The Party That Wasn't

My sweet little third-grader missed her class Halloween party today.

She'd been looking forward to it all week. Maybe even all month.

She crawled in my bed a little before 5AM this morning and a few minutes later the vomiting commenced.
Ugh. She knew after the second or third episode (and there were many more episodes to follow) that she was going to have to stay home from school and miss the party. And the costume parade.

I felt so sorry for her. Poor, poor baby.

My day came to a screeching halt too. Not that I minded. Yesterday I did all of the stuff I normally do on Fridays (groceries, cleaning, errands) so the only thing I had planned today was a morning hike and Abbey's class party. I'm one of the room moms for her class and was in charge of crafts. I called some friends and got things squared away (my friends ROCK!) and just enjoyed a lazy day at home with Abb. She knows me well because she said, "Mom, I bet you're happy that you get to stay at home in your pjs all day." For whatever it's worth, I took a shower and got dressed this morning.

I think Abbey is feeling a tiny bit better. She finally quit throwing up mid-morning and has since kept popsicles and saltines and even some chicken noodle soup down. Hooray! She asked me a little while ago for some Halloween candy so I'm pretty sure we're well on our way to normal. Hopefully she'll get to go to our church's Halloween Extravaganza tomorrow. Hopefully.

Here are the witches' fingers we made for her class party today. Y'all do realize that I've milked the candy-coated pretzel idea for just about all it's worth don't you? I think my husband found the very last bag of Wilton Spooky Green candy melts in Colorado Springs yesterday. Thank you, J!

My sweet friend, Jen, stopped by to pick up all the stuff I had prepped for the party and gave Abbey this cute mummy cupcake. Abbey's eyes got really big...and I know she wished she felt good enough to eat it rightthatverysecond. Maybe tomorrow...

Doesn't she look pathetic? And isn't that ghost necklace cute? I made 21 of those glue-ghosts this week for her class to decorate at their party.

And finally...I'll just let Abb tell you how she really feels. She drew this picture for me this afternoon. Sadness.

I heart that girl. I hope she feels like herself again tomorrow!

Everyone's Smilin'

I got a pic tonight of everyone in costume. And look...no one is rolling their eyes but everyone is SMILIN'! It's a Halloween miracle. 

Where's Waldo? Oh, there he is, right smack in the middle of the M&M's.

I got the inspiration for the girls' costumes here. There wasn't a pattern or instructions so I totally winged it which probably took me 5x as long, but I think they turned out super cute and the girls love them. The Silhouette machine that I won came in SUPER DUPER handy with the lettering!!!

Our dress-up fun begins tomorrow and I believe we're in good shape! Yay!

Hump Day Thoughts...

I basically live for weekends, y'all. My weekdays are just sorta "choppy". Do you ever feel like that? Like you're just moving from one task to the next? Well, my weekends don't usually have that feel to them (though this weekend probably will) and I think that's why I love them. And today I'm loving Wednesday because it means I'm that much closer to my favorite days of the week.

This weekend is feeling busy with all the Halloween parties and trick-or-treating and such. It's a good busy though, and my kids are super excited so that makes me a little less dreadful of the crazy that is headed my way.

I finished the girls' costumes on Sunday and they LOVE them which makes me happy! Will's costume arrived in the mail on Monday. Maybe since everyone will be home together tonight I can get a picture of the three of them with minimal eye rolling. Maybe.

Home. Together. Tonight. Those words sound lovely. It feels like it's been forever since we've all been home together on a weeknight. Our oldest two kiddos are becoming more and more involved in activities that require them to be gone at night. That's sort of a new twist for us. I'm tempted to tell you that I don't love it, and some nights I really don't, but the things they've chosen to be involved in are good things and I'm really proud of their choices. Plus, we manage to eat dinner together as a family every. single. night. I'm a stickler about that!

One of the things Will and Sarah have chosen to be involved in in YoungLife. John and I went to the YoungLife fundraising banquet last night and had an amazing time. The people, the mission, and the love and dedication to these kids continues to blow me away! YoungLife is really all about loving and accepting kids. Jesus is shared at every club meeting but it's not forced on them. Kids are loved whether they choose Him or not, but there is opportunity for those who want to go deeper to do so--and I'm thrilled that our kids have chosen this. The Wyldlife (middle school) and YoungLife (high school) kids shared cardboard testimonies as part of the program last night. I cried. It's just so cool to see kids' lives transformed by LOVE.

Alright. I've got lots on my to-do list today so I need to sign off even though I have lots more Hump Day Thoughts to share. I'll be back (hopefully tomorrow) with some pictures of some stuff I've been working on!

Happy Hump Day!

What Do You See?

My husband posted this picture on his Facebook wall today along with the question, What do you see in this picture?


I'm curious as well. What do you see?

(I don't know who to credit for the photo. John remembers that it came from the Denver Post several years ago.)

LinkyList

Good morning friends! I just have a few minutes but wanted to let you know that HisGirlAmber is giving away a copy of John's book, Start With Me, on her blog. Amber won the copy I was giving away, read it, wrote an awesome post about it, and decided to give a copy away as well. If you're interested go here to enter her giveaway. You have until Friday. Thanks for your kind words, Amber!

A couple other things I wanted to link you to.

I love this candy corn dispenser that Angela made.

I also love her decorated pumpkins and her candy corn kiss cookies. Rumor has it that Target is where you should look for the candy corn kisses; I've looked numerous other places without any luck.

If you only click on one link, make it these Halloween pancakes. They are simply adorable and a guaranteed smile-maker for your kids! If you're not following Angela's blog, you should be!!! (That's the bossy me telling you what to do. My sister would tell you that I've always been good at being bossy.)

The girls and I made these cute ghost necklaces last weekend. So easy and super cheap!

I'm dying to tell you about the costumes I'm making for the girls but I'd rather just show you the finished project. Patience, grasshopper. I ordered Will's costume (because he's thirteen and homemade is just so uncool) but I almost had him talked into dressing as iPod earbuds. Sweet, huh? That's the best costume I've seen in ages.

State of the Family address

Here's a quick run-down of what's going on with us these days...

Will. I choke back tears daily when I hear Will speak. His voice is changing from one of a little boy to one of a man. It's bittersweet. He's a good kid. He's thirteen so there is lots of eye-rolling, lots of boundary testing, but there are also sweet moments mixed in there as well. Several times over the weekend I noticed him playing with his littlest sister--one of those times he was sitting up on her top bunk with his man-legs hanging over the railing--and I almost cried at the sweetness of it. I've half expected him to sort of "check out" of family life now that we've crossed that teen threshold, but I've come to realize that just because that is the teen stereotype doesn't mean that we have to accept it. I'm not too worried at this point. He still seems to want to hang out with his family.

The biggest issue we're going through right now with him is trying to help him find his "one thing"--that one extracurricular thing that he loves or is really good at. I'm lobbying for football (surprised?) but he's not buying it. Music? Athletics? Art? We're trying to make sure he knows his options and give him chances to discover something he wants to pursue. No luck so far, but I'm confident he'll find something.

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Sarah. She certainly hasn't limited herself to one thing OR had any problem finding things she enjoys! Horses, sewing, cooking/baking, crafts, drama, piano, volleyball, student council, reading--you name it, Sarah probably loves it. She's been babysitting some lately and I've only been called to help with one "diaper situation". She babysat last week for a friend and I thought it was so cute that she went armed with activity sheets/stickers from her American Girl babysitting book. Sarah definitely has her dad's artistic side. She's always crafting and making stuff to give to her friends. The girl is smart too--she had a perfect report card! Watching Sarah sometimes makes my heart hurt. She wants so badly to act/talk/think/dress like a teenager (and she does) but she also still has so much little girl in her--she still plays dolls and school with her sister and she still does child-like things. She's finding her way into this teen thing...slowly but surely.

I was really proud of her a few weeks ago. She tried out for a role in our church's Christmas drama. We practiced her lines with her and honestly? I thought she was a shoo-in for the part. She was called back for a second audition (yeah, our church takes this drama thing seriously) but ended up not getting the part. Sure, she cried. I did too. It's hard to see your kids have to swallow that bitter pill of hurt and disappointment. She didn't stay down for long though. She held her head up high the following Sunday and put it all behind her. Her ability to let it go and move forward was a lesson to me. I didn't let it go that quickly or easily.

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Abbey. This girl fits the classic birth order profile--she's our family clown. She's always cracking jokes and making us laugh. I get sad sometimes that she's our last baby. She's the only one that really still fits in my lap (or that even wants to sit there). With an older brother and sister, it seems that she's growing up at warp speed. 

She's had some big adjustments this year--a new school, a new teacher--but she's taken it all in stride and done remarkably well. At her conference last week, her teacher told me that reading and creative writing are her strengths. She's quite descriptive when she writes--often straying off-topic. Hmmmm...wonder where she get that from? Smirk. Here's a sample of her writing--this one is about Jack the Beagle. Her personality definitely shines through!

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John.  John is doing well and working hard. His most recent book is doing well, and he has another project that was recently picked up by a publisher. Yay! He's been teaching a class on the Lord's Prayer at our church on Wednesday nights and it's fun to see him back in that groove. He enjoys it a lot. 

He's an editor by day, but evenings are devoted to family. Will and Sarah have quite a bit of writing homework each week. I try to help them finish homework in the afternoons so that evenings can be family time and John can just relax, but when it comes to writing, they insist on having "the editor" help them. Makes sense I guess. 

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Me. Meredith. I'm doing well, I think. I was deliberate in keeping my fall schedule free of distractions...I'm only committed to things I love or feel called to. I've trimmed my commitments down over the years, but the key this year is that "only things I love or feel committed to" phrase. It's made all the difference.

Other things: 

Last week, I was on the receiving end of a HUGE blessing. I have a hard time receiving sometimes...

If I can ever stop crying about it, I'll share a little more.

Today would have been my dad's 65th birthday. I anticipate there being some emotional upheaval today. There have already been hints of it. I'm okay with that. I try to let myself feel whatever I feel.

I think that's all for now. I have more to say (as always) but I've run out of time in which to say it. Hope you all have a blessed day!

Domestic

Mondays are my deliberately designated domestic days. Ahhh, alliteration.

I purposely plan to be at home on Mondays. It doesn't always work out that way, but I've learned over the years that I need this day at home to re-group after the weekend!

Today? I'm feeling quite domestic.

I have dinner in the crockpot and as soon as I finish this blog post, I'm going to chop veggies and cook the quinoa for this delicious salad. I'm also planning to make another batch of refrigerator bran muffins and slice, dice, cook, brown and freeze all the meat that I bought for meals for the next couple of weeks.

I've got laundry going.

I'm working on the girls' Halloween costumes. They're going to be so cute!!! 

I've got a little bit of cleaning to do.

I also want to go through the girls' winter/fall clothes from last year and see what still fits and what we still need to buy to fill in. And since I heard the word "snow" mentioned as a possibility this week I need to make sure everyone's hats/gloves/boots/coats still fit as well.

I love domestic stuff.

I'm grateful for a husband who works hard so that I can be at home full-time doing what I love most. I probably don't tell him thank you enough....

Friday Fun

John has the day off, the kids are out of school, and so we're going to head out in awhile for a big ole day of fun! We're going to celebrate our kids' excellent report cards and just enjoy the day together. I'm so excited.

I saw this meme on Brenda and Reva's blogs this week and thought it sounded like fun. And since that seems to be the theme of the day I decided to play along! You can too!

1. What is your favorite quote and why?
Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. --Garrison Keillor
Why? Because so much of my day is spent caring for children. And not just my children either. I like to think that everything I do...no matter how insignificant it seems at the time...matters, and it matters a lot.

2. If you had to choose one favorite sweet treat, what would it be?
Hmmmmm. I think it would be Rice Krispie treats.

3. If you had one million dollars handed to you, what is the first thing you would buy.
Vacation property. Probably in the mountains.

4. What is a favorite memory of a childhood game you enjoyed?
We often spent long summer nights outside with friends playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark. The darkness made it slightly more challenging I suppose. My favorite people to play with were my cousins (when they were in town visiting our grandmother) and my next door neighbor's grand-children.

5. If you could do one thing in life over, what would it be?
Oh gosh, I don't know. I can think of countless times things would have turned out better had I chosen to zip my lip. But big things? I really can't think of anything. I try to live with no regrets.

6. What movie could you watch over and over again?
I have tons of movies that I watch over and over and over so this is a hard question. I'd probably say The Sound of Music. Or You've Got Mail. Or Lord of the Rings (all three of them). Or Anna and the King. Or The Age of Innocence. Or Anne of Green Gables. I just can't pick one. 


7. Jeans or sweats? 
Jeans.

8. Have you ever shot a gun, and have you ever been hunting?
Yes. And no. I don't think I'd enjoy hunting. I'd be sad to kill an animal, plus I'm quite sure I couldn't sit still for that long without talking to someone, and camo has never really been my color.

If you decide to do this, let me know so I can read your answers!

Up, Up, UP!

I hiked the Manitou Incline on Sunday.

It was by far the most strenuous hike I've ever done. Even more so than climbing Pikes Peak. Okay, not really but it's close.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this legendary trail, it's a one mile hike with a 2000 foot elevation gain straight up the base of Mount Manitou. The grade is 41% for most of the climb, but there is one super steep part that has a 68% grade. Crazy. The Incline is actually the old railbed for the Scenic Incline Railway, hence the railroad tie "steps", and even though it's a heavily populated trail, it's privately-owned land so hikers are technically trespassing when they're on the Incline. Oops.

My friend, Heather, asked me early last week if I wanted to go with her. I've been wanting to try it for awhile now so I said "sure". I was re-thinking that decision when we were walking to the trailhead. It really is daunting. See the top? Yeah, that's not even the top. It's a false summit. Once you get to that point it levels out a little before the final ascent. Wowza.

This was not even halfway up. And yeah, that's the "false summit" behind me. Here's the view looking down!

I didn't even take a picture from the summit! What was I thinking? 

It was a really beautiful day to hike. It was sunny and cool. I didn't need my fleece on the way up, but I definitely needed it on the hike back down.

I took the above pic from Barr Trail. There were some patches of golden aspen that really stood out against the evergreens. So pretty.

The Incline connects to Barr Trail (the trail that leads to the summit of Pikes Peak) and that's the recommended path back down. We saw some people walking and even running back down the Incline. Amazing. Lots of people were running up it too. I canNOT imagine.

Heather and I climbed at a slow, steady pace and still had to stop often to catch our breath. I felt really, really nauseous at one point too, but it seemed like it got easier after we got past the really steep part. A little past the half-way mark there is a bailout point where you can cut over and connect with the trail back down. We had considered bailing but we were feeling better at that point and we both just wanted to finish and savor the feeling of accomplishment! Considering that three months ago I could barely walk without pain/limping because of my leg/hip injury, I'd say it's a big accomplishment!

Would I do it again? Absolutely! But first my glutes need to recover. That's the only place I'm really sore, but man oh man, I am VERY sore!

Here are some interesting links about the Manitou Incline and it's history. I love all the old pictures, and these more recent ones as well!

Listy

I'm a listy girl. I don't even know if listy is a word but I like it. A lot.

At any given moment I have at least one written list going, and if I start my day without my to-do list written down then I feel lost and aimless. I can't juggle a mental list very well. It has to be on paper!

See? Listy.

This is a super short week for us. I love short weeks because they mean extra long weekends! But short weeks mean lots of things to get done in a short amount of time.

Here's a few things on my list for my short week/long weekend.

1. Figure out my kids Halloween costumes and get started making/buying them. My kids have changed their minds so many times about what they want to be. I'm going to pin them down this evening and make them give me their final decision.

2. Parent-teacher conferences.

3. Go see Secretariat. John is hoping to take a couple of days off to hang with us at the end of the week and our plan is to take the kids to the movies. I've heard nothing but excellent reviews about this movie and am excited to see it!

4. Church. My moms group meets this week. I love hanging with my moms group friends. I also love Wednesday nights at church. John is teaching a class on the Lord's Prayer and he's my favorite teacher/preacher!

5. Cleaning/Laundry. It never ends, does it?

6. Meal planning/grocery shopping. This never ends either, but planning/shopping every two weeks makes it a little more bearable for me!

7. Hike. I'd love to squeeze in two hikes this week, but one is probably a more realistic goal. 

8. Read a friend's manuscript! I feel so honored that she asked and have been waiting for a break in the busy-ness so that I could give it my full attention. I think this week/weekend are the perfect time to dig in!

9. Get our sprinkler system winterized. Before I moved to Colorado I had no idea this was even necessary. Basically, we shut off the water and have the pipes blown out because any remaining water could expand upon freezing and cause the pipes to crack/bust. It's on the list of things to do this week because we've been consistently dropping into the 30s at night. We don't do it ourselves though; we pay our yard guy.

10. Figure out an appropriate craft for a third grade fall party in a couple of weeks. I have a few ideas but I'm not sold on anything at this point. I'm open to new suggestions. Anyone have a fabulous fall craft that kids can do in about 10 minutes? 

Alright. Must get going. My laundry beckons...
Hope you're week is off to a great start!

10 on the 10th

I'm generally a pretty content person. It doesn't take much to make me happy. I have everything I need, and a lot of what I want. That said, I thought I'd share a few things on my "wish list". These are things I'm either saving for or that I'd buy for myself if I didn't have such a hard time spending money. I suppose that's a good problem to have though, right?

1. Ugg clogs. I'm not one to spend a lot of money on clothes or shoes BUT these just look so warm and comfy--like slippers I could wear out of the house. Love 'em.

2. Bose SoundDock. I started saving for one of these last year and somehow lost track of my goal. It's on my Christmas wish list!

3. Fiestaware. John and I have been married for twenty years and our everyday dishes are showing their age. I've bought cheap, lead-laden sets throughout the years, but we're ready for some better quality plates and bowls that are solid, fun colors. I found out that Dillard's sells open stock Fiestaware so I'm saving for the pieces I want!

4. BookBook laptop bag. Actually, I'd love to buy this bag for John so that he'd give me his booq bag. The reality is that we have no need for more than one laptop bag. I just like the BookBook's clever, unique design. It's not something you see all the time.

5. A down comforter/duvet. Honestly, I can't believe we've lived in Colorado this long without one. Especially since I'm the most cold-natured freak on the planet. Or at least in our house. 

6. A bigger stock pot. I used to have two but I burned something a few years ago and ended up giving the burned one to Goodwill. I like the one I have but my family is outgrowing it! I'd love to have a really nice, big, heavy one. Maybe this brand?

7. A steam mop. Do any of you have one? Do you love it? Hate it? Tell me! I think the germaphobe in me would love the sterilizing feature!

8. A new hoodie. I love this hoodie and I love this brand. I have an older one that has thumbholes so I can pull the end of the sleeve over my knuckles--it's awesome! I keep waiting for these to go on sale because I rarely pay full price for clothing!

9. A DVR. I know I'd love this for sooooo many reasons. 

10. SmartWool socks. Okay, this is one thing I don't have a hard time spending money on. It's so worth it for me to have warm toes in the winter. I don't own a single pair of plain cotton socks. SmartWools are all I wear...and that's why my current pairs are sporting holes. 

Anything fun on your wish list?


Feel free to link up with your own list of ten things. Tomorrow (I'm posting this on Saturday because I try to unplug on Sundays) is actually 10-10-10. Cool, huh? Wish I'd thought of that before I wrote this list. 

Friday Night Lights

I suppose it would be redundant to tell you guys that I love football. You know that already. College football is my favorite, but thanks to fantasy football I'm starting to get back into NFL football again. And high school football? Yep. I love that too.

Friday Night Lights is one of our favorite television shows. John and I started watching Season 4 on dvd this week. If you've ever lived in a small town and/or like football then there's a great chance you'll love Friday Night Lights too. It's no secret at our house that I have a crush on Coach Eric Taylor--he's a big reason that I love the show.  It's also not a secret that John has a crush on his wife, Tami, so it all evens out. Smile.

Anyway...............

We went to a high school football game--a real life Friday Night Lights game--last night with some good friends.

Despite being very COLD and very WINDY, it was loads of fun.

The game was a big match-up between the two high school teams in our town. They've never played each other before so they're not really rivals at this point, and I sort of hope it remains that way. I have so many friends who teach, coach, or have kids at each of the two schools that it was hard to choose who to cheer for. In the end, we chose to cheer on the high school that Will will attend next year.

Oh my gosh. Did you catch that? Our son will be in HIGH SCHOOL NEXT YEAR. How in the world did that happen?

High school football games are such a community event. We've lived in this town for seven years [this weekend is actually the anniversary of our move to Colorado!] and in that time we've gotten to know LOTS of people. I feel blessed to call many of them my friends.  Last night we saw old friends, new friends, friends we go to church with, friends we know from work, from school, and we even made brand new friends. [The lady sitting behind me joined the conversation my friend and I were having about Friday Night Lights while waiting for the game to start. She practically told me her life story--probably because she's from the South--ha!]

We left with a resolve to go to as many home games as we can next year. I think I might be out for the rest of this season though simply because it's just getting downright cold at night. I wore my parka and took my Slanket. Oh yes, I did. And our children, who repeatedly balked at my instructions to wear their winter coats, were thankful.

People and football are two of my favorite things, and both are on the agenda for today and tomorrow as well. [Big, contented SIGH!]

Lots-o-stuff

Yesterday I made a big batch of refrigerator bran muffins. The batter keeps in the fridge for six weeks and the muffins are yummy and warm on our cold, fall mornings. I'll post the recipe soon! I was home almost all day yesterday and accomplished little more than making those muffins and making dinner. I guess I needed a lazy Monday. It was nice.

October is a busy month. I've finally learned not to let that catch me by surprise. Or overwhelm me. 

I love football. L-O-V-E football. This is the first year since we've lived here that we've had a cable package with the sports tier and let me just tell you that I'm in heaven on the weekends. The only problem is that we only have one television and the kids prefer Disney over ESPN. I'm having trouble sharing the remote these days.

I'm thankful for friends who've mastered the art of sharing though. Look what my friend, Jen, left on my porch yesterday. 

She told me she had a gigantic zucchini to share with me. She wasn't kidding was she? I'm thinking that baby will make lots of zucchini bread and muffins. 

I think I mentioned that our neighbors were growing pumpkins and one had started growing on our side of the fence. We've loved watching it grow bigger and bigger and change from green to bright orange. So cool! I felt like our neighbors probably wanted to keep their pumpkin and I've been telling the kids that it wasn't really ours so they were pleasantly surprised when our neighbors told us yesterday that they wanted us to have and enjoy it. We picked it last night!

Sarah titled this photo "Lean on Me". Cute.

Speaking of pumpkins. Check out these adorable scrapbook paper pumpkins. I'm definitely going to try making some later this week. I'm in charge of the craft for Abbey's fall party in a few weeks and I think this might be a fun idea to try with them as well!  Ohhhhh...the Mac software for the Silhouette finally became available and I downloaded it over the weekend. I had fun playing with it while watching the Broncos game on Sunday. It is so C-O-O-L. I need more time to experiment with it!!!

I met a blog friend last week for breakfast! Dawn and I had a really great time getting to know each other (except for the part where we talked about maggots). I love it when blog friends become real-life friends, don't you? If you've never visited her blog, you should so you can love her too. 

We met at one of my favorite places--Panera. Did you know that Panera started in St. Louis as the Saint Louis Bread Company? Yep. I flew into St Louis last week and spent the night before driving down to Arkansas with my aunt. She took me to the "Bread Co" as the natives call it. She also took me to Trader Joe's. I couldn't figure how to get all my loot home with me on the plane without checking a bag--and remember, I'm the queen of the carry-on--so I shipped it home to Colorado and it arrived the day after I did.

John was out of town last weekend. The day after I got home from Arkansas, he left for Canada but he's home safe and sound now and we're thankful to all be together this week. ANYway, John usually takes Sarah to her horse lesson on Saturdays because he loves horses and he loves Sarah and that's kinda their "thing". But since he was gone I got to take her. She's doing great and has made some terrific progress, but more importantly, she loves it. 

Abbey was more intrigued with this baby deer than her sister. She actually thought it was a statue because it stood so still for so long. It sorta did look like one. 

Alright. I think it's time to get going. I have some lots to do today since yesterday was a wash. Peace out, peeps. 

Well, hello!

Oh yeah. I have a blog.

I was in Arkansas for a week. And I intentionally didn't take my laptop with me. I think there's such a thing as being too plugged in. I have some thoughts stirring on that topic that I want to share when I get what's rolling around in my brain sorted out a bit more so lucky you! Anyway, no laptop meant no blogging. Not that there was much time to blog. I spent a lot of time with this little guy.

He's sooooooo cute and soooooo good. And he sleeps with at least one hand up by his face unless he's swaddled. It's adorable.

I also got to spend time with family. I love my family.

And I love the Razorbacks, but what a disappointing loss to Alabama last week. Ugh.

I got in late Wednesday afternoon about an hour before I had to be at church and I've pretty much been on the go since. Sadly, this weekend is feeling kinda full instead of long and lazy which is how I prefer weekends to feel. It's full of good stuff though so I'll roll with it. So much to say and so little time to blog. Y'all are going to get an earful when my pace slows a bit.

The winner of the book giveaway is #17:
HisGirlAmber

I'll get it mailed to you this week friend. Congrats!!!!!! Happy Weekend everyone.