So...tired...

I don't know why I'm tired - I guess all the late nights are catching up with me.  I have a hard time falling asleep while reading or watching a movie, yet that's what I'm usually doing at bedtime - so I just stay awake.  It's not even 10 yet, and I'm ready to crash.  So, here's my photo of the day today.  We were playing a "Money Game" with the kids, and Angel has been really giggly tonight, so this is her giggling while playing the game with Damian.  :)

Challenge 3 - DONE!

Tonight I completed my LO (layout) for Challenge 3 of the ADSR!  WooHoo.  Now I get to start challenge 4, which will be more difficult for me. 

Challenge 3 was to re-do your first LO using the exact same photos and journaling.  Here's my "before and after"

My photo for the day (yesterday and today) are ready, too.  Yay, me!  Last night the kids' school had "math night", which is really "game night" - but somehow math related.  We all had lots of fun.  I chose the following photo because of Damian's smile and the action of the kids having fun playing.
Tonight was youth night at church, and one of the classes was learning to knit.  Here are a few of the girls just getting started.

That's all for me tonight.  I'm headed to bed.  Good night, and thanks for checking in.  :)

More photos

I am apparently quite a slacker!  I meant to post daily, and that has obviously not happened.  So, here I am playing catch up yet again.  Starting with Thursday, Jan. 8.  Angel started gymnastics again this month after taking a few months off to do cheerleading.  So I took a few photos of her first class of the year.  I liked this one because she jumped right out of the picture!

Friday, I actually forgot to take a photo.  :(  I know, I'm not doing so good only 8 days in.  Here's my honorary Friday photo.  My newest Lynn Kurland book.  I got it Thursday, and I'm already almost done reading it.  
Saturday's photo is really pretty depressing.  Saturday is "clean room day" for my kids.  I'm actually not real good at enforcing it, and we are usually pretty busy on Saturdays.  But on the Saturdays that we stay home, they have to clean their room.  I know it's hard.  They are sharing a room right now, there's not enough storage, and not much room, so I know it's tough on them.  One more reason I can't wait to get moved into our new house, where they'll each have their own room, own closet, and more storage space.  So, after 2 1/2 hours of cleaning - this is what their room looked like.  Trust me - you didn't want to see it before!

Here's today's photo.  This is our OUTDOOR cat, Rocky.  She adopted us a couple years ago.   The kids and I are pretty allergic to cats, which is why she's an outdoor pet.  This winter, though, she's been sneaking in every time we open the front door.  Apparently she'd rather be an indoor cat now, but it's not going to happen!   She did fine last winter, and we do let her in the garage, so she has shelter.  (I'm not that mean)

Ok, whew, caught up!  I hope I'm able to keep up better this week.  :)  Daily posts, daily posts, daily posts.... I'm just going to keep telling myself that over and over!

I just updated a family website I have, and figured I'd post the update here, too.  This is what's going on in our life right now.  :)

Hello,

Since I've noticed a few visits to the site, I thought I'd give a little update.  :)  It's been a little while, so there's plenty to mention.  I'll start with Frank's racing, since that was the last subject.  Frank and Joe finished 4th overall for the year.  They were hoping for better, but they still did pretty well.  The racing program for this year is still up in the air.  Cycle Connection was the main sponsor, but, like most companies, doesn't have a lot of extra $$$ in the budget, so may not be able to sponsor this year.  Damian does plan to race again this year.  He's excited about the BMX season, which will start in April.  Frank is on the Board of Directors for the track, but positions on the board have not been voted yet, so we don't know what he'll be doing, exactly.  Angel plans to sing for the track again this year.  She sings the National Anthem before each race, every Tues. and Thurs.  At the end of the year awards banquet, she was presented with a plaque for "Best Female Vocalist".  Damian was given a Daredevil Award.  :)  In other sports news, Angel is still in dance at A&B Dance Center, Angie's studio.  She's taking ballet and tap, and may do a duet for the recital also.  She's also very excited about taking gymnastics again - which starts today.  

Damian's also in scouts now.  The Pinewood Derby is coming up in less than 3 weeks, and he's eager to start working on his car.  I think Frank's eager, too.  They may be a little competitive!  ;)

Our daily family life is getting a little closer to normal again, now that Sean and his kids are living next door.  We were a little cramped for a while, all living in a small 2 bedroom duplex.  I still take care of his kids during the day.  Sean has a new job, and is starting school next week.  He's going into nursing.  Julie came to visit this week.  I would have liked for her to stay even longer, but it was nice to see her for a couple days, anyway.  She seems to be doing pretty well.  She brought a friend and joni's son, Braden, with her.  The kids always enjoy playing w/ their cousins.  :)  julie has been approved to go back to school by her doctors, which is great news!

We recently got to visit with my Aunt Amy and most of her family, too.  That was a lot of fun.  It's been YEARS since we'd seen them.  They were staying for a couple days in Branson, and we met them there.  Mom, Alyssa, Ian and Ruby all came from Warrensburg, and we all spent some time at The Landing in Branson and had dinner together.  It was a great mini-reunion.  :)  Mom told me a couple days ago that Amy's family rolled their truck on the way home.  They slid off the road on ice in AZ.  It was very scary, but thankfully, everyone is ok.    

Well, that pretty much catches you up to the middle of January for my family.  :)  I'd love to hear how your family is doing, also.  :)   Take care, and thanks for checking in.   

Jan. 7

I'm grumpy today, so I'll spare everyone a post, and just put up my pic. for today.  

We went for a walk at the Nature Center, and saw these 2 wild turkeys in the trees.

15 again

Yesterday I did my hair in braids.  2 french braids all the way down my back.  I don't know why - it just came to me to do that when I was getting ready for my pilates class.  It seemed like a good way to have my hair done so it would be out of my way, and I wouldn't be laying on a clip or ponytail for the floor work.  Anyway, when my kids got home, I got a strong reaction.  Angel loved it, gave me a hug, and had me do her hair the same way this morning.  Damian said "Mom, do you think you're 15 again?"  Of course I NEVER wore my hair that way when I was 15!  Noooo, I spent an hour in front of the mirror curling the ends and hair spraying my bangs just right. 

Later, while driving him to scouts, I was singing along to the radio, and an early 90's song came on, and sang my heart out.  Damian's response was "Mom, I think you really do think you're

 15."  By his tone of voice, he didn't think that was a good thing.  So, I asked, "why do you think that?"  

"Well, your hair, and I've never heard you sing like that, and...I think you're even a little skinnier."  WooHoo!!!!  He didn't realize that he just made my day!  I felt cute and young for the rest of the evening.  Too bad my son didn't seem too impressed by my burst of youth.  Not to worry - it didn't last long.  I'm feeling way too normal today.  

Here's my photo from yesterday, Jan 7.  It was during an activity at church with the youth.  This is a great action shot of a pretty fun game.  I'm not going to take the time to explain it - you had to be there.  :)

Catching up with Project 365

Here are my photos for Jan 1-5.

Jan 1 - It was hard to pick a photo.  I had a lot from our celebration party, and a lot from meeting my aunt's family for a visit later in the day.  I settled on this one because I love their eyes!  This is my bro and sis - just being weird for the camera at dinner.  :)

Jan 2 - This is my son playing with a dog that we were caring for for a few days.  We don't have a dog, so my kids love playing with friend's and other family member's dogs.

Jan 3 - This is the dog we were caring for.

Jan 4 - This is what my daughter made with her new play foam she got for Christmas.  

Jan 5 - This is my Sweet Angel just before going back to school the first day after Christmas break.  She wore her new tiara to school.  :)

New Year, new endeavors

Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope you had a fun celebration with people you love, and that you are ready to get started on a new year with new hopes, goals, and experiences that will enhance your life.  I am starting the year off with 2 new endeavors.  One is the ADSR - Amazing Digiscrapping Race.   My partner is Miss Chris.  Our team name is Cheesecake Scraps, and here is our blog.  The race starts TODAY!  Miss Chris and I will each have to complete 2 scrapbooking layouts a week (following rules and challenges) until the end of the race.  Along the way we pick up prizes, and at the end we're entered in a drawing for an awesome Grand Prize.  

My next endeavor is Project 365 - to take a photo a day for a year.  So far, I've done well.  I just haven't loaded them on the computer yet to post them up.  :(  I'll try to get to that soon.  I'll be posting my photos daily on this blog - so you can all follow along.  I'm sure most of them will be of my family.  I prefer life photos over artistic photos of objects.   

Well, I'm sharing Frank's laptop - cuz our main computer's in the shop - and he's hovering, waiting for me to be finished, so I'll have to check in later.  Hopefully w/ photos.  :)  Wish me luck!

Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas Eve! I finally got all my cards sent out a couple days ago, but didn't include a Christmas letter - mostly just because I was not that organized. So, I thought I'd type one up here for my friends and family to read. So, see? You still get one. :)
2008 was a pretty eventful year for our family. At the end of the year, we are appreciating our many blessings including health, home and friends and family. The year started with ice and snow. The kids had a lot of fun going sledding and making snowmen, a snow dog, and snow angels. Shannon began her new calling in church as the secretary for the Young Women. In Feb. and March, Damian had some serious tummy issues. We were very concerned for a while, and even went to see a specialist at the St. Louis Children's Hospital, but were relieved to find out that it was just a bad virus, and he's been fine ever since. Yay! :) Angel got glasses in March. She wears them for reading, writing and computer/TV viewing. She loves her Princess glasses. :)
Spring brought a whirl of activity as Frank and I were busy planning bachelor and bachelorette parties and showers, and finally attending the wedding of our friends Max and Megan. Frank was given the honor of being the best man, and Angel was a flower girl (and soloist! - she sang the National Anthem at the reception when she got a hold of the karaoke mic!). Of course we also had our April Birthday Bash for the many birthdays in our family around March/April. Lots of partying for us!
Summer brought the whole (Harris) family together for Memorial Day. We were able to get some rare photos of everyone together. :) In June, the kid's had their dance recital. They have also been involved in other sports this year including BMX and soccer for Damian and gymnastics, and cheerleading for Angel. At the end of the year awards banquet for BMX, Damian won the Daredevil Award, and Angel got a "Female Vocalist of the Year" plaque for singing the National Anthem every week at the track.
Frank and a business partner began a new venture when they bought the inventory of 3 motorcycle shops that went out of business. That has kept him busy, along with working hard to get our "new house" ready for us to move into (hopefully soon). He also continued racing motorcycles this year, and his team finished 4th for the year.
The kids' Grandma and Grandpa Gonzales took them on a great vacation to South Dakota for a week over the summer, and Frank and Shannon were able to get away for a weekend, too. Just before school started, Frank and Shannon also took a trip to CA for another wedding. This time Shannon was honored with being asked to be a bridesmaid. We were also able to visit some family and more friends while in CA. We fell in love with San Diego and hope to go visit again.
On our way home from CA, we found out that Shannon had a brother and sister both in the hospital. Sean had crashed his motorcycle and several injuries. He spent a week in the hospital, another month on another sister's couch, and ended up moving in with our family. Frank was able to give him some work to do, and Shannon takes care of his kids. He will be moving into the duplex ajoining ours after Christmas.
Julie had gone to visit Sean in the hospital, passed out, and cracked her skull and had bleeding in her brain. She spent 35 days in the hospital, and is making a good recovery. She's still has some lingering effects from the head trauma, but has been cleared by her doctors to go back to school next month. She's very excited about that!
The beginning of school was very important this year, as Angel started kindergarten! She was very excited to start school, and has been doing extremely well. She was chosen as Student of the Month for the first month of school! Unfortunately, Damian was sick on the first day of school, but has been going strong since then. He aces almost every spelling, science and math test, and was chosen as this month's Student of the Month.
Damian turned 8 in October. He's growing up way too fast for me! He's lost several teeth this year, started scouts, and got baptized by his Grandpa Harris in November. November was also exciting because we got to go to Disney World! It was a perfect dream of a vacation. We spent a week in Orlando, got to visit with more family, went to the 4 main Disney parks, and Wet'n'Wild. It's hard to come home and back to reality after a trip like that!
This holiday season has been nice, with a lot of family time together. We're looking forward to more visiting and good times with family this coming week. I hope you all have a blessed and happy Christmas, too.
Love,
Gonzales Family

My little cheerleader

has been busy this past week. She was in the Christmas parade on Sat. We all went to watch. D met up w/ a friend, and my niece kept me warm by sitting on my lap. Tonight was her last class/ parent presentation tonight. She recieved a certificate and a trophy for perfect attendance for 3 semesters.
D (son) must've done well this past month at school. I was just told yesterday that he's been chosen as student of the month for Dec. The character ed. word of the month was honesty, and that's what the teachers and other students go by. They try to choose the student who best displays that trait. I'm so proud of him. Honesty is so important, and he makes very mature decisions when he chooses honesty - even when it's not always easy. I'm a proud mom!
Of course, this time of year I've been busy, too. Monday was Angel's Christmas party at dance class (she's got another one coming up Sat.). Tues. was D's first pack mtg. for cub scouts. As the newest scout in the pack, he got to lead the opening ceremony where they call out directions for the color guard, etc. That was pretty cool! I was supposed to go caroling w/ the YW from church, but had no voice due to this extremely annoying cough I've had, so I stayed at pack mtg and helped w/ the activity. Wed. was my Dad's school Christmas concert. He's a high school/middle school band director. The concert was great. I hate to admit that I dozed off for a couple of songs, but I think I was awake for the mostof it. :) Sorry Dad! It was a great performance by all involved - including some dancers from my step-moms studio who performed during the Nutcracker songs. Of course I've also been busy w/ the normal shopping, wrapping, organizing class parties, taking care of sick kids (and self, and hubby), trying to keep up w/ house cleaning (and failing), etc. I still have cards to send and treats to make. Those are my weekend goals.
I'll try to be back before Christmas, but if not - here's my Christmas blogger card to you:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
May you have a wonderful Christmas filled with making beautiful memories and enjoying many blessings.
Love,
Shannon and family. :)