Harmony ~Class of 2009~

I'm hopelessly behind in blogging. The saying "I'm so far behind I thought I was first" could almost be my motto lately! Although I'm not officially working yet, I have been doing lots of preliminary stuff from home, which has been pretty time consuming, as well as the day to day routine of taking care of four kids and a home (some of you know all about that)! The kids are ready for school. Summer flew for them, until this week. I don't know that I have heard anyone utter the phrase "I'm bored" -- they know I would make them un-bored real quick -lol---but they are ready for structure and challenge.
Here are some photos from Harmony Burley's open house, which took place in June. Since she was only 4 when Greg and I started dating, I can't believe she is old enough to be out of school and headed for college! I didn't get a great variety of pics, but here are the few I have.
Best friends...Harmony and Amanda...
Khara and Kelsey...I think Khara was enjoying the remnants of the chocolate buffet...

Harmony and her aunties :)...Karson and Allison didn't get the memo about the photo shoot!

Carl and Dorothy Johnson...like grandparents to Harmony...

Uncle Greg and Harmony always end up in a wrestling/tickling match...I won't say who usually wins...

Harmony and her bf...

I can't give you any explanation on this photo...these are some of the cousins...Ryan with a nerf vest...Allison eating off of the floor...Kaden cheesing away...just havin' a ball!

Uncle Mark, Harmony, and Uncle Greg...

Congratulations, Harmony! We are proud of you!

TAKING PRIDE AGAIN!

I don't know your feelings on the matter, but I've been a little downhearted about the whole political scene lately. Not so much because the "other" party is running the show, but because the America that I know and love is being turned inside out at the will of a few idiots in Washington D.C. (you might find that disrespectful, but it's true).
For those who love all the government goodies, and would rather receive those tax-payer provided "gifts" than to get a job (or jobs - whatever it takes) and pay their own bills, none of this even matters. For the rest of us who want to be able to make our own choices, and take home our own paychecks (which actually assures future security and prosperity), we are sick.
This week, I have been amazed by average conservative Americans, who are showing up to speak their heart, and do their patriotic duty. I'm proud of them! They are well-spoken and knowledgeable of the subjects (as opposed to many of their senators and representatives).
If you have the opportunity to attend a Town Hall Mtg., I hope that you will be there and have the backbone to stand up for basic principles of freedom. Our founders were some of the most intelligent, sacrificial, and well-meaning men that ever lived. Unfortunately, most young Americans will never know or understand their greatness. Here is what Thomas Jefferson had to say:

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is

big enough to take away everything you have."

If you don't believe it, just wait and see.

Happiness Is...

Longaberger Garage Sale Bargains...

Here it goes...I'm not a "garage-saler" or a "thrift shopper", but I do love a great bargain. About once a year, I'll decide to get out the newspaper, plan a route, and hit the yard sales. I'm always so proud of myself when I drag everyone out of bed early and throw them in the van (in their jammies, of course) with a promise of a fast-food breakfast and maybe a cheap toy, if I happen to find one.
The big day for 2009 was about two weeks ago. The ads looked good, and several of them were within a comfortable distance of each other, making for a nice, easy route. I'm really bad at this. My tendency is to drive by a sale, check things out from the car (while driving and dodging customers), and if I don't see anything promising, head on to the next location on the route.
A true deal-finder knows that this isn't the way to do it, but that's why I only do it once a year...I'm not good at it! Back to my story...as I drove by my very first stop, I gave in to the urge to "window shop"...from my van. I couldn't really see what was in the garage, but the driveway didn't look too thrilling, so off I went...to the next address on my little route. Nothing there, either. I did have this urge, though, that I should go back by the first address before leaving the neighborhood. I had nothing to lose, and the kids were being good.
To my surprise, the garage was a treasure chest! You have to understand the value of Longaberger Pottery (and my love of it) to realize the deal here:

4 piece canister set (never seen it for less than $300 or $400 - even on ebay)
3 piece mixing bowl set
large turkey platter (absolutely huge)
meat platter
small pitcher
cream and sugar set
salt and pepper set
spoon rest
candlestick set (2)
votive candle set (2)
oval vegetable bowl
large loaf pan
gravy boat
2 qt covered casserole dish
cookie jar (beautiful)
tea kettle (beautiful)
medium mixing bowl
toothpick holder
Most of these items are retired, and are in mint condition.
My grand total...$300!!! There are a few little items that I really didn't want, so I will sell them on ebay, and hopefully come close to paying for the whole lot! The kind lady who sold them to me really just didn't want to fool with it, and was happy to have someone take it off of her hands!
I have been looking at the canisters (they are in Heritage Green - my mom's color) for a couple of years, wanting to get them for mom but never being willing to pay ebay's prices...I snagged them for $75. Wow. I have kind of had the urge to pop in on a garage sale or two since, but figure I would probably be disappointed after hitting the jackpot!

Nashville, IN

I suppose the word "vacation" means different things to different people. For us, vacation is a time of relaxation and the enjoyment of things that are out of the ordinary. Greg and I aren't particularly fond of extremely hot weather, so a summer vacation to a toasty destination isn't really appealing to us. With the ages of our children, highly commercialized areas aren't too attractive either! This year we decided not to go to youth camp, in favor of taking some time to relax with our family. We drove our church youth over to PYC at Frankfort, then went on down to Nashville, IN where we spent a few days just doing whatever it was we wanted to do. When the boys were 6 & 20 months, we went to Nashville and stayed at the fairly new Hidden Valley Inn. I believe it cost us $60 per night for an incredibly comfortable condo-suite. It was wonderful! This year I looked up Hidden Valley, and was amazed to find that I could still book it for only $89 per night. The suites are roomy enough for 6 people to be comfortable for several days. We took the Playstation with us, as well as several new dvd's from the Christian bookstore. These helped make for relaxing evenings. Scroll down for pictures from our fun four days in Indiana!





Relaxing...




Yummy breadsticks from the Harvest Moon Pizzeria...needless to say, the dress has never been the same...


Enjoying some "health food" from one of the candy shops...

He's gonna be taller than me before too long!

Relaxing with the kiddos...

Kaitlynn's lonely princess...

...finally found a prince!