November 30, 2009

I woke up to a pinch of frost this morning . . .


It was really quite beautiful.



And I also took some truly adorable photos of my three year old using the potty like a big boy. I won't embarrass him by posting pics on my blog, though. He's been doing really well with the potty training . . . at least until Dave's folks showed up. But he's getting himself lined back out again, since they left this morning.

Here's a hypothetical question for you. If you were scooping up ice cream for root beer floats and your mother-in-law came in to "help", then proceeded to eat ice cream out of the container, what would you say or do? NOT that my mother-in-law would do any such thing! (lol) I hate to waste good ice cream, but since she was coughing all over the place this morning, I'm thinking that pitching it is in order. *sigh* There goes my comfort food for the rest of the week.

November 29, 2009

Sunday School, Church and another short Deacon's meeting. Mother-in-law made noodles for lunch and we threw in the leftover turkey. I've ALMOST got all the leftovers cleaned out of the fridge now. I spent the majority of the afternoon moving photos over to my two external hard drives . . .

WHEW! I try to do this once a month, but I'd fallen a few months (and several thousand photos) behind. Glad to have things back on the up and up for the first of December. I even did a disk cleanup and a defrag . . . whoowhoo! Somebody STOP me!

November 28, 2009

I slept in this morning until 6:45. The sound of little pitter pattering feet woke me up, and when I walked into the living room, I found this . . .


Bayleigh reading Eli a book. The Berenstain Bears no less! She's come quite a long way in her reading skills over the past few months. And I couldn't believe Eli was just laying there listening to her read! He usually has to pester and agitate. But they were both being pretty angelic this morning.



Before lunch, I took Eli out to the garage with me and we did some clean-up and sorting. And after lunch, I dove into my Christmas cards.

I managed to complete 27 cards, thanks to some quick and easy card kits. The next thing on my agenda is typing up a family letter, to mail out with the cards. I'm REALLY hoping to stay on top of things this year!

November 27, 2009

I've been up since 3:00 a.m. Bayleigh was up yet again . . . and didn't go back to sleep at all, until she went over to see the Grandparents in the RV. She snuggled in with them and they all slept until 9:30. Hmmmm . . . must be nice.

As I was running through the household chores, I happened to look out over the back deck and caught Freckles nursing her little ones . . .


on the little slide. So funny!



Just before lunch, Bayleigh came back in coughing non-stop, so I dosed her up with some cough medicine and she laid down on the couch and slept for several hours. I know she has to be exhausted from waking up in the middle of the night, almost every night for the past two months. I know I am! And now she's come down with a cold of some type, that I'm hoping we can get under control before she goes back to school on Monday.

She slept on and off all afternoon, and then the kids helped Grandma make pizza. It was WONDERFUL. I'm so glad I didn't have to cook tonight. I'm pooped.

November 26, 2009

After another late night/early morning, Dave and I dove into the Thanksgiving preparations. Chunking up the sweet potatoes . . .


scanning the internet for cool recipes . . .



and tackling the children.

I couldn't resist getting a picture of Dave doing dishes. What a sweetheart. He did the majority of the preparations. He must have known how exhausted I was, after being up most of the night with the kids.

Dave's mom made biscuits, with some help from the small fries . . .

and I was in charge of the mashed potatoes and the plating, while MY mom wrangled the kids . . .

I think I can speak for us all, when I say that we ate entirely too much.

but boy was it good! So much to be thankful for today.

November 25, 2009

Struggling from a continued lack of sleep. I did some touch up cleaning, took pictures of hubby's Harley to put on Craigslist . . .



and got ready for a trip to see Santa at Bass Pro. Before we headed off to see Santa, we stopped to eat supper at El Rodeo.

Dave rode with his dad, while I took his mom and the kids in the other vehicle. When we arrived at El Rodeo, Bayleigh was coughing so bad, we almost decided against the trip to see Santa, but Bayleigh was feeling fine (other than her coughing and being extremely tired), so we headed on down only to find out that Santa was only there until 8:00. We BARELY squeaked through the line . . .

Photos were taken with Santa . . .

and then we walked around, seeing all the new displays, and "playing" with all the toys.

Dave thinks Bayleigh needs an air rifle for Christmas . . . but I think we should wait a few more years before letting her loose with a gun. (*I remember what my brother and I used to do with our pellet gun. heh, heh, heh.)

November 24, 2009

I had another leisurely cleaning day, while Dave and Eli ran errands and went hunting. I couldn't believe it when the boys came in with a deer. I thought the chances of that were slim to none. (Eli can't sit still and he's not exactly the most quiet of children.)

While the boys were picking up some last minute groceries in town, Dave's folks arrived.


His mom had made these cute little aprons for the kids, since the kids like to "help" grandma make biscuits.

And Eli pestered grandpa to death!

The day ended with a beautiful sunset, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, and lots of good conversation.

I stayed up late, catching up on emails and photos, and enjoyed that little bit of peace after the kids went to bed.

November 23, 2009

I spent a crazy morning bouncing around from one household task to another. The house is really a mess and Dave's folks will be here . . . TOMORROW.

I'm glad Dave kept the small one occupied today, so I could do some leisurely cleaning. I've decided no matter how messy the house is, I'm not going to let it bother me. I want this holiday season to be more "real life" , "in the moment". So instead of killing myself with my usual lofty expectations of a spotless home, and a smoothly orchestrated dinner . . . I'm letting it go. Here's to enjoying each and every moment!

*And I WILL be taking more pictures this year, instead of doing ALL the work and clean-up. I believe I've earned the right to delegate this time around.

November 22, 2009

Today was a busy Sunday . . . along with my regular teaching of the kid's Sunday School class, I was asked to do a "Call to Worship" directly before the church service began. I chose Psalm 63. I was terribly nervous getting up in front of everyone, and I hope I didn't butcher it too badly.


Right after church we had a Deacon's meeting, and then a fellowship meal. Busy, busy, busy. We all got home around 2:00.




Later in the evening, Dave and the kids made pasta. I think Bayleigh has a new "fun" thing to do with daddy. I'm glad he's getting to spend a little more time with the kids this week. Next week it will be back to the regular work schedule, but I think he only has a few more days of clinicals left, and this semester will be over with soon. One more to go! I think we'll make it.

November 21, 2009

Last day of the basketball tournament. In this photo, my little girl had just made her first goal of the tournament.


And she was like a bloodhound after that basketball. Where the ball was, SHE was.




I'm so proud of my little basketball player.

After we got home, I did some more cleaning up . . . and mom showed up around 2:00 p.m. with all these goodies she'd picked up at a garage sale. A tote full of stamps, a big rolley organizer on wheels and a little pink three drawer storage container. All under $10. Thanks mom. You're the best!

It's been cloudy and overcast for a few days and I was really needing some sunshine. The good Lord granted my wish, and I had about 15 minutes of wonderful sunshine, before it dipped down off the horizon. The weather is getting cooler, but the garden is still blooming . . .

and producing.

I was so thankful for this little glimpse of sunshine. Sometimes it's the best cure for the blahs.

November 20, 2009

My little girl's first basketball game was this evening. She was literally on the edge of her seat with excitement.


I wasn't really sure what I expected to see out of her . . .



but she truly surprised me with her hustle, grit and determination.

I mean . . . what happened to my easy going, mild mannered, quiet kid?

She wasn't in attendance tonight! Wherever that ball was, she was all over it like a hobo on a ham sandwich. I hadn't realized it until tonight . . . but I do believe she's got a little bit of her momma's determination and stubbornness. I couldn't be more proud.

November 19, 2009

Oh my goodness! Could it possibly be?! Oh yeah . . . sunshine breaking through the fog. It's amazing what a little sun can do for a girl's mood.




And just when I thought it couldn't get any better . . . I received a package in the mail. Claudia takes some AWESOME photographs, and now I have an 8x12 to hang on the wall of my retreat. Life is SWEET! (You can find Claudia's blog, by clicking on Eternal Rewards over to your right.)




It was recently brought to my attention that I hadn't posted any new profile pictures in quite some time and as I was looking through my photos to rectify that, I noticed that I hadn't taken any self portraits since March.


I'd MUCH rather be behind the camera than in front of it. I'm not one of those people who ever take a "good" picture. Hence the reason I don't have any new pictures to post of myself.




And now that I'm on the back side of thirty, I can find even more reasons to stick BEHIND my camera, instead of jumping in front of it.



So . . . for those of you who wished for new photos. Here they are. I think I'm kind of partial to this last one. Soaking up the warmth of the sun . . . a bit over exposed, and enjoying God's beautiful gift of sunlight. The real deal . . . no make-up, mussed, wrinkled and at peace with myself.

November 18, 2009

Dave had clinicals today, so I was on my own. In an effort to focus on "giving" this holiday season, I sent Bayleigh off to school with some canned goods for their school food drive.



Then Eli and I rushed around to get ready for his three year check up at the pediatricians. I decided to stop by the school and pick Bayleigh up, since she needed a check up too . . . so I took off in the rainy weather for a day of running.




The kids managed to embarrass the crud out of me at the pediatrician's office, and I had to have broken the land speed record, racing through Wal-Mart picking up groceries. I didn't want to risk getting arrested for my children's bad behavior. After we made it out of the grocery store, and headed back home, I decided to stop and take a few photos . . . even if it WAS raining. (Sometimes a mom just needs a moment or two to get her wits back.)



I thought this cornfield looked inviting . . .



and I liked the character shown in this gate latch. I'm beginning to think I might not mind being locked up for a while myself.

November 17, 2009

Weak as a kitten, but determined to accomplish SOMETHING today. So I kept it simple and played catch up with a few blogs, emails, classes and such . . .


I even managed a few loads of laundry.




Thank goodness! I don't want to get behind so far that I can't catch up by Thanksgiving.

November 16, 2009

No photos today . . . although I DID think about picking up my camera to take a few photos. So sick today . . . and so weak I was afraid if I tried to pick my camera up, I would drop it.

Bayleigh woke up around 2:30 a.m. with her usual nightly scare. Wanting mommy to sit on the end of the bed until she went back to sleep. I made it about 10 minutes before I got violently ill.

I literally crawled back to bed, woke Dave up and asked if he would sit on the end of her bed.

When it came time for my normal wake up, I sat up in bed and promptly felt like I was going to pass out. So I slept in. I managed to get Bayleigh out of bed for school, before I had to give it up and ask Dave to help me out again.

I spent most of the day on the couch or in bed, fighting off a fever, stomach cramps, and black outs.

I'm rarely sick, so I'm wondering if I've just reached the limits on my exhaustion level, have food poisoning, or possibly the flu. I must be back on my feet tomorrow. Too much to do to be sick.

November 15, 2009

I made it through church this morning . . . but just barely. My head felt like I had a construction crew working overtime up top.



Thankfully Dave took Bayleigh to the woods with him, and I got Eli to lay down for a nap.

And I know reading probably isn't the best thing to do when you have a headache, but mine hurt so bad that I couldn't even BEGIN to close my eyes. I'm glad I picked up some mindless drivel, at the library to keep me together. By bedtime I would have been overjoyed to have my head removed from my body. Ibuprofen didn't even touch it. I haven't had one of my "sick" headaches in quite some time . . . so maybe I'm just due for one.