• Crazy Kids,  Family

    Harry and Stuff

    Today we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (I used to have a crush on Ralph Fiennes until he became He-Whose-Name-Shall-Not-Be-Spoken, btw. Now he just gives me the shivers.) 

    Sabrina works at the movie theater, and when Harry Potter first opened, the employees were "assigned" to different Hogwart's houses, and Sabrina was given Hufflepuff. I wasn't home to take her picture before she left for work, so I begged her to take one for me. Here she is in her self-portrait, and I think she looked quite lovely in her school uniform!

    AMC

    Other than the first movie of the HP series, this one was my very favorite, and I can't wait for part 2!

    Recently Mike and Sophie started building a Legos kit for Hagrid's Hut… Mike took these pictures, along with about 337 others…

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    It's amazing what Legos comes up with. I bought a Christmas advent calendar for Mike and Sophie to start on December 1st, and I'm as excited as they are to see what's behind each little door. Here they are after putting together a little snowman last week…

    Legos tp

    They kind of remind me of the Malfoys when they get together.

    Again, with the shivers.

  • Family,  Holidays,  Home

    Thanksgiving Day

    Now that I'm coming out of my tryptophan-induced stupor, I can let you all know that our Thanksgiving was wonderful! My mother cooked a fabulous turkey, along with everything that usually goes along with it, and all I had to bring this year were a couple of side dishes and dessert. Sophie wanted cupcakes, so after hesitating a bit, I thought, "Well, why not?"  So we brought cupcakes (which Sophie made all by herself), chocolate cream pies, mint kiss cookies, and I think that's it. Mom had the pound cake and maple pumpkin pie.

    But she didn't have her famous orange punch, which we shall never forgive her for.

    And as usual, her centerpiece was to die for! Can you believe she made those candle holders? (Mike actually asked her, "Oh, so you've taken up glass-blowing?" Oh good grief. Men.)

    Tg tp 1

    Breanna became drowsy first, so up the stairs she went and crawled under my parents' heated blanket…

    Tg tp 2

    She was snuggled in and ready to dream about studly Pilgrim men when suddenly, who should appear but…

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    Needless to say, the Studly-Pilgrim-rescues-the-beautiful-young-lady-Pilgrim-from-the-clutches-of-the-Wampanoag-witch-doctor fantasy didn't last long.

    Or maybe that was my fantasy… moving on.

    Sabrina headed back downstairs to mind her own business, and along came her father, tired of the peace and quiet…

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    The picture below strikes me as odd, bc apparently Mike whipped Sabrina up out of that seat so fast, her left foot disappeared…

    Tg tp 5

    Sophie, who was sitting on a nearby couch, disapproved of the racket they were making. She was trying to play on my mother's iPad, and they were distracting her…

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    I really didn't take that many pictures on Thanksgiving. I was too busy eating and trying to keep the conversation going so fast that Mike couldn't get six words in edge-wise. These words in particular:

    "Who wants to play a game?"

    Happy Leftovers!

  • Family

    A Sad Announcement

    Prince Charles has announced the engagement of his son, William, to the lovely Kate Middleton.

    These past twenty years, I've been saving Breanna for Wills. But apparently he didn't get the memo.

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    I suppose we'll have to just stick with being America's royalty.

    Royal tp 5

    I guess we weren't meant to be Tudors. Tooters, maybe, but not Tudors.

    P.S. I think Mike is hot in that rough rider getup.

  • Family,  Good Things

    Orange is…

    …the new bag of Thanksgiving Blend, sitting invitingly on my kitchen counter…

    Orange tp 3

    …the color of highlighter I'm using on a model pattern…

    Orange tp 2

    …the cinnamon-y pumpkin hand sanitizer from Yankee Candle I put on my hands before I stitch bc it smells so good…

    Orange tp 4

    …my sweet Sophie's swim cap…

    Orange 1 tp

  • Family,  Home

    Shadow

    Despite my angry outbursts at spoiled doggy behavior, threats to send anything with fur to the glue factory, and refusing to share my ice cream, this creature insists that I am hers. I have tried for a year now to convince her to go love somebody else, but she is steadfast in her mission to make me love her.

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    She's a patient soul.

    Maybe I'll keep her around.

  • Crazy Kids,  Family

    Bean’s Birthday

    Bean turned 17 on Tuesday, and after school she got to open her presents and have her boo stop by. (For those of you who aren't current on teeny-bopper lingo, "boo" means "beau." So now, when you're listening to the top 40 on the radio, you'll feel really dope when you know what boo means.)

    Here's what Boo brought Bean:

    Bday tp 2

    Bday tp 1

    There were TWO DOZEN of these beauties! I was floored!

    Her dad got her a brand new cell phone that does everything from her schoolwork (so she doesn't have to) to remotely switching President Obama's radio station (so he doesn't accidentally say things like "boo"). He also got her some other really cool things (and he even let me say they were from me, too, bc all I did was give birth to her, which is lame) like an Urban Outfitters gift card and some makeup from Sephora…

    Bday tp 5

    There he is, holding the lip gloss he picked out all by himself (after calling me about what colors of "eye junk and stuff" to get), as well as a foundation brush that he said "was the brush to beat all brushes." He was very proud of himself for walking into Sephora, knowing what to ask for. What he doesn't realize is that sometimes people wonder about burly men who walk into Sophora, knowing what to ask for.

    Nate was watching the gift-unwrapping from afar, so Friday kept him company…

    Bday tp 7

    Here is Bean, reading her annual letter from her Dad…

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    Sophie got her some Bath and Body Works products (her favorite thing to give to people!) and created a birthday masterpiece with her Mr. Sketch markers…

    Bday tp 6

    Even though Nate was getting ready to take Bean out to dinner and to a movie, we decided to spoil their appetites with cake and ice cream first…

    Bday tp 4

    And then, before they left, Nate played his guitar and sang beautifully to her  – and to Sophie, who loves to hear him sing and play as much as I do. (I think, however, that Sophie is secretly studying his talents to see if he will be worthy of singing backup for her one day.)

    Bday tp 3

    After their date, Bean's friends had a surprise birthday party for her at the home of one of her best friends, where she was crowned with a tiara and given lots of fun gifts. She had absolutely no idea this was coming, since the plan was to "hang out" as usual. 🙂

    I'm so happy my Bean had a fun day… although I do still owe her a birthday frappuccino, as I'd promised. And I'm very thankful that she has such good friends who made her day special.

    And thank you to all of you! It was so sweet of you to leave her best birthday wishes on Tuesday, and she got a kick out of reading them. 🙂

  • Crazy Kids,  Family

    Seventeen.

    My sweet Bean's birthday is today. This baby girl  – straight from the Lord's Hand – has grown from a precious, thumb-sucking sprout into the perfect blessing of a kindhearted young woman. I'm so proud that she's not only my daughter, but my friend.

    I love you, Bean. Happy Birthday.

    Senior 098 edit tp

    Senior 079 edit

  • Family,  Good Things,  Stitching

    Dog-gone Giveaway

    Yesterday I got a completely fur-brained idea that I'd try to get a fall photo of the dogs together, all sitting on my front porch.

    This was a complete fiasco.

    When I opened the front door and called for them, they immediately obeyed, and the raucus sound of 12 clawed paws stampeding across the kitchen floor was enough to make me want to change my mind and just photograph the quiet pumpkins instead. Nevertheless, I pressed on, willing myself to be patient with the beasts, knowing they were just thrilled to death that I was allowing them out in the front of the house instead of out back.

    I let them get some of the wiggles out by running from driveway to driveway, sniffing what they may, and I called them back. They all ran up onto the porch like good little hounds, but that's when the trouble began…

    "Friday, sit!" Friday sat, but Tasha jumped up to nip at him bc he was being a brown-noser.

    "Tasha, stop!" Tasha stopped, but Missy lunged at her neck, growling like Cujo bc I had spoken to Tasha and not to her.

    "Missy, quit!" Missy quit, but Friday got nervous that he was still sitting and hadn't gotten a treat for it, so he got up to sniff at Missy.

    "No, Friday, sit!" Friday sat, but Missy again lunged for Tasha's neck, growling like Cujo bc I spoke to Friday instead of to her.

    "Missy, that's enough!" Missy looked at me adoringly, but Tasha jumped up and tried to nip Friday bc he was being too compliant and refuses to get in touch with his inner samurai, as she has done.

    It was then that I got the idea to get their favorite treats: Wheat Thins. I opened the door to go back inside to fetch them, and all the dogs came running in after me. When I tried to lure them back outside, only one at a time would follow me, darting out onto the porch, but then running back inside, hoping I'd follow them so they could eat their treats inside the house. Back and forth, back and forth we went, trying to convince each other that inside or outside was better, and I finally gave up and decided to just take each of their photos as they'd come to the door.

    Mind you, with each photo I'd have to dole out a Wheat Thin, and then the next pooch would take their place…

    Dogs tp 7

    Next.

    Dogs tp 6

    Next.

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    (She would die of embarrassment if she knew her face was that dirty.)

    Dogs tp 3

    The sun was quite bright on one spot of the porch…

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    If you haven't already gotten the Boris chart, I'd like to give one away! I'll also include a couple of treats for your pooch! Just leave a comment IN THIS POST, and I'll announce a winner on Saturday.

    In the mean time, I'm going to go photograph the quiet pumpkins.

  • Family

    My Dad

    I love my dad. I think he's the best dad in the whole world.

    One of my fondest memories from my childhood is when my dad would come home from work and I'd hide under his desk, waiting for him to spot me. I always thought my hiding spot was very original.

    When he spotted me, he'd walk out of the room.

    ?

    Somehow, I thought that was going to be a fond memory.

    Now this one is a fond memory… I always knew I could ask my dad for anything. So when I had trouble with homework, I knew he'd be willing to help me. I remember many nights, approaching him at his desk and saying something like, "Hey, Dad? Can you help me with my homework?"

    "What do you need help with?" he'd ask.

    "Um, well, I can't figure out what 4 x 4 is."

    "Well what is it?"

    "Um, well… um… 16?"

    "Is it?"

    "Um, well… yes?"

    "Okay then."

    After blinking a couple of times, I'd leave, not sure if I should be relieved that the problem was done or confused by all the questions.

    ?

    Now that I've thought over that memory, all I can do is blink a couple of times.

    I've told this one before, but maybe it was the time he was watering the lawn with the jet-sprayer, and I ran up to him, screaming like a kid with rabies bc my feet were covered in ants from a nest I'd just stepped in. As I jumped up and down, wild-eyed and foaming at the mouth, pleading with him to help me, he looked at me and wondered why no one had ever fully explained the birds and the bees to him and simply turned the jet-sprayer on me, soaking my shoes through. Then, without a word, he went back to watering the lawn, and I left, hiccuping my tears back and wondering if he'd been honest about 4 x 4 being 16.

    All kidding aside (although all of those stories are true), my brother and sister and I love our dad with all our hearts. He has always been our ideal of what a God-given father should be. He has loved our mother with all his heart, and our family is extremely close-knit bc of his devotion to God and to us.

    I brought him a pear cobbler today, bc it's his favorite dessert. He had come home from work for lunch, so I took a few pictures of him while I was visiting. I always found my dad to be very handsome when I was little, and that hasn't changed.

    Dad tp 3

    Mom dad email 2

    Come on, Mom, stop hiding…

    Mom dad email 3

    Mom dad email

    Dad tp 2

    A very happy birthday to you, Dad. I love you.