Colder Weather

Well, it is actually feeling like a typical Florida winter after having pretty warm weather up until now. Greg said it's supposed to 25° Monday night. Brrr! I can't stand too much of that, but it is a nice change. I didn't get to wear any of my winter clothes last year because I was VERY pregnant or VERY post partum - LOL! I just had to come up with something to say to accompany this cute graphic!

I'm tired!

I don't know how my friends manage to post something to their blogs every day, lots of times with pictures. I don't even manage to take pictures once a week sometimes! I'm sitting here typing this, and I'm so tired! I still have lesson plans to write for next week. It has to get done tomorrow morning because I'm singing in church this weekend. That means leaving Saturday at 2:00 p.m. for a 3:00 p.m. rehearsal. After the two services, we'll eat dinner and hopefully be home around 9:00 p.m. We leave again at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning for 3 services. Usually, we're home by 2:00. But this week we're hosting a table for a membership class at church. We have to be back by 3:30, so we're not even coming home. Thankfully, our friends who live much closer to church often let us hang out at their house when we have a day like that. We should be home again around 8:00 p.m. Sunday night. So anything that isn't done before 2:00 pm tomorrow won't get done before Monday! On top of this, we are having the carpets clearned tomorrow morning. It was easier than trying to do school and stay off the carpets. I also have to make a big batch of Little League Beef Burgers to take to our friends' for lunch Sunday. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Where do I go to resign?

A "loopie" friend of mine had this blinkie on her blog and a list of thirteen things she loves about her children. Oooh, it is a challenge to think of those things some days! But I think it's a good exercise, so here are my top ten (in no particular order):
1. They love me just as I am and forgive me when I goof up.
2. They are SO funny!
3. They are smart, each in their unique way.
4. They are fun to be with (usually).
5. They (the 3 older ones) are so wonderful with their baby sister.
6. They all love to read!
7. They are so sweet with the preschoolers at church.
8. They are grateful for even the smallest gifts.
9. The boys always compliment my cooking.
10. They are gifts from God. What did I do to deserve them?

Happy 1st Birthday, Carys!

It's hard to believe my baby girl will be 1 tomorrow! Since Wednesday afternoon/evening are tied up with drum lessons and worship team practice, we decided to celebrate tonight. Carys had a good time with her cake.

Chase and Gerren did, too.

Since Carys is the 4th child and the 2nd girl, it was hard to come up with something to give her. We had gotten rid of our old wagon, though, since it was worn out. So, we got her a new one.

The big kids gave her a Little Mommy doll.

Carys actually squealed when she saw it.
She made Gerren and Chase spend the rest of the evening pulling her and the doll around the house in the wagon.

I straightened my hair!

I straightened my hair just to see what it looked like and freaked everyone out - especially Carys. She just stared and stared at me! Otherwise, everyone seemed to like it. Now, I'm stuck doing my hair every day instead of my wash-and-go style!

Melting Pot

Finally, I'm getting this pictures posted! We went to the Melting Pot with Greg's side of the family on 12/26 for our annual Christmas event. Here are some pics! First, my niece Rebekah had the difficult job of keeping all the kids straight with their fondue! She really earned her meal. Chase was so glad to have her home from college. Next is my incredibly handsome almost-14-yo, Landon. My nephew AJ is trying to get out of the picture in the background. Finally, Carys (also known as the "Grill Master" since she sat in front of the controls) thought the chocolate fondue was the best!

Back to Humanity!

Whew! Today is the first day that I am feeling slightly back to normal. Got an antibiotic at the walk-in clinic Tuesday, and it has helped. Now, I have SO much catching up to do before we start school on Friday. I promised Landon I'd take them to the Lego store at Downtown Disney while we were on break, but I don't see that happening. I told him we'll take an extra day off sometime soon and do it. I hope to get new pics downloaded today, so I'll update when I can!