Finally-----Some of the Videos Uploaded

The violin/viola/flute students play Old MacDonald together.


Ping Pong Polka---Intermediate & Advanced Students


MacDowell's Breakdown---violin/viola trio

Spring Recital 2009

Well.....my 11th. Annual Spring Recital was last night. This year's theme was Musicians on the Red Carpet. I had a 60 foot red carpet for all the students to walk down at the beginning while I played Across the Stars. I neglected to take a picture of the front of the church with the red carpet, decorations, etc. I'm hoping that another parent took one that I can get a copy of. All in all, the Recital turned out great! There were a couple hairy moments (Such as when I was playing the processional song with a soundtrack in the complete dark and didn't have it memorized!!!! Yikes!!! Somehow I made it through that first page of music. Believe me....I was panicking and praying at the same time. One of my students did NOT bring her music. She thought I was going to bring it!!! Fortunately I found this out BEFORE the Recital started and her dad went home and got her music for her. Multiple students forgot their music stands. Therefore we all had to SQUEEZE around 6 music stands for the group songs.) All the students did a wonderful job, and I am so proud of them. I'm also very glad it's all over until next year. I do need to start working on the Summer Music Contests & selecting duet/ensemble music for everyone to learn for the Fall Recital at the nursing home. But, I'll worry about that next week. Right now, I am taking a little breather! :)

Here are some pictures of the Recital. As soon as AT&T gets their act together and sends me a router that's not defective, I'll get the videos uploaded for you all to see. The supposedly new one they just sent keeps knocking us off the Internet multiple times each hour. (I called them this morning, and they're OVERNIGHTING one to us!!!) Intermittent Internet connection is NOT a good thing when you're trying to upload videos!!!!

A shot of me....piano/flute/violin/viola teacher accompanying one of my students.

Sorry Tina.....I just had to include this picture. Duane was so proud of himself with this shot.

Can you tell Samuel is just absolutely thrilled to be at Mommy's Spring Recital. I asked him if he liked the music. His reply, "I liked the Old MacDonald and the Darth Vader Song" (someone played the Star Wars Theme & Samuel insists that is the Darth Vader song) :)

Callie----during the Recital.

Students with Perfect Attendance. Just 12 of them this year.

Duane took two pictures to get all my students in. I didn't take the extra time and get an organized shot this year. But, here they all are..........

It's cookie & punch time..........

My niece, Lauren, along with some parents & students.

Serving punch to the crowd. I missed my mom! :( She always serves the punch for me. She had a class and couldn't make it this year.

Simon, Callie & Seth enjoy the one time a year they can eat an unlimited supply of cookies. Samuel is off somewhere helping Daddy and Grandpa clean up the church.

Ssshhhh.......Don't tell..........

......We're laundering money at our house! :)

Monday, I made the mistake of putting some money in my skirt pocket along with my cell phone. Tuesday, I pulled the same skirt on and couldn't find the money in the pocket. I looked high and low for it, but couldn't find it anywhere. Wednesday, while pulling a load of the guys jeans from the washing machine, I discovered MY MONEY. Hmmmm.......how does money get from MY pocket into the guys laundry. :) Methinks, maybe one of the little stinkers found it and tucked it into THEIR pocket. Sounds like something my 4 year-old, Samuel, would do. He LOVES to carry money around in HIS pocket.

Callie's Artwork-Donuts & Flowers

Sayin' cheeeeeese!

As loud as a little girl could possibly say it!

Callie's Donuts.
.......and flowers.

Callie - age 2 years, 11 months!

A little side note: As soon as Callie saw these pictures, she informed me that she HAD to take her ponytails OUT! So once again her hair is wild and free, just the way she likes it!

What I do when my Internet connection is severed!!!!!

POUT ABOUT IT......

then I finally decide maybe it's time to catch up on all the unfinished tasks around the house. No........that doesn't appeal to me. I decide to stay up late, practicing a neglected saxaphone, (much to the annoyance of the rest of the house), clean a little, & do crazy hairstyles!!!!!

What do you do without internet??????
:->

I'm back!!!!!!!!!! (With my hair higher than ever!) Thursday evening, our Internet stopped working. After a call to AT&T, it was decided that our router was bad. They told us it would take 3-5 business days to ship us a new one. That didn't make me very happy with all the recital stuff I have been doing online. I was pleasantly surprised to find one arriving via UPS today. It only took 2 business days! Yes!!!!! Now back to finishing up all those last minute details for my Spring Recital.

Photo Shoot of Callie~~directed by the model herself

This is a little white bench we just bought at a garage sale for $1.00. Callie directed a photo shoot of herself on/off the bench. Keep in mind this is at the end of the day after she has played outside in the dirt/sand. Not to mention the fact that she decided she would put on 2 different black shoes! She has a mind of her own!!!! :) I wonder who she takes that after ;>

"Mommy, take a picture of me laying down."

Take a picture of me sitting down.......
....a picture of me going upside-down...

......a picture of me holding my bench.........a picture of me laying my head down.....

....a picture of me away from my bench!

The End!

Plowing & Planting Our Garden

Our garden, full of weeds, ready to be plowed!

I love the feel of freshly plowed dirt between my toes!
This machine had the garden plowed in no time at all! It's wonderful being able to borrow stuff like this. One of the perks from the place Duane works at. :)

All plowed and planted. Now we just have to get the fencing up to keep all the critters from eating our produce! We planted 2 kinds of beans, sweet corn, spinach, carrots, snow peas, 4 kinds of tomatoes, 5 kinds of peppers, cabbage & cucumbers. Can't wait 'til we get to eat it!

Mommy, there are only 2 kinds of sexes......

Warning: The nature of the content of this post might offend some of you. You are in no way obligated to read any more...........That being said, I have just got to write this down......



Monday morning, my cell phone rings before 7:30AM. It was my husband. I sleepily answer the phone. I had not had very much sleep the previous night. My mind cleared instantly when I heard that my son had been asking people at church the previous night what sex was!!!! My husband was asking me to find out casually what was going on. I called Seth in to the living room where I was laying on the couch. First, I asked him to bring me some toilet paper. (I needed to blow my nose.) As I blew away on my nose, I asked him what sex was.



He gives me this strange look and says, "Mommy don't you know what that is."



I think to myself, "Oh, yes, I know what it is, but I want to know what you think it is."



It was like a light bulb went off in his mind, and he says, "Oh, I know what you're talking about."



He goes on to tell me that he told one of his classmates that she looked 'sexy'! YIKES! I guess she was wearing eye shadow. Apparently the teacher talked to him and asked him not to use that word again in reference to the girl. I asked him what he thought it meant. He replied that he thought it meant looking 'teenagerish'! Well, I guess sadly enough, a lot a teenagers are dressing extremely sexy these days. I don't know where he heard the term 'sexy' but apparently he was asking what it meant at church. I'm just very thankful that the teenage girl he asked told him that he needed to ask his parents.



He then proceeds to tell me, "Mom, I know what sex is."



I force myself to nonchalantly ask, "Oh...where did you hear what it is?"



"I heard it on an Andy Griffith Show." was his reply.



"Oh...." ( I have watched every single episode and was rapidly trying to remember where THAT would have been in there.)



"Aunt Bee said their are only 2 kinds of sexes, Females & blabbermouths!"



I nearly rolled off the couch laughing!!!!!!



When Seth comes home this weekend, Daddy gets to have a little talk about the use of and meaning of certain words......I'm glad it's him and not me.......

A Free Treat from Coldstone----Yummy!

What do you get when you combine dark chocolate ice cream, Reese Cups, one chocolate-dipped waffle cone bowl & sprinkles? 4 happy kids and 1 happy mommy!

After school today, we redeemed the free Mother's Day coupon from Coldstone Creamery!

I let the kids pick out the ice cream and toppings. It didn't last very long with 5 people sharing! The kids kept filling up the waffle bowl with our own vanilla ice cream after the dark chocolate stuff was gone. I got all of 2 bites, but it was the best 2 bites of ice cream I've had in quite some time! :) Thanks to my 2 older boys, Seth & Simon, for giving me the free Mother's Day coupon!!!

Samuel's Swingset Slip & Copy-Cat Callie

Samuel decided to climb up the side of the swing set today. He slipped off and let's just say there was a LOT of blood involved! He was quite hysterical and mommy had a time getting him calmed down. (Inside, I was feeling just as hysterical at the amount of blood I was seeing all over his body!) Finally I put on a Mighty Machine movie from Netflix to occupy him while he held an ice pack on his injury. Callie was just as distraught with her brother's injury and insisted that SHE needed an ice pack as well. So far, Samuel hasn't suffered any lasting affects with his slip off the swing today. He is running outside, playing with his brothers and the neighbor kids!

Glimpses from a Mommy's Special Day

This time last year it was wet, cold, & rainy out. It was nice to enjoy the beautiful sunshine, big puffy clouds, and a bright blue sky! On the drive to put flowers on my mother-in-law's grave the kids & I discovered pictures in the sky. Callie started it out with spotting an airplane in the clouds. I looked, and sure enough, there was a big 'cloud-shaped' airplane in the sky. It's been a long time since I've been so relaxed that I have been able to spot shapes in the sky! :) Our little vacation last weekend did wonders to revive me! One of these days, I'll share the photos & stories from the weekend jaunt into Tennessee. For now, I'm trying to stay somewhat current with happenings around here.............

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Our annual trip to remember a wonderful mom, grandma & mother-in-law. We all miss her so much. I am so thankful for the time I had with her and the time she spent with my two oldest boys. Even though Samuel & Callie never met their Grandma Thomas, they were really excited about taking pretty flowers to her grave. We normally do not let our children climb on gravestones. But, they both climbed right up and wanted their picture taken. :)

Duane takes some pictures of us....One normal (or as normal as one can look squinting in the sunshine!)
...and one silly!!!

Seth attempts to hold Samuel's head so that he will look at the camera. Simon holds his eyelids open. Callie holds onto her wind-blown hair. Mommy just laughs at it all.....

The kids checking out the rest of the cemetery. Seth informed me that the cemetery would be spooky at night!

Callie got a pair of super-silly glasses in the treasure box in Sunday School today. She was cracking us up on the way home!

Callie being silly!

Simon just HAD to try on Callie's glasses!

Mother's Day Dinner - Roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, carrots, homemade bread, lemonade, & strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Opening up gifts from my kids. Seth & Simon walked to the Dollar store and each bought me a bar of dark chocolate with some of their allowance. Seth took this picture of me! :)

I was overwhelmed with cards and gifts from my kids this year! Samuel's & Seth's cards are on the left and Callie's & Simon's on the right. The big card in the back is from all of them. It was cute. They went to the store and bought me a card all by themselves. Then, they signed the envelope, but NOT the card! :) Seth painted the pot and planted the flowers for me. He also wrote a special message inside the card he made for me.

Here is a close-up of one of the many gifts Simon bought for me. He bought this at a garage sale we went to on Saturday. He paid .25 cents for it! He was so excited to find this for me.

As we were leaving the same garage that Simon bought the wind chime for me, he found the little tiny carving. He told me he had found something else for me. When he went to pay for it, the lady gave it to him for free. That made his day! He just couldn't wait until Mother's Day to give me the 2 items he got for me at the garage sale. A little bit later, while we were waiting in the car at the library, he gave both things to me. Simon is my child that cannot wait to give someone a gift that he has for them!!!! He just can't keep a secret for very long at all. :)

Simon's Surprise for Mommy

Simon, my 8-year old, went on a field trip. When I picked him up at school, he said he had a surprise for me.

Here is the pretty box my surprise was in.

Upon opening the box, I found two wrapped objects nestled inside.
Carefully unwrapping.....
A beautiful swan purchased for me by Simon.
Simon said he named my gift. I asked what its name was. He replies, "The Swan"! I thought it was so sweet of Simon to use his money to buy his mommy a gift. He told me all he had to pay for it was $3.50! It was the last one of its kind in the store. His teacher told him he got a steal! He is growing up into a sweet a thoughtful boy. :)