Snow Day!!!!!

SNOW DAY...this is what I heard screamed at the top of all my children's lung on Tuesday morning! It had been snowing for over half the night ya know and here in central NC the white stuff isnt something we see a lot of! Sooooooooooo, the rumbling of little (and big) feet running down the stairs, doors opening, freezing cold air barreling into the house is what woke us up that morning!

Of course after I walked to the coffee pot not caring about anything happening in this house until that first cup of java was in my hand, I did manage to look out the kitchen window at the beauty of almost (at that time 3 inches) of the white stuff covering everything in site and it was still snowing (believe it or not) which amazed me.

The children got Quads (4 wheelers) for Christmas so of course that was one of the first things out of their mouths "MOM...can we go quading in the snow?" my first answer was....dont you think you should eat something and no one steps one foot outta this house until I can actually get some undesturbed pictures of the snow (if I hadnt said any of that they would've barreled out of the house ruining all the beauty of the white blanket).

So, off I went to my room to put on my layers (remember I knew how cold it really was out there since my house was now almost the same temp as it was outside due to open doors letting in all that fridgid air) grab my camera and out the door I went. Here are some of the shots I got outside all alone in the peaceful beauty of a winter wonderland.

So, after I finished my little adventure into the frozen world of the snowfall of 09, I reluctantly let the clan out for some fun in the snow. Boy oh boy did they have fun too, then again have I mentioned that we dont get snow here very often? I thought I did =)

Oh and look...the Dad even got in on the action. This was the beginning of a snowball fight that lasted oh....ALL DAY LONG!!!

and here is the progression of things.....

Yep, even one of my best friends in the world came over to play! Amazing how a little of the white stuff can make everyone become a kid again!

Yeah, I can definitely say that it was a AWESOME SNOW DAY!!!!

God Is Good...

I am often amazed at how many blessings God has given me in this life of mine. I am too often reminded that I dont thank him enough for these blessings. One of my New Years resolutions is to be more thankful to him for the things in my life I hold so dear, to draw closer to him and remember with him all things are possible.

This thought process is what brings me to the most recent blessing. The blessing of a Grandbaby (yes, I'm far too young to have a grandchild) who will be making his arrival this spring. Today I got to see first hand one of God's many miracles in full view, and in real time. A 4D ultrasound of "baby August" (as the boys so affectionately call him) I saw his precious little face, his sweet little smile and his huge little feet ( yes, this child is gonna have some huge feet, just like his Mama) it was all so amazing. All I could think about was how amazing God's work really is.

All things happen for a reason, and this is something I've seen through out life constantly, and this little soul is here for a reason too. I cant wait to see his little face as I hold him in my arms. To see my daughter experience the wonderful moments of motherhood (although we know they are not always wonderful ) and to be able to say "that's my Grandbaby" with as much pride as I had when his Mother was a babe.

I am thankful to God for all the blessings in my life and I will hold those whom I love close in my heart. I am thankful to be "baby Augusts" Nana!

Come and Gone...

Well, Christmas has come and gone and to be quite honest I'm always glad when it does. Don't get me wrong I love Christmas more than anything, but to be frank, it's exhausting! The shopping, the running around and making sure each person on the list has equal amounts of goodies. Cooking, cleaning (more than I do on a normal daily basis, which in itself is quite enough believe me) the making sure all goes as planned and is monumentally special for all attending. It just seems every year I'm completely drained and need a vacation just to recover from the holidays.

So here I sit trying to "recover" with my headphones on listening to music and tuning out as much of the "noise" in this house as I possibly can. I've become quite a good "ignorer" as that is the only way I can have peace and quiet some days. Then again I think, what in the world would I do without all the noise and commotion happening here in this house, I know what I'd do, I'd go crazy without it. Lord help me when they all grow up and leave home to live their own lives, I'll probably be a basket case, but then again it might just be nice LOL :)

Today however was the beginning stages of this happening. Jim took Tyler to the Air Force recruiters office. Yes, a Marines son is going to join the Air Force (what is the world coming to?) anyway, he took the practice ASVAB test there and scored okay, but wants to do better, so some studying will be happening before he takes the real thing in a few weeks. He also needs to meet weight, since he's about 20lbs over the limit for his height according to the services. So, the next few weeks should be interesting as his quest to meet weight and study for the ASVAB will begin. He will be entering the delayed entry program until he graduates sometime this summer. So, the process has begun *sigh*

I find myself excited for him and then again saddened because I'm a Mom and that's what we do when our kids begin to really grow up and the fact they will be leaving soon slaps you in the face! I suppose though it was the same for our parents and they lives through it, so there is some hope for me. Of course Jim thinks I'm just a sap, but in the back of my mind I think, he says that now, but lets see his face when our boy is on that bus pulling away heading toward basic training in TX! He wont be so tough then I betcha!!

So, as the New Year approaches, so does changes within our lives. As it always does the changes seem so huge in proportion, but in reality I suppose it's only life and the paths we must go down in order to live it.

More hours in the day...

I officially need more hours in the day, then again dont we all. I really do though...I have so much to do and so little time to do it. Things are just crazy and while I'm used to crazy (as that is my life) I really would love to be the "supermom" everyone seems to think I am and get it all done with little to no effort. Wow, what a thought or should I say dream!

So, lets see...what all do I have to do in the next few days. Okay, not only do I have my side of the family (my sister, nephew and his son) coming over Christmas eve to celebrate, I have Jim's oldest son (whom I've never met before....long story) flying in from KY for the holidays, I also have Jim's side of the family (his mother and her husband) coming over for Christmas day.

Sooooooooooooo I need to spit shine the house (because you know everyone is always looking and never takes into consideration there's 9 people living in this house) I need to cook for both days and still have to get the last two presents for Tyler which I cant seem to find anywhere...UGH!!!!

Of course all of this needs to be accomplished in what...3 days? Yeah, that's gonna happen easily right! Geesh, how do I get myself into these things? Oh yeah, it's the words "sure I can handle it" coming out of my mouth when confronted with situations of this nature...okay, note to self "shut up" when people ask "can you?" or better yet "just say NO" it's got to be the safer way to go!!!

Now, while I'm stressing about what I need to get done, regular life continues to trudge along and while I find things stressful in everyday life, there are those moments when I absolutely love my children more than anything in the world because they keep life so much fun and interesting.

Example...Tiffiany and Tara had their Scottish Dance class today (as they do every Saturday) they love this class and are learning wonderful things, gaining confidence and just enjoying themselves.

So, Tiffiany was just in the middle of the livingroom showing me what she learned today (a new step) and then began explaining how her teacher told them to keep their feet positions correctly...here's the senerio..."pretend you have a penny pinched between your butt cheeks, and you need to squeeze your butt to keep the penny in place...squeezing your butt keeps your posture upright, and feet in sharper correct position as your dancing" okay, so after I fought back the urge to ROFLing, I continued to listen and watch her demonstration of this technique. She literally gets a penny and tries to hold it where it's supposed to be while dancing her steps...the penny of course keeps falling...partly because she's got her loose fitting shorts on and when she moves the shorts move and throw the penny out of place, and partly because she's not "pinching" as much as she should be. Her expression of this happening is "I'll have to work on this to get it right" so you see, they truly are gifts and definitely keep life full and totally funny! I think I'll have to wash that penny now, just incase LOL :)

Have I mentioned I really do need more hours in the day?

Christmas just around the corner!

Wow, I just cant believe Christmas is in 7 days. How has this happened and time has crept up on me yet again? I have finally finished all my shopping (only a couple of things left to get for Tyler) and considering that this is the latest I've ever been on finishing my shopping I'm extremely thankful to be done for the most part. Of course this doesnt include all the little stocking stuffers I need to get, but that's when I'll be hitting the Dollar Store for those little things and hopefully will find things the kids will like etc...

It's really been a whirlwind kinda month, my birthday was on Monday and while I was hoping to spend this year celebrating as a whole family, sadly Jim's step-mother passed and he had to fly to CA to help his Dad through the loss. I am just sorry the whole family couldnt go, the kids would've loved to have seen their Grandfather (it's been at least 12 yrs since they've seen him and some of the kids have never met him at all) and possibly brought him a little joy in this time of sorrow.

So, my birthday was spent with the children. Charity and Tyler took all the younger ones out on Saturday to go "birthday shopping" for me, and they all got to pick out their present for me. Of course when they got home they all couldnt wait to give me the presents (2 days early) so I got early gifts. They did wonderfully in their shopping and I mopped up in gifts that were both thoughful and useful! Bravo to them!!! On Monday we celebrated with a happy birthday song sung by all the kids (even the boys joined in) along with ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (my favorite). Jim flew in that night around 11pm, he missed the festivities, but we were estatic to have him home, if only for a night before he had to head back to Camp Johnson for work the next day.

Now we prepare for Christmas. A wonderful treat will happen on Christmas Eve since Jim's oldest son CJ will be flying in to spend the holiday with us. This is going to be such a special Christmas because this is the first time CJ has been here with us all, Jim is just so excited as are the rest of the kids! We all cant wait to see him!

So, while time is ticking along and I'm not completely prepared for the holiday yet, I'm so looking forward to it because this year I feel will be the best yet! How great life is and how blessed we are because we all can be together!

The Love of Family Pictures...

Well now that Thanksgiving has come and gone life has settled down for about a second or two. Last week was crazier than normal I suppose, but I did accomplish the things I set out to, which is always a good thing since I'm easily distracted!

Christmas being around the corner that always means we must do Christmas pictures for our cards. This is something that at times drives me batty and this year of course was no different. Have you ever tried to take a decent looking shot of 7 children before without loosing patience? It's not an easy task, and while my nerves flared up once and a while through this process I did manage to accomplish the task at hand.

The shoot began with taking individual shots of the little guys, this in itself was challenging. Even though they are good in front of the camera, Christmas pictures always adds an extra element to the mix of having to sit still, look at the camera and smile. Now we have props to add to the feel and emotion of the images, which automatically means the children must play with them, move them, click the music button a hundred times while watching the little things dance about in joy. Of course this doesnt make for good looking pictures, so the session is always stopped as I explain for the hundreth time how they need to sit still and not touch until Mommy is done taking the picture. To a 4 yr old however this means "oh well we must touch them then" so the challenge begins!

Finally the little ones pictures are done and look decent enough to include on a card, and it only took about 1.5 hrs! That has to be a record LOL :) So, we move onto the entire family (yeah, real joyous fun) so the portable studio is situated once again. Backgrounds are moved higher because my oldest son doesnt know how to stop growing like a weed. A bench is now added for seating and grouping for 7 children to fit in the shot. It takes a whopping 45 minutes to find a grouping that I like, moving 7 children with 2 4yr old overly active boys is never easy, and trying to keep them happy and teaching patience is yet another challenge! All the while the oldest ones complain saying "why cant we just shoot the picture and be done, who cares how it looks" yeah that's really what a Mom and photographer wants to hear coming from her own children!

So, finally we figure out a grouping that looks good and we begin the shoot. Everyone is cooperative except the 4 yr olds! One is looking at the light while the other is frowning because I wont let him go play with his toys! It takes yet another hour to get a shot that everyone is looking at me and smiling. Smiling is another issue since my oldest son refuses to smile for a picture because he's got that "I wanna look tough" syndrome that I often wonder if it comes from his Dad whom never smiles because he's a "Marine". Men, sometimes ya just wanna smack them!

Anyway, so we finally get the family shot and I'm beginning to feel good about this and am now getting my second wind, so I decide I'd like to have a nice picture of the 3 oldest kids. Now, we have to deal with the whole "I dont wanna lean on him, he's gross" complaints from my oldest daughter because you know it's not cool to be that close to your brother. Or the complaints from the boy because his sisters get on his nerves and this is stupid you want a picture of just us Mom. UGH...what was I thinking? So I get my "mean Mom face" on and begin to threaten lives if they dont act right, finally after 3o minutes of complaints and threats I get the picture I want!

All I can say is this...thank goodness our Christmas pictures of the kids are done for the cards and while I always say "I'm never doing this again" yearly I suppose I should begin thinking up new game plans for next years pictures...thank goodness the majority of the recipients of these cards will never know the pains involved in getting good pictures of my children together!

Football Season...

It's been football season for what a couple of months now and every Sunday our afternoons are filled with Jim and Tyler sitting on the edges of their seats inbetween the jumps, screams, high fives among other types of expressions to relay their joys or woahs concerning the current game and how the Panthers are playing it.

This evening is no different. As I write this I see both my husband and son jumping up and down screaming "yes" or "you've got to be kidding me" chants depending upon the play at hand. Right at this moment I just witnessed the clapping of hands and the screams of YES as Jake Delhomme (not sure of that spelling) made an unusual run for the touchdown and actually made it.

As I watch this activity in my house I often wonder how these guys literally let the outcome of a football game affect the rest of their day. If the Panthers loose the rest of the day is full of irritated men in this house, if they win then everything is hunky dori around here. It's actually kinda funny and I often know what the rest of my day will include depending upon the game results. Either I will be ducking fire or getting all I've ever wanted because of the cloud nine type good moods floating around the house.

So, for the next couple of months I suppose my house will be filled with the wild and crazy mood swings that only football season can bring about. Sigh...men...they are truly a breed I will never understand, I'm so glad I stopped trying years ago!