5 minutes of peace

has it really been a year?!?

2011-05-11T21:43:00.000-04:00

Wow! It's been more than a year since I've last blogged....a YEAR! That's a really long time in my world. Granted those of you who are connected to me through non-internet life and Facebook know what has gone on...if you've been paying attention ;)

It has been an amazing year of changes and growth....and still some waiting.

Today: Jason and I are living with mom & dad. We moved down here this January (on my birthday) so I could begin a new career with Aflac and he could hopefully find work. My career is going well...slowly building, but progressing...he has found work, but still looking for a long-term position.

We have found a wonderful church family here in Evansville. Jason is beginning to play on the worship team and we are both looking forward to the many ways we can become involved there. We are meeting people our age, couples with young kids and having their first babies. I've met a fellow knitter and my excitement about the craft has returned! I'm really looking forward to getting to know more and more people...this is what has truly enabled me to feel at home here.

The kids are still in Florida, they enjoy their time in Indiana more and more each time they are here. I still hold out hope that they will one day be allowed to live here with us. Jason and I take the monthly trips to see them together. It gets harder and harder to leave them each time. We are all counting down the day until summer break.

Tomorrow: We will continue to work and save for our own place. We will continue to pray for the well-being of the kids. We will continue to look to all the possibilities that life has in store for us.

long time no post....again

2010-04-27T15:43:00.002-04:00

Been busy...school started...got a job...moved to Bloomington...met some people...drove to Florida...met Jason....went on a date...went to classes....went to work....went on another date (well a few)...drove to Florida....kids came to Indiana...Jason met the kids...drove to Florida...went to classes...went to work...hung out with Jason (no more money for dates)....did some school stuff...drove to Florida....going insane with the end of school...will write more...eventually (might even include pictures)

updates...what updates?!?

2009-11-29T23:54:00.002-05:00

Yes, I owe you an update...but frankly I'm tired...

I had an excellent visit with the kiddos...a great drive back home...got things accomplished...learned some things...

I'll post more later, when I'm able to compose my thoughts into something that would be worth you reading and add some pictures that you might like to see :)

In the meantime, check out my daily posts at my project 365 blog.

in Florida...

2009-11-22T00:00:00.003-05:00

with the kiddos this weekend :D :D :D :D

enjoying my time and will update more later!

Project 365

2009-11-11T22:49:00.003-05:00

Okay, here it is...after a little thought and a little encouragement from a few friends and a HUGE desire to finally learn more about using my camera and taking great pictures...I have decided to launch into Project 365. I'm challenging myself to take and post one picture a day for an entire year. I will be posting these pictures on a new blog so that they can stand on their own and not become lost in my ramblings of my day to day life. Check it out and hopefully you'll enjoy...a little encouragement to keep me going would be good too :)

my project 365

busy, busy bee

2009-11-04T21:52:00.002-05:00

I have been very busy in the last couple weeks. It all started with the Habitat build, I got a taste of productivity and a sense of being needed, it was just what I needed to get motivated to moving forward in my life.

So, in the past week or so I have:

started working, part-time but it's work and I love it
started singing in the church choir
continued with my Boundaries class at church
continued to read my way through the Count of Monte Cristo...and I'm really enjoying this read :)
helped Dad winterize the swimming pool
planted crocus and tulip bulbs in the garden
started knitting on a new pair of sock for myself
made progress on knitting my sweater...I've only been working on it since Margaret was born (2 1/2 years!)...I hope I can finish it this year
spackled and sanded the walls in the basement and stairwell (working on a project Mom started)
painted said walls, the top half of them, the bottom still needs some primer before finishing
organised my room so that it is now a place of my own...still need to find some pictures to hang on the walls, but at least the packing boxes are no longer taking up space on the floor
organised my filing cabinet, going through papers from as far back as 12 years ago, throwing away 2 big garbage bags of said papers and appropriately filing the rest
sorted through clothes in my closet and drawers and designated 1 big bag for donations...I still have some to add though
gotten back to working on my thesis...working on some reading and figuring out my methodology
created a calendar and to-do list for myself...this consists of projects in the house, knitting projects, scheduled thesis work time and deadlines

All of this has brought me to a sense of belonging...I'm settling in here...I have a purpose...I'm happy...no matter what is thrown my way, I will take it in stride...nothing can bring me down again...

Yes, I have my moments when the tears well up and I wish I could just hold my kids and never let them go, and I sit in their rooms here and hold their stuffed animals and find the strength to go on...I am doing what I need to do for the sake of my kids...and they will know that and appreciate that one day.

In the meantime, I keep busy, I build relationships in this community and I continue to pray for God's will to be done.

finally taking root

2009-10-25T23:17:00.002-04:00

The past few weeks have brought some interesting emotional highs and lows. Really, I should know to expect them, they have been a fact of my life for a while now. I guess I was just unprepared because here I was thinking that things were finally settling down and I was beginning to be able to make a new start in life.

I was in desperate need of getting away from it all for a while, I needed the mental break from dealing with the process of establishing a new parenting plan and figuring child-support and the difficulty of making everybody happy in the meantime. I was also due for a visit with my kids, three weeks without them is really tough. So, I took off on a road trip to visit friends and ultimately end up in Gainesville to spend a long weekend with the kiddos.

I left on a Wednesday and drove down to South Carolina to spend a couple days with my dearest friend Carole and her family. Her baby girl is about 3 months old now, and I had not gotten to hug and hold and spoil her. So, baby Emma got a visit from her Auntie Sharon...and I can't wait to go back to see her! Carole and I spent a couple days going shopping, staying up late talking and reminiscing and just generally having a great time together.

Next stop was Virgina to visit another dear friend. Matt just recently started his new job as a French teacher at a private school near South Boston, VA and he happened to be on break this week. It was a wonderful visit, doing a lot of nothing...staying up late, sleeping in, catching up on life...we did take a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway and also out to Appomattox and into Lynchburg, were we met another very special friend of mine for dinner...Rick and I spent a good amount of time chatting about the old times in high school and where everybody was these days (I'll get up there again soon to see him and his wife and baby). My time in Virginia made me realize how much I really missed it up there.

Then it was on to Gainesville to see my babies. I was dreading this visit for one reason, this was the visit to tell them that I would be staying in Indiana to complete my PhD and that I would see them on a monthly basis and also for school breaks. I think this was one of the hardest things for me to do, ever. After, that hurdle was jumped over, we settled into Becka's home for the weekend and ended up having a decent visit. It was a very stressful visit for me, but I think they will each get better as we all get used to this routine.

This trip happened to coincide with the University of Florida's homecoming weekend and so I took the kids to the homecoming parade and we watched the Gator game together. I also bought them each their Halloween costumes and we played in a park. We went to church and just generally tried to spend some good time together...it was difficult to tear them away from the computer and TV at times, but I'll figure out how to prioritize my time with them a little better for the next time.

Coming back to Indiana was both difficult and easy. I discovered that I really do not enjoy being in Florida anymore, particularly when its almost 90 degrees in October, but coming back home, with no job and having to face the reality of my life was not a pleasant thought either. I had some really tough moments with Mom & Dad, figuring out where we all are in this process emotionally, figuring out how much more we can handle...and I think that we are ready for whatever is yet to come.

I took a drive up to Bloomington to finally meet Dr. Auger and see the campus...I think I'll love it there. Dr. Auger is a wonderful person and I really look forward to working with her over the next few years and the campus is simply beautiful!

I also found a job, well, mom helped me find it. I start tomorrow, working in a daycare center, part-time, but it's a job, I can't turn it down when there are no other offers. I'm building relationships with people in the church, finally getting out to meet people. Dad and I worked on a Habitat build this weekend, good, quality time with other people, something I've been in need of.

So, this past week, I went from feeling like I was floating around with no place to call my own, to finally feeling like I'm taking root in this community and in this state. I think I'll be okay here...it might still take a little more time...but I'll be okay.

life in small-town USA

2009-10-04T23:11:00.004-04:00

This week brought a true taste of what life is like in a small farming community. This Saturday was the church's 2nd annual hog roast. These types of social events are a huge part of little Mt. Vernon. Every church has an annual social...pork chop dinners, hog roasts, the list is incredibly long for a town of 7500 people (there are a lot of churches here). Mom's church does the hog roast...a time for working together, fellowship, food and fun. It was so good to be a part of it, these are hard-working people and it is good to work alongside good people.

I came to Mom's office with her several days this week too...I'm not sure how she ever gets anything done...she pretty much has a revolving door, there is always someone coming in, for some reason or another. I also went and got my Indiana driver's license...and I had to take the written test to get it! I've also been filling out job applications...need to find something to start paying all those bills I have :)

This week is road trip time! The plan is to visit some friends and then back down to Florida to see the kids...I can't wait! It'll be good to be with friends again, I really miss my friends...and, more than anything, I can't wait to hug and hold my babies :)

Home is where the heart is...

2009-09-27T23:14:00.002-04:00

and yet where is home when your heart is torn in two?

I am home. There is no question about that. Being home with Mom and Dad is possibly the most healing thing that I can do for myself right now. It's good to be with them, and not be alone at night, to take a break from the constant worry of daily life.

There is a joy in riding down the country roads with Dad in his pick-up truck, windows open, talking enough, but mostly just being in each other's company, listening to the radio and occasionally singing along to the same songs. Working with him to unload the branches from the truck and trailer and listening to his plans for the next house projects and knowing that I will be able to work with him on those too.

There is a joy in sitting in church with Dad and listening to Mom give a worship service and to be in the presence of those people who have been praying so much for me and the kids and who continue to pray. To be able to say that I'm looking for a job and hear someone say that they will keep their eye out for something. To be fully welcomed in a community as one of their own is an indescribable feeling.

There is something about this land as well. Something that calls me home here. It's not my mountains where I really long to be, but there is a freshness here. This open land dotted with fields and houses, horses and the occasional oil well. The open road that connects the farms to the small towns and then to the larger communities. The same open road that you could follow and in no time end up in another state. The star-studded night sky that is an amazing sight to behold, when it's not cloudy. I feel a peace in this land.

But only half of my heart is here, the other half is still in Florida. There is a constant nagging sadness, and no matter how happy and at peace I will feel here, that sadness will not go away. I miss my babies. I long to hug them and hold them. I look at their pictures constantly. And yet, I know that I must face this difficult time in order to discover the sweet rewards on the other side.

"Yeah, If you're going through hell
Keep on moving, face that fire
Walk right through it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there"
-Rodney Atkins

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley."

2009-09-18T22:21:00.003-04:00

OK, so life doesn't always hand you what you expect, and the best laid plans are often changed...I'm learning that these days...it's not an easy lesson to learn.

But before there are any more changes in my life, there are some good things going on too.

I met up with my dear friend Stephanie this week, she is at a crossroads in her life right now and I am so excited for her. She's on her way to France to teach English in a high school for 7 months. She will be fantastic!

This weekend I'm taking my kiddos to Disney, thanks to my Aunt Mary and Uncle Tim! When my dad was here and we drove down to Orlando to see my grandmother and other family, all the kids could talk about was how much they wanted to go to Disney World...and let me tell you they are so excited! Margaret wants to see Little Mermaid and Pooh, I haven't seen Joseph this excited and happy in so long and Elisabeth is excited in a cool middle school way ;) I can't wait to share this fun with them!

And then life will continue, with the all the joys that go along with it...I'm looking forward to seeing my Oma and other friends in the near future. There are many decisions to make, many changes to be made, many plans to reevaluate and make anew.

Despite all that has happened, I remain positive, I hold no grudges, I keep strong faith. I must or I could never go on.

"Life may lead you where you least expect but have faith in that you are exactly where you are meant to be." -from the movie Snow Buddies

and now a sharp turn...still not a dead end...

2009-09-13T17:45:00.002-04:00

The results of more court time:

The honorable judge reversed his original decision and denied my right to relocate to Indiana with my children.
I am still in Florida.
We have returned to our 53/47% parenting plan.
The children are having a very difficult time.
I must now analyze my life and decide on a direction to move toward.
I still hold a hope to give my children everything they deserve in their lives.

Please continue your prayers for my family.

The words to this song mean a lot to me right now.

A bump in the road...

2009-08-25T00:43:00.002-04:00

So, after a week in beautiful southern Indiana, I am back in Gainesville with my three kids. We have hit a bump in the road that needs to be navigated. More court time is in our future.

I will not say any more at this point in the process. I only ask for continued prayers for everyone involved in this situation...especially the kids.

"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others throw at him or her." - David Brinkley, TV newscaster

We're moving!

2009-08-01T01:00:00.002-04:00

The honorable judge rendered his decision on Thursday afternoon and I received an ecstatic phone call from my attorney, on her mommy day off, shortly after.

I have permission to relocate to Mt. Vernon, Indiana, to the home of my parents...with my three children! Simply amazing!

Moving day is set for August 9th, the kids start school August 11th and I start August 31st.

More to come in the next few days :)

waiting....

2009-07-25T12:54:00.002-04:00

The deed is done and now we wait. My relocation trial occurred yesterday, a three hour trial that was extended to four and the attorneys didn't even have the opportunity to give closing arguments. The judge did not give his ruling at the close of the hearing, and so now we wait.

I cannot speculate as to what his decision will be and I will do myself an injustice in thinking it will swing one way or the other. I am confident that his decision will only take into account what is in the best interest of our children. I will accept his decision, no matter what it is, with grace and dignity and move forward in my life making the best of whatever this life will bring.

I only ask that you continue to pray for this situation. I do not ask for prayers for myself, for the answer that I want. I ask for prayers of wisdom for the judge as he makes his decision.

Impatience may be appropriate at this time.

2009-07-07T22:14:00.010-04:00

This is the fortune I found while cleaning up my bathroom the other day. I've been mulling it over in my head since then. It seems to fit my life right now.

Chez nous, we have been impatiently watching swallowtail caterpillars grow and change and we're now waiting for them to emerge as butterflies from their protective chrysalises. I have been impatiently working on my thesis and getting frustrated with its slow progress. I have been impatiently waiting for a court date to be scheduled while watching the days tick away.

Sometimes it takes impatience to make me work harder for things, to make me get things done.

The thesis is progressing, I'm reading and rereading and writing and rewriting...and taking appropriate breaks so I don't get overwhelmed. The progress is still slower than I would like, but I'll get it done.

The court date has been set, July 23rd. I have done everything I personally need to do to prepare, it is now in the hands of my attorney and then ultimately the judge's decision. I'm finding peace in my thoughts about this process, I'm not sure how, but it's there.

So my impatience has paid off in a way, but now I must remember that patience is even more important. I must be patient with myself in my writing, patient as I wait for July 23rd.

And good things do come to those who wait, the first Black Swallowtail butterfly emerged yesterday. God's world is beautiful and he provides so many opportunities for us to learn from his creatures, if only we will take the time to listen and watch.

On the Knitting Front

2009-06-16T08:36:00.005-04:00

Looking back, I have been in love with the fiber arts for a very long time. I think it really started when my Oma taught me to cross-stitch that week she stayed with us while Mom and Dad were in Germany, I was 10. I still remember that first project too: screen-printed flowers on a muslin-type material, I still have it, it's still unfinished; something about my perfectionism and those pesky french knots that kept me from ever finishing that particular sampler. I have gone on to finish many more projects over the years, gave many as gifts, and I still have many languishing in a box labeled "unfinished x-stitch projects". Maybe I'll finish those one day.

Around the same time as my introduction to cross-stitch, I learned how to sew with a sewing machine. I think I had already done some hand sewing, making little things for my dollhouse or a little pillow for my dolls, I don't really remember learning how to sew that well, it's one of those things I feel like I've always done. Anyway, I ended up making both my junior and senior prom dresses in high school. I still have those, and a stack of patterns and fabric I'd like to get back to eventually.

I think it was in those same elementary years that I received my knitting knoddy from Oma, a red and white mushroom. I made yards and yards of knitted tubes with it and sewed them into various shapes, some of them ended up in my dollhouse too. I also learned how to make a crocheted chain, this was an art Mom and I worked on together. Unfortunately, I never got past the chain stage at that time.

Hurtle through those teenage years, I was content sewing and cross-stitching, really enjoyed them and excelled in those arts.

I picked crocheting back up as an adult, Joseph was a baby and I had just begun watching kids at home and I needed something to occupy my "off" time. So I started crocheting again, I learned how to make some really pretty doilies and started working on a couple afghans. The doilies got completed, the afghans are in a box labeled "unfinished crochet".

My sister is the one who introduced me to knitting. She came to visit, bearing a fuzzy blue yarn and size 8 needles. One of her friends in college had just showed her how to knit and she wanted to share her new-found knowledge with me. Thank you Becka!

We struggled with the yarn and needles that night, the yarn was too bulky for that size needles, I know that now, but neither of us understood it then. I think I must have gone out and picked up some yellow yarn, or found some in my little stash of crochet yarn, I also bought myself a book to help me out. So with Becka's first instruction and my new yarn and book, I launched myself into a new art which at times seems to overtake my life. The first thing I knit was a bright yellow acrylic square, I think it's still floating around somewhere. After mastering the knit and purl stitches, I naturally moved on to something that I wanted to knit for myself...a pair of socks! Since I had no one to tell me that socks are supposed to be difficult, I just looked for a pattern online bought the required yarn (it was acrylic, not having been introduced to the joys of knitting with natural fibers yet) and needles and launched into it. Before too long, I had my very first pair of purple socks. From there, there were no limits to what I could do.

I think the next thing I did was buy myself a sock knitting pattern book, The Sock Calendar. And then I visited my local yarn store, and I learned about knitting socks in wool...this was love!

I discovered the wonderful online community associated with the fiber arts and thus began another adventure. I originally began this blog so long ago as a way to share my arts with others (and to show off my kids). So if you scroll back through the archives, you'll see some of the many items I've knit both for myself and for others. I joined Ravelry.com, perfect for my list-making tendencies, I can organize all my list of my books, pdfs, yarns and needles, and it's all electronic!

Sadly, with graduate school and life in general, all of these loves had been put aside for a while. I am now finding the importance of carving out the time to indulge in these little pleasures again. Mom reminded me the other day how knitting seems to calm me the best, and I have now remembered that, having picked up the needles again.

I've almost finished a swiffer cover, have been working on Becka's bridal shawl (which will now be a christening shawl when the time comes) and have picked up my beautiful Clessidra socks again. I am finding peace in the repetition of the stitches, the yarn running through my hands and the occupation of my mind with the pattern.

On Mondays.

2009-06-15T09:20:00.008-04:00

Before church yesterday, while I was in the shower, I had this wonderful blog post roaming around in my head (I always mull over my writing for a while before I even begin to type it out). Anyway, too much happened after church, a massive caffeine headache that left me lying down for most of the afternoon until the Naproxin kicked in, a lengthy phone conversation that I'm still trying to figure out whether it served any purpose at all, and needless to say I never got to posting my thoughts yesterday.

Thinking about it again this morning in the shower, it is where I do my best thinking, I decided that it was a worthy topic to attempt again...of course only after I've gotten coffee in my system.

I was thinking about the calendar yesterday morning and decided that I really like how French calendars are laid out. I know a weird thing to think about, but when you teach a language these little tidbits of information always come up in the classroom, and me being the thoughtful type....well, often it turns into a blog posting.

So, the French calendar starts each week with Monday, now you Monday haters are going to wonder why this pleases me, but I happen to love Mondays. I was born on a Monday, my youngest daughter was born on a Monday, I've always had a fondness for the day. I also like to think about Monday as a fresh start for the week, it's a chance to launch into the week with a new vigor and make it a good one.

I also reason that Sunday belongs at the end of the week, no point in splitting up the weekend. I look at Sundays as my day of worship, closing out the previous week and opening the opportunity for a positive week to come. I feel this sense of worship whether I choose to attend church or not, Sunday is still my day set aside for quiet meditation and praise.

This week is monumental, my last week teaching at UF, ever, and transitioning to working full-time hours for the first time in several years, while still keeping motherhood as my top priority and carving out time to write my thesis before mid-July. I am so close to the end of this journey to my Master's degree, yet still so far to go.

Elisabeth has been in Washington, DC with the school safety patrols this weekend. They left on Friday morning at midnight and traveled through the day to arrive Friday evening. Today is their third day of touring and they return home tomorrow. I am so proud of her for taking this trip, this is such a big step for her. But I can't wait to see her tomorrow, I miss my girl when she's not here.

Joseph survived his first week of summer camp at the Y. He ended up going with me to teach on Friday because he had a fever, his comments upon leaving the classroom, "Mommy, I've never been that quiet ever." and "I've never heard a class that quiet before!" It was a test day, and apparently the silence of the classroom really impressed him. We ended up enjoying a great afternoon together, it's not often that I get one-on-one time with any of my kids, so when it happens, even if it's because they are sick, I really treasure the time together.

Margaret is, well, Margaret...she truely is her own person, unique, strong, hilarious. I love watching her grow into her personality and seeing her attempt to keep up with the big kids, and succeed, is the coolest thing. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her, because it can be nothing short of greatness.

So, here's to Monday...and a great week ahead.

no more anonymous comments

2009-06-13T12:27:00.002-04:00

When I reactivated my blog, I inadvertently left the ability for anonymous comments as active. I have corrected this oversight, and now anyone who wishes to comment to my blog must first register. In addition, I will now be moderating comments. If I do not recognize your user name and you do not identify yourself in the first line of your comment, not only will your comment not be posted, I will not read it either.

Therefore, if you wish to make comments such as the one to my previous post, you should have the decency and fortitude to identify yourself.

a dream is a wish your heart makes...

2009-06-12T23:13:00.002-04:00

With the ups and downs in my life lately, sometimes it just seems easier to resort to dreams. I seem to go through cycles lately, passing from nights of wakefulness when I am happy to just catch two or three hours of restless sleep to nights of such deep, dreamless sleep that leave me feeling just as tired as those sleepless ones.

But my favorite nights are the dream-filled ones, ones where I awake with such a feeling of warmth from all the positive thoughts swimming around in my head, ones I emerge from and want to immediately retreat back into their cozy cocoon. I have cycled back to these dream-filled nights and I am quite happy here. These nights leave me feeling that there are good things just on the horizon, I only need to reach it.

This is probably one of the most transitional times I've experienced in my life, and also one of the most uncertain. The negativity surrounding this relocation case and the uncertainty of it is starting to take it's toll on me. I am finding I need more and more self-reassurance that it will work out according to God's will. And I find myself retreating more and more into my own dream world, an attempt to escape from the harsh reality of it all and to try to find a sliver of good in this life I live.

I have experienced many blessings along the way, and I relish each and every happy moment I have. I must, when without fail, the best days are turned sour. I long for the time when I can savor my joy for as long as I wish, and not allow it to be taken away by anyone else. Knowing that I cannot change anyone but myself, I am personally working toward this, it is a difficult road, requiring me to change thought processes that have been ingrained for more than 10 years.

In the meantime, I go through the motions: I teach, I work, I take care of my kids, I take care of myself, I dance, I write...and I dream, wishing all the while that they would only come true.

Coming back to blogging...

2009-06-09T22:56:00.003-04:00

My life has been a whirlwind this past year and many of the things I love have been put on the back burner. Things have not really begun to settle down yet, but I am making a commitment to myself to begin to enjoy those past-times that once brought so much joy to me and those that I have not had the opportunity to experience for the past 12 years: knitting, dancing, spending time with true friends, blogging...so here I am again.

I figure I will put a very brief update here for those of you who may have thought I'd fallen off the face of the earth, if anyone who ever read this little blog are still around. I am now divorced, still have 3 beautiful children, still working on that MA in French and looking to move my life forward in many ways.

I've been accepted to the French Linguistics program at Indiana University and I'm currently working on getting permission from the courts in Florida to move up there with my kids. This will mean moving in with my parents who live near enough to the university to commute daily and who will provide an awesome support system that I have been lacking for so long. I won't go into details of the case since it is pending, still waiting for the court date, all I will say is that it is proving to be more difficult than ever expected.

I have found through the experience of my divorce and this process of relocation that I have some amazing friends, old and new. Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with some of my high school friends and they have proven themselves to be true friends, providing the support of a listening ear and prayer. I have also discovered that I've been working with some really cool people for the past two years, finally having the ability to spend time with them and build true relationships, I have discovered those same listening ears and prayerful support, as well as fun people to hang out with. I only wish that I would have realized it sooner, we are all going our separate ways in a few short weeks and I will miss everyone dearly.

The kids have fared as well as can be expected through this past year. I have seen many changes in them for the positive as they are being exposed to a new environment at Mommy's house, my understanding is not the same of their behavior at Daddy's house, but I can never know for certain. They are adjusting well to the time-sharing schedule of spending about half of their nights at each house, but they are so adaptable, I feel they would adjust to whatever life throws their way and still come out on top.

They have all grown so much, it's hard to believe that Elisabeth just finished 5th grade and will be moving onto middle school next year, Joseph has completed 1st grade and was accepted into the gifted program (but is still bored in school) and Margaret is now 2 years old and shows no delays in development due to her prematurity...they are all amazing children.

These next few weeks will be a great challenge for me. I will finish teaching my last class at UF in a week and a half, I will need to focus on getting my thesis finished by the end of July and also prepare for a relocation trial around the same time as my thesis defense. Being someone who thrives on planning her life, whether the plans fall into place or not, I am finding myself struggling with the uncertainty of my life right now and leaning more and more on prayer and the support of those around me, both near and far.

Time flies when you're having fun!

2008-04-24T08:44:00.005-04:00

It has been a crazy fall and spring, some wonderful times, some not so great, some downright rotten. I'll spare you the details of all that and just stick to the kids and school.

It's hard to believe, but we've survived Margaret's 1st year! We celebrated her birthday with friends and family at the beginning of this month. We've had plenty of difficulties along the way...prematurity, difficulty nursing, almost lost milk supply in the beginning, ear infections (every month since August), new-found allergies (dairy and eggs)...but we've made it. She's a happy, healthy girl with a strong personality, a wonderful sense of humor and a sweetness you can't argue with. She's scheduled for ear tubes on May 7th, and we've eliminated all dairy and eggs from her diet, and mine since she is still nursing about 3 times a day. We're hoping that with these changes, she will remain healthier this upcoming year.

Joseph is excelling in Kindergarten, the school has begun testing him for the gifted program. We always knew he was smart though, never needed the school to tell us that :) He has made some great friends this year and always talks about the fun stuff he and the boys do at school and after-school.

Elisabeth is doing well also. The school set up a 504 plan for her, she get accommodation for testing and classwork. This has lessened a lot of anxiety for her in the classroom. She has also made some good friends this year, something we are super happy about, social situations are one of her difficulties. She loves her occupational therapy and we are beginning to see the benefits of it now. She has really stepped up responsibility wise, pitching in more often to help with Margaret or other small jobs around the house. I'm really proud of her!

My classes are keeping me very busy! Grad school is intense! I love what I am doing though and knowing that I'm about half-way done now just gives me the push to get through. The French department at UF is very small, there are probably less than 20 graduate students, including PhD, MA, and ABA (those just working on writing their dissertations). We have become a very tight-knit group, very good friends. I know that I could depend on any one of my colleagues for anything. My life for the next year and a half is planned out now. It is as follows: May and June off from school and teaching, July and August teaching and research, Fall semester 3 courses and teaching 2 sections of French, Spring semester 1 course and research and teaching one class and studying for and taking my comprehensive exams, summer writing my thesis, then done! I can't even describe the emotion of seeing it all written out like that, a mix of pure joy and fear and anxiety.

Classes finished yesterday for this semester. I have 3 big papers remaining, 3 shorter summaries, grading final exams and calculating grades. So, I will go now, I need to take Margaret to daycare and get working on paper #1, due by midnight Friday. I'm really looking forward to being finished this semester and regaining the ability (even for a short while) to knit and read.

It's Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-10-05T15:24:00.000-04:00

Another week is done...a week of classes and teaching and children's activities and new jobs. It has been a good week.

Mitch started a new job last week and so far it is going well. He has been able to organize his time a little better to get his school work done, much less stress chez nous.

Elisabeth is still plugging away in her classes, we have a meeting with the guidance counselor of her school to arrange accomodations for her to deal with some difficulties she is having in class.

Joseph still loves Kindergarten. He is reading and writing more and more each day. His new favorite thing to do is to write books, he draws pictures and sounds out the words he wants to write on each page, they are so cute!

Margaret is growing very well, she is 6 months old now, hard to believe. She tips the scales at 14lbs 12oz. She did not get her shots at her 6 month checkup on Tuesday because she has ear infections in both ears, but now she is on antibiotics and feels much better. She'll go back in a couple of weeks to have a recheck and get her shots, including the RSV vaccine.

My classes are going well. The class I'm teaching is great, I really enjoy each class I have with them. Most of them are willing to work hard and do well. The classes I'm taking are good, just A LOT of work. Two literature classes and a teaching methods class means a lot of reading. I will sit down with the graduate coordinator next week and make some decisions about my plan of study, I've decided I will go the route of French linguistics (instead of literature), so after this semester I should only have to take linguistics courses. Not that I don't enjoy French literature, but I am tired of analysing it, that's pretty much all I did in undergrad and I'm ready to study the language itself. My goal is to teach language and I think linguistics will be more beneficial for that anyway.

Well off to go get the kids and go home...but first a walk across campus to the car in the rain!

I will add some pictures later today. I've uploaded some to my Flickr account (in the sidebar).

To quickly finish my update....

2007-09-13T23:01:00.000-04:00

Margaret started daycare August 13th, then we went away for 2 days to Orlando. We met up with some friends and went to Epcot center. Then Elisabeth and Joseph started school on the 20th and I started classes that Thursday. I am teaching one beginning French and taking 4 classes (9 credit hours, so really like 3 classes). Mitch is in a transition time with work right now, it's a really long story I won't go into right now, but send prayers/good thoughts his way. He also started taking classes with the local community college, working toward a Networking Tech degree and certifications.

Joseph is loving Kindergarten. Elisabeth is enjoying school but already struggling, so Mitch and I will schedule an appointment with her teacher for next week. My classes are going well, just a lot of work. I am really loving my teaching, I have a class of 25, they are mostly motivated and class is fun and challenging for them (at least I hope!)

With so much to do, I haven't had very much time to knit at all :( I did get my invite to Ravelry about a month ago and I have had fun browsing the community; I'm slbayer if you would like to find me.

So, that's our life in a nutshell. I hope to try to post a little more often again. I may just pick a weekly time to blog and try to stick to it.

Until then :)

9/11

2007-09-11T07:38:00.000-04:00

We probably all remember where we were in that moment the news came on the radio or the television. I myself was pulling into the driveway at work. I was expecting our 2nd child and seriously wondered about the world we were bring him into.

But life has gone on and we see a wonderful new hope for the future. And then we receive reminders like this view from our back door, a beautiful, full rainbow (unbelievably difficult to capture on film). And all the children at the kids' school were admiring it's simple beauty.

Recap: August

2007-08-28T16:58:00.000-04:00

Oh my, how time flies! It's hard to believe that August is ending, Margaret is nearly 5 months old, Elisabeth is almost 9, school has started, life comes at you fast (to quote Nationwide Insurance). So much has happened this month and we have been so incredibly busy, that I have not had a moment to think long enough to compose a blog posting. I have been trying to keep up with reading everyone, but frankly that has suffered too.

So, let's see, we left of with my brother here...we had a wonderful time with Ben. We all (as in the 5 of us and my sister, Becka, and boyfriend, Dustin, and Ben met us at the hotel later that night) drove to Merritt Island to my cousin's wedding over the weekend. This trip was much nicer than the last one, Margaret did really well, the weekend was pretty much stress-free. We went to the beach and as you can see, Margaret pooped out on us. My cousin's wedding was in the afternoon, so after going back to the hotel to clean up, we all piled into our van and drove to the church. We finally got a nice picture of the five of us, as well as a great picture of Becka, Ben and me. The wedding was really nice and it was great to see most of the cousins again, as well as cousin's kids, our family is growing so wonderfully.

I took Ben and the kids to one of our favorite places in Gainesville, the butterfly rainforest at the museum of natural history.
Later in the week we dropped Ben off at the airport and he headed back to Indiana before going back to France for the semester.

Then the craziness began. Margaret started daycare on the 13th. But then we decided to have one last hoorah before my orientation started that Thursday. So we drove down to Orlando to visit Epcot center with friends of ours. We had a blast! We had never done Epcot with the kids and I'm glad we did this month. Elisabeth and Joseph both loved the "Journey into Imagination" ride, with Figment as the star, this was my favorite ride when I was younger too :) They also both loved the World Showcase and really enjoyed "visiting" the different countries, it helped that they could make a mask and have it stamped in each country and that they could collect an imprinted penny from each country. For most of the day they got along really well, you might have even said they love each other.

OK since I started this post almost a week ago, I am going to publish it now. I will update more soon, maybe later tonight or tomorrow. (9/6)

4 months old!

2007-08-03T07:27:00.000-04:00

It's so hard for me to believe that Margaret is 4 months old. But she is.

She had her 4-month check-up yesterday. Her doctor is so pleased with her growth. She weighs 12lbs 6oz and is 22 1/4 inches long, almost on the growth chart for a 4 month old. But if you adjust for her prematurity and go back to about a 2-month old, Margaret is 50% for height and 90% for weight!

Dr. Mas was also very pleased with Margaret's development, saying she is doing everything a full-term 4-month baby should be doing.

She told us to wait to start cereal till 6 months, in order to give Margaret's suck/swallow reflex more time to mature.

She got her vaccinations again too. This time she's gotten more of a fever than last time, so we're doing tylenol every 4 hours. Other than that, she has been ok, just a little cranky and tired.

My brother, Ben is here, we picked him up Wednesday and he stayed with us that night. Last night he stayed at Becka's, our sister. Today we are going to Merritt Island for our cousin's wedding tomorrow.

Every one of these pictures were taken by Elisabeth and Joseph while we were out to dinner Wednesday night. Pretty impressive huh?

Some pictures I had forgotten I took this week :)

2007-08-01T10:38:00.000-04:00

Slumber Party!

Catching Minnows

The Modern Girl

Blue Eyes

Oh, the sun's just too bright!

Red Hair!

Bed head :)

Breakfast Time

Sibling Love, sometimes it's just too much!

More about those knits

2007-08-01T07:50:00.001-04:00

So here's the list of works in progress
1. The Mable dress for Margaret, done
2. "Labor" socks, these are the bed socks that were intended for wearing during Margaret's birth, one done, second foot left
3. Betsy socks, foot left on both socks
4. Palette Fair Isle, lots left
5. EZ February baby sweater, done
6. Estonian socks, one sock is half done
7. a sweater for Elisabeth from this book, lots left
8. a Mason Dixon bib, done
oh, and I added a project that I just couldn't resist, a Knitted Babe, I only have half of her body done now, but she is a quick knit.

I am checking them off!

And now, as promised, a little bit about those finished projects...

This is the Mable dress. This was started back in March, intended to be the dress Margaret wore home from the hospital. When she decided to join us almost 2 months early, I was a little preoccupied, and believe it or not, I had a real hard time sitting and knitting, even though I did a lot of sitting. Working on something for baby, that was intended for our happy time, when she was sitting in the hospital, was very difficult.

So, finishing this was very healing for me. I love it! I finished the little slippers too. It's adorable on Margaret. She wore it to church a couple weeks ago and will wear it on Saturday to my cousin's wedding.

It is made in KnitPicks Shine Sport in cream.

Here are the "Labor" socks, same story as for the dress. I was making these to bring to the hospital, in case my feet got cold during labor & delivery. They are almost done and will be nice to wear around the house this winter. These are done in KnitPicks Memories in Rocky Mountain Dusk (now discontinued, I think)

Right next to the socks is the Mason Dixon bib. These are such an easy knit, I added a ruffle to the bottom. I still need to weave in the ends and add a button. This is done in Peaches & Cream cotton, in Gumdrop.

Finally, this is the EZ (Elizabeth Zimmerman) February baby sweater or Gull Stitch sweater. I *love* this knit. I started this shortly after Margaret was born, I needed something new to work on. I wasn't sure if I was going to finish it, but I really fell in love with the sweater as it grew. I have buttons picked out, they are from my button box, check 'em out, 49 cents for 5. I still need to sew them on the sweater. This should last Margaret for a few more months, we always need a sweater in the diaper bag to deal with the a/c here.

I knit this is some acrylic baby yarn, I think Bernat, I know the color is called denim something, anyway the yarn was given to me for Christmas by Mom and Dad. This sweater will become a standard gift for me, I think. I have several other balls of the baby yarn, perfect for gifts, easy wash and wear.

I will be pulling out some of my unfinished cross-stitch projects after I get a few more knitting projects off the needles. I have about 5 or 6 projects that need attending to. And there is some sewing I want to do as well. How much can I get done before the fall semester starts with my orientation on August 16th?

I managed to get a couple pictures of Elisabeth and Joseph at the park yesterday, no action shots though. Of course, Elisabeth closed her eyes, oh well.

This evening, I pick up my brother, Unci Ben, from the airport. I am so excited to see him. He has not met he new niece yet. I can't wait!

In the meantime, laundry, reading, knitting and quiet, the kids are at camp today. Oh, I may go to campus today, to see one of my professors who retired in May. She has been cleaning out her office this summer and has set aside a box of books for me, such a wonderful gift! Did I mention she is my favorite professor? I am so sad she retired, I would have loved to work with her for my graduate studies. She will remain in Gainesville though.

Have a blessed day!

Objets finis!

2007-07-31T14:01:00.000-04:00

I thought about writing this entry in French, just because I'm in that mode from a 2-day writing marathon, but I figured too many would not understand, so English it is...

This...
is how I spent much of my afternoon yesterday. Margaret did not want to sleep in her bed, did not want to be put down, did not want me to sit down.

But this...is the result, me clicking on send to transmit my dissertation finale to my professor, thereby ending my career as an undergrad and transitioning to graduate studies. (OK she still has to grade it and I still have to receive a passing grade for the class to get my degree.)

And these...are my other finished objects, a couple are almost finished, more about those tomorrow. I'm taking the kids to the park, it's only 94 degrees outside.

must . finish . writing

2007-07-29T22:32:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is a designated writing day. I must finish my 4-page paper and turn it in to complete the work required for my BA. I will finish tomorrow.

So, if you catch me surfing onto any blogs, on-line stores, or checking my e-mail a hundred times, remind me that I must finish writing.

If you see me looking longingly at my corner of knitting projects, or pulling out a pattern book or magazine to peruse, or even picking up my needles, remind my why I must wait.

If you see me picking up a book that is not French, not written by Rousseau or Sarraute, and not Les Confessions or Enfance (a dictionary or grammar book is allowed), warn my that my degree is waiting.

I cannot put this off any longer...my materials for the class I will be teaching in August are waiting on my bookshelf for me to start planning...I've got itchy fingers.

It is only 4 pages, the introduction is done, it will not be that hard.

(I just needed to give myself that peptalk. I've got finished objects to post, on Tuesday, after I finish my paper.)

Just some random pictures from this week

2007-07-21T09:02:00.000-04:00

More extensive post later, including some finished knitted objects.

Margaret is now 15 weeks old, and she's started rolling over from her tummy, then gets mad she's stuck on her back. She's found her thumb and we've discovered she loves books, and prefers them to her other toys.

I need to take more pictures of the other kids!

I am weak...a knitting post

2007-07-14T10:47:00.000-04:00

I succumbed...I was unable to resist temptation...For so long I looked the other way...then I was left home with a baby and the internet and a credit card and this happened...

That, my friends, is my first shipment of the sock of the month club from here. Not that I really needed any new sock yarn, but all my sock yarn is Knit Picks, now don't get me wrong, I love their yarn, but a knitter reads about all these other yarns, and well, you just gotta try them out some time. What better way than by receiving a new pattern with different yarn every other month? So this is Betsy...see, not only could I not resist the temptation to buy, but I had to cast-on right away, never mind the ten other projects I have on the needles.

As if that wasn't bad enough, I got an e-mail from Knit Picks, and wouldn't you know...they're having a book sale. Well I've been wanting to get more Elizabeth Zimmerman books, so Knitting Workshop, and maybe some yarn (in ballerina, wisteria and aloe, I already have natural) to make the Baby Surprise Jacket and a stripy hat from Itty Bitty Hats (which I already own) to match, found their way into my stash, they should be here next week. I did good though, I could have walked away with lots more...

So now, I have on my needles...
1. The Mable dress for Margaret, this is actually at the seaming stage, almost done
2. "Labor" socks, these are the bed socks that were intended for wearing during Margaret's birth, one done, small start on second
3. Betsy socks, foot left on both socks
4. Palette Fair Isle, lots left
5. EZ February baby sweater, about 1/3 done
6. Estonian socks, one sock is half done
7. a sweater for Elisabeth from this book, lots left
8. a Mason Dixon bib
I frogged the other baby sock I was working on...it's too small for my little chunkster! I will start it again soon on bigger needles.

I think that's it! Most of these are fairly small projects and could be knocked out in the next few weeks. I'm not going to start anything new until most of these are done. Wish me luck on that resolution :)

Oh my, I just clicked over to Knit Picks to check the status of my most recent order...and they have their new fall yarn line up...temptation...new colors...new yarns...

The kids were up to some silliness this weekend...they covered themselves in colored foam peanuts and did some silly shows for us...they did get along well for some of the weekend too...

And toes...look how chunky they are!

Holidays and Summer Camp

2007-07-06T07:09:00.000-04:00

So Margaret is three months old now (as of Monday). She has finally outgrown her newborn clothes...she has fat rolls on her arms, legs and neck...she is sleeping for about 5 hours at night!She celebrated her first 4 of July...nothing really fancy...we were going to have people over, but everyone canceled at the last minute...so we grilled our hotdogs and hamburgers ourselves, lit off our own fireworks and ate our homemade ice cream. The kids had a good time and stayed up really late.

Elisabeth has been having a great time at summer camp. She goes horseback riding every Monday and Thursday, does arts & crafts, swims every day, does a ropes course, hangs out with her best friend, Savannah, and has made some new friends.

enjoying dinner with Grandma I-I (Aida)

Joseph is doing great at his camp. This was the perfect transition to Kindergarten. He is outside most of the day in free play or organized sports and games, he plays with the boys his age (I think he has a couple of friends that are girls too), they go on field trips, they swim twice a week and he comes home singing all the camp songs.

with Aida's sister Melba 7/1

I am almost done with my undergrad course work. I only have to write one paper, 4 pages, and turn it in. I got the offer from my department for my graduate studies. I will be teaching one beginning level French class, 5 days a week plus 3 (I think) office hours, UF will pay me a stipend to teach, plus they will pay for me to take 9 credit hours a semester. My program is 2 years, 2 1/2 years for thesis option (I plan to write a thesis) and I will be eligible to teach every semester, I should be able to take on teaching another class in the future (like spring semester). It will be busy, it will be intense, but this is what I have been working so hard to achieve, I am so excited about starting.

Pictures of knitting soon...even some finished objects :) And more pictures to come of a certain little girl in cute dresses.

I've been accepted!

2007-06-27T18:24:00.000-04:00

I got word today that I have been accepted to the French MA program at the University of Florida! I should be receiving my official acceptance letter with more information about classes, assistantships, etc...in the next week.

I am so excited to start grad school in August. This is what I have been working so hard to achieve.

So, another 2 1/2 years at UF lay ahead of me...

Love those grins!

2007-06-25T15:16:00.001-04:00

Margaret has been giving us smiles for about a month now...and I finally got them on camera...ENJOY!
Our big girl is 12 weeks old and up to 9 lbs now!

Extension granted

2007-06-23T19:19:00.000-04:00

Turns out that I have a really great French professor. I called her on Thursday to let her know I was behind in getting my work done. Well, she granted me an extension to get the last two things done. I am taking the final on Tuesday and will turn in my final paper in a couple weeks. I am so thankful for such kind and understanding people. So, I will be officially done in a few weeks. I am done with one class of two though :)

Just a quick update...

2007-06-20T13:33:00.000-04:00

to say sorry for the lack of updates. I am deeply entrenched in finishing up my classes right now. I will be done on Friday and after that I will have time to think for my self, and nap when baby naps, and clean house, and do laundry, and love my family. In the meantime, I feel like this.....

Many updates promised next week :)

WIPs and FOs

2007-06-05T13:52:00.000-04:00

Yes. Finished Objects...hard to believe with the way my days have been going, but I have finished a couple things.

First is the Upside-Down Daisy hat from Itty Bitty Hats. I think I made this in the 6-12 month size. It was started before Margaret was born in preparation for our couple weeks of winter here in Gainesville. I finished it a few weeks ago, just never blogged about it. I love how it turned out!

Next up is the sling that I finished yesterday. Margaret so graciously slept in her bed so I could get the sewing done on this. Now I have hands free, so I can get housework done...or work on the wips that are languishing in my knitting baskets.

Here is the Mable dress from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies. This was started in March, intended for Margaret to wear home from the hospital. I am so close to having it done now, only the bodice of the front and the sleeves.

Then we have the various socks-in-progress...from left to right: Estonian Sock from Folk Socks (This was started about 2 years ago...it will get done), Infant's Fancy Silk Sock and Bed Sock in Lemon Pattern both from Knitting Vintage Socks. (BTW, I love Nancy Bush's patterns/books.) The infant sock is done in some yarn that Elisabeth dyed with Kool-ade a couple of years ago. The bed socks were intended for labor & delivery socks...I could of used them too, my feet were so cold, until the nurse gave me wonderful hospital issue slipper socks.

Next in line is the Palette Fair Isle cardigan from KnitPicks. I love this sweater, it will just take me a while to get it done, which is ok because then I can enjoy the process of knitting it. This is knitted in the round with steeks.

And of course there are these unfinished objects...everything else should be on hold till I finish these books and the tests and papers associated with them. All has to be done by June 22nd...

Margaret's appointment went great today, except for the fact that her appointment was really tomorrow...somehow we got into our head that the appointment was on Tuesday and then we never checked the appointment card...they saw us anyway. Margaret is up to 7lbs 11oz and 20 1/4 inches long...she really grew this month. She got her shots and so far the only side effect is sleeping and needing to cuddle.

Margaret is 2 months old!

2007-06-03T07:32:00.000-04:00

Well, she was officially 2 months yesterday. And here are some pictures from Friday...
She goes to the doctor on Tuesday for her check-up and vaccinations,

Our busy life...

2007-06-01T09:41:00.000-04:00

I am once again falling into the routine of not keeping up with my updates...I really need to try to get better about this. Needless to say things have been rather busy in the Bayer household. Adjusting to a newborn is a feat in itself, add in 2 older children and the fact that the newborn is a preemie, well you've made it near impossible. So, we have been adjusting, we are still adjusting. We are all still learning that little Margaret is very different from either of our other children...
May is the last month of school here in Florida, today is actually the last day. A newer experience for our family since when we home schooled, we continued with some schooling, very relaxed, through the summer. This allowed us to make more disruptions in our schedule during the 'school year'. I have found quite interesting the amount of material (or lack of) that has been covered since the infamous FCAT tests in February. Yes, there has been learning, but everything has moved into field trip/science experiment/party mode, and this last week of school, nothing has been accomplished (Monday was off, Tuesday was a regular day, Wed/Thur/Fri all early dismissal, all party days, why were they in school this week?). What I find the most disheartening about this switch, is that these events rarely took place before February, there was too much test preparation going on. In my opinion, 3rd grade should be about the fun stuff, not about stressing the kids and teachers out over a test. Makes me think more and more how much I would love to pull the kids out of school again to home school, but it would not be possible in the next 2 years, more on that later. Anyway, Elisabeth did really well on the test (this was her first experience with a standardized test) she learned all the test-taking strategies really well. She did learn a lot of other stuff this year, in math, science, etc...as well as socially, like how 8 and 9 year old girls can be really mean, she made some good friends, some not so good, and she got over some of her anxieties, and added some new ones (like her new fear of 4th grade). So all in all, it was not a bad year, I would have to say it was a good year. And now we have experienced public school with our kids. I could go on and on...but that would be a post of its own (maybe I'll do that soon).

Back to this week...Elisabeth has had quite a week...She bridged from Brownie to Junior Girl Scouts on Wednesday and yesterday had her piano recital, yesterday was also water day at school! This is also Joseph's last week in preschool. On Monday he goes to summer camp at the Y like his big sister, and in the fall he starts Kindergarten (yes, they will still be in the public school). My baby is not a baby anymore.

Last weekend we went on our first trip as a family of 5...something we will not be doing again for a while. We went to Orlando, not for Disney but the other things we like to do there. We planned to visit Gatorland, the Science Center, Old Town Orlando and maybe Downtown Disney. Mitch's idea was we could stop so I could nurse Margaret when she was hungry, he was thinking 20 minutes at a time, not realizing that she is eating every 2-3 hours still and taking about 40 min to an hour. I was pretty sure I had communicated this to him, but apparently there was a breakdown somewhere. He also forgot that she wakes up every 2-3 hours at night, and is not quiet about it. So he was stressed, which made me stressed. The kids had a blast. But Mitch realized that even though Margaret is 2 months old, she is really on the level of a newborn, especially in her feeding schedule. She is just getting to the point where she is nursing exclusively, with some supplementation.In other news, I am finishing my 2 classes...slowly, it is really had to get focused to get stuff done. My deadline is June 22nd, so I'm plugging away. I have also applied to grad school. I was going to wait, but the opportunity arose that my tuition could be paid for, I could get paid to teach and we qualify for childcare assistance for the youngest two, plus I feel like I am appreciated and well liked in the French department...I have had several professors ask me to continue my studies. Also getting my MA will allow me to teach community college, a much more flexible schedule than secondary ed, a lot of work can be done at home. And career opportunities at the local community colleges are getting better as the schools grow. So I put in my application, I take the GRE on the 12th, they will review my application when the scores arrive, then I interview for a TA (teaching assistant) position. Hopefully I will know by the beginning of July.

Well Margaret is up again and begging to be held, so I should go...I might get a shower by noon today, if I'm lucky :)

I graduated!

2007-05-10T21:53:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from graduation on Sunday. I just have 2 classes I need to finish by June 22nd, things got kinda interrupted with Margaret's birth.
I'm the 2nd person behind the one fixing her cap. And the girls to my left and right where the only other students that walked as French majors.
Shaking Bernie Machen's hand, president of UF.
The whole family...plus dad
And this is what Margaret did during the entire commencement...
And Elisabeth...
And some other pictures, Margaret 5/8/07
Margaret in the sweater I designed and made for her, 5/9, still has some growing room.
Big brother Joseph and Margaret, 5/9

She's growing...

2007-05-03T08:28:00.000-04:00

Margaret had her 2nd doctor's appointment yesterday...she gained 10oz. last week and is now a whopping 5lbs 10oz, almost as much as her big brother weighed when he was born! And now our little one is 1 month old!

Here are some pictures from yesterday and the day before...

Sitting in Boppy, 5/1/07

Sleeping on Mommy's lap, 5/2/07

Bonne fête de travail....

2007-05-01T10:32:00.000-04:00

Happy May Day!

Margaret Rose's birth...long version

2007-04-27T13:13:00.000-04:00

Here is the story of my unexpected preterm labor and c-section delivery, as promised.

Margaret Rose's path into life was not uneventful. I had an easy pregnancy, no complications. Only some Braxton Hicks contractions, starting about the 18^th week, which were deemed normal, especially for a third pregnancy. In my 32^nd week things took a sudden turn.

On the morning of April 2^nd, Monday, I was jolted out of a dream sleep by a rush of fluid. I thought I was wetting the bed, so when I got up and tried to stop the flow, I was pretty shocked. I ran to the toilet and the the fluid kept coming.. Mitch woke up and asked if I was ok, that's when I said, “I don't think this is pee, honey.”

I was scared, I kept thinking that this couldn't be possible, this was bad, this was too early. Mitch calmly got out of bed and told me it was going to be ok. He called the midwife and left the message that my water had broken. Then he called Steve (his dad) and Aida and told them it was time. They headed over.

Marie was the midwife on call. She called back and told us to go to the hospital, she would call over so they knew to expect us.

As we waited for Steve and Aida, my contractions started, they were 3 to 4 minutes apart, but I was having a hard time focusing to keep track of the time.

When we got to the hospital and walked into the er entrance, they looked one look at me and before they asked what the problem was, they put me in a wheel chair and took me up to the 3^rd floor.

Mitch couldn't come into triage with me at first. He went and parked the car. The admitting nurse wheeled me to triage, I peed in the cup, put on a hospital gown and then the triage nurses checked to be sure that my water had broken and checked to see if I was dilated, I was, about 2-3 cm. Then the nurses started telling me what to expect in the birth. Because I was approx. 7 weeks early, there would be the ob (the midwife couldn't deliver), a team of nurses for me, the neonatologist and a team of nurses for the baby. Then Mitch showed back up and I was wheeled on the bed into a labor & delivery room. I think it was sometime between 4:30 and 5am when I was admitted.

Marie came to the L&D room to check and see how I was doing. She talked to us about what was going to happen, making sure we were both prepared. The nurses came in and started an IV with an antibiotic and then gave me a shot of steroids to help mature the baby's lungs. I was put on the fetal monitor, which kept track of the baby's heartbeat as well as when I had contractions and the duration of each one.

At that point I asked Mitch to call Pastor Rick, because I remembered he usually worked as hospital chaplain on Monday's at AGH, it was probably close to 6am. The time is so fuzzy to me. Mitch had to leave a message with Rick, who came to our room as soon as he got the message.

This is when all the waiting began. Rick stayed with us for all of the morning until he had to go to an appointment. He sent Mitch to get some breakfast and stayed to keep me company. At some point in the morning Dr. Buchanan came and examined me, he said I was dilated “a good 2cm” and I was to stay on bedrest so we could prolong the labor as long as possible. His goal was at least 24 hours so I could have another steroid shot. I spent the time in labor resting on one side until that hip got sore then rolling to the other side, Margaret did not tolerate the contractions well when I was on my back.

Again, at some point during the morning, I'm not sure of the time, the midwife on call changed to Libby (she helped deliver Joseph). She came in to let us know of the switch and to see if we needed anything and to let us know she would be across the street (in their office) should we need her for anything at all. Even though the midwives were not in charge of assisting the delivery, they were consistent in their support of me during labor.

So the morning progressed. I remember looking at the clock at about 10 and thinking that by this time Joseph would have already been born. I got up to use the bathroom a couple of times. A little while later a nurse brought in some compression cuffs for my legs, by order of Dr. Buchanan, he didn't want me to develop deep vein thrombosis because of being on bedrest for the duration of labor. Libby came in again to check on us later, I told her at that point that I felt that I would deliver before the 24 hours.

I think it was around noon at that point, I remember thinking that this was the longest I had ever been in labor. Contractions were starting to get stronger and longer, but not closer together. Mitch had been making and receiving phone calls all morning between people coming in and out of the room. I was trying to close my eyes to rest, which was hard considering that my contractions were coming every 3-4 minutes still. Sometime during the morning Margaret's heartrate had dipped for the first time. The nurses were monitoring everything from the nurses station and one came in to check when it happened, but everything resumed as normal, with the dip only being a few seconds. This happened a few more times during the day.

Mitch and I were alone in the room after 1pm. About 1:30 or 1:35, I had a contraction that did not let up. Alarms started ringing and a bunch of people came rushing into the room. Mitch said he had seen Margaret's heartrate slow and was just about to press the call button when everyone rushed in.

This is where it all gets fuzzy and I have flashes of memory of what happened in the next few minutes. I remember someone saying that they couldn't get the baby's heartbeat and then they inserted a monitor vaginally to put it on her head, to call Dr. Buchanan, that I needed to have a c-section, Mitch asking if I understood what they had to do, they inserted a catheter, someone saying Dr. Buchanan couldn't get to the hospital in time that Dr. Cottar would operate, and did I want them to call the midwife. I told Mitch to call Mommy. They started to wheel me out and told Mitch he couldn't come because I needed to be under general anesthesia, he had to stay where he was and they would come back to let him know what was going on.

Libby arrived as I was in the hallway on the way to the or. She told me she would get scrubbed in and be right back. My whole body was shaking as they were telling me that they were going to administer the anesthesia, I would feel someone touching the pulse points on my neck before I went to sleep. Someone asked if I was shivering because I was cold or because I was scared, I was scared.

Once in the or, I had to scoot onto the operating table. Then I heard someone say there was no time to prep, the doctor saying he was ready to put me under, I remember thinking about whether they were going to put me under before the doctor started to cut or not. I remember seeing Libby's face above me, telling me it was all going to be alright.

Later, Mitch told me that when I was wheeled out, he was left alone in the L&D room and no one had turned off the monitors, they were left beeping. My dad called to check on things right after I was wheeled out, Mitch could barely speak, but told him what had happened. Mitch then called his mom, his dad, my mom and Rick. He says a few minutes later a nurse came back in and said, “You have a girl, she's out, she's pink and she's screaming.” Then she left. Shortly after they came down the hall with Margaret, Libby gave her to Mitch for less than a minute to hold, then they whisked her off to the NICU. She continued to breathe on her own, never needed oxygen, she was 4lbs 10 oz and 17 inches long.

Edited to add: Margaret's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice, this was the reason for her distress.

I woke up about 2 hours later, 3pm. My sister (Rebekah) was in the recovery room with me, and someone else, I don't remember who else was there when I woke up. Becka had brought me a March of Dimes teddy bear with sunflowers on its sweater. I was in so much pain, I couldn't move. I was hooked up to a morphine drip and told how to use it. Then I was taken to my room.

The rest of the day is a blur. People came in and out, brought flowers, food was delivered, I slept on and off, pushed the morphine button, wached tv, asked when I could see my baby, Mitch showed me pictures on his cell phone, Libby went to the nursery to ask when the baby could be brought to me, Mitch filled out the birth certificate form, the kids came to see me and Margaret, Becka stayed the night with me. Finally at 9:00pm, one of the NICU nurses brought Margaret in my room for me to hold. I was only able to hold her for a few minutes though. Then Becka and I watched the NCAA Baskeball championship game, the Gator's won.

The next morning at 6:00 the nurses came in and removed my catheter and helped me get into a chair and showed me where the pumping supplies were so I could start expressing milk for Margaret. I sat there in the semi darkness, Becka got me everything I needed to wash my face, then handed my my knitting and she had to leave for work. I pumped milk then sat watching tv and knitting.

I am leaving off all the post-birth information, that is for another day.

We are growing...

2007-04-25T10:45:00.000-04:00

22 days old, after her first outing to the doctor

Margaret had her first appointment at the pediatrician yesterday. She is up to 5lbs and 18 inches long, and Dr. Mas said she is perfect :)

Margaret is home!

2007-04-24T10:48:00.000-04:00

Here are the promised pictures from Margaret's homecoming on Sunday....Leaving the hospital

In the car with Elisabeth and Joseph

All strapped in

We're home!

Look how small I am

Meeting Maisey

A full belly and fast asleep in my bed, the 9th baby (3rd generation) to sleep in this cradle made by Opa

How peaceful

With Grandma and Elisabeth

Our baby is home!

2007-04-22T14:55:00.000-04:00

Margaret was discharged from the hospital and arrived home about 1:30 this afternoon. She was awake for all of the ride home, looking back and forth at her big sister and brother. We brought her inside and let the dog meet her, then she nursed and fell asleep. She is now sleeping peacefully in her cradle.

A huge thanks to all of you for your positive thoughts and prayers during the past 3 weeks. We are looking forward to settling into a routine with our newly expanded family.

I will be posting pictures later today or tomorrow of the homecoming :)

Margaret Rose is coming home!!

2007-04-21T21:54:00.000-04:00

Barring any unforseen change in her condition, Margaret Rose will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow by noon and will finally come home!!!

We are so excited! Her cradle is ready for her, her clothes are washed and folded and we are waiting anxiously for the papers to be signed tomorrow.

Keep us in your prayers as we count down these final hours.

The days of our lives...

2007-04-17T09:08:00.000-04:00

Margaret Rose 13 days old, 4/15/07

So, our life has boiled down to keeping Elisabeth and Joseph on their routine and traveling back and forth to the hospital to feed and interact with Margaret. This has been the norm for 2 weeks and will continue at least till the end of this week.

My daily routine has changed drastically from 2 weeks ago...
These days I wake up somewhere between 4 and 6am, whenever my breasts are uncomfortable, and I pump for a 1/2 hour. You see, I'm breastfeeding, and so I must continue to make milk even though Margaret is not home. Well, then I fall back asleep, Mitch wakes up at 5:30, showers, gets the kids up at 6, gets them ready for school, they come and kiss me goodbye and leave at 7.I wake up again between 8 and 9am, grab some coffee, and play moo cow for another 1/2 hour or 45 minutes. Then I shower and eat breakfast. I putter around the house for a little while, then I'm driven to the hospital at 10:30 for Margaret's 11am feeding. I can't drive myself anywhere for another month, due to the c-section.

At 11 we get some awake time from Margaret, then she nurses and conks out. I usually leave the hospital around 12:30 to come home for lunch. But before I can eat, moo cow mommy at 1:00. You see, Margaret only eats about 50 ml at a time right now and Mommy makes about 200 ml every 3 hours, big difference.

I get to rest for a couple hours, usually pumping once in the afternoon. Then I pack up to ride to the hospital at 4:30 for Margaret's 5:00 feeding. She's awake again before she eats, then she nurses again, falls asleep and I usually leave the hospital between 6 and 6:30.

I pump again about 7pm, then before bed about 11pm, then sleep, and it starts all over again at 5am.

Margaret gets bottles of breast milk with a small amount of formula mixed in (for extra calories), when mommy is not there.

Mitch gets to the hospital sometime during the day and tries to get the kids up there after school at least every other day.

Obviously this schedule will be made much easier when Margaret is home. The back and forth to the hospital is very draining on the family and doesn't afford much resting time for me. However, we need to make sure that Margaret is 100% ready to come home. That's what the doctor's and nurses are there for. So far she is expected to be discharged at the end of this week, as long as her condition does not change between now and then. That means, no more bradys, her heart must continue to beat strong without slowing. She is back up to her birth weight, 4lbs 10 oz and will be above it before she comes home. She is only on a heart and lung monitor, to make sure everything is working properly.Margaret and Moma

Margaret responds so well to everyone, she looks directly in the direction of voices she recognizes, like her daddy and sister and brother, and she tries to focus on faces when you get close enough for her to see.

We are continuing our prayers that Margaret continues to maintains her healthy path through this week.

I am still working on her birth story, as Mitch and I remember more details and talk about the day with others it becomes a little easier to write, but it is still a slow process because it was a pretty traumatic event for all of us.

And we wait some more...

2007-04-13T20:34:00.000-04:00

Margaret Rose 11 days old

Well, Miss Margaret had another brady this morning at 1:30, this was while she was spitting up, so related to reflux. But this means another 5 to 7 days in the NICU. So we wait again.

Margaret and Daddy

Updates on Margaret

2007-04-12T09:05:00.000-04:00

Margaret has been progressing well, shocking all the NICU nurses and practicioners by refusing to act her age, in other words she has not shown any of the characteristic signs of being born at 32 weeks. And a big step, she started gaining weight 2 days ago.

Well, yesterday, she decided to show us that yes, indeed, she is a preemie. Her heart rate dropped below 70 beats per minute, called a bradicardio-something, a totally normal occurance for a preemie her age. However it does mean that she will have to stay in the hospital for 5 to 7 days to ensure it does not happen again. Hopefully this will be the only occurance.

So, we are on wait again. It is so hard not having her home yet, we have to keep reminding ourselves that she is in the best place for her right now. The staff in the NICU is wonderful and warm and welcoming. We just have to take it one day at a time until she can come home.

Meanwhile, I am recovering from a c-section, which is an all new experience for me. I go for my first followup appointment tomorrow morning.

My mom will be in today, after a horrendious experience in the Chicago airport and 36 hours of travel from France. It will be good to have her here.

Keep us in your prayers.

Margaret Rose is here!

2007-04-08T21:12:00.000-04:00

Margaret Rose was born 7 weeks early, on April 2nd at 1:56 pm. After my water breaking at 3:30am, I had contractions 3-4 minutes apart, with the doctor hoping nothing would change for 24 hours. I had a contraction somewhere between 1:30 and 1:45 that lasted for at least 8 minutes, Margaret's heart rate plunged and I was rushed out for an emergency c-section.

We are both doing well now. Margaret is still in the NICU, but has been doing remarkable and will hopefully be coming home soon. I came home on Thursday.

I will post a more detailed birth story soon. I am still working on writing it, not an easy task as there are so many emotions going on right now.

Belly pictures

2007-02-27T20:45:00.000-05:00

OK, per request of some, I am posting a couple pictures of me at 28 weeks preggo (today).

I know I am due for a more extensive update, including pictures...but that will have to wait till later.

It's great to be a FLORIDA GATOR!!!

2007-01-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

10 years after their last National Championship (my senior year of high school), the Florida football team has won their second National Championship title.

CONGATULATIONS!!!!!

FL OSU
41 14

More on the game later :)

Paynes Prairie with Dad

2007-01-01T20:47:00.000-05:00

Today we took a short hike onto Paynes Prairie with Dad. It was pretty overcast and threatening rain the entire time, but we got pretty lucky this time with what we saw.

Here is a picture of the prairie as we entered the open area, those are wild Spanish horses in the path and on the side.

And here's the luckiest part:

We actually got close enough to the horses to pet them :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

2006-12-31T23:24:00.000-05:00

Wishing all a safe and happy New Year!

May 2007 bring many blessings.

These are roses from our garden, photo taken with my new Canon Rebel Digital SLR camera, love it!

We are having a healthy baby....

2006-12-28T10:50:00.000-05:00

GIRL!!!

We had our ultrasound yesterday and everything looks great. The baby showed us clearly that she not only did not have boy parts, but that she has girl parts. She is just the right size to date and my due date remains May 23rd.

Here is our newest little girl:

We had a wonderful Christmas with Mom, Dad, Ben, Becka and Dustin. Now it is time to relax for a few days before school starts again. The kids go back on the 3rd and I go back on the 8th, for my last semester!

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful new year.

Oh yeah, I will be posting some pictures taken with my new camera soon :)

Finished!!!!

2006-12-15T18:38:00.000-05:00

Yeay!!! I turned in my last papers this afternoon! This semester is over and I have a 2 1/2 week break. Next semester is my last undergrad semester, graduation in May!

Looking forward to Mom, Dad and Ben being here and just relaxing.

Oh and we have our sonogram scheduled for December 27th. For a late Christmas present we'll get to see our new little one, and maybe find out what it is!

Mitch and I are going to his company holiday party for a little while tonight, lots of good food, and good drink (which I can't have any of this year :( )

I have a knitting picture to post. My very first knitting for the new baby:

Joseph took this picture of me knitting the other day when he was playing with the camera:

Not bad for a little guy :)

And here is Elisabeth at her Nutcracker show at school:

She's the one looking at the camera in the pink.

What can we give?

2006-12-15T13:32:00.000-05:00

Check out Dan Zanes' Heifer Project video. His videos are on Disney channel in the morning, a crazy character, but good music. And supporting a geat cause here.

Almost done!!!

2006-12-14T22:24:00.000-05:00

I have finished my finals and all that remains is to finish up a few loose ends on papers and turn them in tomorrow. The end is in sight :)

This cold I got has caused me to lose my voice, as of yesterday I was voiceless. I tried to work today, but it is kinda hard to answer phones without a voice, so they let me go home. So I got to study and work on papers a little.

Joseph had his holiday performance tonight, very cute.

Well, it's getting late so I'm gonna go. I will update more this weekend.

Finals week....

2006-12-11T10:08:00.000-05:00

The semester is almost over, classes are finished and only papers and finals remain. My two finals are on Thursday and I have a few papers due this week, so I am busy working on those.

The kids went to Disney with Grandma this weekend and had a blast. Mitch and I enjoyed some time to ourselves for the first time in a long time. Of course this weekend when I finally was able to slow down, the wonderful cold the kids have been passing around finally caught up with me.

I will post more later this week, including some knitting pictures.

What kind of American Accent do you have?

2006-12-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

I've seen this on a few other blogs and thought it would be a fun way to procrastinate....um...I mean pass the time.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The Inland North
The West
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
North Central
The South
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Classes are almost done for the semester. I promise to write more this weekend when I have a little more time.

So much to be thankful for...

2006-11-23T10:06:00.000-05:00

The health of my family...

A wonderful husband who supports me in all I do...

My sister close by...I love being able to spend time with her...

A new life joining us in May...

The near end of my undergraduate studies, 10 years in the making...

My church family, their support and love is so wonderful...

Having a house to come home to, food to eat and jobs to support us...

There are so many things in our lives which we are greatful for, it is impossible to list them all...

May you all have a blessed day, remembering everything you have to be thankful for...

Most recent knitting

2006-10-19T20:36:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of the most recent project I completed for the family at the chinese restaurant we go to, they recently had their second child, a boy. This is the kimono, bib and burp cloth from Mason Dixon Knitting. They are all made with Sugar & Cream cotton yarn.

I am working on figuring out how to make a slide show of the pictures from our camping trip, as soon as I get it I will post them too.

I really am a bad blogger...

2006-10-15T08:43:00.000-04:00

I have had news to update for a while, I just haven't sat down to do it yet. I also have pictures, but I need to find batteries for the camera, so those will have to wait.

Well, classes are going well...it's hard to believe the semester is already halfway over. I get to register for spring semester at the end of this month, my last semester of undergrad! Time flies! Elisabeth is doing wonderfully in school, her grades are improving on her math and science tests and we're all getting used to the schedule of things. She gets her first report card later this month, they are on a 9 weeks schedule. Joseph loves Baby Gator, his teachers are great and his little group of buddies is so cute.

I started working about 13 hours a week at Hillel (the Jewish student center). I'm working reception, answering phones and opening the door, not terribly demanding and I even get down time to work on homework or read (or knit).

In other news...we are expecting our third child. My due date is May 23rd. We are very excited and so are the kids. Joseph began telling everyone he knew as soon as we told him. Elisabeth hasn't had a very strong reaction, so it is hard to tell how she feels.

I have been feeling pretty good, except for the morning sickness that hit me this week, and that is fine as long as I eat some crackers before I get out of bed, and eat pretty much every two hours during the day. My clothes are already starting to get tight (I've gained 5 pounds, pretty good for 8 weeks).

So that's the last few months of our lives in a nutshell :) I promise pictures next time.

Recent projects

2006-08-27T15:52:00.000-04:00

Well the week has gone well. My classes are off to a great start...tons of reading to do, but it will be interesting. Joseph has done well this week at Baby Gator and Elisabeth is continuing on a great course at Norton.

We had a baby shower this weekend at church and although I didn't stay (family time prempts a baby shower for someone I don't know) I did make a cute gift for the new baby. I wanted to share what I did.

I made a diaper "cake", this is such a fun easy thing to do. I was given one when Elisabeth was born, and I just think it is so cute.

Also, I made a pair of baby socks. I used this pattern, they are done in Knitpicks Dancing yarn (Swing colorway, which is no longer available, unfortunately) on US size 1 (2.25 mm) needles. The pattern is very well written and wonderfully quick to knit. Here they are next to my coffee cup for scale...so cute! Also, I placed them on top of the "cake" for gifting.

That's it for now...oh yeah, keep your eyes on the tropics, we may be bracing for a storm this week.

OK off to read some more 18th century British lit :)

Weeks one and two of school...

2006-08-21T13:46:00.000-04:00

Elisabeth had an awesome first week of school. She seems to be adapting well to the school environment. She has been exhausted when she gets home and quite a challenge with her temperment, but hopefully it will level out as we get more into this routine.

Joseph started his new preschool today, Baby Gator, on UF campus. Hopefully his day is going well, I'm sure it is :)

On Wednesday, I start my fall classes, 15 credits. I'm taking English lit (Age of Dryden and Pope), Commercial French, French Lit (Intro to Realism and Naturalism), Social Foundations of Education and German 2. A full schedule, but I think it will be very interesting. I've also picked up a ballet class on Monday evenings, it's wonderful to be back in dance, painful, but wonderful and refreshing.

So we're off to a busy start to our school year here. Elisabeth's Brownie troop starts up again next Wednesday, and so does choir for Mitch, so we will be on our full schedule next week.

These are pictures of the kids enjoying some ice cream in Orlando...I think they were taken in July.

Summer is over...

2006-08-16T07:22:00.000-04:00

Wow! These last six weeks went by fast. I was busy with 2 classes (remind me never to start a language during the summer again!), Elisabeth was having a blast at summer camp and Joseph started in pre-school. I can't believe it's finished now though. I ended up doing well in both of my classes, an A in German and a B+ in Francophone Cultures, being nice to the teacher must have paid off because there is no way I could have pulled a B+ with an 80, 80 and 68 on my first 3 tests. Anyhoo, my GPA has now risen again, from a 2.93 to a 3.07...I have finally made it back over the 3.0 mark!!!!! (I started last fall '05 with a 1.84, this is a huge jump in a year's time!)

Elisabeth had a great time at Y camp. She went horseback riding every week, swam almost every day, went canoeing every week, had fieldtrips twice a week...a full day of activities every day. I would certainly recommend the program to anyone.

Joseph is doing great in preschool...everyone loves him...and of course he is perfectly behaved at school :) He starts at Baby Gator on Monday, the preschool located on UF campus, costs much less than where he is now and has an excellent program.

I have been knitting as well. I completed my very first baby project, for my dear friend, Kirsten. She is expecting her 4th child in September. I made this sweater for her...I can't wait to see a picture of the new little on wearing it. I made it in the 12 to 18 month size so it will hopefully be useful for 2 winters, since our winters are so short here :)

Elisabeth's first days of school have been wonderful. She is doing very well and her teacher says she is great in class.

I will update more on that later...I need to take Joseph to school now and get on with my day.

We survived week one!

2006-07-08T09:09:00.000-04:00

So it's Saturday...we have completed our first week with everyone in an activity all day long. I have two classes this summer semester, German and Francophone cultures. Elisabeth is in summer camp at the YMCA and Joseph is enrolled at O2B Kids preschool.

I am loving my German class...it is really fun to be learning another language...It has been so long since I have been in a first year language course, it is refreshing and I'm gleaning lots of ideas. Of course this is a little different in that this is a 6-week semester, so each day is like 2 days and Tuesday and Thursday we have a 2 1/2 hours class!

Francophone cultures is ok, I find the material interesting, le petit Maghreb (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco), however the way the professor is teaching the class is less than desirable. She is giving us the material for the first part of the course, in the way of 3 movies, and then we will have a test. The second part of the course, as she puts it, will be built by the students; we have to bring in information from articles, etc... She will pull test topics from the discussions we have in class. I have no clear idea of what exactly I'm supposed to learn in this class, except to understand what le Maghreb is, this bothers me. German, I know, we will go through chapter 6, a clear goal...not so for Francophone cultures. Also, the prof is very detail oriented.

Elisabeth is having a blast in camp. She made a new friend on her first day. Alisha and Elisabeth seem to do everything together. Alisha braids her hair, Elisabeth shares her snacks...they are quite cute :) Elisabeth went horseback riding on Thursday...all by herself on her own horse...no adult leading the horse (I think they were in a fenced in path, but she was guiding the horse by herself) I am so proud of her :) She has also gone canoeing this week and they went to see the new Cars movie.

Joseph has had a good time at O2B also. He is so cute when I pick him up, he tells me everything they did during the day and what they ate for lunch and snack...very verbal little man. They were supposed to have a water day yesterday (sprinkelers and baby pools, I think) but it was rained out...next week maybe. He still clings on for dear life when I pick him up, but Mitch says he is fine at drop off.

So our week went well...the kids are happy...I am overwhelmed with information...it's going to be a good end to the summer :)

By the way BIG, BIG, BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Ben for passing your BAC and earning your Diploma...

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!!!!

Happy July 4th!

2006-07-04T08:17:00.000-04:00

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth!

Summer A finished!!

2006-06-21T23:47:00.000-04:00

Well, tonight was the last class of my summer course on curriculum. All in all it was a really enjoyable course. The only downside is that I really have no idea what final grade I'll receive, we turned in our one writing assignment today and the only other grades we will receive are for annotated citatations that were due each week and a group presentation we did tonight.

So now I have a week and a half off until summer b starts. I will be enjoying this week with the kids. Elisabeth said in response to my class ending...good now we can go swimming because you don't have homework to do in the morning :) We cleaned and set up our pool this past weekend and it has been nice to use it this week. The kids are getting to be much better in the water.

I finally finished knitting my cardigan that I started right before our California trip, now it just needs buttons, I may go to Jo-anns this weekend and see what I can find. I will post pictures of my most recent knitting projects sometime this week.

Later :)

Oh my...I've become a very bad blogger

2006-06-10T09:58:00.000-04:00

I knew I hadn't posted in a while...but I didn't realize it had been this long...Sorry Carole :)

So life is moving along. I finished my spring semester with 5 A's...including an A from Mme. Cailler...never thought that would happen. I'm in the middle of Summer A, my first summer semester, only 1 class for this 6 weeks, Elementary and Secondary Curriculum...it has been a good class, 2 evenings a week, primarily discussion, choice of take home long answer final or 2000 word research paper. In July, for Summer B, I will be in class every morning, taking German and Francophone Cultures.

We have Elisabeth signed up for Summer Adventure camp through the YMCA, starting in July. She should have a lot of fun. We will sign Joseph up for Swim & Gym camp at the Y. Elisabeth will be a Norton Elementary in the fall, 3rd grade, with me having to take 15 credits in fall and spring there was no way possible to continue homeschooling them. Very hard for me but she will be fine.

We had a wonderful vacation in California. We drove through the mountains around LA and stopped by Malibu Beach, went to the San Diego Zoo (which was fabulous!), Visited Balboa Park in San Diego and went to the Children's Science Center there, and went to Legoland. The whole time we were there the temperature never got above 75 degrees and it never rained...it was perfect, except for the fog/smog that was around every day.

We took so many pictures, about 400, that I can only put a small sampling here.

Well, we are off to a great start to Hurricane season 2006. Tropical Depression #1 in currently gaining strength in the Caribbean...forcast to be Tropical Storm Alberto by this evening and head straight toward us. But this would actually be the best case scenario...we need the rain so desperately that this rain would be welcome.

Well I'm off to work on knitting my cardigan.

Happy Easter!

2006-04-16T16:17:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update to share pictures from this morning...

Egg hunting at home...
Egg hunting at church...
Aren't they cute...

Contrary to popular belief...I have not fallen off the face of the planet...

2006-04-10T16:30:00.000-04:00

Things have been very busy lately and any down time I have had has been pure vegging :)

I am winding down to the end of my semester, April 26th is my last day of classes!! A few papers left to write, a few exams to take and all the while trying to keep up with the laundry, not happening!

By the way, how about them GATORS!!!

Did manage to watch that game...what a great game!

I have managed to almost finish making Elisabeth's Easter dress and a skirt for myself, and Daddy's socks.

I've got lots of pics to post and will do so soon. But gotta go spend time with the kids. Will update more later :)

Counting down to Casting on

2006-02-10T09:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm all set for the Olympics...and the Knitting Olympics too! This is a picture of what I will be working on.

I decided to join team DPN, since I will be knitting a pair of socks on DPN (double pointed needles). I showed the picture of the socks I am knitting to Rebekah and the first thing she noticed was the map of Paris as the background to the photo...leave it to her :)

I will be casting on for these socks at 2pm local time, right between my two classes today. And I will have an hour of uniterrupted knitting time.

I am so excited that Mom will be here tonight!! So I should really go and start picking up some.

Hopefully I will post later today my progress on my Olympic socks.

My brand new knitting spot...

2006-02-09T17:40:00.000-05:00

Well, it's not just my knitting spot, but our brand new sofa and loveseat :) The color on the left cushion of the loveseat is the most accurate in the picture.
Another view!

Elisabeth lounging!

Busy Bears

2006-02-05T23:06:00.000-05:00

We have been busy here at the Bayer household.

My classes have been going well, my schedule this semester is turning out to be great. I am enjoying having my free hours on campus, I'm able to get most of my homework finished while I am sitting at Deja Brew, the coffee shop at Mitch's work (Target Copy). The only downside is that it is not helping my coffee addiction :) But that is a small price to pay to be able to work in relative peace without children and before 11pm.

This will be a busy week for me, I have a short essay due tomorrow (it is finished, I will just review it one more time before I print it tomorrow), a longer poetry analysis due on Thursday (both of these are in French), a test in my course on Adolescence, a take-home test in French Corrective Phonics due Thursday (this is pretty much completed, I just need to review it again, the teacher will also give us feedback on all the recordings we have had to do thus far), and a test in French Grammar and Composition on Friday. Oh yeah and I have a test in Man's Food next week. WHEW!!!

Writing all of that out makes it look really bad, it's not really as bad as it seems, well except that poetry analysis, I'm worried about that but I'll survive.

On the brighter side, I have gotten a lot of knitting done, I just haven't taken any pictures of it yet. And I have decided on my Knitting Olympics project...more details on that later.

I do have some pics of the kids on field day...our first day back with our homeschool co-op since before Christmas. It was a beautiful day as you can see from the sky shot above.

The kids had a blast...

I have some pictures from Becka's birthday to post but I will do that at another time...I also have some from our trip to the Jacksonville Zoo.

More later :)

Olympic Knit-along

2006-01-18T17:14:00.000-05:00

I've decided to participate in a knit-along I believe I can actually finish :)

The Yarn Harlot is hosting an Olympic Knit-Along...you choose your own project, which should be a challenge but which you must be able to complete during the Olympic games. We start the project with the opening ceremonies and finish by the closing ceremonies. I think it sounds like a lot of fun...now to decide on a project. I am planning on socks of some kind, because it normally takes me a long time to finish a pair, I often get distracted by another project halfway through. Plus I can take socks with me onto campus for knitting in-between classes.

I will post more later about other stuff :)

Field Trip!

2006-01-14T22:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was our first day back with our homeschool co-op since before the holidays. We started the year with a field trip...that's the best way to start. We visited Devil's Millhopper, this is a huge sinkhole here in Gainesville, it is 500 feet wide and 120 feet deep. It was perfect weather, overcast and cool, I think is was in the mid 60s, but a bit humid because of impending storms that finally came through last night.

I got some great pics of the kids...
This is our whole group (minus 1 or 2), we are small with mostly younger kids.

My 2 mid-way down. We were not able to go all the way to the bottom walkway because there was about a half foot of water covering the bridge/walkway.

Visiting the sinkhole is tricky because you go down all the stairs to the bottom, I think there are around 130 steps descending into the sinkhole; then you have to climb back up all those stairs. So the kids go bouncing down the stairs and on the way back up, usually before the first landing they start complaining they are tired. Well, Elisabeth did her usual complaining but Joseph climbed all the stairs and then did the entire 1/2 mile perimeter trail and not once did he say he was tired, I was so proud of him.

Elisabeth told me over and over how much fun she had. I asked her to write a short paragraph about our trip when we got home. This is what she wrote:

"My Trip to Devil's Millhopper (in very big letters across the top of the page)

I went to Devil's Millhopper with homeschool group and saw all my friends. There is a new girl. I had lot's of fun! I saw bones and I found 3 leafs sweet gum and it's pod, swamp chestnut oak and saw palmetto. My favorite thing was the sink hole!"

I thought she did a great job! The only prompt I gave her was to write about what she saw on our trip.

I also finished Joseph's Tiger socks. I have some nice breaks in my day on campus that I am able to do some studying and knitting. He is a proud boy in his new socks. They have some room to grow and will be nice and warm when we go to Michigan in March.

My classes went very well this week. I think this is going to be a great semester. I think I am really going to enjoy my French poetry class and my grammar and composition class is going to be great for me to really practice on my writing in French. Corrective phonics is going to be a really easy class, we sit in the language lab on the computers and practice saying phrases to improve our pronunciation. The Adolescent will be interesting despite the teacher, she is a grad student who is probably younger than I am, not much past adolescence herself. Now I am not against grad students teaching classes, I really enjoyed my Latin teacher last semester who was a grad student and I hope to be such a teacher in a year or so. But teaching languages is much different than teaching the development of adolescents and how to work with them in a classroom. And this teacher teaches straight from the handouts of notes she gives us, boring, give me additional information, I can read the notes myself!

We have had some beautiful weather this week also. I have thoroughly enjoyed finding a bench on campus and sitting in the sun, watching the people walk by, I enjoy people watching, it can be quite amusing at times.

Today we took Maisey to the park with us and she found a pug friend to play with. She was such a good puppy. Maisey is about 40 pounds now and still growing, being German Shephard/Huskey mix I imagine she will gain at least 20 more pounds. But she was great with this little pug which was about the size of our cats. We had a great day.

Monday is a day off of school for me. I will enjoy the time off, but I'm ready to get these classes well underway.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your weekend! I will :)

First day of classes...2nd semester

2006-01-09T07:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I have been a lazy poster these past few weeks. My plans of everything that I was going to get done during my break kinda went out the window. Not to say all I did was sit around and veg...but that was part of it.

We did get the kids' rooms decluttered and organized. I succeeded in not adding any more laundry to the clean clothes pile, thanks to my decluttered laundry room, which has new shelves and a nice workspace on top of the washer and dryer now. We dedecorated last week so the house is not in total disarray.

I made a little progress on Joseph's socks and I pulled out one of my unfinished cross-stitch projects. I have resolved to finish up all my ufos (unfinished objects) before starting on new projects (except gift items), that includes knitting and cross-stitch projects, doll clothes I will start because they can be cut out one evening and sewn the next in a short time, they are almost instant gratification. That said, I did pull out the doll clothes pattern book and cut out several outfits last night, to be sewn when I have the chance this week.

And today my classes start again! I am taking this semester: French Grammar and Composition (this is the class that comes before the French writing course I took last semester), French Corrective Phonics (a 2 credit language lab), Modern French Poetry (this is the same professor as my French writing course last semester, a true French teacher, she expect no less than your best, many students will avoid her classes, but I think she is a wonderful teacher), Man's Food (a nutrition course to fulfill my last biology requirement, online class) and Adolescence (my first class toward my secondary education minor).

My class schedule is not bad, MWF I have class from 12:50 to 3:50, with an hour break between classes and TR I have class from 9:35 to 1:40 with an hour break on Tuesday and a 2 hour break on Thursday. My knitting goes on campus with me, so I should be able to finish Joseph's socks this week and make some progress on the other 2 pairs I have started for myself.

Mitch and I got up early this morning, he has lots of deliveries to make this week, being the first week of class, this is the busiest time of year for the company. After "rush" he will go to only commercial sales, he has found it too difficult to do the on-campus course pack sales and successfully add to his commercial business.

Well, I need to push the kids out of bed, I've been trying to wake them for the last half hour. Joseph got up and climbed into my bed, but he won't move from there. Elisabeth hasn't even rolled over :)

More updates later.

Have a Great Day!

Happy New Year!

2005-12-31T10:09:00.000-05:00

I am finally posting our many pictures from Christmas. We have been working on cleaning the kids' rooms all week and I have been playing with my new embroidery machine and working on Joseph's socks so I haven't taken the time to post anything.

First our tree and the kids inspecting the tree on Christmas morning.

They love eachother so much sometimes...

Unwrapping presents from Santa is serious business...

They got sleeping bags.

And their pretty church clothes.

Steve liked his zebra socks,

Elisabeth liked her My little Ponies,

Joseph had fun with his bath toys and his castle...when it was finally put together :)

I will post some pictures soon of the cool stuff I have been making on my embroidery machine :) I have had so much fun with it.

We gave Mitch a weather station so he can see what the temperature, humidity, air pressure, etc. is outside, it is really neat!

We will be spending New Year's at home, Mitch is singing tomorrow in church, a choir of seven men, I guess you would call that a septet :)

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas Eve!

2005-12-24T17:19:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful early Christmas dinner with Becka and Dustin on Thursday night. Of course the bad children we are we didn't take pictures :(

We ate yummy snow crab legs, cocktail shrimp and we all kinda forgot to eat the salad and rice :) Becka brought over some French wine and we had rice crispies treats (the kids made in the morning), gingerbread cookies and fudge for dessert along with some delicious coffee and Kaluah.

We gave Becka and Dustin a Rachel Ray cookbook, Cooking 'Round the Clock (30 minute meals) and I finished Becka's scarf and hat just in time...now she has something warm with her in Virginia :) (I'll have to get a picture of her wearing her new gear when they return.)

They gave us a night out to dinner and a movie complete with babysitting! Elisabeth got a Shel Silverstein book called Runny Babbit and Joseph got a set of Hotwheels.

I also managed to finish another Christmas present last night, these socks...
for Steve, they will be gifted tomorrow.

Sadly, I have not finished the last gift I was working on, the tiger socks for Joseph have only made it this far...that is only the first sock, so I think these will make it as a Hanukkah present later this week.

Tonight we are going to Christmas Eve service and then home and the kids need to go right to sleep so Santa can bring all their presents. Tomorrow we will have the kids open one present and their stockings before church and then we will come home and Steve and Aida will come over to open the rest of the gifts with us. Tomorrow night we are going to their house for dinner and to light the first Hanukkah candles. WHEW!

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and I will post more pictures after Christmas.

I finally got my grades....

2005-12-19T20:37:00.000-05:00

After waiting all afternoon for UF's evening time grade posting.....

Drum roll please.....

I got an A in Latin
an A in Structure of French
a B+ in Intro to French Lit
and a B in Writing in French

Happy Dance!

YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!

Now I really can celebrate this holiday!!!!

I don't know how this effects my GPA yet, transcripts will be updated on Wednesday.

Edited to add: My GPA went from a 1.84 to a 2.50 this semester!

It really feels like Christmas

2005-12-19T11:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday our church choir performed the Cantata. They performed A Canticle of Joy. It was beautiful and our choir director always goes all out and organizes a mini orchestra for the performance. Rebekah played oboe and english horn and Mitch sang.
It was so hard to get a picture of them. Becka is always behind a music stand :)

We had a yummy lunch together after church and then Becka took a couple of these boxes home to wrap...see what you have sent to us mom ?!?

Anyway it has been lots of fun guessing if we are going to get another package each day :)

I worked on these socks last night...they are for Joseph hopefully for Christmas.

And I've been working on my scarf, it is almost done!

Frappr!

2005-12-17T10:32:00.000-05:00

OK I did a Frappr Map, sign it please :)

I am FINISHED!!!!

2005-12-15T16:00:00.000-05:00

Well for three weeks at least. I finished my second and final exam for this semester and now I am on my 3 week semester break. I get to spend the next 3 weeks cleaning house, teaching the children, knitting, reading, laundry, knitting, cleaning house, reading...I need to start making a to-do list for the house. I've got to buckle down and finish a couple Christmas presents I've started.

Friday night is Mitch's company holiday party, which should be a lot of fun. And we will be doing our shopping this weekend.

My grades will be posted this weekend, but excuse me now while I enjoy doing nothing for a few moments :)

One down one to go...

2005-12-14T15:06:00.000-05:00

I took my Latin final exam this morning. The exam only took a half hour to complete, it was no longer than any of our other tests! So that one went well and tomorrow I will take my exam for Structure of French.

I have been able to catch up on some of my knitting, one Christmas present is nearly finished. I have started on the tiger socks and I was able to finish the second Amble sock. I was in Jo-Anns the other day and couldn't resist this yarn it is becoming a scarf. The colors are hard to see, but it is blue with flecks of purple, pink, and green throughout...and so soft!

Well I should go study while the kids have their quiet time. Tonight is a Brownie night!

Getting ready for Christmas

2005-12-14T14:47:00.000-05:00

After seeing so many other bloggers post pictures of their holiday decorations, I thought I would too. First here is our tree, the kids did most of the decorating and insisted on putting every ornament as high as they could reach, so the bottom of the tree was neglected.

We then have our fireplace with stockings and advent wreath.

I love to decorate the piano for Christmas...Elisabeth has even been learning how to play some Christmas carols :)

Only in Florida could you have roses picked from the garden next to Christmas decorations!

We bought a pretty little potted tree that now decorates our passthrough.

I just love having all the decorations out!

The kids are getting excited about Christmas, Elisabeth made a calender at girl scouts to count down the days, you can see behind the stockings on the right, one candy cane a day until Christmas!

Florida Snow!

2005-12-02T16:56:00.000-05:00

This is my snowflake I made on Make-A-Flake.
I discovered this site through another blog I read. Lots of fun!

I think I will have the kids create our own little snowstorm here in Florida :)

Countdown time!

2005-11-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today I am finishing up one of my final 3 papers for my classes. I have one due next Monday and one due next Friday after classes end. I have 2 finals to prepare for after classes end and another test to prepare for the last day of French lit class. The last day of classes is December 7th, my finals are the following week, one on Tuesday (I think) and one on Friday. I can't believe how quickly this semester has flown by!

I am all set for next semester. Classes start January 9th, so I will have a nice break for the holidays.

Well it is thundering and lightning outside right now. I should probably get off the computer. Time to get the kids breakfast anyhow.

I will post some pictures from Thanksgiving later this week.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

2005-11-24T08:32:00.000-05:00

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. We have much to be thankful for:
We are healthy, we have a roof over our heads, we have 2 beautiful children, and we have a wonderful future ahead of us :)

I am touched each time I see a news story about a Hurricane Katrina victim, someone who just a couple of months ago had nothing and through the kindness of strangers and the grace of God is able to move on and be thankful for what they do have today. Makes you realize that we are really not in need of anything.

We will be going over to Steve and Aida's for dinner late afternoon. Becka is coming when she gets off work but Dustin has to work a double shift :(

I am making my yummy Apple Caramel Pie, Cran-Raspberry Sauce and yeast rolls; Becka is making the Pumpkin Pie and Aida is doing the rest.

Since it is also Joseph's birthday today we will have a birthday cake for dessert also! I can't believe my baby is 4 years old already.

Have a Happy Day!!!

Recent knitting...

2005-11-19T18:41:00.000-05:00

I guess this is good, I'm posting twice in one week:)

Here are some pictures of the little bit of knitting I have gotten done these past few months.

First the first Amble sock finished. I haven't started on the second one yet, too many other things that I need to finish up first. I can't wait to get back to this one. If you notice the stitch pattern goes all the way down the heel. This sock is modeling on my flowering tarragon.

Second is the Mosaic sock, I have started on the heel of the first sock. Mosaic is modeling on one of my new rose bushes, well the roses were new this September.

More later :)

It's crunch time!

2005-11-17T08:10:00.000-05:00

The semester is nearing an end and everything becomes frantic. With 2 weeks left, I have 2 major compositions for my French Lit and Writing in French classes. I have 3 finals (I guess it's good to only have finals in 2 of 4 classes) to prepare for. And Thanksgiving, Joseph's birthday, Christmas and Hanukkah all arriving before we know it :)

Yesterday was a long day for me, I went on campus early to meet with departmental advisors. I met with an advisor in the Eudcation department to discuss the Pathways to Teaching Education minor which will allow me to obtain a temporary FL teaching certificate, important if I am unable to start my graduate work right away, at least then I could get a job. Then after classes I met with the French advisor to map out the courses I have remaining for my degree, the good news is that it's not a lot. And she said she heard I'm very good in French :) (I'm assuming from one of my profs). So I know what classes I need to take for the next year and a half, my life is mapped out for that time! I registered for classes for spring. Now that's done I can focus on finishing this semester and then the holidays.

With all going on and trying to keep up with Elisabeth's school work, I haven't had much relaxing time. I have yet to start on Joseph's tiger socks. Or finish the pairs that I have already started. I did finish the lace scarf which was a birthday present for Aida. This is a close up of the stitch pattern. And the scarf laid out blocking.

The other pictures are the kids at the Orlando Science Center about a month ago.

Sharon Needs...

2005-10-18T08:54:00.000-04:00

10. Sharon needs more time to work.
9. Sharon needs to create a new special unit to implement this dirty work.
8. Sharon needs an excuse to organize.
7. Sharon needs to be on a regular fertalizer schedule.
6. Sharon needs to see the big picture.
5. Sharon needs to formulate a new course of action.
4. Sharon needs to be more forceful.
3. Sharon needs to do something simple that would have a profound meaning worldwide.
2. Sharon needs help
1. Sharon needs all the help (s)he can get.

I have seen this on several blogs I read. All you do is go to www.google.com and put (your name) needs in the searcch box. See what you can come up with :)

I AM still alive!!

2005-10-17T23:44:00.000-04:00

I promise I haven't forgotten about all of you :) I have been so busy with everything.

My classes are going well, just a lot of work now that we are more than halfway through the semester. We went to Orlando a couple weekends ago, we visited Sea World and the Science Center again, lots of fun. I didn't take a lot of pics because we just did this in July, I do have a couple that I will post soon. I started a Mary Kay business, Becka got me into it and I really am loving the opportunity. And then we got a surprise visit from Daddy!! We also celebrated Aida's birthday this weekend.

I guess that kinda sums up the past few weeks.

I will try to post more in the next days and get those pics up soon :)

2005-09-29T09:12:00.000-04:00

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city girl with a small town heart

Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome

Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand

And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-)

I did something really stupid yesterday...

2005-09-28T10:45:00.000-04:00

See my poor car?!?!? That's right folks, the rear bumper is completly gone! It's really stupid because it was my fault. I was backing out of a parking space at the Lowe's/Target parking lot, and I didn't see a pickup coming into the parking aisle. Granted he was turning pretty quickly into the lot, but I should have seen him! The truck has a dent on the left rear quarter panel, and I have no bumper.

In my 10 years of driving, I have NEVER had an accident or even a ticket. This really sucks, for lack of a better word. Thankfully, this was minor and noone was hurt, our insurance will cover the damages to both cars, no police report was filed, so no tickets were given, etc.. but it really ruined my afternoon!

Today is a better day, Elisabeth has her Girl Scout Pinning ceremony tonight. Rebekah is practicing oboe with the choir for the anthem on Sunday, I am signing the same piece. She is reading French scripture and I am signing the scripture. I am very excited about participating in worship for World Communion Sunday.

Tomorrow, Rebekah has her Mary Kay debut, I hope it is a success for her.

I haven't gotten much knitting done these past few days. I am still plugging away on my Amble socks, I think I will finish the first one and then start on the next sock for the six sox knit along, maybe I'll get those done in time for the drawing at the end of the month. I started on a lace scarf in that pretty turquoise yarn I posted about a while back, I've gotten 2 rows done. I'm making up my own pattern for this, well I found a lace pattern I like and I'm just doing it in a scarf size, it should be really pretty. I will post a picture when some more is complete and the pattern is visible.

Well gotta go.

Katrina Pics

2005-09-23T20:47:00.000-04:00

Last week Mitch's friend Bernie went with his wife to Biloxi, MS. They took with them a trailor full of donations collected by family and friends, for the storm victims there. We sent along some clothes and some toys the kids helped to pick.

I was originally going to choose a few pictures to share here, but Bernie sent over 600 pictures of their trip. It is impossible to choose only a few to tell the story, so I am placing the link to his online photo album here on my blog. You need to sing in to create a free account in order to view the pictures. Plan to look at the pictures when you have plenty of time, they are simply amazing.

Pictures from Biloxi, MS.

More pics

2005-09-23T18:39:00.000-04:00

Well I didn't get these posted when I said I would. But these are some pics from Elisabeth's party.
The kids started off by painting figurines, they were little bugs, very cute.

Then they decorated goodie bags and tried to break a pinata.

Then we had cake and popsicles and then went inside for presents.
The kids had a great time!

I was glad Rebekah and Dustin were able to come to the party!

I have also been working on my Amble socks, after the 4th start I finally have them fitting correctly, and I really like the pattern.

I have also been working on my "Gator" socks, I found this yarn that has among its colors orange and blue!

And finally a picture of the Opal Tiger yarn I received, this will become a pair of socks for Joseph, my tiger nut, I think I will also be able to get a pair of mittins out of it for him.

Finally Some Birthday Pictures!

2005-09-19T23:29:00.000-04:00

OK, I realize it has been forever since I have posted anything and now I am going to post a ton of pictures. These are all pics from Steve and Aida's camers. I was a bad mom and didn't take any of my own, ok I was a little busy too :)

We all had a great time. It has taken me all week to recover though.
I start with all of us at dinner at Newberry Backyard BBQ for Mitch's b-day. It only took them over an hour to seat us, we were a party of 14! We had quite a feast though!

Adam and Ysette got in late, so they had their BBQ at Steve and Aida's...

...before we got to the wonderful spread Aida had for Mitch :) Three kinds of cake, cookies, chocolates, yummy! Mitch needed help from the kids to blow out his candles ;)

I also have a bunch of pics from Elisabeth's party, but it is late and I really need to go to bed, so I will post them tomorrow.