Tink LOVES her new guitar that Mamaw Nia and Papaw Danny got her after they got a call from the big guy up North ;). Only problem is, at least for a little while, I am not sure how much the rest of us can take lol...but she does love to sing and play that li'l flatop box ;)

Christmas Card '08 (ala family style)

Well I had every intention of sending out Christmas cards this year...ordered them in plenty of time, got the prints back and in EVERY print it looked like I had socked Mike in the eye! Snapfish says that they do no auto-correction on their prints but SOMETHING got screwed up! The colors were off (kinda washed out and blah) and the corner of mike's eye (where it is a little dark on this pic) was blackened about half way around his eye!
SO instead here is my Christmas greeting to everyone :D Hope you have a blessed and Christmas and Happy New Year too! From my goofy family to yours ;)

My dream?...

I don't normally post giveaway links here. All of you know that. Tonight is different. I know that I have already posted one earlier, but I had to post this one too....if there is even a teeny tiny chance that I might win it, I have to try!
If you are part of my family you know this already, if you are a friend you MIGHT know it (maybe not), if you ever visit my blog you might have an idea...but my dream for the past 11 yrs has sincerely been to do some sort of photography for a living. We aren't talking the type that has galleries in NYC, just the type that makes enough to help the family income out and makes enough from her paid jobs to do photographs for families who can't afford studio prices (or even wal-mart prices!). Part of our church family is closely involved with the local pregnancy crisis center. This is where mothers (teen to however old) can go and get assistance during their pregnancy and after. Most of these moms cannot afford even the smallest package of birth photos (those stinkin' things are EXPENSIVE!) or photos of their older children. I would love to be able to volunteer a couple days a week to just do photos for these moms. BUT it takes something I don't have....a DSLR camera. I am not complaining about the camera that I have! It is just that it is very limited as to what type of photos I can shoot because it is very limited with quality in low light or things like that....IF I were able to choose my gift package what I would choose would be the Nikon D60 DSLR camera! If not, I would choose the PS3 game package for Mike and the boys. (but secretly every part of me wants that camera more than I can express lol...ok not so secretly ;) ).
SO....how can you have a chance to make YOUR dreams come true?! Just head over to TechnoSailor's blog and tweet, comment, and blog about it!

Give a li'l get a li'l...er um a LOT!

Jaffe Juice is hosting a $500 gift package giveaway (package from Sears, sponsored by Izea)! I would love to win the Nintendo Wii Fun Bundle! We have a Wii (thanks to elijah saving every penny he got last year), but only have one game for it (the one that came with it). SO I would keep a couple of the games for the kids and give the gamesystem and remaining games to the brother of a fellow blogger for his kids (if they didn't have one)! Head on over there for YOUR chance to win!

My submission for Portrait contest :)

My 4 yr old daughter is a girl of many moods and just as many likes and dislikes! She was letting me know that I had taken enough pics of her this day, and it turned out to be one of my favorites! This is my submission for a Contemporary-Portrait photo contest at I'm In Culture Shock! I have "cuter" pics and I have more "classic" pics but this one is one of my all times favorites (esp. since it had to be "recent"):D

Grosgrain is at it again...:D

Tree Lighting Wrap Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!
I have been trying to only enter giveaways that I am sure can be put to good use if I were to win them...THIS is definitely one of those! I can just SEE Tink in this gorgeous li'l frock, collar turned up, hair styled neat and tight with her big ol' afropuff on top!...sigh....
Oh yeah, um back to the reason for the post lol....Kathleen is giving this frock away to one reader! If you know some precious little Princess who would look dashing and gorgeous in it, go on over and follow the instructions to win!

Narrowed it down to 3....

Ok so I thought and thought and went back and forth and back and forth in my head about which pic to use for this contest at I'm In Culture Shock that should have a PhD in Awesomeness, and just cannot decide :(. My boys are just NOT very emotive in photos lately and Tink is never not oozing with one emotion or another so I decided on one of her pics....but which one?! I am running short on time and need some input...here are 3 pics taken within the last few months...which one do YOU think would have a shot at winning? The grand prize is 20 bucks in the winners paypal account! 20 bucks! That is like 20 digiscrap kits if I get them on Fab Friday or $1 Deals Thursday or....well you get the idea! So out of the 3 pics, which do you like? ask a friend, which do THEY like....ask your kids, your hubby, your neighbor! HELP!

Do YOU love me?!

Wow, Melanie sure knows how to guilt a girl into doing a questionnaire! Sheesh! (um but yeah I am so going to use the same tactic ;) )

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I love the quickness of bags, but c'mon, seriously, wrapping paper is ALWAYS the best!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, but told Mike that just once I would like to try a real tree :)

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the first week in NOVEMBER, but this year not until the day before Thanksgiving...and it STILL isn't decorated, only has lights on it.

4. When do you take the tree down? Normally the week the kids go back to school...it always depresses me to take it down so I do it when they are not home.

5. Do you like eggnog? I think I would, I know I love eggnog milkshakes!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I can't say which was my FAVORITE, but my most surprising one was the year we got our first Cabbage Patch Kid :) (and that was the only one I had until I was an adult!)...for 1 we never got expensive gifts at Christmas, for 2 it was the year that there were riots over them, we lived in Knoxville TN that year and it was all over the news that people were being trampled and beat up over them! My mom happened to be walking by the doors that led to the loading dock and an employee stuck her head out and let mom know there was a shipment being unloaded :D She said she just couldn't pass it up :)

7. Hardest person to buy for? Just about everyone this year :(...with finances what they are it is hard to find "the perfect gift" with no money lol

8. Easiest person to buy for? definitely Tink (Chloe)

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yep! I collect them :)

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Both :) I email a lot but I also mail ones to certain family/friends and always try to mail ones to people who mail them to us :)

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? The year Mike bought me the generic walmart plastic tupperware stuff, which wouldn't have been "the worst" if he hadn't asked me a week before Christmas "Hey hun, you want to open your gift early?" I said "I do, but I don't...I think I'll just wait" He said "no, really go on and open it, I REALLY want you to" so I did and it was that (I thought it was just a joke and there was something else in the box) When I opened the box and saw the bowls with lids, he said "Thanks, now can you hand me the big one for the left over spaghetti?" He had made spaghetti and needed a bowl for it....sigh :P
Let me say that he TOTALLY rectified it a couple years later when he bought me my first digital camera!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Muppets Christmas Carol hands down!

13 When do you start shopping for Christmas? The day after Christmas :)

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think I have but honestly not against it lol especially if it were something that I didn't really care for but I knew someone who did.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Mike's grandma's Sweet Potato Casserole or his other grandma's vinegar cole slaw!

16. Lights on the tree? I use colored and white :) (it isn't as gross as it sounds!)

17. Favorite Christmas song? wow this one changes for me all the time :)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I think it would be nice to wake up at home on Christmas Day, but I would feel so let down if we didn't wake up at my mom & dad's....so I really can't answer this :(

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Dasher Dancer Prancer Vixen Comet Cupid Donder (or Donner) and Blitzen....and of course Rudolph, duh!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? usually a Teddy Bear dressed like Santa

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? here at home we do it Christmas late morning, but we open presents at his grandma's and then at his dad's Christmas Eve (I think we are combining his mom's and his dad's this year though!) and ONE present at my mom's Christmas Eve (new pajama's and slippers), then we open presents at my mom's at like 4 or 5 a.m. at my mom's, go back to sleep for a couple hours then head home for gifts and showers and then off to his other grandma's then to his mom's :) (yeah we are wore out by the time those 2 days are over)

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Grumpy people!!!! Seriously guys, we can CHOOSE to be in a cheerful mood no matter how long lines are, what gifts are sold out, or how far we have to park from the store!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love anything handmade or "countryish" :)

24. Favorite thing for Christmas dinner? see question 15 :)

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? hm what I WANT or what I wish for....I want my kids & hubby to have a great and happy Christmas but if you are asking what I would personally wish to have for myself it would be a DSLR Camera with a few awesome lenses :)

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Everyone who loves me (stealing melanie's tactic)

27. Who is least likely to respond: People who do not love me. (stealing melanie's tactic)

So, now if you love me- post your answers! Let me know if you do play along so I can check out your answers.

No Turkeyday Pics?!

Nope, not ONE, how is THAT for rebellion?! But I have to admit, I have taken a few photos since then and here they are as proof ;). HOPEFULLY the boys are going to let me take a bunch this weekend IF IF IF I ever get the stinkin decorations on the tree! I miss having oodles of pics of my boys, but they just refuse or grumble so much it doesn't seem worth the fight sometimes :(....anyway, here are a few recent pics of Tink and I think one or two of the boys ;)

Just some pics before school...it was bring your teddy bear day....
**Tink (chloe) has a problem with not wanting to look directly AT the camera so I have tons of pics of her making this face....**




This is her current "pick" of stuffed toys...that is a baby outfit she bought with her change at goodwill during 99 cent kids clothes day a few weeks ago, and yep, she bought it specifically for THIS teddy bear "cuz he was nekked momma! except for his gwasses"


Since finanaces are a bit tight (lol that is an understatement) Tink & I have started making clippies for her hair instead of buying them...this is one of her favorites....



This is not the greatest pic but it shows how my daughter dresses a LOT of the time....the turtleneck was a 99 cent goodwill find, i think the tights were bought at walmart last year but they too might be from the big g.w. (no not the president, goodwill of course), the "shirt" is a dress that is 2 sizes too small as are the pants (the pants are actually a 24 month but she LOVES them and they fit her waist so she says they "still fit"...)


This is her cry baby face...




see how short the pants are lol they have went from pants to capris and are pushing becoming shorts soon! lol



lane made me promise not to post these on myspace, so I honored his wishes ;) (hey now, he didn't say a word about posting on my blog!) I have to grant him one thing, his nose is NOT that big...not sure if it is the angle or b/c he has his face scrunched up in laughter & pain but his nose does look ginormous in this pic....the younger 2 were using him as a "horse"...keep in mind, elijah is NOT a small child lol so this was a lot of weight!


another "not so great" pic, but this just reminded me (when I took the pic from across the room trying to be incognito) that even at 10 yrs old, li'l boys need snuggles from time to time ESPECIALLY from their daddies...


One of my new faves of tink :) That is her baby that goes with us whenever the teddy bear doesn't...tink's dress AND the baby's dress, 99 centers!

She would sit on his lap, but acted like she was mute...she absolutely refused to do more than nod yes or no to him lol...he looks kinda grumpy or something in these pics but he was a very nice santa and the pics were free! I took these 2 and they gave us one...it was at BassPro Shop the weekend after Thanksgiving and they allowed you to bring your own camera too (at the mall Santa, you can only take your own IF you are buying one of their packets too and the cheapest is like 18 dollars for a 5x7!!!!) soooooooooooooooooo another buck or two saved ;) and we still got to see the big guy in the red suit....



this was actually AT Bass Pro, I just deleted the background (it wasn't a pretty backdrop like the fish tank or animals, it was a stupid temporary boat display or something lol)...


The other morning I couldn't find Tink in her room....this is why.....



And finally the boys helping put up the tree...they did a great job!




:D ok still a lot of pics, but not as bad as trying to do an entire season in one post ;)
If you leave a comment, let me know which one is your fave...I might be entering a contest (you can pick one of these or one of the fall ones from a previous post) for portraits of people ;)....

I just realized...

I just realized that it is almost Thanksgiving and I never got around to posting any fall/halloween pics! so here are the bazillion or so that I like the most...this is only about 1/10 of the pics I took in Oct.! (some with short descriptions, some without ;) )
hope you are not on dial up...if you are, just close this screen NOW! :D
**Update on my mom...her eye is actually healing amazingly well! Even the docs are stumped (we aren't though, God is faithful to answer prayers :) )! They are now saying she will most likely make a COMPLETE recovery!!!! (long shot from "you might lose sight completely and forever") lol**

The abandoned baseball in the backyard...yes folks, summer is sincerely over....


Miss Attitude herself in her 3 dollar outfit (all 3 pieces were 99 cents each at goodwill)...she is showing me how they get quiet in preschool..."one hand on your hip and one on your lip"....she loves it




Her favorite place to sleep...on daddy's chest...I have a million pics of them sleeping, but it never ceases to tug at my heart when I see them :)



She wore this shirt no less than 15 days in the month of October...seriously...she kept calling it her "cool shirt" (99 cents at goodwill) and her "cool shorts" (99 cent boy shorts from goodwill)...are you seeing a pattern with her favorite clothes?


My ornery nephew, in HIS 99 cent sweater that Tink picked out for him :)




This is actually the end of the parade and Lane was feeling the "ugh" of carrying quads for a couple of miles while marching...


Tink watching the parade...see that li'l cluster of people behind the ambulance? That is their entire marching band....seriously...


Tinks crush (on the left) and Lane during the Homecoming parade (this was actually the beginning of the parade)


li'l viking


This one is out of order but it was taken at the pumpkin patch :)


What is she staring at?!


ut oh...yeah, its 2 kittens that were working on getting ran over in MIL's apartment driveway...we put them in the box and Tink wouldn't quit looking at them....


and looking at them.....


We took the kittens to my mom's house in hopes that we could find someone who would want them, then we headed for our annual trip to a pumpkin patch north of my mom's....


we learned that cows LOVE pumpkins....


My older nephew, my big kid, my baby kid, and my middle kid :)


we returned the orange kitten to my MIL's apartment complex and took a chance that daddy MIGHT let us keep the calico (it was a girl, the orange was a boy....she was in MUCH worse shape than the boy, this is after 4 or 5 baths :( )





can you tell we kinda like her? and after several days daddy gave in and let us keep "Jofehfeen" as Tink started calling her....(Josephine)
Here she is giving her "I am a tough-butt" look, ears down and all ;)


This is her ninja kitty look ;)





in between shots of the kitten, I caught E-man laughin it up at something :) I don't normally catch honest to goodness candids of him very often so this was a treat ;)


honestly, how could daddy have said no?


"Tink, what are you doing?"... She replied that she had put her baby to sleep....



These are all from our fall pics that didnt all turn out so well lol





My 3 :)

My Oldest....


My younger nephew :)


I love this pic because it is showing his TRUE personality ;)


My 2 nephews...


My older nephew :)


and last but DEFINITELY not least, my middle'un....trying to get a "serious" or "posed" pic of him is like trying to get a cow not to fart....


When asked what the next 2 pics were about he said "I am de-ad schexy"....good Lord




Then this is the first day that was cold enough for Tink to wear her new coat that MIL got her for her birthday...


ok, she was sick of pics...enough already....



Halloween is crazy busy for us...by "halloween" I mean starting about a week before! this was in preparation for the fall festival/costume contest in the town my mom lives in....I forgot about the contest until the day before so I had literally HOURS to make her costume (and eli's) the night before the contest...Hubby's grandma donated an old sheet, the rest was up to me and Tink lol

I loved how the arms and her hand turned out...had my fingers crossed for the rest of the ensemble! We did this much at home then headed to mom's to finish up....didn't want her having to ride 30 minutes in full costume lol

a littler further into it.....yes that is all her hair...well her hair plus a TON of Aussie Instant Freeze hairspray and black & white cheapo walmart halloween spray....


Before the contest...the work was worth it! Didn't it turn out TOO cute?!

Elijah was cracking me up...he went as Spider Food or When Good Spiders Go Bad (he even named his spider....Jeffey....)


My 2 younger ones with my nephews....sniffle, sadly lane opted to sit out halloween this year, nearly broke my heart!

practicing her walk (not sure why her makeup looks blue in some of the pics...it truly was grayish)

navy admiral (yes we know he is saluting with the wrong hand...he is 5....lol)

Elijah cracks me up....I love this pic....looks like "Jeffey" finally got to him ;)

waiting for the parade to start....


and they are on the move! (it is a 2 block parade leading to the contest area lol, but the kids love it)

Tink got first, the lil pirate got 2nd and the fairy got 3rd :)

Bubba got second in his category!


Chase got 2nd in his and elijah's category, and tink finally let him near her lol


Chase got 2nd and elijah got first in their category :D



LOL we didn't know lane was "looming" over her until we were looking at the pics...the next few are of her "classic scream" poses ;)




she was getting tired, it was a long day!



her and daniel used part of their winnings to ride on the li'l carriage...

then they used more in the straw maze....at times this was all I could see of my daughter....lol


in the tunnel of the straw maze...turned out kinda creepy lol



Even reanimated dead girls get hungry after a long day of contests, mazes, carriage rides & such!

Lane and my daddy picking the last of the tomatoes before that nights freeze/frost (the first of the year)

we fried up the green ones...yum...sigh but no more until next summer SOBBING





Time to carve the pumpkins they picked out at the patch!

Elijah always takes the longest lol the others were done by the time he got his "lid" off

The first year she has not cried over touching the guts!

She kept saying "hurry momma....i don't want it IN my mou-ff"

Lane couldn't be outdone by a 4 yr old....

Ok, our tradition is that as soon as you "break the seal" of your lid, you get to be the first to smell it (yes we are weird, we all like the smell of pumpkin, it is like a passage into autumn...well the kids and I do, we don't think daddy does lol)

Tink poppin out the parts and then posing with her finished pumpkin...she wanted the eyes "silly" the mouth "scary" and it all to be "cute, you know"


count SPATula.....do I really have to claim this kid?

Jofehfeen "Joey" had to check it all out...

Lanes, Elijahs & Tinks....tink's looks like it is on fire....lol



raking leaves is just another sign that fall is here :D





This was before we left for our 2nd costume contest/festival....she was being the pharoah's kitten....lol

and it totally wore her out!

Daniel is such a goob..."now datsa spicya meatball!"

another phase in getting tink ready...this was for the 2nd contest....this was BEFORE any hairspray!


mommy was hurried and grumpy and the makeup/hair showed it :( but she still got first :D

looks like the admiral picked up some company on shore leave! yikes!

chase and his competition, he won first!


Eli gave it his best "my spider is draining me" performance but the competition was too stiff....he didn't win this go-round...


Trick or treat night 1....Eli is such a good brother :) and we ditched the colored hair for tink....


Eli's halloween "trick" on his teacher....pretending to have gotten beat up the night before....

not bad for washable markers ;)


Trick or Treat night 2...we ditched the hair color AND most of the makeup and she still looked way cute ;) just more like daughter of frankenstein's monster instead of bride ;) This was probably my favorite look for her costume :D


These are the 3 that I took trick or treating that night...bubba stayed at sis' house to pass out candy with her and goozie (chase) came to my house....lane was playing in the band at the playoff game that night....


not sure why but i really love this pic of them...maybe b/c it shows the time of day (setting sun, long shadows) or maybe it is b/c it reminds me of trick or treating when I was little....



this was NOT posed....he sat down to wait while chase got his gloves off to tie his shoe...I couldn't resist taking a pic ...not funny, just ironic ;)

in front of the SUPER scary house....the other 1/2 of the yard was too gruesome to show!

this is a bad pic, but that was one of the most awesome night skies to trick or treat under!

daddy hoarding the kids' hard earned candy!


be careful tink! he might bite & I don't think he is up to date on his shots!




Ok and here is our story board for the night....

"HA-HA!!!! I will now take the potion that my master concocted in his lab...bwahahahahaha!"

*gutteral gulpin noises*

*that weird strangle noise they always make after drinking the potion*

*screams* "what am i turning into?! what have i done?!"

"must ravage villages, throw small girls into ponds, and be chased by angry mobs!!!!!"

I think she is destined for stardom.....well she would have been 50-75 yrs ago, kids now-days just don't appreciate good acting ;) hahahahahahaha

Now just some random fall pics....
I call this one "slackers" since it was pushing late morning and these slackers were still resting on the wet leaves after a heavy fog lifted ;)


"neighbors" same morning fog made every spiderweb very visible and very beautiful (my pics don't do them justice)


inner beauty.....

:) I love the star shape of this late pumpkin bloom :D

I like to think of this one as "God loves me...He even shows me in the sweetest of ways"...


Wow if you made it through those, you are a better woman than I....I barely made it through and they were MY pictures! but now I feel like I have completed my posts for Oct. and can move on to Thanksgiving stuff ;)....yikes only 3 more days!