"A Wink and a Smile"

life goes faster than you think One January evening ... the day before my boyfriend's 24th birthday ... the test shows a + sign. I'm a 23 year old girl ... 4 months from college graduation ... not yet married ... totally scared. I let my boyfriend know ... he is scared too. We think ... and talk ... and think some more. This is LIFE and so we choose it ... God has a plan. FAST FORWARD 41 year old mommy of 5 wonderful girls ... I am busy ... I am often tired. My first baby is a senior in high school ... where did the time go? Graduate college, get married (to that boyfriend), have a baby ... then four more ... did all that happen? Joy, tears, tantrums, cuddles, smiles, frustrations, giggles, and oh so many pictures to show for it! This nearly 17 year old is such a GIFT ... not in my plans at the age of 23/24 ... but I TRUSTED. Straight 'A' student, National Merit Semifinalist, active in our Catholic church and in her youth group. ...

This little girl is 16 and is about to start a crazy schedule of stuff ... college road trip tours, AP testing to the extreme, more SAT/ACT testing, GIRLS STATE, youth retreats with our Church, J.O.B., and maybe (we hope) Governor's School.   I would prefer to remember her in a flower dress with a hat playing with her Fisher Price Little People and reading her AMERICAN GIRL books. If you are my age  ... 41 (gulp), you may remember this face below.  His name was Davy Jones and he died this morning .  I can remember being a little girl and watching THE MONKEES show on television and I especially recall the episode where Davy showed up on the Brady Bunch .   Music was innocent back then.  I may need to play his stuff on youtube tonight.  My girlies need to know a cute heart throb  who could play the  tambourine   from way back ... BUT, I am 41 (just newly turned) and I DID RUN 155 miles in just 2 short months.  So mayb...

Let me start off by saying that the only part of Halloween that I like is the dress up- take a picture part.  Is that horrible?  I don't really enjoy walking the neighborhood and knocking at strangers doors.  I don't even love the candy part.  Well maybe just the Reece's peanut butter cups.  I don't like the fact that my children will consume about 10+ pieces of candy in a sitting. I envision horrible results at the dentist.  I don't enjoy finding wrappers hidden in various parts of my house AFTER the whole treat part is done.  I don't like spending a lot on costumes, but I am proud when I can put together a costume on the cheap with some extra creativity.  I'm just hum-bug about the holiday. This year I had three of my girls going around the neighborhood.  My oldest (who did dress up) stayed home with about 10 other high school kids and gave out candy, had pizza/soda, chatted, and watched scary movies.  Daughter #2 went to another ne...

She is beautiful She is smart She is caring She makes her mommy and daddy so proud! ((((SIGH)))) Where did the years go?

My first baby will be turning "16" in just 20 days.  This surprise is something she really wanted and I know it really will help her with her studies.

My oldest daughter made this in her pottery class. Isn't it cool? I love the saying. Where she found it, I don't know (I'll have to ask). Lately I feel so in a hurry and this little saying seems to say to me ... SLOW DOWN!!!!! I know that everyday there is work to be done, but it's also important to squeeze in some down time. What moments today will take my breath away?

As I look down and type I see some dry and aging hands. These hands were working this weekend ... lots of raking, washing, cleaning, and even a bit of brick work with cement (that can kill the skin!). But also ... I ate lots of great food I spent time with my family I enjoyed Thanksgiving with friends I ran twice ... even got in a 5.22 mile run I watched a movie or two I went on a date I caught up on all my laundry I started a fire in my oven (won't go there) ALL IN ALL, lots of great moments. I even snapped a few pictures of my oldest daughter who looks just a bit too beautiful and grown up in this shot ...

Her plans for the day ... school, swim, and then a high school football game. Somewhere in there we will need to squeeze in some yummy cupcakes. Even 15 year olds like cupcakes ... right? I'm not even going to cry about how I cannot believe that my first baby is 15. I'm not even going to think about how she will be driving a car in a few short months. I'm not even going to think about how she will be getting her first job this summer. I'm not even going to think about how she likes a certain boy. I'm not even going to think about how she recently borrowed a dress and looked way better in it than I. I'm not going to think about any of that. Instead I am going to think about ... The little girl who loved to play with Fisher Price Little People and gave them all names. The little girl who couldn't get enough of books. The little girl who watched Winnie the Pooh probably a hundred times. The little girl who had the biggest blue eyes as a baby ... they were ad...

Another year of high school ... a sophomore now. I can't believe how quickly the years go by. Wishing, praying for a great year of learning. Also hoping for things to slow down just a bit because this mommy is not ready for time to pass by so quickly. Besides ... I'm too young to have an almost 15 year old ;)

Even though she doesn't go to a Catholic school, she often wears her Marian bracelet, her Purity Ring, and a Cross around her neck. They aren't just accessories. She is 14 and loves her Catholic faith. She even called up The Catholic's Next Door XM radio program one time. She is my altar serving, faith loving, Catholic Youth Group attendee who never misses mass. She volunteers every Tuesday after school helping to tutor (small children) reading with a program called Building Bright Futures at our Church. She is not like the 14 year old girl that I was. I am SO blessed to have her in my life !

*My oldest ... bottom row , #8 across in dark green head covering. 3pm Living Stations of the Cross ... speechless

My oldest daughter was asked to write about the adventures she hopes to have on her Spring Break. She has friends going to Aspen (the slopes), Destin (the beach), and to Hawaii. I'm thinking that those are some lucky friends of hers. I wonder if they even realize that or EXPECT it. My daughter ended up discussing her plans of babysitting sisters, going to the orthodontist, and catching up on some reading. Sounds pretty exciting, huh? Growing up my family never went anywhere for Spring Break. I don't think it upset me too much. However, there were a few times that I can recall feeling some jealousy. One particular friend went to Disney World year after year. Oh, how I wished my family would go. It took me to the age of 24 before I saw the big mouse . While I would have welcomed a real vacation away from my home, I loved the idea of not having to go to school, sleeping late, and catching up on my reading. My girls have been on many little vacations. We don't go ev...

And thinking about this post from last year because I just read THIS POST a little while ago. WILL YOU MARCH? "Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be free and should therefore be slaves. Likewise, we cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live and should be abandoned to abortion or infanticide. My Administration is dedicated to the preservation of America as a free land, and there is no cause more important for preserving that freedom than affirming the transcendent right to life of all human beings, the right without which no other rights have any meaning." ~Ronald Reagan ( Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation) "I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself." ~Mother Teresa

We call this the "VISUAL Packing List"

"DAD ... do you have curly, wavy, or straight hair?" "DAD ... do you have a WIDOW'S PEAK? "

*voice recording. This morning Emily (day off of school) and I were listening to "The Catholics Next Door" on XM/Sirius radio. Greg and Jennifer were talking about our youth and ways to try to keep them involved in the Catholic faith. Mega churches were part of this discussion and Emily felt compelled to add something to the discussion. PRETTY COOL (she wanted to add that she actually does have a Catechism sitting next to her bible ... just never had the opportunity to say it)

I'm taking a few minutes to update the blog while eating my shredded wheat and rice milk ... sounds yummy, eh? I just got three little girls off to school while the other 2 are waiting on me to start their day. Homeschooling is getting a little better. This school year had a shaky start, but we seem to be settling into a groove now. I put on my running shoes the other day for the first time in a few weeks. We've had so much rain and mostly that was my excuse for not running. Yesterday I had a pretty good run while listening to "A Wrinkle in Time" on my iPod. I find that stories and podcasts are much more stimulating to me than music while I run. I always get bored with playlists and after a few songs, I feel like I am watching the clock. It has also helped to have some sunshine ;) Swim team is starting to get busier. We just had our first meet 1.5 weeks ago and we will have one this weekend. The girls did great at the first one ... really cutting their times from the...

My 14 year old was so excited about this dance ... a Sadie Hawkin's dance where she had to ask one of the boys in her class to go. We DON'T do the boyfriend thing, so this was just a boy ;) We bought a new dress and shoes. I spent the afternoon before the dance doing her nails, hair, and makeup. She looked beautiful and I know she felt wonderful about the whole "look". After getting ready, I took her over to a friend's house to take photos and have a nice sit down dinner. A group of her friends were there and the lovely parents who hosted this did a nice job of getting the food (from Macaroni Grill ... we all chipped in). After the picture taking, I left where {e} and friends enjoyed a meal and then were brought to the dance (in the HS cafeteria) by her friend's parents. THIS IS WHERE THINGS WENT DOWNHILL. Other kids arrived at the dance DRUNK. Some kids were wildly dancing (grinding stuff). Some boys were sliding across floors with their ties around the...