Guess Who I Am

Which Disney Princess Are You?
	You are Pocahontas. You defy convention and sometimes do what is considered taboo. Unfortunately, others do not always appreciate your differences, so it's good that you are so strong-willed. You are loyal and you believe in fate. Your true love will find you one day.
Find Your Character @ Brainfall.com I found this on Beau and Amanda's (Jamie's brother and sister-in-law) blog. I thought it was pretty cool.... and I was amazed at how accurate it was. I can truly relate to my "princess." I do wonder if my "true love" will come along. I suppose if I'm not looking it will be harder to find "Mr Right," right? Life is too busy to be looking for now... maybe later. Just for the record, in my dreams I have a figure just like Pocahontas has.

A Late Halloween

Ok, so I know it's already Thanksgiving, however, I came across some cute pics I took on Halloween and I had to post them. They are some the the highlights from the evening. Enjoy! Emile in her costume. Can you guess what she is? Yep, a teenager. SCARY!!!

Brie the Diva!

The Tin Man

Your guess is as good as mine.

A fireman.

A witch.

A magician "pulling" a rabbit out of his hat!

Todd the scary neighbor.

Like I said.. just a few of the highlights.

HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN!!!

A Time To Give Thanks

At this time of year there's so much to look forward to and a time to reflect on what has happened in my life and what is to come. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas. Isn't it the best? I heard a commentary on the radio the other day and it was about how thankful we should be, especially those of us living here in the United States. The caller stated how much "abundance" we enjoy. That got me thinking. It's true, we are living in a time of abundance. Is life perfect? Of course not. Are things the same as they used to be? No. Do we, for the most part, have it better today than we did a generation ago? I think we do. Others disagree with me, and that's ok. Since we live in a free land, they have a right to their beliefs, too.

Here are five things I am thankful for today.
1. I am thankful for my daughters. They are my greatest accomplishments. Without them my life would be very empty.
2. I am thankful for extended family and friends. I have the best sisters in the world... and a terrific brother as well. I am encircled by friends I can turn to and rely on at any time. What more can you ask for?
3. I am thankful for gainful employment. Without it I wouldn't be able to provide the necessities of life for my family.
4. I am thankful for this nation I live in. I am truly greatful for the freedoms I enjoy and those who fight to protect this land each and every day.
5. I am most thankful for my Saviour, Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the Restored Gospel and all the blessings I receive from it. All the the above wouldn't matter if it weren't for the Gospel and my testimony of it's truthfulness.

Here are some hightlights from Thanksgiving Day. We had the pleasure of having Dave, Josi, Grace, and Will over for to enjoy the food and time together. It was a wonderful day....

Dave, Will, and Grace saying hello to Samantha as they arrived.
Brie's "Pumpkin Turtle Pie" and Emile trying to snarf it down.
Emile's Pumpkin Pie. Yummy! I don't even have to make the pies anymore. The girls take care of that now.

Thanksgiving Dinner from each end of the table. Either way it looked great.

And finally.... last but not least....

Harvey.... our Thanksgiving Turkey... or what's left of him. I'm thankful for the delicious meal he turned out to be the center attraction for. We did enjoy having him over for dinner. Without him the meal just wouldn't have been as good. Thank you Harvey.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I Have NO Life!

Ok, so here it is, Sunday afternoon, and where am I?? At work. Yes, that's correct, I'm at work. It's quiet and I can get more done now rather than when everyone is here. It's amazing how many times I am interrupted daily. I'm still enjoying my new job for the most part, however, as with all things there are some minor "growing pains." While the white flag has not gone up yet, I have had to brainstorm to make some improvements though. I have decided to start working earlier in the morning so I can be finished earlier in the afternoon. Let me explain.

As you probably already know, I work a minimum of 4 1/2 hours a day at the center. Most days it's more. After "work" I go to my "other" job.... home healthcare. I still have 2 clients I see five days a week, and a third I see two days a week. As of late I've been getting home after 7:30 or 8:00 on the days I see 3 clients. One night last week the girls were already asleep by the time I got home. I don't like that.

It used to be that I started working with my first client at 6:15 every morning. I've decided to do that again. If I start at 6:30, I can get to work here at the center by 7:45. If I finish up by 12:30 or 1:00PM, that puts me in Spring Grove by about 1:20PM at the latest. I finish that client by 3 or 3:15 depending. Then on I go to York New Salem for another 2 hour case. I finish up there by about 5:30. That puts me home by about 5:45 on my "late" days and 3:30ish on my "early" days. Both of the girls like this plan better. They're sick of me being gone, too. We'll see how this works out for the time being.

All Aboard

My first official trip with the "seniors" from Heritage was to the Gettysburg Railroad. The train goes backward up to Biglersville, then comes back forward to Gettysburg. The ride was a total of an hour and a half and there were 21 of us having lunch in the dining car. It was a fun outing. I found it very cozy.We had a very knowledgeable and friendly guide who shared many details and interesting stories about the area.

I had a great time, although I did get motion sick on the bus over and coming "back" to Gettysburg because I was in the backward side of the seat. All in all it was nice though. My next outing that I go on is to Willow Valley for lunch followed by American Music Theatre in Lancaster for the Christmas 2007 Show. I can't wait for that one. It should be a really nice trip. More details to follow.

Everyone Loves A Parade

Last Sunday was the Manchester Halloween Parade. Today was the York Halloween Parade. Last week the temps were in the low 80's. Today the temps were in the low 60's with gusty winds. Last week's parade lasted an hour and a half, give or take. Today's was still going strong when Brie and I left(after an hour and a half) because we were cold. When we drove past the fairgrounds (parade staging area) there were still at least 35 entries waiting. It's a HUGE parade here in York.

Of course for us the reason for going is to see the marching bands... and West York in particular. They look so sharp. Today Cindy, Anya and Morgan joined us. It was fun having them too.It's always an honor to see the Color Guard go by. It reminds me of how thankful I am to live in the United States.
And then there's the clowns. They're a parade favorite!There's the old cars....And the fire trucks.

Of course you'll have "floats."

Some "odds" and "ends" must be included as well.

Raab Farm Outing

Last Saturday Brie and Crystal got together with a group of people from Big Brothers/Big Sisters for a trip to Raab Farm in Dallastown. There was a hay ride, apple picking, pumpkin picking (and gourds too). Brie had a delightful day!! Here are some highlights....What's a hayride without the tractor and its driver?? Do you think she picked enough apples for me to bake a pie? See the spooky ghosts flying around? Who's hanging in the tree? Could it be Emile? Nah, just kidding! So there you have it... Brie's day out at Raab Farm.

What Happened To My Baby??

Well it's official. Emile is now 14. Her birthday was October 18th so she's been 14 for a week now. I'm certain she's more "into" this than I am. Here are some recent highlights in her life.

To begin, two weeks ago was Homecoming. West York played York Catholic... we won by a score of 42/10. GO BULLDOGS!!! Following the game WGAL 8 was televising their Friday Night Football show from the school. That meant that even though the game was over by 9:30, the team, cheerleaders, band, etc. had to stay until after the show, which didn't even begin until 11:30. By the time all was said and done, it was well after midnight before everyone was packing up and heading home. Oh to be young again. I was tired just thinking about it.

The next evening was the Homecoming Dance. Emile was so excited that I was letting her go. She was going with a group of friends (escorted throughtout the evening by several parents) so I felt very comfortable with allowing her to go. There were the typical "preparations," such as hair, nails and getting dressed. Here we have an example of BEFORE.... S-C-A-R-Y!! Now it's the hair getting curled... Next Mom applies make-up... And Emile applies shoes... Before long... badda bing, badda boom... Here she is...

I couldn't believe how beautiful she was. Nor could I believe how much of a woman she had become. When did she grow out of diapers?? Wasn't that just yesterday?

Next step was to pick up her friend, Zach. He's on the football team, and they really are just friends (and right now I'm not even sure if they're even friends at all). Who knows with teens? Emile wanted Aunt Cindy to see how she looked so we headed there for pictures. Don't they look sooooooooo cute?
Following a brief visit with Cindy we headed for Cheeseburger In Paradise where the group was meeting for dinner. There were 6 girls and 2 guys. Can you say OUTNUMBERED! Those poor guys. The girls went on and on about make-up, nail, the whole getting ready thing. Yada yada yada.
The dance was pretty lame according to the kids. They did dance but said the music was bad. Oh well, it is what it is. I might mention they also said they'd do it again next year. Here's Carley, Emile and Sarah (l to r). And here's Emile and Kayla.

So, I survived Em's first Homecoming. Thank goodness she can't go to the Prom until she's a Junior. I'm not certain how I'd handle that one. I'm truly beginning to understand what my mom meant when she said time was flying by. Seems like every time I blink the girls are more grown up and ready to "leave the nest" a little sooner than perhaps I want... or am ready for. Again, what happened to my baby... the one I rocked in the middle of the night so long ago? It's bittersweet.