Another post in two days, can you believe that???

Ok.. well here's the scoop. Everyone who knows me knows that I am an avid scrapper. I am also very competitive and love a challenge. Well, here is something that happened to me that I cannot explain.....

Just when you think you've done all you can and have taken your hobby as far as you can at that moment.....something happens..lol

Ok.. here it is:

I was laying in bed at 12:34 just after midnight and I picked up a little memo book that I carry to jot down ideas, plans, quotes, etc., and I thought, wow, I started this little book of "Intentions" last year at this time. I turned to the first page to see what I wrote a year ago and it was a list that looked like this:

Goals and Intentions for 2006:
1. be nicer to the kids and Bob
2. Keep a better house
3. be more structured with schooling the kids
4. encourage creativity in the kids
5. support Bob's financial decisions

then there was another list:
Artistic goals for scrapping:
1. Organize scrap area
2. attend CKU
3. write more/start a Blog
4. get published
5. join management on a scrap site
6. win some scrapping contest
7. Get asked to join a Design Team

So... I thought, wow, 6 out of seven... that's not too bad... My scrap area is organized. I went to Boston, I have a Blog (need to keep up with it), I got published online and on the CKU Master DVD, I have my own scrapping site with 616 members, and I've won a few design/scrapping contests... so while I was praying I thanked God for a great year in my scrapping and I can't believe I actually told Him," well, you have about ten days to get me on a design team" and I went to bed.

This morning I got up and checked my emails and there was a letter from Cut The Crop, a retail scrapbooking store online, and I have been asked to join their design team..lol... how was that for answer to prayer? I had emailed the owner, Tove, inquiring about her Design Team. I thought, OK God, you have a sense of humor! and I laughed. I have been emailing the owner back and forth several times today and this is what we have agreed to.... (Maybe I should explain why being on a Design Team is a good thing). All of the big name scrappers are on Design Teams, they design papers, products and layouts to encourage and inspire scrappers around the world. If you are on a design team it gets your name out there and publications start picking up your work and you get good recognition and eventually great pay. Soooo, what I will be doing is this. ......
Every month Tove, the site owner, will be sending me new scrapbook products from manufacturers, I will use photos of my kids and scrap layouts, cards, tags, altered items and send them in to Tove, she will have them photographed and will use them for advertising products on her site. She will return my layouts to me and will include more product for my use. So........ I will be building a good resume for publication, thus giving me more exposure. I am really excited about this.... With the way my luck has been going this week, I decided to take the plunge and will be submitting for CK Hall of Fame again. I figure if I have already won a couple of contests with them, my name may be in someone's head there.... who knows, you can only try... right???
Well, keep your fingers and toes crossed for me.

Megan submitted her application to Northwestern this evening..... please say a little prayer for her, too. Love ya!
Mary

Ok.... I know, it's been such a long time since I wrote so there's a lot to write. Where do I begin.
The past few entries have been about the changes and accomplishments that I have seen in Megan and in her growing up so quickly. She, as you know, is in her final year of high school. She is very determined, artistic, fun, intelligent, and silly.... she is also a great big sister for Anabelle. Anabelle idolizes Megan and is her little shadow. I just feel so badly that Megan will be going off to college next year and Anabelle is going to miss her so much.

This past week we went to the cities and visited Northwestern University. Megan loved it there and really feels called to be there. We visited with the Theatre head and sat in a class. We actually spent six hours on campus visiting with various departments, etc. The tuition is quite a bit more than Grace, but, they say that they don't want money to be a reason a student can't attend, so they find money to enable all students that are accepted to go there. THis is encouraging. They said that they will be offering her scholarships in a few areas; theatre being one, interp/debate another, and for her gpa yet another, so we are hoping on her getting good chunk of her school paid for. Grace has offered 8,000 a year for all four years.... that's a big part of her tuition.

Last week Meg competed in All State Interp Competition and took "Superior" so she got a trophy and they gave her a nice write up in the paper and on the SD website. I also saw her photo on tv for "High School Heroes". This is an exciting time for her and we are so proud of her.

Our other big news is David... He is still loving his job and seems to be learning new things all the time. He has a lot of responsibility and is moving up so quickly in the company for which he now works. His official title is "Field Service Engineer". How impressive is that?

Robby had his Christmas concert last week and auditioned for Jazz Chior. They travel and compete with other high schools across the tri-state region.

I got a nice email from Creating Keepsakes this afternoon. They have published an album that I submitted over a year ago on the their website.... here's the link if you are interested in peeking at it:

Mary's Accordian Album CK.

well, that's about all that's going on here. I was, though, reading through a little book that I have. Where I have been keeping record of my 2006 Intentions and I find that this year was actually pretty productive for me. I accomplished everything on it except for being asked to join a design team. Well, I have two weeks left in the year to do that so I guess I better get busy.
That's all for now.

Mary

I am amazed.... truly amazed

Just when you think you have seen every aspect of your child, they go and do something totally amazing. Many of you know Meggie and all the activities in which she participates. So many of my family has encouraged, cheered her on, and supported her creative outlets. Well, this past week I was once again left speechless. Megan and Robby had auditioned and received parts in "Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice". Megan got the lead, Elizabeth Bennet and Rob was a dashing soldier....very handsome young man. Megan spent hours upon hours practicing her lines and was able to memorize about 100 pages of dialogue.

Through the years, since Meggie was 4 to be exact, she has loved the stage and acting. She has had roles in numerous plays, through school, church, and community theatre. Her landing the role of Elizabeth Bennet was the ultimate achievement of her lifelong love of theatre...thus far. This was her senior performance.

Last week, Mom and Dad Chapman drove from Denver to see the play and spent the weekend with us. It was a great time. On Thursday night there were a few snags in the play with some of the actors stuttering, hesitating, or just looking a little unsure. Meg was so calm, controlled, and did not bat an eye or miss a beat when thingsdidn't go exactly as planned. Friday's performance was unbelievable. I admit it... I cried. All of Meg's friends came. As we were taking our seats I looked around and watched literally dozens and dozens of her friends taking their seats. Our friends, the West family, all came, aunts, uncles, inlaws and all. Meg gave the performance of a lifetime. People were sitting on the edges of their seats rivited and silent as they leaned forward in anticipation. When Elizabeth told Mr. Darcy off... the audience gasped and made comments like, wow, Ouch, and "Incredible".. they cheered her several times and gave her a standing ovation. She was misty eyed when she looked out over the audience, but there was still an exuberance in her face that could not hide the exitement and joy she had in this particular performance. I cannot remember all the parents, students, and friends who came up to Bob and myself to congratulate us. Megan received flowers from so many people and she was told that it was truly an "Emmy Performance" by our local news paper reporter and theatre directors from Town Players. I am so very proud of the kids. I am so proud that they have the where with all to commit to such a great endeavour, to stick through when the lines weren't sticking in their heads, to practice hours and hours on end.... but mostly to follow through and not whimp out when faced with such a great challenge. So, now that the Fall Play is over, Megan is looking at universities and is concentrating on putting her portfolio together. So... please, please, please, Pray for her and her decisions that she will be facing the next few months....and thank you for listening and letting a misty eyed mommy write about her "Elizabeth".

The photos are not here yet from the play, but I do have some recent ones of the Fall Formal. I took these photos of Meg and her date (platonic friend) at, of all places, a laundromat.

Wow can You Believe this???

Two posts from me in a week! Feeling so lazy here. Do you remember how I posted about the creative methods that my mother used to motivate us to clean our house..... "the Insurance Man is Coming" routine worked well.. I have tried that one and have failed... but alas, God has given me a way to get them all working...

Our local Historical Society puts on a "Parade of Homes" tour every year as their main fund raiser. They choose four historical homes and sell tickets for people to tour the homes. We have been asked in years past to do this and haven't felt comfortable enough to do it.. They asked us again just this past week and I said, "yes" even before talking it over with Bob and the kids. I was thinking.... "here's my chance".... my "chance" at what??? Why to get them to totally clean everything and fix the things that need fixing around here.

My creative kiddos.....polite way of saying chore challenged.... pitched in and cleaned their bedrooms cleaner than I have seen since we moved in here nine years ago. Did you all know that Andrew's carpeting is a really pretty shade of blue and grey?? Bob spent hours clearing off his dresser and going through his pile of things. Anabelle was such a great trouper and really helped a lot. Megan was gone most of the weekend competing for oral interp, but her room isn't bad at all... she's the child with OCD.

The committee chair toured the house a few minutes ago and loved everything he saw and even gave me a great book "Skeletons of the Prairie" as a little thank you. Bob & Carol Wagner (retired City Attorney), Stan Fox (our current City Attorney who lives directly across the street), and we are three out of the four.... people won't have very far to walk with Bob & Carol being next door to us.

Well, I have a few months to get everything ready, so we should be good... we really only have some minor repairs and upkeep thinkgs to do, so I won't be too bad. I am so glad that I said, "Yes"..... Well, Have a great day and if you ever hear me say, "Hurry and Clean your Room, the Parade of Homes is coming through," you'll know why.

Ok... here it is... so long since I last posted. It's been a crazy busy time of year. The kids are all so very busy with things and daily schedules... the boys with piano, scouts, music, chorus, plays, school work and all those fun things. Megan got the lead in the High School Play Pride and Prejudice. They are putting the play on November 3-4 here in Watertown.....

Well, I really don't have much to write right now. Church is keeping us busy and we are really trying to keep up with the changes and things that need to be done.

I am sitting here listening to Megan telling a kid why she absolutely loves being home schooled. She is too funny. She has also determined that she is going to home school her kids as well.

It's late and I am heading off to bed. Hi Mom... talk later.

~~~Mary

I'm back!

Boston is such an incredible town... I absolutely love it there. My week was such an incredible high that I feel ike I am still hobering above the ground about two feet up in the air.... Amazing food, people, shopping, fun and excitement.

So often I think that I will never be published and I become so negative and down hearted thinking that my layouts and creations are just crap and n one really likes them.. Well, I guess that 's not entirely true, my family likes my stuff. We, to hake a long story shorter than long here goes.

I made a canvas collage of Tim Holtz thanking him for doing such a great job. He is a true artist and I have a lot of respect for him. I turned in my creation at the CKU registration/information table as required prior to the deadline and had tucked it in a manilla envelope so people wouldn't be checking it out and some Tim Holtz stalker wouldn't steal it. On Saturday while I was walking past the talbe, I noticed that the envie was there but that it was empty. I immediately thought that someone had ripped it off. But alas they hadn't and I won 1st place and a 50.00 gift certificate to CK. In all the excitement and getting ready for CKU and my trip I forgot to take a photo of my creation so I have email CK and Tim asking for an image to be emailed to me. I am praying that someone will get me a digital of it.

The trip was a blast and I was able to get a bunch of fun things for the kids...

story to be continued tomorrow..

Mary

Such a busy busy day ahead.

Well, it's here.... departure day for Boston! I am all packed with enough junk for a full week of any and all types of weather we come across. My supplies are all tucked away in my check in luggage and I will be making a last minute run to develop some more film.

The kids are still sleeping and I really hesitate to wake them up..... they will be having some pretty busy days this week themselves. Meggie not only has her full load of school work from me, but starts up at the high school on Thrusday, as does Robby, but also has life guarding 9 hours every day until the pool officially closes on Saturday evening. Bob and the kids are going to try to keep their regular schedule and keep up on all the things I do around the house. I wrote out detailed lesson plans and have the kids on a new chore system. We've had it in place and it seems to run pretty smoothly since the beginning of July. Sooooo, I am praying that I don't come home to a house that is in need of condemming.

Well, this is going to be short and sweet.... If you are reading this blog, it's because I love you enough to let you glimps the meandering of my infantile brain...ha ha ha..

I hope that you all have a wonderfully blessed week and always, always remember..... I LOVE YOU!!!!

~Mary

The End of the Season.

Anabelle had her last softball game last night and it was great. She had so much fun playing ball this year. It was so fun to watch her play. She is the smallest girl on the team with most of the other girls being at least a full head taller than her. Her team shirt looked like a dress on her, but that's ok. She really took her season seriously. You all would have laughed to see her get all serious and squint at the pitcher. She didn't hit any home runs but consistantly got base hits. She was just there to have fun and I am glad that she had this opportunity. Her team was the "Fruity Pebbles" and they had bright red shirts.

As she was on the field, playing shortstop, I watched her and thought of how quickly time flies. I don't want her to grow up. Not yet. At the beginning of the season we took her shopping for a glove. She refused everyone we showed her. We did go home with a bright pink batting helmet, a ball, a new bat, and water bottle. But.... no glove. When we got home we told her that we were going to have to go out the next day and get one and she said that she only wanted to use "Daddy's Red Glove". Bob still has his glove from when he was little and it's actually the perfect size for her little hand. Soooooo... she used "Daddy's Red Glove" the entire time. As she played different games throughout the season she took such good care of "Daddy's Red Glove". When it was her team's turn to bat she would keep the glove next to her on the bench. She didn't throw it in the dirt like the rest of the kids. She took such good care of it. Even at home she had a place for the glove. I was thinking the other day, about "Daddy's Red Glove". It's been on a lot of kids' hands. It's seen a lot of action. It's one of those tangible things that has touched a lot of little kids' lives. If this little red glove could talk it would tell us of Bobby Chapman's youth. It would tell of Mike, Steve, and even Amy's t-ball and softball games. It would tell how David and Bob used to throw the ball back and forth for hours on end. It would tell of the time Megan pitched a fit because she wanted to use "Daddy's Red Glove" instead of the brand new one we bought her. It would tell of the times Robby used it and was upset because a kid on his team grabbed the glove and threw it in the dirt. It would tell of Andrew and Nathaniel taking such great care of it. And Now, another season has ended and another Chapman has had the opportunity to become friends with "Daddy's Red Glove".

More tomorrow..

Love you.
Mary

Lots going on... we have been so very busy
We have new kittens that are so sweet and cute.. thtey keep all the kids jumping and running after tumbling balls of fur. Suggles is still weary of the new additions.. She keeps her distance. and just glances at them from time to time... she has no desire to grace them with her presence.. too fun.

Lots going on with my scrapbooking and website stuff. I just sent in five layouts for consideraation from a major magazine.. God willing, I'll be picked up someday. I really enjoy scrapping and making things. but I find that there are times when I just have to walk away from my scrap area and grab my knitting bag and knit away.

Carole Holdahl has taught me how to knit. I am making socks for Meg, a layette for Steve & Stacey's Baby, wash clothes, and a baby blanket... fun to have many jobs going at once.. when I tire of one, I just pick up the others.

Well, I have to get the kiddos going on some fun summer things... like...getting outside and getting some fresh air.

Love you all
Mary

Seems like forever since I blogged.

Lots happening around here.. nothing of great significance, just everyday life hustling and running the kids to and fro. Meg is busy, as usual, life guarding at the water park.. she is so tanned. She wears spf 50 but still has tanned. Robby is keeping busy with his paper routes, and playing piano. Andrew and Nathaniel keep busy with the same activities as always. I have to say that since we have been home from vacation that I still am exhausted from the trip.. it was so long.

Right now I am trying to get the library/school room into shape and get all of last year's work filed and textbooks stored. I will be starting up with lesson plans the very end of July/beginning of August. Meg is in her last year of high school. She is looking at a few colleges.. all private design schools.

Something quite sad happened last night and I am not sure how to handle this... as many of you know, we have adopted three little kitties, quite young.. 3 weeks... they are adorable. Last night Robby had two friends spend the night and they had Robby's kitten upstairs with them.. They fell asleep before putting her back to bed and one of the guests rolled over on the kitten in his sleep and she died. Robby is the saddest that I have ever seen him.. he cried... Today is kinda quiet around here. The kids are all in mourning. I want to believe and be able to assure them that God has a special place in heaven for all of his creations... Please, if you read this pray for Robby and especially for his friend that was involved.

What a sad morrose way to end an entry.. hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Love you all.
Mary

We're Home.... There's No Place Like Home


This is so very true. We got home from our very long vacation late on Saturday night and felt so relieved to pull up in the driveway and see the house still standing tall waiting for us to come home. As we drove up the driveway I noticed that our lawn had been mowed, my gardens had been watered, and our trash can had been put back where they belong. Justin did a great job taking care of the homefront for us while we were away.

Sunday was spent in a whirlwind trying to unpack, reorganize, and do some grocery shopping between church services and meetings. It was a long day. I was looking toward the rest of the week with a little fear..... My schedule is a crazy one this week. I spent the entire day Monday in the car taxing the kids around. Anabelle had swim lessons at 9, Meg to work at 11:30 (her car got a flat while we were away and Bob didn't have time on Sunday to fix it ) boys to deliver coutea, 12 lunch, 1:30 piano lessons, 3:00 deliver Public Opinion, 4:00 boys swim lessons and pick up Megan, 5:00 pick up Boys, 5:45 Meg back at work, 6:00 dinner, 7 pm Boy Scouts.
Whew,, I need a glass of wine!

Tuesday was much of the same craziness but minus the Cotuea delivery and piano lessons. I am so glad that Meg is life guarding at the water park...same place where swim lessons are taught. This past vacation really brought home to me some important life lessons that we tend to take for granted. There is a big world out there with so many people that have sacrificed and bled for the preservation of our country and for the freedoms that we so take for granted. Seeing all the different battlefields and walking where so many lost their lives during the Civil War really was a somber experience. The kids were so in awe of everything and shared their thoughts and reverence for all the men that fought on both sides of the war. So often we think that the war was fought over the issue of slavery. It wasn't.... so many of us put Mr Lincoln up there as a savior, he wasn't. Mankind has a way of rewriting history to make it more palitable and comforting. Before heading south we studied quite a lot on the Civil War era and battles/geography/political viewpoints/laws/arguements, etc. from both sides. Sadly, Mr. Lincoln was bound by the constraints of his time and was prevented from doing so much more than he did. In reading through the legal jargon of the Emancipation Proclimation, President Lincoln only gave freedom to slaves in states that were in open rebellion against the union. Slavery was previlent in states as far north as Maine and those slaves were not given their freedom until much later. Lincoln freed the slaves in the rebelling states as an economic way to cripple the states in hope of expediting a victory for the north... No workers = no production= no funding for the war... etc. Sadly, too is that most people think that the men of the south were fighting to keep their slaves.... they weren't... they were fighting in order to preserve the integrity of the state. All major ports and manufacturing was done in the south and the north wanted a piece of the revenues that were enjoyed in Dixie. Well, enough of my history lesson. I just came away from so many of the battle fields and cemataries thinking that so many of these fallen and lost soldiers were someone's son, husband, father, brother, loved one, and their lives were so cut short by greed and pride. How tragic is that?

The big thing that I noticed when driving up our driveway on Saturday night was this...our home seemed so lonely sitting there with no one running up the drive way or sitting out on the veranda and it too, must have been happy to have us home. Does this make sense???


Love you!
Mary

Posting From Nashville!!


Yes, you are reading correctly, I am in Nashville, on vacation with the rest of the DF. We are visiting Bob's sister's family. The kiddos are having a blast and are keeping so busy. We have been spoiled seeing all the Civil War sites, eating good southern food, and enjoying southern hospitality. There is nothing like it. My family, as you all know, knows no stranger and will feed any or everyone that comes over. It is the same here. Last night we had the most incredible bar b qued ribs that I have ever had. Robby actually ate 7 huge ribs. Cathy made corn bread pudding and "unbaked" potatoes. I got both recipes so those of you who come to visit will have a chance to try these. Definitely comfort food.

We stopped in Arnold, MO on the way here and visited with Uncle Mike and Aunt Dolores. It was really great seeing them and chatting for a while. We are going to try to stop on the way home as well and hopefully see Jeanie and kids...they were on vacation in Branson.

We have toured a few civily war sites, cemetaries, and the Hermitage. We are planning to get to Historic Franklin for some shopping...girls only. The guys are heading downtown to see some more historic stuff. Bob took Meg, Stephanie, and Robby to a "show". they watched a few bands and then left. IT's too hot to do the zoo thing. We head to Atlant on Monday and will take in the Cyclorama...An incredible site to see and experience.

Well, I have to run. I just wanted to touch base from the road to tell you all that we are doing great, are all enjoying our time, and love you all so very much!

Mary

"Please come to Boston for the spring time"



I did it!!!! Registered last night for CKU Boston!! I am so glad that's over! I was stressing out like you wouldn't believe. All the weird things happen to me.... Registration opened at 8 pm eastern, soooo at 5:15 my time I get online and make sure I am logged into the CK site and it's good. I make dinner and check again to watch the count down clock at 6:15 and I have no internet connection.....WHAT!!!!! I try for five minutes, yell at the kids, and the DH about someone messing with my laptop that they know no one is to touch, and realize that the internet is out for all our computers....5 in the house but that's another story..... called the provider and guess what.... for the first time since we have had internet, service is out for all of eastern South Dakota and a majority of Minn. for Prairie Wave, our provider. I call my friend's house....she's at work....her DH is home... I ask..."who is your internet provider.... it's midcontinent......"Don't go anywhere, I'm on my way over"....he probably thinks I've lost it....I get there in record time and at 6:35 our time I log in and am fine.... I explain the urgency of me needing his computer, which, BTW is a lot faster than mine for some odd reason.... Think I may switch to midcontinent...hmmm.... I refresh the screen a few times and am able to register at 6:58 my time and am finished in 2.5 minutes flat!!! I have never typed my Visa number in faster in my life...lol.... My Friend's DH is standing there with his mouth hanging open and I say.... "You think I'm fast...you should see Carla when she has your credit card in hand"....lol..... he didn't think I was funny.... I printed out my class schedule and thanked him again...and left him standing there shaking his head....It's a good thing they are great friends....he would really think home school families are nuts...

Ran back home to see if Inet is up so I can check my email confirmation and it's still out...by this time a glass of wine is sounding really good....

The bottom line is this.... I"MMMMM GOOOOINNNGG to BOSTON!!!!!

Memorial Day....

Yesterday as I sat in church our visiting pastor preached about Memorial Day. It was a good sermon. It got me to think about the significance of this day. Why do we remember and pay homage to our fallen soldiers only once a year? Shouldn't we be remembering them all the time? I think we if just do this once a year some of the memories fade. I had a busy weekend that really started last Thrusday with a Co-op meeting. Friday I scrapped all afternoon and evening with Shelly. I was pretty productive. I am try9ing so hard to have all of the Kids' photos scrapped within this year.

Saturday was spent doing things around the house, going to a graduaction party, and enjoying the warm weather. Sunday was church, a long nap, and then time with the kids in our yard. We went out to lunch yesterday afternoon and had a nice relaxing day. On the way home from lunch we drove by the "new" out door water park. Megan will be life guarding there this summer. She is really looking forward to it.

Last night I had a nice long chat with my mom about God's providnece. He always provides. It's reassuring. Robby played piano for mom over the phone and Anabelle played the violin for her. Just some fun relaxing days for us. The temperature gage on the west side of the house read 105... I took a photo for proof....

We also put in our garden....almost all herloom tomatoes.... love tomatoes. Well, that's all that's going on around here. We are going to get ready to have a yard sale this coming weekend.

Love you all!
Mary

One more day...............

The kids will be out of school tomorrow. I , however, plan on continueing here at home with all our home schooling until every last little page in every book is completed. I think that sounds reallyl mean. but.....I think it's important for them to complete something worth starting.

I have a little confession to make. I am an American Idol Junkie. I love that show. I didn't miss a single episode and am so glad that I watched it from beginning til end. Taylor deserved to win, in my humble opinion. I am glad that someone "Not" typical won. He is very unique and different, yet so addictive to watch and to listen.

Well, I really don't have much to write about at this very moment, but I know that my mom loves to read my blogs every day so I have to write.....even if it's just something random. BTW.... Speaking of random.... Mom, you are going to love this..

Many of you know that Megan and her friend Stephanie were quite famous/infamous in our town four years ago when they decided to form their own crazy parade and ended up on the front page of the newspaper. For those of you who don't know.... the girls dressed in layers of pjs, robes, and tighty whities (on the outside of their clothes) put Neiman Marcus and Sak's large Bags over their heads (they had eye holes and even drew faces on them) A newspaper man spotted them parading around our block and took some funny shots of them. These girls have no humility. Well......... jump to last Friday..

Last Friday was the last dance up at the high school. Meg and Steph tend to look at things realistically and find the dance scene to be very fake and the average person up at the high school is really snotty. We live in a have/have not community....there is no middle class to speak of..... The kids from the upper families are very snotty and rude to average kids and are downright disgustingly rude to the less economically blessed kids. Meg and Steph are exceptions. They love, I mean LOVE, all the nice kids and just ignore the snots. This past Friday they dressed up in funny clothes, donned Mardis Gras Masks, (Huge two foot feather masks) and threw on some Depends over their clothes and went to the dance. They are really random. They danced with several people and were able to maintain their secret identities. . They were just having a good time.

The "talk" on Monday was "who were those girls?" Several discussions and debates were had about the secret identities of these girls. Robby even reported that kids in his classes were making guesses. Only a few people know their actual identity and a few actually guessed it was Steph and Meg. The bottom line is this....these girls are so secure in themselves to have some crazy random fun....not at the expense of someone else. I think maybe it's alesson to me and others that it's not about who you are financially, it's about having fun at the last high school dance of the year.

That's all folks.
Love you!
Mary

PS.. When Bob found out he chuckled and then told Megan that he was embarassed. I reminded him that he was the first to buy extra copies of the newspaper when the same antics got them on the front page. He even posted a copy of it on our church bulletin board with a note that read...."Guess Who".

I, on the other hand gave her a high five and told her that her doing this one thing is a confirmation that she is her own person. She is strong and confident in who she is. For that, I am thankful..

Monday, Monday.....
Is this Laundry Day? Everyday is. What an incredible weekend we just finished. Anabelle had her friend birthday party. We had a house full of excited kids all about her age. It's been a long time since we had ten 6-9 year olds running through the house. I am so glad that a two hour party means that you get to send them all home except one. Belle wanted a "princess/robin hood" party but forot to tell mommy and daddy, so three kids plus Anabelle, were dressed up in costumes. Carole Holdahl's three kids had amazing costumes on. Her son, CUllen helped make them and is he ever talented! Lots of fun.
Megan had lifeguard training all weekend. Friday 4-10pm, Sat: 8 am-9pm, and Sunday 9 am-4pm. She was exhausted by Sunday. But,,,,,she made it through and will be guarding at the new outdoor water park. She is really excited.
We finsihed a lot of yard work and started gathering things for a yard sale. I have challenged the kids and myself to see if we can see enough "junk" at this yard sale to help with the cost of gas for our vacation... wouldn't that be a hoot! I don't know why I challenge myself this way. My Aunt Rose is very much like this, as is my mom, and I was speaking with Aunt Ro last week and we were laughing at the "game" we play....it's the "Hunt for the bargain,be a frugal as you can game" I love playing this game. I love a good bargain. I love seeing Bob amazed at me being able to feed our family homecooked meals every day and still havea stocked pantry and full freezer at the end of the month. It is truly a challenge. I love to plan meals and scour adds. It's not like we "Have" to. I think the days of beans and rice are still fresh in my mind and there are some days when I miss the simplicity of knowing that there wasn't a cushion in the check book....I still cannot believe that I used to feed our family of five at that time, on 189.00 a month, and we never did without milk, and the basics. Yeah there were a lot of beans and rice days, but we sure argued a lot less. We used to say, "Beans and Rice, and Jesus Christ" that's all we need. And it's true, still to this day, when I really look at the things that occupy my time I still believe with my entire being that those are really the things that we cannot live without.
So...while the yard is looking pretty good, the house is clean and all my laundry is caught up... I think I'll take a bunch of pictures for proof that yes, given the right motivation, we can accomplish much. I think I'll go have a cup of coffee and just sit in the parlor... Oh yeah, The piano man is coming to tune the pianos tomorrow. Robby, Andrew, and Nathaniel will be glad. I'll post some photos later.

Love you!
Mary

Another Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood!

Yesterday was probably the most beautiful day we have had this calendar year so far. The temperatures were in the 70s.. we had a light five minute rainfall around noon, and then.... not a cloud in the sky for the remainder of the day. We enjoyed a great dinner out on the veranda...Bob and Robby grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, and ribs, just to make sure everyone had what they like.

I had a meeting yesterday afternoon with the other home school moms in our region for summer planning. I am so gosh darn proud of myself...I didn't volunteer for a single thing! Can you believe that? So often I volunteer for every little thing that needs to be done, then I find myself with absolutely no time to enjoy my family. The truly unfortunate thing is this....Bob is the same way I am. He volunteers also, so with both of us volunteering for things, we are way too busy to keep up with the other things....like a garden, or painting the house..etc. Don't get me wrong, it's good to volunteer for things, just not everything that comes our way. I am learning to say "No" I no longer feel that I have to give excuses for turning down the plea for someone to teach crafts to 20 kids, or run the entire field day for our group. That was a nightmare!

This summer, we are concentrating on our little unit here at Liberty Hall. No outside distractions, just really focusing on home. Bob did something yesterday that really amazed me. He put in for vacation time. The man loses time eavery year because he doesn't take time off. So, this year he is taking two weeks in June, one week in August, and a week at Christmas. He'll still lose some hours, but not as much as he usually does.

We are all getting excited about going back east in a few weeks. We want the kids to see where Bob grew up. We want them to expreience the Smithsonians, and the Battle Fields of Virginia. We want them to walk VMI and see all the historical areas that have shaped our country. With Megan approaching her senior year, we really won't have this opportunity to have the five kids all together.. The only thing that would make this trip absolutely perfect would be to have David here with us. I miss him, we all miss him, but, his life is his and he is busy with work and being independent.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!
PS.. it's another sunny day!

Mary

Better Late than Never....

I really hate that phrase. I am not a late person. I pride myself on my punctuality. I live the Dean Immel montra....To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, to be late is inexcusable..... Mr Immel was my high school band/orchestra director. He ran a tight ship and we had an incredible music program at my high school.. Mt. Miguel... He was a perfectionist and I admired him for that...heck we marched in the Rose Bowl all three years that I was in high school...His brother, Jerald, was/is a composer who writes music for the movie industry and he wrote all of our material... incredible music. Sooo much fun. I am digressing.. This, too has become a trait of which I am not particularly fond.

We all have pet peeves and things that really "bug" us. I hate ending my sentences with dangling participals and prepasitional phrases..... My DH, Bob, hates that I sometimes ask him, "where is blah blah blah AT? it's the AT that drives him crazy... I hate that he uses the word/slang "got". ie... I just Got this. I hate that word. I also cringe when I hear little kids say, "I wanna go with..." With What? With Whom???

Another peeve is this... the uses of "I" and "Me". I had an interesting conversation with an English teacher the other day. We were having dinner and a gentleman, whom is prominent in our community, said "Going to Peir is a good idea if we can get volunteers to hand out fliers for Bill and I". I thought...man, no wonder our kids have problems with the English language. When he said that, he stopped himself and looked at me and asked if that was proper grammar that he used and I said.... wellll.. no, it should have been Bill and ME. The English teacher argued with me and insisted that Bill and I was correct. It drove me bonkers because I was taught in college that you simply take the other person out of the sentence and see if it makes sense. You wouldn't say...".....get volunteers to hand out fliers for I". Then the teacher said, well, technically, it's the indirect object that receives the modification.. blah blah blah blah blah... She argued. I could not believe it...Then I thought "another reason our kids in the public system are so ill-prepared for ACTs and SATs, and all the other measures of intelligence that are out there."

In the mean time....I am soooooo glad that we homeschool. I mean, I wouldn't want my children stressing out the already stressed OCD sufferers whom have to face every day with the knowledge that grammar is subject to the whims of trend. so.... this is really going to hurt.... I have to run before my kids decide they are going with...... urghghghghghg....

Love you!
Mary

She's Here....

The baby .has arrived. Yesterday at 5:30 I met the piano mover at Sandy's down in Clear Lake to move the piano, a gift from Bob's parents, out of their farm house. I was completely amazed at how simple it was for Steve, the piano man, to dismantle this baby. I thought that he would need a bunch of contraptions. He used a big carpect board with straps, a wide based dolly, and a ssw horse. No, he didn't cut her up! The saw horse was used to hold her up with he took off the first leg.. Then he rolled her on her side. I don't remember the rest, but he was telling us what to do. We had to push her out of Sandy's house, through her living room, kitchen, laundry, and closed in porch, across her long veranda and then use pipes like the Egyptians did when building the pyramids, to get her in the back of his truck. As he was saying "push, push, push," I started cracking up. I told him that he sounded like my OB during delivery. He really did! Then I thought, man this one isn't hurting at all.lol

We drove home and he backed his truck right up to the steps of the veranda (I threw that word in for my mom, who refuses to call our wrap around a porch..) and planked across. It was much easier getting her in and standing on three legs than it was getting her down and out. Robby directed us all as to where he wanted it put. It is now in the NW corner of our music room/parlor and looks beautiful. After all was set up and Steve left, Robby sat and played for a while.. It's really out of tune because of the move and Steve will come back in two weeks to tune both pianos for us. Snuggles, our cat, even got into the scene and had to check things out. When Robby was finished playing she hopped up on the bench and started playing the piano herself. Meg recorded her a bit then we scolded her. We are going to have to keep the lid down or she'll get in it.

So... the journey of the piano is over, at least for now. We are so very thankful for this gift and know that the boys', and later Anabelle, will get a lot of use out of it. I have to run....coffee is calling.

Love you,
Mary

Sucessful Hunt...

It has been a few days since I last wrote because my weekend was a crazy blurr. So much happened. Bob took the boys camping. Meg, Anabelle, and I had fun being at thome with one another. The play is officially over...thank goodness. I obviously survived taking care of the pets, doing the boys' paper route, mowing the yard, and participating in a Cyber Crop at the website I help hostess, Swap4fun. I have been trying to get things organized for piano delivery on Thursday.

The kids are getting excited about the piano and I have decided to put it in the parlor instead of the dinning room. We are moving the upright to the dinning room... it's a large room, more like two bigger rooms put together, but, I don't want the baby around food and foot traffic.

With Mom's day this weekend I am looking forward to Bob grilling on the porch. I hate fighting crowds, it's not relaxing and I worry about the kids....whether or not they are eating, if they need more drink, cutting Anabelle's food, etc. It's a lot of work taking five kids out for a meal. Not to mention expensive. Bob doesn't understand this. I just like him cooking every once in a while.

Back to the title of this entry..... Yeah... the hunt for dark chocolate paid off. This evening Bob and I went to Wal Mart of all places, and found 72% dark chocolate.. Gheridelli makes it and it's so yummy. Only a pinch will satisfy that chocolate fix. lol. So, if you are a dark chocolate person I would make a beeline over there. If you are a milk chocolate person you may consider switching.....Milk Chocolate isn't "real" chocolate... Just look at the title.... Milk then chocolate.. the first ingredient in this 72%er is actually "chocolate". I could go on but hey, that's a whole lot of blogging to do.

Well, I know that I have bored the socks off of you, so I will go and round the kiddos up to start our school day.
Have a fabulous day!

Love you!
Mary

A Busy Weekend Ahead....

This weekend is going to rush by me like a freight train going down hill without breaks! I just know it! Bob and boys are all going camping with the Boy Scouts. This evening and Sat evening are going to be devoted to the play. Tomorrow night is the last performance. woo hoo!! Saturday is also National Scrapbooking Day.... it's going to be an all weekend event. My swap site is hosting a cyber crop and is giving away tonds of stuff in contests. We were able to get about 25 major companies to donate scrapping supplies for the give aways. I am teaching two classes during the crop. For those of you who scrap, you may want to drop by.... the link is on the right of my blog page... just put my name, Mary/chappyere1 as your referral and your membership will be accepted.

Well, I have to run and get the kiddos finished with their school work so they can get out of here and go camping. Have a fabulous weekend. See ya on Monday.
Mary

Wanting Chocolate

I admit it, I am an addict... I am addicted to chocolate. Not the regular milk chocolate that can be found in every store...nooooo... that would be too easy of an addiction to feed. I am addicted to super dark high octane chocolate. I search high and low through various stores and online sites to find that "perfect" level of cocoa listed. The higher the number...the better the chocolate. Have you noticed that the first ingredient on most candy bars is sugar, then corn starch, then fat, etc.. and cocoa is usually way down the list. I am in search of the piece of chocolate that has cocoa listed as the number one ingredient. Some chocolates contain 72% or higher..Endangered Species is a good brand.. A friend told me that she saw some chocolate that had 91% and I am in search of that one, although she says that she can't remember the brand. I think she's just teasing me.

The reason I am talking about wanting chocolate is because there are so many things in this world for which we can search high and low. So many of us are looking for that "perfect" blend. Why is this? Is it because there is something lacking in my life? Is it because, like a smoker, drinker, or drug addict, my body truly craves that addiction? It's funny how our bodies grow accustomed to certain things, only to develop insatiable appetites for things that are usually not so good for us. We are so intuned to those things that we are craving, yet we tend to ignore the things that our bodies, minds, and beings truly need. Why can't I develop an insatiable appetite for God's word? For Prayer? For Spiritial insight? Is it because I am afraid of what I may face? I think it is. I am truly afraid that I willl have to give up my chocolate addiction, my scrapbooking addiction, my blogging addiction...and so it goes on and on and on. So..I guess what I am getting at here is that I need to concentrate more on my mental/spiritual self instead of the physical desire for dark chocolate. I know this is such a random entry, but it is what is on my mind.

Blessings and Prayers for an incredible Day!
Mary

The Sparkle.....

So many times I take for granted the little things that make my kids' eyes light up. I used to catch every little thing and try to hide those things in the back of my mind, just to be able to pull out that thought and remember...to be transported back to that "ah haaaa" moment in their short lives.

I don't know if kids learn to hide those ah haaa moments as they age or if they just don't have them as frequently. Yesterday Robby touched my heart with a big ah haaa moment. Anabelle is young enough that she still has quite a few, and the others have them less and less frequently than before.

As you know, Bob's parents came to visit this past week and we had a great time. Grandma Chapman loves to sit and listen to the boys play the piano. Every time she comes up here, she sits with the boys as they each go through their music and she plays right along with them. This is something that she absolutely loves to do. I am glad that she has those "connecting" moments with the kids. Robby, almost 15, has been playing since he was 5 and is pretty good. He has, though, outgrown our upright grand and really needs a better piano in order to advance his playing. Marilyn has been telling us for about three years that we need to get a better piano. But, the problem is this....we don't have the money for a baby grand or a grand. It's not like buying a new pair of sneakers. These babies are really expensive.

This past week a friend (also the mother of a friend of Robby's) asked if I knew of anyone that was looking for a good baby grand. She had one that she needed to get rid of. I am thinking....ok. I know that this piano is sitting in the dinning room of an old farm house. How good of a piano can she have....(that's not nice of me). So.... over dinner I asked Robby if he had ever seen Austin's Mom's piano and he said, "yes, it's really nice". And I'm thinking, "He doesn't sound too impressed with the piano". But, we have to remember, he's a guy, so short and minimal is all the information I am going to get with that one question. Marilyn, picking up on his brief answer, asked more and he finally told her that he loved playing on it because the tone is incredible and the "play" is good...the feel of the keys...etc. ( I am not a piano player so I don't understand the lingo, but my DMIL does and they are speaking a foreign language at this point) Then she asked if Sandy would consider selling the piano and I told her that she asked if I knew anyone and I really couldn't think of anyone who could afford the instrument. To make this boring story shorter...

We went yesterday evening out to the farm.. Sandy, her two kids, Robby and myself. She showed us the piano...it's a jewel in the middle of nowhere... Robby's eyes lit up like he was seeing an old friend..lol. She told him to try it and he did. He started out a little hesitant, tense, and looked like he was holding his breath. Then as he settled in he relaxed and started breathing again and then he let his fingers fly. He "feels" life. He is the child who's eyes tell you every little thing that he is thinking..... I saw in his eyes hesitance, bewilderment, excitement, love, and then warmth all in a span of Mozart's, Sonatina. After he played another song he got up from the piano and tenderly lowered the lid and covered the piano with the piano shawl that was on it when we arrived. Then he walked outside. He didn't say much. I think I know what he was feeling. I had that same feeling when my parents bought me my prof. flute.

After dinner my DMIL called and asked if we saw the piano and I told her about it. Then she asked what Robby said. She told Bob and me that she really wants to do this for Robby. She wants to encourage him to grow more. She doesn't want him to lose that love he has, and she would like to buy it as a gift for him. I am so floored. I mean, you hear of grandparents buying sweaters and sending cards....but a flipping baby grand???? So, we told her that we would talk more with Robby and would let her know by Friday if that's ok. I feel odd accepting a gift that big. I mean, it's big.

Then I spoke with my mom and she reminded me that Robby's not the only one benefitting from this gift.. allowing my MIL to do this would be a gift to her, too, because she knows how important music is to Robby, and she would have the comfort in knowing that she did something major to encourage his love of the piano. I told Bob what my DM said and he is in agreement with her. So...this morning I got up, went downstairs and stood in the middle of my dining room....it's a big room, and found the perfect place for this piano.

My concluding thought is this....God is good. He knew that we could never afford to buy an instrument like this, and He is blessing our family in an incredible way. Marilyn gets to feel that love in giving a gift so important to Robby. Robby is receiving encouragement to take his playing to a higher level, and Bob and I, as parents get to listen to our son play, knowing that my DMIL believed so much in Rob's talent to do this huge thing for him. God is definitely Good...Yes, very Good.

Mary

Speak up, Herman....


I just finished making a batch of ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) and had the best time playing with some extra supplies/paints/ink/ etc.etc. I am in a swap that is concentrating on "women" in print type of thing. When I emailed my catagory of choice to the hostess I told her that I was going to do mine to feature a "mom" on vintage tv. I threw out some possibilities: June Cleaver, Marian Cunningham, Harriet Nelson, etc. and she thought that was a great idea. So I got online and searched out photos and didn't find anything that sparked my creativity until I remembered Lillian Munster, Yvonne DeCarlo. She was great, A "real" mom. Someone who showed her disappointments, frustrations, and emotions being married to a big ole block head.. I chukled and thought...Now, THIS is a perfect "mom" with which to create my cards.

Making the cards, in turn, got me to thinking....if you took away the theme of "munster" you would have a pretty normal average home. There was Eddie, who faced the same problems that our kids face. There was the uncle, who everyone loved, there was the "odd" cousin, and then there was Herman. You all know that you can identify with Lillian.. We used to laugh at all the hairbrained things which Herman involved himself and his cohort, Uncle Charlie, because they depicted some strange situations. I truly think that we laughed, not so much because we couldn't believe the things that they did, but just maybe because all the family dynamics hit a little close to home....

I'm just glad that we don't have a "Spot" living in our basement....

Have a wonderful Glorious Day!
Mary

Break A Leg!

Just finished our first full week of performances and am glad that we only have two more performances to go.. Two more times I get to put makeup on a guy who thinks he's all that... He isn't. I don't know why people are rude to someone who is trying to make you look good. that's not a good/smart move. I mean, I could make this guy look like doo doo and he just continues to bark at people and annoy them.

Well, enough of that.. I had a great weekend.. Very busy, but great. Bob's parents came up for a visit and we spent Saturday and most of Sunday with them. Bob's dad had meetings down at the college with recipiants of their scholarships. It's something that they look forward to every year.

While I was putting makeup on the cast from "Last of the Red Hot Lovers", Bob entertained his parents and kept the kids' all pretty busy. Megan worked a bit on Sat and Sun and is looking forward to school being out and starting life guarding.

I switched scrapping sites and am going to be pretty busy with updates/swaps, etc. It's a lot of fun and I get to meet a lot of others who are into scrapping.

Last night, while I was getting ready for bed, Bob wanted to put away some wool sweaters in our cedar chest and he found my stash of baby pictures of the kids. He pulled them out so I didn't get to bed until about 2 am because I simply could not put the photos away without remembering so much about each and every child's photos. The good thing about going throught the photos is that I now have a bunch of sentimental photos for scrapping. I am going to keep busy with this project for a long time. I even found photos of David in his incubator with the netting over his head, which made him look like a pot roast..Shhhh.. don't tell him. All he knows is that he was the most beautiful baby in the world to me at that moment/phase of his life....and he was.... pot roast head and all.

Today is overcast and there is a light drizzle, which is good. My grass is green and the trees all have buds on them.. I guess winter is "officially" over! yeah! Now the fun time of the year begins.

Have to run...my coffee calls and we have to get going on school.
Love you!

Apple Carts and Other lopsided Things

Got you attention didn't I? I know it's a little late in the day to be posting, but this is truly the first opportunity that I have had.

This is going to be a very short entry. Last night was opening night for "Last of the Red Hot Lovers", and it was alot of fun. The actresses were so "on" especially Katie. I do costuming and makeup for our local community theare and love it. I didn't get home till 11:30 and got up rather early this morning.

Bob and I are taking the kids over to the track to help with Special Olympics for the afternoon and call is 6:30 for tonight's performance. Tomorrow will be equally as hectic.

Megan took me to brunch today for my birthday and gave me the Jack Johnson Curious George CD ...I LOVE IT. I am listening to it right now and love the simplicity and realness.

Well, I will post more tomorrow.....

Love you all!

Mary

Hiding the Blemish

Ok, I know that you all know that I had my 44th Bday this past Sunday. I had been feeling a bit old yesterday and had a nice converstaion with my cousin, Frank, about age. One topic led to another and as always, Nana came up. After we visited for a while we both came to the conclussion that Nana really was/is timeless. She never stopped being young. She loved her gardens, her tv shows, her dolls, her antiques, and all her teddy bears. She, although 87, was still very much a young person when she left us.

I know that if my Nana were here and she heard me whine about being 44, she would tell me, "well, you only look old if you aren't wearing lipstick" or something along that line. I made an appointment to have my makeup done. This is something I have never treated myself to and thought that it was a good time. After I was all "made up" I ran home, put on some decent clothes and straightened up the house....Bob's parents were due to arrive from Denver. I amglad that I had my makeup done because my MIL is very much a "you don't go out in public without some colour on your face" type of person.

Each time I passed a mirror I really wasn't comfortable with what I saw starring back and I couldn't pin point what was wrong, then....I thought, wow, I look like my mom, but something is missing. Upon examining the colors and tones that I had on I discovered that the makeup gal had covered my small red dot on the side of my nose. I didn't like that it was gone. This is something that keeps me tied to my mom in a way. She, too, has the red dot on the side of her nose. Neither of us was born with the dot. It just appeared during a pregnancy and never went away. I, for some reason, was feeling "off" because I didn't recognize myself without something so small and insignificant as a red dot. I remember the makeup gal calling it a blemish. (Isn't that something that is bad, something we DON"T want?) Well, to me, it isn't a blemish; it's a part of me that ties me to my mom and in turn to my forever youthful, Nana.

I love the make up, but think I will skip covering up my dot!

I know....silly girl!

Blessings!
Mary

The Quest for Knowledge


Megan is in the college hunt mode right now and has been pouring over catalogues and mailings from colleges all over the country and even some from Canada. As she sees the different courses and requirements from each college she is having a really hard time narrowing down her search. She still has a year left of high school, but, this is Meg. She is always, always, always prepared and informed about any big decision she makes. This is good. I am glad that she is searching out information.

If any of you know of a good private (preferrably Christian) Art College, please let us know. It's like finding a needle in a hay stack. She is actually leaning toward a school in Savannah, SCAD... they are pretty well known, but she thinks it's so far from home. She would like to be within driving distance to come home for short breaks..ie. Thanksgiving. She also is struggling with what she wants to do with specific majors. There are some interesting majors available from some of the colleges that she has looked at, including, "paper, book, & Print". I thought that would be a great major...she could make all my scrapping papers for me....lol. I don't think she wants to do that.

So...for the next few months we will be looking at schools and will be trying to help Meg narrow down her interests. I know that she will probably change her mind several times and will end up where she is supposed to be, but....

I have to ask myself, as she is going through this process, "Am I ready to let her go?" and the answer is, "NO". I don't want to let her go. I want her to stay home a bit longer... I also have to ask myself in helping Meg with her "Quest for Knowledge" am I helping her gain knowledge or is she helping me? Maybe there's a bit of both there.

Blessings!

Mary

A few photos of Meg from Saturday.

Someone, Pinch Me

I think of all the fun things that happened this weekend. I think about Meg's perfect experience with prom and all the good things that I wrote about yesterday and I come to the realization that I only wrote about two days and completely left out Sunday.

As many of you know, I had a birthday on Sunday. I know that you are wondering just how old I am.... here's the skinny.. I turned 44 and am quite comfortable with this age. I don't feel 44... Heck, there are some days when I feel 6...especially when I am playing Barbies and make-believe with Anabelle. She has a way of pulling me into her 6 year old world where everything is colourful, perfect, and fun. For a birthday gift, Bob gave me a ticket to the circus. He knows how I love to go with the kids and just experience a few hours of hokie fun. The Shriner Circus came to town and Anabelle and I had a blast. So on my 44th I sat in the stands and watched the various acts and really enjoyed myself. I love letting Belle experience all the sites, smells, and flavours of the circus. She rode an elephant, ate cotton candy, popcorn, and a snowcone, and bought a light-up star lazer thing and I had a blast watching her eyes sparkle as she truly enjoyed her day. When we came home, Bob had made my cake. Can you believe that...He made a cake! The man can grill like there's no tomorrow...but bake... Nope..

The kids and Bob have been asking me for a long time what I would like for my Bday and the only things that I could come up with were: a ticket to the circus, Chronicles of Narnia-DVD, airfair for Boston-CKU, and adhesive.... Those of you who scrap know the importance of the adhesive. So.. spending the day with Belle at the circus was a nice suprise. The boys spent their entire day there helping sell popcorn during all three shows for the Boy Scouts. Meg went with Brian and she, too, rode the elephant. I will be getting my ticket to Boston on Friday and the boys couldn't decide which adhesive to buy so they gave me $30.00 to buy it myself. That will buy a few types.

I really am proud that Bob made the cake on his own. He also grilled beef/veggie, kabobs and made rice and a nice salad. After we finished dinner and had the cake we sat down and watched Chronicles...(they even remembered that). Late on Sunday night Bob asked me if I knew where the regular cooking oil was and I showed him the tall wine bottle that I have converted into my oil bottle and he laughed. He couldn't find the oil so he used my imported olive oil... to tell you the truth, we couldn't tell.. It was pretty good.

So, the short sumary is this... I had a fabulous weekend! I titled this thread; "Someone Pinch Me".. but now I have rethought that title and really don't want anyone to pinch me at all. I am loving my life, loving all the hustle and bustle that having five kids at home brings, loving where I am right now. 44 is pretty good. Soooo,...Don't you Dare Pinch Me~

Love you all!
Mary

The Glass Slipper Fit


This past weekend seems to have flown by me like a blur. It was probably the fastest three days that I have ever experienced, so fast, that it really seems like a short little dream. I didn't know that I could pack as many activities into one weekend.

I'll start sequencially with Friday afternoon. Bob took Anabelle and the boys all shopping when he got home from work and I packed a bunch of scrapping supplies in my totoe to crop all night down at my LSS (Scrapbook Creations). The regular scrappers wanted to get together before hand to have a bite to eat and a drink to celebrate my birthday, so we went to Mr. Ts and had a fun time. I ended up scrapping til 3:15 am and only finished one layout completely. The other two that I worked on still need help..lol

Saturday was devoted almost entirely to helpiung Megan get ready for prom. She is so organized and had her day planned out pretty efficiently. By the time 4:15 rolled around, Megan had transformed herself into a fairy princess...actually looked like a cross between Audrey Hepburn (style wise) and herself, beauty wise. I will have to post some photos of her in the gallery a little bit later. Brian brought her the most beautiful white roses which complemented her dress nicely. The theme of this year's prom was "Hollywood".
As most of you know, Watertown is pretty small, and has a very limitted number of resturants in which to have a decent meal. Mary Konvalin, Kathleen Deutsch, and I prepared a formal dinner for ten out at Fred and Kathleen's. Not only did they have a great meal, but they didn't have to spend a fortune on food that they wouldn't like. I played chauffer and drove the five couples to the prom in out big van... they loved it! I am happy that the group of kids that Meg hangs out with isn't wasteful and doesn't try to showoff their famiily's economic standing in our community. They are a humble bunch of kids. I was glad as a mother to know that Megan was actually pretty frugal in her dress choices, doing her own hair, and using some of my jewelry so she didn't have to spend any more than what was necessary.
I wrote a while ago, I believe my first entry, about seeing Megan grow up and the emotions I felt while she tried on prom dresses. This weekend represented the end of that little chapter in the "Book of Meg". I know that there will be a lot more to write about but this little part of her life represented one of those "big" moments. The moment she put on that glass slipper and was transformed into that princess in a world where all is good, fair, happy, and just; a world where, unlike Cinderella, the fun of the ball didn't have to end at mid-night.

Have a beautiful, fun, happy day and put on that glass slipper....it fits anyone who tries...

And They Blinked

Once upon a time there was a little baby girl who was loved more than any other baby in the world. She brought lots of love and happiness into her mommy and daddy's hearts. They held her, fed her, bathed her, dressed her, hugged and kissed her, and they loved her more than they ever thought possible.

Then the mommy and daddy blinked and their little baby was now a big girl with big girl toys and big girl friends. She was a big sister and she played with her brothers and sister and was a wonderful joy. She taught them a lot of things and they all loved her very much, then...

The mommy and daddy blinked and their little girl was almost as tall as the mommy; tall enough to look into her mommy's eyes and see a sadness and fear in them, but this little girl did not notice this because she was so busy with her friends and her own life...

And then the mommy and daddy blinked and the little girl was now a young lady with ambition, dreams, and plans of her own. She was old enough to drive and get a job and she was even busier than ever. She was so busy that she didn't see the tears in her daddy's eye when she went to her first dance...

And the mommy and daddy blinked once again and the little girl was a little taller and older. She grew and learned even more than before. The little girl became more and more independent and began looking at colleges and made plans for her future...

And the mommy and daddy blinked. One afternoon the mommy and little girl went shopping for a dress. As the little girl tried on a beautiful princess dress, she looked at her mommy and saw tears in her mommy's eyes and was embarrassed. What the little girl did not know was that the mommy did not see the young lady in a beautiful dress. What she saw was a little baby girl who was held, and fed, and bathed, and dressed, and hugged, and kissed, and was loved more than they ever thought possible, and the mommy was sad, and she wished she and the daddy hadn't blinked at all.

Fluffy Cats & Mean Dogs

what does this have to do with the price of tea in China....absolutely NOTHING!
I am sure you are wondering where my little pea brain will take you today and I have to admit that at times, I have no idea where.

Does this not happen to everyone at some point in their lives?

Yesterday was not the best day for us academically. The kids have Spring Fever and want to be outside instead of doing their work like the perfect little students that I so wish to have. But, this is reality.

When I was growing up...oh no, here we go again... My mom would tell us to stop fighting like Cats and Dogs.. I secretly knew I was a cat and my oldest brother...Dave, was the dog..nanner nanner.. I know you are but what am I? and it goes on and on and on. Well, I have to say, my kids are just as normail as the next. They fight, they yell, the scream, and yes, sometimes they even smack one another. But, they are still brothers and sisters who would stick up for each other even against the biggest bully. So,, to make this long winded story a bit shorter, Megan surprised me once again by sitting the boys down to give them a really annoying lecture..lol. And guess what? It worked...for about 30 minutes and then they were at it again. We cut school short and we waited for the principal to get home to deal with their constant picking... Bob is much better at lecturing the boys than I am. He has a way of making them feel that in order for them to be true men of character, they need to consider the feelings of others and need to honor their parents so that means that they have to do every little assignment that I give them. It really did not help that I had a migraine all day, but that is a whole other story.

The boys ended up doing all their work and appologized for being stinkers to one another and then to me. I was glad that they did this. Then.... they all had to go to their rooms for time outs. Funny how this works on older kids. Bob does not realize that they LOVE time out..lol. As I was there with a cold cloth over my head I could hear them discussing their behavior. They were really sorry..I guess having the principal talk with them was a good thing after all.

I posted some new photos under my gallery...some of Rob & Meg backstage during Annie. And..some new layouts.

Have a blessed day!
Mary

Sleepless Nights

I awoke this morning at 2:12 am and could not get back to sleep. I hate that! Some days I have a million and one things jumbling aound in my head and it gets overcrowded and I just can't shut down for the night. I am obsesive. I think about things over and over and over...I really want to work on that problem this year. I stated out the new year with a list of "intentions". The heck with resolutions! I never keep them so I never make them anymore. My main intention is to experience more of the "now".... not to let special everyday moments pass me by. I want to see so much of the kids' discoveries. As I was thinking about my intentions at 2 am I thought that it must be God wanting me to pray about something, so... I did, and at 2:17 I still could not fall asleep..so I got out my pad and a pen and just started to write whatever popped into my pea brain. I write a lot and then misplace the journals and then I buy new journals only to misplace those...I guess having a blog really is a good thing...think of all the trees I am saving. As I was writing I was also thinking about scrapbook layouts. I am going to concentrate on scrapping items and photos of things that touch my heart. The first thing/person that came to mind was Nana Sara. She is never very far from the front of my mind. In fact, I feel her pressence every single day. It's in the flowers that bloom while there is still snow on the ground. It's in the fresh smell of line dried linens. It's in the flowers that border my stationary. Her essece surrounds me at times and reminds me that it's all good with the world. So, at 2:21 this morning I wrote this:
"One More... One more talk~one more visit~one last piece of lemon mereigne pie from Grove Bakery~ What I would give for one more last moment~ I miss our visits, when you passed I lost my bestest friend, my cheerleader, my shrink, my shopping partner. The world lost so much when you left and it will never be the same again. I have tried over the past three years to be a good wife, mother, daughter, and sister, but I stuggle through each day. Your words of wisdom are never far from my mind. As I write this I feel such a heaviness~ I can scarcely see the lines on this page because of tears. Oh Nana, I miss you so much. I pray for strength, wisdom, patience, and compassion, but these intangibles seem to be just out of my reach. I wish I could sit next to you while you watch your favorite TV shows. I wish I could read the gossip rags with you as we have a glass of pepsi. I wish I could eat a piece of chicken from KFC. I know that this sounds funny, but I haven't been able to do any of these things since you left. I am afraid of making new memories because they may push the memories I have of you away. It just doesn't seem right. I wish I could go back and do all the things we did together. I just want One More"

So now you all know I've officially lost it.. I guess I have to go find whatever it is and get the kids going on their school work.

Love and Blessings!
Mary

Cold Feet

Not so much to write about today. Life is still as busy as ever. I don't know why we as moms think we have to keep going and going and going... Someone needs to shoot that engergizer bunny! I stayed up a little late last night tidying up the library and putting away my scrap supplies. I have been pretty successful at getting my desk cleared by the end of the evening so when I get up in the morning to start school, I have a cleared desk on which to work. The kids are all still sleeping except for Meg and Robby. They, too, woke late and were tardy to their first classes. Bob was the only early bird. He got up at 5:00 and had breakfast with the men from church. I figure our getting up late is all his fault.. He usually gets the kids going by 6:30 and lets me sleep just a bit longer. Because he wasn't here to wake the kids up....we all kept sleeping. I am going to grasp at a straw here.... it's also his fault that I have cold feet....why??? because his body heat was gone from our bed, which in turn caused my feet to get cold...which in turn caused me to stay in bed a little longer... I know, it's a stretch...but hey, it's my brain that thinks illogically and that's ok.
It seems that lately I have been thinking a lot about growing up and my childhood. As I look at the kids and see them accomplish new things and go through different stages, it brings back a lot of memories from childhood. I am not going to get sentimental here. But...what I have learned in watching them isn't that I need to provide them with more opportunities to do what they like...it's that I really need to make every moment count. They are making their memories right now. They are storing them away in the recesses of their minds so that one day, they too, can remember the price of gas, or the taste of that big stick popsicle that will forever transport them back to their childhoods. Well, that's all folks....go and make some wonderful memories.

Mary

Stinky Eggs


Yesterday was Easter Sunday and it was truly a glorious day here in our little corner of South Dakota.
Church services on Easter Sunday seem to be just a little more festive and the message is always filled with hope and praise that we serve a Risen Saviour. Our tradition at church is for all the members to bring a breakfast dish to pass and we meet at the church at 8 am for breakfast. Two gals made the best potatoes I have EVER had. I don't usually like potatoes, but these had cheese and sour cream in them and they were great. Soo...when we got home from church I quickly found a recipe for cheesy potatoes and made a batch to have with our Easter dinner. I played my flute during services and it was fun. Sorry Mom, I didn't play Via Del Rosa, I actually didn't think about that until we got home.
Isn't it amazing how God can teach us new things or give us insight into different areas that we have previously studied? Yesterday in Sunday School we were studying about the empty sepulchre and Connie Hanson told me something that I hadn't really heard before...apparently it's Jewish tradition to fold one's napkin after a meal to indicate that they are finished/done. When Peter ran to the tomb and found Jesus' linens, the linen that had covered his face was not thrown down or pushed aside, it was folded neatly, as if telling us that "he was finished" and that "it was done". I find that pretty interesting.
Temperatures were in the 70s which enabled us to have an egg hunt in the yard. Robby, Megan, and Andrew insisted on hiding the eggs so Anabelle and Nathaniel could find them. They had fun.. this brings me to a funny thing that happened, which in turn, brought back a funny Easter memory from my childhood and a few others. Meg had hidden an egg in a small pipe that came out of the side of the house. When Nathaniel went to get it, the egg simply rolled down the pipe under the kitchen area and they couldn't get to the egg. Bob tried to get it with a long stick, but, he too did not have any luck. I just know that some day we will all smell something awful from beneath the kitchen floor and know that it's a spoiled egg. This brought back a fun memory of mine. One year my brother, David...he's the oldest, found an odd colored blue egg and opened it and it reeked! It was the worse smelling thing I have ever the misfortune of smelling. When he showed it to my mom, she realized that the egg wasn't one that had been hidden that morning, it was one that we missed the year before. So, for a full year that egg "matured" into the stink bomb that it became.
When I spoke with Mom yesterday I told her about the egg going down the pipe and she said..."do you remember..." I guess I am not the only one who could not forget that Easter morning. I wonder if Dave has ever told his girls this story.
Easter Sunday also marks the beginning of the end of the school year. I am hoping to be finished by Anabelle's birthday in May. If we aren't done, then we will just keep going til we are finished. As I was thinking about the end of the school year I thought about what it was like for me when I was younger. It's amazing what one can remember when looking back through the years.
I remember so clearly-as if it was just yesterday-walking with my little brother on hot summer afternoons to Miller's Dairy to buy milk. The dairy was on the opposite side of our block. We lived on the SW corner and the dairy was on both the NE and SE half of our block, so the dairy was actually pretty close to our house. Mom would give us $1.75 and we had enough to buy a gallon of milk for 1.47 and two big stick popsicles for each of us for .06 each popsicle. Tax was included. First we would buy one big stick and go watch the dairy men milk cows while we sat on the edge of a big cement wall that overlooked the milking room. We were amazed at the octopus-like contraption that sucked the milk out of the cows. I can remember watching the milk as it made it's way through the clear hoses to the big glass ball before it went into the tank in an adjoining room. After we finished our first popsicle we would go and get the milk and buy another popsicle to enjoy ont eh walk home and still have three cents left over!
I remember Mom taking us to Thrifty Drug on a hot summer night to get a double dip ice cream cone. A single was .05 and an Double was .10... only pigs bought tripples. That same nickle cone would cost 1.50 today. My favorite was the mintNchip or the pineapple sherbet. My allowance was .50 a week and I thought I was the richest girl on the block. Prices sure have changed...A pencil out of a dial machine by the principal's office was a nickle, and a pack of school paper was .25. I remember clothes shopping for the new school year. Mom would allocate 50.00 per child and I would always come home with three new dresses, two pants, three blouses, saddle oxfords, 7 pairs of socks and undies (comesettas included), and a sweater. Living in San Diego meant that we really didn't need heavy coats and I don't remember buying any at the beginning of the school year. I have to say, all these memories were triggered by one small, seemingly insignificant event.....the downward slide of an Easter egg that will more than likely remain in the pipe that leads to nowhere land. Maybe that's where my brain is at any rate so I think the connection is apropriate.

Blessings! Mary

In the Garden

Last night was our Maundy Thursday services at church and I have to say that it was probably the most quiet, sobering, and meaningful service that I have been to in a long time. As I sat and watched my kids and their reactions to seeing our pastor washing feet, I thought....this is a good thing for them to see. They need to see how to humble oneself. This witnessing of humilty couldn't have come on a better day.
The kids were so mean to each other yesterday and Megan was so upset that she was actually left speechless. I don't know if it's spring fever or what, but their attitudes really sucked today.

After going to our co-op pickup Bob and I had lunch together. This is something that only happens once every eight weeks or so and we were really looking forward to being together in the middle of the day without any distractions...you know...just being. Before I sat down I called the house to remind the boys that they needed to finish straightening up their rooms and should not get on their computers. (We don't let them get online when we are not home with them). Meg told me that Robby was refusing to come to the phone and wouldn't get off his computer. Doesn't sound like a big deal...and in and of itself, it really isn't,.. it's what he did afterward that wasn't so nice...He actually got in her face and yelled at her. This is NOT Robby. Just as each child has his/her own personality, each of my children have very distinct characteristics. Meg is the determined go getter. Robby is Mr Compassion. Andrew is a "Let it Be" carefree soul, Nathaniel is the politician, and Anabelle is cuddles and love, very emotional. So, when Robby was yelling in her face she said she could see steam coming out of his ears and he scared her. Robby, although he is three years younger is about eight inches taller than Megan. So, she was all upset that he demonstrated anger and she is fearful that he's going to be mean to his future wife if something isn't done. Bob had along talk with him about repect and humility...then we went to church. God really knows what we need to hear and I am thankful for His message that really put everything into perspective. After church was over the congregation met in the front of the church and held hands and prayed. It wasn't a garden like the one Jesus prayed in, but it is the closest thing to a garden that can be found in South Dakota this time of year. On the drive home, they were all pretty quiet, but actually said some nice things to each other and by the night's end, they were back to being themselves.

On another note, the honor roll came out at school and both Meg and Robby are on the A list...Both said it's really not all that impressive, but I am a mom, so I get to be pleased and proud.

Swimming in the Deep End


Do you ever feel that no matter what you do that you are going to sink? I hate that claustraphobic feeling of things closing in on me. As school is coming to an end within the next month I look around my classroom/library and see that we still have a ton of work to complete. There are still so many more things that I want the kids to learn before the end of the year. Robby and Megan are just finishing up Algebra1 & 2 and need to get on to the next level. Andrew is stil tackling his pre-algebra and Nathaniel...is almost done! woo hoo. That's math..Anabelle finished her math curriculum about a month ago. We are really concentrating on continued growth in reading for her. There are so many uncertainties in this world and I am seeing first hand that getting the kids to finish all their work is one of those uncertainties...I want them to complete every last problem, but reality says,"Hey, when you were teaching in the public system the kids NEVER finished all their subjects." How many of you got all the way through your math book? Soooo.... I don't want to be the kind of mom that settles for part done, part taught, part prepared. I want the kids to be completely done, well taught, and best prepared. So...when I feel like I have the weight of five kids and 8 subjects sitting on the middle of my chest and feeling like an elephant is crushing me....I will remember that it's ok to tread water for a bit in order to catch my breath. Who says that school has to only be 179 days out of the year? Why not use each day as an opportunity to teach our kids; not just in the sense of text book knowledge...but real life knowledge. I want them to take out that magnifier and look at the crawling little buggies of the world. I want them to be able to watch the robbins nesting in the nests that they have built at the top of our porch pillars. I want them to do fun kitchen experiments....but clean up after themselves.

Treading water is something that I have not mastered in my life...I need to do it a little more frequently. The world will not come to an end if I step back from all the things that I do in order to catch my breath.

Speaking of water and treading it....Megan had her preliminary Life Guard Test yesterday. They had her swim an 800? (whatever that is). well, in the middle of it, she couldn't catch her breath and she stopped for a minute or so and then kept going til she finished. Then they had her retrieve a big cement block from the deep end of the pool without touching the sides of the pool at all. After the test was over the instructor called off three names and Megan was one of them. Out of a bunch of girls, she thought "Great, I didn't make it" because there were so many girls there. Then the instructor said, "Ok , Girls we want you and come by the pool to fill out your application we have jobs for you." She could not believe her ears. After she came home she told me that she was afraid that she may have just dreamed that he said that they wanted her and that in actuality, they didn't want her. Too funny. This is an incredible blessing...as many of you know, Meg has asthma, but has never let that slow her down. She finished her task at hand and had even forgot to take her inhaler with her. She tells me that she knows it was God because she prayed the whole time that she was swimming. The instructor offered to pay for her certification if she would agree to guard at the outdoor pool this summer. She is so excited. I asked her if she is going to quit her job checking at HyVee and she tells me that she wants to do both jobs.. I think it's too much, so I guess I'll take the whimps way out and have Bob tell her that she can only guard...lol. He should love that! Meg is my determined child, so he's in for a good discussion.

Well, the kids are all up and having their breakfasts so I have to run. Have a great day and remember, it's ok to tread water for a little bit....life isn't an 800.

Rise and Shine!

Even though almost amonth has passed since the first day of spring South Dakota remains cool. I don't think we ever left Fall....winter was pretty mild in these parts. For that I am glad. The kids have been riding thier bicycles up and down our driveway. Thank goodness it's 200 feet long! Keeps em going and keeps them off the street. Anabelle is so cute and daring now that she can ride by herself. She zips around like a bee in search of pollen. Too funny!

Robby and Megan are heading out the door to start their day. I usually don't have to get them up and prod them to get to school. They are usually really good about being on time. I think they've heard my montra a few times. Well, I thought Meg was still in the shower this morning and that Robby had overslept so I stood at the kitchen stairs and shouted up to his room that he was going to be late. I got no response and I thought, wow, he's really tired...so I started singing the "good morning to you, boop boop,"song in an extremely annoying voice and STILL no answer. I thought, wow, he's good....I'm gonna have to bring out the big guns. I then proceded to sing "Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory" while keeping beat on the wall, again in a voice that sounded more like a cat in heat....and then, a voice coming from behind me says, "Mom, what are you doing?" It was Robby, he wasn't even in his room to begin with....it was he who was in the shower and not Meg. She had gotten up earlier than normal and already got her daily routine done. I jumped and started laughing and thought, "Boy am I glad no one else witnessed my stellar performance."

The other kids are still dragging their feet and aren't moving very quickly. Even though the sun is out and it looks like spring, they are still tired. Bob went and signed the kids up for summer activities through Park & Rec. Anabelle is doing softball, pee wee, the boys are all taking swim and archery, and Meg is taking her life guard class and hopes to be guarding this summer at the new outdoor pool. All these activities, combined with music lessons, work for Meg, vacation, performance camp, and church stuff, will keep us all pretty busy this summer.
Not to mention all the various house projects that need to be completed. Well, the kids are all in the library and I need to get them started on their work.
Have a great day, and remember, "Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory, Glory"

Love ya!

Better Late Than Never

I tried to blog this morning, but the system was jammed up, so it is now afternoon and the kiddos are finished with their school work. I guess I an take a few minutes to jot down some thoughts. I am so very fortunate to have the family that I have. The kids are all relatively good, but more important than perfect behavior is this...we are all healthy and doing well. So often we take our health for granted. We forget that there are kids in this world that can't walk, see, talk, or even raise their heads to acknowledge stimuli in their environments. Although each of my kids have the ability to drive me crazy, they are still physically healthy. I don't ever want to take that for granted. A friend from my web site on MSN asked for prayer last night. A classmate of her son was in a terrible accident and one of their siblings was killed. It is very sobering to hear of a child's death. It makes me want to hug my kids one more time before they head out that door. I don't want to let a moment of their lives go by without them knowing how much they are loved. I am also reminded that prayers are heard and God does listen. Although one child lost his life, it couldhave been a lot worse, three other people from this same family were also in the accident. Please take a moment of your day and say alittle prayer for this family. I have to start getting dinner ready. Sooooo....remember we are BLESSED!

Love you!
Mary