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!

Miss Briella -- in her tap class
Emily's first jazz class

Typical evening in our home.
Lighting of the candles -- a group effort!

Emily is now 14, which means Grandpa is 65! Wow, Grandpa! (In case you don't know, Grandpa got the best birthday gift ever when he turned 51 --- his first grandbaby!) Since we spread Emily's celebration out over several days, tonight was just the cake part. And, I had to scurry to get it frosted so that we could get to town for Bible study & babysitting. Craziness. I'm glad today was a SNOW DAY!

Grandma INSISTED I take photo of Emily in her new warm-up suit for dance! Looks awesome! Thank you, Grandma! I guess I forgot to take her photo in her new outfit from the other Grandma --- I will! It is so flattering :)

Beans & BaconIn his attempt at keeping the usual tradition of hauling the kids to the tree, Dan pulls the kids successfully... until Marci & Emily joined the load!

Here's the choice scotch pine! More photos of it all decorated in our living room ... coming soon!