On Cloud 9

We had an amazing ultrasound experience today. God is so good! We went in and waited for 45 minutes as we were asked to be there 30 minutes early & then they were running behind. Unfortunately we were only allowed 2 people back in the room with us so Dave took the boys for a walk to entertain them and I let the lucky girls come back in with me. I was sad Dave wasn't able to come in but we were able to get a video tape of part of the ultrasound and I am eagerly waiting his homecoming tonight so we can watch it together. Once we went back in the tech seemed a little strict. I was thinking that maybe this wasn't going to be as fun as I had thought but decided to just be nice & polite back to her. She wasn't rude, just not very happy. After a little bit she changed and she was so nice & chatty it was like talking to a different person. I guess she had a bad morning with some tough things going on. I felt badly for her. We had a great time chatting not only about Baby but about some other things as well. It was really neat. As we went through the u/s she told us everything she was doing and looking for. She assured me as we went along that things looked great. That was beyond wonderful to hear. She explained to the girls details of what we were seeing & answered all of their questions. Science /Anatomy lesson! LOL! The heart was the most fascinating of all. We saw it in detail, heard the precious beating & saw the blood flow. This was where it was actually in our favor that our u/s was later on in my pregnancy. Did you know that around 20 weeks the heart is the size of a quarter? Amazing! Something I learned today. We saw close ups of the kidneys, bladder, diaphragm, brain, and specific bones. Little feet kicked & little hands flexed open & shut. At one point we even saw Baby yawn. So sweet! God truly does knit us together in the womb. And what a miracle it is! At the end she was able to tell us the gender of our Little One. I could hardly wait to share the news with Dave! We were given 3 priceless photos to take home plus our video. I carried them out like they were made of gold.

Thank you to everyone that prayed today! It was all we had hoped for and more. What a fabulous memory to tuck away. A BIG thank you to those that were waiting for my phone calls & those that emailed wanting to know who this Little One is. Your squeals of delight & excited emails are treasures. I appreciate all of you that choose to continue to share in this wonderful, amazing experience with us. Love you all!

Graphics by http://home.att.net/~scorh/GraphicsBaby.html

Big Day Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is our ultrasound! I'm super excited, can you tell? Lol! We are hoping first to see that all is well with Baby. Please, God. Then hopefully if Baby cooperates we will find out who this Little One is! Boy or girl? I can hardly wait! Each of the kids have their votes in and Dave does as well. As for me I don't have any definite guess. I'm so bad at that. Lol. Now just so you know I'm not going to post the results of boy or girl here. I don't want to spoil it for anyone that wants to wait until B-Day. If you'd like to know feel free to email me and I'll be happy to share. All I ask is please don't spoil it for anyone that wants to stay surprised. Thanks!

10 hours 18 minutes to go!

Christmas Eve

We did end up going to the candlelight Christmas Eve service at our new church. I am so glad we did. It was absolutely beautiful. They had these star shaped lights hanging from the high ceiling and the lights were dimmed in the sanctuary. It was super crowded and I felt lucky to get a seat. We ended up in the balcony and I think if Dave hadn't first dropped us off at the door and then went to park by himself we wouldn't have had a seat at all. That is how fast the seats filled up. Bugs did very well considering he is 3 and has never had to sit through an hour long service before. He didn't get restless until the end and even then he behaved as well as or even better than the other kids his age. When we lit the candles and the light filled the sanctuary it was magical. Heavenly.

After we arrived home we started in on making dinner. It was easy as we had prepped things ahead & planned a simple meal. The only thing that took time were the pizzas to cook. Dinner ended up being perfect. It was like a little buffet full of favorite foods. We had special things that we don't' normally have but as I mentioned they were things that took very little preparation. A perfect blend of special & easy on a busy night.

The girls did clean up for us and then it was time for our ornaments. Every year we give the children a special ornament. This year was no exception. Dave's dad had made one for them as well. They look forward to seeing what theme or character he has chosen.

Because of all the excitement and last minute needs bedtime took longer than Dave & I had hoped. Eventually we got them all into bed. I'm not sure how much sleeping actually took place but at least they were tucked in & the lights were off.

Elvis poses with me as I shred the cheese for pizzas.

Sweet Pea arranges the shrimp.

Daddy made the pizzas. He even made homemade sauce!

Boo Bear was in charge of the snack platter.

Our Tree

Mama & Her Chicks

Our Little Buffet

Pizzas, chips & dip, shrimp, grapes, celery with cream cheese, carrots & cheese and crackers.

Bugs plays cars while the girls clean up.

Ornament Time!

These were the ornaments I painted for the boys.

And here are the girls with theirs.

Close Up

Daddy opens the box from Grandma & Grandpa M.

Bugs was the first to get his ornament from Grandma & Grandpa. A teddy bear!

Bugs' ornament

They each have the child's name on them and the year. For privacy I haven't shown that side. Pops cuts these out of wood and handpaints them. Doesn't he do an amazing job?

Elvis' Ornament

Boo Bears'

Sweet Peas'

Santa Came!

After the kids were tucked into bed of course. *wink*

Boy, he even filled the stockings to the brim!

Baby Baby!

Baby is growing & growing! At my doctor's visit she said I was measuring 3 weeks ahead. She was not surprised seeing as this is my 6th pregnancy. I told Dave, "No wonder I've been feeling so huge!" =) It does make me wonder how big this Little One is going to be. Bugs would have been 10 lbs. if he hadn't been a scheduled C-section. Yikes!

Taken on Christmas Eve

The Days Before Christmas

Here are a few miscellaneous shots from the days leading up to Christmas Day.

Bailey

Sky Walker
Or as I like to call him, "Sky-Sky".

One night Dave spent some time with the boys making models. They were so excited!

Posing with their projects

Getting down to work

All my boys

All it needs now is paint!

My dear friend Megan sent us a package for Christmas. It was filled with this to-die-for delicious caramel popcorn drizzled with chocolate. There was also a homemade muffin mix which I am looking forward to mixing up. Last but not least she included a blanket for Baby that she stitched herself. It is gorgeous. Elvis loves how soft it feels. I can hardly wait to cuddle Baby in it. Thank you, Megan!

Great Deals!

In pace with our new life down here we decided to venture out to the stores the day after Christmas. Usually we are way too exhausted to even consider such a move but since we had such a nice, relaxing Christmas we ventured out around noon. There are many, many stores to choose from here way different than back where we used to live. I think that made it a bit more tempting as well. The kids were itching to spend some of the Christmas $ Nana gave them.

We went to Target first. I haven't been to Target since we moved here and it was set up much different than the one back home. We found an awesome deal on a new digital camera for Boo Bear. I had been searching & searching for a good quality digital camera under $100, (Wishful thinking?), and preferably around $80 tops. She has been wanting a camera for quite awhile and saved her birthday $ & allowance for the past 3 months towards a camera. Nana's gift card made up the difference she was lacking. We found a fantastic starter camera and the best thing is it was $15 lower than the lowest priced, positive reviewed camera I had found advertised. Yahoo! I even peeked underneath the sales card that was advertising & describing the camera as it sat on the electronics counter and saw it had just been reduced another $30. So if you add in that savings we got quite the sweet deal. Boo loves it and has literally been taking pictures ever since. She has already filled up an entire memory card!

The kids each picked out a toy or item to use their gift card on. A Star Wars toy for Elvis, 3 die cast Pixar CARS for Bugs, & a CD for Sweet Pea. I found a couple of large towels to fit my rounded body & some bath mats. Mine aren't exciting but things I had been wanting & saving for for awhile. So fun for me! =) The kids are excited because they each have at least a little $ left to go shopping again. Another fun trip in the near future!

Our next search was for shoes. Dave had been wanting & needing some new sneakers. Usually we aren't into brand names but because of his bad knees & my flat feet, (fallen arches from pregnancies), we have each found that New Balance sneakers are the sneakers for us. None have even come close in comparison. Dave's parents had given us some $ for Christmas and this is what we decided upon. (Thanks, Mom & Pops!) Now to find the deals. I had hoped to only spend $40 per pair at the most but the least expensive we could find were $50 each. Not too bad but I had seen them advertised for less before Christmas and was determined not to give up. We stopped in the small Sears near our house and after a bit I scanned the clearance rack. Low & behold what was sitting there but a size 14 New Balance sneaker! I couldn't believe it! I snatched it up to show Dave. We couldn't find the match so Dave went up to the counter to ask the saleslady if she new it's location. And she did! She went in the back and came out with it's mate. On the spot Dave told her he'd take them. Lol! She chuckled and asked if he'd like to know the price. We knew it was in the range of 40% to 60% off b/c of the sign but didn't know the exact price. Guess what? They were $25!!!!!!! I would have done a big ol' happy dance right there if I wasn't so hugely pregnant. =) As it was I was cheering from across the room which cracked the saleslady up. It made it even more of a find b/c we always have such a tough time finding shoes for Dave. Size 14! What a blessing!

My 3rd fantastic deal was found at Michael's today. They have been giving away either a 40% or 50% coupon this Christmas with your receipt. The only catch is that it can only be used on a regular priced item. I decided to see if I could use mine for a cork bulletin board. We need a large one for our office & they are super expensive everywhere I have looked. I went into Micheal's today hoping & praying their bulletin boards were not on sale. How funny is that? A frugal shopper praying against a sale. Lol! To my delight they were back to regular price and I was able to use my coupon for it! I walked out of the store with a large cork bulletin board for under $8! Considering all the ones I had seen in my researching were $35 or more I was delighted! And guess what? With my purchase I received another coupon for 50% off a regular priced item! Isn't that neat?

Our shopping is about wrapped up because of budget but I will definitely keep my eye out for those super bargains. After all Dave has a birthday next month and Sweet Pea has one coming up in March. If I can find a can't resist deal I'll tuck them away for their special days.

Friday Fill-In

1. I must see the Grand Canyon before I die.

2. You can't stop me from dancing.

3. I wish I never had to buy heating oil again.

4. Christ has helped me change my life.

5. I know the song Barney's pick up song by heart.

6. If I weren't so afraid, I would go skydiving.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping, tomorrow my plans include shopping for sneakers & a cork board for the office & spending time with Dave and Sunday, I want to help Dave clean out Baby's room!

From Our Family To Yours

Queen for a Day

I had a wonderful birthday this year. Dave & the kids worked hard to make it very special.

First, since it was Sunday I was able to have a lazy day. I rested, took a nap and was plain lazy. Then Dave cooked an amazing dinner. He made marinated London Broil, Broccoli Parmesan, and Scalloped Potatoes. Everything was made from scratch and super delicious. After dinner it was present time. You'll see below the many gifts I was given. I am blessed to have such a generous family! After that it was time to dance! The kids & Dave were a riot dancing around the living room at full speed. I joined in a little. It was a blast! Then it was back to the table for cake and ice cream. Dave made a chocolate cake with butter cream icing. Again, all homemade. Oh, so yummy! The girls volunteered to clean up and I was back to lounging around. Queen for a day!

Each of the children made me a card. Precious & full of love.

A birthday kiss for Mama.

Boo gave me one of her favorite movies.

Dave gave me 3 CD's by some of my favorite country singers.

Sweet Pea gave me a book light as she knows how I love to read in bed.

Bugs loved helping me with my gifts.

YAY! Just what I wanted!

Dave set it all up for me.

My new tunes.

Let the dancing begin!!!!!!!

Bugs dances with Sky.

Dave too.

Mama dances with Bugs.

It was so sweet. He came over to me and said, "Mommy will you dance wid me?" How could I resist?

Boo takes Mama for a whirl.

My Cake

Enjoying my birthday song. Lol!

Oh boy!

Bugs plays a special song for me.

After all the fun & excitement it was time to settle down. Daddy & the boys sat down to read together before bedtime.

What a wonderful, wonderful birthtday. Thank you for making it super special Dave, Sweet Pea, Boo Bear, Elvis & Bug-a-Boo!

Preparations

We have been busy finishing up odds & ends of Christmas shopping, getting things ready for our Christmas table, cleaning up in the house, wrapping presents, baking cookies and other Christmas preparations. We are hoping Dave will be released from work early tomorrow. If he is we plan on going to the early Christmas Eve service at church. We haven't gone to one for years because of having little ones. We think Bugs might be able to make it through this year so we'll give it a try. Next year we will once again have a Little One so this is the year to try. =)

I have been up late tonight wrapping presents that came in the mail, some that I found stashed away & painting the children's special ornaments. I am sore & aching from too much time on my feet today. Tomorrow I will try to do as much delegating as possible. I don't want to be flat off my feet for Christmas Day.

I'm going to head off to bed since it's already after 2a.m. Baby is kicking away so I'll enjoy that as I drift off. Is he/she excited for Christmas?

Office

Our major project last week was the office. I was tired of it looking like yet another storage room. I had tried to tackle it on my own but it was too big of a job for me alone. I just don't' have my usual energy these days and my lifting is very limited. Dave & Sweet Pea teamed up with me and we worked for hours to get it finished.

Some BEFORE shots:

Closet with boxes all around.

It actually had even more boxes in here than this. I took this photo mid-job. You could barely walk inside the door earlier.

Starting to stack the bookshelves

The AFTER shots:

A job well done.

At this angle you can see the computer chair for the big desk, the small computer desk Dave has set up for the kids schoolwork & games (it still needs to be hooked up), the main bookshelves full of resources and part of the craft/work table.

Here you can see we tucked the bench behind the craft/work table. I hadn't originally planned this but with no other space to put it I tried it out. I really like it! There are the 2 new small shelves Bugs & Dave put together. The crate is full of coloring books.


Here is the craft/work table again. I plan to place a chair or two in the front of it I have to dig them out of the garage first. Lol. A front view of the shelves Bugs & Dave put together. These hold binders, resource material and other little odds & ends for school. The rolling cart is to the left of the shelves and needs to be reorganized. I plan to have Dave install our big whiteboard above the shelves. It will be nice having it back in use again.

A shot of the big computer desk, main computer and little computer desk. We also managed to fit one of the filing cabinets underneath the big desk saving room. We plan to put a big bulletin board on the wall over one side of the large computer desk. We are toying with the idea of shelves on the other side. I think that will help keep the desk surface clear.

I didn't take a picture of the closet because its' not complete yet. For the most part we are keeping our extra school supplies, computer extras, the 2nd filing cabinet and office supplies in there. We may keep art supplies in there if I can squeeze them in. If not, we may have to rearrange the hall linen closet.
We're very pleased with the way the office turned out. The kids & I are really happy & thankful to have a school room of sorts again. And I love having the computer tucked away out of the main living area but still nearby.

Cozy Fire

We are very happy to have a fireplace in our home again. We had a wood stove in our first house which we loved. In our last house we were told there was a fireplace in the girls room but that the previous owners had sheet rocked over it.
Last weekend Elvis & I "christened" our fireplace with our first fire. We didn't have any wood but had plenty of paper from cleaning out the office. I made a strict rule that I was the only one allowed to throw paper in the fire or to touch the matches. Elvis was disappointed at first but then happily set to work crumpling paper for me so I could toss it into the fire. My reason for these rules is that I want to teach the kids that in no way is fire a toy or something to play with. Dave, of course is also allowed to use the matches and set up and maintain the fire. NONE of the kids are. We had a talk about it with all the children and they seemed to understand.

Elvis & I

(Yes, I looked & felt exhausted. Elvis however was clearly bubbling with anticipation making it all worthwhile.)

Bugs joined us.

Both boys oohed, ahhed & cheered when the fire roared.


Family round the fire

Shelves

The office needed some more shelves. Dave called in one of his helpers and they got right to work.

Eager to help

Look out, Handy Manny!


These moments are precious.

Now I have 2 new small bookshelves. Thank you, Bugs & Dave!

Go, Fight, WIN!

Spilled Milk

Don't cry over spilled milk! Instead send in the kitten cavalry! Dah.....dah, dah, DAH!

This is what we did when Sweet Pea knocked over her glass of milk the other night.

20 Seconds

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook. Like her, I usually don't do forwards but this one is an easy way to help feed lots of little creatures. =)

"Please do this good deed. It helps the animals greatly in these tough economic times, doesn't cost you anything and actually takes seconds. Thank you from all the animals you will help feed :-) PLEASE DO THIS 'FREE' GOOD DEED - Animal Rescue
Hi, all you animal lovers. This is pretty simple: The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute (how about 20 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box '"Click Here To Give" for free.This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. Thanks!"

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

Baby News!

I had my first appointment with my new OBGYN yesterday. What a relief to be seen again! It's been over 2 months and I was feeling uneasy not having medical care during that time. Of course if I had felt I absolutely needed to be seen I would have gone to the emergency room. Being back under a doctor's care is such a blessing.

My new doctor seems very nice & I felt comfortable with her. I especially liked the way she took time to speak to both Boo & Elvis asking them questions and really listening when they answered. (I had brought them with me & had Sweet Pea babysit Bugs at home.) She also made certain that I had an U/S (ultrasound) scheduled before I left the office. I guessed I missed my u/s that was supposed to happen in the 16th to 20th week and she wanted to make sure no more time was missed. Whew! I now have an appointment in Nashville for the end of the month. I am SUPER excited! I hope Baby will cooperate and we can find out boy or girl. Most of all I am anxious to see Baby for myself and hopefully hear that he/she is healthy and growing fine.

Last night I was looking through the journal the doctor's office gave me and could hardly believe we are in the 6th month already! Time is really flying by! Dave & I are eager to get working on the Baby's room soon. Lots of boxes to relocate!

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for Baby and joining in our excitement. It has meant the world to me to be able to share this miracle with you and our joy at his/her upcoming arrival. It's a little lonely some days having moved so far away from home & not really having anyone here yet. I'm thankful I have all of you to share with. And, Megan I'm especially thankful for you, Friend. You've been with me every step of the way matching my excitement with your own & encouraging me when I've felt so rotten I could barely get out of bed in the morning. I don't know what I would have done without you these past months. Thank you, Friend! {{{{{HUGS}}}}

Playing in Southern Snow

The same night we decorated our Christmas tree we had a gorgeous snowfall here in TN. The kids were thrilled to see the white stuff and even Dave had to admit it was beautiful. The next morning it was disappearing quickly but the kids were able to get outside before it was all gone.

Tossing a snowball

Kids in the snow

Some still remains on the van

It covered the sky lights & looked neat on the roof.

Sweet Pea even made a minature snowman. Isn't he a cutie?

I miss having snow to play in at Christmas!

Deck the Halls

It's always fun decorating the Christmas tree. The kids had been chomping at the bit to get to ours this year. I have to admit they were very good about all the postponements.
We always put Christmas carols on the radio or CD player and get to work. My job is to hand out the ornaments to the correct owners. The kids have been given a special ornament every year since they were born. We have quite the collection now! Dave's Dad always makes them a homemade ornament too, (They are awesome!), and my Mom usually picks one up for each of the kids. Dave & I have a few from our childhood. There are even a few for Rose Marie. I love how our Christmas tree is a reflection of all of us as a family.

Getting started

Mommy passes out the ornaments.

Mommy & Elvis

Daddy & Bugs

Cozy & Comfy

Sassy loved the ornaments.......

.......and the paper they were wrapped in.

Boo reaches high.

Bugs felt like a big boy on the step stool.

Love the face!

He was really into decorating this year.

A grinning Elvis

After we were finished with the ornaments I had the kids line up under the tree to pose for the yearly photos. Believe it or not I edited out quite a few. =)

My Favorite Shot

I can't help but smile when I look at this one.

Clowning Around for Mommy

This pose was Sweet Pea's idea.

And this pose was Daddy's idea.

Hanging out after all the fun & excitement.

Coloring for Christmas

Last week Dave got the printer up and running. I immediately printed off some Christmas coloring for the kids. They were eager to get coloring so we could decorate the house with their art.

At the end of the evening after the others were in bed Elvis & Daddy had some time together. They worked on the plane some more. It meant so much for Elvis to have this special time with Daddy.

My New Sidekick

My Birthday!

Today is my birthday! I'm looking forward to sleeping in, having a relaxing day & then a special dinner made by my sweet husband. I feel spoiled that my birthday falls on a weekend day this year. It's going to be a great day!

Excellent Read

If you loved the Yada Yada series you will LOVE this book. Many of my favorite characters from that series make an appearance and it is wonderful to see them again. Of course there are new characters the lead being Gabrielle Fairbanks also known as Gabby. I love the humanness of these books. So easy to relate to and learn from. If you have a chance check your local library to see if they have a copy and dive in. I found mine at our library though I have to admit now that I'm halfway through reading it I have decided it's a keeper for my home library and plan to purchase one of my own. If you do read it I'd love to hear what you think.

One Dollar Diet

These two teachers decided to see if they could eat on $1 a day here in America. The results are sobering. It reminds one just how much many Americans struggle every day. I watched the video from Fox news and immediately wanted to read their blog. In case you would like to read it too here is the link.

http://onedollardietproject.wordpress.com/


If nothing else I hope it reminds each one of us to donate to our local food pantries. I know it has for me. In a time where donations are low & the need is very high we can all help. Even if it's just a little. Remember the loaves & the fishes. God can multiply what we are willing to give especially when we give from the heart.

Friday Fill-In

1. Friends that last a lifetime are priceless treasures.

2. Good health; it's something we should not take for granted.

3. I'm ready for my next ultrasound!

4. Fresh lilacs is one of my favorite perfumes or aftershaves or smells.

5. The oldest ornament I have is at least 30 years old & was given to me by my Nana. It is one of my very favorites & I love hanging it on the tree every year.

6. Take some young man from PA, a young lady from MA, have them get married young, add in a handful of dreams, lots of love, very little $, hard work, strubbornness, determination, mistakes along the way & faith in God, mix it all together and you have our beautiful family & 14 years of marriage.


7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to eating pizza & watching Narnia with Dave & the kids, tomorrow my plans include unpacking & wrapping some presents and Sunday, I want to celebrate MY BIRTHDAY!

Cookie Decorating

Usually the kids & Dave make & decorate homemade sugar cookies over Thanksgiving weekend. This year due to different things the tradition was delayed a little. The kids took it all in stride and were excited when it was finally time to get to work. I didn't get any pictures of the cookie making Sunday night but did get to see the kids decorate the cookies on Tuesday night. They did a nice job and had lots of fun. I love seeing their different, creative styles.

Boo with her favorite color.

Sweet Pea loves to cook, bake & decorate.

Daddy & Elvis

Hard at Work

Sprinkles!

Bugs shows me his octopus.

Here come the cookies!

Bugs can't resist.

Daddy gives Bugs some sprinkles to put on his cookie.

The artists with their creations.

Doesn't Elvis look like he just got caught red handed? LOL!

Next it was time to bring the tree inside.

Elvis was more than eager to help.

Our Christmas Tree

It's SNOWING!!!!!!!

It's SNOWING! Yes, here in Tennessee! The kids are beyond thrilled! They are always excited to see the first snowfall of the season. It's even more exciting being in the south where they have been told they would see little to no snow. I'm praying it is still there in the morning for a little while. It is supposed to be in the 40's so it won't last long. Hopefully it will last long enough that the kids can run around and make some memories. Oh, and schools are closed all over the place!

Watching the snow fall from the front door.

A very excited Bugs!

It's really coming down!

Wow wee!

It really is a beautiful sight. And a perfect night to decorate our Christmas tree. Pictures of that soon!

Celebration!

Dave & I are officially Tennesseans!

We each received our drivers license yesterday!

Sticky Kitty

Poor Sassy! She somehow got stuck in some discarded packing tape. She tried & tried to get that tape off of her but to no avail. I have to admit it was amusing even though I felt sorry for her. At last I rescued her and got the tape off. I bet it hurt with all that fur involved. Poor little kitty.

Wednesday's Plans

Can you believe it's only TWO WEEKS until Christmas? Anyone starting to panic a little? I was starting to fret a bit simply b/c I haven't finished up my shopping for Sweet Pea. I'm finding it a little hard to shop for her this year. She's at that age where she isn't grown up yet but she isn't a little girl any longer either. She has enough clothes thanks to the great sale last year at the Methodist Church in Lenox & we can't afford most of the tech things all the teens crave. I'm trying to be creative in my selections. The other hard part of shopping is that she is always with me. And she is alert to my every move. There is no hiding anything from this chick!

Thankfully, of his own accord Dave decided he would take tomorrow off of work. We need to go get our Tennessee drivers licenses and that will most likely take awhile. After that he said he will take the kids so I can finish the Christmas shopping. Yay! It will be wonderful to cross that big task completely off of my list. I don't have a ton left to do so hopefully it won't take too long.

Around the House

Today I had my "middlers" come up to my room to hang out and do some schoolwork. They love to lounge on my bed or floor and work on their workbooks.

After that it was downstairs so everyone could work on house chores. One big project was getting the living room play corner back in order. Bugs, Elvis & Boo sorted out the toys that needed to go back upstairs. Sweet Pea cleaned up in the kitchen and I worked on the laundry and all the downstairs vacuuming. Another project for me was continuing to work on sorting summer & winter clothes. We're in the middle of switching over now that the weather is officially cold here. Sweet Pea also picked up a lot of the stray items on the floor and put them away. It was a very productive morning.

Christmas Tree Farm

On Saturday we headed out to find our Christmas tree. We thought we'd have to buy one at Walmart or such but as luck would have it I spied an ad for a Christmas tree farm in a local magazine. Yay! It's been a tradition for us to find & cut our own & we were very happy to find that we can still carry on that tradition here in TN.
After a short drive we were there. There were lots of things to do once we arrived. First there was a hayride that took us on a ride around the farm. We all loved that! There was also free hot cocoa, a cute little gift cottage to browse, and of course lots of trees to tour & select from. We were impressed & pleased to find that the farm provided a saw to cut down the tree, a pole to measure the tree (We just used Dave as a guide since he's 6'2"), rope to tie it to the roof and mesh to bind it. All these were free! They even had guys that came and got your tree from you once you were in line. They would take them, put them on the shaker & then haul and tie them to the roof of your vechile. Amazing service! We were so impressed & had such a good time we are already planning to return next year.

Dave snapped this while I was getting ready.

A view of part of the farm from the back of the tractor ride.

Hayride!

Bugs excitedly pointed out everything along the way.

One of our favorite parts of the trip is touring all the trees.

Here' s another we considered. Aren't the needles wild? Much different than what we've had in the past but still very pretty. The kids called them "hairy" trees. LOL!

We found "The Tree"! Daddy begins to cut it down. He was thankful not to have to crawl around in the snow this year.

Growing Up

Elvis earned the privilege of carrying the saw this year. I was a little nervous but after carefully instructing him on how to hold it we were off. It also had a guard on it which made me feel safer. He did a great job and felt so grown up.

Sweet Pea & Daddy carry the tree.

Our crew. Just think! There will be one more next year. =)

Bugs was fun to watch this year. He was SO, SO excited!

He got a big kick out of Sweet Pea & Daddy carrying the tree. He followed behind them skipping, bouncing & laughing.

Sniffing the pine.

The guys put the trees on this and they shook like crazy. The machine made this loud noise that went to a rhythm.

The rhythm was catchy. Boo & Bugs danced along.

While we waited for Daddy to pay inside the cottage we took a quick picture in front of the tree farm. The guys tied our tree to the roof of our van while we waited for Daddy. It was all set when we arrived back at the van with our hot chocolate. Yum!

Oh Boy! Oh Boy!

I am super excited to share with you the primary gift we bought for the grandparents! And it's frugal too! Problem is one set of grandparents reads this blog so I can't share now or I'll ruin the surprise. =( Oh, and in case you are wondering the others aren't boycotting me or anything. Lol. I'm sure they would read if they had a computer & Internet. =)

So, anyway if I forget later remind me and I'll share the special gift idea. If you want to know sooner just email me at wacky7@gmail.com and I'll be happy to share. Is this making you curious?

Filling Up

Dave bought & assembled more bookshelves later this week. We need them for our library. Hopefully these will be enough when combined with the office shelves. Nope, I'm not kidding! Lol. =) I've been sorting the books and stacking them on the shelves. So far so good!

Some classics fill two top shelves.

Filling Up

The View from the Couch

So far we have two 'Classics' shelves, a 'Science' shelf, a 'History' shelf , a 'Readers' shelf , a 'Mommy's "To Read" shelf & a 'Favorite Oldies' shelf.

Daddy took some time to help the kids assemble a matchbox car garage while I stacked books.

The directions had been lost creating quite the challenge of finding which piece went where.

Thanksgiving

I regret to say that I didn't get the dreamed of shots of Thanksgiving this year. I had planned to get plenty of the preparations and then the celebration but instead I was flat out sick with a hacking cough & chest cold and feeling downright miserable. I am grateful that my sweet husband & daughter took over and made the entire meal. I was disappointed not to be able to help out but am relieved they jumped right in and had a great time doing so. I did take a couple of shots but they don't' do the delicious meal justice. Still they are memories. =)

Apple pie all ready to go in the oven.

Sweet Pea is busy in the kitchen.

Digging In!

Good turkey leg!

Friday Fill-In

1. Snow is something I will miss this Christmas.

2. I'm looking forward to my records arriving & seeing my new OBGYN!

3. Christmas is the best season ever!


4. One of my favorite old TV shows is Facts of Life.


5. I'm done with being a doormat.


6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays are the special family traditions.


7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include finding a Christmas tree, shopping, the library & baking cookies and Sunday, I want to take a nap!

Hanging Out At Home

A few shots of hanging out at home:

Pixie enjoys some leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

Group hug!

Bugs learns to be gentle.

Awwwww........

Bailey patiently allows his picture to be taken.

Curious kitten.

Brrrrr....... & Grrrrrr.........

I went to take a bath tonight but there was no hot water. Upon investigating Dave found out our hot water heater is gas & not electric like we thought. He made a few phone calls, (Yes, it's after 9 p.m. here but we need hot water!), and found out the previous owners were given the notice but never bothered to tell us. How nice is that? So the gas was shut off today unbeknownest to us. I'm a little ticked. They never told the gas company there would be a new owner, never told us that the house HAD gas hot water, and never bothered to pass on the notice to us. They could have easily done any one of these things through their realtor. After all, their realtor finally showed up today after a month and a half to pick up her for sale signs & door lock. Good grief! I'm praying we can get the gas turned back on without a lot of trouble or extra expensive.
Grrrrr............

Wednesday Already?

We're all sick here & trying to rest and recover while at the same time getting ready for Christmas and continuing to unpack. Quite a tall order! Last night everyone went to bed early. I tried but as luck would have it still couldn't get to sleep until after midnight. At least I have my naps, right?

Two things I hope to accomplish today are cooking dinner & unpacking some boxes of books. Sweet Pea finally found the two cookbooks that I had brought with us in the van. The point of keeping them out was that I could have them as soon as we moved in but somehow that didn't work out. I'm thankful she found them. I've been lost without them! Now I just need to find my Betty Crocker cookbook & Betty Crocker cookie book and I'll be all set. Dave put up shelves in the family room Sunday night. Now that there is a place for them I have been unpacking books. It takes longer than I thought it would because I am organizing them & trying to decide which go together, whether I want them in the office or upstairs and which need to be kept out of reach of little hands.

All the kittens and cats are snuggled up on my bed for a nap. Boy, I'm tempted to join them! But seeing as it's only a little after 10a.m. I guess I'd better hit the shower instead. It's days like this that I miss caffeine! Lol.

Kung Fu Panda!

Here are the pics of the kids receiving their surprise Sunday night!

I let Bugs open up the present b/c he is the youngest.

They start to see their surprise..........

YAY!!!!!!! The movie they've been wanting to see!

Pixie stops in to see what's going on.

Elvis & I saw it in the theater this summer, (a rare treat), but the rest of the family had not seen it yet. They have been itching to see it and even more so once they saw it came out on DVD. We were going to rent it but then I saw it was going on sale on Black Friday. I figured it would be more frugal in the long run to buy it than to rent it - $5/rental, $9 for entire DVD - b/c I knew the kids would want to watch it more than once. After opening it up Dave, the kids & I all settled in with popcorn & blankets on the comfy, Family Room couch. Bugs fell asleep after awhile, (he had missed his nap earlier in the day), but everyone else LOVED the movie. It's a keeper! All the kids watched it again the next day. It was a great surprise!