Season's Greetings!

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends both near and far! May God bless you and keep you during this season of celebrating our Savior's birth!

Skaneateles Lake

This is one of the Finger Lakes here in NY state. We live on one of the Finger Lakes...but not this particular one. They are all very pretty.

This is a good area to visit. There are lots of wineries and quaint towns to visit. Lots of beautiful scenery.

Soon this Lake will be frozen over and there will be ice fishermen out there. I've never been icefishing. I don't think it would be appealing to me, but there are some "die hard" fishermen who get up at the crack of dawn to make a hole in the ice and sit there waiting for the fish to bite. Some of them even make little huts.

Christmas...to come.

There is some discussion on the streets of London that Mr. Scrooge is dead.Two young London town girls.
Carolers singing "God Bless ye Merry Gentlemen". I wonder if the 2 men on the left are aware that the ghost of Mr Scrooge's old business partner (Marley) has joined them.

Bah Humbug!

We went to Skaneateles for "A Charles Dickens Christmas". There were people dressed in character walking about the town...stopping occasionally to do a short sketch from "A Christmas Carol". Here is Scrooge's nephew and his wife.

Here Scrooge was kind enough to allow me to take his picture with my children and husband. Alicia wasn't sure she wanted to stand next to such a grumpy old guy!
I'll post a few more pictures soon.

More chocolate....

Audra decided to ham it up a bit for the camera!

Like a kid in a candy shop....

Ever hear the expression? Here's Alicia, gazing at all the confections. She finally decided on a "Dark caremel cashew turtle".

For Allen and Audra...it was plain dark chocolate and a chocolate haystack.

A very satisfied customer!

Incoming!!!!!!!

I took Sherman for a walk in the snow the other day. I think he enjoyed himself!

For Aunt Rachel

"We are all being good girls and brushing our teeth twice a day! Aren't you proud of us? Now as long as we remember to floss as well......"

Love, some of your favorite and most beautiful nieces!

Allen wasn't so sure...

Allen wasn't sure he wanted to hold Josh. He seemed a little nervous. He finally obliged and did just fine. Aren't they cute? They both look a little unsure of it all...but I'm sure they will be friends one day. Allen will be the "big cousin who plays with me" for Josh.

Meeting Josh

Here is Alicia and I meeting baby Josh. Alicia just loved holding him. She will be a good mother some day.

Nothing's Ever Easy

Getting recertified as a teacher in NY state is involving a bit more than I imagined. It is going to be time-consuming and expensive...and a headache to say the least. I still KNOW that I am going to grad school to be a school librarian, but I'm no longer sure exactly what route I'm going to take. There is the option of forgoing the recertification and attending the University of Buffalo. In this route, certification is a part of getting the Master's Degree rather than it being a prerequisite.

The pluses for Mansfield is that the program is entirely on-line. With UB, it is only partially on-line and that would mean I would need to travel back and forth to Buffalo to attend some classes. Which way should I go, God?

And so it begins...

I've been tagged by T. What could I possibly say about myself that I haven't said on subsequent lists of arbitrary facts? Who knows? I am not that interesting of a person. I'm taking this opportunity to update on what is going on with me in regards to going to grad school.

Here goes:

1. I am planning on getting a Master's Degree in school library science enabling me to be a school librarian.


2. In order to begin grad work at Mansfied University, I must currently hold a valid teacher certificate.


3. Mine expired in 1999.


4. I am in the process of recertifying.


5. It could take an entire semester to do this...thereby delaying grad work until the fall 2008.


6. I'm waiting for an official transcript evaluation.


7. From what I can figure out on my own is this. I need to take 3 exams. Take a course in special education. Go to 2 seminars about child abuse and school violence. And get fingerprint clearance.


8. I'm really excited about starting the library program. I think it is a great fit for me!!!

Up Up Up...it is time for Up!

Go Allen! Go Allen!

Don't fall!

Now Audra's turn!

Weee Haaa! You go girl!

These are pictures that were taken by my niece, Danielle. She just emailed them to me today! They were taken in August.

What's up?

You are all right. I haven't been blogging lately. I just really haven't been in the mood. I don't know why.

An update on me. I am seriously considerring going to grad school. I'm looking into online programs for Library Science that will certify me to be a school librarian. I just feel like I need a change. I need to do something to fill my empty days. I used to be quite content staying home with my babies, but now they are all in school. I have too much free time. At one time, I studied to be a secondary math teacher. I never did that and I can't see myself teaching math, but being in the school system still does appeal to me in a lot of ways. I'm really excited by the idea. I just have to figure out what, where and when. (and how to pay for it)

Run, run as fast as you can!

Well...this isn't the greatest picture...but it shows you what Allen has been up to lately as a member of the school's cross country team. This is actually the McQuaid Invitational up in Rochester. It attracts teams from all over the state, and even a few from other neighboring states and Ontario, Canada. I missed it because that was the day Mart and I took our sister trip...but my hubby and girls were there cheering him on.

Up up and away

These pictures were taken a week ago on a ski lift in our area. The colors this fall have not been as impressive as other years. First of all, we are not at the peak of the colors...and what colors we do have simply are not as bright as other years. I think it is because of the warmer autumn we have been having. It was a beautiful day on the ski lift. Allen does not like heights that much and was happy to reach the ground. I don't really mind the heights. I thought it was beautiful and peaceful. You can't really tell by the pictures that we were really up quite high. But we really were. Hope everyone is doing well. It has been busy at my house. We are having a new heating system installed in our house...which is turning it a bit upside down.

Sister Trip

Martha and I took a lovely trip down to Angelica, NY yesterday. It was a really nice day. I hadn't spent that kind of time with my sister in a long time. We were sorry that Rachel couldn't make it too. Our first stop was this great coffee house for lunch. The pumpkin-apple soup is to die for! I strongly recommend stopping here if you are ever traveling along rout 17 in the southerntier of NY state. It has great atmosphere and very friendly service.

It happened to be the town's Harvest Festival in the the center of the circle yesterday. A lot of businesses along main street put up fall scarecrow displays. Some even were in front of houses. This one was in front of a house. I thought it was one of the better ones and comical. It is of a prisonbreak. Notice the escaped convict in stripes.

One of our last stops was to the local cemetary. We found a lot of familiar family names such as Shafer, Rice, Harwood, Jennings. We had a few pictures of some of our deceased relatives who are buried there. By placing them next to the gravestones and taking a picture...it really made it feel as if they were with us in some way.

Sweet Picture

I have stolen this picture off of Martha's computer. I found it while browsing. Isn't it a sweet picture of her and James cutting their wedding cake? I like it

Passing it on the the Children

Well...I guess I'm slowly adapting to a quieter life with the kids off to school. I made sure I did some work so as to feel useful around here. Gotta earn my keep! LOL!

Allen is very busy with the Cross Country team at his school. He seems to like it a lot. Alicia is taking Viola lessons at school starting on Monday. Audra has volunteered to be kindertgarten helper at the end of the school day. I think this makes her feel good about herself. Community Bible Study starts on Wednesday.

Awana started this past Wednesday. Audra is already working at memorizing her Bible verses for T&T(Truth & Training). Alicia graduated to T&T from Sparks and is looking forward to getting her book. We took Makaela...our next door neighbor to Awana. She doesn't go to church with her family. Sometimes she comes with us. Soon her brother will come to Awana as well...but right now, he has something else on Wednesdays. I feel like they are my ministry. Every morning they come to get on the bus. I always say a prayer with my girls and so I've included them. They are getting used to this routine. Hopefully I can build working on our verses into our routine in the morning...because I doubt Makaela will get a lot of that at her house.

By the way...I don't know this little "Sparks" boy. I searched Creative Commons on Flicker and found it. It just reminds me about what it's all about. Teaching kids to Praise the Lord!

We Remember...

A Whole Lot of Nothing

Kim asked me what I've been doing since the kids went to school. That would be yesterday and today. Well...I'm ashamed to admit that I really haven't been doing much. I've been a bit unproductive and lazy. Oh I've done a few dishes, a load of laundry, a couple of errands, a small amount of sewing, walked the dog, blogged, read a short novel...what else?

I need to get used to this again. It seems very quiet here. I've had a pretty full house all summer. Not only my kids, but other kids I've been watching. Now it's just me and Sherm. I know things'll start picking up. I do have things to do. Maybe I just needed a couple of days to catch my breath?

Isn't this picture horrible of me? Allen took it and I almost deleted it. It's certainly not very flattering...but I guess it's an honest look at the way I've been yesterday and today.

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school. Everyone seemed excited, although they insisted they didn't want to go back.

I'll be putting my little next door neighbors on the bus in the morning since their mom leaves for work a half hour before the bus comes. They are cute kids and they are used to me.

Allen did not want his picture taken.

I was chasing him while taking this one as he rode off on his bike. I think he was amused. He goes to the middle school and does not take a bus.

Time For a Fresh Box

The day after tomorrow is the first day of school for our town. Some of the districts go back tomorrow. My kids keep saying that they don't like school and that they don't want to go back...but I sense a little excitement in the air about it. (or maybe it's just me) Yes...it's time. It just feels like school should be starting. The summer has wound down and the kids are looking for new things to do. Allen started Cross Country practice today. Audra visited her class and picked out her desk and filled it with school supplies. Alicia will have her turn doing that tomorrow. Me? I'm looking forward to a more steady routine, my house being in a little more order, Bible Study starting up, and a little peace and quiet. (is that bad?)

Twister Championships

While we were in Long Island Audra challenged her 28 year old cousin Scott to a game of Twister.

Here's the face off!

Looks like Scott's got a pretty good handle on things. Audra got pretty twisted up. It didn't help that Scott was saying funny things the whole time to make her laugh.

Audra finally lost her balance and thus ended the challenge. I thought this made for a fun memory.

2nd Tri

Jamie competed in another triathlon on Sunday on Long Island. He came in 100th over all with over 200 participants. His time was 1:55:00. This was an off road triathlon this time so he packed up his mountain bike for the trip. The course included several obstacles such as logs, sand, and water. He really enjoyed it. We may be back here next year.

Visit to CT and L.I.

I don't have any picture to post. I visited Dunja Tuesday night. Stayed over night and left around 3:30 yesterday. It was so nice to see her again. Nice to see the kids too. I ate at "Old Heidelberg". Delicious is all I have to say!!! My husband was very jealous. I will have to make sure he gets there on another trip down. Dunja seems to be doing well. Don't forget to pray for here and her family. Grief is a long road.

I am on Long Island right now. I am pretty much doing nothing today...which is sort of nice. It is early and this could get old. I wish I brought my watercolors with me.

Audra at age 8

Here's one of my favorite photos of Audra in May 2005. We went to Star Lake up in the mountains. It's funny how little she looks. Two years has made quite a difference. My husband has a framed copy of this on his desk at his workplace.

Bad Boys!

Here are Jeff and Jamie ignoring the warning signs. I'm just glad they got home in one piece!

Flying Flower

My ten year old daughter took this picture at chimney bluffs on Saturday. I thought it was pretty good.