aren't they gorgeous?

i know, a mom always thinks her kids are amazing and i'm no different. i love this pic because they're all starbucks freaks and this is so typical of them together.

OUCH!

kayt had her shoulder surgery this am. she had some trouble w/getting sick from the anesthesia and since she threw up she had to stay in the recovery room longer...all she wanted was to go home. But she's doing better now. they found a tear in her labrum and one of the bones (i think) thinner than expected so they had to re-thread the tendon so it was a little more work than originally thought. she's having a lot of pain but can't take the pain meds yet because she isn't able to eat from the nausea. poor thing...i feel so bad for her!
thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. feel free to stop by visit her-she'd love it!

Christmas 2009

The Miracle of Christmas

A child is born tonight in Bethlehem
His mother holds him close and sings a sweet lullaby.
All the world lays sleeping,
Unaware that God Himself has come in the night

The shepherds tremble as the angels sing,
And in their song the voice of God speaks peace to the world.
A miracle has happened, God has come and God has spoken,
But the miracle has only just begun.

So come to Bethlehem and see
The One who’s come to rescue us-our Saviour and King.
Bring your past, your joy, your sorrow, all you hope to find tomorrow,
And hear the words again, “Fear not”, and know that God is near.

For the God who spoke is speaking still
And the God who came still comes.
The miracle that happened still happens
In the hearts that will believe and receive the miracle of Christmas.
Steven Curtis Chapman

We hope you and your family had a blessed Christmas!

accepted~again

i'm (we're) SO proud of kayt! earlier this week she got a letter of acceptance to seton hall university with an amazing scholarship. our kids never cease to amaze me...you know, the whole studying in school thing and all ;)

prayers answered!!

on saturday we received a call that Rev. Lewis has accepted the call from our congregation to come and be our pastor. so many prayers for so many years have been prayed for the LORD to send us someone to lead our church, as it's been many years since we've had our own minister. The LORD does everything in His time and we are thankful that He is now sending us someone to preach to us and lead us in His ways. It reminds me of Psalter 291 vs. 12 from Psalm 106: Blessed be the Lord our covenant God, All praise to Him accord; Let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye, praise ye the Lord.

baking cookies...?

no, really, this is supposed to be a family day...baking cookies. i'll keep you posted~maybe the teenagers will come around! yea, right!

no white wrapping paper!

this year i bought a huge (!) roll of white wrapping paper-yep, like they have in the stores w/the metal stand. i had thoughts of everything matching with beautiful coordinating bows...but i have an 11-yr-old daughter that just can't let a good blank slate go to waste. you know, i rather like it this way~much more beautiful than plain white...and ribbon's just a waste of money anyway!!

cookie jars

today a few of the girls (& jake) from jake's class came to make cookie jar mixes that they're selling for a fundraiser. we had a great time and as i told them..."you're such nice girls". ;)

artsy crafty ashley getting jake's approval on a ink color for stamping

noelle, brianna, kaitlyn, rebecca, jennifer


back at ya sassy girl

lots and lots of jars...and lots and lots of work

ben was at the end of the line helping too...

i think jake was happy to have another guy there!

they're bbaaaccckkk!

my loveseats are back! had them reupholstered and i love 'em. fred pepe has come through again! he does SUCH amazing work...look~the flowers are all centered (for those of you who know me well this is HUGE!!). well, going to 'sit' for a minute...just thought i'd show them off ;)

accepted!

from this...

to this...

she's been accepted-with an awesome scholarship!!-to her top college of her choice. we're so proud of her!

YYEEEE HHHAAAWWW!!!

while the parents are away...

the kids get along!!!

ed 'kidnapped' me friday night so kayt had the kids and made a gingerbread house with them. the house was, surprisingly, void of any trace of this explosion of this family fun when we got home. kayt-you're such a fun sister~they all had a blast!!

susie homemaker

just a question...if you were flipping through your mom's martha stewart christmas book (which, i got at home goods for about 1/4 of the asking price...so this means that i only bought it because it was cheap, not because i was actually thinking about doing anything with it-much less BAKE out of it!!) would you actually stop at a page with this picture on it?

well, livie is SOME HOW related to me~must be gramma genzink~but she looks at this page and thinks that it's something that HAS to be made. does she have any idea how much work this is? martha makes everything at least 3 times as complicated as it has to be! every limb and whatever else is a different piece that all has to be done separately. and please~i've made cream puffs before but you put a blob of stuff (3 ingredients MAX!) on the baking sheet, bake it, dig out the middle and put pudding in it, shake the powdered sugar on and call it a day.

but not livie and julia-they made it all homemade-even the inside...AND the chocolate (ghiardelli at that!) syrup is homemade. has this girl never heard of hershey's?!! it was SOOOOO delicious~had to go back for more (shhhh...don't tell b/c it was 'after hours'. ;)
great job, girls!


as i'm writing this she's making chicken salad. she came with me to get a few groceries and needed the chicken and this is how our stop&shop conversation went:
liv: 'mom-do you know where the rotisserie chicken is? oh, here it is'.
mom: 'no, liv, there's chicken over here that's all cleaned and cut so you don't have to get your hands all icky'
liv: 'oh, please, mom...i don't really care about that!'

ok-i'm JUST SAYING...

the lonely leaf

i kid you not...this picture was taken by one of my tender-hearted children of a very lonely leaf all alone on the sidewalk while his friends all played together on the grass. but don't worry, he was soon placed with his friends!

purple?

i've wanted to do this for the longest time and i finally did...painted my foyer purple!! ok, it's a little more eggplant but it looks amazing! And i know there are only a few select people that can really appreciate this, right barb, laura & carol? ;)

gratitude...all year

This song has always been so thought-provoking for me. How do I pray? For what I want or for what I need? For my daily bread or for all the extras I think I deserve? Do I realize that the One who holds my hand also holds my future? And that He does all things in His time and in His way?

On this Thanksgiving Day, I'm thankful that He's in control and that I'm not! And even though this next year may hold things I don't understand, my prayer is that I may be content not to HAVE to know, and that I rest in His unfailing faithfulness.

Gratitude, by Nicole Nordeman

Send some rain, would You send some rain?'

'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again

And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade.

Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?

Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down,

Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid.

But maybe not, not today

Maybe You'll provide in other ways

And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You

With gratitude

For lessons learned in how to thirst for You;

How to bless the very sun that warms our face

If You never send us rain.

Daily bread, give us daily bread

Bless our bodies, keep our children fed

Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight.

Wrap us up and warm us through

Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs

Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time.

Or maybe not, not today

Maybe You'll provide in other ways

And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You

With gratitude

In lessons learned to hunger after You

That a starry sky offers a better view

If no roof is overhead

And if we never taste that bread.

Oh, the differences that often are between

What we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace

Move our hearts to hear a single beat

Between alibis and enemies tonight

Or maybe not, not today

Peace might be another world away

And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You

With gratitude

For lessons learned in how to trust in You

That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream

In abundance or in need

And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb6WciRuwhE

giving thanks day 2009

love a day together with family...especially my adorable nieces and nephews! the only thing that would make it more complete would be the rest of my family all the way in washington and us all together!! we love and miss you guys soooooo much!! i am thankful for you...each one of you!

hungry, hungry hippos!

exhausted kayt?

the edible candle craft...thanks again family fun magazine!!

every year grandma honey gives the kids chocolate lollipops from the market basket...she had a little 'scare' this year when she asked for them and they said they wouldn't be making them anymore.

i guess she has a little pull over there because she showed up at the house with a bag full ;)

typical kayt w/her cousins...she's definitely the fun one to them

(can anyone say 'just like aunt traci'??!!)

sarah & mady made grandma a "#1 Grandma" hat~little miss crafties!

champagne for the kids...so special for this day!

flower arrangement from my lovie

just a glimpse of my fall decorations...