How a 19-Year Old Celebrates Her Birthday

Not just any 19-year old...but my 19-year old.

Nineteen.

Nineteen?

19?

Last year in the teens!

To me, this 19-year old still looks like this...

And this...

And this...

Yes.
This girl I call "Sweet Carrie" and her daddy calls his "Baby Girl" will always be our baby.  And every age and stage has been a huge gift.  The kind that is wrapped in the prettiest of paper.  With a big sparkly bow on the top.

Something that we have thoroughly enjoyed with our kids through our years of homeschooling has been spending every birthday with them.  We realized pretty early on (when I was making out lesson plans for this school year back in July) that we were not going to be spending Carrie's actual birthday with her this year.  For the first time.  In fact, after she scheduled her second semester classes, we learned that she would be gone on her birthday from 9 in the morning until 9 in the evening!

So, thanks to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we celebrated with Carrie last Monday when we were all out of work/college/homeschool.  The day began with lemon poppyseed muffins!

For lunch we met up with GG, Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Brian at a local cafe.

Then we went to see the movie "Annie!"
I told Paul and the kids that it was a really good thing that there were two other people in the theater with us.  If they hadn't been there, I would have been singing and dancing throughout the entire movie.

And of course there were presents and cake.  :)

I wanted needed to be involved in her day in some way, so I sent cookies with her to share.  I worried that it might seem a little elementary-schoolish, but then I remembered that she's in college and that cookies might be a welcomed treat.

Carrie standing in front of her birthday streamers.
As I was cutting and taping, I was wondering how many times I have hung birthday streamers.  I know that I haven't hung them since the very first birthday, but I can't remember when I started.  So instead, I counted how many kids' birthdays we've celebrated in our home.  Fifty.  This was the fiftieth birthday that we have celebrated.  I am so thankful for each and every one of those birthdays and the celebration of life that they represent.

My sweet girl kept me in the loop by sharing a picture of how a piano performance major celebrates her birthday...

Then, of course, there is the birthday party!  We try to celebrate either the weekend before or the weekend after the  actual birthday.  This year it was on the Saturday after.  For several years, Carrie has asked for her favorite flavor of cake...cherry chip.  She found the KitKat cake on Pinterest and asked if we could give it a try.  It was so much easier than I thought it would be!  And it was gorgeous because of those gorgeous Valentine's Day Peanut M&M's on top and the scrumptious Cherry M&M's around the bottom!  I cannot frost a pretty layer cake to save me...so this year, the KitKat fence around the cake did save me.

Gift and card time!

And our birthday princess getting ready to blow out her candle.
Yes...just one candle.  I got a package of 20 sparkly candles, but they weren't tall enough to stand up in the M&M's.  Mental note...tall candles are best.

She and Me.

I love She very much.

Why does it take so long to post about birthdays?
I think because I want the words to be special...just like these kids are.
Special.

Here's Lookin' at You!

I really don't know why it takes so long for me to write about birthdays and special occasions.  I have all my pictures chosen for the post about Carrie's birthday, but I'm procrastinating.  I always do.

Yesterday, as the boys were doing school at the big table, pictures from last April were popping up on the computer as a screensaver.  William turned around just in time to see these...

He laughed so hard that I knew I needed to print them out for the 2014 scrapbook I'm working on.  And I knew that I needed to share them here so that they would be included in a blog book someday.  So that William would laugh like that again.

I also know that by posting these here,  I get another day or two to finish my birthday blog.

One more thing that I know?  I know that I should really make our screensaver on the computer something other than pictures.  They are way too distracting.  Even the pictures of jaguars in the snow and tropical fish are too much sometimes.

Next up...Carrie's nineteenth birthday.
I promise.

Memory Keeping

I am having SO.MUCH.FUN!

After Christmas, I had some Christmas money to spend.  I looked at the FitBit for about a week, thinking that it might be helpful to track my steps and my sleep.  But the more I thought about it, the more I knew that for me, it would be a guilt inducer.  Not to mention all the times I would have to take it off my wrist so that I could do dishes and clean up messes.  I decided against that.

Books?  All it takes is one look around my home and a look inside my Nook to see that I do not need one more book to read.  There are many books sitting on shelves and in the Barnes and Noble lala land that are waiting to be read.  So books?  No.

Then I looked at my Amazon Wish List.  Now!  There were some interesting things in there that I had forgotten about.  Back in 2009, a friend of mine started scrapbooking a picture a day using the Project Life system.  I was intrigued by that.  I had started scrapbooking back in '96, after Carrie was born, using Creative Memories.  I loved scrapbooking!  But it soon became something that I just couldn't keep up with.  Having no space to devote to my supplies, I would have to drag everything out and set everything up and remember where I had left off before I could begin.  Then I would have to put it all away...in some organized fashion so that I could get it out again in the future.  It fizzled.  Another friend started using Project Life just a few years ago.  I would sit in her living room and admire her pages as she told me how easy it was.  And how quick!  That's what I needed.  Easy and quick.  I just want to get my pictures and stories in books so that Paul and the kids could sit and look at them.

One thing kept stopping me from buying Project Life and getting started.  I could not decide which pocket pages to use.  Seriously.  I never got any farther than that.  Until about three weeks ago!  I finally bought the album and the core kit that were on sale and just decided to get a bunch of one kind of pocket page.  And GO!  I also found a class at Big Picture Classes devoted to kicking off your year with Project Life!

So I'm in!  I am scrapbooking again!  And learning new things about it every day thanks to my online teachers.  Did I mention that it is SO.MUCH.FUN!?  One of things that I am trying out is editing my pictures a bit.  I have never been a big fan of editing, because I don't want to take anything away from  the experience caught in the picture.  But I'm realizing how much fun it is to edit...just a bit...and how much better the pictures can look if I lighten them or add a bit of contrast to them.  And if I really feel daring, then I add a filter.  

Here are some pictures that I messed with a little and then added the antique filter.

Matthew at Bob Evans...

Bananagrams!  

Our new favorite game...

Our Bible memory chapter for first semester this year...

Right now I am scrapbooking each week.  On Saturday evening, I go through my pictures for the week, edit if needed/wanted, and then I send them off to Walgreens to print.  I'm working on a 2015 weekly album and also working on monthly spreads for 2014.  Just get started!  That's what I needed to do.  And then...FINISH what I start.  That word enters my head several time every single day.  FINISH!  Especially when I'm folding mountains of laundry and thinking about what else needs to be done.  I have to force myself to stay and FINISH.  (But that's another blog post for another day...)

I love documenting my family's life.  That is why I started blogging in 2008.  I wasn't scrapbooking then, and this became my way of keeping up and not feeling guilty.  I really enjoy ordering blog books and having a record of the special moments of our life.  But I really love the hands-on experience of scrapbooking!

Did I mention at all how much fun this is?  :)

The Same...But Different

Here are my boys back on December 22, 2008.  William was 10, Josh was 3, and Matthew was 8 months old.  I think that William was in the fifth grade.  Holy cow.

 And here they are this past week.  Back on the same couch.  But older.  The same...but different.  William is 16, Josh is 9, and Matthew is 81 months old (6 years old).  William is a junior in high school this year.  Josh is a third-grader, and Matthew is in the first grade.  Holy double cow.

Hold on.  Hold on tight. Take those pictures and write down those stories, because before you know it, those babies are big boys and love to see pictures and hear stories about themselves.  And hug them.  Hug them and be amazed at how quickly your arms go from reaching down to them to reaching up to them.  I sure love do these boys of mine.

Favorite Holiday Photos

I didn't take many pictures in November and December.  I go in spurts, it seems, when it comes to picture-taking.  My word for the year was definitely not "intentional," although I thought about adopting it last January.  I didn't really have a word, and I don't know that I have one for this year either.  Maybe I need to be more intentional and find a word.

But for now, I want to share a few of my favorite photos from the past few weeks.  To be fair, each of my loves is only being highlighted once.  There may be a couple shots of a couple people, but they are from the same "shoot."  Or maybe they just happened to be in the shot with the one being shot.  So they ended up in more than one shoot.  Does that make sense?

I love these pictures of Paul.  And that smile!  He is so relaxed while letting little kids crawl over and under him.  That's how he rolls.

And I think this is a really pretty picture of Carrie.  She's being silly, but I think that's when people are at their prettiest.  When they aren't trying.

This picture of William is so peaceful and content.  That is what has happened to William these past few years.  He has become peaceful and content.  And I love those dimples!  Isn't he handsome?

 Here is a boy who loves the babies!  Josh always wants to hold Ciara and Emmie.  Ciara is a mover and a shaker, so she is hard to hold on to, but Emmie seems to like being held. She and Josh spent some quiet cousin time while we were up north for Christmas.

 Here's some more cousin time happening!  These two are just plain silly...which makes them really fun to watch!  They are the cousins closest in age, and as Ciara gets older, they play more together.  And goof around a little.

I love that my kids have cousins, because I love having cousins!  I love that my cousins love me and still want to come have some cousin time.  Now our cousin time includes second cousin time and first cousin once removed time.  (I think I got that right!)

My crazy, beautiful cousin Sherry and her kids came over to do a mini Christmas celebration with us in December.  Have I mentioned how much fun cousins are?

 Several years ago, Sherry sent me a card that reminded her of our childhood.  I loved it so much that I hung it inside my baking/cereal cabinet.  I think of her every time I open that door...which is almost every day.  The funny thing is how much those little girls with their chocolate-laden purses and kitties look like we did when we were little girls.  I'll have to go digging in boxes to see if I can find any pictures from way back then.

What makes you happy today?
Is it hidden chocolate inside a purse?
Is it a warm, fuzzy kitty?
Cousins!  Definitely cousins!
How about the smiles of the ones you love?
Yes to all of the above.

A Very Happy Start to the New Year

Here we are.  The first day of work and school in this new year of 2015 is in the books.  There are green leafy vegetables in my refrigerator again, and the treadmill has been very active today.  Or maybe I should say that my people have been very active on the treadmill today.  Paul, William, and Matthew are at Upward practice this evening while I clean up from a dinner that was spent together at the table...something that wasn't done regularly over our holiday break. 

So how did we get to this fifth day of January?

It began on December 31...

(insert warbly vision)

We spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home this year.  I always look forward to New Year's Eve and that quietness right before a fresh New Year begins.

This year included a new game that we all took a real liking to...Bananagrams!

I can't tell you how many times we played this game. 

Lots.

And lots and lots.

And check out this gang.

I sure so love these people.

Lots.

And lots and lots and lots.

And here they are at midnight.

Every one of us made it up until midnight this year!

A little bleary-eyed, but we made it.

And then we made it into bed by 12:30. 

We have had lots of fun playing games during this holiday break.  We've learned Bananagrams and Risk and have even resurrected the game Clue.  That's one that we haven't played for a really long time.  William had fun reminiscing about Clue games gone by.  It's a good thing that I have the kids' memories to lean on.

One afternoon, Josh and I played a game of Banangrams together.  Just the two of us.  Here he is reading his Bananagram words that would defeat me!

Good job, Josh!

It won't be long until Matthew can play Bananagrams too.  

Until then, he will just make funny faces at us as we play.

And insert letters here and there around the table that make some pretty good three-letter words!

Matthew's smile changed just a little bit this week!  He finally lost that front tooth that has been hanging on and hanging on.  That little bitty tooth and Matthew developed quite a bond.  Matthew did not let go of it very easily.  In fact, I think that it was more his back-up tooth pushing the baby tooth out than the slight yank that William gave it.  Yes. William got to do the honors.  Paul and I were out on a date when it all happened.  Paul commented that he never gets to pull any teeth anymore.  Josh and Matthew tend to let their teeth just dangle and then just drop out all on their own.  Whoever is closest to catch a tooth when it falls, gets the honor of being "the puller."

 We also went out to eat with Paul's grandma...the kids' great-grandma 

who they call GG.

 Good food and good conversation...

And lots of laughter.

Matthew COULD NOT, WOULD NOT leave his bendy straw alone!

He played with it the entire meal.

 Didn't you, Matthew?

And now, here we are on the first Monday evening after the holidays.  Carrie has another week off before starting up her second semester classes, but she has a full week of work before she goes back.  Usually I'm the one who is ready to get back to a routine, but I am not ready at all this time.  Even with the bits of bickering that have started up during the down time, I am not ready.  We have enjoyed our Hobbit/Lord of the Rings marathon marathons.  We have enjoyed our many games (but few levels) of Mario Brothers.  And we have enjoyed all the laughter!

And do you know what else we have enjoyed?
Staying home and not driving all over the place!  We haven't had to put gas in the truck once since Christmas vacation began!  Last night, Carrie and William drove in to Kroger to get gas.  We have been collecting our fuel points and had over 1,000...which means $1.00 off per gallon.  It was the day that I had been waiting for ever since we started collecting fuel points!

Check this out...

That's right!

Seventy-one cents a gallon!  

We were able to fill the Excursion up for just about twenty-five dollars!

AMAZING!!!

UNHEARD OF!!!

It's time to go move the folded kids' clothes off my bed and take a look outside to see if the snow is falling.  We're supposed to get 3-6 inches overnight!  January and February snows are my favorite.  They rank right up there with a good Christmas Day snow.

Let it snow!  Let it snow!  Let it snow!