Photo field trip

Sorry it has been so long since I've blogged. My sister-in-law and her three kids have been here this week, and after they left, I did nothing...well, almost nothing. Saturday, Matthew and Jonathan went to a birthday party, and today we went to church, but other than that...we took it easy!

When Janet and the kids were here, we decided to get them in coordinating outfits and take them somewhere "pretty" and take their pictures ourselves, rather than pay someone else to do it. Now I know why pros get paid. Nah...just kidding. Some of them turned out pretty good...not professional, but good. Here is a sampling of the ones I took.

Monday Musings

1. My sis-in-law and nephew+2 nieces are coming in the morning. YEAH!
2. My to-do list for today looks something like this:
*vacuum upstairs
*clean bath tubs
*Mop bathrooms
*straighten playroom
*vacuum downstairs
*mop kitchen
I'm sure there are other things if I find the time (like dinner).
3. My son is riled because the Crocodile from Webkinz just came out less than a month ago, and they are already retiring it. Do you do Webkinz? Great kid stuff!
4. I miss my friend, Kim. She was going to come spend a weekend with me, and the summer is almost over! Hey Kim.....if you're reading.....I miss you!
5. I got my new drapery panels hung in my dining room. They are a pine green. For some reason, I'm loving green lately.
6. Looking forward to a vacation in Pikesville, TN....specifically to visit Fall Creek Falls State Park. This place looks awesome. Check out the pictures of the waterfalls! I expect to take some awesome photos there! My little boy was so scared that if we went hiking there, we'd run into a bear. So I E-mailed the nice folks at the state park service there, and they replied very matter of factly, "There are no bears at Fall Creek Falls State Park." I read the note to Matthew and he said, "Yeah! That's really great, Moma!" So now he's willing to go!
7. I'm looking forward to my birthday crop. Nothing like getting together with a bunch of girlfriends to scrapbook and eat cake!!!

Thursday Randoms

1. Matthew told me last night, "Moma, you look beautiful when you put your head under the water!" LOL!

2. I bought four new drapery panels for my dining room yesterday and a frame for a poster that should have been hung in Jonathan's room months ago. I have to take them ALL back! I am NO good at window treatments. I at least got the size right. Now if I can pick a color I am happy with!

3. We bought new deck furniture for by the pool. Guess where we bought it! Big Lots! We got a table and four chairs that look like teak wood, and they perfectly match the 2 lounge chairs we bought recently. The best part is, we got the set for half price! Only$149 for a table and 4 chairs that look awesome!


4. I am enjoying my scrapbooking this summer. I am scrapbooking from sketches and from challenges on-line. That just helps me get more pages done!


5. We are planning a trip to Fall Creek Falls in Pikeville, TN. Matthew doesn't want to go because he's afraid we'll run into a bear! (Guess that's always a possibility:0)

Have a great day!

Wipeout!

Here's what Jonathan looked like the day he got back from camp, completely wiped out!

And here's what he looked like a couple of days later after a different kind of wipeout! My baby fractured his left arm Saturday night. We didn't take him to the ER until Sunday morning (I know...I'm a terrible mom!) because it barely swelled at all, and he could move it around just fine. I thought it was sprained, so his dad and I told him we'd take him for an x-ray the next morning if it still hurt. So.....I was wrong! In fact, when he ran in the house right after it happened, he said through his sobs, "Moma, I think I broke my arm." I feel bad I didn't believe it. (Maybe because it was just a week or two ago that he jammed his finger and "thought" he broke it.) He had this huge box in the back yard; it was the box his brother's electric 4-wheeler came in. He was trying to jump over it (like a hurdle) without touching it. Well...he tripped and landed on his forearm. He has a buckle fracture and should heal fairly quickly. They put a cast on and in about 8 or 9 days, we see the orthepedic doctor, who will tell us how long he has to wear this big heavy thing. It's the plaster kind, and he can't get it wet at all. We'll deal with it though. I am glad it wasn't worse.

Hope you all are having a blessed week. Thanks for reading.

unbelievable!

The first time I heard about this, I could not believe it! Have you heard about the man suing the publishers of the BIBLE? Yep...the Bible! Imagine the publishers' astonishment upon first getting this news! Well...I like this video which speaks to this story. Christian freedoms in this country are being stomped on. It's happening! What do you think?

Friday Randoms

1. Today is the day we pick up Jonathan from Camp! I Can't wait to see him!

2. Matthew has spent way too much time in front of the TV this week since I've been busy. He has watched How It's Made, Modern Marvels, anything on the Travel channel, and Magic School Bus. Yep...this boy will either be real smart or very confused! LOL! In fact, about 2 seconds ago, he came in and said, "There's these wrestlers....they're Sushi guys, and they have big bellies and their underwear is wrapped up around their buts!" I laughed to myself and said, "You're talking about Sumo Wrestlers, right?" HA! HA!

3. I am looking forward to my birthday. I am having a swim and scrap party, ie...we will swim a while, dry off and come in to enjoy dinner, birthday cake and an evening of scrapbooking!

4. I'm not sure how I feel about turning 44. I am glad I'm alive, but boy does that feel old!

5. I tried to make a coconut cake in the crock pot yesterday. Let me tell you...it wasn't pretty! This is what it is supposed to look like!

I don't know what went wrong, but I will tell you this. I found the recipe here. She has some amazing crock pot recipes!

Wordy Wednesday

My older son is growing up (sniff, sniff). On Monday, Jonathan left for church camp and will be gone until Friday. Before he got in the van, I tried to say goodbye and get a kiss. Instead, I got a half-hearted hug and a "bye." I mean, come on....the other guys were watching! We also gave him a calling card so that he could call us. We've heard absolutely nothing! LOL! I really didn't think he'd call, but I could hope!
The summer is speeding along. I've already purchased Matthew's book bag for school. Normally, I don't buy a new one every year, especially if their old ones work just fine, but Matthew's has had a hole in it ever since the middle of kindergarten. He got a cool new Spiderman book bag with matching wallet to go with his Spiderman lunch box--all ready for first grade!
Other things on my mind:
1. I'm trying to implement Stacy Julian's Library of Memories method of organizing my photos and albums. I did something similar to hers with category drawers, but I never knew what to do with photos just printed nor with memorabilia. I'll let you know how it works out.
2. Looking forward to seeing my nephew and my nieces (from NY) around the 20th! (wish I could see my brother... BEFORE Thanksgiving!)
3. Matthew did soooo much better on his SIPT evaluation yesterday at OT. Still some issues with balance/coordination and other sensory problems, but soooooo much better than a year ago! Which means we're making steady progress! Thank you, Valerie!
4. Oh, and Matthew had a perfect dental check-up today!
5. Instead of blogging, I need to be working on balancing my checkbook and writing bills, but I think it will wait until tomorrow!
Sorry I have missed blogging for a few days...just got busy. Have a great week....or what's left of it!

Happy Independence Day

I hope you are having an awesome Fourth of July holiday. My family is outside working in the yard. Later, we're going out for barbecue, then it's off to Augusta for the Fireworks at Riverwalk. I found this hand-doodled image over at Homegrown Hospitality. I love what it says. "The Freedom to Choose: Everything you have....the right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start comes from God. {Who do you choose?}"

That's so inspiring! We're so blessed to have the freedoms we have in this country. Celebrate it today!