busy HAPPINESS

Yes, I do realize it's been over a month since I last posted anything on this poor BLOG, my apologies to my family & friends who have been waiting ever so patiently.

I have thought nearly every day of wanting to sit and post something, pictures, thoughts, praise reports, prayer requests, etc. But, I have instead taken the time to pray about how I spend my time. At this point, with all the Lord has brought into my life, I will

concentrate on all things "non internet". I do

want to let any of you interested, know that I do post pictures & very short, quick musings o

n Facebook. (For me, at this point in life, it is much quicker & easier to use Facebook for photos & scrapbook layouts too.) If you haven't already, please request me as a friend. I would be blessed to get to know you more.

For a few that may be curious, here are just some of the things that I am happy to say now occupy my time;

• Being a Mama to a 5 year old, full time, Kindergardener & helping out with classroom stuff. I love being involved!
• Working with said 5 year old, learning to read & write, it's awesome to watch her read a book!
• Getting involved with Cami in a program I grew up in, Missionettes.
• Keeping up with the my ever busy 2 1/2 & 15 month old cuties...need I really say more? I will...
• Caylee is now potty trained, it went so easy, praise the Lord! She is quite the little chatter box & is doing great learning all colors, shapes, letters & counting.
• Working with both Caylee & Caleb learning ASL.
• Becoming involved in a Mom's Group, MomSpace (God has given me some wonderful new friends through this group.)
• Diving into my Father's Word with some great ladies every week @ CBS.
• Of course the training & running of my first half marathon (side note: I actually trained for a FULL marathon, which made running the half a breeze!)
• Still loving to get to contribute as part of the Design Team for a great monthly kit club, PersonalScrapper. Which means I have to scrap at least a few times a month, great excuse!
• And the most important "stuff" keeping me busy, keeping my Father in first place, and my family right there by my side.
• There is always more, but I'm done trying to bore, or impress you :-)

So, for now, I won't promise any pictures posted here soon. But I would like to share just a handful of pics taken during the month of October. I hope you enjoy them.

Football Season

Football season is in full swing around here. As always, the kids & I love the games & it's getting so fun to have all 3 run around and enjoy the crowd and seeing Daddy at the end of every game, down on the field!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

take a deep breath, He's watching out for YOU

This was an email I received from a good friend. For me it serves as a good reminder that my Father always has my best at heart. I think it's always good to be reminded of that. So, with back to school here and everything else that takes our focus of the One who loves us more than we will ever understand, take a deep breath, read a short post & hug your kiddos the next time they "drive ya nuts" because they make you late for something. :-)

~Where God wants me~

As you might remember, the head of a company survived 9/11
because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was
His turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her
Alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
Because of an auto accident.

One of them
Missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
Time to change.

One's
Car wouldn't start.

One couldn't
Get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man
Who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
Took the various means to get to work
But before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot.

He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today..

Now when I am
Stuck in traffic ,
Miss an elevator,
Turn back to answer a ringing telephone ...
All the little things that annoy me.
I think to myself,
This is exactly where God wants me to be
At this very moment..

Next time your morning seems to be
Going wrong ,

The children are slow getting dressed,
You can't seem to find the car keys,
You hit every traffic light,
Don't get mad or frustrated;
It May be just that
God is at work watching over you.

May God continue to bless you
With all those annoying little things
And may you remember their possible purpose.

he's walkin'

So he's been taking steps for months, but just last week he's decided it may be better to walk then crawl...so glad he waited as long as he has. Because now, yikes! Look out world, here comes trouble :-)

Official Kindergartner

So yesterday was one of the hardest days I have had since becoming a Mama 5 years ago. It was our Ladybug's first day of Kindergarten! And just as expected, she did awesome & I cried...it was a blessing to me that she had no problem being left at school but Caylee & I didn't handle it so well. As we drove away from the school I said out loud "why does this have to be so hard" and I guess you could tell by my voice I was crying because Caylee then says "you all right mama?" such a sweetie she is. Throughout the day Caylee kept asking where sister was & why she was still at school. Try explaining that to a 2 year old!

Here are the pictures I captured for Cambrielle's first day of Kindergarten.

(BTW-Cami picked out her own first-day outfit, shoes & hair style.)

The official posed shot for Mama:

Cami wants to be sure everyone knows what backpack she picked out:

Cami's self-declared "Princess Pose for Grammy":

Cami & her teacher, Miss Kathy

(This lady is wonderful, she is one of the loving parents who helped me with the kiddos during the football season last year.)

Cami starting to "get over" all the pictures I insist on taking:

"I'm done with pictures now Mama, you can go."

And of course, Cami ignoring me & ready to start her first official project for Kindergarten:

A few side notes about the day:

The classroom is decorated in a hawaiian theme, so you know I LOVE IT! Each set of desks is a different island & they move throughout the year. Maybe a trip to Hawaii is in order to help Cami learn more about the state...

Our Squirt & Boo are having a hard time adjusting to 2 things, sister being gone all day & a new nap schedule...this is a good way to "test" Mama!

Although Cami & I tend to "butt heads" I missed her so much, it hurt! Maybe Caylee & Caleb can stay home a few more years then expected...

for our Princess from her favorite princess

Our Ladybug has so enjoyed telling just about everyone in ear shot that she is now 5 years old. Five, I can not believe it. Just like everyone said, it flew by! On her big day (last Friday) our very own princess received a call from none other, than Bell (you know, the princess from Beauty & the Beast). Here is what I was able to catch on video...

She also got to open a gift from the Postma family. These pics are for you Auntie Coco!

Finally, we topped our Peanut's special day with a bonfire at the beach. She also had a s'more for the first time, not a fan! In her most delicate way, she spit out the bite in her mouth & handed the remains over.

Did you notice Cami was wearing a Sleeping Beauty dress? This will be her Halloween costume, but I let her wear it on her special day. I think she just loved being able to wear it out to the grocery store. The clerk was very sweet, wished her a happy birthday, commented on how pretty she was & gave us a balloon and stickers. I think all in all, our Cami Princess had a nice birthday. She is now very excited to starting Kindergarten next week!

silly & sweet

So one of our favorite people went to Hawaii a few weeks ago. While away she phoned to ask the kids clothes sizes & here is what our girls got...

2 silly sisters

2 sweet sisters

Aren't they just adorable? Yeah, the girls are pretty cute too...

Thanks Amber for thinkin' of us while you where sunning yourself in beautiful Hawaii!

(Pics of Caleb in his outfit will come next week...)