National Choral Scholar...

Not much to post except that tonight was Awards Night and Kate received the NATIONAL CHORAL SCHOLAR AWARD!! Way to go Katie! Hilary is recovering from her trip to Italy. She leaves tomorrow for NC and a week of training before she heads to VA to work at Camp ACCOVAC for the summer. So much for time with her...2 days here and 2 days there... Below are a few pictures of Hil in Italy. If you are a facebook user you can find almost ALL of her pictures there. EnJOY!

At the Palatine Hills
In Rome - the Colloseum in the background

The Colloseum at night

She said there were lemon trees everywhere and she couldn't stop singing the song...
"Lemon tree, very pretty...."

The mouth of Truth - if it bites you, you are a liar, if it does not you are honest...

THIS IS MY FAVORITE at Ponte Vecchio

Thanks to the Veterans...

I have Uncles, Father-in-law and friends who have served or are currently serving in the military. I woke up this morning thinking about John's Uncle Auldis - I guess because of Memorial Day. Uncle Auldis called me his "Cotton-picking Girl" from the time he met me because I was from North Carolina. He was such a funny man. This is the only photo I have of a Veteran in uniform. It's a great photo of Uncle Auldis (notice the buttons moved over a bit...). The photo was taken at the Memorial Day Parade in Scituate, RI in 1980. Don't laugh TOO hard at the photo of me and John (gotta love the 'fro)...

Thanks to ALL our Veterans for the freedoms we enjoy today!

The WhaleLESS Watch...

Well, the whale watch was an experience... It was very foggy, consequently, with no horizon for the kids to view, we had about 10 of the 50 seasick. PLUS there was a bitterly, cold wind blowing. I was bundled up and shivering and wishing I had my winter coat! Once the fog lifted the kids felt better, thank goodness. Even though we saw NO WHALES the kids had a great time. We did see about 50 seals sunning on Duck Island. I got a picture of a few of them and did this layout for my friend ConnyB in Germany who loves to see the animals at the Zoo.

Credits: Little Fishes by Zazou

In other news it has been in the 90's here!! Hilary received a scholarship from the Griswold Family Association for college this fall! YOU GO GIRL!!! We all have Monday off for Memorial Day - HOORAY! I did a good bit of cooking today - some peanut butter pies, lemonade pies and oatmeal raisin cookies. 4 pies and the cookies for friends. John and I delivered the cookies to my friend, Ali, and her finace Brett, who just moved into their new house and were painting away! Maybe SOMEDAY I'll have my own house! That's all for now - have a great weekend!

Not Much New...

Katie sang in her final High School Music Concert on Saturday night. She and 2 other girls were the trio for "Mr. Postman". John used Kate's camera to video it; however, it it 233MB and photobucket and youtube will only take 100MB max. When Hilary gets back from Italy I'm gonna have her shrink it so that I can put it on here! I have photos, but haven't uploaded them yet. Maybe tomorrow.

My Mom has been trying to catch her dog, Toby, for a week and a half! He'd been abused, so finding love is a new thing for him. Funny thing was he'd hang around, just not come to her. Someone from the humane society helped her catch him today. Last week she had decided to give him back if she ever caught him. John said she'd never do it because she is a stubborn as Toby and figures eventually she'll conquer him - at this point I think he has conquered her...;0). I keep praying that this dog responds quickly for Mom - he'd be a good copmpanion, but I don't want him stressing her out like he has done for the last 10 days.

Thursday I go on a Whale Watch with all three 5th grades. This should be interesting. I plan to take pictures - especially for my friend ConnyB who lives in Germany and LOVES animals! I have never gotten seasick, but I bought a seaband and some meclazine today, just in case...would not be fun with 60 people on a boat!

The weather has been gorgeous so I am loving that. Have a great night!

God is good...

Today was a rough day with the kids at school - not sure if it's the weather or what, but man were they off the wall! John and I provided pizza and drinks for those setting up for the Agape Ministries yard sale tomorrow at the church. When I ordered pizza there were about 20 people there...when I returned with 9 pizzas there were about 10! SO, when everyone had their fill I brought 2 complete pizzas home and left FOUR! I guess they plan on heating them for lunch tomorrow while the sale is going on. Miscommunication somewhere in that transaction...

The good news is that I heard again from Hilary. Her friend's Dad felt so bad about what happened with their Florence tickets that he gave Marie money so that they could go to Florence next weekend. God is so good! Here's a quote from her email...

"Tonight, we are going to take pictures of the Pantheon and Berninis fountain of the 4 rivers in the Piazza Navona (all lit up). Tomorrow, we will be going back to the Colosseum, the Palatine Hills, the Pantheon, maybe the Borghese Gardens to take pictures of us there (it is some cultural week, so most of the museums are free!!).Last night, Rome won the Italian Cup, and Marie and I ended up being down at the Colosseum taking pictures of it lit up when people came down to celebrate it - it was amazing mom. I have video from it. I also bought myself a Rome soccer jersey today."

If you want a real chuckle, she is in Rome with her friend Marie and also Julie Andrews...not from "The Sound of Music"...but that is still her name. You can imagine the fun they have with that. Well, John is already asleep on the couch and Katie is working. I guess I'll get some laundry done and then chill for a bit. Hope you've had a great Friday!

Rome update from Hilary...

I received 2 emails today from Hilary. In the first she shared her joy that it was not raining (like had been predicted). The second was very sad. She and Marie went to buy tickets to go to Florence this weekend. Evidently you have to get tickets through a machine. The machine gave Hilary reservations, but no tickets. The machine gave Marie tickets. When Hilary took the reservation to a real person to tell about the machine and get the tickets she had paid for she was told they couldn't do that since she could only show them a reservation :0( - $65 down the drain. So, since Hilary couldn't afford another ticket Marie went to sell hers back and they only gave her 20% of what she paid for the ticket!!! ARGH!!! The poor kids. Customer Service and being treated fairly may stink in the US at times, but this time Rome had the US beat! They were going to the Colloseum tonight. I hope the rest of her time there is WONDERFUL to make up for this expensive life lesson.

It has been cool and rainy here the past few days - I'm ready for at least 65 degrees! Have a great night!

She's Off and Kate and the Toast...

Well...Hilary is on a plane to Rome, Italy right now. She left me a voicemail that said the only things she had forgotten were hair elastics and her retainer (Lord, keep those teeth straight for two weeks). Considering all the running we did for forgotten things the past few days that was pretty good.

Katie sang at a Red Cross Benefit Sunday afternoon with her friends in the band International Toast. She was excited. International Toast won the Kingswoodstock Battle of the Bands back in April. They get to go to a recording studio in June and have asked Katie to go with them. She is really excited about that. No other real news today. Here are photos of Katie with the Toast. I call her a Toastee, her Dad calls her a Toastette!

Runnin' the roads!

Well, after a lovely morning tea (in true English style) on Saturday with women from church, I headed to Quincy, MA to pick up Hilary. When I arrived she was not as packed as I had hoped; however, we started loading the car and Thule. Within 30 minutes I realized we had a serious problem. Each time she had come home she had brought back more things for storage in the room. We had all the things Lindsey had used, so that was no problem until we got ready to pack it up - it would not all fit!!! SO, since John had gone to CT to stay with his Mom while his Dad was in the hospital and since his Dad had come home from the hospital - I put out an SOS call!! He just laughed. He was an hour away. We still had his truck packed and were waiting for Hilary by the time A Capella finished singing at graduation. Whew! Hil and I stopped at the Walmart in Epping to try and find a few things she needed for Rome and for Summer Ministry in VA. We were not successful. SO, Sunday after church I took her to Conway - we came home with one thing and decided we'd have to try again when she returned from Italy. TODAY at 2 PM I get a frantic phone call at school, the power converted John had picked up did not work with a MAC! The only place to get one was the Apple Store in Salem, NH (2 hours away). SO, after school Hilary and I headed to the Apple Store. We got what she needed and looked there for a dress for her. She was not successful, but I found 3 pair of capris and a shirt on sale at Penney's - it at least made the trip worthwhile for me ;0).

We are now home and Hilary is finishing her packing for 2 weeks in Rome, Italy! She'll take the bus to Logan Airport in the morning and meet the group from school there. I have seen her the few days she has been home; however, must of it has been in the car... Hope you've had a good day - it was sunny here today.

Playin' with the Header...

No one was home last night so I decided to check out some other bloggers headers for dimensions and then play with my own. It looks better than what I had up there, but I'm not sure about the final product. I'll leave it for now because I have no idea when I'll get to play with it again. It at least let's me look at the faces I love and they are the reason I scrap.

After a ladies prayer breakfast I'm headed to Quincy to get Hilary and all her stuff from the dorm room. I am SO thankful it is sunny and not rainy. Have a great Saturday!

Toby Vs. Mom...

Before I tell the story...I'll ask for prayer for my father-in-law who is in the hospital with pneumonia - or at least that's what the doctors think, they aren't 100% sure. Anyway, John is on his way down to stay the night with his Mom and see his Dad and return tomorrow and somewhere in there finish his sermon for Sunday. Now on to the story...

My Mom got a new dog last Friday. He is a border collie mix named Toby. We think he was abused before Mom got him because he is very timid around people. Toby is a beautiful dog and he is very intelligent. So far he has managed to back out of one dog halter, chew up one choke collar and escape from my Mom many times. I have changed his name to Houdini. He follows her around the yard when she is outside. He has moved from hiding in the bathroom to sleeping in the office/spare room; however, he stayed out all last night because he won't come when called.

Mom has been able to trick him a few times, but right now she is trying to figure out how to get him in the house tonight. I'd love to have a video camera placed outside the house to see all the things she has already tried - and will still need to try - to get him in. In honor of Houdini, I present the following layout...may I introduce you to Toby...

The quote by Roger Caras says:
"Dogs are not are whole lives,
they make our lives whole."
Credits: Felty Quickpage by Calico Designs

It is HOT!!!

The past few days have felt like summer. Today it was 89 degrees out when I left school! Thankfully it is cooler now. Not much of interest has happened. Katie's dress did survive the Prom. Lindsey sent photos of the furniture in her apartment finally; it looks nice and Hilary has photos of her and Andrew.

I won't bore anyone with the photos of Lindsey's furniture (sorry Linds - email some new photos of you). I will post a few pictures of Kate from prom and Ireland and Hilary and Andrew. I love ALL my kids!

Katie Joy Gallagher outside Gallagher's Pub in Ireland

Katie and Steven

Katie at the front of the Mount Washington

Hilary and Andrew

Hilary is ALWAYS the one taking photos, BUT Andrew took these next two

I LOVE this one!

She's SEWN in!!!

Poor Katie! Tonight is her Senior Prom. She and Chesi are going with 2 friends who are members of the group "International Toast". They had their nails done on Wednesday; she had her hair done at 1 PM; I steamed her dress and she left at 3 PM to go to Chesli's to get ready. At 4:30 I get a frantic phone call..."Mom...the zipper in the dress is broken!" I quickly search for the sewing kit and head to Chelsi's - praying all the way. After much "tinkering" I determined that I couldn't repair the zipper...the only option was to sew the zipper closed. It is a long zipper. Kate was sure that if I sewed it up, she could get her arms and shoulders through and it would be fine. God gave me enough sense to sew it in 5 smaller sections (that and the fact that I was doubling the thread and running out of thread sooner). The guys had been outside waiting since 4:30...pacing...

When I finished sewing we carefully tried to put it on Katie. I could get it to her shoulders...but that was it. There were 3 adults, an 11 year old and 3 younger children watching the drama. Katie, who had been calm up to this point, burst into tears. I ended up cutting out 2 sections of stitching, putting the dress back on her and literally SEWING HER IN THE DRESS! I added a few safety pins for good measure and she was done. I only got a few pictures as they rushed out the door. You see the drama didn't end there - the florist sent the boutinniere she had ordered to another of their locations! Thankfully they had to drive by the florist that had it on their way to Wolfeboro. They left Chelsi's at 5:45 PM. It is a 30 minute drive to the Wolfeboro Docks where they were to get on the Mount Washington for the prom cruise! Everyone was boarding between 6:00 and 6:30! I did a lot of praying on the way home that they'd make it. Here's what I have for photos:

Me trying to sew up the zipper on the dress using Rochelle's couch!

Steven, Katie, Chelsi and Dan (Dan is really shy!)

The "Hurry up Mom we have to go!" look.

In other news, over 500 people attended National Day of Prayer. It was a wonderful experience. You can view photos here.

Have a great weekend!

National Day of Prayer!

Celebrate the National Day of Prayer today! Pray for our nation, our leaders, our military, our President. Pray for revival in our churches! If you are in the Lakes Region of NH, join us at Gilford High School for a National Day of Prayer event sponsored by One Voice Ministries.

Have a blessed day!

The baby tooth...

School is back in full swing. Yesterday the kids were wired - today was better. I saw the dentist this afternoon. The broken tooth was one of my 4 baby teeth! Yes, that is right - I am almost 50 years old and still have 4 baby teeth. He decided to try and bond to it and "make" a tooth with filling. He then told me it would eventually fall out and I'd need an implant. After a discussion about the fact that Katie needs TWO implants for no teeth due to congenital defect and John needs one implant - the idea of FOUR implants for our family did not go over well. ESPECIALLY at the cost of $2200 - $2600 per tooth! I have decided John and I will become toothless in our old age and Kate will have to wear a retainer until she dies OR until I die in which case she can take any money left in my estate and pay for her implants. LOL

My friend, KAnn, has tagged me so here are 7 random facts about me. The people I tag must list their 7 facts and tag 7 other people...Here we go:

1) I love to digiscrap - although finding time to do it is another issue
2) I have made some fine friends through the cyberworld of digiscrapping (if I spent less time reading and commenting on their blogs I'd probably get more scrapping done...)
3)I love my job working with special needs kids in an elementary school
4) I will be an empty-nester at the end of August
5) My wonderful husband and I will have been married 28 years in June
6)I like to cook and read cookbooks
7)I like reading Jan Karon, Andy Andrews and Charles Martin books

I'm tagging, Jean, Marcia, Laura, Janet, Erin, Susan, Jan

Have a great night!