Happy Halloween!

We finally carved our pumpkins last night. I think that might be a good Eve of Halloween activity for us, because I don't want mushy pumpkins on my porch for the whole month of October, plus it's a festive thing to do the night before Halloween. Of course, I don't enjoy the smell or the mess, but it wasn't too bad this year.

These are the glowing jack-o-lanterns on our front porch. Not too shabby!

I just had to document the scene on our buffet because I'm enjoying having a place for decorations, and also I thought Whitney's costume looked cool sitting there drying.


I had to unwrap ALL of these Smarties for Whitney's school party today, and I thought the stack of wrappers was kind of cool looking. We need the Smarties for a game we're playing, wish me luck because all 3 kindergarten classes are participating in the party today. They'll be rotating so they won't be in the room at the same time, but basically I'll be dealing with about 90 hyper kindergarten kids!

Update on my busy week:

Yesterday's schedule went splendidly well. The kids woke up really early (6:16am) so Whitney had lots of time to play before school. I got up early too, so Landon and I were able to do school and be done by 8:15! So we were ready to go by the time we had to take Whitney to school. Landon and I went to Target for an hour, then over to Amy H.'s house to take pictures of Alexander. I'll be getting those developed today, so we'll see how they turned out.


We finished the photo shoot at 11:30, just in time to head back to pick Whitney up from school. I even ended up having enough time to drop a bunch of stuff off at DI. That's so satisfying, especially since I've had the stuff in my car for a week.

At home I did 3 loads of laundry, talked to Amie and Michelle on the phone, made calls for the school Halloween party, and squeezed in some reading time. I'm now on page 250! It's a fast moving book, so I'm not worried about finishing by tomorrow night.

**What are your plans for Halloween?
Did you get lots done yesterday?
Do you dress up for Halloween?**

Misc.

Tasha sent me this very cute card (which is a Doodle Bug creation) on Saturday. Thanks Tasha! (Click on the bold items for a photo link.)


Last night Randy had to paint the bones onto Whitney's black sweats to make her the skeleton costume she wants. He did this 3 years ago for Landon, but of course those sweats are too small for Whitney (and I don't know where they are) so he has to do it again. It's pretty cool though. He covers the white paint with a light glow-in-the-dark paint that adds a cool affect.


Last night Kristi, Tasha and I had a 3-way phone call so that Kristi could give Tasha and I a Scrapbook Factory Program tutorial. It's an aesthetically cheesy-looking program, but it's the miracle tool that allows Kristi to make all her wonderful creations. It's pretty user-friendly, but Tasha and I still needed help.

It was fun to be on the phone with both of them at the same time, and it was really great learning how to do some of the cool stuff Kristi can do. My creative juices are flowing. I just need to figure out how to get the Avery labels to print properly. Thanks Kristi for taking the time to teach us!

I've got a very busy week ahead of me so I'm trying to mentally plan things out so that I'm not hysterical at any point. Here's a look at what's in store for me.

Monday
Do school with Landon
Photo shoot of Amy H.'s son Alexander
Read as much of The Kite Runner as possible for Wednesday night's book club (I'm currently only on page 125).
Carve pumpkins as a family

Tuesday
Do school with Landon
Be at Whitney's school for the Halloween parade and class party from 9-12
Read frantically!
Take kids to my grandma's house to show her their costumes and meet up with 2nd cousins
Dinner and trick-or-treating in Salt Lake at Adam and Amy's house with all the family (minus Robyn, Jared and kids = major bummer)

Wednesday
Do school with Landon
Help with Whitney's field trip to see Aladdin, 9-12
Read frantically!
Photo shoot of Dunn family--5 kids
Book club! (Which means the book better be finished!)

Thursday
Do school with Landon
Do story time with Whitney's class 9:05-9:15
Clean my house and prepare to meet Lara & Katie

Friday
Exhale!!

Typing this up is actually making me feel better. I can do this right?

**How do you prepare for crazy weeks?
Are you a fast reader?
Are you energized by being busy
or do you resent it?**

Thoughts For Sunday

My lesson for primary today is about Job. It makes for some interesting reading if you're looking for something to think about today.

Here's the recommended reading from the lesson:
Job 1--Job's property and children are destroyed, but he continues to worship God.
Job 2:1-12--Job is smitten with boils.
Job 19:13-29--Job tells of his afflictions and testifies of the Redeemer.
Job 22:5-10--Job's friends accuse him of sins.
Job 27:2-5--Job asserts his integrity.
Job 42:7-17--The Lord chastises Job's friends. Job is blessed with twice as much as he had before.

I've taught this lesson before, and am familiar with the story of Job, but it's still eye opening every time I read it. I often wonder where I measure up in my dedication to the Lord. I like to think I'm pretty strong, but I also know that I don't do so well when I'm down and out in life. The only good thing I can say about the hard times I've had is that I haven't forgotten them and that I am grateful daily that things have changed.

My character is not even close to the caliber of Job's. So my "tests" in life pale in comparison to his. But the interesting thing about the lesson we learn from the story of Job is that suffering is not given to us as punishment, but for experience, discipline, and instruction. That's comforting isn't it? How often have I thought "why me?" After reading this I find myself thinking "why NOT me?"

So I'm wondering where you think you stack up in life. Do you waiver at the first sign of trouble or do you push through without giving it a second thought? I remember during a particularly rough patch in our lives I joked to Randy that I was ready to "sell my soul" to have things change for us; that was definitely a low point. When I look back at my behavior during that time my only comfort is that I didn't stop praying, didn't curse God, and didn't turn my back on what I believe. I do think I prayed for the wrong things, cursed other people, and didn't behave in a way dignifying to a daughter of God. Obviously I have much room for improvement.

**What do you think?
How do you respond during life struggles?**

Why I love going to the Pumpkin Patch

Why I love going to the Pumpkin Patch
by Jill Stuart

1. I love to take pictures there.
2. I like to have a reason to be outside.
3. I love the different shapes and shades of the pumpkins.
4. There's a sense of excitement in finding the perfect pumpkin.
5. I really love to take pictures there.
6. I love all the dried vines, bumpy ground, and dried sunflowers scatter everywhere.
7. I love this time of year so much, and going to the pumpkin patch is a crucial part of celebrating the season.
8. There's plenty for everyone at the pumpkin patch.
9. It's something fun to do.
10. I really love the pictures of my kids through the years at the pumpkin patch.

The Pumpkin Patch At Last

In years past we've gone to a local pumpkin patch to buy our pumpkins and to take many photos (that's what it's really about anyway right?), but last year when we headed over to our trusty local patch it wasn't there. I don't know if the family wasn't making enough money or what, but I was seriously bummed out about it not being there. I don't like to go to the carnival-type places that just have pumpkins sitting on a table for sale.


So this year, Michelle and I have been trying to find a good place to go and were fearing all was lost until Amy H. mentioned a place in Santaquin. Randy, the kids and I had seen that place from the freeway on our way to Las Vegas last month, but I thought they only had apple orchards, I was so happy to be informed otherwise. (Amy, you seriously saved us by sharing this information!)


So today we loaded into Michelle's van with our 5 kids and drove down South to Santaquin to South Ridge Farms. It was a perfect day weather wise, and the place was beautiful. We were so happy with everything they had to offer, plus since it's so close to Halloween the pumpkins were all one dollar!


We took a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch, then searched for pumpkins and took lots of pictures. Michelle and I had to laugh because it's all about the pictures for us, we didn't even think we needed the kids to be there! (We're kidding, but only a little.) Of course, the kids aren't so keen on cooperating with our photo taking and ended up being quite interested in a huge pile of rocks on the side of the road. At one point Landon and Lucas were joking about how they'd have to put up with Michelle and I taking their pictures all the time until they go to college, but then I told them I was going to go there and follow them around too, so they changed it to when they go on their missions, then they'll be safe from our camera lenses.


When we got back to the barn/store we got some of their fantastic homemade ice cream. It was such a treat, especially after being slightly hot at the pumpkin patch and a bit hungry as well. It was the kind of ice cream that produced involuntary moans every now and again as I tried to make myself slow down a bit so it wouldn't be gone too fast.


So now I can rest easier at night because we've been to the pumpkin patch, the photos have been taken, the ice cream eaten, the apples bought, and a good time had by all. Oh how I love fall! (Click here for the rest of the photos.)

**How do you feel about Pumpkin Patches?
Do you love taking photos almost as much the event itself?
Have you ever been to this place?**

The Incident

Tonight we went over to visit our 85 year old neighbor lady May who lives down the street. She's almost blind, has a bad back and hurt her ankle a couple months ago, so someone from our ward goes to check on her and visit with her every day. So tonight me, Randy, Lori and the kids all went over to visit.

May is very pleasant to talk to and really doesn't need a whole lot of prompting to keep the conversation moving, so we had an easy time hanging out with her. Regrettably I had several coughing fits which crossed the borderline of embarrassment. May was concerned and offered me a glass of water twice and then a lozenge. I hope she doesn't fear contamination of some sort from me.

Anyway, May was describing her upcoming back surgery and was talking about some part of her back (a nerve or disc or something) but compared it to the size of a weenie. I immediately glanced at Lori and then burst out laughing. Fortunately laughing causes me to cough so it ended up being a coughing fit rather than rude laughter, but it almost sparked the kind of inappropriate giggles that take you to the place of no return. I had to look away from Lori and will myself into composure. If Lori had squeaked out any sort of laughter at that point I would have had to excuse myself from the room. Good times.

So as we were leaving I walked over to May to give her a hug and she said, "When's that baby due?" The woman is 95% blind for Pete's Sake, I figured I just looked like a large black orb to her, why is she differentiating between my gut and the rest of me?? I had to happily say, "Oh, I'm not pregnant" and try to regain composure as I felt the laughter and looks of disbelief from Randy, Lori, Landon and Whitney who were standing behind me. May was very nice about it and said she used to get asked that all the time and had to tell people she'd had a hysterectomy. Good grief that's embarrassing. When we got into the car Landon said, "Should I say Congratulations?" Of course, I had to put the kibosh on this joke immediately because that's the sort of thing only an almost-blind 85 year old woman can say and get away with. The rest of you should consider yourselves warned.

Not So Creative Friday

Even though we were running 7 minutes late for school today (I have no idea why because we were up earlier than usual and the computer wasn't on yet so I wasn't blogging) I just had to pause to snap this photo of our frost-covered grass and leaves on our front lawn. Is it me or are these beautiful? (Click on the photo to enlarge and see the detail.) I hate being late, but we sure have been getting good at it lately.


I got this mighty cute card from Lara yesterday, which is something of a mystery to me because she's actually in Utah right now, but it is postmarked from Texas.


Last night I came home from my very first Pack Meeting (I'm sure not looking forward to going to that once a month) to find these items on my front porch. Julie brought these thoughtful items over to help combat my headache issues. Thanks Julie! I made a cup of the hot chocolate and read my book, it's was delightful.


I spent much of my day yesterday working on the good mail I've been meaning to send out all week. I don't know why it's so hard for me to get everything together, but man it seems like I need to set aside a day to get organized and get it all sent. I made it to the post office by 5:22pm, just in time for the 5:30 pick up. I just love the "high" I get from sending good mail.


I got this package of great stuff from Jenn today. She's a generous person and always spoils her friends with fun stuff when she goes on a trip. She went to Seattle a couple weeks ago and went to Paper Source and Impress! Thanks Jenn! I must add that I love the details like the letter "j" stamped on the tiny white bag, and the dotted circle stamped on the envelope with the words "from Seattle" stamped as well. I have all these same materials, but never end up using them to make my envelopes cuter. Jenn has a great knack for that.


Today has been a little bit crazy. Landon and I ran errands all morning until it was time to pick Whitney up from school, then we had just enough time to come home, unload some bags, eat a little lunch and then go to the k12 Halloween Party. It's amazing how many people around here are participating with this homeschool program. The party was a great success.


I did end up getting a headache today for the first time in almost 3 weeks, and I think it's because I ate two little Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls this morning. I've been eating Carnation Instant Breakfast or Yogurt with a granola bar crushed in it (so good) lately and have been feeling really good, so my bad choice of mediocre mini cinnamon rolls may have caused my body to revolt. I'm seriously starting to wonder if I'm now going to be going on my own personal headache avoidance diet. This may be the only motivation that actually works for me. Wouldn't that be awesome if I actually lost weight and didn't have headaches??? I can only hope.

Tis nothing but a flesh wound

Lori popped in yesterday during her lunch break from school. It was her second day of cosmetology school and she was learning how to use make-up to make gory wounds. She had this nasty display on her arm, complete with raised chunks of flesh. It was amazingly real and fairly disgusting, especially while eating our lunch of chips and salsa.


Whitney had yet another visit to the wanker eye doctor. He was wearing cowboy boots this time, was unshaven and yawned twice during our 5 minute consultation. I asked him if he'd had a rough night, but he just said he was having a long week. Hmmm. He's also taken to wearing his bow tie hanging out of his collar untied, perhaps he's trying to look LESS ridiculous, I don't know. The sad news is Whitney has to have eye surgery AGAIN, this time on November 15th. Poor girl.


Last night Lori, Whitney and I went out to dinner (Los Hermanos, where we had an overzealous but kind waiter) and to a couple craft stores. Whitney was actually an active participant (rather than a complaining tag-a-long) because she's loaded with birthday money, so she ended up choosing some random items to make some of her creations. I gotta say, I admire her creativity and excitement level. These are the items she bought at Michael's (our store is old and unsightly, I always feel like it's the K-Mart of craft stores). She also bought some pink tulle circles and a styrofoam tube at Robert's. I can't wait to see what she comes up with.



This is unrelated to anything (what's new really?), but this ad was on the back of the map from Cornbelly's last week. I was a little bit frightened that this company is trying to capitalize on Steve Irwin's death by creating a pumpkin carving stencil, what's up with that? Could that be weirder or have you been struggling to find the perfect carving stencil for your Halloween Pumpkin display?

2 Kinds of Perfect

There are two kinds of perfect fall days. One is clear skies, 64 degree weather, a light breeze and autumn colors all around. The other is a rainy, blustery day with leaves blowing off the trees, gray skies, and the comfort of staying home. Imagine my delight in having these two days back to back.


Yesterday was the first type of fall day, the kind that makes you want to skip with glee and hug strangers (though I refrained from both). I took pleasure in everything I had to do yesterday (except for the persistent coughing), which included spending an hour in Whitney's classroom, visiting teaching, dropping off photos to be developed, doing home school with Landon, cleaning my house, and hosting Activity Days. All was well.


This morning I woke up to rain pelting the windows and the sound of the wind. Needless to say, I stayed in the cozy for a long time. It's rather amazing how quickly my mind can calculate and negotiate our morning time table when I feel the hold of the cozy. This morning the kids both got into bed with me, mocked my dragon breath, and entertained me. We like to play a sort of wrestling/tickling game which I enjoy because I can participate while still being curled up. It was a good way to start the day.


One minor hiccup in my blustery morning was the fact that I left the front windows of my car open about 3 inches, so I had a nice collection of leaves and water on my seats. What was I thinking?


I just have to include this picture of Whitney from last night. Randy made instant pudding last night, and Whitney immediately claimed the box for her own use. She turned it into a race car, by adding tooth picks, buttons for wheels, a yellow pom pom and the number 1. She was rather pleased with herself, and Randy and I were too.

So for perfect fall day #2 I will be staying home working on good mail items, which really shouldn't take this long for me to send out. I've already finished school with Landon for the day, and done some laundry. The only obligation we have today is another eye doctor appointment for Whitney. I know this one will be grim because her 3 weeks of wearing glasses has not produced the improvement we were hoping for, if anything I think her eye is worse. I know he's going to say she needs to have surgery again, and I'm sad about that.

**Any perfect fall days in your world?
Any pudding-box race cars?
Do you love Downey fresh laundry?
Is your fridge covered in pictures and papers too?**

Good Mail, Strawberries, &My Cough's Return

I got a couple items of good mail last Saturday, and haven't had a chance to blog about them yet. Jenn sent me one of her cute Halloween packages, which had little notecards, Halloween pencils, a cool highlighter pen which had mini post-it notes in it, and a Caramel Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (I'd never had one of those before, very tasty). Thanks Jenn!


I really should add here that my affection for cute pencils is quite great. I suppose it began back in the 80's when I went to the Swap Meet in California and went to one of the vendors who had a booth entirely filled with pencils with different designs. I spent a lot of time deciding which ones I wanted. I remember having the ones with pink ballet slippers, red hearts, and green shamrocks. Back then most of the pencils were white with a colored design on them, but these days they come in all kinds of cool colors and designs. I still love them, and even more so since we have an electric pencil sharpener ($15 at Costco, worth every penny) so they're all sharpened and available at any time.

I also got this cute, homemade card from Robin. She thinks she's not creative, but I beg to differ. She included this cool bookmark and a very nice note. Thanks Robin!! I also have to say how incredibly delighted I am with the good mail labels on everyone's packages and cards, they're so pleasing (if I do say so myself).


Yesterday I got 3 cards in the mail, oh happy day! I got a really nice note from Kacey (of Doodlebug Fame), which was really sweet, especially considering I don't know her and have had minimal blog interaction with her. Thanks Kacey!!


Cute Becca sent me this cute card and had nice things to say as well. Thanks Becca! (I'm so happy you liked the pictures from the beach.)


Jessie sent me this cute thank-you card for some good mail labels I sent her. She may not be blogging anymore, but she still loves good mail and always sends cute thank-you notes. Thanks Jessie!


I'm having some issues with Strawberries and need some help. As you know I've got a highly developed sense of smell, so I'm aware and annoyed by scents that might not bother someone else. Every time I buy strawberries I feel like there's a weird smell in my house. I bought this big container at Costco last night and now feel like my house is less than fresh. What's a girl to do? I washed and cut the stems off some of them last night, but I know you're not supposed to do that to the entire batch or they get mushy quickly (right?). Should I put the strawberries in a Ziploc bag or airtight container? Aren't they supposed to breathe? I feel like an amateur when it comes to fruit maintenance, but I'm trying to have some healthier food choices available around here. Please help!


Now for a health update. If you'll recall, back in my September 13th post I shared the cruel fact that I'm indeed getting older and have some sort of Hiatal hernia-type thing that is causing a reflux situation that is irritating my bronchial tubes and causing me to cough like crazy. The doctor gave me a month's worth of sample medications and they worked great. I ran out of them last week and called to have the doctor call in a prescription, but it took 4 days to do it (it was over the weekend). So my cough has returned with a vengeance (I fear I've angered my insides) which means I'm producing brain-rattling hacking noises all day and night. It's grim. I've moved to the couch 3 nights in a row so that I don't disturb Randy. I've been taking my medicine since I got it last Friday, but so far I haven't noticed any relief. What's up with that?

**How do you feel about cute pencils?
Do you have good mail labels yet?
Do you have fruit preservation skills?
Any info about my angered insides?**

The Dynamic Duo

Earlier in the week in I had negotiated my way out of a birthday party for Whitney by suggesting that she invite her cousin Bella to sleep over Friday night and then to go do fun things on Saturday. She excitedly agreed to this idea, and I was rather pleased with myself because I really didn't feel like hosting a big birthday party with lots of loud girls.


So my sister Lori drove Bella to our house on Friday night (she's been babysitting Bella, Tess and Megan all week). Bella and Whitney got busy playing right away, which is always so sweet to see. I took them to dinner later in the evening at The Purple Turtle (which Whitney always calls Purple Turtles). It was busy in there and we've never really gone there for official meals, just for a shake every now and then, so I'm not familiar with the menu. I ordered Chicken Tenders for both of the girls, a hamburger for myself, and a shake for the three of us to share. I almost passed out when the total came to $18.75!! Good grief, they're just little girls and my burger was only a $1.49. Apparently the chicken tenders and fries (no drink) are $5.99 each and the shake was $3.49. Go figure. It took me awhile to shake that off, but the girls were so happy with their food and actually ate every little bit of it and were expressing delight with every bite.


So Saturday morning we decided to go the movies to see "Flicka" at Thanksgiving Point. I was keen on this idea because it involved buttery popcorn and sitting. The movie was pretty good, the horses were stunning, and I even cried twice. Whitney got a little bored towards the 3/4 point, but still watched the movie and said she liked it (Bella seemed mesmerized, but she may have been in a popcorn trance of sorts.)


After the movie, we drove over to the other side of Thanksgiving Point to check out Cornbelly's. It looked like there was a lot of fun stuff, so the girls were super excited to go in. We were standing in line for awhile so I had been calculating costs (assuming it would be $5 to get in) and our time table because I needed to get Bella back home by 4:45. Anyway, when it was our turn to pay I couldn't believe my ears when the girls said it was $30! I actually said, "Are you kidding me?" Of course, I paid it because the girls were so excited about it and because that covered all the things to do once inside the place. I was still a little in shock about it and kept thinking how next year Whitney can have her $25 birthday party and I'll keep my mouth shut instead spewing forth my "good" suggestions.

We ended up having a good time, so I suppose it was worth the money. We wandered around the huge corn maze and for awhile there thought we were really lost. It was kind of funny, but kind of not. I can't imagine going through the corn maze at night, that would be frightening. At least during the day I could see the mountains and knew what direction we needed to go toward.

This gynormous jumping pillow was the main thing that lured us into this activity in the first place. We ended up waiting in line for over 20 minutes, but the girls loved it. I had never seen anything like it before. It could hold like 20 people at a time. Crazy.


We left right on time at 4:00 and had time to drive thru Iceberg for ice cream cones. These are the smalls! It literally took them the entire 30 minute car ride to eat them, and they still didn't finish! It was nice though, they were quiet and happy.

We ended up staying at Bella's house and hanging out with Lori for 4 hours. The girls still played together and watched a show. I found this note Bella had written Whitney, and thought it was so cute and definitely made all of the expense and effort worth it. I'm so glad they have each other as Best Cousins. Click here to see the rest of the photos.

**Were you ever close with one of your cousins?
Are your kids good friends with their cousins?
Would you have paid the $30 for Cornbellys?**

Sunday Thoughts

I haven't been doing Sunday posts as much lately, and I'm not sure why. I decided to look back in my Sunday notebook too see what I could write for today. These are some thoughts from our Bishop shared in August.

• It is very important to attend ALL our meetings on Sunday.
• The Lord requires our hearts, which means He requires EVERYTHING from us.
• We have much to gain from all the meetings, not just sacrament meeting.
• How many times have we not wanted to go to a meeting, but have ended up being touched by something said there??
• As we approach our meetings we should ask ourselves "what can I gain from this meeting?"
• Go with an open heart.
• Our presence makes a difference.
• We are blessed for going.
• Allow the Spirit to push us around wherever He needs us.

An interesting thing about our Bishop (who has only been serving for a year now) is that he tries to talk to us whenever he can, so he ends up doing little talks when he opens and closes our meetings. I'm sure he feels like he has so much to share with us, that he's bursting to do so. Aren't we the same way with our children? Our perspective is greater than theirs and we want them to see and understand the things we have learned. I think it must be frustrating for him to be so filled with love for all of us, but then to see how many people continue to struggle and not take advantage of all the opportunities we have been given to learn, grow and be comforted.

**What do you think?**

On a lighter note: One Sunday our family was sitting in church, and Whitney asked me "For the Jesus thing?" I had no idea what she was talking about, so she said, "You know the white thing what kids like to write on." She meant the program with a picture of Jesus on the front of it! Too funny.

Some highlights from my week

I mistakenly loaded these pictures all funky like and don't want to take the time to fix them, hence this crazy looking post. On Wednesday evening after our Creative Writing Class, Hanna, Michelle and I went to Robert's (the craft store) to pick up the 19 balloons I'd ordered for Whitney's teacher's birthday on the 19th. It was a feat just to get them into my car (they had minds of their own) and Hannah had to be my wingman while we drove since I had NO rearview capabilities and minimal right side visibility.

So I went to the school at 7:15 Thursday morning to decorate the classroom with all the balloons, a happy birthday sign and 4 other signs I'd printed at home. As I was decorating the teacher's desk I saw that she had plans for a substitute that day. This was disappointing, but I knew her daughter had just had a baby 2 days before and figured she was going over to help.

Anyway, she didn't come to school on her birthday, but she did come the next day (Friday) and entered her room and saw the various clumps of balloons, signs, and her desk covered in presents from all the kids. Whitney said, "Mrs. Hurst was so excited, she just couldn't believe it." I actually got a call from Mrs. Hurst this morning thanking me for organizing all of that. She said she's NEVER had any birthday party at school before! I couldn't believe it, aren't the room mothers supposed to take care of that? That makes me sad to think about her teaching on her birthday every year and not having any of the kids acknowledge it. She said when she came in and saw everything she just wanted to "sit down and bawl." She said one kid brought her an apple in a lunch sack, other kids drew pictures for her, other kids made little things for her, and she was just thrilled with the variety. We gave her the book The Known World and a dark chocolate candy bar, she said we "shouldn't ever give her anything again because we've done too much." I can't believe she feels that way and I really want her to have good celebrations this year and to be appreciated for the great teacher she is.

The kids and I went to Michelle's house yesterday to work on more projects. Michelle is working on her Pink Christmas Gift, and I wrote and made a bunch of cards and cut out some good mail labels to send someone.

I got some good mail this week. I got two nice cards from Hannah, one of them included this gift certificate to jcw's. Apparently she's been craving their fries and fry sauce ever since our gluttonous book club plate I posted a couple weeks ago. Thanks Hannah!

I also got two items of good mail from Amy H. yesterday. She sent me this darling argyle thank you card, and then sent a box containing this beautiful handmade purse (I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy) containing some new American Crafts rub-ons and a note. Thanks Amy, you're seriously out of control AND I like it!


























I also got Kristi's darling Halloween postcard in the mail. It's mighty cute! Thanks Kristi!















This morning I took pictures of a family from church. They have 2 year old triplets! It was crazy, but went better than I expected. I'll post pictures when I get them back next week. I ended up having a baggie of jelly bellies, a jester hat, party horns, and a party hat as props at different times during the shoot to try to get them to look in the right direction. The good thing is their parents are fully aware of how difficult it is to get them all to cooperate, so they're just happy if everyone is looking in the right direction. I'm sure I got a bunch of them looking my way, they weren't smiling, but everyone was looking at the fat girl wearing the pink and black jester hat. I hope they aren't scarred for life.

**Have you sent or received any good mail this week?
Do you celebrate your kids' teachers' birthdays?
What are you doing today?