Friday's snow photos!  (for those of you enjoying your 60-degree temps!)

Hayride at the Lewis'

Afternoon photo shoot

My attempt at "school photos" (in order to save some moolah!)

Some pretty cute girls :) 

Friday we replaced our usual morning routine with an early departure for the Corning Glass Museum. Since it was a rainy day, we watched the first half of "The Sound of Music" during the 1.5 hour drive. We had two friends - Madeline and Bridget. A full car is the best way! Once at the museum we browsed the gift shop. The boys found this huge marble machine quite fascinating, so Titus wanted to spend his money on a marble right away! Our tour began at 10am. They divided us into groups by age and each tour guide did a great job relating the exotic glass creations to the kids. The hot glass show was the highlight, by far. After lunch we drove the Watkins Glen (20 minutes north). The outdoor hiking was my favorite part of the day. It was a longer drive home - just because it was. We made pizza and had dinner with the Ely kiddos and Madeline. A full table is always a great way to wrap up the week!

Braces & Birthday

Today was a full day -- the story most easily told with photos. So, I am eager to "show off" my beautiful kiddos! At 9pm last night I stood at the kitchen sink washing up the last of the dishes from making Coca-Cola Cake & cupcakes. I was so weary, yet a hopeful little girl wanted curls for her 8th birthday. I mustered up the energy, plugged in a movie and got busy putting in the sponge rollers. Today's smile was worth it -- most of the time! :) (you'll see what I mean!) Briella celebrated her 8th birthday today. Wow. Eight years ago I welcomed a tiny six-pound little bundle with a head full of black hair! This morning when I returned from my jog, she and Titus were very quietly playing chess in the playroom. Very adorable. After my shower Jared had joined them as well. By that time she and Titus were a team. I had to break up the game for breakfast.
At 10 am we headed to Scranton to get Marci's braces removed. Woo-hoo! Dr. Kerr and staff were wonderful, as usual. It was a fun experience and Briella got a poodle birthday balloon. Then we had lunch at the Steamtown Mall food court. We did this to fulfill the request of having pizza on her birthday! Marci & I had salads, so everyone was happy! By 2pm we were headed back to Montrose so Marci could make it for an afternoon of soccer against Elk Lake. Fortunately, we had canceled piano lessons for the day, so we had a two-hour reprieve at home. Titus had fallen asleep in the car, so he napped while I read history and art to B&J. When Titus woke up, we made cowboy cookies. We had a very healthy snack before heading to Elk Lake for the soccer game, which we watched from Herbie since it was spitting & WINDY. The boys' team lost, but the girls won 2-0! We piled in the car and scurried back to Montrose for clubs at church. I hustled home to pick up Emily for a dance meeting. At 8:30 everyone was home for opening some presents! Tomorrow I get to snuggle little Abbie at 6am, so I'm hoping to be in bed by 10. Goodnight all!

This afternoon was the beginning of dance lessons for Briella and Emily. So, I took the boys on a "date" to ride bikes at the park. Titus finally mastered the 2-wheeler! What a lovely, sunny afternoon. (too cool, but still lovely!) Marci has been busy with soccer games. She was an awesome sweeper in Wednesday's game against Mtn View. I almost cried cheering for her! It was a tie game in the end.

Blogging is therapeutic for me. It reminds me how much I love my children. It's a quick substitute for scrapbooking ... which I really, really miss. But, at least family can see what's happening this way :)

The other exciting news is that Titus gets to move to 1st grade for math after a quick evaluation with his teacher at the library today. I don't know what that really says except that the Rod & Staff preschool books are great preparation! Simple, inexpensive & great attention to detail. Highly recommended!

Yesterday we went for hair cuts at Aubie's. She was a dear lady who did a great job on giving the girls updated hair-dos! It was fun, but just a bit scary for me... who ended up much blonder than agreed upon. But, I'm getting used to it.

Today we had a slow morning -- a short-order cook for breakfast. Anything you want, with grits. Grits --- ahhhh! Afterwards, we did some laundry, packed lunch, played on the computer, etc. Then we headed to the pool to meet up with Mrs. Lee, Stacy, Zack & Tyler. It was BEAUTIFUL weather for swimming (upper 80's, partly cloudy, nice breeze). We had a picnic by the lake and then headed back for more swimming. Briella, Tyler & Titus were in the pool the entire time. The elderly enjoyed time reading books & soaking up sunshine. They didn't want their bathing suit photos on the blog, so I obliged their wishes since I, too, am trying to avoid the camera these days :)

And they're off ... to the Moo Cow Biker meeting at Chick-Fil-A. Her first motorcycle date!

A cloudy day, so we all went in for pedicures ... and Grandma treated us to flip-flops as well. Soooo spoiled! (But such a fun bonding time too!)

A breakfast conversation -- Titus & Grandpa.

Here we are at Grandma's on Sunday afternoon. The ladies are playing Phase 10. I spent my afternoon with the little kids outside! We played cops & robbers, had popsicles, and then splashed in the whale sprinkles. It was a beautiful afternoon and so nice to be HOT! :) I'm loving my visit to Georgia! I don't mind 3 showers a day! I showered quick before heading back to church with Daddy. What an awesome time of prayer and how encouraging to see how God is calling couples to the mission field. I love watching God work and provide. He is good to all He has made.

Here we are eating dinner with Seth & Les. Still missing those boys at camp! Seth grilled a pork roast and some chicken spiedies. YUM! Les made rice and an array of delectable salads. Munchkin ate six portions of salad -- surprised Emily since we have to bribe to get people to clean their plates! Anyway, the dessert was caramel nut bars which we tried to limit ourselves to one a piece. It required much discipline! After dinner Uncle Seth helped Marci publish her website and showed us some cool features of PayPal. We hope to get her shopping bag features working soon. Les showed us her pattern and material. I was really hoping to get that cut out with her, but it was getting late. We left at dark (9:30pm!). Such a fun, but brief, visit. I really wish I had more time to hang out with my brothers!

Our last picnic in the park with the Davidsons (minus those boys at camp). Uncle Curtis made everyone smile ... even a certain grumpy person in between her cousins!

Finally able to get these photos to upload! This is art created by

my so very talented kids under the superb guidance of Mrs.

Anne. They had a lot of fun and I'm looking

forward to hanging these up at home! Titus painted a striped hot air balloon --- the man in the balloon is holding a balloon himself. Was he listening when we read Twenty-One Balloons?!?

Fun at Aunt Jenny's. We had hours of playing dress-up in the basement. Thursday evening we had a pool party at Mrs. Anne's place. It was a bit chilly, but the kids all had fun.

Time to document our trip to Georgia! We left bright & early Monday morning (6:15am) and planned our halfway stop at Pastor Dan & Debbie's. It was a perfect place to let the kids swim, jump & play. I had a great visit with Debbie and it was so restful to be at their place. I didn't realize they moved in just 3 weeks ago! They were gracious hosts despite not be totally settled. We swam in their pond with Anne & kids, ate dinner, saw the bees, jumped on the trampoline, rode the 4-wheeler & closed the evening by watching funny videos on Pastor Dan's computer. They prepared a filling send-off breakfast the next morning and we hit the road a little after 7am!

Watching the parade and collecting candy...

The 4th of July in Montrose, PA. The girls are selling handmade cards to benefit an orphanage in Liberia. They have a website in progress: www.hopefulcards.org. Soon you can order and purchase cards online! Most Thursdays they get together at a local scrapbooking store to create new cards. It's been great fun for them and I'm thrilled that they are involved in working to benefit those adorable children in Africa!

I've got to get back into the habit of updating my blog! Here's a start!

The tricky candle -------- science fun.

Stocking the trout in Snake Creek Tuesday afternoon.

I don't take pictures this time of year. It's muddy and yucky. Today it was rainy. I'll take pictures once the daffodils poke through.

I'm sewing Briella's Easter dress. She's excited and wants it DONE. I wish I was a brave fashion designer and could whip out cool, trendy-yet-modest attire :). Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to venture away from the pattern! In the meantime, I'm having fun tacking on a polka-dot ribbon. Photos in April :)

If you want to enter another cool contest, check out Dannah's blog again this month! With 3 daughters, I hope I win a bundle :)

Somebody will be 65 one month from yesterday!!!

These are some photos I snapped for our "Flat Stanley" story to Annalesa. The photos don't do the view justice, but you get the idea at least. It was a lovely day to be outdoors! (E & M were skiing with their friends, so they missed the photo shoot.)

Ahhh, I haven't made time to blog in quite a while. I think it's the winter duldrums setting in & I don't feel happy enough to say anything. Today was sunny, though! And, I was able to get out of the house. We just finished an afternoon of skiing Elk Mountain. It was somewhat icy due to recent rain, but beautiful! We had 3" of fresh powder this morning. This, after all of our snow at home had melted away. Fortunately, the mountain had a good base of the white stuff! And, the President's Day weekend crowds were there in full force.

As I wait for this video to upload, I will say that school is going. I am not happy with myself due to my lack of requiring quality work from the kids. I am not patient enough to explain the importance of "bumping the lines" in handwriting daily. Too many days I just want to "get 'r done." I have afternoon or evening activities and we need to get done. But, nonetheless, my kids are making progress. We just finished another round of work samples. Testing is coming up. They will do fine, I'm sure. Emily just wrote 3 essays for her PSSA's! That's a record for her! ha ha!

Last but not least, check out Dannah's blog. She's giving away free stuff! And, it's fun to read about what she's doing with tweens & teens. Yours will be there before you know it (if not already!).

Enjoy your long weekend! I plan to sew Easter dresses & quilt since my house isn't terribly messy this Friday...

Christmas began a little early in our home. We celebrated with Grandpa & Grandma's boxes early so we could enjoy some of the gifts en route. Thanks, Grandpa & Grandma!