a whole bunch of holiday photos - totally random - you can figure them out LOL

Ed, Darla, Chris, Dani, Tiffany, Micheal and Lea .... Ed's sister Odessa, her hubby Art, kids Josh and Kennedy and puppy too. Also had Dani's boyfriend Den here as well... and then later Liz came home. That is a LOT of people and a LOT of food. 22 lb turkey, 16 giant potatos made mashed, two pans of stuffing, and then all the fixings not to mention 9... NINE!!! pies! OMGosh it was quite the holiday. Add to that the crazy weather we had all week, one day was a literal blizzard warning, the next was extreme tempreture warning and then we had a winter storm watch for several days too. So... here is my take on Thanksgiving at the Blacks 2010:


OK totally DO NOT KNOW WHY this photo is upsidedown/backwards... SORRY!

Thanksgiving Memories

I cooked.
We ate.
I am stuffed like the turkey.

and that's all she wrote.

Oh my Lordy Lordy Lordy

Seriouly?

OK so I stayed home sick today, still recovering from the stomach flu and feeling lightheaded and weak.

Blow dryer going full blast in the bathroom for 30 minutes

4 or 5 kids screaming over the Mario Cart video game at the top of thier lungs

One person pounding out something on the guitar OVER and OVER and OVER

O M Gosh I want to shoot myself. Seriously.

Should have gone to work. My gosh.

survivial of the stomach flu at it's best

and these are a few of my favorite things...lol NOT

winter wonderland and the pukies

what a weekend.
went out with my friend Lisa Fri night for dinner
and came home feeling sick to my stomach by 2 a.m.
i was puking up my toenails and it continued all night
all day Sat I sat in bed in misery -- repeat all day Sun
I was feeling a little better on Sun but I think I
overdid it... cuz' by Sun night I was feeling rotten again
I slept pretty well last night but am staying home today(Mon)
cuz' I am still fighting the body aches and leg crammps
and my stomach is making the wierdest grumbling sounds...
I have NEVER had leg cramps with a stomach bug??? It is the
weirdest thing... stinks!

it has been snowing all weekend - big light beautiful flakes
just beautiful out there - we have quite a bit of new fall just
over night - maybe 10 inches total?? not sure cuz' I have not
left my bed for 3 days but it just beautiful out there... so pretty
Micheal man went out to shovel and was back in the house within
10 minutes LOL and it took Chris quite a bit to get out from
the front of the house this a.m. in his new little truck - crazy
Gotta love the snow in Idaho!!

ok going to lay back down - this flu is the pits, I have to get
feeling better soooooooon please. ugh.

d

LOVE Delightful Dots backgrounds

Ever since Jessica introduced me to the different background choices with Delightful Dots I have had a blast playing around with them. I have had some struggles in the past getting them to post how I want them to but now it has become simpler and simpler every time. Right now I am pooped out and sick but was able to quickly and easily change up my background for the upcoming Holidays. :O) THAT makes me happy.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Darla

Reaching your dreams takes courage....

Reaching Your Dream Takes Courage



Courage is admitting that you're afraid and facing that fear directly. It's being strong enough to ask for help and humble enough to accept it.

Courage is standing up for what you believe in without worrying about the opinions of others. It's following your own heart, living your own life, and settling for nothing less than the best for yourself.

Courage is daring to take a first step, a big leap, or a different path. It's attempting to do something that no one has done before and all others thought impossible.

Courage is keeping heart in the face of disappointment and looking at defeat not as an end but as a new beginning. It's believing that things will ultimately get better even as they get worse.

Courage is being responsible for your own actions and admitting your own mistakes without placing blame on others. It's relying not on others for your success, but on your own skills and efforts.

Courage is refusing to quit even when you're intimidated by impossibility. It's choosing a goal, sticking with it, and finding solutions to the problems.

Courage is thinking big, aiming high, and shooting far. It's taking a dream and doing anything, risking everything, and stopping at nothing to it make it a reality.

~ Caroline Kent ~

one reason

Carlee Robin Darla Vanessa
beautiful in black (and a little crazy too)

Sentimental Journey

My sentinmental son...







Adj. 1. SENTIMENTAL - given to or marked by sentiment or sentimentality
tender - given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality; "a tender heart"; "a tender smile"; "tender loving care"; "tender memories"; "a tender mother"
2. sentimental - sincerely emotional; "an emotional novel"


My oldest son, Chris, has inherited a big smooshy soft heart from his Mother's side of the family. My Dad was a sentimental heart. Dad loved a good tear jerker movie or even commercial on tv. *Dad was as tender hearted at they came.*

I definatly got that from him - in fact, I LOVE to sit and watch a movie or read a book that will give me a good cry.

Chris on the other hand is my rough tough teenage boy who has the most open heart - he is definatly a humanitarian and definatly has a HUGE heart.

Problem is, he has the mooooshy side from both his Grandpa AND his Mom! And... I love it!
I love that he is so soft and tender and sweet. Someday he'll cry when he looks into the eyes of the woman he'll spend his life with, and his eyes will brim with tears when his children come into this world - all milestones I cannot wait to sit and cry with him through!

In the meantime we'll have to be sappy together over sweet stories in the news or a good romantic movie or touching song on the radio.

LOVE you my sentimental son! You are awesome! XOXO
Mom

MORE snow - and my crazy kids!

So here is more photos of Micheal and Lea playing in the first big snowfall of the season. They made the cutest snowman and the snow was perfect packing snow! Awesome! They played until way after dark, had a blast!

Chris took a learning step and tried a pomegranite for the first time in his life??
OK whatever...we all know The Soup was the highlight that night, really!!

Dani got all gussied up and was an usher for the school drama dept play last night, I thought she looked like a freaking super model! WHERE did I get a tall gorgeous blonde daughter with legs like THAT??? Geeeesh! Love that she is wearing MY sweater too! LOL

OK so that is the photo update for today.

seasons change - overnight!

We spent a lot of time Fri and Sat working on the yard(s)
both front and back
and raked up SO many leaves! It was beautiful fall weather,
crisp cool mornings and sunny afternoons with all the leaves
falling and color just EVERYWHERE around us! Micheal and Lea
helped me a ton in the backyard on Sat... we raked up piles
and piles of leaves... but never had time to get them bagged up.
Now, it's too late!













(this was our one HUGE pile out back...at least it is out of the way and not on the grass!!)




Then this morning we started to get this:


this is one tree out front (the neighbors actually)



and then our poor neighbor out back had to get up and clear out his satelite dish LOL yet another reason we love cable (hee hee).



Chris's Mercedes hates the wet weather - wonder what it thinks of this??



Micheal had to truck through the snow after school!!



Our BIG pine out back is looking sort of Christmas-ish isn't it??

Bring it! I am ready for the SNOW and ready for the HOLIDAYS and ready
to be cold and brrr chilly cuz' if you come into MY house tonight -



YOU GET TO HAVE THIS!!!!



mmmm mmmmm mmmmm yummy hot homemade veggie chicken noodle soup! DELISH!

SNOW!

First *real* BIG snow of the year today!
It is a beautiful white winter wonderland out there!

I LOVE IT!

more to come

I have so much to update... but it is late and this is all I have for now.

more to come...

Halloween 2010

So Halloween was interesting this year.
Chris was a monster zombie.
Dani was a freaking beauitiful witch.
Tiff was a prom queen.
Micheal (NO photos!!!) was a red M n M candy!
Lea wore a couple of different get ups but I think she was more into the treats anyway!
Chris OUTDID himself on our yard as usual-- totally creepy scary and awesome!
We didn't get a ton of trick or treaters but still had fun.

WOW!!!!!

ok so I have been 'locked out' of my blog for a couple of weeks
cuz' they changed up the login process and I didn't remember
passwords and so on ... somehow I got in though and I am thrilled

so - there is a TON going on - I have a TON of photos to share
but I don't have them on this pc so hopefully I can get back in
again this weekend! LOL

watch for more...

Darla :O)