Wow!  I had no idea it had been almost 2 weeks since I blogged…and unfortunately, there isn’t going to be much tonight!  As much as I absolutely adore the Christmas season, it keeps you so busy!  I promise to take a few photos of what I’ve been up to over the last 2 weeks and post them this weekend.  Avery and I did some shopping today and I am so excited about seeing the girls’ faces on Christmas!  Also, we got Julia a new dress for the Holly Ball.  Bailey aleady got her dress a few weeks ago, and I know they are going to be so beautiful!

One other thing we are very excited about this week is that our Life Group from church decided to adopt the family Thayer blogged about here for Christmas.  The grandmother is raising six grandchildren and great-grandchildren between the ages of 4 and 13.  We are all going shopping (about 15 adults and 14 children!) together Sunday night.  Maybe I’ll take a few photos then too!!  Being generous to others is the best part of Christmas!  (I really, really, really love decorations and lights, too!) 

Hope your holidays are off to a great start!  Enjoy celebrating our Savior’s birth with a bang!!!

Well, we made it!  The girls were in the play this weekend and we had Thanksgiving with our family.  12  people and only 1 shower due to the leak/shower issue we still haven’t resolved since last week!  Bailey’s Indian project got turned in on time (complete with an edible long house!) and she made a 110!  It was a “miracle” we got it all done, but, all was well and now we are already flying through another week.

I keep saying that when I get to the next week, things will slow down.  This week we are out of school 3 days and all the play stuff is over…we don’t even have to celebrate on Thursday since we already had our Thanksgiving…but yet, we are swamped!!!  We packaged and delievered 54 Thanksgiving meals (a turkey and all the fixings!) from donations our church brought over the last 2 Sundays.  What a huge blessing!  I was glad to have our girls help deliver 2 meals tonight!  Also, the church has to be decorated for Christmas…it is a new building and it is bigger than the other one.  It takes longer when you have to figure out where to put things and we had to buy some new stuff too.  But, we are almost done with that. 

The big thing looming over my head is decorating my own house.  I have Thursday and Friday to do it.  Tomorrow,we are finishing up at church and taking the girls to Raleigh to see the “good Santa” as Avery says!  I think with the girls’ help, we can decorate in 2 days.  On Saturday, I have adult and kids Praise Team practices and I have to finish up details for the Christmas series we are starting Sunday. 

So, by next Monday, I think I’ll be able to slow down.  Yeah, right!!!    Sorry I don’t have pictures from the play…we aren’t allowed to take them in the theatre and I kept forgetting to take them in the costume room (where I worked for 3 out of 4 performances!)  But, hopefully, I’ll have a few photos of the Christmas decorations later this week!

Hope you all have a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving.  We have so much to be thankful for!

We went to Florence, SC today to celebrate Matthan (my nephew) on his 3rd birthday!  We had a wonderful time and were so glad to see him, Michael, Vanessa and my mom and dad.  He loves race cars, so that was the theme of the party.  Vanessa had all the little kids make cardboard box race cars and then they “raced.”  Except, Matthan and Avery were crying so Michael and Vanessa had to help them.  There was a Jimmy Johnson car cake and a huge race car pinata that Vanessa’s dad sent from Mexico.  All the kids had a great time and we were so glad to get to be there!  I won’t put all the pictures on here and ruin it for Vanessa…you’ll have to check out her blog later to see the cool cake and pinata!  Please pray for Michael…he leaves on a mission trip with NewSpring to Africa on Thursday.

This week we will be so busy!  Miracle on 34th Street will be next weekend!  So, we have play practice from 2-5 tomorrow (and our small group meets at our house at 5…LOVE having NO time to breathe on Sunday).  Then, there is practice from 6-9 every night before the play begins on Friday.  There is a 10 am show (for school field trips) and a 7:30 pm show on Friday, a 7:30 pm show on Saturday and a 3 pm show on Sunday.  Since all our family is coming in for the play, we will celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday for lunch.  By next Sunday night, we’ll all crash as soon as we get home from helping clean up the set.  Exhausting, yes…but worth every bit of it to see those girls shine on stage!!

Today was Thayer’s day off so he began some yard work that he’s been wanting to do for several years.  We have a little over an acre lot, but only about 1/2 of it is cleared.  So, he wants to push back the forest!  It is hard work and goes pretty slow, but you can certainly see his progress.  Of course, he is burning the trees and brush he cuts down, so I’m sure the neighbors are about as thrilled as I am with the smell and ashes everywhere.

Since it was such a great day, I helped him outside after I got home from school.  The back yard had to be cut one more time and since our lovely dog is such a slob, you have to pick up all the stuff (pots, wood, etc.)  he has chewed and left everywhere before you can do it.

Then, we took the net off the trampoline.  I know, I know…safety.  But, the net was dry-rotted and you can’t buy just a net.  So, the padding is still around the springs and we’ll watch them more carefully.  But it looks so much better than the net hanging down all the way around.

Now that we have installed an electric fence (to keep the dog in our chain link fence!), we were able to remove all the rocks, landscape timbers, chicken wire and any number of other items (including the dog house) that we had used to block all of Noche’s holes.  It looks a million times better!  I had to load up Thayer’s truck with the rocks to drive them back down to the drain 2 houses down where we “borrowed” them.  While I was moving the rocks, I was so thrilled (yeah, right!) to discover a tiny snake that had started hibernating until I disturbed him and 2 black widow spiders.  I despise both, so Thayer had to come to my rescue twice while I was running and screaming.

My arms and back are aching, but I do love to see how much better things look.  Since we were so busy in March and April opening the new church building, we missed doing several projects outside that really needed attention.  I still have one more thing to accomplish…Thayer trimmed the bushes in the front, but the “monkey grass” I planted three years ago has gotten too big and needs to be trimmed and separated.  I had meant to do it in the spring.   Oh well, it will still be there towmorrow…or in a few more weeks when my  mom comes to visit.

Even though fall is very much still in the air, we spent today getting ready for winter!  The dreaded day arrived when I had to change the clothes in the girls’ dressers/closets from summer clothes to winter.  That process takes nearly a whole day.  We have to make sure all the summer clothes are clean and take them out of the dressers/closets, get all the storage totes out of the attic, put the winter clothes in and pack away the summer clothes.  There are always some clothes that we decide not to keep.  Our donation to Goodwill is always huge after the change!  Then, there are the clothes that Avery will not be able to wear by next spring/summer.  I always hate giving those away, but we do not keep anything under the size she now wears.   A lot of those clothes are ones that we have had for about 8 years!  I have the hardest time parting with the things that have been passed down through all of them.  There were several pairs of pj’s that I had to put in the donation pile today that about made me cry!  And, since we don’t donate old panties, I had to throw about about 10 pairs of Barney, Blue’s Clues and Elmo panties that all the girls potty trained in.

We also had the pictures done today that will be our Christmas card…we took the girls to the photographer that did our family photo 2 years ago in Kinston, NC.  She is fabulous!  If you are on Facebook, you can get a sneak peak because she added 7 of the shots from today on my profile.  I’ll never be able to pick which one I want once I get the whole gallery on Monday.  I am so amazed at how beautiful and unique they all are.  Each one is so different and special!  Julia is looking like a teenager, and Bailey is already in that sort of awkward pre-teen stage.  Madi won’t smile with her mouth open because of all the teeth missing (the tooth fairy has nearly gone broke in the last month at our house!  Bailey lost 2 in one day and Julia lost 2 in that same week!).  Avery is just Avery…she is so hilarious and had an absolute blast at the shoot today.  She picked out her sassy little dress and insisted on that flower headband. She won’t even wear hair bows anymore, but would not let me leave Target without that headband.  If you aren’t on Facebook, don’t worry…I’ll have your cards to you in less than a month!

I am being allowed to decorate for Christmas early this year.  Thayer’s rule used to be not until after the Thanksgiving meal is over.  Last year, I got to do a little the week before because I had gotten burned out decorating at church 2 years ago and almost didn’t finish my own house.  Since I adore Christmas, I made a deal with him that if he wants me in charge of the church decorating, my house has to be completed first.  So, this year, because the girls’ play (Miracle on 34th Street) is the weekend before Thanksgiving and we’ll be swamped that whole weekend, and we’ll be gone most of the Saturday before that for Matthan’s birthday (I can’t believe that sweet boy is already turning 3!), I get to start on Veteran’s Day!!!  Since the girls and I are out of school, we’ll be getting a start on the decorating then.  I know, I’m nuts!

This has been one wild week!  We actually haven’t slowed down the entire month…I can’t believe tomorrow is November already!  We took Madi to the Shriner’s Hospital in Greenville, SC on Wed. -  Thurs.   She had a good report…the braces are helping.  We go back in Feb. to see the genetics clinic.  Vanessa and Matthan came to take care of the other three while we were gone.  She said she would do it anytime, but I wonder…we did at least simplify the schedule while she was here!

The girls were excited to be able to trick or treat in 80 degree weather tonight!  They had fun and I am sooooo thankful for that extra hour of sleep we are going to get tonight ( and its going to start as soon as I finish this post!)!

Here are my girls in their costumes (Julia stayed home to  pass out candy, but did decide to dress up!):

Madi – the Pop Star Diva

Bailey – the Pirate

Julia – the Good Witch

Avery – the Pink Unicorn

All three going Trick or Treating

I found this on my camera—I guess Vanessa took it while we gone.

Avery enjoyed a great day at the Pumpkin Festival at preschool today.  Here are a few pictures:

Tonight was the first night both of the older girls attended The Carolina Cotillion.  Julia went last year and Bailey joined this year as a 5th grader.  The first dance this season was three weeks ago.  But, Bailey had a fever that day and wasn’t able to go and that was the day we thought our dog was dying…I didn’t even take a picture of Julia that night…so tonight was kinda like the first one for the Stampers. 

Bailey goes at 6 pm and gets picked up at 7:30.  Julia starts at 8 and finishes up at 9:30.  Fortunately, Bailey convinced our neighbor and friend, Logan, to join too, so she rode with him.  His mom and I had a good chuckle at the two of them tonight.  Logan has been taught well and came to the door to get her.  He even let me take their picture!  (Notice how far apart they are standing!)  Then, when they got to the car, he opened the door for her.  It was really cute!  Don’t tell them, though!

Here are a few more of Julia and Bailey.  After looking at them tonight, I realized how old I am!  Julia came downstairs wearing my velvet, pointy heels from high school…she couldn’t believe those shoes are 21 years old!  I do enjoy each new stage with them (contrary to my last post!) but I really wish I could freeze time sometimes!

Fifth graders have to wear white gloves.  They found years ago that the boys and girls acted silly when they had to hold hands to dance and the gloves sloved that!  She also got her hair cut (in layers, by mom!) before she left.  She loved it…I dried it and used a curling brush to make it flip up at the ends.  We’ll see if she hates it tomorrow like Julia did.  Although, Julia got a flat iron and has been happy with it ever since.

I have been seeing the signs for months…probably a year, but we have a teenager.  She is only 12 in actual age, but we are so there in attitude!!  Actually, she is a dream most days, but we are having those moments.  She told me on Friday that she really wanted layers in her hair.  She has very thick hair, so I thought that would be nice.  I decided  I could cut it myself.  How hard could that be, right?  As I was cutting, she told me to make a few bangs that blend down into the layers on the side.  OK…no problem.  I was pretty proud of myself.  It looked good, she was happy and I saved 22 bucks!  The  next day, she got up and still loved it.  Bailey asked if I would cut hers and Julia got all huffy and said, “No, you just want some because I got some!”  Then, several of our friends saw her that afternoon and told her how good it looked and that it made her look older.  She was beaming!

I was thinking the whole thing had gone pretty well  until she washed her hair and dried it Saturday night.  She has natural wave in her hair, she the bangs that she wanted straight weren’t cooperating.  Also, you know how it is when you get a new style.  It takes a while to learn to fix it right.  Anyway, she came downstairs, crying and telling us how she hated it, she had never liked it, she had not wanted layers but had only wanted it cut short.  As calmly as I could, I replayed all the comments she had made over the last day about it and how everyone had liked it.  She was still upset and shaking her head, telling me she hadn’t ever liked it from the moment I cut it.  I did what any parent would do:  I called her a liar.

After rewetting it and me helping her dry it, it was some better.  I will have to buy a hair straightener for her but she has to understand that you can’t use it everyday or she’ll fry off those bangs!  It actually looked really cute this morning but I didn’t dare ask her if she liked it.   But, she’ll have to wash it again tonight, so we’ll probably have some more drama.

I can’t complain much though…she is so very helpful to us at home.  She is finally keeping her room clean and she watches her sisters a lot for us!  She also is so great at church.  She volunteers on Sunday mornings and watches the kids at our Life Group on Sunday night.  I remember the days when I didn’t mind watching little kids…but, by the time you really need to be earning money, you are too busy and don’t want to watch kids anymore!

In other teenager news, I had to write checks for her to go on 2 field trips this morning.  They are going to a camp to learn about “common ground plan.”  Who knows!  Anyway, that was $40.  Then, she is going with the Beta Club to tutor some 3rd graders.  That costs $5 to go but they need $10 to eat lunch out somewhere.  She never eats $10 worth!  So, for her to help a 3rd grader, it is costing me $15!  Then, she also needed $12 for a band t-shirt.  Geez!!!  I’m glad we send them to public school!  I guess I’m just uptight because I just sent $23 for Bailey’s field trip last week, Madi went swimming everyday with school last week and that cost $20 and she’ll go to the NC Zoo later this year and that will be $40.

For anyone wondering, our dog,  Maizey, is doing better!!!  It was still touch and go until last Monday or so and we realized she was getting back to her old, normal self.  She still has limited time due to the tumor and heart disease, but she is enjoying being with the Stampers.  I am thrilled because we love her so much and I really didn’t want to have to make a decision.  The girls have been so wonderful:  I don’t know the last time they have wanted to do things for her, but I don’t even have to ask them to help feed her every morning and each evening.

We had another whirlwind weekend!  I hate that I can’t blog more than I do…I really don’t know how I ever wrote something every day or so.  Its all I can do to get to the end of each day without collapsing…and then when I finally get upstairs, I have to move all the laundry off the bed that didn’t get folded that day.  Then, I put it back on my bed the next morning in hopeful anticipation of getting folded.  Mostly, we just pull clean stuff out of a pile and wear it.  I don’t know if life will ever slow down, but I really hope it does…if not, I’ll just look forward to a vacation and SOON!!!  Christmas can’t get her fast enough!