Hello? Anyone there? Someone?

Well, for my own viewing pleasure, here's a quick flash back at the Holiday season.......

The season began appropriately enough with the church Christmas program. Sam had one of the major roles and he pulled it off quite well.

Christmas Day is spent at my brother's.
I think it's the first time in forever that my entire side of the family is in one picture.

Remember the days when you were so excited about the presents you received? It's kind of fun to watch the transformation as the kids become excited about what the OTHERS are receiving rather than themselves.



Besides giving gifts, the best part was just hanging out......

Sophie is always right there in the kitchen trying to soak up as much Martha -ness as she can from her big sister. I don't possess the Martha-gene. I don't even know what the tool that A2 is using is called. I'm sure Sophie does though.

Christmas tradition requires that at Auntie Tricia's we play charades.

It's really kind of cool to look back over the years and to see how much the kids have matured though the year (do you think that's fair to base maturity on their charading abilities? I think it's actually a pretty good indication. Maybe I'll expand on that in a future blog post).

New Year's we spent at Pokagen State Park enjoying the final celebration.

I remember the days when this toboggan run would have been the cat's meow. Now, I'm just glad the kids are old enough to go down without me.

This is much much bigger than the picture shows....trust me!

A4 was shocked to see how much her baby brother had grown since last we met.

Sam is now officially taller than all of his sisters.

It seems like just yesterday we were at Hilton Head for the wedding.......
It was great spending time with them over the New Year.


Sophie was able to express her true inner nature.

This is the real Sophie. (above)

I think this is pretend. (below)

Happy New Year Everyone!

Indulge Me by Allowing Me to Post Some Family Pictures....

I thought my sister, Carol, from May Dreams Garden would enjoy these pictures.

A2 will enjoy these pictures, I'm pretty sure...

These are for A1.

A4....here's to you, kid.

After all, today is your wedding day....

We know your happily ever after will be just that.....happily ever after.

The A girls

A1, A2, and A4...

All grown up.

I can't take credit for them. They're my step-daughters, I'm the evil stepmother (inside joke). But I love them, and I'm very proud of them. They are all beautiful young women, all successful in their chosen paths.

Seems like I just met them yesterday. They were young, single, in college or in high school.

Now, they are all grow up.

A1 and A2 are both married and have kids of their own.

And....A4 is getting married in just a few days time.

Aren't they a cute couple? She has met her Prince Charming.

And it's nice, because we like him, too.

He actually asked her father for his blessing before he proposed. Isn't that sweet? That was a year ago, New Year's Day.

3 days left.

Wonder what she's thinking about?

A Change of Scenery

From here.....

(Sighh....)

To here......

And here.....

To here...

Much, much better, don't you think?

Hummm...I wonder if Mom will let me take this as a souvenir

Mom??
NO! PUT IT BACK!

OK, Mom! I'll just take that home with us instead! Would that be OK?

Uh.. NO. THAT needs to stay right where it is.


BOYS.....they're just so....just soo... I don't know.....

AnotherTypical Day at the Zoo

In addition to homeschooling the kids, taking care of Prince Charming, and the zoo, and the garden, I work outside of the home part-time.

Friday was a work day.

I was in work mode. I was thinking of super-bugs like pseudomonas, mrsa, and diseases like HIV, tuberculosis...you know, fun stuff! Stuff that challenges my brain.

ring..ring...ring...

"Good-morning. Infection Control. This is Sherry. How may I help you?"

"Mom??"

This BETTER be good.

"MomVictoriahastapeonherhead."

What?

"Tape-on-her-head."

"Well, just pull it off."

"I can't. It's stuck."

"Well, take her into Grandma's room. Have her help you. I'm working right now. Bye."

ring...ring...ring...

"Good morning, Infection Control. This is Sherry. How may I help you?"

Prince Charming: "What's this about tape around Victoria's neck and Grandma calling 911?"

"WHAT?" That was NOT the same version I got.

I hung up and called home. I had pictured in my mind a little ball of duct-tape stuck to Victoria's head.

I wasn't thinking like this.......

Poor puppy.

Please. Do not call 911. (We'll be the laughing stock of the fire department).

Hello? My doggy has a role of duct tape around her neck. Ummm...could you come save her please? I could just see that 911 tape hitting the 6:00 news.

I hung up and called A2, who as luck would have it was out and about. A2 used to work at a real zoo, with real animals. Without hesitation she went into rescue mode and went to the house. (Thank you...thank you...thank you....)

Meanwhile, Grandma made her own call to the next door neighbor. The new neighbor. The one that hasn't even officially moved in yet. (They've been renovating the house next door for about 6 months now). The one who still lives across town. The wife called her husband, who was out and about and without hesitation went into rescue mode and went to our house. (Thank you...thank you....thank you.... oh, and by the way...Welcome to the neighborhood! He has now seen my house a pit, my mother and my children in their pajamas, and my dog with duct tape around her neck - yee haw).

The tools.
The spoils.
The Victory.


The Rescuer (one of them).


All's well that ends well.


Right Victoria? Now, stay away from duct tape and be good!