What a difference!!

It always humors me the way boys and girls are so very different. This Sunday, the big boys went to a friend's house and we acquired 4 more children :) The girls came right inside and sat on the family room floor to discuss their plans. They decided they would work on their origami skills with the expert help of their friend, E. They also played school and eventually made it outside to jump rope and shoot hoops...such a contrast from those testosterone filled frolicking boys!


Ah, nice and quiet.....

but in the other room, the boys had other ideas!!

...Wrestling, rolling around on the floor like bear cubs, and baseball in the backyard were among their favorites!

Jenkins is coming up for a breath before getting back to the plans at hand!

While the boys were busy rolling around on the living room floor, the girls finished their projects...Voila!

Impressive, huh?!

Thanks, Oprah

I understand she is the one our family can thank for getting the word out about the KFC free meal coupons issued over a 24 hour period. Thankfully, my mom and my favorite money saving website had the link. You know us...we can't pass up a freebie! By the way, KFC"s new grilled chicken and roasted potatoes are very yummy and the fact that it was free for all 8 of us made it that much tastier :)!!!

Happy Birthday, Cyber boy!!

C is now 12 years old! He continues to amaze me with his knack for solving computer glitches and he has even offered 'tech support' to fix a blog problem for his aunt and uncle who serve overseas as missionaries :)! C is my shopping buddy and often joins me for my evening food shopping jaunts after the younger crew is in bed. He remains a night owl and is most productive then so we have also begun completing his math lessons in the evening when it is easier to concentrate (I wonder why?!) C loves sports and wrote both of his biographies for writing class about Phillies players. Mrs. S, his writing instructor jokes that he may have a future in sports writing! Just last week he performed the lead male part in our spring musical" Promise U" . He did an outstanding job memorizing lines and eagerly participating in spite of the fact that he was one of 4 boys in the play and the only one his age. I am so proud of how he served with joy and was not at all reluctant to give his all.It is encouraging to see the Lord at work in C's heart, revealing to him his need for a Savior. This summer he will attend our church youth camp for the first time with P and Daddy. I look forward to seeing all the Lord has in store for him in the days ahead.
The birthday boy graciously 'shared' the festivities of his special day with his 2 brothers who also celebrate May birthdays. After church, Grandmom and Pop-Pop B and Mimi and Pop-Pop Doyle joined us to celebrate along with Cousins Justin and Lexie who hopped a ride with their grandparents and surprised us :) Pop-Pop B brought over some neat memorabilia from his ancestral roots and Mimi brought a store bought cake to be decorated by the boys. They transformed a very feminine flowered cake into a foos-ball table in just a few minutes with Mimi's creative help. What a blessing it is to share these celebrations with both sets of grandparents :)

A history lesson from Pop-Pop B~

The birthday boys with their creation....and P made this ' duh~face' on purpose for the whole world to see...goofy boy!

A close up of their yummy creation~

Thanks for checking in!!

Many hands make work light...

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity as we wind down our school year. "Bag stuffing Day" always marks the beginning of our end of year events. For the past few years we have taken a morning in May to help our friend, Mrs. A prepare for our state homeschool convention which she oversees.A few families and our kids gather to stuff 800 bags full of fliers, ads, and information to give out to the convention attendees. It is a fun time and amazing to see how much we can accomplish with many hands in just a few short hours!!

There was enough to do for everyone to participate...the younger crowd helped me by putting "Thank you " stickers on mints to be placed on the volunteer table at the convention.

.... this crew filled 800 bags in just a few hours . I saw a few things in the piles as I revolved around the table that I'd like to investigate further...guess this advertising venue really does work!

Don't think this was all work and no play!! ..they had ample breaks, lots of snacks , a pizza lunch, and plenty of time to fool around...but not enough time to get into trouble :)!!

There was even a cool zip line for the kids...some of the kiddos got a bit daring trying to zip over obstacles...G was thankfully tame and satisfied with a straight ride!

Baseball!!

Another very belated post...I started this a few weeks ago and you know how life happens :) Actually, I was waiting to take a closeup of our #6 in uniform...then forgot I took the picture, didn't remember to upload once I took the picture... and today, finally realized there was a post in the works!!
We are officially in the throes of C's Little League season. We have been spending many hours at the field complex and at local parks while his team practices. Mercy, Odesco and L, being the ultimate opportunists, use some of their time and boundless energy to search the area around the ball field for lost balls. They can take them up to the snack bar for a small bag of candy to share. One time last season they found 15 balls! Fortunately I was on snack bar duty and convinced them to give some of the candy away :)

Last Thursday evening C had a game...it did not start until 7:30pm and it was COLD!!!

I had to to fulfill my obligatory snack bar duties...I must say, although I hate to miss the game, I was quite toasty inside. Our little boys 'forgot' their coats and only had sweatshirts...they were freezing and begging me to let me inside which is not allowed but I was able to give them my coat to share :) Goofy boys!! I don't think they'll forget their coats again!

The gang at 'Opening Day' Ceremonies ... yep, the 'official' start of baseball season is a few weeks after the first games are played.

C warming up before his Saturday evening game ~

By the time the game began, the sun went down and the big lights went on. This is one of the thrills of C playing in the 'majors' this year....he plays under the 'big lights' almost every game---which means his games don't start until 7:30pm!!

The 'littles' are not as enthusiastic as Daddy and me to sit and watch the game. They bring their own chosen forms of entertainment along...here our resident artist is drawing a picture of his big brother in uniform :) Odesco had a tennis ball and was busy in the batting cage behind me!

The girls keep busy with their knitting projects...

Our favorite player, #6 :)!!

We're all happy to welcome back this spring past time cheering on C and his teammates...we're also hoping springtime temperatures will be here soon so that we don't freeze during his night games :)

"I'm parched, FruiTea me!"

Yes, once again we shamelessly took advantage of a local freebie! This afternoon after our final day of HDO (Homeschooler's Day Out) and a lengthy play practice, we said the magic words,"I'm parched, FruiTea me". Mercy was giggling so hard she could barely get the words out! In return for repeating this mantra, we each received a free delicious iced tea at Arbys! We joined our friends, the L's, for this late afternoon treat!! Oh, and we also had the boys' friend J along for the ride!

Cheers!! Did I forget to mention that early this morning we made a pit stop at the local Chick-Fil-A drive thru' to fill our bellies with yet another of their free breakfasts?? Who says there's no such thing as a 'free lunch'?! Well, okay so it wasn't a free lunch but we'll happily settle for a free breakfast and free refreshing iced tea :)

In a galaxy far far away....

Mimi custom made this cool "Star Wars" robe for L to 'get into character' while swinging his light sabre...she gave it to him on Sunday when we celebrated C, P, and L's birthdays with both sets of grandparents and Miss BAA...

Monday morning during school, I asked L to find his math book~ of course he was wearing his new cloak and he fittingly answered, "Yes, my lord."

After a futile search, he bowed down at my feet and solemnly declared, "Master, I have failed my mission"

Like I've said before, there's never a dull moment around here :) He had us all in stitches with that line! Oh, and we did find the missing book!! What fun this little guy is!!!