Noah's Baptism

Noah was so excited on Sunday because he was baptised. Here are a few photos of his special day:


Here are Aaron, Rachel, Noah and Eve. Noah says that the plastic lawn chairs are his "throne", which makes me think he has rather low expectations for kingly wealth.

Michael told the kids to all pout, so they would laugh on the next photo:

Poor Rachel, she just looks so confused:

Michael and Noah in the Primary room:

Another strange Noah expression:

Getting ready for the ordinance:

My mom gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and baptism:

Michael and Noah after getting dressed:

My SIL, Missy, was our pianist:

My SIL, Shelene, was the chorister:

Noah really appreciated everyone for coming and a few folks were able to come back to our house for refreshments. My dad smoked pork tenderloin, my SIL, Laura made brownies and chocolate chip cookie cake (she sent it via Marcus because she wasn't feeling well), Melissa and Angela made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, my mom brought drinks and hot dogs, Granny Sydney brought spagehetti, Michael and I provided chicken nuggets and various sauces. The kids played well together and the adults got to talk. The weather was gorgeous, so we were able to leave the door open and people could be on the porch or just move, more easily through the house. Melissa and her kids lingered the longest and climbed trees and played dress up.

Grampa Jim joked about getting Noah an ant farm, but it became even funnier when Granny Alice actually bought him one. She gave it to him, yesterday. I just have to send off for the ant colony, which should arrive in 4 to 6 weeks. I will mail off for them on Tuesday. So our house will be the home of 1 ferret, a gazillion sea monkeys and a colony of ants. I wonder if Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kindgom will be knocking on our door soon asking if they can start filming our family?

Thanks, again, to everyone who could come to the baptism, send something, or just wish Noah well. He was one happy kid! :)

A Bit of This and That

:::::::::::::::Home School Article::::::::

Here is an excellent blog article by Bob Barr, here in Georgia. He attempts to rally parents to encourage state legislators and other leaders to speak out against the debacle created by the California court rulings that nullified the parents' rights and, effectively made each child a ward of the state.

:::::::::::::::Freshly Squeezed:::::::::::



My daughter and her cousin, Isabell having a great big hug!
<sub>Credits: Luisa Leandro: Buttons
'Buttons' Kit by Luisa Leandro (aka Dawn Inskip) available at www.sophiasarducci.com from 7 April
Dawn Inskip: Embossed Alpha (set 2)
Fresh Kit
flowers from Guest C.t. kit
NDISB
http://www.ndisb.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=58&zenid=6f749e8e3eef36755bd930bff3df535c
TTS
http://digistore.treasurestoscrap.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=20
SSS
http://shop.scrapscandistyle.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=43

Catrine: Explore Solids

Darcy Baldwin: DJB Messie Amanda at The Digichick
http://www.thedigichick.com/shop/product.php?productid=17789&cat=273&page=2</sub>

::::::::::::::Anna Benjamin:::::::::
is interning as a designer at Scrapbookgraphics and she was so kind as to send some of her new designs for me to create some layouts. Here are a few:








::::::::::::::::::Pride and Prescience:::::::


This book appealed to me to me in two ways when I saw it on the library table. One, it is written about two of my favorite characters, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, and second, it is a mystery. I have been reading it off and on for a couple of days and I'm enjoying, so far. I'll give you a review when I'm done.

:::::::::::::::::::An Oldie, But A Goodie:::::::

Rachel was in her room giggling and she got up to show me what was so funny. She had grabbed one of my old books off the shelf and was enjoying it, thoroughly.
This photo is not from the book she was reading, but it was the only one I saw that worked on google. I picked this paperback up at a place that allowed you to trade in your old books and buy others. The last copyright date listed is 1973. Rachel loved reading about the antics of Hi and Lois' family. I think it is such a great thing to share a sense of humor with my kids...twisted as it may be!


Smiles!

Happy Birthday, Eveybug!

_{First Day Jitters by Kate Hadfield and Ashley Olsen Party Favors, Birthday Candle and Moodles by Mo Jackson Boy Birthday Doodles by Kate Hadfield Font: DJB Doodle E Doo, DJB Connorbuck, DJB GINAE by Darcy Baldwin at The Digichick}

Today my mom, Michael and I are going to drop by Eve's class to drop off dougnut holes and apple juice to celebrate her birthday. We kept joking with Evey that we wanted to get our last minute 4 year-old hugs and kisses. She obliged with tight squeezes and Eskimo and cheek kisses! Yesterday afternoon I asked Eve what she wanted for breakfast and she responded cheerfully, "Chicken soup with carrots. Dad will make it!" I thought that quite an interesting food choice for breakfast. We didn't have any chicken on hand so Michael made her a beef stew with lots of carrots for dinner. She seemed to think that was cool enough. ::::::::::::::::::::Happy Birthday, also::::::::: to Carol! She inspires me all of the time and her wit is extraordinary! I hope you have a fantastic birthday, you deserve it!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::New Family Reading Book::::::::: We are in the middle of Gulliver's Travels, but the giants have done some rather risque things with Gulliver so we are putting that book on a back burner. We have moved on to Tuck Everlasting. The writing style and imagery is apparent and amazing from the first few paragraphs. The kids seemed to enjoy the first two chapters we read last night.

::::::::::::::::::::::Double Header::::::: Noah, very excitedly, asked if he could be the first one to read to us. I said sure and he picked There's a Wocket in My Pocket, then he read Mercer Meyer's What a Bad Dream. He did a great job and Rachel was there as a little mother hen correcting any mistakes.


::::::::::::::::::::::TF Apprentice::::::: The Tooth Fairy Apprentice worked ALL DAY on wiggling her loose tooth out of the socket and, VOILA, by 11:00pm was successful! Rachel was finally able to go to sleep and so were we.

::::::::::::::::::::::Blog On::::::::::::: My SIL, Melissa, has started her own blog and it is hilarious! Check out the Hardin Hive if you get the chance. Her kids all have distinct personalities and it is funny to read about her day.

::::::::::::::::::Interesting Product of the Day:::
Charlie's Soap
I read about this on My Scrapbook Art and this will be the next laundry detergent I will try. It is safe for septic systems and it seems to remove everything under the sun and doesn't cause allergies, so it seems like a great purchase. We will see.

Welcome, Elliott!

Text: Aaron, Rachel, Noah and Eve were excited to welcome their newest cousin, Elliott. Aaron was especially good holding him. Elliott's mom, Melissa, looked great after her Cesearean section, but was experiencing a lot of itchiness due to her pain medication. Matthew, Elliot's dad, was suffering from a bad back and allergies. Elliott fussed only slightly and after a few good burps settled right down and fell asleep. Welcome Baby Elliott!

_{Mo Jackson's Boxer Thirteen,
Gina Cabrera's Simply Irresistable Mega kit,
Baby chipboard on ribbon by Shabby Miss Jenn,
Don't Be Negative by Gina Miller,
Hand Stamped Alpha by Michelle Coleman,
Fonts: Jayne Print, House Sitter's Club}

Noah took the visit to see baby Elliott as an opportunity to quiz Matthew on, pretty much, everything. Well as Monty Pythoners say: "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Noah wanted to no what part Matthew took in helping bring Elliott into the world. Matthew told him he had helped by giving support to his wife and various other things. Noah told him that wasn't good enough. Yep, this is Noah in his normal form. He also was certain about the directions for getting out of the hospital, which was opposite of the posted signs. To Noah those signs were wrong and he was right. What a troll, sometimes, but cute.

Here is a layout of my niece Haley:

Haley enjoyed hunting the Easter eggs at Granny Alice McClure's house. Aunt Katherine made and dyed a dozen hard-boiled eggs for the kids to hunt, but the kids refused to eat any of them! Uncle Michael liked hiding the eggs in the trees.



Spring Basics Plain Paper by Cindy Irvine at Elemental Scraps
Sketchy Brushes Painted Flowers by Cindy Irvine at Elemental Scraps
Doodle Border by Kate Hadfield,
Template freebie from Janet Phillips,
Bunny and Cracked Easter Egg by Mary Fran,
Fonts: DB Michael at blueflombingo, Jodishand


::::::::::::::Still Reading:::::::
The Phantom Tollbooth. I will post some of the quotes from the book because they are so profound, but I have to finish the taxes and do some cleaning.

Smiles!

{Pay it Forward}

After Michael and I finished helping his oldest sister and her husband move into their new abode her husband made the observation that Michael and I were the first to arrive and the last to leave. They thanked us for our help, we talked for a bit, then we went to my mom's house to pick up our kids. It brought to mind the concept of the film Pay it Forward. I was thinking that whenever you do a good deed for someone they are more apt to do something good for someone in return (and not necessarily to the person who was initially kind to you). Also, I like to think of myself as someone who is reliable, and Michael, as well. If I commit to something I'm there all the way. I have a hard time with people who don't value reliability as much as I do. I also appreciate my mom and stepdad for taking care of our 4 kids so we could be helpful and focused for the move. My parents are very reliable and care deeply for my kids.
Another nice pay it forward story is about my mother-in-law who paid for the meal of two service man at Longhorn Steakhouse the other day. The waitress happily obliged to ring the two service mens' order on her bill. She frequently does this (she eats out A LOT) and it is a good deed...she's happy, they're happy and both feel appreciated.
There is a commercial that shows the concept of pay it forward and for the life of me I can't remember who is advertising, but what stands out is the series of random acts of kindness. Too cool and very inspiring!

Smiles...have a lovely Sunday!

{My Aaron Spelling Tribute}

_{Font:Bitsumichi, Carbon Block and Arial}

When I got home I checked the news on the AJC and CNN and found out that Aaron Spelling had passed away following a stroke. I grew up on this guy's t.v. shows (good or bad)and I liked a lot of them. One of my favorites was Charlie's Angels. I was a Sabrina fan, then when she left I liked Kelly. For the brief time that Farrah Fawcett was on the show I was curious if she owned a bra?!? I don't personally like wearing them, but ha! I'm not on national television, though I'm sure the male audience is like SHUTCHA MOUTH! WHADDA YA TALKIN' ABOUT! It has to be said that I used an entire can of Final Net hairspray to get my hair to form the signature winged hairstyle sported by Farrah Fawcett. I also owned the famous bathing suit poster (many years since torn and thrown away) and that same poster photo on a t-shirt (I will scrap my 70's coolness very soon)!

The reason the layout is entitled "Roger's Angels" is due to the fact my father-in-law is deceased and this is a silly photo of Lettitia, Melissa and Sydney pretending to the Charlie's Angels. They had such a good time posing like this that we all had a great laugh (and maybe Rog, too?!)

So this layout is a simple fairwell to Aaron Spelling and his t.v. shows that helped me get through any homework I felt was boring, or any chores I was sloughing! Thanks Aaron! And a simple homage to my Father-in-Law who I really miss talking to!