Some people think they are so funny.....

.... and here she is!!!

Yes, my sister-in-law holds a dear tradition for her victims. If you are turning the big 4-0, she sends you multiple cards to remind you of that fact. And in her love for you, she makes sure to announce it to anyone who might be handling the card before you receive it:

Here is the collection I've received so far:

Julie, it's been fun to receive all these funny cards :) Thanks for thinking of me and making me feel special. Maybe 40 won't be so bad after all.....

Our sweet Emily had her tonsils removed this week! We checked in at 9:00 a.m. and after the normal paperwork, were ushered into the pre-op room to get her situated. There, on her bed, was a teddy bear provided by the Good News Bear Den. She immediately named him Thomas. Each person involved in her surgery came in and introduced themselves, which I thought was really neat, and the nurses were great! I kept waiting for Emily to start getting nervous and perhaps cry, but then I realized that that would be my m.o. She was so incredibly brave and never once showed a sign that she was afraid. She was a little more quiet than usual but I think she was just taking in everything around her. Fortunately David took these shots using his phone because I thought I would be overkill Mom if I brought my camera in.

Afterwards, of course, the pain kicked in and my heart just broke as she cried. Her poor little voice was so hoarse. To quote Dr. Henderson, "her tonsils were huge!" and "when she laid back, they almost completely obstructed her airway." This was a relief to me because I am not fond of unnecessary procedures. At least I felt that we had made the right decision. But that was barely enough reassurance as I tried to comfort her. On the way home, all I could think about were the families that have to endure watching their children go through painful medical procedures and the hospital that becomes their home away from home. I am so thankful that this was just an ordinary in-and-out procedure and a temporary condition. But my heart goes out to parents and children who go through such trials on a regular basis.

Now, we are waiting for Emily to heal and return to her normal, silly self. It's so different to see her without any animation. She gives us a glimpse now and then but again, I realize that this is temporary. Thank you for your prayers as she recovers. Our God is good all the time!

Gracey's ShindigGrace settled on a music theme this year and stated that this was her best party ever! I made an iPod cake (one that is becoming quite popular) but one of my clever friends let me in on her own little secret. Rather than try to decorate the cake using icing, she told me to use cardboard, foil and construction paper. It was awesome and SO easy! And Grace's face just lit up. She loved her cake!

We decorated with the new swirly decorations. They're great because just a few make the whole place look jazzed up. The girls had a blast helping me put them up.

Grace and I compiled a list of her favorite songs and made CD's as party favors for the girls that attended the party. It was a great hit! We played the CD the entire time that the party was going on, so they were excited to receive it. The most fun was when we played a game where the girls had to pull a piece of paper that had a word on it. They had to make up a dance based on that word. For example, penguin, ladder, monkey, princess, tree, etc. Each time a girl went up, they had to perform the move that the previous player did, plus their own. At the end, when all girls had done it - with much laughter and embarrassment - we all did the entire dance moves altogether. It's was so funny and so cute. By the end of the afternoon, nobody was shy anymore and dancing all over the place. I'd say the most popular songs were from TobyMac and the Jonas Bros. I am hoping to post a portion of the video here to show that "last dance" in the very near future.

It was a fun afternoon!

Grace turns 9!

Poor Grace..... Mommy wasn't feeling well on her special day. But I did try to make the most of it. Before lunch, we headed over to Chuck E. Cheese for some fun. Perfect time to go because there are few people there! They had a ton of fun, as always, playing the games. Afterwards, we all went to Wal-Mart for Grace to spend a gift card that she got from Grandma Joyce. She bought a High School Musical 3 version of Gabriella and a layered High School musical shirt. Needless to say, we will definitely be going to watch High School Musical 3! That was all I could muster up for the day and had to go home to recoup. Grace requested enchiladas for dinner but Dad came to the rescue and took us all out to Gordito's. I was so thankful! We celebrate again on Saturday with a music-theme party for friends, which she is really looking forward to. We're hoping to get Tyler to karaoke with us and do a few dance moves, too! (yeah, that will be the day!) If he does, you can be sure that the proof will be posted here on our nice family blog -- wahahahaha!!

Day Four - Williamsburg

We spent Friday in Williamsburg, one of the first colonial colonies that developed in our land. It was incredible to think that it still existed after hundreds of years. Many of the buildings are the actual buildings from that time, while others have had to be recreated or restored to their original state. We started at the gardens of the Governor's Palace, which was beautiful, then were wisely directed to the Brickmaker. We learned some really neat things about the bricks that were, and still are, used to make the brick buildings. First of all, only the wealthy had brick homes. The middle class might have had a brick foundation, but most had homes made of wood planks and dirt floors. To make a brick is quite a process. First, the abundant medium was clay and that had to be dug up. Then it was placed into a pit with wood sides, where it was mixed with water. Then, this had to happen:



The was undoubtably the girls' most favorite part of our trip to Williamsburg, if not their favorite over all! They couldn't believe that they were actually being able to play in mud! Next, the mud is taken out and placed in wooden forms that were dusted with sand. The concept is like that of baking a cake, when you dust the cake pan with flour before you put in the batter. Then, they are taken out of the forms and set in the sun to dry, and then they are stacked. To seal the bricks, they are fired. But guess what? They are not put into an oven -- they ARE the oven! They are stacked into somewhat of an oven shape, with a tunnel left in the base. Then the brickmaker places the wood inside the tunnel and makes a fire. The fire then begins to bake the bricks. The bricks that are dark, nearly black, are the ones closest to the fire. The ones that are a deep, brick red are the ones near the middle, and the lighter colored ones are the bricks near the outer layers. So when you look at an old building make of brick, that's why you see the multi-colored bricks. Isn't that cool info?? Okay, maybe it's just me but I love this kind of stuff! The brickmaker informed the girls that the mud they were squishing would be made into bricks that would eventually be used to recreate the coffee house that they are currently unearthing. So, when they came back with their children someday, they could tell them that they helped make that building!

It wouldn't be possible to post something about everything that we saw. But we went to the wig-maker, the silversmith's home, the post office, the jeweler, the fort, one of the restaurants, the Capitol building, the courthouse, (where the picture from the top of post was taken). That day was also the day of The Drum and The Fife band and The General's Review of the Troops. So, they did a reenactment of the Marquis of Lafayette (not General Washington) coming out to encourage the troops as they headed out to battle.

Huzzah!

The cannon and guns nearly shook us out of our pants, it was so loud! I was so glad that we got to see something of this sort, since we didn't get out to any of the hundreds of battlefields that were nearby. An added blessing to this day was that we were able to spend some time with my Aunt JoNell and Uncle Ronnie.

I have been on a reading kick of a series of books that talk a lot about the founding of our country and the progress of it. Someone said recently, after traveling to see this area, that it was a miracle that we are even here, that this country survived the wars that we've had here on this land. I hope that more people are encouraged to know more about our history as a nation, because it might encourage you in the future. Some of our history is not so noble, but we have had men and women that truly believed in God and what they wanted our country to stand for. It is not the godly nation that it might have started out to be initially. With the laws and initiatives that are on our ballots today, it would be easy to be discouraged. With the leaders that we have around us, it would be easy to be discouraged. But there are those among us who are willing to stop talking and start walking, trying to make a difference. For the complainers, don't let your lips flap, but tighten up your bootstraps and head on into the battle. We had such a person on the Council in the city of Fairfield (our neighboring city). His name was Matt Garcia. At the age of 21, he was elected as a councilman. He was determined to make a difference. Apparently this was his m.o. no matter where he was. He did what others his age would've never thought could happen. Recently, he was gunned down by what is suspected to be a gang member. As a human being, I was amazed by the reports that came out about what he had already done for the city but even more so by what he has inspired in other people, who refuse to let "the dream" die. Also, Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin gave a very powerful speech at the Republican convention and encouraged us also to get involved in our school, city and state leadership. In other words, do what you can to make a difference, instead of sitting around complaining -- which I'm sure many will be doing after the election, no matter who wins. Leave a legacy that future generations will look back on and be amazed at how things got done, not be embarrased that their ancestors didn't have a clue.

Day Three - Mount Vernon and D.C.

We spent part of our next day in Mount Vernon, the home of George and Martha Washington. What an incredible estate! I learned more about this founding father than ever. (The things that you miss when you fall asleep in class!) Despite the weather, it turned out to be such a nice day. I certainly didn't mind the rain because of the heat we have been experiencing at home. In fact, I loved the sound and smell that came with it. So relaxing, even though we were standing in it. Fortunately, we thought it wise to buy some umbrellas before we set out for the day! For National Treasure fans, we also got to take a tour that gave highlights from the movie set. One being that we got to go down into the cellar where Ben kipnapped the President. That was neat; even though, they actually re-created the cellar on a set and did the actual filming there. It was funny how the tour guide showed us the different areas where events took place and told how impossible it would've been to do some of those stunts.
Later that day, we returned to the Capital to see more sights. We had an appointment to tour the Library of Congress. That building was incredible, as are all of the historic buildings are there. There was so much to see there and the tour was very informational. However, a little too informational as the girls lost interest after awhile -- okay, after two seconds. So, once we found out that we would not be able to enter the actual library, we branched off on our own and finished in a more timely matter.

The girls were really getting tired but they were so good. They never whined but it was apparent by their body language! So from there, we drove to see some of the other D.C. sights. At the Lincoln Memorial, the girls pepped up a bit. They really liked this stop.

Needless to say, we put in another full day and went to bed quite tired. I believe this night the girls got their wish and were able to hit the indoor swimming pool before they went to bed. Me? I hit the hot tub to soothe my aching body!

Day Two

Our next fun-filled day took us to Amish country, in Pennsylvania. It was a bit of a drive but well worth it. We also stopped in Maryland to see where Danaher, the company David works for, is located. What a beautiful area! So much of the time was spent in the car that we didn't take a lot of pictures but I will always remember this trip by the abundance of trees. So much of it reminded me of when I was growing up in Tennessee. Those woods were my playground! I asked the girls how they would feel about living near such woods and playing there and they loved the idea! The only problem I had from those childhood days was the annual bath in pink Calamine lotion, after my body had broken out from all the poison ivy. But the woods are a wonderful place for imagination and play. I really miss it.



From there, we moved on to Pennsylvania. There was so much that we wanted to see here but just didn't have the time. My main focus was the area around Lancaster because I am so intrigued by Amish life. I guess it's because I've read so many books that revolve around these families and it amazes me that people can still live so simply. For this "fancy English" girl, being "plain" would seem very gratifying. Living in the world and especially the area that we live, being a wife and mom isn't very highly regarded. I admit, when I worked, I thought being at home would be so much easier! Ha! But it is incredibly rewarding, albeit not monetarily or with tokens of appreciation like I had in the working world. But the Amish make homemaking an art - even laundry! They continue in the tasks that have become lost in this era and I just really admire that. Granted, I probably would die after the first week of working so hard and I would be kicked out simply for my sloppy quilt stitching. But David says that if I ever run away, he knows just where to find me :)

Washington D.C. Trip - Day One

For years, I have wanted to visit the Washington D.C. area. I went once when I was about 8 and I remember being hot and whining about how bad my legs hurt. But I also remembered enough that I wanted to return when I was older. Now, we have tortured our two youngest with a similar trip but we took them to far more places than I had to endure! For me, it was a dream come true!

After arriving on Monday night and getting some good rest, I sorted through all of the research that I had done. I found that despite all of the information I had collected, it really wasn't serving us at that moment. So, since we were staying in Fredricksburg, VA, we decided to head to it's Visitor Center in Historic Downtown Fredricksburg. Did you know that every city there has a historic downtown? Well, it seemed like the right place to start and we were right. But first I had words to eat. See, when we stopped in at the car rental, I eagerly accepted the GPS offer, even though it was an extra $10 per day, saying that "we would regret it if we don't get it". Eh-hem, so at this moment in Historic Downtown Fredricksburg, I was having to eat my words because "Annie", short for Annoying, was really directing us in all the wrong directions and was "recalculating" every time we made a move we thought was best. Needless to say, Annie was turned off within 10 minutes and we found our own way. They have a lot of signs to direct you, you know. Who needs Annie? So after a little film and much direction from the Visitor center, we started to make our way around Historic Downtown Fredricksburg. (Is that starting to annoy you?)

This first picture is of the National Bank of -- where else -- Fredricksburg. Abraham Lincoln addressed the Union troops and residents from those steps where Grace and Emily are standing. Churches are on literally every corner and these are the Presbyterian and Methodist churches, I believe. The structures were so amazing that I had to take pictures of them. I love all the brick. But there was some major money that played a part in their building because only the wealthy had buildings made of brick.

Later that day, we headed over to DC because we had a reservation at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. We weren't allowed to take many pictures there for obvious reasons -- think counterfeiting. The set up was just like the Jelly Belly tour. It was so interesting to see how paper money came to be and how it is made now. It was so cool to see just stacks and stacks of money before it was cut, laid out in sheets. It was incredible. And the fact that each bill is printed in layers, not just one layer. It was really stinky, though, unlike the Jelly Belly tour.

The girls being measured in $100 notes.

We spent some time walking around, taking in the sights for a while before we headed over to the new Nationals baseball stadium -- where the Nationals were playing the Dodgers! It was a beautiful stadium and even though for some crazy reason we lost, we still had a blast. Our favorite was the President's Race after the 3rd inning.

David and the girls

Inside the stadium and the President's Race. Teddy Roosevelt lost because he was socializing. Abraham Lincoln won.

With that, we ended our day and headed back to the comfy beds of our hotel. It was a long day but lots of fun, a prelude to what was ahead for us.

Summer time means CAMPING! Recently we went to a place that we haven't been before -- Samuel P. Taylor in Marin County. It's in the midst of redwoods and on the way to the ocean. It was beautiful. I expected it to be much cooler but as the rest of the state experienced record high temps, we were at a blissful 80 degrees. Actually, it was quite warm. So the second day we spent all day towards the coast. We trekked over to Point Reyes to see the lighthouse. There are 308 steps down to the lighthouse and guess what, there are 308 steps BACK, too! Whew! The incline is pretty steep so I didn't feel bad about not going to work out that day. We also saw sea lions lazying around the water. They were so cute, even though they were far away. After that we drove down to the beach and hung out. The water was VERY cold, like Norcal beaches always are and the water is pretty rough. Emily didn't mind but I was constantly after her about staying close to shore. One sleeper wave came up and just about wiped us out in our chairs but it knocked Emily off her feet. I just about lost it! "Go get her! Go get her!" I yelled to David. And he calmly RAN over and picked her up. She was a little shocked but she was laughing. After we headed back to the car, I took the girls to the bathroom and we came across this informative little sign, warning us not to go in the water and of great white shark sightings! Ahhh, I'm such a great mom :(

It was a short trip but that's all we can get to these days. And it was enough. We get to go again in a few weeks but this time, no beach!

SMOKE!

Yes, we are inundated with SMOKE! The fires began when we returned from our camping trip and the smoke still hasn't cleared. It is so bad that I literally lost my voice because of it! We keep waiting for it to clear but even 25 mph winds aren't doing it. It is just lingering around, like fog, which we are used to. But fog is clean, cool and moist. This haze reminds me of the air conditions when we lived in the Inland Empire of Southern California. 300 days out of the year it looked like this! And similarly, the air is hot and humid, like a suffocating blanket. It's amazing -- once you are out of the smog of SoCal, you can really tell the difference. It didn't bother me a whole lot when we lived there and I still attribute that to God! Only on occasion did the smog really get me down -- like when I couldn't see the Mt. Baldy backdrop in our front yard. But on the clear days -- wow! What a picture! But now that I am back in NorCal, I am quite fond of the clear, blue skies :)

Typically, you can see lots of hills in the background.

The smoke has literally settled in the valley.

Remember to pray for those most affected by the fires; those who live in the threatened areas, as well as those with breathing difficulties. This will be a blip in our memories later down the road but for now, it literally stinks!

I love to scrapbook! It's one of my favorite pastimes. For the past 6 months or so, I have diligently scrapbooked with my CM consultant, Denise, every month with my favorite cousin, Doreen. I have been able to complete or catch up with two of our children's Birth to Graduation albums and I am currently working on 2007 events. Some people think scrapbooking is just too much work but I say, "Pshaw!" I believe that the work I do now will be cherished by our future generations. With school, the girls and I have studied much of US History and it's roots. I am amazed at how much history has been preserved by those who are willing to do it. Without the hard work of those people, we would not have the information about the past that we do. So, I know that someday my great-great-grandchildren will enjoy learning about their past and I try to record notes about our Christian faith and laden the pages with scripture so that it will be a testimony to them and they will know their spiritual heritage. This is the most important thing to me when it comes to scrapbooking and it is why I think all the time and effort is worth it!

Here's the latest update on the Ladybugs! Make sure to catch Emily's line-dancing moves at the end!

"Remember" is the theme of this particular video, showcasing Sarah and her latest Dance Production. This first set is one that Sarah choreographed. And if you know Sarah, you can see that it reflects her personality entirely. Think of that favorite book from your childhood. The one that you stepped right onto the pages and became part of the story, playing with the characters that you loved. And as you got older, that favorite book either got stored away when you had to "clean out all of your old stuff" or shoved to back of your bookcase that was filling up with more mature reads; a sign that you were growing up. But imagine cleaning out your bookcase one day as you prepare to leave for college or to move out on your own and there it is, the favorite book from your childhood. The memories rush back and you are 6 years old again, looking forward to story time before bed. You're right back on those storypages. You remember every word and can recite them by heart. That's what "Life is a Storybook" is all about... The second part... well, you'll figure that one out!

Emily celebrated her 7th birthday a few weeks ago and we had lots of fun. Here's a little view of her day...

Our Little Ladybugs!

Aren't they cute?? We have been having a blast with the girls playing softball. From the day that they started practicing until now, they have made great improvement. Grace has caught a line drive that surprised us all! And they have both been hitting the ball pretty good and both earning RBI's! At this stage it is just fun. I can tell as the kids get older that many other things override the fun of the game. I can't believe how seriously people take something like softball, or any sport for that matter! The girls take no notice. They just love to play. They never complain about practice and look forward to every game. Grace, who shows a tendency to be nervous performing in front of people, shows no intimidation when she gets ready to play.

Meanwhile, David and I spit sunflower seed shells on the sidelines and cheer. It's a great time for both of us to relax. No pressure on us at all. Of course, David is seriously considering coaching next year, which comes as no surprise. And not because the girls are lacking in coaching -- we have some really awesome coaches who teach the girls with lots of patience and encouragement and discipline.

The funniest moment was when David caught Emily line-dancing in the outfield. Yes, she was practicing the Boot-Scootin' Boogy in rightfield! And she totally denied it -- until David broke out the video camera and proved it to her. Needless to say, she was pretty mortified. But we have it recorded forever :) Her kids will appreciate it some day, as well as some of her nieces and nephews!

Hope some of you can make a game or two! But if not, we'll try to post more pics in the future.

Go Ladybugs!

Softball season is well underway and the girls are enjoying their first experience with it! There's something about going to the ballpark, whether it's the Dodgers or the Ladybugs, that assures you that spring is here and summer is around the corner. Here's the slideshow: (If the slideshow is not playing,just X out of the screen and it will start playing)

Not many people are impressed when you say that you are taking a trip to "Idaho". In fact, they say, "Idaho???" But that's okay. David and I love tall trees and wild rivers, wide lakes and beautiful sites. All right, of course we would choose a trip to the Carribean if the choice was there but hey, when an opportunity like this opens up, you don't turn it down! My Uncle Jim has a beautiful condo in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and lives in Montana with Aunt Bonnie so we decided to check it all out. Driving was a choice we made mainly so we could stop and see the sites along the way. Gotta tell ya, between Nevada and the southeast corner of Oregon, you got nada, zilch, naythin!! But we perservered and pressed on to Idaho and boy, were we rewarded! It was so beautiful. The first night we spent in Boise, which is a large city, clocking in at about 193,000 people. But even in it's bigness, we were able to find something quaint about it -- the downtown area where the Capital looms high into the sky above other historical buildings. The Starbucks there (its in one of the slideshow pictures) had to have been a tavern at one time, with it's architecture. Most of the buildings are like that, intermixed with other recognizable era buildings from the 60's and 70's. We didn't spend too much time because we were making the 7 hour trek to Coeur D'Alene that day and wanted to be able to stop along the way, but we really enjoyed it. We did go to the Idaho Discovery Center, a mini version of the SF Exploratorium (and other such places around the states). The kids loved it, looking at all of the exhibits. Most are some that they had seen before but at their age, you're always learning something new! Then we hopped in the car and headed out of town. Oh, did I mention that Emily had pink eye before we left, as well as an ear infection, and Grace appeared to me our first night out with the telltale signs of pink eye? Yeah, fun... Washing hands at every move and disinfecting everything we touched! But, we moved onward. Grace slept most of the time and Emily rocked out to Emma's Party Mix CD! The sights were so beautiful and I imagine that so much of that land has remained unchanged for 100's of years! Rivers, deep valleys, green rolling hills, old buildings, historic sites -- Idaho has it all! Heehehe! I know some of you are rolling your eyes! But, seriously, it brought out the history buff in me! We were able to spend 3 days in Coeur D'Alene and while there we checked out the resort areas, spent time in an antique store (there were tons of them!), hung out at the shores of the lake (watching all the people, including teens, smoke - lovely), rented a couple of lopsided innertubes from a country bumkin and rode down the Coeur D'Alene river, watched kids jumping off a way too high bridge, went to watch Ratatouille and basically, RELAXED!! On the third day, we trekked over to Montana to visit my aunt and uncle. They have some beautiful property there and I gotta admit, it brought me back to my childhood living in Tennessee. I felt like I could move it all there and never look back. It was a little far out for David but he's getting more and more acclimated to the country all the time. Coeur D'Alene was a little more citified. But we dreamed of what it would be like to have all that space, the pros and the cons. Everywhere we went, there is pretty much zilch in the way of shopping, limited in the way of restaurants, not a lot to do and that was apparent in what the kids were doing wherever we went. But the trade off is space, beauty, quiet, not a lot of distractions, and time moving at a slower place. Do we really need all the distractions of the city? Something to ponder. Everything is old and I loved that part. We saw structures that had to have been at least 100 years old. Early American history is evident everywhere! But there's something to be said for the smells of a new home (like my uncle's condo!), living in updated neighborhoods with cool parks and new play structures, the conveniences of a choice of stores and restaurants and things to do. Nearly every place we drove into, I would, by sight, judge if I would like to live in that place. As we approached our own city, I looked around at the hills surrounding us, the open space of the land and told David, "You know, we live in a beautiful place. If I came here for the first time, I would love it." A beautiful mix of the old and the new. We have a lot of history right here and I love learning about it. A little congested at times; long lines to wait in, yes; a certain anonymity that comes along with a lot of people living in one place. But all in all, I felt that contentedness that God gives us when He puts us in a place. I would never want to strive to be someplace where the Lord had not directed us to go. In fact, I know the challenge that comes with that. I am just so blessed to be able to visit places like these states and enjoy the time there. And when it's time to move on, God will open up the doors....

Yay! We have another graduate! We are so proud of you, Beth! If you'd like to leave Bethy a congratulations message, enter it in the message box on the right!

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Another fabulous job done by the chorale department at VMHS! Both Bethy and Sarah participated in several acts. Bethy performed a duet as Cinderella, singing, "So This Is Love" and Sarah had a solo, in which she played Jesse, the cowgirl from Toy Story and sang "When She Loved Me", and in addition, signed it, as in sign language. They both did an awesome job!

Grace and Emily got to dress up as princesses, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.

And we also welcomed a new princess into our family! God blessed us with Ava, Cassie and BJ's first baby. She's beautiful!

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