backflash . . .

This Summer was a whirlwind of job interviews and all manner of craziness. We did manage to squeeze in one fun get away. Only the girls were there and while Jason had his 2 days of meetings....we snuck of for a little fun. Here is a picture.

Have your self a Happy Halloween. Its about to get crazy round here. A house full of teenagers. A few freezer pizzas, chips and koolaid. Gabriella still has a fever so , I am not sure that the little "princess" will make it out or not? Caroline is prepped and ready to go with her Witch costume...pictures to follow!

Things are finding their way back to normal....

I have reestablished my friendships with the credit card companies. The utilities are paid. The refridge has groceries - - - though its still needs to be defrosted bi weekly. That repair will happen soon.... You could say;" Things are getting back to normal " its nice. Quite nice.

Cross your ever loving fingers . . . .

Aaron will even be able to start dance lessons up again soon if things continue like this.

Here is an old photo of him with Dancing With The Stars legend Jon Roberts.

Christmas shopping . . .

Usually I have it all done by now ( Christmas shopping) ... This year, I don't and I am okay with it. Today I did start though. I started by preordering my favorite gifts that I will be giving this year. They ae CD's with amazing music composed by our own favorite Victoria.... I think you will love them and probably want to preorder some to. Afterall, its a wonderful gift to give to Sunday School teachers, Dance teachers, Piano Teachers, friends, family, etc. , etc..

There are nine original songs and four new arrangements of traditional Christmas songs on this full-length CD, and it makes a great gift for Christians of all faiths.

To hear full-length song sneak previews, and to read more about the CD, go here: http://vixchristmasmusic.blogspot.com/. You will be SOOO glad you did!

I feel like i'm 10 again....

Do you remember when you were ten years old and you hated to go to bed on the night of your birthday because you knew that the next morning you would wake up and things would be back to normal? I have had one of THOSE birthdays where I am not wanting to let go. I have felt so loved and just plain wonderful over the past 24 hours that I really hate for it to end.

The husband took me out to dinner and bought me a card. The kids bought me cards, a balloon, gifts, baked a cake and made dinner. And then there was dear old facebook.... I know it sounds silly but it was really wonderful to have so many old, dear friends come and post such nice things on my wall. My first friend from Kindergarten came, my hugh school crush came, friends from highschool, college, life in NY, neighbors, life in VA and all points in between and then friends from here. . . even my sons friends stopped by. I know it sounds so silly and foolish but facebook made me feel loved.

Now the night is getting still and its time to reflect.

At dinner Jason asked the usual question that everyone gtes asked and I couldn't quite answer it because of the large lump in my throat.

He asked " Over the past year, what have you learned?"

I said ... or at least wanted to say , " Love, unconditional love, forgiveness, hope, faith, mercy, the joys of parenting, oh and a much deeper than ever expected love for my children, a greater understanding of my own frailty, patience, wisdom, a greater understanding of the atonement and so much more. Last year was hard, dang hard but when I look at what I learned. I am so glad I learned it. The past few months have been such a respite from the storm and yes, I have been grateful. My family is the rock that I stand on"

Love you all -

Can we wake up tomorrow and pretend that today just started again? Please, let me savor it one more time.

Look i'm famous!!

Bloggies- I must tell you I adore this girl. Click here. She has been such an inspiration to me in countless ways and I truly believe that she was placed in my life for some wonderful lessons. I look forward to a time when we can sit and talk all day ( That's my vision of Heaven ya know!) .

Otherwise- I'm going to get caught up in the blog world again... I swear. I will. Its just going to take some time. I have a notebook filled with things I am planning to talk with you about.

I've been busy starting a business, raising kids , and taking care of some family issues ( if you are a regular ... I have one heck of a Sarah Palin vent/post that I am writing in my own journal... ) and transitioning the home from having Dad home all the time to practically non of the time but, ya gotta know we LOVE that paycheck!

Love ya - see ya soon.

You are cordially invited . . .

You (my favorite blogreaders) are invited
to come with our family
this Christmas break to
Mexico.
While there we will help to build some portable homes
as well as foundation homes.
This is a wonderful experience that your family
(or you) won't forget.
I promise it will be
absolutely WONDERFUL!
We have done it 3 other years and it has been
unforgettable in many, many ways.
Please consider coming even if you don't know us -
I promise we will be nice.
The pictures below are some of my favorites from previous years.
Leave a comment and I will send you the information!

At one point during the 2007 trip we drove around and handed out rice, clothes and fruit.

This is a picture of the village - most of the cars are from the volunteers that drive down.

One year when we went, Ally was able to go work in the orphanage. The picture above
and below are from that trip.

A few friends and family that we traveled with .
Heather, Michelle, Allyssa, Me and Allison in the back.

The building of the home.

This is at the shoe drive getting things organized before the town came.

They lined up for 2 hours ahead of time!

It has always been amazing.

Leave a comment for more information!