Thanksgiving

We had a great time at my mom's house for Thanksgiving! We arrived Thursday just in time to go with my mom and dad to visit my step-siblings and their families...I ate entirely too much there....left there to go back to mom's and eat with our (VERY BIG) family....it always amazes me how we can cram so many people into my mom's dining room and living room! Again, I ate too much! But what fun we had.....we always get together and sing....hymns, Christmas carols, old (and new) country....my aunts and my mom are great singers and I love to hear all the harmonies....plus my dad actually felt up to sitting with us and playing the guitar for our chorus production. He is a fantastic musician! I am glad he was feeling well enough....my children had a blast making cookies with Mimi...a Thanksgiving tradition that has gone on for years....all of the grandchildren gather in the dinning room with tons of cookie cutters, sugar cookie dough and lots of sprinkles to make their very own cookies.....they all had a blast and didn't even complain when I made them help clean up! We hated to leave and can't wait for Christmas!

Making Biscuits with Granny

My Granny (Joseph & Zach's Great-Granny (that name sounds very country doesn't it))came to visit this weekend. The boys had fun with her. Sunday morning they had to help her make biscuits for breakfast. They both wanted to go with her when she left! They were consoled by the fact that we will be in SC this weekend and we will get to see her again.

Fall in the Great Smokey Mountains

I have always loved fall (and spring) but since moving here it has a whole new meaning. This year's color hasn't been quite as pretty as last year but it is pretty just the same....the view on my way to work is truely undescribable. The moutains are directly in front of me and when the sun is shining on them it is amazing! It is a great reminder of what our God can do!

What a cute Puppy!

For Halloween Zach wore the costume my mom made for Joseph when he was two....a puppy! I wish that I had a picture of Joseph (or a scanner) on cd so that I could post it with this one....they were both very cute as a puppy...I am gald that I saved the costume. We had lots of fun this year....it started with Family Fun Night at Joseph's school followed by Friend DAy at church, then Fall Free For All at church and then trunk or treat at the Smokies' baseball stadium....yes, we have a ton of candy!

Desk Duty

Through a series of unfortunate events (I have wanted to use that title for something) I have ended up working a 3-11 (thankfully cut down to 3-8) desk shift at the hotel. I thought that I would be able to catch up on some blogs but my memory of all the wonderful things that I have wanted to write about has failed me. And I do not have my camera here to post the very cute (if I do say so myself...biasedly of course) pictures of my children. To those of you who are reading this and have worked in the hotel industry you know that working the front desk after you have not worked it in 10 years is almost a fate worse than death. Fortunately it is very slow here today and I only have 2 arrivals! I am going to start reading my book now, a task that is sure to make the phone ring or a guest walk in the door.

Zach Gone Wild

For whatever reason Zach has decided to be the epitomy of rebellion since I got home from work! He hs been a crazy boy...first he poured a bag of dorito's on the floor and refused to pick them up....after much yelling and a spanking he finally obeyed...thus the picture of him vacuuming up the crumbs...as if that ordeal wasn't enough he proceeded to soak several wash cloths in the bath and throw them around the bathroom....I guess the bright side is that now I don't have to mop the bathroom...Is it bedtime, yet????

I am Not smarter than a fifth grader.....

and am seriously wondering if I am smarter than a fourth grader. Joseph has been bringing home homework on the parts of a sentence but I am having a hard time helping him because all I know are nouns, pronouns, verbs and subjects! Can someone help me with predicates and simple predicates or how is a simple subject different from a regular subject?!?! Thankfully, the homework contains definitions! I am sure that this fits into what I know and has just taken on a different name.....and I have been thoroughly "encouraged" by others that "it doesn't get any easier"....I am not sure what I am going to do by the time he gets to middle school and high school...maybe I should go back to college and get that teaching degree after all:o)