Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas?…….

*walking through living room, stopping, tilting head to side*

“What the…?!?”

Merry Christmas from the Ence’s!

18 on Friday

Somebody help me…………….

Really, when people say to enjoy your babies because they grow up so fast, LISTEN TO THEM!  They are not kidding.  Seriously.

This is just the first of many senior pictures to come.  Many.

(I think I’m going to have those converse shoes bronzed!)

The Rebel

Happy Fall Y’all!

It’s the first day of November and I have officially worn a jacket.  Now, it’s Fall!

Photo by Melanie Beal 2007

Face-painting Fun!

Our neighbor across the street needed some models to practice on for a Fall Festival at her church.  You should have seen the line of volunteers down the driveway!  I think she’s ready!

Boredom has Many Faces

So a couple of weeks ago it rained.  Weird, I know.  Brantley finished her reading for school and her chores and then jumped on the computer (not literally obviously).  She loves “Fetch” on PBS Kids.  I love watching her watch  “Fetch”!  I don’t think she even noticed I was there until right at the end.  Must have been a good episode!

Not a Craft Blog…But I’ve Been Featured on One!

So, how about that?! I’ve been featured over at Craftaholics Anonymous.  I’ve even been asked to do a tutorial?  Seriously?  Must be all that free time I have now that the girls are all in school.  I’m a crafting beast the last couple of weeks.  I’ll have a skirt to share in a couple of days so check back on my “not a craft blog” soon.

Still NOT a Craft Blog

I’m a sucker for Fall colors, and burlap.  So, on a trip to Joann last week I couldn’t stop myself from buying a little bit of every color they had.  Then the question was, “What to do with it?”  Well, here is what I did with it:

 

Fall can’t get here fast enough!

Please!

Go to this blog!  It is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  Wish I had thought of it!

Mila’s Daydreams

Here’s a little teaser:

Just call me Ms. Hannigan

 

To quote the world’s most loveable evil orphanage mother

“Some women are drippin' with diamonds.  Some women are drippin' with pearls.   Lucky me, lucky me, look at what I'm drippin' with…….Little girls!” 

Love my girls by the way!

But COME ON!  Finally we get a real honest-to-goodness boy toy and just look what happens.  It ends up as a means of transportation for no less than a UNICORN!  I’m sorry Spike.  Your roar just doesn’t evoke the same fear that it once did.

Discovery…

I just found this picture of Mallory that was taken from Emmigration Canyon in Salt Lake in March.  I love the wind blowing her hair around her face.  She was so excited for this trip and it was fun to see her face light up at every little (and big) thing.  The mountains, snow, and moose were all new and amazing.

Look at What We Found

It’s all in the eyes. 

And yes, she is still a fan of electric green gum! 

(which I know I could PhotoShop out but then it wouldn’t really be Sierra.)

the Last 12 Months

23 plane tickets

10 rented cars

14 hotels

1 therapist

1 residential treatment center

1 private school

2 psychiatrists

1 family practice doc

1 orthopedic surgeon

2 surgeries (one for each knee)

1 very dedicated physical therapist (2-3 days per week for 5 months)

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

Was it painful? Yes.

Scary? Frequently.

Are we broke? Duh!

Will we recover?  Some day.

Was is worth it?  Absolutely!

Do I have more to share?  Yep, but I will practice moderation!  My head is so full right now I’m not sure where to start.

Sierra and Felicity are Both Home

Safe and sound, with all limbs intact.  More to come……

We need an Ambulance!

Just a bit of drama here last night.

This is not good. (It looks quite painful actually)  Felicity will be in a box on her way to the American Girl Doll Hospital tomorrow.

This is now an OUTSIDE dog.

Stop smiling at me mutt.  Not even Daddy can save you now!

“I've now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest”

I love this description of the Oscar Wilde play:

“A Trivial Comedy for Serious People”

And I love the movie version.  Just watched it on Netflix and though it is silly and ultimately makes little sense, it’s got Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Reese Witherspoon, Frances O’Conner, Tom Wilkerson, and Judy Dench.  What’s not to like with a cast like that?!

Oh, and just a little something for the yummy factor!

(swoon)

A Few of My Favorite Things

When the dog barks, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad…………………

I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad.

Here are just a few that make me happy right now:

 Mallory’s Cartwheels.  She has just learned this new trick and is upside-down more than she is rightside-up these days.  I love the sound of “Mom, watch this”

Brantley!  She brings humor to everyday, ordinary situations without even trying. 

“I am Sam”. (2001)  I’m not sure how this movie got past me.  Look at how little Dakota Fanning is!  And she is amazing in this movie.  As is Sean Penn who I usually avoid like the plague!  Maybe that’s why I never watched it before.  If you have not seen this movie, stop whatever you are doing right now, including reading my blog, and watch it.  If you have Netflix you can watch it instantly.  And you should, watch it instantly, right now!  (Make sure you have a hankie) And just an FYI- the Beatles inspired soundtrack will be on my Ipod ASAP!

My girl’s best friends.  They all have one.  Goofy, sometimes unpredictable, but always there for them.  They have made good choices.  I love their buddies.

Orange sandals!   Not just any orange sandals mind you.  These orange sandals from the Clark’s Unstructured line.  They are waiting for me Dillards and will hopefully be mine sooner or later.  My old brown sandals are already unwearable so sooner rather than later would be awesome!  And yes, orange goes with anything brown would go with.  Trust me.

Prom Girls

Belinda attended a church prom in Atlanta (GA Tech campus) with a few of her friends.  I didn’t get many details but I believe that boys were met and good times were had by all!  I didn’t have time to do the full “Elizabeth Bennett” up-do but I did manage to get some pearls in her hair.

On Faith…

 

Westley: I told you I would always come for you. Why didn't you wait for me?
Buttercup: Well... you were dead.
Westley: Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.

Buy My Chairs

"Every woman has her chair, something she needs to put herself into, Banes. You ever figure out what Lisa's chairs were and buy 'em? "

If you’ve seen the movie “Phenomenon” you get the chairs line.  If not, go watch it. 

Now, I’m pretty sure no one is reading this blog.  The number of comments I get from actual people as opposed to stalkers and advertisers is so low as to be quite embarrassing.  So,  just leave a comment please.  Otherwise I’m not sure why I’m doing this at all. 

Teri

The strongest, most gracious, loving, and generous woman I know.  At a time when your heart and soul are aching you strive to bring peace to others.  I am better because I know you.  And thank you on behalf of the entire world for raising the next generation of kind, and gentle men.  They love their mama and the Lord.  You are doing everything right.  I love you!

 

But the fact that you are not a saint is one of the things I love the most about you!

Hey, with four boys, what are you gonna do?

Between Here and There

These flowers make me happy.  Let me tell you why.  These flowers are a collection of what can be found between my house and the middle school.  Kendall and Brantley stopped several times yesterday on their way home from dropping Baylee off at school to collect these blooms for me.  So, it took some time, and thought, and excitement, and planning, and lots of love to locate, pick, hold, arrange, and give them to me.  It’s like sunshine and love on my table.  That’s why they make me happy.

Shake your Groove Thang

Fabulous night!  The Columbus High School Chorus department had their Spring Concert tonight and it was awesome!  (as usual)  The theme was “The 70’s”  which was a great follow-up to last year’s 60’s themed show.  I’m sure next year’s theme will be totally tubular.  I can hardly wait!

I think Belinda may have been born into the wrong decade though.  Her disco dance moves were uptight and outta sight! 

“Good Morning Charlie”

Oh my, where is the time going?

Count your blessings

I am a fan of the late Dorothea Lange.  She was a black and white photographer in the first half of the 20th century.  Below are 4 pre-World War II photographs, taken for the U.S. Farm Security Administration (FSA), investigating living conditions of families hired to work in cotton fields and farms in Arizona and California.  She was originally hired by the government to take photos of the dust-bowl landscape to be used to track the devastation and progress towards improvement but she found that her passion was the people.  She began taking portraits of the people living in the areas and conditions she was hired to photograph.  The government found these photographs to be as useful, if not more so, than photos of the landscape alone.  These three touch me.  They remind me of how truly blessed I am.  They remind me to be grateful for my home, my husband (gainfully employed) and the modern conveniences that make our lives almost too easy. 

 

For Sierra

This is NOT a Craft Blog.

Although I must admit to a slight obsession with craft blogs.  I love to see what others are doing and creating.  I have intentions to repeat everything I see and yet, I never do.  Something has rubbed off on me though.  I recently purchased a dress off the clearance rack at Old Navy for $1.97.  I thought that if it didn’t fit it would at least make a good night shirt.  I tried it on and decided that I liked it but unfortunately it was a little on the short side.  I wore it that night as the intended night shirt and my dear hubby said “Hey, I like that dress.  Why are you wearing it now?”  *explanation ensues*  Dear hubby says “Why don’t you just add a ruffle or something at the bottom?”    This is what comes from a loving, kind, patient, husband who comes when I call him to say “look at this!” while I am perusing craft blogs.  He said I ought to know how to do it after all the time I spend looking at tutorials for things I never make.  He can be a smart alec but he’s usually right.  So, I give you, the no-longer-too-short, no-longer-$1.97, brown dress: ( Sorry I couldn’t get the model to come back for the second shoot)

Before:

After:

Hypothe-What?

I was in the drive-thru teller line at the bank earlier today.  Brantley was waiting patiently in the back for her lollipop when suddenly from out of the blue she says “Mom, I have a hypothesis.”  *jaw drop*  “Really,” I said, “what is that?”  She then proceeded to explain to me how the vacuum tube system works at the drive-thru.  I had never really thought about it but as she was describing it I realized she was right on.  After I got over how mechanically inclined she is I asked her if she knew what the word ”hypothesis” means.  She says (wait for it) “Yeah, it’s an idea that you can test.”  Exact quote, I swear!  Well, as my very southern Mimi used to say “Smarty had a party!”  I did call Kendall to see if he had been discussing this with her and his jaw hit the floor quicker than my did.  When I asked her where she heard that word she said “Dinosaur Train”.  Love me some PBS Kids!

So Ugly It’s Cute

It’s like E.T.  It’s my new office chair.  I needed a chair for my office space that would not kill my back or fall apart at random times.  So, I went to Ikea.  I should have known that if I went to Ikea I would come with something so ugly it was cute, and I did.  It matches nothing in my home and I don’t even care (and that’s big for me!).  It’s comfy and I love it!

January in Utah=Cold Horses

I just got an e-mail from the mother of one of Sierra’s friends at Solstice.  She took this picture of us at our January Parent Seminar.  Wow, I never end up on that side of a camera!  I remember that morning as being SO COLD!  Brantley was loving the snow.  Belinda and Sierra threw snowballs to the farm dogs.  Luckily they have a covered barn so the actual activity with the horses was indoors.  The trade-off is that there is nowhere for the smell to go! 

It was a good day.  I’m glad to have a picture of it.

I’m like the grandma that gives the grandkids too much sugar even though she wouldn’t have given it to her own kids…

Sugar ‘em up, take their picture, send ‘em home!

Sick Day

Really people, it’s been a vomit-fest around here for the last 24 hours.  Poor Mallory always seems to take it a little harder than the rest of us.  Poor thing.  When she was finally able to sit up and she was no longer green, she was in the mood for “Kung Fu Panda”.  She knows how to get Dad to sit on the couch with her for an hour and a half. :)

Favorite from today

This is pure joy right here.  His mother may never forgive me!