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*sigh* Summer is over.  I am never happy about this fact.  There's nothing I love more than spending every day, all day with my kids.  Seriously, I love to work in the morning (either cleaning the house, or weeding the garden), making lunch together (while watching Game Show Network), hearing the girls practice while I get on the computer, playing Super Mario in the afternoon, grilling something delicious for dinner and eating on the deck, and spending our evenings with John.  Who wouldn't love that life?  Yes, I'm a selfish being, and I hate to give it all up. School began for the girls yesterday.  Johannah is a senior this year, and Glo is a freshman.  Lucky Glo, she will have Hannah to drive her to and from school each day this year.  We've been in this situation before, and believe me, the driven kids are never too happy the next year when their chauffeur leaves for college and they are left to take the bus again :-) August proved to be ...

Ethan and Rebecca asked me to take their engagement photos.  Honestly, this was a daunting task, having absolutely no confidence in myself as a photographer.  However, it's been great fun, and I think we got a few "keepers" in the mix.  We worked through rain, heat and (tomorrow) we're taking pics at Rebecca's dad's dairy farm.  I can't publish their favorites (as they might use them), but here a few sneak peeks...

Interlochen has officially been over for two and a half weeks now, and yet my Interlochen uniforms still sit, untouched, on the floor of my closet.  Life hit me in the face the moment I got home from Interlochen, and I still haven't recovered. Here are a "couple" of things we've had to deal with since we returned home: No computer.  There was a massive storm while we were gone, and our computer got fried (even though it was plugged into a surge protector).  John got our homeowner's insurance to cover a new one, but we still needed to order it, and once we got it, there's so much to set up. No router.  The router was fried too which means we haven't had Wi-Fi in the house. No landline.  Yep, the storm took out all of our phones too.  Since these were scattered around our house, they were not plugged into surge protectors.  The only phone that survived was the old-fashioned phone that is simply plugged into the wall through a phone cord.  We...

Ethan has been at BYU since January.  We brought him home over Easter, and Rebecca's family flew him home for their family reunion in July.  Because he's leaving for Brussels (Belgium) next week, it was time for him to come home.  Seeing that Rebecca already has a car that is completely paid for, John and I thought it best if he brought the Honda home so that we can sell it.  Knowing how long the drive across country is (a minimum of 30 hours), I flew out to Salt Lake City to make the drive back with Ethan. Listen.  I know that BYU is an economical lifesaver as far as college goes.  Too, I know a lot of parents feel good about sending their kids there, because there is a large LDS population there (this personally does not speak to me).  Geographically, however, BYU makes absolutely NO sense for those of us who live on the East Coast.  I mean, honestly, that 30+ hour drive is INSANE. Ethan picked me up at the Salt Lake City airport at 7 p.m., ...

There are almost more studies about the role of supportive parenting in raising a confident child than there are fish in the sea.  I think it goes unsaid that when a child feels loved and supported at home, he will feel more confident, heading out into the big, scary world.  That child knows that there is always a shoulder to cry on at home as well as the greatest group of cheerleaders! I know that many of my insecurities stem from some rather traumatic events of my childhood, and I made it my life goal to let not my children grow up the same way.  While John and I have been their harshest critics at times, I believe that our children have always known that above all, we love them and we will never abandon them. I was blessed to reconnect with my half-sister, Meg Apgar Lyman, this past spring (she was named for our paternal grandmother, Margaret Elinor Parsons).  It's a funny story.  We were "friends" on Facebook, but nothing more.  It wasn't until I wa...

When we go on a vacation as a family, the vacation is never quite as long as it should be.  If we are on a week-long cruise, about two days from the end of it, the "vacation is almost over and I have to head back to work" depression hits John.  Try as he might, he just can't enjoy the time until the last minute.  Easily-frustrated me loses my patience with John, telling him that he should just live in the moment and not think about what is going to happen. Yep, I'm eating my own words as we prepare to leave Interlochen.  Out of a six-week vacation, I've spent the last week feeling completely despondent over the thought of leaving and heading back to PA. In fact, I've turned into a man-eating monster for the past two days, snapping at my family, not sleeping well, and not smiling much.  I just can't believe that in three days, I'll be headed back to real life in a state that doesn't welcome me home.  Ugh... The kids and I always agree that by th...