Is Max just not too stinking cute in this picture? I found it this past week while looking through my older pictures. I didn't like the way he was not centered in the picture but I wanted to use it so badly cause of that sweet little face. I decided instead of cropping it I would cover the part of the picture I didn't like with my title. Something different I suppose. Not sure how I feel about the entire layout but that face is to die for don't ya think?

Our weekend is over...thank goodness. The recruiter meeting had to be rescheduled due to a conflict in both of our schedules. That is okay...at least my house was kind of cleaned in the process. The musical was amazing...the kids in our school are so talented! They put on the Children of Eden and Max was thrilled from beginning to end. This is the first musical that he has actually stayed awake for. Of course we did take him to the matinee just for that reason! But he absolutely loved it and clapped after every scene.

Volleyball was interesting. Of course we missed the first day because of the musical but Abby was able to pull off a late night party and still be amazing when she played. She truly has come a long way since JAVA started. Unfortunately the girls were taken out by a pretty hot team in the playoffs. Boy could those girls play....except for the fact that they were beating our girls they were fun to watch...so with it all the time!

This week is proving to be a quiet one and I have to say that I think I like that. I just have one meeting this week and then an entire weekend off. I think we are going to hit the stores to do some shopping for our trip. And at some point we need to have the van looked over once again before we drive down...I am a little nervous because our stinking check engine light is on and this time it won't turn off. I guess maybe we should have gotten a new car earlier but I really didn't want to have a car payment for awhile. I am just hoping that there is not anything major that needs to be done and that we make it down and back safely without any major breakdowns. I guess that I will be crossing my fingers and my toes on that one!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope everybody is enjoying the beautiful spring weather...at least here in NY!!

First off...look what I got in the mail yesterday! My Coleman shirt!! I was so excited to receive it and so sad at the same time. Coleman is a little guy that I have been following for awhile now. He had cancer and he went through so much that it just sickens me to think about it. But his motto was Neva Give Up! (That is what it says on the other side of the shirt.) He passed away earlier this year. First thing I did when I opened the package was to kiss that sweet little face. Then I promptly started to cry and so desperately wanted to hold Max right then and there. Max and Coleman are the same age. After I gathered my wits I praised God that he was with Coleman right now...and Coleman was healed and no longer in any pain. He was free to be a little boy once again!! Coleman is going to the beach with me in a few weeks....and I will proudly wear his sweet little face!!

My second thing I want to mention today is of the political nature. Sorry if I offend anybody but I can't help it...I was truly offended by the remarks of our President of the United States....and believe me I now say that phrase loosely!! What he said about the special olympics was deplorable! Totally despicable!! And if the media just lets it slide by then they too are deplorable and despicable!! I can only imagine if it were President Bush that had said that and what a media circus that would have been!! I mean I seem to remember what a circus it was when a particular Vice President had a bit of difficulty with a potato!! The media wouldn't let up on that for months...well this is the president for goodness sake and for him to make such a low down cruel joke such as he did then he should be put through the wringer for it!! I will admit, I did not vote for the guy...my choice as I live in the United States...I will admit that I wanted ever so badly to hang my flag upside down outside my home the day after the election (A symbol that our country is in crisis for those of you who may not know that) and I will admit that I pray daily for the man and for our country so that no harm will be done in the next four years. But never, ever in my wildest dreams did I think that what he said would ever come out of that mouth of his. I will continue to pray for this...........not even sure what I want to call him anymore but believe me my prayers will be a sacrifice!! Sorry if I offended anybody.

Onto a brighter note...we will be meeting with NCAA recruiter tomorrow morning for Andrew Thomas. I have been frantically trying to clean the house...oh boy...well, it is what it is and I just hope and pray the guy isn't very observant (smile) Will let you all know how it goes later.

The kids have the musical this weekend and I have to tell you...I haven't seen my kids all week!! I will be glad when this thing is over. Sunday Abby will play volleyball in Jamestown for the big JAVA Spikefest!! She will have to miss Saturday because of the musical but hopefully she will be awake enough to play Sunday.

Thanks for stopping by today and hey if I made ya upset about my rant on Obama then I am sorry but it is what it is!! (smile)

I am amazed at how fast this week has been going....ok...how fast this month has been going! I am happy though because the time to leave for Myrtle Beach is fast approaching!! Remind me of that when I start panicking because I am not ready!!

We have been hearing from lots and lots of different college coaches about Andrew Thomas recently. It is kind of exciting and kind of sad all at the same time. I am so excited to know that he might actually realize his goal of playing college football but I am sad because it means that he will be leaving soon. Ok...not for another year and a half but hey, I know pretty well how fast that time will go. So, I was spending time going through photos and found this one of him when he was 2. I knew right away what I wanted to do with it and here is the result:






He was such a skinny little thing when he was younger. Nobody would have expected then that he would grow to be as big and strong as he is now but besides his size I just always knew he would be an awesome athlete. I mean come on...his daddy had him throwing and catching footballs by the time he was 2. Still amazes me how well he did that young but like I said even then we knew he was going to be amazing!!

Grandma Snyder was taken to the hospital for a possible heart attack last night. They still don't know if she actually had one but will be running more tests. We will be heading out to see her after Drew gets home from work and we have the kids settled as far as the musical is concerned. So of course now we are pretty worried about her and are praying for the best.

I have much more to share and talk about but will be keeping this one short today so that I can get ready to go to the hospital.

Thanks for stopping today!!

The weather has been just spectacular this weekend and continues on into today. It put me in the mood to create a springy card for the latest Card Positioning Blog sketch. I made this card using sketch 107....see I told you that I would fast become addicted to this site!!

This past weekend we were actually able to work outside in the yard. I found my long lost Halloween decorations that were buried under the snow since that first storm way back in October. Some of them are pretty worse for wear but it really couldn't be helped considering that there has been mounds of snow on top of them since like forever (smile) We also managed to pick up most of the tree debris that was littering our lawn from the many wind storms we had as well. It is surprising to me that we have any branches left on our trees. We also managed to rid the yard of 6 months worth of Kody poop....I know...You really didn't need to read about that but it was sooooo bad this year...I mean seriously bad!! Max was thrilled because he was finally able to play out there instead of hearing...No, you can't go out there because it is too poopy!! The boys have been chirping about taking the snow tires off of the vehicles...I just giggled and shook my head...you know we have at least one more major storm coming before it is officially over right? I mean when have we ever had a March without a major snowstorm...can't thing of any myself so I really hope that they decide to wait just a bit before doing such a thing!!

Yesterday we took Maddie her car after the repairs were done. She was really pretty bummed that it cost about $600 but like I keep telling her....cars are like money pits and you just have to expect that. I just hope it doesn't continue to be a burden to her...I would really like her to have a positive experience with her first car...but who am I kidding...cars stink!!

This week is really busy for the Andrew and Abby...the school musical is this weekend with performances starting on Wednesday. They are both on the stage crew so they are behind the scenes...the unsung heroes of the performance...teheheheee. Abby also has a tournament this weekend but will only be able to play on Sunday...she is a bit worried about how well she will feel like playing after being at the cast party following Saturday night's performance. Hmmmm....it might be comical.

Thanks for stopping by today...I am heading outside to work in the yard again....woo hoo...it is nice to see the sunshine!!

I really love to blog hop and see all the inspiration that is out there. Especially when I am feeling not so creative. Today I stumbled upon a challenge blog...like I really need another challenge in my life...right? Well this was a card sketch from Card Positioning Systems and it totally caught my eye and I was inspired right there on the spot!! I so love when that happens. So here is the card that I created using sketch CPS106. I think that I am going to be spending lots more time over at that blog. Lots of fun stuff to see and inspire! And well, since I finished the card in time, I told myself to go ahead and link it up to their site to see if I could be the lucky winner. Who knows...it is Friday the 13th....could be my lucky day after all!!

It appears that this weekend will be a pretty quiet one! Thank goodness because I really need a weekend where we aren't running around. Although...the guys are going to have to make a trip into Rochester to return Maddie her car. Yep....she made it here the other night safe and sound. But we took her car to our mechanic so that he could get the inspection done and he found...of course you knew that there would be issues because this family and cars just don't get along...that she had a terrible gas leak. And of course when he tried to fix the hoses the rusty stuff under the car caused problems and well...it turned out to be more of a job then he could fix in a day. So poor Maddie went back to Rochester without her car...thank goodness for grandpa and grandma because they were able to get her back in time for work. It seems like the car will be finished by the weekend and that is why the boys are heading up there. Max and I will stay home though because he really isn't a fan of driving in the car for 4 hours. Hopefully the repair bill won't be too awful bad but of course we are more concerned with her having a safe car then anything else!!

I did scrap today...I have been making myself dig out my older pics because...well...I have boxes and boxes of them that need to be scrapped. Of course the layout I did the other day was a really old picture but this one isn't too awful old...2005. This was Max's first Burger King Kid's Meal. He was really more interested in the toy then the food and I guess I have to say that he still is like that today. We have yet to get him to try a hamburger or cheeseburger though. Only the chicken nuggets. He is not a fan of mixing up his foods either so I think that is why a sandwich doesn't interest him. Too funny. I have also taken up to doing a lot of my journaling for my layouts on the back. Sometimes the journaling just does not fit my design...but telling the story is very important to me. To be able to do both I figured writing on the back was the best bet. This way I can tell the whole story and not have to worry about space. I can also easily add that the pictures were from this date but I journaled it on this date. It just makes me feel a little better knowing that I am actually getting the story written. I know...I am babbling again.






Can you believe what a pumpkin he was? Sometimes I forget how precious his little face was. Of course he still has the most precious face but it is soooooo different now that he is a "Little Man"


Thanks for stopping by today. Tomorrow I will be posting a new recipe challenge over at The Shaker Box so pop on over if you want to see it. Oh and by the way...we woke up to snow this morning! I was not a happy camper!! Myrtle Beach cannot get here soon enough!!

Oh boy...is this picture ever a blast from the past!!(1990) I did this layout today in honor of my firstborn buying a car! Yes you all read that right...Maddie has got wheels!! And I am a nervous wreck!! Then if that wasn't bad enough, she calls me about an hour ago and tells me that she is driving home to visit tonight!! Just tell me please....where does the time go? Hence the title for my layout! Anyways, this is Maddie's first time ever driving from Rochester and she is doing it alone. I have to say one thing...Maddie sure has guts!! I know that I have to realize she is a grown up and she should be doing these things but when I think of her it is hard to not think back to when she was this little. It seems just like yesterday only....boy this parenting stuff just keeps getting harder and harder!!

I want to thank everybody that left comments or emailed me after my little (okay...big) rant on Monday. I am feeling much better about it all and I just have to learn to not let it get to me. You are all right....Jealousy was probably the major component and I need to turn the other cheek. I know that what I am doing is right for my family and that is all that is important. Thank you all for supporting me about that!!

Thanks for stopping by today...I am off to continue saying my prayers for Maddie to have a safe journey home. May have to include a stiff drink with that as well....JUST KIDDING!! (Or maybe not!)