mum's we went through a bunch of old photo's so I could get them copied and ready for Teen's Scrapbook. This has to be one of my all time favorites of him.

Yes he stillh as those pretty blue eyes.

Stacy

November 12

Hubby and I are headed out to dinner and maybe some Christmas shopping. We haven't been able to do anything alone together since before school started due to the kids schedules. No one has anything tonight so we are finally getting to go out.

I know this is a sucky post, but according to NaBloPoMo rules I needed to put something up.

Have a great night!

Stacy

November 11

Last week was the Scholastic Book Fair at the elementary school. Little S was so excited as this was the first one that he would be able to go to alone and pick out books.

So I put some money in an envelope and told Little S that he would be able to get 2 or 3 books depending on how much each book cost. Then I went on to say my typical speech before I sent him off to spend 'his' money:

"Remember you can get as many books as you have money for but" and he stopped me in my tracks and he finishes with:

"I know Mum, no pencils, posters or other crap!"

Guess the third child really picks up on what is continuously said to the older two.

Stacy

November 10

One week from today Teen will be leaving for Auburn, Alabama to compete in the B.E.S.T. Robotic's competition at Auburn University.

His high school technology and shop classes took 13 volunteer students and they built a robot, set up a presentation booth, video, brochure, presentation book and t-shirt. This is the first year that they have done this program.

In early October they went to Pittsburgh for a preliminary competition and did very well there. In fact some of the other schools were studying their robot to get ideas to improve their own.

On October 23rd they went to Grove City College and competed in the regional event. Although their robot didn't make it to the final round they place 2nd over all. They are not only judged on the robot and what it can do but also on the other factors from above (booth, video, t-shirt, etc).

The school administration could hardly believe that these kids who never worked together before did so well. And on Oct 25th the school board approved for all 13 students and their 2 teachers to travel to Auburn all expenses paid to compete at the National level. Only the first place robot and the first and second overall get to move on.

We are so proud of Teen and all the work he and his team have put into this project. Each of the students were in charge of a different aspect of the robot and Teen was in charge of programming it. This project has also encourage Teen to pursue programming and networking in college.

His school has also set up a web site to tell more about their robot and their adventures: Big Red Robots. Teen is the one on his knees in the group photo with their medals and trophy.

By the way B.E.S.T. stands for Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology.

Congrats Teen and the Big Red Robots Team! Good Luck in Auburn!

Stacy

November 9

I started reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich this summer when we joined the library. I read through books 1-3 pretty quickly and then I started working. It took me almost a month to get through book 4 between work and the kids fall activities getting started.

Then I found out that I can borrow books on tape from the library. My new job is about a 20-30 minute drive depending on the traffic and time of day. I love that I can now listen to a book in about 2 weeks, just when they are due back to the library.

This also gives me a little down time and relaxation before I get in the door from work and all the chaos starts.

I am so glad that Teen can now drive as he has been a great help in getting the other two where they need to be if I am running late or Hubby gets called out or has something else going on that night. I sure am going to miss that next fall when he is gone off to college.

The boys got their report cards this week as well and have all done really great. I am so proud of the work that they do in school.

Stacy

November 8

We recently started a book club/Bible study at our church.

Our new selection is:

What an eye opener. I am seeing some of these women of the Bible in a whole new light. And I am also realizing that even if we have made stupid mistakes, God still loves us.

If you have a group of women and are looking for a great Bible study, I would highly recommend this series by Liz Curtis Higgs.

I was privilege enough to hear her speak in person at a women's weekend with my church 2 years ago. And believe me if any one is a 'Bad Girl' turned good and can tell about it, it would be her.

One thing that really stuck out to me about her background was that she used to be a co-star on a radio show you may have heard of: Howard Stern. Yes, Liz Curtis Higgs knows what a bad girl is and she knows what God can do for us and how He can use bad girls for good.

If you get a chance to check her out, please let me know what you think.

Stacy

November 7

I love Sunday's.

We get up and go to church. Spend time there with our friends and those that are like family to us.

We come home and get a little lunch and then just relax. Or in my case, take a nap. I live for my Sunday afternoon naps.

Sundays are also the day that hubby makes dinner. Today we had pulled pork sandwiches and roasted potatoes....yummy!

Then in the early evening I usually sit with Little S and listen to him read some books. He is becoming quite a good reader. He will soon be reading chapter books.

After that we chill out and watch Sunday TV. I love to watch Desperate Housewives and especially Brothers and Sisters. There is just something about B&S that I love. The big family, the ups and downs and how they all get through it together.

What is your favorite part about Sundays?

Stacy

PS - Check out the new link/billboard at the top of my blog.

November 6

We went to YSU today for our first college visit. All I can say is so many things have changed since I was in college and yet surprisingly so many things are the same.

Some of the things that are the same are the dorms. Dorms will always be small cramped little places that they shove too many kids who are then forced to share a community bathroom. One of the biggest differences I noticed was the smell...lol As soon as you stepped onto the floor you could tell if it was a girl floor or a guy floor. Blecht..guys just smell!

On the other hand, when I was in college the dorms were either for guys or for girls. There was one co-ed dorm but it was for upper class men and separated by two different wings. The dorms there were mostly co-ed by floor and they were allowed on each others floors at anytime.

We had restrictions on our visitors and they had to be out by a certain time...in other words we had a curfew. The rule now is that you can not have a visitor spend the night more than 3 nights in a row....Ummmm...Hello?!?! How about NO overnight guests? Guess I am asking too much for 2010.

And the dorms now have FREE laundry. Boy would my Mum have appreciated that. I remember coming home with baskets and baskets of dirty laundry. (btw - thanks Mum for doing all that laundry when I came home)

This school seems more dedicated to helping the students succeed as well. They have plenty of resources for all the students whatever their need may be. They are able to get tutoring with almost any class for free. Even if you just want to have someone look over your English paper before you submit it they will. And the prof's even encourage it.

We plan on going back for a better one on one visit soon. This was an Open House setting and the groups were pretty big so you couldn't ask a whole lot of questions or get the individual attention that we were looking for today.

Overall it seems like a very secure and welcoming campus. I actually can't wait to go back and see it again and then go to a few more schools before he makes his final decision.

Stacy

November 5

Better late than never. Here are some of my Halloween pics from this year.

This is my friend Kandy's son Logan. I had to share this picture cause to me he looks just like a little Eddie Munster.

This nutso kid is not mine. In fact I don't even know who he is but I had to take a picture of him to share. It was about 50* during trick or treat and he walked around like this the whole time. I'm not sure if I am appalled or entertained at his creativity.

This is my little munchkin Little S. He was so proud to be a 'fighter-fighter'. Our local VFD (volunteer fire department) was on almost every corner slowing down traffic and helping kids to cross. He walked by them so excited that he was 'one of them' that day.

This was our seniors at the Halloween football game. The whole band turned into Zombies for half-time and then they played Thriller as the seniors were featured by doing a Zombie dance. Teen is the third from the right in the ripped white shirt with the green underneath. And yes, that is Shrek standing there watching them.

These are my two 'zombies' Teen and Tween. They are so silly with their faces. They even had scar tattoo's all over themselves. Tween had a nice one right across his throat with blood dripping from it.

And this was a little something I picked up for them last night in the clearance Halloween candy aisle. There were 3 flavors: Snottermelon, Sour Green Boogy, and Lemon Loogy. The back says they were 'Picked Out Especially For You'. Sometimes having boys can be gross and fun at the same time.

Stacy

November 4

I just got back from the schools Financial Aid night for high school seniors preparing for college. I am a little bit overwhelmed by all there is to do. Saturday we are going to an open house at a nearby college.

I'm pretty sure that I can no longer pretend that Teen is not a senior.


Sadly we are starting to see less and less of him. He has a job, a driver's license and lots of activities to keep him busy.

It is hard to believe that pretty soon I will be missing this:

He makes me laugh and gives great hugs and still even sneaks in an 'I love you' every once in a while.

Last Friday was Senior Night at the football game. As we stood in line preparing to go out to the field I ask him if we could just step out of line and pretend that he wasn't a senior. He chose to move forward. I promised I wouldn't cry at the game that night and I didn't even though I was dying inside.

I sure hope that the next two aren't as hard to let go as this one is.

Stacy

November 3

Little S and Daddy were in charge of carving the pumpkins this year. I have been so busy and so sick that I just didn't have the time or energy to do it.

This one was carved by Daddy and it is a witch:

Daddy and Little S shared this one:

This on belongs to Little S alone:

Tonight the neighbors and Little S got together and voted on who had the best pumpkin. And guess who won?

This little pumpkin won the carving contest!!

Stacy

November 2

Our church recently got a new pastor. He is young and full of life and ideas. We went from almost never having anything at our church to it being used 3 and 4 times a week for different things. I am so glad we got such a young energetic pastor to keep up with us.

One of the ideas he brought to us for October was Treats at the Trunk Night. It's a fun safe way for the kids to collect candy and play some games without the worry of strangers and moving vehicles.

The youth and leaders organized a few games for the kids while the adults went back to their cars and 'decorated' their trunks.

They had silly games like Pumpkin Bowling

And Put the Pumpkin Together. They had some one cut a pumpkin in a few pieces and then left long toothpicks sitting there for the kids to put it back together.

Pumpkin Decorating - Lots of markers and glitter glue and stickers and such.

Guess How Much Candy - Jars with different types of candy to guess (Little S actually guessed the exact amount on one of these jars)

And then after cider and donuts, the kids went trunk to trunk and collected their goodies. This is my trunk. It looked much scarier in the dark with just the flashlights shining up through the webbing.

The kids had a great time and we can't wait to see what else is in store for the future. Thanks Pastor Jeff!

Stacy

November 1

I think some of this month is going to be about memories and traditions.

What made me think of this was a simple birthday card I came across last night. It was a simple birthday card, nothing grand or extravagant. It was in a simple blank envelope not addressed to anyone. And when I pulled it out of the envelope it hadn't been signed by anyone either. But I knew exactly who the card was from.

I know without a doubt that my Mummum gave me that card for my birthday.

My Mummum came through the depression and then was a single parent raising her daughter alone as my grandfather died young. So she believes in saving and reusing everything that she can. So in an effort to save money and be able to use a card again, she doesn't sign them. She just inserts the card in the envelope and hands it to the recipient. That way the receiver can then use the card again in the future.

There was a time when she would save wrapping paper as well. Let me tell you it was pure torture on a small child who wrapped a present for her. While we would all rip through our gifts, Mummum would open hers very slowly take great care to not tear the paper. She would then fold it up very neatly and set it aside to be put away and used again in the future.

Sometimes we would even use extra tape in an effort to make her rip the paper...lol

I can think of many more Mummum stories to tell, so I will save those for another day.

-S.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

I have been really sick for the last week and have probably slept more in the last week than I have in the previous month. Perhaps that is the reason I got so sick this time and every one else in the house that got it was only sick for a day or two.

Tomorrow begins NaBloPoMo! Posting every day for a month. I guess I have had a long enough break and should get back to it.

There isn't a theme this year so lets see what the month brings.

-S.

Pink Out

We had a 'Pink Out' Friday night at the home football game in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Watching the band walk into the stadium brought tears to my eyes and I struggled not to cry in a stadium full of people.

Not only was every band member, dancer, cheerleader, and flag line member in pink, if you look real close in the background you will notice that the football players wore pink tape on their shoes and pink wrist bands. And the flag line had their old white flags dyed pink for the night.

The athletic director had all of the yard line numbers redone in pink as well as the end zone stripes.
Even God participated in the event by lining the clouds in pink.

All of this was set up by the 'Students For Charity' group at the high school. They even had a stand with all kinds of 'pink' stuff and all of the proceeds went to Breast Cancer Research and Treatment Charities.

I am so proud of our school and the students for picking this cause and for all of those who willingly participated.

Stacy

Pumpkin Farm

Tonight our Jr Youth classes took 19 kids between 3 and 13 to the local pumpkin farm. We had such a nice evening for it. The weather was perfect, not too warm and not too cold.


We started out letting the kids climb the hay bales that were stacked 6 high and running through the hay maze.
Then we went for a hayride. This is Little S and I traveling back to pick our pumpkins.

And here is Little S in the middle of the pumpkin field. This was a great year for pumpkins. There were so many and they were all big and in good shape. Several years we have gone down and they have been little or rotten. We really picked some nice ones out.

After we all got our pumpkins we went back and let them climb on the hay again and took a group picture on the stacked hay.

Then we headed over to McD's for dinner and home.

This weekend we are taking the senior youth (6th grade - college) to the Corn Maze. This is always an adventure. We split up into teams and see who can come out first. I hope to have some more pics of that this weekend.

Stacy

Time Flies

Boy I can't believe it has been so long since I put something on here. Fall schedules around here are crazy to say the least. Don't worry though November is coming up and I'll be doing a post every day for the month as I have the last few years.

All broken bones are now healed!!! And we hope that we don't have any more in the future. We are still working on getting the full range of motion back in the elbow, but we are pretty close.

Football season is in full swing and Homecoming is done and over with. Next up is Senior Night. I am going to cry myself through that night. This having a senior in high school is not fun at all. There is so much to do and get done and go to and PAY for.

Last week was the college fair and Teen finally has some motivation. He got some good information and we are going to schedule a few visits soon.

Not sure how all of this college visit stuff is going to work out since I am still a temp at a job. But then again I guess it is a good thing being a temp as I can just tell them my schedule.

If the hire me on I will have to be a little more strict with the schedule. This is also a good test to see if this is some place I want to work at. I have always said that my kids are my priority and there will be several times this year that I will not be able to work because of Senior obligations and such. They have been really good so far with all of the appointments with Little S and his broken bones. Time will tell I guess.

I am off to do a little more running but I will leave you with this pic of Tween from Spirit Week 2 weeks ago. Let me just say, he will do most anything for a laugh :)

This pic was from Team-Spirit day:

And this pic is from Rock-Star day:What a kid. You would never know by this pic that the only music he listens to is Christian Rock, Country and Sirius Disney.

Have a great day!
Stacy

Big Black Cloud

We went to the orthopedic doctor on Monday and Little S was released to go back to playing gym and recess and soccer. He was so excited. The doctor assured me that unless a big black cloud was hanging over us the elbow would be fine and he would see us in 3 weeks for a final x-ray.

Tuesday at recess he was finally free and could run and play with the other kids. I mean he has been in school for almost a month and this was the first that he was allowed to play with his friends. This is a HUGE deal for a 1st grader.

He was also so excited about returning to soccer practice that evening he work his soccer shirt to school. So did several of the other kids in soccer. This turned out to be a big mistake.

See as Little S stopped for a few minutes and was standing still talking to one of his little friends another kids came up behind him full force and shoved him into a wall. He had mistaken Little S for another child he was mad. He realized his mistake a little too late.

The school called me to let me know what had happened and they assured me that Little S was more shook up about what had happened than anything and that physically he was fine.

I called the orthopedic doctor and asked what they thought as he hit the wall pretty hard and it was his left side, the one that was almost healed now. They told me that it was their early day and if I could bring him right in they could see him otherwise to bring him in the next day. There was no way that I could make it from work to the school and to the doctor before they closed and since the school wasn't too concerned I left it at that.

When I got home from work and saw Little S and his huge swollen purple thumb I knew that it was broken. Sure enough the next morning I took him back to the doctor and thanked him for the 'huge black cloud' comment after it was determined that it was indeed broken.

So we are back to square one. No gym, no recess and no soccer. He is pretty disappointed to say the least. But he is a trooper and will be fine in a few months.

As far as the other kid, he had to write a letter of apology to Little S as well as apologize in person and he is on recess restriction for 2 weeks, meaning he is allowed out but has to be with a teacher at all times. It doesn't seem like much of a punishment in comparison, but the child is only 6 and I can only imagine what his home life is like to have that much anger built up at that age.

Stacy

Reading

Little S is a great reader for his age. And on top of that he loves to read, everything.

So last Thursday my Mum came up to spend the night as we were leaving early Friday morning for Women of Faith in Cleveland. Thursday night is also Hubby's bowling night as well as it was Open House at the High School.

Teen & Tween and I went to Open House while Grandma stayed home with Little S. We all love to play board games and card games and the boys live for when we go to my Mum's for the weekend to play games.

So while we were gone Grandma and Little S decided to play Pictureka. If you have never played the game go out and buy it now. It is so much fun! Anyhow, Little S wanted to read the card that tells you what the roll of the dice means.

So he is trying to read the card to Grandma and she knows he is a good reader, but for the life of her she cannot figure out what he is trying to tell her. So she asked him for the card and when she looks at it, he is reading the Spanish card....lol

But he never gave up, he tried reading it like a champ.

Stacy

End Times

There has been a lot of talk lately about the end times. And there have been many many movies over the years about it as well.

A few years ago my Sunday school class of about 10-12 people was interested in learning more about the end times. Dr. Malak, who grew up in the middle East (Syria), offered to use his knowledge and do further research and teach our class. It was a true blessing each week, learning more and more about what God has in store for us. He was very through in his research and outline what we were learning and often included charts and such to help us better understand it all.

During the course of the class it was suggested by a fellow classmate that he should put all of his research to good use and write a book. So Michael did just that and it was recently published.

I am honored to know that this book was literally written because we were so interested in learning and he was so willing to teach us.

If you have an interest and a chance, please buy his book and read it. It will really make you think and enlighten you to many things God has in store for us.

So without further ado I introduce you to Dr. Michael Abdul-Malak and his book The Birth Pangs.

There are several reasons that Michael named his book as he did.

First of all God tells us in His word Matthew 24: 7-8 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pangs, with more to come.

Second, he is an Ob/Gyn and the title just fits.

Let me know if you pick up a copy and what you think. (It is also available on Amazon and as a down loadable book for a reader).

Stacy

Kids Say

Not too long ago I wrote about how we joined the library and how much fun we have had there over the summer. I actually miss going there every week. But now with working and the kids in school we haven't been able to make it over during open hours.

The library today is quiet different from the library in my day. There is a whole room in the lower level that is just a Children's Wing. It is a great room and the staff is wonderful. And the best part is there are games there that the kids can take out and play (chess, checkers, etc) and they don't have to whisper and still fear dirty looks or being told to shhhh. It's a place where kids can truly learn and ask questions and just have fun. They even had an ice cream day this summer. The kids got to eat ice cream and read a book!

One day while we were in the children's room, there was a binder on one of the tables and on the front cover it said "If I Ruled the World" by *Mrs. Ima Teacher's 2nd Grade Class of The Local Elementary* (*Names Changed as it wasn't my children's teacher or school)

So I start flipping through the book and reading what the kids had to say. It was obvious that the teacher had written parts on the board and the kids had to fill in their answers to parts.

Some of them would have pizza served every day at school, some would ban boys. Some of the answers then turned serious, they would not allow yelling and would not allow cancer. <---That one made me sad that at 7/8 yrs their lives had already been affected by cancer. And then some were just plain funny, it required wearing pink every day.

And then there was the one who apparently had a parent in the armed services as this child was talking about wearing camouflage, however they spelled it 'CAMEL FLOSS'. Let's just say it was a good thing laughing was allowed in the children's section when I read that...lol

Stacy

Free Again

Little S went to the doctors today to get an xray and have his cast checked. And this is the result:

Look at that smile! It says it all.

I can hardly believe that he only had to have the cast on for 3 weeks. He does still have to take it easy for the next two weeks, no gym, no play ground, etc. But at least he can shower again!

Stacy

Broken Arm

Teen is 17, Tween is 14 and Little S is 6. Last year we had our first broken bone when Tween fell playing PT Alien. (It's a game the complex kids made up and is kind of like Hide 'n Seek and Tag mixed together with a few other rules).

So I think we did pretty good going 16 years of having boys without a broken bone. Then a few weeks ago Little S was playing on a retaining wall at my BIL's house. The retaining wall goes the whole length of their driveway on both sides. It is completely made out of railroad ties and one side of the drive is higher than the other. The older boys and the men were playing basketball in the driveway and Little S was jumping on and off of the short retaining wall (2 railroad ties high). One time he jumped and missed and fell right on his elbow.

He was crying and they moved his arm some by making him open and close his elbow and it moved fine and didn't hurt that much. He came up to the house and we tried to move it the other way and he screamed in pain.

Yep, he broke his elbow. It cracked from one side to the other but luckily it didn't separate.

This is the nurse getting it all in place and ready for the cast. I think he believes holding his breathe will make the pain go away.

This is after the first layer of cast is on and now his colored cast is being put on. It felt much better once it was secured in place and couldn't be moved.

And this is after we got back home and the pain meds kicked in. He was out for almost the rest of the day.

Tomorrow he goes for another x-ray and cast check to see how it is progressing and also to see if he needs the cast replaced. Hopefully he won't have it on much longer.

Stacy

Meet the Team

Tonight was 'Meet the Team" night at the high school. Basically all of the fall sports and the band go out on the football field and are introduced to the community.

We live in a small town so this is a big deal for the town. The principle stated tonight that there are about 500 kids in the high school (9-12) and that almost 300 of them are in some type of sport with many of them in more than one.

Here's a few pic from this evening:

Teen is in the middle there playing the trumpet. I know, which one. See the kid on the right in the tan shorts? Go to your left 3 people. That's him with the sun glasses on....he is so cool!

And so begins the first football season for the Tween and the last for the Teen.

Stacy

Slacker

I might be a blog slacker recently but I haven't been a slacker around here. This is what has been happening in the last few weeks that are keeping me busy:

Little S broke his elbow.

I started a new job.

My grandma unexpectedly stops for a short visit.

Band and fall soccer are in full swing.

High school football starts this weekend.

The boyz started school yesterday.

I have a senior in high school.

I am not dealing well with that last statement.

Tomorrow is September 1st and I plan on getting this ol' blog thing going again. I've made some notes over the past few weeks so there is plenty to blog about.

See you soon.

Stacy

Empty Nest

For the second time this summer I have had an almost empty nest here. Sunday Teen & Tween left for band camp.

(Go ahead I'll wait for the jokes and laughs to stop) hmmmm......laaaa.....laaa...la

Done? No? One more, ok. Finished? Good, on with the story.

I had an interview last week and new as soon as I scheduled it that I would get the position. Want to know how I knew? See hubby first didn't have enough PTO time saved up to schedule vacation time and then when he did his co-worker had time scheduled. So hubby finally found a few days that he could take off next week. Sure enough I was offered the position. There fore I had to start work Tuesday.

What does this have to do with band camp? Well since Teen and Tween were both going to be away and Hubby and I are both working, I had to find something to do with Little S for the week. This is where I then proceeded to call in favors <--- Read "beg people to watch Little S for the day".

So Little S ended up staying over night at Grandma Retta's Monday night and I picked him up at her place after work and took him straight to the soccer field. After soccer he came home, showered and packed his stuff to go stay at my friend Kandy's house Tuesday night. After work Wednesday Hubby picked Little S up and brought him home to eat dinner and pack his stuff so he could go home with my friend Heidi after church Wednesday evening.

So by Wednesday evening I hadn't seen or heard from the older too since Sunday when they boarded the bus and I saw Little S for approx one hour each day after work. Wednesday evening my sister called and Laurel called and I was beside myself. Not only was I tired from getting up early and all of the running around, I was seriously missing my kids. Like on the verge of tears, don't look at me the wrong way or talk to me for fear I would start crying and not stop type of mood.

I have no idea what I am going to do when they all do grow up and move away. Teen is seriously considering a college in Florida. However they do have an online program of study so that might be an option for him.

If yours have left home already, how did you do it?

Stacy

ps - you can share some of those band camp jokes now....i could use the laugh ;)

Back to Normal

Well it isn't quiet around here any more...lol The troops are all home and making noise. We weren't all together for 24 hours and the arguing began...lol But that's how it always is, right?

I finished reading 'One For The Money' Friday and put the next book in the series 'Two For The Dough' on request from the library. It is due back to them on Tuesday. I sure hope it makes it there, I'm not sure I can wait much longer to start reading it.

At the beginning of the summer I took the boyz to one of the local libraries and got them each their own library card as well as one for myself. I'm not sure why I didn't do this sooner. It cost $20 for the family for the year and I have saved way more that that in the first week.

Little S joined the kids summer reading program and had a blast. Each week he would read a book and then the librarian would sit down with him and ask him questions about it. After they went over the book, they got to do an activity or make a craft. There were also several drawings throughout the whole program. He won twice. Once was an electronic toothbrush and the other was sea monkeys.

I was going to join the adult summer reading program, but I didn't like the requirements. If you signed up you had to read through the Dewey Decimal System. One book from each category. I am definitely not into several of those sections so I just chose to read the books I wanted instead of stressing about 'having' to read something.

A few years ago I had the older two boyz do the whole Flat Stanley project for the summer and they had a blast. I think I may have Little S do that again next year now that he is old enough to understand the map and such.

Do you do anything educational with your kids in the summer or just let them be kids?

Stacy

Quiet

It is extremely quiet around here. Little S and Tween headed out Thursday morning to go camping with Grandma Retta until Saturday evening. And if that didn't make it quiet enough, Teen got called in to work yesterday from 4-Close (12:30am). And to top it all off, Thursday is hubby's golf league night.

So what did I do? I cleaned my house and then sat down with a book. I started reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Laurel had told me about this series a million times and I was too busy with kids, work and activities to dig into it. I am so glad I borrowed the first book from the library. I started it yesterday morning and I am already half-way through the book. I also found out yesterday that they are now making a movie based on the first book - One For The Money. It isn't due out until sometime in 2011 so I will probably be most of the way through the series by then. She just published book 16.

There are many times when it is so crazy busy here that I wish for some quiet and alone time, but when I get it, I do not like it at all. I guess I get used to the busy and crazy. I am on day 2 and it is a little better today. The silence isn't killing me as much. Hopefully I'll finish up the book between today and tomorrow and can borrow book two from the library on Monday.

What do you do when it is way too quiet at your house?

Stacy

Kids Say

A few days ago Hubby, Little S and I were sitting on the neighbors porch in the evening relaxing and chatting. Our apartment faces into the complex and the neighbors are in the back and face towards the road. Although the road is a main road it really isn't that busy except for the semi's heading to the terminal right up the road.

The neighbors both smoke and we don't. And even though we are visiting them they always step off of the porch to smoke when we are there. So as we are all sitting there talking Andy gets up and walks over into the yard and is leaning against the back of a chair talking to us while he is smoking.

Then Little S says: "Andy, you're like one of those big trucks that drives past."

Now you know when your child says something and you instantly cringe because what they just said is not nice and you are embarrassed that they said it? Well this is one of those times as Andy is a big guy. So we are all thinking Little S is commenting on his size.

So Andy says to him: "Why, because I am so big?"

And although they do not have children yet, they have niece and nephews and understand the minds of little ones so he truly was not offended.

And Little S says: "No because you are blowing out smoke like the trucks do. But you are big too."

We all had a good laugh about that one. And yes I told him later it was not nice to say things about peoples weight cause it might hurt their feelings. Which led to a whole other conversation.

Sometimes the kid cracks me up the way he thinks.

Stacy

Relaxing

VBS is over. It was a great time with the kids. Our theme this year was 'The Egypt Files' from Answers In Genesis. They always have a great set of materials and the message during the week.


I think I needed this week just to relax after running for the last 2 weeks. I am also thankful that I didn't have to work last week so that I could concentrate on VBS.

Today I went with Laurel down to Pittsburgh for her treatment. I always have such a nice time when we spend the day together, even if it is sitting in a hospital while she is hooked to an IV.

We have also gotten in trouble a time or two while there. One time her brother Kevin and I went with her. Kevin is hilarious and works in the education field so he always has a good story or two or ten to tell us. Well he got to telling a story and we started giggling and there was another patient who did not think we were amusing at all and shushed us. I swear we weren't being loud.

The time always seems to fly by even when we are there for several hours. We talk and laugh and then talk and laugh some more. We talk every day and sometimes several times a day but they are usually short conversations unless one of us needs to let loose about something. So when we get together the conversation never stops. You would think we hadn't seen each other in years.

Thanks Laurel for letting me go with you. I consider it a privilege that you allow me to go with you.

Stacy

Hello There

Sorry I haven't been around. It has been crazy hot here so we have been at the pool a lot during the day and in the evenings we have been building the set for VBS and preparing everything else.

Here is the completed set:

The mic stands are probably set at 5 ft. We had a blast making it. It is all out of cardboard with some wood behind for support. I didn't do much of it other than paint some of the background and a few other pieces throughout the church.

I have been working on the PowerPoint presentations most of the day. Once the first day is set up, the other days are much easier. I just have to tweak a few things each day.

I hope to have some more pics and such on here the rest of the week.

Stacy

July 1

Wow, half of the year is gone already. Jeez! Time to start thinking about Christmas right? lol

Today's Prompt: What is your favorite movie?

I could list a ton of movies. I love to watch movies. Get lost for a little while in someone else's life and troubles.

I don't even have a particular style of movie that I like. I can get into just about any type of movie except for maybe a documentary or western.

There are a few movies I could watch over and over again without getting tired of.

Dirty Dancing - Who wouldn't want Johnny to teach them to dance? Who didn't fall in love with him?

Overboard - We would all love to teach a few rich people a lesson like Dean taught Joanna/Annie.

The Blindside - Leigh Ann Tuohy has inspired so mnay with her story and the actors in the movie could not have played it any better. I haven't laughed and cried so much in one movie in a long time.

A Walk to Remember - Such a beautiful story of growing up and loving no matter what.

The Wedding Date & Pretty Woman - Totally different but also the same. I love both of them in different ways.

The Thomas Crown Affair (new version) - Loved the secrets and the confusion and that Thomas Crown did it for the fun, not for the money. I pretty much will watch anything with Pierce Brosnan in it.

Any of the Lethal Weapon movies - They just make me laugh.


There are a lot more, but those are ones right off the top of my head that when I see they are on TV somewhere I watch or record them to watch later.

What is your favorite movie? or What movie can you watch over and over again?

Stacy

June 30

Things are really quiet around here. Little S soaked up the attention the first two days that Teen & Tween have been gone.

Saturday morning was his last T-Ball game. Then that night we took him to his first ever drive-in movie (Toy Story 3). He had a blast and cannot wait to go back. That night Little S and daddy slept on the couch after staying up way too late.

By the way - Pixar did an amazing job with the story. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but it was the best happy/sad ending anyone could have asked for. If you haven't seen it, and you have seen the first two, it is an absolute must see!

Sunday we went to church and then just hung out here for a little while. Sunday afternoon he had a pool party/birthday party to go to. About an hour into the party, it started to rumble thunder so we had to leave. That night he slept in bed with me while daddy slept on the couch again.

Monday we went to my friend Kandy's house to get some VBS stuff done and he ended up staying the night there.

Tuesday morning I ran some errands and got a few things picked up from the craft store for VBS and went back Kandy's to do some prop painting while the kids swam and played. After we left there, we came back home and made dinner for daddy. When we got done eating, he called his Gma Retta and decided he was going to spend the night at her place and go to breakfast with her at Eat 'n Park in the morning. Not sure she was planning to go there, but she took him this morning anyhow ;)

Today I am getting caught up on a few things and then probably working on more VBS stuff. It doesn't start for another week and a half, but I am already ready for it to be over...lol

Stacy

June 29

Today's Prompt: In what ways have you become 'green' in the past few years? Do you think that it has made a difference?

I really can't think of anything that I have done to become greener. Perhaps keep the a/c set a little higher and the heat set a little lower. I try to keep lights/tv's off when not being used. And not run the water while we are brushing our teeth. Other than those few things, I can't think of anything major we have done. How about you?

Stacy

June 28

Today's Prompt: How do you feel about the name given to you at birth?

I can remember a time in elementary school when I aware that my name was given to me and I wasn't sure I liked it. I believe my mum heard the name on the radio and liked it so that's where it came from.

I like my name now. Perhaps it's because I am 39 and just so used to it. The only thing I don't like about my name is how everyone misspells it. I like the way my mum spelled it, but everyone insists on putting an 'e' in it.

Do you like you name?

(Today's question is actually Friday's - I didn't really know much about today's: Tell us everything you know about the day you were born. Perhaps my mum can fill me in on that one later and I can tell you more.)

Stacy

June 27

Happy Sunday! The boys and youth are almost to their destination as I type this. They stopped at 1880 Town. I had never heard of the place before I got a text from them but it looks like a nice place to learn a lot of history. And there are plenty of props from Dances With Wolves for them to look at.

I am so glad they had a nice safe trip out there. They will be staying in Rapid City, SD and traveling onto the reservation daily. Tween text me earlier and said that he got a lot of nice pictures. He is amazed at the difference in the area compared to the little hilly town we live in.

Thanks for the prayers while they traveled out. Continued prayers while they are there and for their travels home is much appreciated.

Stacy

June 26

The boys (and the youth group) have made it to Sioux City, IA for the night. They stopped at the entry of each state and took a group pic around the state sign.

Not sure if I mentioned it earlier but both of the youth directors (& wives) had babies last year. One will be a year old next week and one will be a year next month. The babies are on the trip as well. The one youth directors wife's parents are following behind in their own truck and will be taking care of the babies while they are all working. Anyhow, when I talked to the boyz, they said the babies did great. They rode all that way and never got cranky or fussy until the last half hour of the trip. I am so thankful for that as I am not sure how a van full of teens would have handled a crying baby for many many miles.

Thank you all for your prayers. They have another 9 hours tomorrow to get to their final destination of Rapid City, SD. Please continue to keep all of them in your prayers.

Stacy

June 25

Tonight at 3 am (Saturday morning) my Teen & Tween will be leaving for South Dakota on a mission trip with their youth group. This is a 21 hour trip. There are 20 people going and they are taking 2 (15) fifteen passenger vans.

They should get into Sioux City, Iowa sometime tomorrow evening around 9pm. They will stay in a hotle for the night to get some rest. They will get up early Sunday morning and make it to Rapid City, SD by about 4pm. They will be staying just outside of Rapid City near an Indian Reservation.

They will start out bright and early Monday morning on the Indian Reservation. During the morning hours they will be helping to run a Vacation Bible School program. Their group is responsible for the snack, crafts and testimonials for the week. In the afternoon and early evening hours they will be helping to repair homes on the reservation.

The last few times that Teen has gone away there has been a death in the family. During the last missions trip that he went on in 2007 his great-grandfather passed away. I contacted the youth leader and they didn't tell him, but they made it home in time for Teen to make it to the second visitation and services.

There have been two other trips that he went on and someone passed away as well. This is a constant burden in the back of his mind any time he goes on a trip.

As we were joking around last evening, I said I was going to cry when they leave. He said to me 'Just don't break my heart when I get back home'. I felt sick remembering how many times he has come home all excited from a trip only for Hubby and I to have to sit down and tell him that someone died.

So if you would all do me a favor and pray this week, first of all for traveling mercies and safety. And second for not only the health of those on the trip but for the health and safety of those left behind. And lastly for peace for the boyz as they travel, knowing that they are doing God's work and that what ever does happen back here at home, we'll get through it one step at a time.

Stacy