Friday, September 29, 2006

A Quiet Day at Home

It was wonderful waking up this morning when I wanted to...not having to worry about being up at the crack of dawn, running around to get a shower, get dressed, get my lunch together and then making the hour drive to work. I was still up at 5 though, my normal waking time, so I got up and bopped around the boards for a little bit then went back to bed. How nice that was! Guess it'll take a little while for my internal clock to readjust to not needing to be up that early. I was able to get a number of things done while logged in to work today although I am at a slight disadvantage since all my notes are at work. If I had planned this better I would have grabbed them before I left work on Tuesday. LOL Not to mention straightening up my desk. What a mess that was! When I work on a report I usually spread all the papers I'm using out on my desk so I can refer easily from one to the other. Sometimes when I leave in the evening, it's not worth putting them all back together in the folder just to pull them all back out in the morning. And that's exactly what I'd done when I left work Tuesday...left them spread out all over my desk. Luckily I have a nice coworker who straightened my desk of for me. =)

I made one short trip out of the house today to get the emissions test done on my car...thought I had another week to get it done but I was mistaken. While I was out, I also stopped by the post office to mail a mini rr and a finishers too piece since I couldn't hand deliver them while at Hershey like I had planned to today. I was able to talk to Jo Anna yesterday and it sounded like they were having a wonderful time up there...and buying lots of stitchy stuff.

A very nice friend brought dinner over for us tonight. How sweet was that? She wanted to do something for us after hearing about what's been going on with the munchkin. The dinner was a delicious noodle casserole and much to my DH's surprise, all the kids actually liked it. They usually grumble about sauce being on noodles...some like, some don't...but they all liked the dish tonight. There was also yummy rolls, applesauce, milk, butter and cookies. A complete meal. And there are even leftovers, so we have lunch for tomorrow. =)

Tomorrow is another milestone for our chickie eggs...they get to be taken out of their rockers in preparation of them hopefully starting to hatch on Monday. I recandled all the eggs so that we could try to remove any empty eggs. Wow, what a difference a week makes...most of the eggs are completely black now which should mean that there is a chickie in there. Even most of our questionable eggs are looking good. So the numbers now look like 17 with chickies in them and 5 that are empty. Now to wait and see how many of the 17 actually hatch.

I've also been getting some stitching in. I decided Tuesday night, while having all the contractions, that I needed something mindless to work on so I started Tanya's Halloween Gameboard Mystery Stitch A Long. I figured I could handle stitching a bunch of boxes in one color. LOL I'm almost done with the orange boxes...only two more rows to go then I can switch to the black ones.

Recently Read Books

Flight Lessons by Patricia Gaffney: Though Anna once adored her aunt Rose, that ended when she betrayed Anna and her mother — Rose's terminally ill sister — and Anna can't forgive or forget. Years later, her own heart broken, Anna returns home to Rose, and to the family restaurant, the Bella Sorella, now grown shabby with age. Anna is still reluctant to forgive Rose, insisting that her stay is temporary. But the intimacy of working with Rose to put the Bella Sorella back on its feet, and an unexpected chance at true love, bring about a change of heart.

The Covenant by Beverly Lewis
: This is the first book in the series of Abram's Daughters. Years of secrecy bind the tiny community of Gobbler's Knob together more than the present inhabitants know, and the Plain folk who farm the land rarely interact with the fancy locals. So when Sadie is beguiled by a dark-haired English boy, it is Sadie's younger sister, Leah, who suffers from her sister's shameful loss of innocence. And what of Leah's sweetheart, Jonas Mast, sent to Ohio under the Bishop's command? Drawn into an incomprehensible pact with her older sister, Leah finds her dreams spinning out of control, even as she clings desperately to the promises of God. The Covenant begins a powerful Lancaster portrait of the power of family and the miracle of hope.

The Betrayal by Beverly Lewis: Second book in the series of Abram’s Daughters. Spanning three generations, the Abram’s Daughters series paints a powerful family portrait of four Amish sisters growing up in Gobbler’s Knob, Lancaster County. Leah and her beloved Jonas are separated for half the year when he accepts a long-desired carpenter’s apprenticeship in Ohio. They are confident that by letter and heart-felt promises, their love is strong enough to survive the temporary separation. But never could they have foreseen the bitter test facing them and their families.

Home Song by Thomas Kinkaid and Katherine Spencer: Caught up in the responsibilities of her job and the incessant demands of her elderly mother, mayor Emily Warwick doesn't allow herself to dream. Then there's her younger sister Jessica, who's about to walk down the aisle with a man their mother despises. It doesn't help that Emily's still mourning the husband she lost and wondering what happened to the baby she gave up for adoption twenty years ago. Sometimes she thinks it would take a miracle to fill the hole in her heart. But miracles do happen in Cape Light. You just have to close your eyes--and believe in your dreams.

Book info from BarnesandNoble.com

Friday Feast #113 9/29/06

Appetizer
What is your favorite herb or spice?
Don't have one as I don't do the cooking. ;)

Soup
Name a song you like but haven't heard in a long time.
Hold Me Jesus by Rich Mullins

Salad
If you were to take just one minute to write down as many things as you can think of that you need (not want) to do, approximately how many things would there be?
There's only one thing that I can think of that I absolutely need to do. There are other things around the house that should be done but aren't a necessity and we could get by without doing them.

Main Course
Tell something interesting about one of your family members (nothing scandalous, please, just something unique).
My second oldest son hates bugs...any type of bug...even ants.

Dessert
What's the latest you've ever stayed awake?
Recently that would be 4:30am after getting up at 5:15 the morning before. Ended up in L&D case the munchkin was being ornary. ;)

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Thursday, September 28, 2006

SBQ - Mistake Breaks

Today's SBQ was suggested by Sharon and is:
When you find yourself making a lot of mistakes in various stitching
projects do you find it better to muddle your way through or do you
take a brief break from stitching? If you do take a break, how long do
you take?
Usually when I find myself making a lot of mistakes in a project it's better for me to put that project aside and pick up another to work on for awhile. I find that the more I try to muddle through, the more mistakes I make, especially if I'm making counting mistakes. Usually I'll have some goal in mind to get done on the piece I switched to...like finish the tree, or outline the houses, etc...before switching back to the piece that was giving be problems. But if I've finished that goal and I still feel like I'm frustrated with the initial piece, I will do some more work on another piece until that frustration passes. The only time I don't put a piece aside and will muddle through is if I've made a significant counting error that will cause me more time trying to remember what I did wrong. I know that will cause me way more frustration than muddling through to get the piece back to a spot where I can just pick it up again. I did this with my Mother's Bliss piece...had stitched a couple extra rows about 20 rows before I realized it. That ended up putting me off a couple of columns as well. There was no way I was ripping out all that stitching so I took the time to fudge it back past the point of where I'd made the error that way when I picked it back up again it was clear sailing for me. But other than that type of instance, I will just put it aside for awhile and work on something else.

No Baby Today

Nothing had changed from my appt yesterday so we are in a wait and see mode. I go back again on Tuesday and if there is still no change, I'll go back the following Tuesday. We're hoping to have her stay put for 2 more weeks so let's see if she'll cooperate. I got the okay from my boss today that I can work from home so that will relieve some of the stress of getting up early and making the hour drive to work. Hopefully that will help the munchkin stay put awhile longer.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

A Baby Tomorrow?

I'm not sure I'm really ready for that. We haven't done anything to prepare for this baby although Andy did grab the bassinette out the attic today after I called and said there was a possibility that we'd be having her tomorrow. Actually, I guess that's not true. We do have her room and clothes pretty well situated. Still need to get the crib in there but since she'll probably spend the first few months in the bassinette in our room there didn't seem to be much hurry to get Bekah out of crib just yet. We do need to wash the stuff that goes with the bassinette and the car seat covers since they've been stored in the attic for almost 2yrs.

This is all coming about because of the contractions I was having last night that sent me to Labor & Delivery around 10:30pm. Between my last drs visit two weeks ago and last night, I'd progressed from completely closed and long to 2-3cm and 40% effaced. At my 36wk drs appt today, I was now a good 3-4cm. So after discussing different options, it was decided that I would go into the office first thing in the morning to get rechecked. If I'm 4-5cm at that point, we'll go ahead and have her tomorrow otherwise I get to come home. We'd rather have her under controlled circumstances rather than chance an emergency situation. Because of where I live, it can be kind of tricky to get the hospital depending on the traffic situation and because this will be my 7th, once my water breaks the baby will probably arrive within 1-2hrs. We didn't want me to be caught at home in that situation and not be able to get the hospital...although I know Andy would have that swiss army knife and basket all ready for us. LOL

This has completely thrown a wrench into my plans for the weekend as I was planning on driving up to Hershey, PA on Friday and spending some time with my stitchy friends from the CrossStitchCrazy board. Those plans are now out the window even if I don't have the munchkin tomorrow. I was really looking forward to seeing everyone too. And it's also completely thrown off my training schedule at work but I'm guessing they'll survive.

So, I guess we just wait and see what happens in the morning and if you don't see any entries from me for a couple of days, you'll know I had the baby otherwise I'll be back tomorrow with an update.

Hospital Update

Just a quick update to let everyone know that I'm fine and back home from the hospital. Got to spend 5 hrs there last night...was a very long night. Other than a lot of contractions not much else was happening...they weren't making any changes to my cervix so that's good...currently at 2-3 cm and 40% effaced. I have a drs appt this afternoon so I'll let everyone know what happens then.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Stitching Today



I was a good girl and that's pretty much all I did today except for a few loads of laundry. As a result, I was able to get my Quaker Mystery Sampler all finished up. I decided after looking at the last part that it wouldn't take very long to get it done so I figured I'd just go ahead and finish it instead of switching to Mother's Bliss. Now to decide which of my other wips to replace this one with or if I'm going to start a new piece.

I candled a few eggs today just to see what Andy had seen the other day. Little chickies are definitely growing in some of them and it looks like some of 4 questionable eggs have chicks in them as well. We took a pic of one as it was being candled...go here if you'd like to see it. Only about a week to go before they should start hatching. Andy has made a friend with one of our border roosters...although we are thinking this one might actually be a hen. He sat on a chair in the pen today and one jumped up on his knee wanting his attention. He commented that he doesn't think he'd be able to eat this one, which is a good thing since it's not our chicken to eat. LOL

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Can't Move

I did way too much today and now I'm in serious pain. My lower back, hips and legs are really hurting...especially my left side. I decided to stay home today instead of going to watch the kids play soccer as the kitchen needed some cleaning. I was really only going to mop the floor but when I looked closer at the table, I decided it really needed a good cleaning. When I got done with that, I noticed that the chairs could use a good once over. When those were done...which was no small feat since there are 10 of them, I decided that the window sills and wall behind the table could use cleaning. Cleaned those and a few other corners of the walls, wiped down the refrigerator, compactor and dishwasher and then I finally got around to mopping the floor...about 2 hrs after I originally started out to do it. I swept and washed the floor, then swept the hallway and stairs. Unfortunately, I couldn't sweep up the dirt I'd swept up from the hallway and stairs as the dustpan was across the kitchen and the floor was still wet....not good planning on my part. So I left the piles figuring I would get them when the floor dried. I then decided our bathroom needed some cleaning so I got halfway done with that before I realized that I just couldn't do anymore. My back and legs were hurting so much I could barely move. And by this point, my kitchen was dry but I couldn't bend down to sweep up the dirt into the dustpan...I hurt too bad. Thankfully Alex did that when he got back from the field.

So, I decided now was a good time to sit down and take it easy. I pulled out Quaker Mystery Sampler and was able to get Part 5 finished up. The colors are a little messed up in the pic but I didn't feel like fooling with it tonight. Only one more part to go...the alphabet at the top which shouldn't take too long to do. I'm going to switch back to working on Mother's Bliss for awhile, though, and then I'll come back to the sampler although I might through a mini rr in between to work on.

Other than that, it was a quiet day. You might want to check on me tomorrow to see if I'm able to move. I have grand plans of cleaning the boys bathroom and doing laundry but we'll see if I can even get out of bed in the morning. ;)

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt Theme: Eyes

Doesn't she have beautiful eyes? This is a picture that my DH took of our youngest daughter last year as she was hanging out beside the pool watching her siblings swim.

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Friday, September 22, 2006

Friday Feast #112 9/22/06

Appetizer
Measured in minutes or hours, how much exercise have you had in the last week?
LOL That's easy...none. Being 35wks pregnant leaves me no energy for any type of exercise after working all day.

Soup
If you had to change your blog title to something else, what would it be?
Mass Chaos although I much prefer my current one of An Abundance of Blessings. ;)

Salad
Name one television show you watched when you were 9-12 years old.
Happy Days

Main Course
If someone gave you $50 to spend with the one condition that it had to be educational, what would you purchase?
My kids love to do experiments...like making crystals grow, or watching what happens when you mix two chemicals together...so I would get something along those lines...like The Young Scientists Club Set.

Dessert
Do you tend to prefer dark colors, neutral shades, or lighter/pastel hues?
Depends on what the colors are for...for decorating, I like more neutral shades. For wearing, I like lighter colors but seem to always end up wearing darker colors...don't ask me why. LOL

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Thursday, September 21, 2006

The Observer

I got this test from Stitching Angel Solitude's blog. I don't even want to admit how accurate it is. LOL Thanks Velda! ;)

"I need to understand the world"

Observers have a need for knowledge and are introverted, curious, analytical, and insightful.

How to Get Along with Me

  • Be independent, not clingy.
  • Speak in a straightforward and brief manner.
  • I need time alone to process my feelings and thoughts.
  • Remember that If I seem aloof, distant, or arrogant, it may be that I am feeling uncomfortable.
  • Make me feel welcome, but not too intensely, or I might doubt your sincerity.
  • If I become irritated when I have to repeat things, it may be because it was such an effort to get my thoughts out in the first place.
  • don't come on like a bulldozer.
  • Help me to avoid my pet peeves: big parties, other people's loud music, overdone emotions, and intrusions on my privacy.

What I Like About Being a Five

  • standing back and viewing life objectively
  • coming to a thorough understanding; perceiving causes and effects
  • my sense of integrity: doing what I think is right and not being influenced by social pressure
  • not being caught up in material possessions and status
  • being calm in a crisis

What's Hard About Being a Five

  • being slow to put my knowledge and insights out in the world
  • feeling bad when I act defensive or like a know-it-all
  • being pressured to be with people when I don't want to be
  • watching others with better social skills, but less intelligence or technical skill, do better professionally

Fives as Children Often

  • spend a lot of time alone reading, making collections, and so on
  • have a few special friends rather than many
  • are very bright and curious and do well in school
  • have independent minds and often question their parents and teachers
  • watch events from a detached point of view, gathering information
  • assume a poker face in order not to look afraid
  • are sensitive; avoid interpersonal conflict
  • feel intruded upon and controlled and/or ignored and neglected

Fives as Parents

  • are often kind, perceptive, and devoted
  • are sometimes authoritarian and demanding
  • may expect more intellectual achievement than is developmentally appropriate
  • may be intolerant of their children expressing strong emotions

SBQ - Stitching Statistics

This week's SBQ was suggested by Elizabeth and is:
How many pieces have you stitched? Out of these, how many have been
for you? How many have had specialty stitches or other techniques
besides cross stitch?
Oh gosh...how many pieces have I stitched? That's a toughie as I've been stitching for 25+ years. Doing a quick tally from my webshots album that shows my stitching for the last 5yrs, I've stitched ~170 pieces. This counts individual pieces, as well as, round robins and square exchanges. Most of them don't have specialty stitches although I'm not sure why as I love stitching specialty stitches. The one I like the best that has specialty stitches is a Shepherd's Bush piece that I can't seem to find a pic of in my album. Hmm, wonder where it got to. You can see my stitched pieces for the last several years here.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Guardian Kitty

I took this picture of Bekah the other night. She was restless after going to bed so I went in to check on her and found the kitty keeping her company. Of course, I knew right then and there that she wasn't feeling well because the kitty can always be found curled up next to the person that's sick. Sure enough, that was confirmed about 1:30 that morning when Bekah was up again with an upset tummy. Thankfully Andy got up and took care of her. It must have just been one of those short lived bugs or possibly something she ate cause she was feeling better in the morning. When I checked on her the next night, the kitty was sleeping on her dresser so I guess Bekah was better but not quite well enough for the kitty to leave completely. LOL

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Egg Update

Just a quick update on the chickie eggs. The eggs have now been incubating for 6 days, so last night we did our first try at candling the eggs to see what's going on inside of them. It looks like we have 10 that have embryos, 4 that are infertile, 2 that are bad, 4 possibles and 4 that we aren't sure of yet. Will be interesting to see what we end up with.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Soccer and Stitching

Not done at the same time this weekend, though. =) All the kids had soccer games this weekend, 2 of which were at 8am which is just too darn early for me on a weekend so I missed those two, but I did make it to the 10 and 11am games. All the kids had great games even though it was a drizzly cool day. Maybe it should rain on them all the time...seemed to really motivate them. Alex also ref'd two games this weekend so he was happy. I did find out that walking back and forth across the fields a number of times is getting harder and harder for me. Doesn't seem to take much effort on my part to make me really tired or my back and legs hurt.

Stitchingwise, I was able to finish up my part on a Finisher's Too piece. I stitched the Inn pictured here although it was touch and go there for a while on whether I would actually get it finished or toss it out the window because the frog would not leave me alone. I can't remember the last time I had this much trouble stitching on a piece. Hmm, maybe I should have feed that froggie to the baby turtle that Kenzie found Saturday. Next up to work on is Quaker Mystery Sampler. Hopefully I'll be able to finish up Part 5 before my next obligation stitching pieces show up. =) Somehow, I seemed to have formed a rotation without really trying to but I'm not going to question it as it seems to be working. I rotate between Mother's Bliss and Quaker Mystery Sampler and then throw in the Mini rr and Finisher's Too pieces when they arrive. I have other WIP's but I'm only concentrating on two right now with the hopes that I can actually get them finished here soon. When one gets done, I'll add another WIP in it's place.

Whew, it's going to be a long 5 wks. That's how much time is left before the little arrives and I'm starting to get very cranky and I have absolutely no patience. Baby is poking under my ribs and my hips really hurt so it's hard to get up and down which makes it near impossible to keep up with Bekah as she won't stay in any one place for more than a few seconds. Soon enough it'll all be over and we'll have little Kearsyn home with us...let's just hope my family survives me til that time. ;) I added a pic of what I look like now to my last appt post.

On a humorous note, Andy was laughing at me today and saying that I was really getting into being a pioneer woman. He was referring to the hanging of clothes outside on the clothes line. This morning when I did it, I hung them on the end of the line where the sun was hitting...by the afternoon when I went out to hang some more, the sun was on the opposite end of the line, so that's where I hung the clothes. Made sense to me...if they are in the sun, they'll dry quicker, right? He seemed to find it quite funny, though.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt Theme: Lookin' Up

When we looked up, we saw this crazy looking contraption flying over the river as we were walking along it one day.

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Friday, September 15, 2006

BlueBird Blogs Free Blog Design Contest


The kind designer over at BlueBird blogs is offering a free blog design to 2 lucky winners of her Fall Into a Free Blog Design contest. She's offering this as a way to help celebrate her love for autumn. Please be sure to check out this wonderful opportunity.

Friday Feast #111 9/15/06

Appetizer
What was the very last song you listened to?
Broken and Beautiful by Mark Schultz

Soup
What is one company/store/corporation you would recommend that people stay away from?
Gosh, I can't think of any even though I know there are some. I think once I decide I don't like something I put it so totally out of my mind that I can't recall it until I either see or hear the name.

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy having your picture made?
3, hate having my picture taken although I have gotten better about it over the years.

Main
Course Besides a bookmark, what is something you've used to keep your place in a book?
I think I have used just about anything as a bookmark...tissue (unused of course), paperclip, envelope, thread, etc. You name it and I've probably used it. LOL

Dessert
Name a food that you like that most people don't.
Probably nothing as I'm a very picky eater. The only thing that comes to mind is tapioca pudding made with lots of fluffy eggwhites.

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Thursday, September 14, 2006

Play Ball!

Kenzie had her first softball practice today and judging from the big grin she had on her face when she got home, I'm thinking she had a good time. She was talking about the different games they played and how she won the first one, about the different skills they practiced...batting, fielding, throwing. I do believe she's looking forward to her next practice. I also think she mentioned something about possibly doing tournaments in October but maybe I just misheard that. ;)

I had my 34wk appt today. Everything is going well although I did gain 10lbs since my last appt 5 wks ago. That makes a total of 35lbs so far this pregnancy with 6 wks to go. Forgot to check what my blood pressure was but I'm assuming it was normal since they didn't mention it...we were yapping about the traffic and the rain at the time so I forgot to look. Had the strep B test done today and he checked the cervix out while there...nothing going on, still closed and thick so all the contractions I've been having haven't been productive. Not sure if I'm happy or sad about that. LOL Of course I'm happy...the little munchkin isn't ready to come out yet...she still needs to cook a little longer.

Alex and Connor had their first 4-H meeting tonight. That was a surprise to me when their ride showed up at the door to pick them up and I didn't know what was going on. It was slightly chaotic tonight with me trying to get home from my drs appt and getting stuck in traffic caused by and overturned tractor trailer, Andy trying to leave to get Kenzie to her practice on time and trying to fit dinner in there which I still don't think was fair at all that we got blecky ole frozen pizza while Andy and Kenzie got to stop at McD's on the way to practice. ;) After Alex and Connor have left, I get a phone from Andy asking that I make sure that someone puts the chickens away for the night. Hmm, wonder who that someone was going to be since all the older kiddos were gone. What a sight I must have made chasing chickens around their pen trying to shoo them through the doorway into the coop. I'd get a couple through the door, go and try to shoo more that direction and the couple that had gone in were now coming back out. I finally got them all in but it was no easy task, let me tell you. Andy was laughing and was saying how he'd have liked to have seen me doing that with my big belly. I didn't find that amusing in the slightest. Hmmpphff! Actually, it was pretty funny, especially if you picture me doing that in the rain. LOL

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Mini RR

I was able to finish up Jo Anna's snowman mini rr last night. It was fairly easy to stitch although it had a ton of half stitches and lots of backstitching. Thankfully I enjoy backstitching. :) I did the September snowman...the one on the far right. These little guys are from a pattern called Happy Everything. It's adorable.

I'm now going to start working on Robin's Finishers Too piece. It's some kind of cabins, I believe, although the name of the pattern is escaping me right now.

I went to library yesterday after voting and picked up some more books. I'm really enjoying reading again and gives me a nice break when I get tired of stitching. And, since I can't move around and play with the kiddos as much right now, it gives me something to take outside so I can still be with them. I can sit on the swing and read while the kids run around and play.

Tonight was the mandatory parents meeting for Connor and Kenzie's chorale. That meant I got to leave work early to get there in time which was okay with me as I was very tired by that point. They talked about all the normal stuff...when the concerts were, what fund raising needed to be done, volunteers that would be needed during the course of the year, etc. This year there are a ton of new kids so that's wonderful. It was pretty sparse last year. The director of the chorale announced that this would be her last year and they've brought in an assistant to work with her throughout this season in preparation of him taking over next year. Connor really liked him which is good. The verdict is still out with Kenzie. LOL We'll be doing a fund raising spagetti dinner next month, 10/14, that we had to sign up to either work at or bring cakes to. I opted for the cakes but lets hope this munchkin doesn't decide to come early otherwise I'll forget all about the cakes. LOL This dinner made quite a bit of money for the chorale last year and it was fairly easy to put on. It sounds like the Festival for this season (scheduled for March 07) is going to be back in Frederick again. That's where it was last season. This is where 4 choirs from around the state get together and practice for a day and then put on a combined choir in the evening. I missed the one they did this past March due to morning sickness. Not sure I'll be able to make this next either due to the baby. Looks like hubby might get to make that treck again. ;)

Recently Read Books

A Quilter's Legacy by Jennifer Chiaverini: When precious heirloom quilts hand-stitched by her mother turn up missing from the attic of Elm Creek Manor, Sylvia Bergstrom Compson resolves to find them. From scant resources -- journal entries, receipts, and her own fading memories -- she pieces together clues, then queries quilting friends from around the world. When dozens of leads arrive via the Internet, Sylvia and her fiancé, Andrew, embark on a nationwide investigation of antiques shops and quilt museums.

Sylvia's quest leads her to unexpected places, where offers of assistance are not always what they seem. As the search continues, revelations surface about her mother, Eleanor Lockwood, who died in 1930, when Sylvia was only a child. Burdened with poor health and distant parents, Eleanor Lockwood defied her family by marrying for love. Far from her Manhattan home, she embraced her new life among the Bergstroms -- but although warmth and affection surrounded Eleanor at last, the Bergstroms could not escape the tragedies of their times.

The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney: For ten years, Emma, Rudy, Lee, and Isabel have shared a deep affection that has helped them deal with husbands, lovers, careers, children—the ebb and flow of expectations and disappointments common to us all. Calling themselves the Saving Graces, the quartet is united by understanding, honesty, and acceptance—a connection that has grown stronger as the years go by...

Though these sisters of the heart and soul have seen it all, talked through it all, they will not be prepared for a crisis of astounding proportions that will put their love, loyalty, and courage to the ultimate test.

Book info from BarnesandNoble.com

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Voting Day

Today is the State Primary election. I like voting but I have to say that I hate the mob scene that all the campaign workers create as you are trying to get into the polls to vote. I view it as a kind of harassment. As I was turning into the parking lot, I had a guy in a ridiculous looking foam cowboy hat try to jump in front of my car while waving pamphlets at me. I would hope that I would already know who I am going to vote for prior to arriving at the polls which means that I have no use for all these ridiculous pamphlets that they try to shove at you on the way in. In fact, I go out of my way to avoid these people. I always try to park as far on the outskirts as possible and always try to go in the backdoor of the polling place since there is usually restriction on how close to the doors the campaign workers can be. But you still have to navigate through them and trying to dodge people running at you with papers while trying to avoid the cars coming in and out of parking spaces is ridiculous. Okay, that's my little rant on voting. Can't promise not to have another one when the General Election comes around. ;)

As a side note, they did an excellent job once I got inside the polling place. I was in and out in about 5 minutes....check in process went smoothly and the new machines worked great.

CWO - In "Other" Words 9/12/06



"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too?I thought I was the only one!"~ C.S. Lewis ~


I thought about this quote all weekend and couldn’t figure out what to say. This is what came to me this morning…hopefully it’s on the right track.

Friendships start in the smallest of ways. Like the child on his first day of school discovering that his new classmate shares his love for peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches. Or the guy that discovers his coworker enjoys gly fishing while chatting prior to a meeting. Or the woman on the train that discovers that the passenger next to her loves to cross stitch when they pull out their projects at the same time. From this small beginning, friendships will grow and flourish. For some reason this reminds me of the mustard seed…If God can grow such giant trees by planting tiny mustard seeds, imagine what His love can do when God plants faith in you and me. Just like those friendships began, our “friendship” with Christ begins with that first step…a word you hear or a small piece of scripture you come across which makes you want to learn more. As you learn more, you start to build upon that initial foundation and it becomes stronger and more durable…just like those friendships…they continue to grow and become stronger over time as you learn more about the person. May we all continue to let our love for Christ grow stronger and deeper everyday.

Monday, September 11, 2006

We Have Chicken Eggs

24 chicken eggs to be exact. They are snug and toasty in their incubator as you can see in the pic. Thankfully the incubator has an automatic egg turner so we don't have to worry about turning them every few hours throughout the day. Just have to keep an eye on the temp and the humidity levels. We should know in about 2 1/2wks or so how many chickies we'll get out of the bunch. I'll keep you updated. :)

Kenzie's softball coach called today and said that their first practice is on Thursday. At least we only have to go to Easton for this practice and not their indoor facility in Trappe...saves about a 1/2hr driving time. Andy's going to take her this time so he can meet the coach since he had to miss the tryouts. I told him in no way was he to get roped into helping coach this team. We'll see how that goes. LOL

5 Years Ago Today

September 11, 2001 started out like any other workday. I got up, made the 1 hr drive to the office building I worked at in downtown Washington DC like I do every workday. The building I worked in then was located on 12th and D street which is very close to the 14th street bridge which takes you across the river to Virginia. The Pentagon is located directly across the river from the building I worked in.

I remember that I was working on a report when a coworker came in to tell me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I remember thinking...wow, what a terrible accident. How could a pilot run into one of those towers, they are huge. I was thinking at the time that is was just a small plane, like a Cessna. It wasn't much later that she came back in to tell me that a second plane had hit the WTC. It only took a split second then to realize that this was no accident and that this was no small plane that had hit the first tower although I still didn't comprehend the whole scope of what was happening or about to happen. I honestly can't remember when I first heard about the plane hitting the Pentagon...could have been from that same coworker, could have been my hubby but I do distinctly remember getting a frantic call from my mom telling me to get out of DC as there were reports that there were more planes targeted to hit other landmarks in DC, possibly the White House and the Capitol. And I remember being so shocked to hear that the towers had actually fallen. I just couldn't comprehend how something that big could just totally collapse...I still can't.

Around 11am they shut our building down which somewhat surprised me because there really wasn't anywhere for us to go. Like I said, we worked right across the river from the Pentagon so of course the 14th street bridge was a nightmare for anyone trying to get into Virginia. I found out later that we closed down because all federal gov't offices were evacuated at 10:45. Our building was also located down the street from the Capitol. Because of all the uncertainty about the next potential target, they had numerous road closures in place which meant you couldn't get anywhere near the Capitol which was my normal route home. I decided to wait outside our building for awhile until the traffic cleared up some...I was there for probably an hour and during that time it was pretty much impossible to make a cell phone call as all the lines were tied up. While waiting for the traffic to die down, I walked across the street and could look over the river at the smoke billowing out of the Pentagon but from where I was standing, I couldn't tell how bad the damage was as the plane had hit on the opposite side. There were numerous helicopters flying around. National Guard units were marching/running down the street past our street heading for the 14th street bridge. I've never before seen fully armed uniformed guardsmen running down the street of DC. I remember feeling very detached because once we were out of our building, we couldn't get any news updates...at least inside we had our radios or the internet. Outside we had nothing to let us know what was going on or if there had been anymore attacks. I remember the friendliness of the people that were milling around...some were coworkers, some were strangers, but we were all brought together by the tragedy that was going on around us and we bonded during that time. I remember finally sitting down on the sidewalk next to a car that had it's doors open and radio on and was able to get some more info on what was happening.

About an hour after our building closed, I decided to see if I could get out of the city. While I hit numerous road closures along the way, it wasn't nearly as bad as what I expected it to be...probably because I was heading away from the Pentagon and once I cleared the closures around the Capital, it was pretty much a normal trip home. There was some concern about them shutting down the bridges in our area which would have been bad for me since I have to cross a 4+ mile to get home and that's pretty much the only way for me to get home. Thankfully concerns/rumors weren't true and I made it home without incident.

Once home, I had my first chance to see video coverage of what was happening and it was way worse than just hearing reports over the radio. Same events but there is something about pictures to put it into perspective. I remember DH and I talking about whether to let the kids see what was happening...the oldest two were 8 and 5. We decided it was better for them to see it with us so we could try and explain how some people in the world could do something like that than to hear about it from friends or teachers and wonder what was going on. I drove by the Pentagon a few days after the attack and was astonished at the amount of damage that was done. That's one of those buildings that you perserve as being indestructable and to see it with a big gaping hole and burn marks all around was unnerving. It took a long time afterwards for the city to get back to a sense of normalcy, although I don't believe it really has because there is no way we can go back to the way we were in the pre 9/11 days.

The most dramatic difference I noticed right after 9/11 was the lack of planes in the air. At home, we live close to a small airport so planes are always buzzing around overhead. It was quite strange to not hear anything in the air. At work, our building in the flight path for Reagan National Airport and there were no planes flying out of there for awhile either. Quite strange. And then when they did start air traffic again everyone was nervous whenever they heard a plane fly by because no one was quite sure where it was going to go.

The other thing I noticed right afterwards was all the American flags the sprang up everywhere...on overpasses, peoples cars. What an awesome sight that was. And to this day, there are still many flags on the overpasses.

To add your own thoughts or read those of others head on over to Shannon's.
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I found this timeline on a CNN webpage that shows a chronology of the events that took place that day. It still amazes how quickly the two Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the Pennsylvannia place crashes all took place.

September 11: Chronology of terror

September 12, 2001 Posted: 12:27 PM EDT (1627 GMT)

8:45 a.m. (all times are EDT): A hijacked passenger jet, American Airlines Flight 11 out of Boston, Massachusetts, crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center, tearing a gaping hole in the building and setting it afire.

Plane hits WTC
Plane hits WTC.

9:03 a.m.: A second hijacked airliner, United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston, crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes. Both buildings are burning.

9:17 a.m.: The Federal Aviation Administration shuts down all New York City area airports.

9:21 a.m.: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey orders all bridges and tunnels in the New York area closed.

9:30 a.m.: President Bush, speaking in Sarasota, Florida, says the country has suffered an "apparent terrorist attack."

9:40 a.m.: The FAA halts all flight operations at U.S. airports, the first time in U.S. history that air traffic nationwide has been halted.

9:43 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon, sending up a huge plume of smoke. Evacuation begins immediately.

9:45 a.m.: The White House evacuates.

9:57 a.m.: Bush departs from Florida.

10:05 a.m.: The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses, plummeting into the streets below. A massive cloud of dust and debris forms and slowly drifts away from the building.

Pentagon burns
Pentagon burns.

10:08 a.m.: Secret Service agents armed with automatic rifles are deployed into Lafayette Park across from the White House.

10:10 a.m.: A portion of the Pentagon collapses.

10:10 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 93, also hijacked, crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh.

10:13 a.m.: The United Nations building evacuates, including 4,700 people from the headquarters building and 7,000 total from UNICEF and U.N. development programs.

10:22 a.m.: In Washington, the State and Justice departments are evacuated, along with the World Bank.

10:24 a.m.: The FAA reports that all inbound transatlantic aircraft flying into the United States are being diverted to Canada.

Crash scene in Penn.
Pennsylvania crash scene

10:28 a.m.: The World Trade Center's north tower collapses from the top down as if it were being peeled apart, releasing a tremendous cloud of debris and smoke.

10:45 a.m.: All federal office buildings in Washington are evacuated.

10.46 a.m.: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell cuts short his trip to Latin America to return to the United States.

First tower collapes
First tower falls.

10.48 a.m.: Police confirm the plane crash in Pennsylvania.

10:53 a.m.: New York's primary elections, scheduled for Tuesday, are postponed.

10:54 a.m.: Israel evacuates all diplomatic missions.

10:57 a.m.: New York Gov. George Pataki says all state government offices are closed.

11:02 a.m.: New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay at home and orders an evacuation of the area south of Canal Street.

11:16 a.m.: CNN reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing emergency-response teams in a precautionary move.

11:18 a.m.: American Airlines reports it has lost two aircraft. American Flight 11, a Boeing 767 flying from Boston to Los Angeles, had 81 passengers and 11 crew aboard. Flight 77, a Boeing 757 en route from Washington's Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles, had 58 passengers and six crew members aboard. Flight 11 slammed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Flight 77 hit the Pentagon.

11:26 a.m.: United Airlines reports that United Flight 93, en route from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California, has crashed in Pennsylvania. The airline also says that it is "deeply concerned" about United Flight 175.

11:59 a.m.: United Airlines confirms that Flight 175, from Boston to Los Angeles, has crashed with 56 passengers and nine crew members aboard. It hit the World Trade Center's south tower.

12:04 p.m.: Los Angeles International Airport, the destination of three of the crashed airplanes, is evacuated.

12:15 p.m: San Francisco International Airport is evacuated and shut down. The airport was the destination of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.

Second tower falls
Second tower falls.

12:15 p.m.: The Immigration and Naturalization Service says U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico are on the highest state of alert, but no decision has been made about closing borders.

12:30 p.m.: The FAA says 50 flights are in U.S. airspace, but none are reporting any problems.

1:04 p.m.: Bush, speaking from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, says that all appropriate security measures are being taken, including putting the U.S. military on high alert worldwide. He asks for prayers for those killed or wounded in the attacks and says, "Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

1:27 p.m.: A state of emergency is declared by the city of Washington.

1:44 p.m.: The Pentagon says five warships and two aircraft carriers will leave the U.S. Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia, to protect the East Coast from further attack and to reduce the number of ships in port. The two carriers, the USS George Washington and the USS John F. Kennedy, are headed for the New York coast. The other ships headed to sea are frigates and guided missile destroyers capable of shooting down aircraft.

1:48 p.m.: Bush leaves Barksdale Air Force Base aboard Air Force One and flies to an Air Force base in Nebraska.

Bush:
Bush: "Attacks cowardly."

2 p.m.: Senior FBI sources tell CNN they are working on the assumption that the four airplanes that crashed were hijacked as part of a terrorist attack.

2:30 p.m.: The FAA announces there will be no U.S. commercial air traffic until noon EDT Wednesday at the earliest.

2:49 p.m.: At a news conference, Giuliani says that subway and bus service are partially restored in New York City. Asked about the number of people killed, Giuliani says, "I don't think we want to speculate about that -- more than any of us can bear."

3:55 p.m.: Karen Hughes, a White House counselor, says the president is at an undisclosed location, later revealed to be Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, and is conducting a National Security Council meeting by phone. Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice are in a secure facility at the White House. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is at the Pentagon.

3:55 p.m.: Giuliani now says the number of critically injured in New York City is up to 200 with 2,100 total injuries reported.

4 p.m: CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor reports that U.S. officials say there are "good indications" that Saudi militant Osama bin Laden, suspected of coordinating the bombings of two U.S. embassies in 1998, is involved in the attacks, based on "new and specific" information developed since the attacks.

4:06 p.m.: California Gov. Gray Davis dispatches urban search-and-rescue teams to New York.

4:10 p.m.: Building 7 of the World Trade Center complex is reported on fire.

NYC Mayor Giuliani
New York Mayor Giuliani

4:20 p.m.: U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says he was "not surprised there was an attack (but) was surprised at the specificity." He says he was "shocked at what actually happened -- the extent of it."

4:25 p.m.: The American Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange say they will remain closed Wednesday.

4:30 p.m.: The president leaves Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska aboard Air Force One to return to Washington.

5:15 p.m.: CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports fires are still burning in part of the Pentagon. No death figures have been released yet.

5:20 p.m.: The 47-story Building 7 of the World Trade Center complex collapses. The evacuated building is damaged when the twin towers across the street collapse earlier in the day. Other nearby buildings in the area remain ablaze.

5:30 p.m.: CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King reports that U.S. officials say the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania could have been headed for one of three possible targets: Camp David, the White House or the U.S. Capitol building.

6 p.m.: Explosions are heard in Kabul, Afghanistan, hours after terrorist attacks targeted financial and military centers in the United States. The attacks occurred at 2:30 a.m. local time. Afghanistan is believed to be where bin Laden, who U.S. officials say is possibly behind Tuesday's deadly attacks, is located. U.S. officials say later that the United States had no involvement in the incident whatsoever. The attack is credited to the Northern Alliance, a group fighting the Taliban in the country's ongoing civil war.

6:10 p.m.:Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay home Wednesday if they can.

Stunned onlookers
Stunned onlookers

6:40 p.m.: Rumsfeld, the U.S. defense secretary, holds a news conference in the Pentagon, noting the building is operational. "It will be in business tomorrow," he says.

6:54 p.m.: Bush arrives back at the White House aboard Marine One and is scheduled to address the nation at 8:30 p.m. The president earlier landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland with a three-fighter jet escort. CNN's John King reports Laura Bush arrived earlier by motorcade from a "secure location."

7:17 p.m.: U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft says the FBI is setting up a Web site for tips on the attacks: www.ifccfbi.gov. He also says family and friends of possible victims can leave contact information at 800-331-0075.

7:02 p.m.: CNN's Paula Zahn reports the Marriott Hotel near the World Trade Center is on the verge of collapse and says some New York bridges are now open to outbound traffic.

WTC devastation
WTC devastation

7:45 p.m.: The New York Police Department says that at least 78 officers are missing. The city also says that as many as half of the first 400 firefighters on the scene were killed.

8:30 p.m.: President Bush addresses the nation, saying "thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil" and asks for prayers for the families and friends of Tuesday's victims. "These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve," he says. The president says the U.S. government will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed the acts and those who harbor them. He adds that government offices in Washington are reopening for essential personnel Tuesday night and for all workers Wednesday.

9:22 p.m.: CNN's McIntyre reports the fire at the Pentagon is still burning and is considered contained but not under control.

9:57 p.m.: Giuliani says New York City schools will be closed Wednesday and no more volunteers are needed for Tuesday evening's rescue efforts. He says there is hope that there are still people alive in rubble. He also says that power is out on the westside of Manhattan and that health department tests show there are no airborne chemical agents about which to worry.

10:49 p.m.: CNN Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl reports that Attorney General Ashcroft told members of Congress that there were three to five hijackers on each plane armed only with knives.

10:56 p.m: CNN's Zahn reports that New York City police believe there are people alive in buildings near the World Trade Center.

11:54 p.m.: CNN Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno reports that a government official told him there was an open microphone on one of the hijacked planes and that sounds of discussion and "duress" were heard. Sesno also reports a source says law enforcement has "credible" information and leads and is confident about the investigation.

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To add your own thoughts or read those of others head on over to Shannon's.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Self Inflicted Black Eye??


About a week ago, Kenzie and a friend were down by the river tossing sticks into it. Somehow Kenzie managed to throw a stick that ended up hitting on the side of her face by her eye. The bruise has been getting a little bit darker each day and this is what she looks like now.

Birthday Celebration

We went to my parents house today to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday which was Friday. My sister and her husband came over along with my aunt, her husband and daughter; 3 of mom & dad's friends that have been friends of the family forever and a cowork of mom's and her husband. It was a beautiful day to sit outside and eat crabs, potato salad, macaroni salad, deviled eggs, chips, dip, hot dogs and whatever else might have been around. It did get hot later in the afternoon but as long as there was a breeze blowing and you were under an umbrella it wasn't too bad. We had some yummy cake and ice cream afterwards...what's a birthday without those, right? The boys of group watched the Ravens play...they won, yay!...while the girls sat around and talked. All in all it was a good day.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

First Official Soccer Games of the Season

Everyone except for Alex had their first official game of the season today. They've been practicing since the beginning of August and have been doing scrimmages during the week for the past couple of weeks but today was when it really began. Connor's team was the first one to play and they got creamed...much different than the scrimmage that they played last night. On a good note, though, Connor scored the first and only goal of the game. Yay Connor! After his game, Kenzie, Bekah, Connor and I went to watch Alex referee his very first soccer game while Andy went to go coach the twins game. After a slight delay due to one of the teams not having enough players, the Alex's ref game got underway. They decided to play shorter halves than normal since the teams didn't have subs. Alex did a great job although we did tease him that we thought he ran too much. Most of the refs tend to stand in one spot and think they can make calls without being where the action is. He knew we were kidding. :) At halftime, I left to go watch the second half of the twins game while Andy came over to watch the second half of Alex's ref'ing. I was very impressed with how agressive the twins were. They thought nothing of getting into the mix and fighting for the ball...they knew how to play their positions which helped that they were where they were supposed to be when the ball would pop out for the other kids that were bunched up together. It was great fun to watch them and they had a terrific time playing even though their team as a whole didn't do well. Afterwards, we all regrouped and got something to eat at the concession stand, then I went home while Andy stayed to coach Kenzie's game and Alex went off with friends to go crabbing. I was hot and tired at that point and Bekah needed of nap so I thought it was best for us to leave. Of course, Ty had to stay for the game...he is always where daddy is. ;) Kenzie's team did great which was a complete turn around from the way their scrimmages had been going. Wouldn't you know it, the one I miss is the one team that actually wins. Doesn't it always work that way? LOL

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt Theme: Food

This little guy is going to make a nice dinner come December. Probably not what was expected for this weeks photo theme but I think it works. LOL ;)

PSHunt
Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.
Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Friday Feast #110 - 9/8/06

Appetizer
Name 3 things that you are wearing today.
Khaki maternity pants, Cream & Mauve flowered maternity shirt & a hair clip.

Soup
Who was the last person you hugged?
My 6 year old son Taylor.

Salad
What do you like to order from your favorite fast food place?
Cheeseburger with fries and a shake.

Main Course
What time of day do you usually feel most energized?
Mid afternoon, it usually takes me awhile to wake up.

Dessert
Using the letters in your first name, write a sentence. (Example: Sweet unusual spaniels are nice.)
Very interest classes keep inspiring.

Click here to join the Friday Feast

And Then There Were Eight?

When I went to bed last night there were 3 roosters in our chicken coop. I'm assuming that when I left for work this morning there were still 3 roosters in the coop. I can't actually confirm that as I didn't check this morning. The above pic is what I came home to this afternoon...8 roosters! Now how exactly did that happen??? My hubby helpfully told me that they arrived in boxes. Hmm, guess they heard we had a new coop with lots of space and they decided to stop by and try it out. LOL ;) They seem to be enjoying their new space...they have a lot more room here than they did in their old space. They love to run outside eating up whatever bugs they can catch. I think the variety of colors is pretty cool. I've heard a rumor that we will be getting an incubator for eggs tonight. Don't think the eggs are coming yet although there are now two sets of friends collecting eggs for us...one currently has 14 set aside, not sure how many we'll be getting from the other. I'm beginning to wonder exactly what I've let myself be talked into. LOL

Here's a pic of what Mother's Bliss looks like as of last night. I've gotten most of the dark green done...only smaller patches left to do right in the middle and the second ribbon and then I think the bottom part of her dress is done. Yay! She's going to get put aside for awhile now while I work on a snowman rr. Then I'll either switch to the Finishers Too piece I have or to Quaker Mystery Sampler and then I'll be back to Mother's Bliss after I rotate through those three pieces. I'm getting excited that I can actually see an end point to both MB and QMS.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Foster Roosters

We are now the proud parents of 3 foster roosters. LOL I was surpised that they were different colors. We have a brown one, a black one and a brown one with a black spot up near it's neck. We'll be watching them for a friend that currently has too many for their space and they'll be helping to break in our new coop until we get our own chickens. I won't even talk about what's going to happen to them come the end of year...you can read more about that on my DH's blog under his Day 2 post if you want. I was so surprise with how much Taylor loves the roosters! He walked right into the coop and picked one up. He then had to pick up the other two just to give them equal time. =) Bekah liked them too and followed them around trying to pet them when we let them out into the pen. Oh and for all you funny girls out there...I do know the difference between a rooster and a hen and I won't be searching for any eggies from these little guys. LOL I guess these guys are safe enough until they start crowing, then that's a whole other issue. Right now they just make little cheeping sounds...it's so cute.

Car noises...ever been driving down the road and hear a strange noise coming from your car but you can't identify what or where it is? The kind of noise that you just want to ignore because you know if you figure out what it is, that it's going to end up costing you alot of money to get fixed. This is what I was experiencing on my way home from work today. I started hearing it after I got on the beltway and opened my window...which for a fleeting second I just wanted to shut it again and forget that I'd heard anything. But I didn't do...I just kept driving trying to figure out where the come and go squealing sound was coming from. Sounded to me like a worn belt but I'd just recently had my one worn belt replaced so I couldn't figure out what was causing the squealing. I'm still hearing it after a 1/2 hr of driving...and I'm driving on a major beltway so there are lots of different cars around. I finally figure out that it's the van in front of me making this terrible noise. Who would have thought that I'd follow him from where I got on the beltway to where we both got off at the same exit which is why I'd been hearing the noise for so long. I only figured it out when I went to take a second exit and he didn't which resulted in me passing him. I'm just so thankful that it wasn't my car making the noise. The last thing I want to do is put this thing back in the shop again.

Anyone have $2.5 million dollars they can loan me? I spent the entire day trying to figure out why the report I was working on was off this amount. Still hadn't figured it out by the time I went for the day. Hopefully things will look different in the morning and I'll be able to figure it out first thing.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Ahhh, The Sweet Sound of Music

Connor and Kenzie started back with their chorale practices today. They are members of the Chesapeake Youth Chorale. If you happen to look at the link, Connor is in the front row on the right hand side. He's the one that's out of line. :) This was taken during the concert with The Soldiers' Chorus of the U. S. Army Field Band and was Connor's very first concert after joining and he'd only been a member a month or so as he joined in the middle of their year. It's hard to believe that he's starting his 4th year with the chorale. It's amazing how much he's grown and matured during his time with them. He's gone from a shy child who doesn't like to have attention focused on him to one that can get up in front of the other choristers and lead them in a song. Kenzie is starting her 2nd year and you know this chorale means alot to her when she ranks it higher than ballet class. I love the Youth Chorale Festival that is done every year. Unfortunately I missed the one they did earlier this year due to morning sickness. 4 choirs from around the state get together and practice for a day and then in the evening they put on a concert as their own individual choirs and then as one big choir. It's really something to hear all those young voices singing together. What a presence they have.

I hear that we will be getting some roosters tomorrow. They'll be breaking in our new chicken coop for us. Of course, I've heard that for the last two days so I'll believe it when I see it. And I'm not quite sure how it's working that we are having roosters hanging out with us when I recall saying no roosters were allowed. DH claims that since they aren't crowing yet that it will be just the same as having hens. Hmmm...not sure I buy that one. LOL

Nothing much else happening today. Had some idiot of a guy try to hit me when I dropped the kids off for their soccer game. Nothing like zipping down a parking lot when people are trying to park their cars and kids are trying to get to the fields. And to make it worse, the guy gave me a look like I was the idiot when he zipped past me. Some people!

Did some stitching tonight on Mother's Bliss. Trying to finish up all the dark green before I move on to the next project. Hopefully I'll get it done in the next day or two so I'll be ready to work on the mini rr over the weekend.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Blah

That about describes my mood today. Such a dreary blecky day. Rained all day. Was so dark when I got up this morning...was hard to get moving especially after not sleeping well...and the day didn't improve much. Looks like tomorrow is shaping up to be another rainy day although they are thinking we might see a little sun in the afternoon.

Today was the kids first official day of school. Things seemed to go well although we need to make some minor adjustments with Tylers courses. That's what's great about homeschooling...you adjust where you need to instead of being locked into something that doesn't work for an entire year. Choir starts again for Connor and Kenzie. Hopefully I'll remember to pick them up tomorrow. LOL

Got an answer to my question about how many contractions are too many. Finally called the drs office this afternoon and was told that they don't like anymore than 4 contractions in an hour. Hmm, guess the 6-8 I was having yesterday for hours on end was too many. The nurse I talked to, whom I've known for 12 yrs now and really like, made me promise that if they happen like that again to be sure to call whether it's during office hours or not. Let's hope they stay sporadic like they have been today until it's time to deliver this munchkin. I hate making extra trips to the dr.

Too tired to write any more...good thing it was a boring day. =)

Monday, September 04, 2006

CWO - In "Other" Words 9/5/06


"Don't Let schooling interfere with your education." ~Mark Twain~
When my husband and I first started having children, we always assumed that when our kids got old enough they would go to school just the way that we did...by attending public school, learning their lessons during the year and going on to the next grade level at the end of the school year. And that's exactly what our first two children did...up until our oldest got into the third grade. That's we started noticing a problem that started when the school decided to switch to a new math curriculum. Our son, along with other kids in his class, was having trouble with this new curriculum so the teacher also supplemented the work with additional worksheets in the "old" style of teaching math. Unfortunately, the school made her stop the additional help and told her she could only teach from the new math curriculum regardless of whether the kids could learn it or not. We worked with the teacher and the school for the next two years regarding the issues that our son was having with this new math curriculum but to no avail. At the same time, our second son went into first grade were he did amazing...until he was about 3/4 of the way through the school year and the teacher indicated that he was working at such an accelerated pace that she'd run out of things to give him and that there was nothing else for him to work on that year.

Both of these situations seem to be examples of where schooling has gotten in the way of education. In the one case, our oldest son kept getting passed along through the grades even though he did understand most of the math concepts that he had been taught since the third grade...he was going into fifth grade at this point and still working at a third grade math comprehension level. And our second son was being held back from his full potential of learning due to the stipulations of the schools grade level work requirements. Just because a school says this is what the kids have to work with and this is all they are required to learn during a year doesn't mean it's best for the child. We decided at this point that it was in our childrens best interest to start homeschooling them. That way we could let them learn at their own pace and if that was accelerated past their grade level...great. We'd let them learn however much they wanted to learn with no stipulations. It also gives us the freedom to take things slower when need be. It took a year of work with our oldest to get him back on grade level in math but more than that, it took that amount of time to build his confidence back up. He'd become so disillusioned during those two years that we tried working with the school system that he'd lost his will to learn and that's a terrible price for a child to have to pay for letting schooling getting in the way of their education.

Happy Labor Day

Spent a pretty quiet day at home. We picked up all the tree limbs that Ernesto had blown down so the grass could be cut. Did some laundry. Kenzie and Alex went over to play with friends. The others stayed home and went fishing, for a bike ride and a walk. They were able to meet up with an old friend moving back to town which made Kenzie very happy when she got home and of course she had to walk immediately down to see her and say hi. I think we could be in trouble with her living right down the street from us. LOL

I've been having a number of contractions today...so how many is too many to have in a day?...so after doing the laundry, I took it easy and worked on my stitching. I was able to finish up the second baby quilt square. Also finished a square for a special friend (the butterfly one) and I worked on Mother's Bliss. I was able to get the dark green section on the left done and part of the ribbon. I think I'll do a little bit more work on her...trying to get all the dark green done, before switching over to work on the mini rr I have to.



Tomorrow, it's back to work and it's the first day of school for the kids. I know they are looking forward to it. LOL Wish them and Andy luck that all goes smoothly the first day.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Some Wind and Rain

but Ernesto wasn't too bad. We did have a 43+ mph gust of wind over night but other than lots of leaves down and tons of rain, it wasn't too bad. It was completely calm this morning but stayed gray and drizzly most of the day. Didn't do much today...kiddos did some cleaning, got the school room ready for school next week. I know they are looking forward to that. ;) We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire in the drizzle. Afterall, what better thing to do on a gray, drizzly day.

The older kids went to a friends house and I sat down to work on a baby quilt square while the little ones went for a bike ride with DH. Here's a pic of the completed piece. I have one more square to do. Hopefully I can get that one done tomorrow and I can get them all in the mail on Tuesday. Other stitching pieces I have to work on this month are a Mini RR and a Finishers Too piece. I'd also like to get some time in on Mother's Bliss and Quaker Mystery Sampler...hopefully time will allow for that.

What's in a Name?

I was browsing around different blogs and ran across a link to Barb's blog, A Chelsea Morning, where she is interested in how other bloggers came up with their blog names. I'm always curious about this when I'm reading others blogs so I thought I'd post how I came up with my blog name although it's very uncreative. We currently have 6 children with the 7th due in October and if hubby has his way, there'll be more after this one. ;) Since we view all our children as blessings and there is an abundance of them, it seemed only natural to call my blog An Abundance of Blessings.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt Theme: On The Road


This is a picture of my husband and our oldest son literally "on the road"...or in this case "on the bridge". LOL This picture was taken during the 2001 annual Chesapeake Bay Bridge walk. This is a 4.3 mile long bridge that they hold an annual walk across the first Sunday in May.

PSHunt
Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.
Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Friday Feast #109 - 9/1/06

Appetizer
What are some lyrics you have misheard (such as, instead of "Gettin' Jiggy With It" you heard "Kick a chicken with it")?

I know there is one lyric in particular that I always mishear but it's not coming to me right now. I'll have to come and edit this when I remember it.

Soup
What is the worst movie you have ever seen?

The one that comes immediately to mind is the Austin Powers movie...I can't even think of the name of it, that's how much I didn't like it. LOL

Salad
Using the letters from your favorite number, write a sentence. Example: Tomorrow has really easy experiences.

Seek Each Verse Every Night

Main Course
What was the most interesting news story you have heard this week?

Pluto no longer being a planet (I believe this story was actually in the news the end of last week but I haven't heard one more interesting). I find it amazing that something that's been classified as a planet since the 1930's is suddenly not what we've always believed it was.

Dessert
Which word(s) would you choose to describe your wardrobe?

Plain and large is how I would describe my current wardrobe since I'm currently in maternity clothes. They are pretty plain and boring. ;)

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