By The Pricking of My Thumb...Saturday This Way Comes!

I went walking twice Yesterday. I got a chance to walk around the block with my mom and give a shout out to our good friends, Suzanne, Jason, and Samuel. Another friend, Stephanie was at Suzanne's so a wave to her, too. It was nice to talk with my mom. I went in to so goodbye to the boys. They were not in the best of mood, but my mom said she wanted them to stay and they wanted to stay. (Pray for my mom! Yeah...for my great escape!)

I went for my 5 mile walk at the park. I listened to Astronomy Cast's show on Saturn's Moons that Michael reloaded for me and Wait Wait's show from 7/06. The heavy rains brought about a nice new flurry of insect activity. So, instead of me collecting bugs they collected me. I swatted, flicked, blew, smacked and twitched through the park. The best part is when they get trapped in the sweat on your neck. Woo hoo!

Michael went and practiced guitar with our friend Eric. He practiced "Collide" by Howie Day and "Rosemary and Thyme" by Simon and Garfunkel. He is really enjoying learning a bunch of different songs and chords.

::::::::::::::Flair::::::::::::::

I saw the flair buttons on Facebook and thought several were a hoot. Here are a few that seem to work for my kids. I've got to do a page for me, too.

Credits: Dear Diary by Erica Hite, Buttons from Facebook, doodles by Jenna Desai and Jason Gaylor, Robots by Karen Lewis, Tape by Kate Hadfield. Fonts: DJB RACHELZ, DJB ALL GIRL, DJB SEBASTIAN, DJB KYLE Second Grade by Darcy Baldwin at www.thedigichick.com

:::::::::Pictures from Noah's Baptism Album:::

Credits: Sunny Day by Edeline Marta, Stamp frame by Meredith Fenwick, Food Doodles by Kate Hadfield and Jacque Larsen.

_{Edeline Marta's Sunny DayCinnamon Design's Evitangel freebie kitMossa's orange dotsWeeds and Wildflowers doodle frame freebie, Word Art and kite.Font: DJB NICOLE by Darcy Baldwin @ www.thedigichick.com}



:::::::::::::Book Review:::::::::

I just finished reading The Girl Who Owned A City by O.T. Nelson with the kids for our family reading book. The older three were very thoughtful to the concepts in the book that dealt with survival of children were a plague has wiped out all humans older than 13. The strong female character is one I always appreciate in any genre. The message of the book boils down to use your mind. Don't relie on others for your survival. You can use your mind to plan and then put those plans into action. Fear is what causes people to lose confidence in their abilities, then they become bullies who steal from those who were smart enough to think ahead and then work for what they have. Lisa, the main character, never wants to be a hero, instead she wants to encourage others to think and put their own plans into action.

While I was reading one evening Noah built a fortress from blankets, clothes and pillows. Aaron promptly tore it down. This moment of angst demonstrated the amount of chaos my kids would create if left to their own devices. Interesting evening!



I found a book and its cd counterpart at the library that I thought Noah might like called:
The Gravity Keeper. We listened to the first cd on the way to drop Rachel and Eve off at my stepmother's house. The main character is 11 year-old Simon Bloom. His favorite book is Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy. I liked the character from that moment. Nicholas Hormann does the narration for Listening Library and he is FABULOUS! I look forward to reading the book outloud to the kids when we are finished with our current book that we are enjoying. From the positive start on this first cd I'm predicting a great review.

:::::::::::::::::::Current Family Reading Book:::::::::

We started Tales From The Hood by Michael Buckley. It is the latest in the Sisters Grimm series that we all love. The first chapter had all of us laughing! There was potty humor...quite literally...it was about the toilet. Hilarious stuff! We aren't high brow here...No...NO...NO!

I hope y'all have a fantastic weekend...squabble free...! :)

Scouts

:::::::::::::::Scout Camp:::::::

Michael's blog shows the flag at half mast for the 4 scouts who lost their lives during a tornado in Iowa. My stepdad, Jim, wrote a blog about what happened and it was a wonderful tribute to those boys. There was one particular scout that looked just like Aaron and my eyes spill over with tears and my heart aches with recognition. My prayers are with the family and friends of all those who are suffering.

::::::::::The Guitar Man:::

My husband is teaching himself to play guitar. He sits down with any time he can scrape together and practices.

<sub>Credits: Remember When Date Stamp Brush by Karen Lewis http://www.thedigichick.com/shop/pro...273&page=4

Catrine's Explore Solids paper, Aged Frames, black chalked alpha

Birgit's Retro paper and Retro leaves

Christina Renee's Stamped words freebie at DST

Darcy Baldwin's DJB Teeny Bopper Darcy Baldwin's DJB TeenyBopper font http://www.thedigichick.com/shop/pro...273&page=2

also DJB MICHAEL

Katie Pertiet: frame</sub>



::::::::::::::How I spent My Summer Vacation::::

1. Mowed the grass...ran over poison ivy in the backyard. (I wonder if there are cortisone speculators like they have for oil?) The weather was really beautiful.

2. trimmed a tree (I have no SKILLZ at this and the poor thing looks sillier than it did before, but I can see the cars and kids a bit better as I back out of the driveway.

3. Used the weed eater on the edge of the road in front of my house. I really enjoy this activity. I did, however, put off weed eating a large patch in the front yard that has...WAIT FOR IT...WAIT FOR IT...Poison Ivy. I know, I should just go for it. What are a few oozing lesion awaiting my dear spouse who hasn't seen me in a week.

4. Listened to my kids giggle while watching Napolean Dynamite and Murder By Death.

5. Digiscrapped

6. Washed and folded clothes.

7. Shopped at Target

8. Told my kids to clean their rooms a GAZILLION times. (Note to self, repetition is not necessarily effective).

9. Fed those kids of mine who are too slack to clean their room.

10. Mediated umpteen squabbles.

11. Read a few books...I liked them, too.

12. Enjoyed several walks in the park, while listening to podcasts from Wait Wait and Astronomy Cast.

...Summers not over so we will see about next week! :)

***Edited to add this exciting Digi-News::::

Check out EVITANGEL for an amazing new free kit designed for Gabs by Nathy. Gabs is having a blog party to celebrate her 15,000 visitors. You can get a gift and help her continue on to her next big number!

Take care! (((hugs)))

I'm Not Dead, Yet! I'm Feeling Happy!...

...or Eve's premonition at the library. I told Michael that Eve wanted to go by the library, so he said cool and away they went. After checking out her library books Eve inquired how long she would get to keep them. Michael looked at the check out slip and replied in a goofy excited voice, "Wow! You get to keep these until January of 2008! That's next year!" Then Eve said, "You'll be DEAD in 2008!" Michael was a bit surprised by this revelation, as were we as we laughed at this prediction. Hey, but maybe this time next year we could be on that Crossing Over show, or hanging out with Sylvia Browne...better yet, I think I'll just fix a healthier meals and hope for the best!

:::::::::::::::::Guitar Hero...NOT::::::: Aaron does really like the Guitar Hero games, but requested a real guitar. He and Michael went up to a local music store called Music Go Round and they picked up this: an Ibanez Acoustic Guitar :::::::::::::::::Vacation Layout 58...I Think?::: This is from our vacation to Colonial Williamsburg. Rachel and Noah were able to hold a cochineal beetle that is used to create red dyes. _{Darcy Baldwin: DJB LENA, DJB KENNAscript at The Digichick Shabby Miss Jenn: Tree Trimmin' Party Christina Renee: Grunge Frames, Sassy Lace, Signature Collection, Botanical Brush Michelle Coleman: Hand Stamped Alpha} :::::::::::::::The Christmas Tree is UP! These are my favorite Nativity pieces. They were made for me as a Christmas gift a few years ago by my brother-in-law, Reuben. He and his wife are both talented artists. I was beyond words excited to get these and they are a treasure! This is one of the beaded and pinned ornaments hand made by my husband's grandmother, LaVone Moulton. The kids get excited to put them on the tree each year. They really miss their "Granny Great"! These are a couple of vintage ornaments form Granny Vone's Christmas tree that Michael would look at as a child, so she gave them to him several years ago. This is one of my favorite Southern ornaments. It is a piece of painted okra! Here is a beautiful amaryllis that Rachel's Primary teacher gaver her. We have really enjoyed watching its growth.


Smiles...off to read!