Stranded!

The east coast has had an epic snowstorm with more predicted. Unfortunately, the boys were supposed to fly home via Dulles in Washington D.C. No flight in or out of there for 3 days in a row. So, for now they are blissfully stranded in Florida. Rough luck. Not sure how or when they're getting home. Stay tuned...

Happy birthday baby girl

Today my beautiful daughter is 15 years old. I can't imagine life without her. Despite a rough start (extreme colic, reflux & general grumpiness) that lasted nearly a year, she has turned out to be the most Mary Poppins-like child. Super responsible, helpful, dependable, smart, talented, loving & beautiful--just to name a few of her admirable qualities. I am so blessed to have her in my life. Happy birthday baby girl. I love and adore you!

Houston, we have liftoff!

The launch was a go today! There was great rejoicing in Florida. The weather cooperated there & at the Spain abort site, the crowds were much less & everyone is happy! I even got caught up in the excitement & watched the live feed online, leaving me fairly sleep deprived, especially after getting up with each of the babes 3 times (apiece!). What a night! Parenting is not for the faint of heart or stamina. So happy for the boys. Today they are off to get up close & personal with some gators. Really close...

Scrubbed!

Well, the boys waited all night on the Florida coastline in 40 degree weather only to have the launch scrubbed just minutes before it was supposed to go. Mission control felt like the clouds were enough of a problem to cancel. To add insult to injury, it took them 3 hours to get back to Orlando because of all the traffic and on their way back the sky was cloudless & sunny. Sad day :( Hope they get some sleep & make it a good day anyway.

Kennedy Space Center

The boys had a tremendous time touring the Kennedy Space Center the last 2 days. Tonight they'll wait up hoping to catch the launch scheduled for 4:39 am. Things are looking good. They say it's about an 80% chance of going. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we're just humming along without them. No major issues, just busy, busy, busy this week.

The eagle has landed...

The boys are off to Florida today to fulfill a lifelong dream for the hubby--to see a space shuttle launch in person. Since he had a business trip in Atlanta, it made sense for him to hop down a state & stay a couple extra days to try & catch the last ever night launch in the space shuttle program (my idea--pretty brilliant I thought!) Of course, he said it wouldn't be as much fun to see it alone, so after a lengthy discussion, we decided to send the big boys for a very memorable (we hope) weekend with Dad.

Tomorrow & Saturday they will tour the Kennedy Space Center & maybe hit the beach. Then, hopefully they'll catch the launch in the wee hours of Sunday morning. We're keeping our fingers crossed that they don't scrub it (as I write this it's 11:11 honey--I think that's a good sign!)

Sunday they will head back towards Gainesville & Jacksonville to tour the old missionary stomping grounds. That's right--the Jacksonville, FL mission 1988-1990. How convenient!

Matthew's facebook status for today--got to drive on I-5 & I-95 in the same day. How cool is that?

Hope you have a great time boys!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

Today is my parent's 52nd anniversary. Even though Dad has been gone for 20 of those years, I still think of him often and I am very grateful for the good marriage that they had & the wonderful parents they were and are. Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. I love you!

How long can it take?

"How about if we hang those shelves in the garage honey? How long can it take?" I say. As my husband refrains from laughing hysterically, I start to smirk with the ridiculousness of the statement myself. This same husband has just spent 6 hours hanging blinds, curtain rods, shelves & pictures in the girl's room. A project we figured would take a couple hours at the most. It's the bane of our existence--being utterly & completely overly optimistic about how long it takes to accomplish "stuff" at our house. How long can it take we say, as we start too late to get ready for church, slipping into "our" pew (that thankfully the locals have saved for us again) 30 seconds too late. How long can it take to clean up the kitchen, or do some laundry......

How long can it take to raise 8 kids--well, about 40 years for us. Wow, what a realization!