uh oh, this reads like a Christmas letter...

wow. i am really very bad at this, aren't i?! well, i'm shocked to discover that i haven't updated on anything since mid-october. i do have an excuse for part of that time... at least twice in the last two months we've had our internet down for at least a week or two at a time. i don't quite know the problem causing it, only the frustration it causes for all of us.


ANYWAY, here's a very quick update on what's going on in our world (or the highlights, at least).

evan is in the running for the geo-bee (think spelling bee, only geography) and we're really excited about that! he's done really well in the preliminary rounds and the next test will be this thursday (dec 20th). he's also doing well with his trumpet. its a little tougher than he thought, so his little cheeks are working hard! his holiday party is this friday and as of today, it looks like i'll be the only mom available to help with the party... (uh, i only signed up for this party because other moms signed up and it looked like we'd be well-covered(!)... i really hope i don't have to come up with a craft!!!) for ev's 10th b'day in november (double digits now!!), we had a little party with his friends and saw a movie. he had a great time and his friends are great little boys.

noah had a great season with the juggling club (yes, the circus is his back-up career plan if he doesn't become a doctor) and also got to play a "solo note" with his bass clarinet in the 6th grade band concert. having started out the school year a little rocky, he's doing much better now. he also is very involved in a small group with a few guys from church. our new youth leader, doug, meets regularly with these 6th grade boys and they love it!

taylor had a good run with lego club for the year and went to the robotics competition earlier this month. the competition is a full day on saturday in a huge warehouse type building and you spend all day waiting to cram yourself into a crowd in order to see your kid compete for about 1 minute three times during the day (each scheduled hours apart, of course)... this year, ed didn't go in order to tear down the wall in our front hall, so i went alone for the day with taylor. i know he was glad that i was there (looking into the crowd before each event to be sure i was there) and while i enjoyed being there with him, i couldn't help thinking of my mom and all those saturdays she spent in the hot bleachers of an indoor swimming pool for our day-long meets. maybe i'm glad the boys don't swim after all?


drew is doing well too. when i went to his teacher conference, it was almost embarrassing because his teachers had nothing but high praise for him and we had no concerns either. (i only went because we don't know his teachers and i wanted to at least touch base). in recent weeks, we've taken a slight turn... while his grades are still excellent, drew is in full "teenager" mode these days and it's leaving us a little confused and frustrated. i'm sure it was inevitable - even with a "perfect child" who never seems to do wrong - that we'd deal with his being bored and uninterested in school and getting into a little trouble. he is a 14 year old boy! his teachers are concerned that he's less interested in things like history... um, yeah, he's more interested in girls, computers, and his "look"... and we've had a few run-ins with the principal over a few bad decisions on drew's part. so, he's grounded (he and i are spending a lot more time together since he can't go roaming around town with his friends... um, are we having fun yet?!) and we're working on choosing good friends and making good decisions. this is normal for teens, right? (i have a new appreciation for parents who ground kids - like mine did... often! - it's hard to hold to the punishment when your kid is SO crabby about a consequence he brought on himself!!)

anyway, i know i keep promising pictures, but i still haven't gotten around to getting my film developed. and, because we've been working on the house some more (mostly finishing projects we've been working on for some time!), it doesn't look like i'll have a digital camera under the tree. oh well. maybe next month for my b'day... (ha!) pictures will come.

the "junk man"

finally, we understand the special connection between ace (my dad) and taylor... they are both "junk men"!! you know the type... never want to toss anything. convinced they can come up with something "creative" with spare parts and "found treasures"... (and sometimes they do).


but, unlike my father, taylor has been looking for things to sell in order to make money... because he's in debt to us and needs to pay us back. so, he's been scouring our house for things we'll let him sell and then stacked those items in our hallway. (i think he wasn't sure what to do next.) anyway, a few weeks ago, ed & i were with the other boys running back & forth between soccer and baseball games and taylor was headed to a friend's. taylor calls and says his friend's neighborhood is having a yard sale and can he take his "for sale" items down. yeah! we're thrilled to get them out of the hallway and tell him to sell away!!


it never occurred to us what a mess we'd walked into... later that afternoon (at our 3rd and final game of the day), taylor leaves a message on my cell phone saying "i LOVE yard sales! i have exciting news for you when you get home!" (still, we're clueless and thought it was great that he'd had some success.)


we come home to discover that taylor did sell a few things and made some money. and then he found this:

yep, he bought himself a mini-motorcycle with his earnings (plus a book on someone's pet squirrel (?!?!) and opera glasses... which he's surely needed for some time!).

what were we thinking when we set him to a yard sale - unattended?!

so, that's his new love. not the bike, mind you, but yard sales!!! (to be honest, he's planning to sell the bike because having his debt to pay off is finally starting to concern him, as it affects his social life and purchasing power... good lesson to learn at this age!)

weekend family getaway

columbus day weekend found us looking for a chance to get away and since the boys were off school and ed had the day off from work, i took a vacation day and we headed north. we were hoping to see some beautifully colored leaves on our road trip, but that didn't happen. we did still have a great time! we went to niagara falls - american and canadian sides (the boys were very excited to cross the border and WALK into another country). :)

we took bikes and roller blades, so when we arrived, we did a little sight-seeing on the American side (including riding the "maid of the mist") before enjoying a relaxing picnic lunch and biking & blading. then, we headed across the border and loved the beautiful gardens in canada (MUCH prettier than the american side!!) and explored the "touristy" city of niagara falls, ontario, canada. the boys loved the lights and activity. after dinner, we headed back to the states and went to find our "sweet suite" hotel room that my brother hooked us up with. that was great too! on our way home, we stopped at a park about an hour away for more biking and blading. overall, it was really fun and relaxing. it was a great getaway for our family!!

here are some pics of the trip...

ahh, junior high

its been another crazy week for us, but thankfully, we're coming to the tail end. lots more baseball & soccer games this weekend, as well as the open house at ev's school (tonight is the right night... i double checked) and small group tonight too. then, on friday we'll get to see drew and taylor play with the school band at the high school football game "pre-show". that should be fun!

i'm reliving my junior high days as i listen to the boys share about their lives, especially drew. just yesterday, we talked about my first boyfriend (dudley: 6th-7th grade), who didn't acknowledge my existence after we broke-up in 7th grade. then, we were forced to sit next to each other in 8th grade and somehow became friends again. i think this is quite normal (and was explaining the "normalcy" of it to drew). i must say, it is far better to be where i am (many years separated from those events) and only experiencing (slanted or rose-colored?) memories than to be in the "anguish of the moment" in middle school... everything seems to be heightened at that age. somehow, like when i volunteered with middle school girls years ago, i always seem to relate really well to teens & pre-teens. wonder why that is??

anyway, i'm so thankful that the boys are comfortable and willing to share things with me. we talk very easily and can be open and honest. this is such a blessing to me and i hope it is for them as well. i also hope that we continue to be able to communicate like this! :)

weekend o'marye :)

well, maybe the fact that i can't keep my calendar straight is the core reason for my crabby attitude... after yesterday's rants, it turned out that drew's game was cancelled and ev's open house wasn't scheduled until next week. duh. i wrote the wrong date on the calendar. so, after throwing dinner together and keeping it warm, i grab evan and run to the school. you know, to the dark school with no cars around. glad i rushed around like a mad woman for an event set for next thursday...

so, we had a nice, relaxing family night instead (with our friend, aaron, who showed up to join our small group that usually meets at our house on thursday nights... last night was one of the very few nights in over a year that we cancelled (due to our busy evening of baseball and school events... oops!), but i didn't know to let him know. oh well, he joined us for dinner and yahtzee.)

drew and i both had doctor appointments in the last 24 hours. his eye infection is clearing up nicely and after another 5 days of drops, he should be cleared for contacts again. he's so relieved. i, on the other hand (re: my rash on my legs), was told that perhaps i had an allergic reaction to the sand at the beach (30th b'day getaway a month ago) and that i keep irritating my skin by scratching the itch. um, no, i don't think i am allergic to the sand at the beach!!! hello?! i LOVE the beach. that's my emotional and physical haven (until heaven, of course)! i can't be ALLERGIC to it!! (and let's face it, you just can't have the beach without the sand.) anyway, i'm choosing to disregard that possibility and voting on the "changed my laundry detergent" - briefly - explanation. this, i can believe. so, i get some steroid cream to stop the itching and my skin should return to normal. normal would be nice... what is that again?

anyway, as i think about this weekend, i just get exhausted. don't look for new posts because i will be busy running from one event to the other. here's the quick list of events: dinner party with lifelong girlfriends, soccer games for evan and ed, baseball games for noah & drew, a sleepover for noah, a funeral for a friend's dad, and dinner at my parents with the family (including marye - long-lost granddaughter returning to visit with granddad. poor g-dad, he's got to get sick to get visits.)

for the record, this is officially "weekend o'marye" because while she's in town, i'll get to see her a few times. "reunited and it feels so good"... (thought you'd appreciate a little music reference, mare). we'll be with the dinner party girls tonight (marye is like the "special guest star" making a surprise appearance at the surprise baby shower... (hmmm, hope trish doesn't read my blog much... good chance this is safe since she rarely gets online)) then she can have time with her other family (the one she was technically born into) before ending the weekend with dinner at my folks - where she'll finally get to see the new addition (aka totally changed house)! oh, and visit with granddad and the rest of the family. odd that she didn't want to spend saturday with me too... going from one game to another. ;)

angry rants... plus drew's jr high look!

okay, i'm just mad at the world today. it's just one of those days. i've spent several days fighting all sorts of issues with our new insurance (through ed's job... i guess i've been really spoiled by our insurance and having my friend, holly, as my go-to girl with questions or problems). i'm battling some annoying rash on my legs for over a month and i'm sick of that too. now, drew has an eye infection and has to go back to the eye doctor. and, of course, i'm irritated that we didn't take him to the eye doctor here in town (walking distance), but instead returned to the place in the mall... 20 minutes away. i'm even annoyed right now that its raining outside because drew was to have a baseball game today and ed was excited to go- finally. anyway, i'm just crabby.

aside from my unpleasantness, things are pretty normal for us. (hmm, i HOPE my being unpleasant is not normal!!) we are supposed to have drew's baseball game. he hit a home run over the weekend, but we weren't with him so we didn't get to see it. ed was SO bummed to have missed that big moment. apparently, drew had a couple of really great hits over the weekend - we got an email from his coach telling us about it! anyway, i really hope the rain clears up... meanwhile, evan and i will be heading over to his school for open house. we'll have fun looking at art projects, meeting his 4th grade teachers and seeing friends. taylor and noah will have the option of coming with either of us (drew's game or ev's school), but the fact that we've just gotten the new halo 3 game makes me think they'll opt to stay home together (NOT common for these two to choose to be together, but this would be a special occasion!)

drew has officially joined the "jr high days" look. he finally got his braces on monday and then (because of the eye infection) is having to wear his glasses instead of contacts. i told him that i remember being in jr high and having glasses, braces and a really awful perm... that's just par for the course at that age. i tease him that the glasses and braces have come along to complete the mandatory trio of bad looks in middle school (this would be my making fun of his long hair... i hate it, but he loves it!)

gotta run and get drew for his appointment. hopefully i'll add the picture soon!! OKAY, here's a great picture of drew... and i'm certain he'll hate me for sharing it! but i have every intention of saving this picture for bribing purposes... or at least to share with girlfriends down the road!! :) (for the record, the headband is only to annoy me... he found it in nana's bathroom and put it on because i was teasing him about his long hair. thankfully, he doesn't normally look quite like this!!) but, it gives a better view of the glasses and braces.

blank stare

i know there is plenty that i should/could be updating right now, but my mind is totally blank. how pathetic is that?!

i have a list that is about a mile long of things that need to be done and it is starting to get a little overwhelming. our schedule just seems to be totally packed all the time and when there is "downtime", we're so exhausted that we can't do anything!! this is just a temporary thing, right?!?!

tonight, my big goal is to move the fans to the basement, change the shower curtain liner (totally gross, but i didn't realize it because i'm totally blind when i shower... i'm lucky i can tell the shampoo & conditioner bottles apart!!) and hopefully get the mug rack hanging above ed's new "coffee center"... thanks, in large part, to aunt betsy & uncle doug giving him his new *favorite* coffee & espresso makers!! i guess the fact that i don't touch coffee explains why i don't really care about it... other than the mess it sometimes makes! that's it. that's all i hope to accomplish in a full evening. talk about pathetic...

we had another worship concert at church on sunday night (after the steeler game). ed played the drums and was pretty exhausted after a full weekend of playing. the music was fantastic and it was just really powerful worship. my sister, carrie, came with me. she's all about that music and really liked it. she'd also never heard ed play before, so that was fun. there is just something about worship music with an electric guitar and drums that gets me really excited. anyway, it was great. if anyone reading this is in town on nov 18 (i think that's the next concert date), mark your calendar. i'd love to have you come with us!!

okay, back to something productive...

ah, the weekend!

well, its finally friday. ed will be home this evening and i can't wait! (i even primped for the occasion! no make-up, of course, but i did paint my toenails and shave my legs so that i could wear a *new* skirt (friend's cast-off)! see how much i love this man?? :)

anyway, eddie just sent me a picture text of lake erie (where he's been doing his training - he goes to the lake over lunch). we spent a day on lake erie's beach this summer and it was wonderful. so, he sent me the message and i was able to see where he is... here's the pic

so, just so that we would feel connected, i replied with a picture of the lovely place where i am awaiting his arrival...

ahhh, it's good to keep a sense of humor!

anyway, the boys will be gone this weekend (still busy, with soccer & baseball games all weekend, but we won't see them!), so ed & i will enjoy a date night tonight and then breakfast with friends tomorrow morning (that's after ed's bible study group AND drum lessons... he starts early on saturdays!). after that, who knows! the "to do" list is pretty long, but i'll just be glad to hang out with my honey. don't tell, but i'm even considering doing yard work with him!!

51 hours... but who's counting?

51 hours until ed comes home again. he's off on his final week of training in erie and i'm very ready for him to come home. i decided to take advantage of the time he was away and got a number of things organized in the house (his closet, the boys clothes & game room, etc) and that went really well. now, i'm trying to tackle getting a bunch of my junk organized in our "utility room" (read "catch all/disaster room") but the truth is, i'm just ready to be done with his being away.
so far, the new job is going well (despite the insurance nightmare i've been going through trying to get things switched over. much more complicated with kids than it was when i was single and changing jobs!) and ed is excited about what's ahead with this company. again, i'm just thankful he's got a job that he likes to go to every day.
evan had his first trumpet lesson on monday and loved it. told me he was one of the best in the class - of 4th graders playing instruments for the very first time. i'm very proud of him and very thankful not to have witnessed the experience. the more i think about it, the more i appreciate and respect elementary school band teachers!! taylor has his first cross-country meets this thursday and friday. we're really excited about that! drew's got baseball practice tonight and games over the weekend and noah has a game tomorrow night and over the weekend. lots going on for the guys. oh, and we've already got to do a little restructuring with homework arrangements. apparently, there is a miscommunication when i ask if homework is done... i gather that the boys don't understand and think that i'm just exchanging pleasantries... ahhh, back to school and homework issues. lovely.
anyway, things are good on our front. :)

update on the guys

well, the school year is started and we're also at the start of a new season of sports. evan is playing outdoor soccer this fall, while noah and drew are both doing fall baseball. taylor just started a new sport - cross country - and the boy who hasn't wanted to do any sport in years is LOVING it! we hoped this would be the thing for him - he's a great runner with lots of endurance. we'll have first games for soccer & baseball this weekend and hopefully get to check out a cross country meet soon too (although i hear they aren't too exciting, since we don't run with the runners. phew!!).

school is going well so far. drew is in the "superior" 8th grade, taylor now has all of drew's teachers from 7th grade and noah has moved up to the middle school too, now in sixth grade (which means we have all three grades covered in that school - we are all about the middle school!) ev just started the first of his two years alone in the elementary school (4th grade) and seems to be doing pretty well.

all of the boys are enjoying a little more freedom these days - walking around the village with friends after school (seems to be the substitute for my days of "going to the mall") or biking or walking to friends' homes. and, thankfully, between the 4 of them, we seem to be kept up to speed. (always helps to have taylor blurt out to drew at the dinner table "who was that girl you were walking with today?!") (yes, we're also at the age where it is dangerous to walk past the bathroom because the cologne is so strong you can't breathe!!)

anyway, as i write this, drew & taylor are at a "teen dance" while ev, noah, ed & i are preparing for a game of mexican train (dominoes). ed has been in erie all week for his new job (training in erie for three weeks - we just completed the second week...), so we're anxious to hang out with him as much as we can before monday morning (5 AM!) one more week of the training and then he's able to be home during the week with a 14 minute commute (he keeps trying to find the quickest route - maybe he wants to beat my 3 minute commute??). so far, the job is good and he's excited about it. thanks be to God for this wonderful provision!!! :)

latest projects

just thought we'd share some of the latest changes to our home... recently, the living & dining rooms were switched (requiring the addition of a new doorway from the kitchen to the new dining room - glad my honey isn't limited to thinking "inside the box"!!) and just little odds and ends projects that are making us very happy! (i.e. landscaping outside, building a walkway, extending the front porch, rebuilding the pantry...)

girls weekend away

i know, i know. it has been a while since i've written... again... sorry. i've been busy! let me start getting caught up - in aug, i went away for a long weekend with some of my oldest friends (girls i grew up with) to celebrate our 30th birthdays! (okay, some of us are already 30 and preparing for 31, but it was tricia's actual 30th b'day while we were there and marye will hit the big 3-0 this november.) anyway, we had such a blast! i had no idea how much i needed some time with girlfriends and i enjoyed every moment. of course, i called ed every day and talked with the boys a few times while i was gone too, but other than that, i shut down and relaxed. it was so wonderful!! i love the beach... i love my friends... it was an excellent combination! we look pretty good for 30! wait, i'm the one who looks like a total slob... can i blame that on having 4 kids?!?!

great news!!

phew! well, after a really long time of searching and interviewing, ed was offered a great job yesterday! we're so excited - not just about having a new job that he's enthusiastic about, but also because it is such an answer to prayer. we know that this was completely God's doing... so many little details remind us of that! God's provision for us in the past year has been incredible - we're so grateful to Him for that. and for our friends and family who played a huge role in that provision as well. i'm just "bubbling up" with excitement and relief!!
now, i'm getting ready to head off to a beach trip with my elementary/middle school girlfriends to celebrate our 30th birthdays. this, too, is such a treat (made possible by a beloved friend!!) and i'm really excited about this getaway with friends... should be fun, relaxing and rejuvenating! and i hope this will be a good weekend for ed and the boys - just the guys again for a weekend. my only concern is what the house will look like when i get back... oh well. pics to come soon... i hope!

service team

ed & i are very aware of the fact that we have really good kids. seriously, as a step-mom, i'm particularly aware of what great boys ours are. but i do love to hear about other people discovering this about them too. in the past year, we heard quite a bit about drew & taylor being such great babysitters - both with little "fan clubs" of small children who adore them. most recently, i heard from at least a half dozen people about what great workers the boys are. a week ago, drew, taylor and noah (and ed) went to help with a "mini-mission team" to aliquippa (a town about 20 minutes away that was recently flooded during a rain storm). the team went to help clean out the mess left by the flood (quite a bit of damage in the basements of stores along the main street - apparently a very dirty and smelly job!) anyway, for the past week, every person i ran into who had been in aliquippa mentioned what hard workers our boys were - and great attitudes too!! (to be honest, this was surprising to me because they did not all leave with great attitudes that morning...) as you can see, they were a mess when they got back!!

anyway, i'm really proud of them. not just for being such good kids that other people compliment us on them (which is certainly great!), but also because they are willing to lend a hand to people who need help. this is exactly what we want to teach them and i'm glad to see them respond the way they do. (by the way, evan was too young to go on the trip, so he and i spent the day together and that was fun for us.)

The Arrival of Kara Grace Maslow!!

one more quick note must be added today - my sister, susie, gave birth yesterday to kara grace!! i'm so excited and can't wait to meet her! i don't know all the details, but will update this when i get them. and pictures too.
yeah!!! (and i was so certain she was going to be a boy!)

minnesota trip

so much for my bright idea about starting a blog. it seems these are only a good thing when they are actually updated... hmmm...
okay, so much has happened since i last wrote that i can't possibly update everything. so, here's a quick summary of our trip to minnesota for the 4th - we were away from june 30 - july 9 and we had a fabulous time with everyone, including my sister, kathy, and her family, who we stayed with during our drive there and back! we also celebrated our first anniversary while we were there. ed and i left the kids with his sister and we took off for a fun two-day "tour of the river cities along the st. croix". it was great to get away together and to celebrate. (to be honest, we were sorta celebrating the end of the "first year" because for us, it was pretty rough!)
we had at least a little time with everyone in the family this trip and so that was great. we spent most of our time with lucy & paul and their girls. that was wonderful, as usual. every time we ask the boys about their favorite part of the trip, the answer (for all four) is "being with cousins". i'm so sorry that they only get to see their family twice a year because they just relish every moment of it! and i'm so thankful for the family that ed comes from... what an incredible blessing! in addition to the people (certainly the best part), other highlights included the day at the race tracks (horses), the family reunion on the 4th, shari's play (and carly's on dvd), visiting the pig farm with jess and the day on the pontoon with grandma & grandpa. it was a great trip!!

we did so much on this trip and had so many great experiences, i can't even begin to write about them all right now. for me, this recent time with the abbotts was particularly great due to my interaction with the older nieces and nephews. i've come into the family so late... i've already missed so much of these kids' lives and i don't really know them. and that is so sad to me. on my side, the kids are really young, so ed has been around for most of their lives, but with the abbotts, i'm at a total disadvantage in regard to connecting with these college kids who will soon be out on their own - even with their own families! (i'm closer in age to shari & jess than i am to my husband... not unlike my own aunt janet. i would love to have the chance to be "friends" with my nieces the way janet is with us!) anyway, this last trip gave me special memories of my own with each of the older kids and i loved it!! God is so good to me - even when i don't seem to notice what is going on around me!

more later. :)

returning from my disappearing act

well i haven't updated in a while because i just haven't been up to it lately. i've been bogged down in my own little world of feeling sorry for myself and being frustrated with God and so i've just stuck my head in the sand and pulled away. i seem to do that a little too easily. here's what is going on with the pittsburgh abbotts:
ed is interviewing for a new job (again)... i really hope he connects with a job that will bring him pleasure in addition to a way to support our family. and while some stability to our daily lives would be wonderful, we will certainly struggle with the loss of having him available to do all sorts of much-needed work on our house!! ed has worked like a pro and made so many improvements to our home - inside and outside! lately, he worked a lot of on the outside: raising our front porch (8 inches!!) and extending it to wrap around the house, tearing down our cement steps and rebuilding steps to the front porch, laying a walkway from the street to the stairs, expanding our driveway, building a stone wall along one of the ridges in the backyard and cutting down trees and brush that were closing in our backyard. that's just the big projects he's accomplished so far this spring & summer!! this man that i am married to is amazing - he never ceases to amaze me with what he can do!! and i am thankful that, for the past two years, he had a job that allowed him a lot of time to work on the house. now, we enter a new phase when he starts a new job and i wonder how many house projects i'll start taking up??
okay, that's plenty for now. more later.

Phew!

okay, despite my feeling very confident that my test results would be good, i am SO relieved to actually know it to be true! i just got a call from my doc telling me that my "fibroadenoma" is nothing to worry about - and definitely benign. yeah!! so, that's the update. thanks - again - for all the prayers!!!

no news is good news?

well, there's been no news yet today. we're just waiting on the results of the biopsy. i'll keep everyone posted. thanks for all the prayer support... it seems to be working well, as my anxiety level is pretty low (considering) and i feel peaceful enough about it. keep praying!!

new experiences

well, this has been an interesting week. i've just returned from my very first mammogram (& sonogram) and i survived it. about a week ago, we found a lump in my breast, thus the mammogram, etc. because of said lump, i also got to experience a needle biopsy for the first time. good times. actually, none of it was nearly as bad as i feared. but, now i have to wait on the results. sometime early next week, i'm told. in the meantime, i have to just lay low and not strain myself. guess that leaves housework out for a while, right?

okay, so that was the bad news. here's some fun news. last night (wednesday) we got to go to the pittsburgh pirates baseball game and watch taylor (along with the rest of the sixth grade band) play the national anthem. it was so exciting! i was sick as a dog all day yesterday and up until the last minute didn't think i'd get to be there. but memories of missing important events because i get sick (like my sisters' double wedding...) and taylor begging me to come anyway made me pull myself together and head out. i'm so glad i did! how often will we have a kid performing the national anthem at a professional sporting event?! the band was great and we were all there to see it (ed, myself, the boys, my folks, carrie & frank and bob). taylor had quite the crowd cheering him on!

that's it for now. thanks for prayers, thoughts, calls, cards & gifts... i'm feeling very loved!! i'll keep you posted on the results.

the big green house on a hill...

well, for those of you who have never seen our home, here's an old photo of the outside at least. actually, i'm not sure how old this is, but it was taken before any abbotts lived there, because we've never seen the row of bushes along the left side of the yard (or at least i don't remember it!). anyway, it looks quite a bit different already - that big flowering bush (it died) is gone and the driveway is more than tire marks - but this gives an idea of where we live. the window at the top (now the younger 3 boys' bedroom) is the best view in town - looking over the village with a view of the river and the sewickley bridge too.

anyway, ed's uncle just celebrated the 50th anniversary of his entering the priesthood and so far, the cards i've picked out were unacceptable to my hubby... so i'm going to run out to try again. maybe there's a trick to this that a protestant girl wouldn't get?? :)

back to grace

way back at the start of lent (feb), our church started a study on grace. that series carried through to easter and was then followed by our current (thru july) study on galatians (we're working through the book in church and in our bible study). wow. this topic is hard for me to begin with. and now it has become infused into everything i do!
here's my struggle: i am more than happy to RECEIVE grace (particularly the Lord's saving grace!) but i am very hesitant to really give it. i want to only give "grace" to those who deserve it... which, of course, works directly against the concept of grace - undeserved merit!
and, in the midst of me trying to learn how to destroy my natural self in order to offer Jesus' grace to others, i'm a prime target for attempts to thwart those efforts!! in fact, in the past few months, i've probably had more "attacks" than i've ever had in my 30 years prior! we seem to get slammed at every turn and it becomes so hard to even want to give grace!
and while it is hard for me, it is also a great blessing that my hubby really takes this teaching to heart. i can't imagine how he does it, but ed continues to offer grace to those who lash out at him. it makes me want to fight to defend him and at the same time, i am unbelievably proud of him and the hard choices he makes. and i want to learn from his example and choose to be like Christ. oh, how i thank God for choosing this man to be my husband!!!

back to earth

i know, its been a really long time since i've left an update. sorry. its been a mix of things keeping me from posting anything: very busy at home and at work, being lazy, and waiting to tell what we hoped would be really good news. well, we're still busy - work is still keeping me on my toes and things at home haven't slowed a bit. in fact, things are busier! drew is still doing track and now we've added baseball for drew, noah & evan. taylor isn't participating in any sports, but his social life (and babysitting) seem to be taking off. so, we're pretty much all running wild from the minute we get home until bedtime. honestly, i'm still feeling pretty lazy... i'm trying not to be a control-freak, but i don't seem to have the "happy medium" down yet, so i drop a lot! as for the news (no, its not a baby - we're not even thinking that way yet)... we'd hoped to be announcing a new job for ed. for some time now, we've been convinced that the magazine he was working for was not a good fit for him after all. he's done an amazing job with it and created a great product, but he (we) tend to disagree with the parent company and it just wasn't what we thought it would be. ed resigned when we had high hopes about another opportunity that came up. but, that fell through. so, now ed is looking for a new job... anyone have a great lead for him?! :)
so, that's pretty much the update from us. i've still been working on borrowing a digital camera in order to show pics of the house, but then again, i'm crazy busy (read: disorganized) these days and still lazy... maybe someday.

funny story

today we were in church and it was time for communion. ed was playing drums, so the boys and i sat waiting for our turn to go forward. i went first, followed by the 4 boys. nothing out of the ordinary about that. i get back to my seat and immediately the boys are questioning me with concern... "did we do something wrong?" and "should i not have held my hands like this?". apparently, bill henry (our associate pastor) started laughing when the abbott boys came forward for communion and no one knew why. at the end of the service, bill came to find me because he wanted to tell me a funny story. i asked if it had to do with communion (not having any idea what might have made him laugh). he started laughing all over again. he said that he was passing out the wafers (bread) and noah abbott is standing behind me, looking very serious and wearing a name tag that read "joe mama" right in the middle of his chest. bill said he just started laughing and then throughout communion, he couldn't get the picture of noah out of his head (even as he handed out communion to sweet, little old ladies).
nametags for everyone are a new project of a new guy on our staff. i refuse to wear one because 1) i hate having my name visible like that and 2) my name is so uncommon that if people see it, they know that i am the buffy who works there... and suddenly, i'm working on a sunday. anyway, my not wearing a name tag causes some trouble between my co-worker and myself but maybe when he sees the nametags our kids are wearing every week, he'll back off. either that or i'm going to have to come up with a name to use... :)

march madness

to give a clue about what's going on in our home, let me just say that the boys were kept up past bedtime on wednesday night because there was a very important deadline on thursday... ncaa picks had to be determined before the tournament started!! yesterday afternoon was the start of our "family basketball season". all six of us have our brackets filled out and we've got some tough competition between us! (fyi, as i write this on friday, taylor and i are in the lead... and he's about to go down today!!) i shouldn't admit this on a blog that my family can read, but last night's vcu victory over duke was a good thing for me only... all of the abbott guys went with duke! (it might be my feelings toward my parents' dog - named duke, of course - that i decided not to go with them this year...)

anyway, its a good thing i like basketball because otherwise, i think i would be a "basketball widow" during march madness. the brackets make the games interesting enough for the boys too, because it stirs up all sorts of competition between brothers!!

ed has his first practice for soccer tonight. he's joined an "over 40" league with a bunch of guys from our town, so this should be fun (i hope!).

the middle school has a dance tonight, but drew doesn't want to go. he says it isn't fun to just stand around in a dark room with music playing... hmmm, i remember liking jr high dances quite a bit but as i remember those times, i'm secretly relieved that he's not interested! of course, maybe he doesn't like them because they don't usually play heavy metal music? (since that's all he listens to!) he's headed to a friend's house tonight and then gets to babysit his brothers tomorrow night while we go out for st. patty's day. track is going well, so far, but i'm taking him to a doctor on monday to check on his knee (football injury from the fall). better safe than sorry, so i want to be sure there's nothing really wrong before he gets too far into the season.

taylor was very excited about the dance, but then announced last night that he wasn't going. that will likely change back and forth several times before tonight, so we'll see. since drew joined the school track team, taylor's interest in the sport has grown considerably. i hope it lasts because we think taylor would love track (and be good at it!), but you can't be on the team until 7th grade, so he's got to wait until next spring. in the meantime, he's getting lots of compliments on his babysitting skills (kids just love him) and still working hard to keep on top of school assignments. taylor's latest interest is woodworking. as often as he can (or rather, when he can't play runescape on the internet), he's down in the basement working diligently. i have no idea what he's making, but he's gathering every spare piece of wood and hammering away!

noah called me as soon as i got to work today to ask for a new shirt. apparently his shirt got caught in his locker and ripped. apparently, the hulk look doesn't work at school. i don't know what it is about that kid and clothing, but he's a "work hard, play hard" kind of guy and his clothes often pay for it!! noah's doing great work at school and seems to be getting better and better at the bass clarinet (new instrument he picked up this year... a few months after we bought his clarinet! oh well!). he loves playing music and is really excited about the progress he's making. now, noah is just itching for spring to come. noah loves being in shorts and t-shirts and playing outside. at least he got a few days on the trampoline before this cold front hit us!

as for evan, things are pretty much the same. he's doing well at school and just takes pleasure in all sorts of "little things". last night, he had an "aunt lucy" moment when he got to rip his sock up (it had a big hole). between that and the basketball bracket competition, he was having a blast. you know how babies will get all excited about a box rather than some fancy, expensive toy? that's ev. kitchen tools continue to be a favorite, but he'll take just about anything and find a way to play with it. ev is still playing soccer (and getting better!) and is getting ready for baseball this spring. and like noah, he's anxiously waiting for nice weather to play outside in! ev's teacher is a big sports fan and so he was really excited to take in his brackets today to show mr. may!

okay, that's it for now. i'll try to get the boys to write updates over the weekend! maybe...

snow days

well, today is another snow day for the boys. originally they had a 2 hour delay and when i was sliding down the hill at 7 AM this morning to come to work, i figured that was a good call. to have the whole day off is a little ridiculous in my opinion, but oh well. they will spend the day at home, but wednesday is a "no electronics" day (nothing with screens) so it will likely be a very long day for them! then, we're back to the church for the pot-luck dinner lenten series. the little boys have kids activities while the big boys babysit and ed & i listen to really good teachings on grace.
actually, we're getting "grace" teachings and conversations every time i turn around! wonder if God is trying to tell me something?! some other day i'll write more about these thoughts but for now, i'll just mention that "grace" is such a hard thing for me! i'm way too much of a "right/wrong" mentality.
no real news on the boys other than drew starting track this week. we're into a whole new sport, but i think this one will be a good one for him!

lent with the abbotts

well, since i last wrote on ash wednesday, i figure i'll update you on our lenten experience thus far. the boys did well in the service last wednesday (although they were sitting in church doing homework... we have to get creative with busy schedules and heavy workloads!) and they were fascinated and freaked out a little about getting ashes on their foreheads. truthfully, i know they don't really get what the service was about, but it was a good introduction for them.
we've all chosen to give something up for lent (new for the boys): ed has given up chocolate & ice cream, drew - sweets and soda, taylor - legos and "doodling" in school, noah - sweets and evan- chocolate. for my part, i'm working on giving up my kneejerk reactions and giving grace... real grace, as in, when it isn't deserved and i don't want to give it! this is even harder for me than giving up chocolate in years before!! i'm sorry to say that we've each slipped up but we're pushing on and giong to try to make it to easter. i just know things are going to get ugly in a few weeks!! :)

this season (lent - easter) is usually pretty wacky for me at work as we have lots of events/services going on at church. i'm doing my best to delegate work in order to not have to carry the burden so much myself. i'm also trying to work ahead as much as possible. i've been doing pretty well with keeping my hours (not working later than i'm supposed to) but this season will be the test for me. so far, so good... we're only into the first week!

non-lent-related: we finally finished with the dentist yesterday (ev went 4 times in 8 days!)... now we get a break until august. phew! everything is good. they need to get started on braces (should have already, we're told) but their mom's new father-in-law is an orthodontist, so they will go to him and save everyone a lot of money! yeah!!

speaking of money, we're focusing on teaching the boys about managing money and because they don't quite have means to make money, we're going to go back to giving *meager* allowances (they tell us all the time how much more $$ their friends get... our offer is "take it or leave it") to the boys. every week they'll figure out savings, tithe and spending money and they will have to start using their own spending money. the older boys will be able to add babysitting money to their income, so its a really good time to start teaching them to manage money responsibly.

this allowance thing stresses me out. i didn't grow up with it (neither did ed) and i really don't want the boys to make an inaccurate connection between chores and allowance. we're specifially emphasizing that the boys are NOT being paid to do chores (taylor asked me today if he could not do chores and not get allowance...) we've told them that the two are not related and chores have to be done regardless of receiving money. however, ed has promised me that we're not shelling out allowances if chores aren't done. anyway, the allowance starts next month... so far, it looks like we won't have to pay much because if things continue as is, the "no chores, no allowance" punishment will save us money!

that's it for now. i'm off to tackle some filing... good times.

my mundane life...

our small group (bible study) has decided to shift to wednesday nights during lent in order to attend a special teaching/potluck dinners at the church together instead. it should be a nice break to have a few thursdays open and not have to worry about the condition of the house. of course, that might be dangerous for me too...

anyway, there is no dinner at church tonight (ash wed) but we're all meeting at our house for dinner first and then going to the service. that's 14 for dinner and i haven't cleaned my kitchen or prepared my lasagna yet! augh! this is one of those frustrating things about work... i have to be here because its my job but i could be so much more productive if i were home right now!! (to make matters worse, i'm waiting on others' information & write-ups in order for me to meet a deadline and there isn't really much i can do while i wait. so, i'm reorganizing & cleaning out files i've found from the past two decades!!!) oh well.

the boys and i have spent quite a bit of time at the dentist this week - cleanings for all four on monday, then drew & taylor went back yesterday for sealants while ev was there yesterday getting cavities filled (baby teeth, thankfully!). ev & noah both return friday for more work. (fyi, ev's repeated visits are not necessary because of bad dental hygiene (although he's 9 and care for his teeth isn't at the top of his priorities...) but it turns out he's got a tooth that has no enamel on it. this was probably caused when he was in the womb and will someday be "corrected" with a crown. but, until he stops growing, we have to make repeated visits to try and cover/protect his "special tooth" as best we can.) that's it for now. (fascinating, wasn't it?!)

weekend update... the long version!

well, its been a regular whirl-wind around our home lately. first, we've made some alterations to the living room paint and now it looks fabulous!! ed has done such a great job and has really worked hard and it has paid off!!! we love the room and are anxious to get the dining room painted now that the living room looks so good. you know, fixing up a really old house was on my "list of things to do before i die" so i'm trying to remind myself of that when i get frustrated with the never-ending projects. of course, i should mention that i don't actually do much of the fixing up anyway. ed does most of the labor while i watch. truthfully, its probably better that way.
in the past several weeks, the boys have had A LOT of time off from school. first they had every other monday off in january, then they got 3 or 4 snow days + a few delays because of weather. this is crazy! i distinctly remember gateway NEVER having days off for weather!! sure, it happens now with my kids... so i have to get creative with my work schedule or strategically arranging play time at friends' homes! oh well. the boys are loving it (and getting so used to it that when they had to go to school at the normal time last friday, they were totally out of whack.) surprise. surprise. they have tomorrow off too... wouldn't want to spend president's day learning about the presidents or anything! sadly for them, mondays are "no electronics" days at our home so they will have a long day of homework, games & puzzles & playing outside and no tv, computer or video games. oh, and the day will be broken up by a visit to the dentist for all 4. good times. :)
this weekend was crazy busy (when aren't we crazy busy?!) with sleepovers for ed and noah (that's right - ed. he had an overnight with a new bible study group of guys), so i took the other three to a movie. drew & i stayed up late watching a movie at home and around 12:40 am, the phone started ringing. having been a teenage girl myself once, i was certain the calls were for drew. (anyone remember the call to 3ws "for mike & mike from buffy & jenny"?!?!) sure enough, by the 15th hang up i answered the phone and heard "um, is drew there?" i was so frustrated by the constant phone calls (hang ups after giggles) but i didn't want to do anything to embarrass drew. so, i said "if i let you talk to him, will you please stop calling?" she replied yes & he took the phone. i listened as he replied with a monotonous "no" to a number of questions and then he hung up. turns out he was being questioned about his opinion of each girls' "hotness". ahhh, to be 13. (by the way, this is a good time to publicly thank my parents for their "no calling boys" rule. i think fear of getting caught "chasing a boy" probably spared me much humiliation!!)
after the late night calls, taylor had me up by 8:30... on a saturday morning. ugh! so, i made cinnamon & orange rolls and we did breakfast in bed - again with a movie. :) ev joined us and we had a lovely morning. finally, everyone arrived home & drew woke up and we tackled a cleaning day (1/2 hour of cleaning followed by 1/2 hour of breaks for the boys to play until the house was clean - not a bad arrangement!) before our big fondue night. our "fondue friday" had to move back a day because of the overnights. we did our regular chicken & steak fondue with cheese fondue with break & broccoli. this is a definite favorite meal in our home!!
today was just as full - drew babysat at church last night and taylor took his turn this morning (both in the preschool room), we got to witness the baptism of our good friends' baby (mark & crystal's baby, ava) then rushed noah to a birthday party before stopping in at ava's baptism party. we ducked out of that party to head over to the hodils' home for the annual daytona 500 party. the abbotts are not really nascar fans, but bryan hodil makes the race fun with contests for "the big prize" (won by noah two years ago!), so we get into the race because of the contest. it was totally fun, as usual!! unfortunately, the abbotts didn't win this year but the winner (dave, the "fun, big kid" according to the boys) graciously shared his winnings with some very excited boys. finally, we left that party and headed back to church for the worship concert being put on by our friends on the music team (ed wasn't drumming for this one). the boys were not quite as into this part of the day, but ed & i loved it. it was an incredible concert and we were glad to experience it. now, we're home and relieved about the no school day tomorrow (although i'm a little anxious to get to the office in the morning... i could use a break!).

making progress

you know, we often feel like we take a step forward and then 2 steps back... however, as of last evening (about a half hour before our small group arrived!) we have a newly painted living room!! yeah!!!!! before i went to work in the morning, ed & i agreed to a sand color for the walls and a deep, burnt red for the fireplace and our "someday" entertainment center... then i got a call from ed saying that he came home with a green color for the walls! anyway, my major fear was that our living room would be "christmas colored" and i wasn't crazy about that. but the shades of both colors are not at all holiday like and they really look nice together. (at least, that's what we think so far!) so, the room is painted and looks so different - it's wonderful! and if we do determine it looks "christmas-y", then we don't have to do as much to decorate in december!! :)

i think our next goal is to complete the dining room. that will be fabulous when we're done with it! now, if we can just keep up our momentum!

other than that, we're just carrying on. we've got a long weekend because the boys don't have school monday, so i'm taking some comp time to be home with them. i like that idea - not working from home, but taking the day off. (sometimes it pays to have to work some weekends!)

we're in trouble now!

okay, thanks to joy coming over last night for dinner, i finally have internet on my computer (sadly, its been since last march!!) here's the real benefit: my computer is in the "utility room" which means the room with the laundry (read "buffy's room"). okay, laundry and a computer with internet access = i'm never leaving this room!!! :) (for those of you feeling sorry that i do laundry for 6 people, don't. i love doing laundry. its a sickness.)

i'm just so excited, it's pathetic. and even though ed was excited for me last night while Joy worked to get me set up, i suspect he will be less happy about this new arrangement when he discovers i'm up here blogging at 4:45 and i've got nothing planned for dinner... gotta run! thanks, joy!!! :) :) :)

bragging about drew...

okay, enough of the "soul searching" stuff... here's a family update instead:

first, how exciting it was to read our school district's weekly newsletter and find the following:
... recent Math Olympiads competitions... Congratulations to ... high scorer ... seventh grader Drew Abbott... YEAH DREW!!! (okay, it was a long paragraph with several names, so i'm just forwarding the important parts!) and earlier in the year, drew received an award for a comic book he made for his language arts (read "english class") called "fruits vs veggies". we're so proud of him!!

other updates... grades just came out and everyone is doing well, for the most part! (how anyone can get a low grade in phys ed is beyond me, but i guess this will teach our boys to be responsible about remembering gym clothes!!) we're getting ready for baseball for drew, noah & evan (following ev's soccer season thru march) and we're looking (again) for a great activity for taylor - maybe a track team!

we're still making progress on the house (sorry, no pictures yet... working on the camera situation - again!), but our projects seem to be very slow going! ed & i worked hard over the weekend - ed mudding the dining room to prep for painting and i went after the rest of the wallpaper in the living room. with every new step completed, we find another layer to the project... these seem to be the "home improvement projects that never end!!" the walls in the living room didn't come out quite as we'd hoped, so we're working out our plan b... can i just say how thankful i am to have such a handyman for a husband?! he's fabulous!! we're always working on something and sadly haven't finished anything yet! but, we'll get there. we're in no hurry anyway - we've got a lifetime to work on this house! :)

oh, thanks for your prayers & concern for john (ed's brother) - keep praying! no news yet. he returns to the doctors mid-feb. i'll keep you posted!

counseling session?!?

i've had a memory running through my mind a lot lately... i remember - not too many years ago - someone who i love very much telling me (accusing me?) that i'd not ever had my faith in Jesus tested in the way hers was. she was rightfully telling me not to judge her decisions or even her questions. i just couldn't understand. that whole experience changed my life. and now, the memory comes to my mind so often and it is changing me all over again.

when i first started working at st. stephen's, i was asked to participate in our 301 class which tests for spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, and personality types. then you write an essay about your experiences. in 2001, i shared my "most painful experiences". i wrote about my sexual assault in my junior year of college and my college boyfriend's cancer diagnosis (senior year). at that point in my life, those were the hardest things i'd ever been through. at one time, i felt i would never "get over" those awful experiences. i didn't, but i did get through them. and i experienced healing (by the way, scott is healthy and has been in remission for years!).

in 2003, i took 301 again and realized that my "most painful experiences" had been replaced with new ones. this time, i wrote about my broken engagement and the experience whose memory seems to haunt me now (the friendship that was altered by the "faith testing" i mentioned before). again, both of these experiences affected me in ways i can't even express. both my past and my future were shaken and really changed forever and i didn't really know how to make sense of it. somehow, my knowledge of God convinced me that everything would work out and i would need only to wait.

well, years later (and in a whole new world of marriage & parenting), i have wonderful, glorious experiences that are better than i could have hoped for. but now, fears (that probably stem from these experiences and have been carefully locked away for years) are coming out in full force. and my "knowledge" of God doesn't seem to be holding me up anymore. this is the kind of "faith testing" i suspect my beloved friend experienced - testing that doesn't make sense and can't be explained to anyone who hasn't experienced it. i'm living daily through an inner battle between my emotions/fears and my mind/knowledge. it is scary and uncertain and overwhelming and so many other things. (hello? like i don't have enough to deal with?!)

i really hesitate to write this. geez, i'm afraid to share this with anyone and here i am, expressing it to everyone who reads this! but my tendency to "weigh my words" and not share anything that might somehow come back and slap me is overpowered by my strong desire to be released from the oppression fear places over me. here i am - working in my church, surrounded by wonderful people who know and love Jesus - lacking hope and struggling to trust God and His plan for my life. i know my struggle lies with surrender. i'm a control freak and i'm failing to trust that the Lord's plan is better than mine. so, i'm trying to learn to surrender. every day. every hour. every minute.

so, there you have it. my heart laid open and bare. truthfully, this whole "experience" is ugly and exhausting. thankfully, i have much-loved friends & family who are my "stretcher bearers", carrying me to Jesus when i don't have the strength myself - they trust & hope for me and give great encouragement. and i'm praying for a change in my heart. i want to live beyond following the rules and really experience the freedom in surrender that ed tells me about!! :)

"Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down!"

my boss, geoff, brought me a special gift yesterday. here i am, 30 years old, and he brings me a weeble. for those of you who don't know or remember what a weeble is, it is a little child's toy that is shaped like an egg and you can make it wobble, but it doesn't fall down. he reminded me that while the weeble looks very unsteady and teeters back and forth, its foundation is stable and it always comes back to its upright (and still) position. in case you've missed the connection, geoff knows that i feel like i'm teetering in every direction and feeling very unsteady as i navigate through new waters every day. his reminder of my steady and strong foundation was such an encouragement.
on sunday, we sang a song that states "You are my shield, my strength, my portion, deliver, my shelter, strong tower, my very present help when i'm in need"... i just cried as i sang this song of praise to God, knowing that even when i don't feel His presence, i can trust that He's right there with me. the Lord is my strong foundation; while i may wobble for some time to come, i won't fall down. (unfortunately, i need lots of reminders about this, so i'm keeping my little weeble close by!)

The Big 3-0

okay, so it came and went and wasn't nearly the horrible day i once expected. :) i took the day off on friday and enjoyed a great morning at home doing only the things i wanted to do. ed came home between meetings so that we could spend some time together before the boys came home. we took the dogs and went for a walk. the guys had a 1/2 day of school (did we get this much time off?!) and were home by lunch. the afternoon was also pretty peaceful (with a few runs to the store & driving kids around) and then ed took the boys shopping. thankfully, having more quiet time to myself, i was promted to treat myself to a long shower and time to look half decent for our pizza & game night at home (my requested b'day plans) - after evan's soccer game. (by the way, noah predicted that ev's team would win in honor of my birthday - they'd never won a single game yet... they won!! yeah!!!) so, i was cleaned up, enjoyed hanging out with my friend, nancy, at the game and we left to head home for dinner. however, ed wanted to stop at home depot first. the boys were whining, but ed promised it would be quick. what on earth would he want to get for me at home depot... ?? i waited in the car trying to think of what project at home he was going to tackle for me. then, ramsey called and because we were so near his house, i wasn't surprised that ed wanted to stop by. we drove up and ed asked if i wanted to run in (with the car running and all 4 boys waiting)... i asked if cecy was home and followed him in. i walked in to see ramz on the phone and looked around for cecy. but as i walked in, i noticed that they had people around in the living room. then, i looked and saw jim brooks (didn't even see melissa!) at the same time i heard "surprise!!" there was my surprise birthday party! funny, so many things didn't even occur to me... i really was surprised! it was such fun. lots of good food, great friends and fun conversations. :)
then, this morning, the celebration continued. since the boys didn't get to give me their gifts (it would have given away the party, had they brought gifts to the soccer game...), i got breakfast in bed (!) followed by another round of gift opening. it was great. i got earrings from taylor, a ring from ev, scarf, hat & glove set from noah and a "little miss bossy" shirt from drew (kenyon kids, do you remember the "little miss..." and "mr. ..." books?!).
oh, and lest i forget the gift from my in-laws: not only did they send wonderful "pampering" things for me, they also sent along bars of soap for ed and the boys!!! boy, does sharon understand what i live with or what?! :)
so, that's the big birthday news. today, ed and the boys are putting up more insulation (although i hear lots of yelling and running around in the backyard and suspect ed is stuck working alone a lot) and then we are going to a movie (after i get the homemade pizza i requested yesterday!). tomorrow we head to nana & ace's (my parents) for a big family birthday dinner (my birthday, but the boys get gifts - they haven't had their "Christmas with nana & ace" yet).
thanks for all the birthday wishes! turning 30 was lovely. can't wait to do it again next year! (hey, i can't be a twenty-something mom of teenagers, but i can stay at 30, right?)

the end of my 20s...

well, tomorrow is the big day. the big 3-0. i remember 30 always seemed so old. now, it doesn't seem old at all. truth is, i still feel like a kid. (of course, now when people tell me i look like a kid, i'm starting to appreciate it rather than resent it...)

i guess if anyone is bothered by this birthday, it would be ed. he says he'll miss telling people that he's in his 40s and his wife is in her 20s. oh well. it was fun for a while. :)

my life doesn't look anything like what i thought it would be at 30, but i like the way it does look. i always thought my life would look like my moms... so that would put me giving birth to girl #3 at 30... um, yeah, not my life. the nice thing is, at 30, i've already got 4 kids who can go to the bathroom all by themselves! now, keeping the bathroom clean is another story, but if i have to choose, i'm good with what i've got.

i'm taking the day off tomorrow, choosing to enjoy my day at home. after a morning all to myself, the boys have early dismissal and will be home with me for lunch and the afternoon. ed and the boys have plans for "family fun" the rest of the day. yeah!! :) i know its childish, but i really love birthdays!!

catching up... yep, this is long

sorry for not posting anything new (to any of you who have checked lately)... please forgive me. i'm going to try to do some quick catching up (and maybe you'll see why i haven't had time to blog!). first, we had a GREAT time in MN with the abbott clan. we traveled all day friday and arrived late that night at lucy & paul's (ed's sister & hubby). the next morning, john walked in the door and shared the good news - no second surgery that week! thank GOD! (john's in a "wait & see" mode with the doctors. in mid-february (?), he'll go back for a scan and that's when they will look to see if there are any remains of his tumor. that's also when decisions about radiation/chemo/surgery will be determined. he looked great and it was a relief for the boys especially to see uncle john looking as well as he did. (poor guy had taylor pretty much hanging on him every chance he got!)
on our way home, we wrote down all of the fun things we did with our family (the highlight for everyone was seeing uncle john, of course, but the rest of the week was great too!). among the exciting adventures: the mall of america (cindy & i will never shop with paul again!), boot hockey and ice hockey on the lake at grandma & grandpa's, game night at cindy & tom's, checking out rick & cheri's wonderful new home, midnight mass for Christmas eve (not drew's preferred service! - drew got sick Christmas morning!), sledding - despite the total lack of snow! apparently, it was more like a slip-n-slide... swimsuits might have been helpful! - and, of course, the "full family" Christmas day party at the hotel (everyone was there! we can't wait to get a copy of the photos!) and the bowling party (where buffy was actually on the winning team!! okay, thanks mainly to anthony & paul...) - both of which were wonderfully fun!! okay, that was just Christmas! geez!
New Year's was fun - the kids were gone so we went to a party with our small group where we had such a great time playing cards that i (buffy) ended up having to drag ED out because i was so tired! since then, we've just been trying to get back into something close to "normal". soccer starts up again for evan and noah is starting on a new instrument (from clarinet to bass clarinet - it's almost bigger than he is!). taylor tried out for baritone sax (he currently plays alto sax)... no decision yet. hmmm, i guess there's nothing new for drew at the moment... ? he's getting geared up for the next season of baseball. this spring he moves up into a tougher bracket and he's dreading it. but he & ed are working on his batting, so maybe when the season starts, he'll feel better prepared than in past years.
well, that's about it. i should confess that my house is a disaster zone - i've done NO laundry or cleaning at all lately (augh!) - because seeing both sides of our family shamed me into finishing our wedding thank you notes! i'm sorry to those of you who will receive our tardy thanks. we may not have told you right away - but we're very grateful and have been all along! :)
now that i'm done writing those (thus the condition of our home), i think ed & i are finally going to sit down and look at our wedding pictures and choose those! wait, that will come after the house gets cleaned... then we'll do pictures. my sister, kathy, gave us a deadline for the pics (very helpful - i work well with deadlines!), so we have to tackle this job before january 31... (but i'll try to fit in updates in the meantime too!)