I will always have hope...

I read this in today's news.



This is about my friend, Laura, that I worked with at summer camp.

And so is this one.

It altered our lives forever, and I really hope they catch the SOB.

Sorry for the downer of a blog entry, but I read the story at the top today, and it really got me thinking. Not that it is ever really out of my mind...

So, there IS hope. It IS possible. I just hope it's sooner rather than later. Isn't DNA a wonderful thing?? As Psalm 139:14 says we are all wonderfully made. And it's a wonderful way to catch a creep.

Mental picture.

All of the cubbies cleaned out and labeled for this year. All of the canvas tote bags hanging in the cubbies, with the kids' names painted on them in large letters, bright paint, ready to be picked up to take home.
It really was beautiful.

Unfortunately, the bags have now all been picked up at "Meet the Teacher" morning, and the cubbies are empty. But, maybe I can take a picture on the first day of school with the bags BACK in there! Now, that's a thought...

I'll take some real pictures when I go back in to school late next week. I'm taking a break for now, after all, this is still my summer!!

The Countdown

In ten days we'll be at Football Eve, up in ol' Beaver Stadium! Which means in 11 days ---

Let's Go LIONS!! JoePa's the shazizzle.

A pictureless blog entry -

because I can't find my camera in this dumpy house!!

Our house is a mess. Almost all my fault. Not that I messed it up, mind you, but I haven't exactly cleaned in awhile. Why, you might ask?

Well...

Chris is redo-ing our kitchen. He hung the cabinets (ha ha, I said "hung"), he tiled the floor (on a diagonal even!), he made that beautiful hole in the wall, he scraped the wallpaper, and he painted it. The counter comes on Friday morning, and then I will have some of the mess put away.

We went camping over the weekend. Not my favorite thing in the world to do, but the kids and Chris love it, so I went. It wasn't horrible. I liked the canoe on the lake, and eating s'nores (as Molly calls them), and the bacon cooked on the campfire. Yummy! I just don't like the SMOKE from the campfire needed for my delicious treats. I could never smoke. I just don't like the smell....
Oh, and it rained. So, we brought home a wet tent, wet tarps, wet chairs, wet everything. And it's going to rain all week. Sunshine would have been better.

I have begun in earnest to get my classroom organized. School bags are painted with names, cubbies are labeled, Play-Doh is out with new toys and rollers, you know - a place for everything and everything in it's place. I like an organized work space. Bulletin boards are papered and bordered, just waiting for the kids' art work.

It's cold here. I know you don't care. But today's high was 64. That's f-ing COLD for August. I feel like my pool membership dues are being wasted when it is that cold.

Chris just said he found my camera - I'm off to find something to take a picture of. Check back soon, ya hear?

My ABC's Tag

I FINALLY got tagged to do this! Thanks, Denise.

A Attached or single: Attached.
B Best friend: BEST? How about close? Chris, of course, and Heather, and Kristen, and Wendy, and Julie, and anyone else I just pick up the phone to call. Oh, of course Mom and Keeko, too...
C Cake or pie: Depends on the mood. Cake. Chocolate, with chocolate icing.
D Drink of choice: I've made the switch to diet this summer. Yup, I'm still fatter than I've ever been, but I feel like I've at least helped a little bit. I love sweet tea. And a good cold beer sometimes.
E Essential item: computer access, and a good book.
F Favorite color: pink? red? Can you tell I'm really indecisive?
G Gummi bears or worms: Neither. They both give you cavities.
H Hometown: I was raised in the booming metropolis of Moneta, VA. But I've moved about every 3 years since I was 17, so at this age, I don't really HAVE a hometown...
I Indulgences: According to Chris, they are purses and the computer.
J January or July: Are you kidding me? JULY JULY JULY!! Whoever celebrated the 4th of January??
K Kids: Mikey and Molly. And I adore them. They aren't perfect, but I adore them.
L Life is incomplete without: My friends, laughter, and my faith.
M Marriage date: July 6th, 2001
N Number of siblings: 2 Katherine and David
O Oranges or Apples: Apples. I really really don't like orange pulp. At all. It makes me gag...
P Phobias/Fears: heights, fires, spiders, letting my friends down
Q Favorite Quote: instead of a Bible verse, which is easy, I thought of my Lucy Van Pelt quote (you know, from Peanuts) it goes something like this: "Life would be easier if everyone would just listen to me."
R Reason to smile: The life God has given me. Who wouldn't want to be ME??
S Season: Now that the kids are older, summer. I've LOVED this summer.
T Tag Three: Wow, there is no one left to tag. I'm such a loser....HA! OH, I can tag Jodi and Gina, since they just started their blogs this week! And Laura, if you haven't done it, you're tagged, too!
U Unknown fact about me: In college I won a contest I had with my friends over who could kiss the most guys in one semester. I was a kissing fool! However, having 3 girls living in one bedroom, we stayed EXTREMELY innocent. But boy, was kissing at the door a great time!
V Vegetarian or meat eater: I was raised on a beef farm. Give me my meat. Now! My husband WISHES I'd say that to HIM.....
W Worst habit: reading when someone is trying to talk to me. I love reading.
X X-rays or Ultrasound: Let's see.. .extreme pain, or seeing new life inside of you... is that even a QUESTION???
Y Your favorite foods: A long list. Short list? cheesesteaks, ice cream, avocado egg rolls, edemame,chocolate, fruit.
Z Zoo animal: The giraffes at Colorado Springs. They are so much fun to feed!

I'll have to start doing posts on my purses, and just throw a picture out every now and then. I DO like my purses. You'll see....

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. The kitchen is being remodeled by Chris, and I have been trying to keep the kids busy and out of the house!

Feeling ugly?

Check out this dude. I'll never feel bad about finding a zit again...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292111,00.html


Molly caught me watching the end of The Wedding Singer. She asks "Mommy, are they brother and sister?" I replied "No, they are husband and wife. Like daddy is my husband, and I am his..."
Her answer "Life." How romantic. Not the answer I was expecting, but romantic.

The sound of silence.

Chris took the kids camping again for the night. I miss them, but boy, do I LOVE the peace and quiet. No getting anything for anyone but me. It's a great break.

Back to the reunion.

The next night I had organized a dinner for everyone at the VFW. A spaghetti dinner, in true Drill Team fashion.

Of our pledge class, there was Ann, me, Bob, and Melissa.

The oldest group was John, Irene, and Eric. John and Irene got married. A LOT of Drill Team people have gotten married to each other. Chris and myself included.

I apoogize for the poor picture, but here is almost all of us on the Lion. Chris was putting the kids to bed, so he missed it. And I don't know how to photoshop him in. Sorry, honey!

From there we went to The Phyrst, one of my favorite bars in town. They have a sing-along band, and on most Saturdays nights the president of the University comes and plays the washboard with the band. How cool is THAT??

Will we EVER grow up? Apparently not. ha ha ha

Here I am standing at Table #2, playing the tamborine with the band. Nope, we'll never grow up...

OK, so, there was this bachelorette party asking Jason, Bo, and Zerbe how, well, how "big" they are. The boys are trying hard to convince them. Well, I got the girls attention showed them that Jason would be about 7 inches, Zerbe would be about 3 inches, but BO, now he must have had 13 inches! The funniest part? They all BELIEVED me!! Like I'd KNOW!!

So, Bo's wife Rhonda comes over to clear up any misunderstandings.

Not to be outdone, Eugene gets in on the action!!

And somehow, Kevin's pants fell down, too...

Overall, it was quite a weekend last week. I can't believe we have to wait a whole year for the next one, but our old bodies have to recover...

I got an email from a friend, Dave, who came. He said "Em (his wife) was amazed at how everyone just clicked; I was amazed at how no one seemed to have changed."

That about sums it up.