Weekend WrapUp 11.30.09

It's time to wrap up the weekend, and wrap up yet another month as well!
Friday was fantastically low-key. I slept in the morning, and vegged the rest of the day. John and Tim had to work, so the girls and I just hung out at the house. The neighbor kids came over and my friend came by to visit, so the house was full. Then it was time to go back to bed. I never got out of my pajamas. Bliss!

Saturday we slept in and then went to my parents' house for the Gator game. Both of the teenage kids brought friends along with them. My brother and sister and their whole families were there, so it was a full house. We watched the Seminoles get spanked!!!, ate lasagna, and had a great time. We also laughed at my mother, which is one of our favorite activities. The older she gets, the funnier she is, without meaning to be. She complains about us "picking on" her, but she loves the attention!
Shelbie & her friend took about 8,888 pictures of themselves. I'm looking for a good convent to send them to, any suggestions?



Sunday was church, and we had our Family Dedication. It was very simple and nice. Then we got home and put everyone to work cleaning the house. In my spare time *snort* I made chicken & dumplings and rice krispy treats for the Fifth Sunday Dinner at church, plus made spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. I rock like that.
Sunday evening we loaded up and went back to the church for dinner. One of our friends was complimenting me on the chicken & dumplings but ended up saying "Great job, Dumpling". So my new name is Dumpling, and they're picking on him pretty hard. One of Shelbie's friends had NEVER had chicken & dumplings, the poor child. He went back for THIRDS and was totally crushed to discover that they were all gone. So yeah, they were a hit.
And now, after all of that, I'm now at work. Just call me Superwoman!

Hope y'all had a great weekend, and don't forget to link up below!

~* Today is the last day of my UPrinting Thank You Card giveaway; I'll be posting the winner tomorrow, so be sure and enter if you haven't already!

Fragtastic Friday

I'm all mixed up because of the holidays, and when I realized it was Friday and I could Frag, I got so excited! So without further delay......let's Frag.

~ I may live in Florida, but it's snowing on my blog. Look closely and you'll see it! I found out about that effect from my friend Manic Mother. I got my new winter design from Hippo Scraps Blog Layouts. Isn't it adorable??

~ Shannon at The Nut House has the coolest thing going on! She is donating one canned good for each comment she receives on this post, to her local food bank! I think this is fabulous and I would love to see her get tons of comments on that post!

~ We celebrated Thanksgiving at my parents' house yesterday. My contributions to the spread of food were: Black Eyed Pea Dip, Rice Krispy treats (with butterscotch chips mixed in, and turkeys on each one that were made of candy corn & icing. so cute & I forgot to get a pic!), fordhook lima beans, and dinner rolls in the shape of a turkey (courtesy of Publix).

~ We had a great time. I missed the kids (mine were with their dad for the holiday & Andrew was with his grandmother). But they will be back tomorrow! Two of my aunts were visiting along with my cousin and her family. And of course my sister & niece were there along with my niece's boyfriend. We all LOVE to laugh so there was much laughter going around!

~ We also love to take pictures!

Me & John =)

this is my cousin, sister, niece, and aunt (clockwise from left)

Same crazy group

my dad and two of his sisters

my cousin's adorable daughter, M.

~ Quick story about M - her older brother hit her in the face with a (soft) ball. She wanted to hit him back, but her mom said "no way! you'll break his glasses!" so she looked at her brother, dead serious, and said "B, will you take off your glasses?"
I nearly fell off the chair!

~ Tomorrow is an interesting day. It's the day of the Florida Gators vs. Florida State Seminoles football game. It's also the last game that our seniors will play on their home field, "The Swamp". Including our amazingly gorgeous quarterback, Tim Tebow. It will be a very emotional day. It may also be FSU's coach's last visit to The Swamp, as this is most likely his last year coaching. FSU is a huge rival for us. They aren't nearly the team they used to be, but the emotion is still there. We have relatives coming in from out of town. ESPN Game Day will be at The Swamp. Some of my family will be there, the rest will be watching on TV. It's going to be a good time!


~ Two reminders: My UPrinting Thank You Card giveaway ends on Monday. There are VERY few entries, so get in on it before it ends - your odds are very good!
Also, in case you missed it, I'm starting a Random Acts of Kindness carnival/meme/theme, whatever you want to call it. I'm considering doing it every Tuesday, but not completely certain. Anyway, be sure to post about your Random Acts of Kindness and link up here! The holidays are the perfect time to be practicing Random Acts of Kindness & brightening the lives of others. Um and if anyone wants to do a RAK for me? Make me a button for this carnival!


~ Have a wonderful weekend, and as always, check out Half Past Kissin' Time for more Fabulous, Fantastic, Fragalicious Friday Fragments!

Thanksgiving 2009

I love having a time to stop and reflect on all of the things that I am thankful for.
They say that in order to see the rainbow, you must endure some rain.
I have endured some rain.



People who have always been wealthy may not appreciate small things as much as those who weren't.
People who have always had good relationships may not deeply appreciate a wonderful, healthy relationship.
But me....I have endured the rain. Storms. Hurricanes.
I believe in gratitude.



I am grateful to have many things for which to be grateful.




I am grateful for four awesome kids. I am sometimes blown away by the people my oldest two children are becoming. Yes, they drive me crazy on a daily basis. But they are truly great kids. They have good hearts. The little ones are equally wonderful and when they're not making me pull my hair out, they are quite cute.

I am grateful that my relationship with my parents has improved greatly this year.

I am grateful for my wonderful friends. I'm the type of person to have a small circle of close friends. I don't warm up easily to new people. But that's just me. I don't need to be BFFs with everyone I encounter. I'm very content with my group of friends. This includes my wonderful bloggy friends, also, of course. xoxoxoxo

I am grateful for the wonderful church that we have found. We were led to this church by Shelbie, our 13 year old daughter. She started going to their Acteens group with some of her friends, and we attended some of the Acteens events at the church and then began attending services. It is the perfect fit for us,(and that's a big thing for me....I am very picky about churches) and we've made some great friends there as well.

I am grateful that, although our house that we loved fell apart, we were able to find a nice home in the same neighborhood that we love so much.

I am grateful that, through financial hardships, (including a layoff and a sudden loss of another source of income) we have still been able to provide our children with a comfortable home and the things that they need.

I am grateful for our pets and all of those that we have fostered.

I am grateful for my wonderful husband. I don't know what I'd do and where I'd be without this man. He works so hard to provide for our family, including three children who are not, biologically, his. He does so much for my children. He spends every moment with us, other than when he is working. He is a true family man. He makes me laugh, keeps me grounded, puts up with my craziness, and loves me the way that I am. I could not ask for more.