Photo 31

Tried to get Zach to stop for just a moment and let me get a picture of his chapped cheeks from the countless hours outside yesterday and today...obviously, this was complete torture.

Photo 30

Happy birthday to THOMAS and HAPPY SNOW DAY - we received a little over 4 inches of snow yesterday and last night and woke up to a complete Winter Wonderland. Our first large snow accumulation since 2003! YAY!!!!!!!!!

Photo 29

OFFICE/Scraproom IS CLEAN & organized! (and although it is snowing, and will be the rest of today, tonight, and into tomorrow, I feel that THIS picture is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT that the actual happenings of today - which is no school, yelling kids, much chaos, and lots of in and out!)

Photo 28

Tackled, full force, my office clean out today. THIS is the crap that's been in my office that does NOT belong - and now sits in the dining room!

Photo 27

The Cooks gave us a jar of peppers tonight at Growth Groups...will love being able to have these on hand to cook with!

Photo 26

Again - I really must laugh at myself (or I'd cry). It's the 26th of January and I'm JUST NOW printing my yearly calendar. SERIOUSLY? What is wrong with me?!?!?!

Photo 25

Grand ideas, best laid plans, eyes are bigger, etc....you get the picture. I'm the epitome of unfinished projects. EPITOME!

(both projects are waiting on their 'winter' seasonal update. By the time I get to it, it'll be SPRING!)

Photo 24

While the boys were on their trip, I enjoyed my Saturday taking it easy and starting this book, which I finished tonight - UGH - a real heart tugger. Let it be duly noted that I'm a major book reader. LOVE to read; however, since the kids have been born my time to read is limited greatly simply due the fact that I'm also a FINISH IT book reader: meaning that I must finish a book straight through with limited interruptions...which obviously with the birth of 3 kids that wouldn't happen very often, lol!

Photo 23

The boys left for a ski trip at 5:30 this morning. This is a photo that someone else took of their 'experience'...which they all said was the best fun they've had in awhile!

Photo 22

I need to retake this picture...but too lazy to do it. Another admission, I have lazy tendicies that I blame on a variety of issues including the ADD from yesterday's post. It gets blamed for a lot of things, lol!

ANYHOO - the kids are all grounded, so lots of reading has ensued. We needed some new books last night to encourage this path of reading and less resistance for mommy! So, off to books-a-million we went to pick up some more books for them all. (and Zachary really is like me and gets on a book kick and wants to read, read, read...I've always tried to have plenty of books for them to read, but the older the boys get, the HARDER it is to find books that capture and keep his attention...most books, especially required reading books 'bore him to the point of dreadful, awful tears and agony' - his words, not mine! Can you tell he's re-read books 7,8,and 9 of the Unfortunate Events series this week, loL!)

Photo 21

Okay - confession time. I have ADD (actual diagnosis and prescribed meds that make me sick so I stopped taking them...) and it interferes with my life at times. MOST of the time it interferes in this room. I am overwhelmed by my 'stuff'. I need to majorly purge my STUFF. This is the only room ever allowed to look like this and since I can shut the doors (and now have roman shades on the doors) it can stay like this for awhile before I'll die upon entering and spend the next several days cleaning my way out. I never officially can get rid of enough stuff to make it easy to keep clean. I MUST do that. As soon as I can muster up the courage/non-ADD pressure/non-overwhelmed feeling to do so!

Photo 20

Brandon rarely lets me take a picture of him. I was reading up on some flash techniques and he actually let me practice on him (and NO, I still do not like flash photography)

Photo 19

Kaitlyn has been grounded for grades (in fact, all the kids have...ugh!) and has been filling her pasttime with much drawing, and writing, and singing, and sometimes reading when I get her to stop doing the other stuff. oh, and cleaning. Here's her latest creation.

Photo 18

Meme & Papa came over this afternoon (I'm so sorry for the utter chaos of 3 hours for you guys!). I snapped shots of Kaitlyn with Dad during their conversations about money, which at this particular point Dad broke out in the 'Pants on the Ground' song from American Idol auditions last week for some reason. Kaitlyn died laughing!

Photo 17

Finished my 7Gypsies projects Friday afternoon, but just now got around to photographing the details this morning. This is the envelope album decorated ala' love notes style.

Photo 16

Thomas and Brandon sat down last night and created a 'contract' for his school work/grades/homework issues. (it's a good thing that Thomas won't be graded on his spelling, huh?)

Photo 15

It was spiritual emphasis week at NCS for Zachary. Here's the theme of the week...

Photo 14

I bought a mail container at Marshall's on clearance for $5.00 shortly after Christmas. Although I do NOT like it sitting on the entry table, it's beating Thomas getting mad at me for misplaced mail, lol!

Photo 13

Started working my CHA-Winter 7Gypsies projects today...here's a peek.

Photo 12

Went to Sam's today for milk/eggs/butter and bought a package of danish's to fill the snack jar.

Photo 11

Kaitlyn remembered her 4H poster was due on Monday after she'd been home for 4 days with nothing to do. Late Sunday night after church we were coloring her poster. Here's the remnants left on Monday morning.

Photo 10

Our 2-4 inches of snow - isn't it GRAND!?!?!

Photo 9

"Snowed" in means baking - and lots of it...muffins.

Photo 8

So - while in my office today, I heard this noise outside. It sounded like a vacuum cleaner or leaf blower. Surely not!

Right?

WRONG! Today's picture is my neighbor (who OBVIOUSLY has some OCD issues) freshly 'leaf/snowdust' blown driveway. He literally was outside blowing the snow off of HIS sidewalks & driveway only. Can anyone say CRAZY? Yep...that's my neighbor/president of the homeowner's association...blowing the snow dust off his driveway for 45 minutes this morning.

Photo 7

Per Zachary's request for picture of the day: A photo of him and his friends having a 'snow ball fight' in the SNOW ACCUMULATION from our 2-4 anticipated inches and NO SCHOOL snow day! Yep - TONS of snow on that ground!

Photo 6

Our first family devotion of the year was last night. I loved seeing all the bibles piled up on the sidetable this morning.

Photo 5

We had rather larger 'hoagie' buns tonight for dinner that the boys broke off and passed to each other. When Zachary got his roll he 'broke' it like Jesus did during one of our still moments for the Easter Drama. SO funny that of COURSE he had to recreate it for camera!

Photo 4

Started my New Testament reading today. Reading it through in 30 days...

Photo 3

I just absolutely adore this girl - and love her vibrant blue eyes!

Photo 2

Put away the Christmas decor today - it always looks so bare afterwards!

Photo 1

12 minutes after 12 in the year 2010...sounds so 'futuristic', doesn't it? HA!