Easier Said Than Done

"we women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. we have

to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is

comfortable for us. we have to develop the maturity to stop trying

to prove something. we have to learn to be content with what we

are."

- marjorie pay hinckley

I'll try.

My First Blog Post This Year....and it's August.

Talk about taking a break. I can not believe my last post was last December. Now that's just pathetic. I almost think it might be better to start all over with a whole new blog.....to pretend like that past 8 months didn't go undocumented. However, lots of life has happened during those 8 months. Lots of important stuff. Like, most recently, Ben and Ali starting school. Not home school. School as in a building that I drive them to. My heart is a little (lot) broken this week
.

The Birth of Christ - Facebook Style

Go Ahead.....Elf Yourself.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

I just ate a big plate of chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday to me.
Today I turned 43.

The end.

Christmas Craft Show Open House

  

My Mom and I hosted a craft show at my house over the weekend. My Mom used to do craft shows with my older sister back in the 90's but this was new territory for me. Although I have recently developed an interest in all things crafty I have little craft experience to speak of. We came up with the idea at the end of September sitting in the garage during our garage sale but we didn't really REALLY decide to go for it until around Halloween. So, basically 6 weeks to throw the whole thing together - and that included actually MAKING all of the crafts!!! Talk about a crash course for this girl who, two months ago, didn't know one end of a glue gun from the other! Anyway, my Dad (who will be 80 years old in March) put up a bunch of signs for us (in the snowing 20 degrees weather - thank you Dad!) and my husband made homemade cookies and hot apple cider and kept the fireplace going as we nervously opened the doors! I think the snow kept some people away but we did have some visitors throughout the weekend and most of them actually bought something! Really? Something I made. You actually want. to. pay. money. for. something. I. made? Really? Get out!

We even had a drawing to give away some fresh cut trees that we grew on our property! We had them on the porch as people came in the front door. :)

Here are a few snippets of our "craft shop".....

Thanks for stopping by!

I am linking up at the following parties. Won't you join me?

Long Time No Blog

I can't believe it's been 5 months since I lasted wrote here at Pajama Mama. Time sure can get away from a person. Back in June, I just felt like taking a break for a few days, weeks, whatever. Then all of a sudden, nearly 2 months had passed since my last post. Then on August 5th, my older brother Scott passed away suddenly. He was only 46 years old and his death was unexpected. So, blogging took a back seat, as many other things suddenly seemed more important than blogging. This is going to be short post but I just wanted to get the ball rolling again. I have been putting it off too long, so I just decided "spur of the moment" to write a short post just to let my blog friends know that I am still here and will be around occasionally. I look forward to catching up. I can't promise any kind of regularity but I plan on dropping in every once in a while. Hope that's ok with my blog buddies. :) Take care!

Ali and Ben having lunch on the first day of homeschool for this school year.

Dear Philadelphia, Thank You!

Dear Philadelphia, We Would Like To Have Our Stanley Cup Now Please......Pretty Please?

Don't Mind Me, I Only Own This Blog

OK.

So, it turns out I'm just a part-time blogger.

I suppose I can live with that.

I hope you can, too.

I don't have anything important to say today.

I just wanted to post something.

Anything.

The end.

Soul Searching

Happy Monday (is there such a thing?)!!!

I can't seem to get my act together the past few months when it comes to my blog. I would love to get back into the swing of things, posting on a regular basis, but I just haven't been motivated enough to post. Lately, I have been a little pre-occupied with a few things, which have me staying up WAY past my bedtime. So, needless to say, I haven't been prioritizing my time properly and blogging seems to take a backseat.

One of the things that I have been pre-occupied with, which I am not quite ready to share just yet, has me doing a lot of soul searching. The issue is making me wonder whether it's God's will or my own. Sometimes it's really tough to tell the difference!

Anyway, I hope you are all doing great and enjoying some great weather in your neck of the woods. It's sunny and beautiful here in Illinois today! I can't believe it's already May....just a few more weeks and the kids will be done with school and then SUMMER!

OK, wasn't it just Christmas?? Where does the time go?

For now, I will leave you with two of my favorite souls......

Ali (brand new 6 year old) and Sherman (a few weeks away from being a brand new 18 year old....he's almost legal. AAAWWW!!)

My babies are growing up.

Again, I ask, where does the time go?

It Only Takes A Second And......

This is why we should NEVER text and drive at the same time.

Seriously.

Update And An Interesting Observation

Thank you all once again for your thoughts and prayers for my Mom and Dad. You ladies are just wonderful! I am happy to report that my Mom's surgery went exactly as we hoped and prayed for. They removed the entire tumor and all seems to be going well. She is in quite a bit of pain and has not had anything to eat since Wednesday but she is sitting up in a chair and seems to be coping as well as can be expected. We are, of course, praying that she makes a full recovery! My Mom and I having been planning for several months on having a garage sale in May. She fully expects to be "up and running" for the big event. I have no doubt that she will be! She is a strong woman and there isn't much that stands in her way! I love you Mom!

On a different note, Ali asked me today "Do I have black squares?" I was a bit confused at first, until it dawned on me what she was asking. "No, honey, you don't have black squares."

I guess Mommy's dark circles have her wondering if she takes after me. Thanks for noticing, sweetie. It's nice to be reminded how tired I look, just in case the mirror forgot to tell me.

She's awfully thoughtful, don't you think?

Family

My Mom is in surgery right now. Thank you for all of your continued prayers.

PS - Happy birthday to my wonderful husband! Love you, honey!

It Doesn't Take Much

It's amazing to me the amount of joy a $1 princess dress from a garage sale can bring a five year old little girl.