WHATCHA doin'?????????

Shouldn't you be doing some work? Laundry? Cooking? Running errands or something??
Denise? Shouldn't you be playing a new game on FACEBOOK??

Have a great day friends!!!!

Off to the Post Office!

Today is RED ENVELOPE DAY!
My kids were FIRED up to work on this project and worked a long time generating many envelopes to send to Washington D.C. They all decided that even though they are "just kids" they have a VOICE and they are going to use it. I am proud of each of them.

Our contribution to saving lives...we will NEVER stop fighting...NEVER!!!

OH, there have been some Debbie Downers in this project...but I FULLY believe that someone OUT THERE will see the impact of these red envelopes!!

MONDAY!

So, another weekend over...already??

This Monday, I am HOPEFUL and looking forward to what God has for us THIS WEEK, THIS DAY, THIS MOMENT! And, I want my family and friends to know that I am lifting you up in prayer! Ame, Harry, Kai, Jillian, Abby, Uncle Mike, Mamaw's family, DeDe and Kayla, Stellan, Doc, custody issues, disappointments, new jobs, Sandi, new baby, Kerri, Gabe and Gideon, travel mercies, Jeff, Grandma Ruth just to name a few. God has you covered in his love, mercy and grace!!!


OH! OH! OH! And do not forget to mail your RED ENVELOPES tomorrow!! Get 'em ready!

Oh, those Cuties...

This month on the cover of SERIOUS LIFE MAGAZINE they are featuring the Cactus Cuties. Have you seen this group of gals?

They are an amazing group of girls aged 9-14 years...have a look...I love THIS song...RIGHT NOW...when our nation is in SUCH TURMOIL...you will be encouraged!

Poet in Residence

(Painting by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun)


Life
It looks like children playing
It smells like flowers blooming
It sounds like cats meowing
It feels like grass on your skin

Love
It looks like artwork in a museum
It smells like chocolate covered strawberries
It sounds like music played from a harp
It feels like you are touching roses

Hate
It looks like thorns on a bush
It smells like vomit
It sounds like a bad trumpet player
It feels like salt on a scratch
(poem by Mitchell!)


Okay, okay...I KNOW I am biased but I really thought this was incredibly beautiful and quite brilliant! Mitchell wrote this for an assignment in his English class this week.

TOOL TIME!

For AT LEAST the third or fourth time the lathe turned bar on my antique vanity chair is broken. Sam came in the bedroom and seeing that it was broken immediately said, "take these to Gramps, Gramps will fix it!" I told him I would and headed to take a quick shower.

When I came back a few minutes later, THIS is what I found. Yes, we have tools out, but please notice the extensive amount of scotch tape! Gramps will be so proud!

This is my resident TOOL MAN! Not only is he a fix-it man...he loves to show off his tongue rolling prowess!

Blue Herons at The Glen

I was walking by a window this a.m. and something "out of the norm" caught my eye. Imagine my complete surprise to spy these LARGE birds out my window! They have caught site of me walking slowly toward them and are leery...they are Blue Herons...they stopped for a snack at The Glen on their way to...most likely a body of water.

They are enormous birds...easily three feet tall with a wing span of 6 plus feet. I have not been so close to such a bird!

I had to laugh as I turned to go back inside...big, plump Asher was on the edge of the woods stalking the birds! I won't tell him he does NOT have a CHANCE of having Heron for breakfast!
Here he is leading his poshy, indulged life!

Brotherly LOVE!

Sam adores his siblings...he loves to spend time with them. Sent the kids up to bed and Mitchell yelled down and asked if he could read to Sam for awhile...when I went up to check on everyone this is what I found...Then the next day they are playing outside and THIS is what Mitchell was teaching Sam...
THE GOOD...


and THE BAD...


I love these guys...they are SO MUCH FUN!
You have to look very close but Sam's face is full of GLEE and ADORATION. He thinks his big brothers ROCK!

PLEASE join me!

What:
Get red envelopes or postcards and mail them on March 31st to the White House

When:
Plan to mail your red envelopes on March 31st, 2009

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores. On the front, address it to

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , D.C. 20500


On the back, write the following message:
This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion.
It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world.

Put your envelopes in the mail on March 31st. Then forward this event to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died [in the U.S.] before having a chance to live.

It may seem that those who believe abortion is wrong are in the minority. WE DO HAVE A VOICE! Let us show our President and the world that the voices of those of us who do not believe abortion is acceptable are not silent and must be heard.

Together we can change the heart of The President and save the lives of millions of children. We have ONE WEEK to gather our envelopes and we will be busy here at The Glen!!! I want my kids in on this one!

Please visit the website:
Red Envelope Day

Losin' sleep...

over a Leprechaun...yes...St. Patrick's Day is OVER but it has continued at our house, but NOT in a celebratory way...can you believe that "Linda" on Emma's school bus told her (with GREAT detail) about a St. Patrick's Day movie where the Leprechaun's kill people at night???!!! OH! COME ON!!! Well, Emma, is my girl with a VIVID imagination and lots of drama and she has been having nightmares about that Leprechaun!!! CRIKEY!! Poor thing!

I much prefer the adorable Lucky Charms guy...he is cute (a TINY bit naughty) and QUITE harmless as we ALL know Leprechauns are!!!

I am a kid lovin' Mama but at 2 a.m. when I am up with my sweet daughter I have thoughts of that little girl on the bus and they are NOT very nice!!!!!

Thomas and Friends

A little guys OBSESSION!!!

Sam is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. We had a lovely collection (established by Mitchell when he was about 3-4 yrs) and Sam LOVES it so very much. He loves to watch the DVD's, he checks out every Thomas book the library can get in for him, he sings the songs and he plays for HOURS with the track and trains. It is an adorable toy and one that has endless creative ways to play. BUT, Sam takes it a bit further in that he is meticulous about how he sets up the track and then how he arranges the trains. I ran up to our play room to grab something this a.m. and this is what I found.
See how it is arranged so neatly? AND, please notice that they are arranged by color!

I tend to be a bit obsessive too and can enjoy Sams organizational talent!!

For those with a Thomas fan, visitMOMDOT for a chance to win a Thomas set! Or, simply visit the Thomas Website for some fun and games with your little one!

YEAH!!! It is OFFICIAL!!! SPRING!!!!!

When we moved to The Glen last year we discovered the beauty of having Kildeer nest in our long driveway. OH!!! They are back! I find it exhilarating to hear there warning cries as it announces SPRING!!! YIPPEE!!!



Now we need to go find the nests and mark them so no one runs over those beautiful eggs!

Be my vision...

This is Bob's favorite of favorites...I needed to read and contemplate this TODAY and thought I would share it with you as well...it is PURE POETRY and WORSHIP!!!

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

I love St. Patrick!

May there always be work for your hands to do.
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine upon your window pane.
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near to you and May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.



What a fabulous ST. PAT's...I am reveling in the beauty of the day (we had 70 plus weather and SUNSHINE!) and good friends and much frivolity for Shepherd's Pie...a large group of leperchauns were ever present causing havoc and GREEN was everywhere! (One of the leperchauns was blonde with a beard...very cute!) I was told there is a pot of gold hidden in the Enchanted Forest...after the kids go to school, I may have to have a look for myself!!

St. Patricks Day Greetings!

We, at The Glen, celebrate some good Irish heritage...and also wanted to share with you one of our favorite versions of a good old Irish song:

This post is fondly dedicated to my dear MUPPET FEARING friend Patty!!!!!!

A sandwich tradition? NOT on any menu I know!

Bob has always eaten Peanut Butter and Pickle sandwiches. GROSS! Well, Mitchell adores them too...Mitchell relishes them like no one else...

The rest of us watch with a tad of horror as he does this... and with SUCH gusto!! (AND glee for that matter!)

I got to go to Holland!

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
Emily Perl Kingsley.


I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

Hurtful words...

Ever throw around words that could be hurtful? No harm INTENDED. I know I do. As the mother of a child with disabilities I find myself a bit sensitive about the use of the word retarded. Check out this new campaign and how a small group of kids made a change!



Go to Spread The Word to END the Word Campaign to find out more valuable information.

Survey SAYS!!!

A couple of weeks ago I got SO MANY entertaining e-mails concerning "Do you HAVE to put up posters?" that I thought it would be fun to post a few of the posters some of my readers mentioned were lovingly posted on their childhood walls!

David Cassidy (OH! I loved the Partridge Family)

Nadia Comaneci

Robby Benson

Greg Evigan

Valerie Bertinelli

Donny Osmond
I LOVED Donny and Marie and thought that Donny was ALL THAT when they sang, "I'm a little bit country and I'm a little bit Rock n Roll!"

If your a child of the 70's go visit my friend,Ame, at For Such A Time As This and look at her awesome flashbacks of childhood. It is fun!

a brief glimpse of SPRING!

Just as quickly as it was here...it is now GONE!

BUSY FEET!

THIS is a girlie girl??? I don't think so!

Nothing like swinging on a beautiful day!

A little piggy back ride for Madeleine to keep up with brother Mitchell! Don't you DIG my Oompa Loompa shades?!?!? I love them!

Mud pie anyone??

The wind was FIERCE...Nate is an excellent kite handler.

Aaaaah, blue sky and a kite...life is good!


It has turned cold again! Bummer.
For those with a discerning eye..YES, Sam has his jammies on...he is into dressing himself these days and pajamas are his clothing of choice! Smart boy!

I've been BAMBOOZLED!!

I recently posted about twenty year old potato chips going back to their original owner a dear friend. I was downright SMUG in posting it knowing that non-bloggy Deb would NEVER read about it? Hmmm, well as I was happily reading comments and e-mails regarding my blog today I got THIS ONE...guess who??
Jill, Jill, Jill, my good friend!! I am so glad that I decided to check up on your blog today after talking with you on the phone. This is your non-bloggy friend, Debby, aka Joe and Debby who bought weird stuff at Big Lots in college. I do hate to ruin the surprise -- was it going to be a late Christmas present or St. Patty's Day?!? Actually, I just thought of the chips a couple of weeks ago -- knew you would never throw away such a prized possession! I am not a huge bloggy person, but I do enjoy my boss' blog. Check out the daily devotions from Proverbs 31 Ministries. Had so much fun last weekend -- I am truly blessed by your friendship and Christlike example! Love you!


I will promise to act surprised if you want to send me the chips -- I am going to start planning a comeback RIGHT NOW!!!

Love,
Deb


I am NOT going to be SMUG anymore okay?

WHO is this handsome young MAN!!????

I like BEFORE and AFTER photos...or the THEN and NOW photos...check these out...
Nate a couple of years ago...for those that don't know Nate...he has always been a LITTLE guy...

Nate NOW

Nate attended his high school winter dance last week with his friend, Kristin. I took a couple of photos of him as he ran out the door and when I looked at them today I just CANNOT believe this is NATE!!

When did he go from looking like he is EIGHT (which he did for such a LONG time...he is a smaller build) to looking like a TEENAGER!!!!????

Wow....fifty years old huh??

I JUST realized that our gal pal Barbie is turning FIFTY this year! At my house Barbies are prized possessions...at least for Emma. She loves them and has spent HOURS of her life creating dramas with BARBIE as the star!
After spending time with my dearest and OLDEST friends...who, by the way, have aged beautifully, I wondered how Barbie would look at fifty...and found this photo!



Not too shabby...the Barbie of MY childhood was an ALL NATURAL beach girl so she would never have dappled in botox or plastic surgery...but I DO THINK a little hair color would have been within the realm of acceptability don't you???

Simple pleasures...pure blessings...

Aaaaaaahhhh, I had the most refreshing weekend...it is a treat to spend time with four women I have known for 37 years...they know my entire LIFE history (the good and the bad) and they STILL like to spend time with me! NO hidden agendas...no worries about whether they will approve of me or not. That is LOVE!! I so enjoy these women and they inspire me to be a better person...

Okay...BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!
We had a blast!!
Simple highlights!

-LONG, leisurely meals...with coffee and dessert. (Not one person asked if there were chicken nuggets or Mac-n-Cheese on the menu, NOT ONCE!)
-Laughing until tears STREAMED down faces...such therapy! The conversations we have...endless and often lacking any purpose...what fun!
-Shopping for...anything and everything. I feel a tad more hip today in my new tee, and earrings!

Here are a couple of us on Saturday night...I'm the one on the right...I don't wear hats.


I am home and BACK to the old routine...it is hard to let go of the adrenaline anticipation of a trip but I am refreshed and energized by these special women. I have this amazing job of being wife and mother to six great people and I will be CONTENT in the blessing of my life's work!

Thanks to my MAIN SQUEEZE and SUGAR DADDY for making it a great weekend for the kids...they love their time with Daddy!

ON HOLIDAY!!
Be sure to check back!

Shop till ya drop!

Friends!! I am ON HOLIDAY!!! Today is the ONE day a year that I LITERALLY shop till I drop with my gal pals!! A real treat...they are honest...they say, "Jill, you CANNOT buy those jeans"...or..."that color looks terrible on you!" AND, it DOESN'T hurt my feelings! I come home feeling rejuvenated and with a couple of new things to refresh my tired wardrobe!

I am OFF on Holiday!!!! OH JOY!

Dear ones, I am off to a HOLIDAY WEEKEND with my four oldest and dearest friends! We have made this trip for MANY, MANY years and it serves as a time of relaxation and PURE refreshment!! We have been good friends since we were all FIVE years old! Our history together runs LONG and DEEP! Our wonderful children (12 of them!) will be spending quality time with their Daddies!
Have a wonderful weekend!
I'll be back!!

A little therapy...

Time for a little Jill-confession and therapy...I hate clowns...I mean I really HATE them...I cannot EVER remember liking clowns. Yet, I do not have some tragic or major scary event that led me to this AVERSION of the chipper, painted monsters! I have always tried to keep this phobia to myself. (Until my Uncle Al post on Tuesday.) Kids are suppose to LOVE clowns! With the exception of Madeleine, who is not fond of things in costumes, the rest of the kids are UNconcerned about clowns! I DID read the book, IT as a young lady which just sealed the deal that clowns are evil and scary. (I don't recommend it.) I also have a cousin, Christi who had a rather LARGE stuffed clown in her room. I used to babysit Christi on a regular basis and the FIRST thing I would do at their house was to make the EVIL CLOWN disappear! Usually I would STUFF IT in the linen closet, or sometimes in the laundry room so HE couldn't watch me and scare the BAH-GEE-BEES out of me!!!! That clown didn't bother Christi a bit!

Hey! Okay! Okay! For some people its spiders...for some, a fear of heights...for me...it is the colorful, costumed horrors! Oh, and I might add that I am NOT the only one. I am one of MANY who suffer from Coulrophobia, an abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns!!! HA!
Do NOT send in the clowns!!!