{twinklings}

at this moment, noah is playing his psp snuggled up on the couch.

evan is curled up in my chair. he gravitates to it. he is watching hannah montana. i know, i know.

scott is sleeping soundly on the couch. thank you God.

it is friday. yippee. we will likely all wake up together in the morning {well, all but scott, i'm thinking he will not be moving from the couch} without the aid of an annoying alarm clock.

the boys did exceptionally well this morning {mornings are always a hurdle around here} as i had to get out the door early.

i got scolded by noah for being late at pick-up today. he hates that. evan asks me to be late so he can sit with the 5th grade girls as long as possible. evan is getting the benefit as i seem to be perpetually late, of late.

the boys are eating a supper of breakfast foods. i'm staying away as bacon is involved.

i have just washed a quilt {a christmas one, i might add} to snuggle up in tonight as we watch 'a christmas carol". so getting ready for the big production on december 5th by our church. i'm thinking it is going to be beyond wonderful. have i mentioned that i had to scurry to find two more tickets as i gave away two tickets i had already given away after purchasing a bundle of them. i almost had to sit out.

amazingly encouraging text received today.

oh, and i am utterly falling in love with quilts. i've never been a quilt kind-of- girl, i've been more of the in love with anything filled with down type. although i have one that i will always treasure above any other thanks to a wedding gift from my mamaw. and, besides that one, i have no other of any quality. since this will be my big year; yes, the 40th come august {gasp!} i will now qualify for an amazing work of art that i can wrap myself in from my quilt-making, award-winning {seriously, she takes down the 80-year-old quilters}, dentist of a sister-in-law. i have visions. can't wait to pick out the fabric.

nite eveyone! going to get away from this computer for a bit.

{blissful thinking}

it's a constant struggle right now.

this time of year makes it that way for me.

i am literally "craving" domestic activities from decorating, to purging/organizing, cooking yummy comfort foods, reading multitudes of big books {as evan would say}, snuggling in winter pj's {even the ones that noah destests. the ones with the moose on them.}, listening to loads of christmas music, burning candles like there's no tomorrow, watching movies, folding warm laundry {yes, that is true!} but, typically i only want to do that for about a week or two. the laundry that is.

but, not yet as this computer is still beckoning me loudly.

i may, however, slip in a break or two this weekend.

happy weekend everyone!

ps...thanks for all the texts/emails/messages re: scott and evan. evan is doing well with no further complaints. fingers crossed there. poor scott...it is hard to watch this.....it is like the never-ending labor. i feel so bad for him!! he's being a trooper though. not sure we'll make it through this night without a trip to the er. my poor mom could not take it today and actually laid hands on him to pray. very sweet.

{quick note}

i am frantically trying to finish up some things for the office; that were due uhmmm.....monday. not good. i have many, many calls to return...know that i will get to them. hopefully tonight pending on what is below.

we {and, i use that term very loosely!} have a stone in the ureter. reallllly not good. pain meds have been commenced. which is very scary considering all of the other meds on board. still trying to get in to a urologist.

little guy has hurt his hip/leg and we are headed for x-rays.

looks like i'll be seeing holiday market in 2011. :(

uncle!

{this & that}

*i'm immensely torn. i struggle with this every single year. mixing the seasons? i sooooo want to decorate for christmas. actually, i've wanted to that since july. maybe, june? but, i want to savor what is left of fall as well. i just need to lighten up! sc's looks so pretty!
*a MIRACLE occurred! my lense. my sweet, sweet lense....started working on it's own again!!! which is somewhat scary actually. but, i am not kidding when i say that i said some prayers over that piece of glass. i was less than thrilled about either a very high repair bill {typically 1/2 of what it takes to buy a new one} or dropping another large amount of money on one. and, it was one i could not live with out. well, i could, but it wouldn' t be easy. so, i am very, very thankful! just wish i had had it on some of my recent sessions. :(
*thinking of changing up the thanksgiving plans bit. well shall see.
*have been in MD offices all day. the ct revealed 3 stones for scott. i'm off to pick up meds and then scurry and get the boys for noah's ortho appt. should i be surprised that the ortho has never seen a child do to his teeth as noah has? you are typically 30 or above. leave it to us. so bite splint and retainer molds today.
*am working like a mad woman. worked until 4:04 am yesterday. but, the end is in sight.
*not that i have a literaly second to spare, looking forward to scooting away for a few hours for holiday market friday. it's my annual with ang...anyone else want to go?
*my house is a wreck.
*just thought i would throw the above in.
*i'm thinking it will be until i get to the end that is "in sight."
*as files resize and upload {which tends to take FOREVER} i've been purging in a big way. the trash pick up was embarrassing this morning.

gotta go!

{let the games begin!}

We spent alot of time playing games this weekend. The type that does not require batteries. Good, old-fashioned board games.

They were a big hit! I'm not one that loves games at all but I will take a board game anyday over anything electronic.

Noah is teaching us {I should say, Scott as I gave up!} to play chess.

Evan & I stuck with checkers.

It's definitely a weekend we will remember! And, it was so nice to be without all of the electronic gadgets for a change. :)

{weekend respite}

Our weekend for two turned into a weekend for four. Which was perfectly fine and much needed. The recent weeks have been very strained so a very quiet weekend away was great. And, I think we got to enjoy the peak of fall foliage - it was beyond beautiful!!!! And, thankfully it "felt" very much like fall with temperatures in the 30s & 40s. Perfect!

Thankfully, I did pull out the camera. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures of the leaves until just before we made our way back down the mountain Sunday afternoon......I pulled over and snapped a few. The colors were unbelievable.

This is us in the rocking chairs at the front entrance of the lodge. It was a beautiful place to sit and relax with the exception of the fact it was 42 degrees!

I barely caught the sunset from the restaurant.

Of course, E's favorite thing to collect....rocks! His pockets were full, my pockets were full, my car was full.......he is obsessed! At least it isn't an expensive obsession. ha!

A perfect opportunity to talk about the wonders of creation!

Not a happy camper as he was banned from getting too close to the edge.

He spent most of his time in trees of course.

Watching Dad.


So pretty!

We had a really great time doing pretty much nothing! The boys were so happy to be able to go. I tried to push aside my panicked thoughts of all I had to do at home. I made myself "unplug" and did NOT drag a computer with me. We played lots of board games, ate way too much junk food, slept in, and watched a ton of movies snuggled up together. A very simple, but MUCH needed weekend. So happy I didn't reschedule! I think it gave me the reboot I needed to get through the next couple of weeks work-wise. The lodge is such a beautiful place and close enough to get away easily. Great memories!

{oh.my.word}

If I started out by saying a huge green flying saucer landed in our pasture and zapped me {or better yet, maybe just my brains} you would likely believe that version easier than the real-life one.

Wow.

Where do I even start?

I literally cannot even begin to recall it all, let alone write about the crazy things that have happened this week.

My vehicle has been in the shop x 3. That eats up a lot of desk time. {not to mention $$}.

I lifted a small, tiny stool in the back of my car and popped, stretched or pulled a ligament in my RIGHT wrist/hand. I'm in a very tight splint. My fingers still work and as long as I keep my arm stiff....I'm not in agony if its not moving. But, cannot even comb my hair or brush my teeth without. The lack of agony at this moment is due to the aid of over-dosing, liver-damaging amounts of anti-inflammatories.

Really? RIGHT hand. Editing? I.could.cry.

Well, maybe I did.

But, NOT in front of the officer that pulled me over this morning.

I was too stunned.

Yep, that's the 2nd time this month.

Mr. Hobbs is going to disown me soon.

First time was for expired tags. Seriously, who does that?

Uh...me. There IS a story with a FAIRLY good explaination behind it. I'll tell James Carter about it when we're on that subject. As I'm sure it will come up. Again.

Today, it was speeding. And, I was totally guilty. Just oblivious to it because I was totally distracted by the fact......well, I won't go there. Family situation, you know. {wink}

A warning was rendered and received.

2nd one this month. State versus City.

I'm afraid I will skip the ticketing phase and progress straight to jail time. My life has become a Monopoly game. {without all the $$}

I got completely stuck at the dealership today because of the aforementioned distraction by what happened in "the preplanned" rides to MDs, home, etc. Actually, they didn't happened. I left Scott behind as he waited his transportation to the MD.

I drove off all.the.way.home via shuttle.

Did you ever know I hate riding with strangers? Especially when the shuttle car puts you to the point your shoulders touch the stranger if you move a millimeter.

Stress.

I have had a flare up of TMJ headaches that are worse than I have had in years. New appreciation for Scott. Although, I would have preferred a different route.

I get the worst mom in the world award.

And, totally deserve it.

I thought Evan's book fair day was today.

It was yesterday.

No money was sent.

I need to cry over that. My heart broke.

I took a jab this week from a very loosely termed old friend. I took it and I did not play her game.

But, as soon as that happened I also experienced the wonders of an incredible restoration with someone else. Something beyond words really. It makes me realize how incredibly thankful I am that my heart is totally okay on several issues.

My very, very, very favorite lense died in at a wedding this weekend. Of course, I had suitable back-up. But, can we say ch-ching in a huge way.

I have told Scott I think we are on a mission to see how many big ticket items we can purchase this year.

I REALLY could go on and on.

But, I have to get after it!

Thanks for all of the texts, messages, etc checking on me due to my MIA status. I'll get there!

Oh, yeah, that romantic weekend away begins tomorrow.

With the four of us!! ha!

But, it is totally good and the way it should be with all of the upheaval of late....and, I am going to try my very best NOT to take my computer this time.

Wow, maybe God put me in a splint on purpose??

Totally kidding.