Well, I vacuumed & cleaned today. Got a 4" stack of layouts put in page protectors & into albums....guess that just proves that I've gotten alot of scrapping done over the summer. ;-) Chris came home this afternoon saying he felt pretty ok....at least not near as bad as he felt when he left this morning. Said once he got going & took some Dayquil he felt much better. Alot of folks were praying too & I'm so thankful. Glad he's feeling up to King's Dominion tomorrow!! We did tacos for supper tonight....another quick/easy meal this week. Then, after supper, I cut Michael,Jon & Clay's hair. NOT my favorite thing to do, but I've been doing it for more than 20 years now, so I guess I will just keep doing it. Need to go keep after these kiddos & make sure they are getting their showers & getting ready for bed.

Sigh...it's started already

Chris is sick with a cold today. He told me yesterday that his throat was sore, but was hoping it was just allergies. But by bedtime last night, he was sniffling too & I could just tell this morning that he didn't feel good. Sure hope he's feeling better by tomorrow.....our family trip to King's Dominion. I sure would hate for him to feel yucky & have to stay home. Gotta call the Dr. here in a bit for Clay....got a spot on the back of his leg that we think is Lyme disease. He had Skippy look at it & he thinks it is.....just need to get some antibiotics going. Hoping to just spend the day kind of piddling.....doing laundry & straightening up around here & I'd like to scrap some this afternoon!

Up & at 'em....

Got up about 7:30 this morning, came downstairs & started a pot of coffee, went back up & hopped in the shower. This is Chris' later day...he doesn't have a class til 11am this morning. The girls & I are taking him today & then we are all going over to Maw's house for pizza lunch & a visit with Sarah & the kiddos. They've been in NC for 2 weeks visiting David's parents so it will be nice to visit with them today. The kids are excited about getting to see/play with their cousins!

After my shower, I started a load of laundry, made chocolate chip muffins for breakfast & now here we are.....the kiddos are all up doing chores & what-not. Alli is dressed & ready to go, Michael just brought Tweety down & fed him, Jon will feed the all the outdoor critters here in a bit....a chore that got passed down to him this fall since Chris started classes. I NEED to get my butt up from here & get the kitchen cleaned & straightened up & then run throw my clothes on & we'll be ready to hit the road. Not sure what the boys have planned for today.....I'm sure they'll find some 'Manly' stuff to keep them busy. Then tonight we are having Slim Jims for supper...since we won't get home til kinda late....had to choose something quick & easy. Chris gets out of lab at 4:30 & then we will run by the library, so it will be suppertime before we get home this evening.

Here's a picture...

of our newest family member. Jon was 'baby-sitting' while Alli cleaned his cage this afternoon. He still has no name.....just haven't quite found THE name yet. Lots of folks tossing out ideas to us, so if you have a great idea for our bunny's name please leave a comment here & share it with me!

Nothing big happening here today....church this morning & then home to 'hang out' for the afternoon. After a lunch of left-overs & what-not, the kids went off to play & I finished reading my book...'The Cross Country Quilters'. And then I just HAD to start on the next one....'The Runaway Quilt'.....sounds really interesting. Supposed to be about how quilts were used kind of like road maps to help mark the way for runaway slaves traveling the underground railroad...hung out to mark safe houses for the slaves.

Been piddling around with a LO this evening....one of Michael with my old sunglasses on (with no lenses) trying to look 'smart'. It's going to be titled 'I'm Serious' because that was Michael's favorite catch-phrase there for a while. He went around saying that ALL the time. Crazy kid!

Sitting here listening to The Martins.....love them!! ....singing 'Only God Knows'.....only God knows when your heart's been broken, only God knows all the times you've cried. 'Angels Dance'...Angels dance, run & leap, pirouette down golden streets, lonely hearts find romance, oh heaven sighs & angels dance.

Guess What Clay brought home last night.....

A Bunny Rabbit!! The kids were soooooo excited! A girl at work had gotten him for her kids, but they were scared of it & so she was asking around to see if anyone wanted a bunny. Clay hopped on the chance because he knew the girls had been wanting one. She GAVE us the bunny, cage, bedding & some other little goodies!! He's about 3 months old, white with pink eyes & grayish/tan ears...so cute! Haven't agreed on a name just yet....some thought his name should be KITTY....since we have a cat named BUNNY, we should also have a bunny named KITTY! LOL

Well, yesterday was a busy day to say the least! Had to get ALL 5 kiddos up & out the door by 8am, so we could drop Chris off for class at 9. We then ran back to Walmart to do groceries.....just a few to tide us over the weekend. Would LOVE to do my shopping early in the morning like that all the time. It was so nice.....NO one hardly there & we were done by 10am. Spent the rest of the time just messing around.....going to places & browsing like we normally don't have time to do. Hit PetSmart & PAW......Ashley would've brought home ALL the kitties we saw, if she could. She just LOVES them all & can't stand to see them all caged up. Michael decided that he NEEDS a guinnea pig & Jon NEEDS a rat.....yeah, right. And they said if that doesn't sit well with me then they would just settle for a snake & a lizzard!! HA!HA!HA! They are soooo funny! NOT!! Anyways, all that was put off for a while when Clay came home with the new pet bunny last night. A bunny, I can deal with. We grabbed a bite of lunch at Taco Bell....Alli had to have Wendys & then we did Target & Michael's before having to pick Chris up at 1:50. Stopped by Walmart again on the way home & picked up Walmart chicken for our supper.....something easy & kind of a 'treat'......threw in some fries & fixed a pot of ronis & that was supper. Just enjoyed the rest of the evening chilling out not doing anything in particular. So looking forward to the weekend & not having to GO anywhere or DO anything......except church tomorrow. Plan on doing the most minimal amount of chores as possible.....meaning laundry.......and hoping to scrap some.....do a few LOs & also make some card sets to sell at the reunion in a few weeks. Also would love to finish up the afghan I'm making for Alli for Christmas. Just about done putting the strips together & then all I have to do is the border. I have high hopes of making on for Anna & Daniel too for Christmas.......we shall see.

Almost done....

With the first week of school. Chris seems to be doing well & enjoying his classes so far. Of course, he hasn't really gotten into the nitty-gritty of stuff yet either.....just basically math homework....so we shall see. Clay & the boys took him today...he only has one class...& the boys have been BEGGING for a 'manly' shopping day...meaning they want to go to Game Stop & trade in some of their video games & possibly get something new. So, it's kinda quiet here right now with just me & the girls. We will head to the library after lunch when they guys get back. Funny story from yesterday.....one of our 'UNschooling' moments.....There's been this huge old turtle down at the pond eating up all the minnows & Skippy & everyone else has been trying to get rid of it. Anyways, Jon finally shot the sucker yesterday evening...he was so proud! Had to take it over to show Uncle Skippy that he had gotten rid of the scoundral for him. Then he decides that he needs to keep the shell as his 'trophy'....so outside at 8pm last night Jon goes with his hunting knife that Uncle Skippy had given him to cut the shell off this critter. I asked Clay if he wasn't going to help him....& he said Jon hadn't ASKED for his help yet, so he was just going to leave him & Michael alone. What a great Bio lab they had.....finding the liver & kidneys & the heart.....Michael even came to the kitchen window to show us the wind pipe that they had found. Jon also said it had some eggs, so he guessed his turtle was a SHE. Oh the learning these boys do!! I love it! I managed to squeeze in a little scrapping yesterday....dug up some OLD photos that were taken at the Peaks of Otter....went for a picnic lunch there with my old HS friend Julies Nash & her kids....Nan & Hunter. To think that Chris & Nan are both in college now.....YIKES!

First Day of School

For Chris, that is. Almost done with his first day of college classes soon....just one more class after lunch & he'll be done for the day. Things went really smoothly last night as far as getting everyone settled down at a decent bedtime...lights were out by 11pm. And this morning went like clock-work also....everyone was up by 7:30am & we all had cinnamon buns & coffee for breakfast before Clay & Chris headed out. Clay had to go to work for a few hours today, so he took Chris & dropped him off & will pick him up when he gets off. Can't wait to hear all about his day this evening. Chris also obliged & let me get a couple of pics this morning of him with his backpack....he said he KNEW I'd want to do that. ;-) Need to get my butt over here to my table & scrap some as soon as I fix lunch for the kiddos. Here's my latest creation from yesterday afternoon....again, digging into the box of older pics....this was a Family photo for Christmas cards back in 1993.

Daily Something

I love that title....read it on Ali Edward's blog & decided to use it. My 'daily something' is this layout I did of the kids shucking corn for supper one evening. Love the everyday shots like this....just those little snippets of time that make up our lives! More snippets from my day today.....canned 7 more quarts of tomatoes this morning...laundry...cut Chris' hair...scrapped...grilled BBQ wings for supper....read for a bit.....folded a load of towels....helped Alli get her bath started & here I am...just waiting on Clay to get home now. Loved this snippet from the Elm Creek Quilt books I've been reading........."That sounds exciting," Donna said wistfully. "All I've ever done with my life is keep house & raise kids." "That's all?" Grace said. "That's EVERYTHING. There's no more important job in the world than raising your children. No job is more difficult, either." "Or more rewarding," Vinnie said. "I raised four children and don't regret for a moment any of the sacrifices I made for them. I don't know how mothers these days can bear to leave their children in day care while they go off to work!"

Opening Ceremonies

Just wanted to share my latest Design Team assignment that appeared in A Scrappin' Friendsy's Aug. 15th newsletter. These are the pictures that I took the night of Opening Ceremonies in Charlottesville for the All Star games.

Fabulous Friday

The girls & I had a really nice day today. Our first stop was Logan's Roadhouse for lunch. I had a coupon that Maw had given me & Ashley & I both love their burgers & Alli loves the peanuts....so Logan's it was. After that we took our time shopping around & just enjoying looking more than we normally do...wasn't in a rush or anything today. We checked out Target & Michael's...got some new scrapping paper & a skein of yarn that was on sale. Then we stopped in Barne's & Noble to look at magazines. Ran into Sam's to get milk, chips & some Nabs for Chris' lunches then on back to Walmart for groceries. Got home around 6, I think. Unloaded & put groceries away...fixed frozen pizzas for supper & AShley & I had our leftovers from lunch. Clay had told me he wanted chicken salad for supper, so that was easy. Just got done watching High School Musical 2 a little while ago with the girls. Definitely way more 'Cheesey' than the first one, but Alli loved it! ;-) Clay's gone to bed already & the three older ones are in there watching Smallville now. Think I'm going to head on up & read some before Clay starts snoring! Hoping to enjoy a leisurely weekend starting tomorrow....nothing major planned & I'm REALLY hoping to find my MOJO & get caught up on all these scrapping challenges.

School Shopping

Well, my day did a turn around this morning when Clay got up. I thought he & Chris were going shopping today.....Chris needed a new backpack & maybe some jeans,Ts, etc. But he informed me that I was so much better at shopping for clothes than he was, so Ashley & I ended up going with Chris. We actually got everything he needed all at ONE place...Steve & Barry's. I had heard about it, but never actually been there before. He got two pairs of cargo jean shorts, two camp style shirts, a white T & a back pack all for a smidge over $40! I was tickled!! Got home & we grilled some Italian chicken for supper along with some mashed potatoes, ronis, salad & corn bread. Then after supper, Alli & I washed the van. Now, I need to get myself up from here & finish up my grocery list for tomorrow. Then I think I'll go upstairs & read.....where it's COOL!

Maters

That's what I spent my day doing yesterday.....canning tomatoes. Did 14 quarts & then went out & picked another 5 Gal. bucket full after supper. So, guess what I'm doing again today. I know we will really enjoy them this winter for making soup, chili, etc. Can't beat just running out to the pump house & grabbing a jar of tomatoes or green beans whenever you want them. And let's not forget the 'pit' full of potatoes we have out there too! I haven't done any scrapping since Sunday afternoon, so no new creations to share....hopefully after I get done with all the maters I'll have some time to scrap & catch up on the end of this summer-long scrapfest I've been doing. I'm bound & determined to see it through & finish each of the challenges. Just a few more days to go!! I can do this...yes, I can! Just thought I'd share this one LO today.....not a new one, but still one that I love....me & Papaw on his tractor right out back here.

All Stars

Just a few more All Star layouts to show off to the family!

Made Me Glad

You have made me glad & I'll say of the Lord, you are my shield, my strength, my poriton, deliverer,my shelter, strong tower, my very present help in time of need. Listening to this song by Hillsong right now.....love it! Not a very busy day....just church this morning & then home to hang out for the afternoon. I did manage to scrap some. Got 2 Layouts done for the scrapfest. The first one I had to use a Donna Summer song title as my page title, so I chose 'Hot Stuff' for these cute pics of Taylor trying out her new trick of pulling up. She'll be walking before we know it. The second layout is a sketch challenge which I used with Michael's 10th birthday pics. Need to go scan my layouts that I did yesterday & then I think I'm headed up to bed.

Lazy Saturday

I am so tired from staying up late watching movies with the kids the past two nights. Trying to let them enjoy it now because Chris' classes start next Monday & we will be back into the 'school routine' then & NOT staying up late each night. At least I didn't have to get up too early this morning & I don't have anywhere I HAVE to go.....actually Clay drove the van to work, so I am here for the day. Need to do some of the usual tidying up around here...already have a load of clothes that I need to switch over to the dryer & then, I REALLY hope to scrap. Got the new CK mag yesterday.....trying to get inspired! I've gotten TWO layouts done over the past few days....one will have to wait as it's my Design Team assignment for the ASF newsletter on Aug. 15, but will leave you with the other one. I scrapped pics of Clay & I with Chris when he was 2 days old....done for a challenge at LM to document a 'Right of Passage'.....I'd say having your first baby & becoming parents definitely is a huge right of passage!

TGIF

Just sitting here sipping my coffee.....need to get moving though.....meeting Maw, Sarah & Danielle for lunch at Chickfila. Then the girls & I will get a few groceries to hold us over the weekend. Will be glad once school starts & we get back on a more normal routine. Kinda not sure what all is planned for next week....thinking we will be going to King's Dominion one day. That will be our last week before Chris starts classes if we want to go on a week day. Gonna run get the kitchen cleaned up now & get myself dressed, then we will be off.

H-O-T!!!!!!!

Blech....these past couple of days have just been miserably HOT! Right at 100 with a heat index of even higher! Yesterday afternoon was spent with NO water to the house. We had a leak on the back porch & Clay had to work on it.......of course they ran into a snag about suppertime & had to make a run to Lowes for more parts. Didn't get it all fixed & water back on til 11pm last night. Had to hustle the two younger ones thru their showers & get them in bed, then I had to clean up the kitchen. A day's worth of dirty dishes in the sink & the floor was a mess from walking outside, thru the wet mess on the back porch on into the house. We were both pooped by the end of the day. Didn't do much of anything today except laundry. Just too hot to even be in the mood to scrap.....no creative energy whatsoever. I spent most of the day just reading trying to stay cool.....or should I say not quite so hot. I certainly haven't been cool. I told Clay this evening while I was fixing supper that Memaw surely was a strong woman......to do all she did in that kitchen.....all the cooking/canning on a wood stove when it was HOT like this. I know I have no room at all to complain!! PTL for the AC upstairs in the bedrooms!!

Lazy Monday

I can't believe that it's 9am & still no one is up but me & Michael. Could be because it's foggy & rainy-looking out this morning plus I'm thinking Chris & Ashley's all-nighter is finally catching up with them. Not too much planned for today except that Clay has to work on a leaky pipe out on the back porch. The other week it was a leak under the kitchen sink, now this. It's always something!! Think I will make a run to the library this afternoon...we have a stack of books that need to go back. I tell ya, Ashley has been doing some reading this summer! I think she told me she has read 39 books since the beginning of the summer...this from the child who I could NEVER get to read. I posted my 3 LOs that I got done yesterday...all for the Bonus Kid's Day Crop at LM. This summer scrapfest has really helped me get a ton of LOs done...I think so far for the year, I've done 212 LOs & for lots of these here lately, as you can see, I've been digging through my boxes & scrapping older pics. I'm really tickled at getting these out of the boxes & into my albums!!

Sunday, Sunday....

'Up in the morning, stirring around, drink a pot of coffee then I head off to town...'

Well, Chris & Ashley had a fun time at their All-night shindig at church...& they managed to get a little nap in yesterday when they got home. Hard trying to keep the other 3 downstairs & QUIET, but we managed. Today we have church....I get to stay in the nursery...always enjoy that. Then it will just be back home for the afternoon. So, so HOT....think it will be a good afternoon for a movie marathon or some scrapping. We have a Extreme One Day Crop at LM & I'm hoping to get some of those challenges done. Only 2 behind for the regular Summer Scrapfest challenges so that will be easy to catch up on. These are two of the 4 LOs that I did yesterday. One is some OLD pics of Chris, Ashley & Jon playing with the water hose. The other one is a couple of pics that Danielle shared with me of Jon & Dillon at the 4th celebration up on Liberty Mt. Anyways.....better run get the troop rounded up & hop in the shower myself. Later Taters........

I am so tired right now, but figured I'd fill in the rest of my day before heading upstairs to read. First off, I did manage to scrap some today....did this LO of Granny & Papaw for a challenge at LM to write directly on your photo. I'd been putting this challenge off for almost a month now & I ran across this pic the other day & thought it would be perfect to write in that upper left corner that was blank. So, off I went in search of the perfect poem.....found this one on Two Peas & thought it was really cute. It looks better IRL although it's NOT a technique I'd use very often. The poem reads: Yes, grandparents, they sure named them right. 'Cause grandparents are a grand delight. And they always love you, If you're good or bad. Like you're the best grandkid they ever had! Anyways....dropped Chris & Ashley off at church for their All-Nighter about 5pm & then headed on in to town to grab a bite to eat & then grocery shop. Remembered that Clay had taken my cooler with him to work (& I REALLY needed a cooler to keep my milk in since I buy that at Sam's & then go on to Walmart to do my other shopping) so, we ran by Maw's house to borrow hers. Grabbed a bite to eat at Taco Bell & Chickfila then hit Sam's & Walmart & FINALLY got home around 10pm. Whew......now you know why I'm pooped!!! Off to bed since I have to be up & at 'em in the morning pretty early......gotta leave here by about 8:25 to go pick them up. Hope they can get a nap in tomorrow sometime....staying up all night is definitely NOT my thing. I'll go read here & be asleep in no time.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...................

What a way to wake up this morning!! Clay bolted straight out of bed about 6:48am saying his alarm hadn't gone off. So, of course I got up too, to help him get ready in a hurry. I fixed his lunch & gathered up all the extra tomatoes that he was going to give to friends at work & put them all in the cooler for him & sent him on his way by 7am. Hope he makes it on time & more importantly, hope he's careful! Now, the icing on the cake........no cream for my coffee this morning! I refused to buy any the other day at Food Lion because it was so expensive & now we're out. I really HATE using skim milk in my coffee...just NOT the same. Oh well.....at least there's a Pepsi in the frige if I can't stand the coffee & I'm getting groceries tonight after I drop the kids off at church for their all night thingy. Off to enjoy the morning peace & quiet while everyone else is still sleeping!

Thankful Thursday

Since it's 'Thankful Thursday' here are 5 things I'm thankful for today.....

~My cousin had a healthy baby boy tonight!

~Lazy summer days

~Taking Alli to play in the creek

~scrapping time

~BLTs for supper

Here is one of the LOs I did today.....for the ASF July cyber crop. The challenge was to use at least 30 of something on your LO (buttons, eyelets,etc.) Here I used 43 buttons to make a fun border on this picture of Clay trying to ride Jon's bicycle a few years ago. I'm happy to say that this evening I completed all of the July challenges for this cyber crop...Yay! Now, if I can plug along & finish up the challenges for the Summer Scrapfest at LM....I' only a few challenges behind there & I have til the end of August, so hopefully it's in reach!

Lazy day today....I did this LO before lunch & then promised to take Alli over to play in the creek. It's been sooo HOT these last few days & that was a nice treat. I took my book (the Fourth Traveling Pants book) & read while she splashed. Truth be told I waded a bit myself. The water felt so nice & cold! Lazed around some this afternoon & then did BLTs for supper.....easy & Yummy! Off to bed to read for a while now. Also need to get a grocery list together for tomorrow.

A New Month.......

Sitting here sipping my coffee, trying to get my mind in gear for the day. About half the household is up...the other half, still sleeping. Ashley & Chris got home from their King's Dominion trip last night about 10:30. From all the chatter, I'd say they had a really fun day! I think there was about 20 total in the group that went.....that included 5 adults, the rest teen-agers! So thankful for a good group of kids like we have at church. Not too much on my agenda today....ever since the 4th of July our Wed. Lunch days have been all off-whack. Last week Michael's BD was on Tues. & we all got together at Maw's then to celebrate, so I didn't go back to town again on Wed. Then, Danielle & her family came down here this past Sat. so I'm not heading all the way into town today....will just pick up some things out here at Food Lion. One of these weeks we will get back with our normal weekly routine. Above, I posted some of the goodies I worked on yesterday. Danielle took the pictures of Alli in Target a few weeks back. The girls LOVE to try on shoes & it just so happened that Alli had on the sunglasses & hat too. Didn't take much coaxing from Ella to get them posing. Will post the pics of BOTH girls together as soon as I get them done. The little cards are my Deck Of Me (DOM) cards. Altered playing cards with little snippets of ME on them. You can check them out here...http://embers.typepad.com/e/mini_art_journal_challenge/index.html