Trouble Sleeping

Jen:  What are you doing up still, Samantha?

Samantha:  I can't sleep.  I keep thinking about Christmas, and everything we need to do to get ready.  It is so exciting.  Do you think Mary felt that way about baby Jesus?

Jen:  Probably, considering she had to travel to Bethlehem when she was expecting a very special baby to be born.   I think you should try to get some sleep.  Maybe counting sheep will help.

Samantha:  Well, there are 2 here in this nativity..

Samantha:  And these three angel sheep were on the tree until they came to be counted, so that makes five.

Samantha:  And a prim sheep on the tree makes six.

Samantha:  And the Good Shepherd has a lamb, so that's seven, plus 4 more  in his flock, so that makes eleven!

Jen:  Samantha, you are heading to bed so slowly...you really need to get some sleep.

Samantha: (peeking into the Hitty room) A sheep pull toy makes a dozen.

Samantha:  Abbie's lamb makes thirteen...

Fourteen...

Fifteen...Sixteen...

Jen: (whispering) Good night, Sam.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We put up the tree on Sunday evening.  Monday night was twirl practice, but this evening, M. went through the bin of other decorations and began putting them out.  I'll try to share some more pictures of our holiday decorations with you as Christmas approaches.  Here is a picture of Jenny, one of the first companions to join Jen's family, way back in 2000.  She doesn't look a day older than when she arrived.  Jen changed her into her Christmas dress today and found some red ribbons for her hair.

When Jenny saw our friends Ally and Lizzy on Doll Dance Blog, she wanted to be on the web, too!

Saturday night dance

Samantha:  Catherine, did you go to dances when you were in Middle School?  Jen's daughter went to one last night, and it sounded fun.Catherine:  Sure I did.  What did M. have to say about hers?

Samantha:  They played lots of cool music and had special colored lights that flashed and had a  smoke machine.  She talked to her friends and danced to the songs that she liked.  They did the Macarena and the limbo and even danced to Thriller!

Catherine:  Hmmmm.  Did you know Jen was a chaperone at the dance?

Catherine:  She told me about the dance, too.  Did you know that the smoke machine's fog set off the smoke detectors?  Everyone had to go outside and stand in the cold for about 20 minutes.  A fire engine came to check things out.  When they went back in, they had to take turns signing back into the dance so they could make sure everyone who came to the dance returned to the dance. Then a sixth grade girl got sick and threw up in the bathroom and had to go home.  Then another sixth grade girl got upset and refused to come out of the bathroom.  A teacher finally talked her out.

Samantha:  Well, I still think most of the kids had fun most of the time.

Catherine:  Yes, you are probably right about that.

Samantha:  So when will I get to go to a dance?

Football Sunday

This afternoon, Jen was busy with laundry and other household chores, so I decided to see what I could do to entertain myself.  The DH was watching the Ravens play in Miami, so I decided to watch the game, too.  I remembered that a nice lady named Connie had sent me some sweaters last summer that I never wore, so I looked through my clothes box to see if any would be suitable for the chillier weather.  She had made me one the perfect shade of purple for cheering for the Ravens, so I put it on during halftime! It must be a lucky sweater, because the Ravens won!

-Samantha

A few glimpses at home

Here's Wendy and Amy, sitting in bed.  What are they up to? 

Big sister, Leah, has been telling them a story.  

They have a cozy bedroom.  

Alley, Lilly and Jodi are having a tea party downstairs.  

What a nice, relaxing weekend they are having!

Before the Rain

When the weather forecast called for rain from Friday through Sunday, I decided it might be a good idea to take my bunny, Hoppy, out for a little walk in the yard.  The sky was already grey, and the clouds were coming in.  Rain would only be a few hours away.  The Autumn Joy sedum is turning pink; Fall is coming.

The weatherman was right, it did rain all weekend long - I'm really glad I got to go out a bit before it came.

- Samantha

A Public Service Announcement

We interrupt this blog for a brief public service announcement.  Please consider giving blood.  It doesn't take that long, doesn't hurt too much, and saves someone's life.  And sometimes you get a cool t-shirt, too.    If you are a blood donor, thank you!

Ready for School?

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I've been getting ready for a few weeks. I got a new haircut, did all of my summer reading, and got some new school supplies. Today, I packed what I will need for tomorrow in my backpack. Tonight, I will pack my lunch. Where did the summer go? I wish it could be summer a little bit longer. But now is the time for learning and exercising my brain. At least, I am here with my family. Some kids have to go away for school. I think I would miss everyone too much.


I hope everyone has a great start to their new school year!!!

- Samantha

It has been too long

I can't believe that I haven't made any posts to this blog - July slipped by without writing anything! I hope I can do better this month! It was a really busy month: Jen's birthday, twirl camp for M., a contest in Eldersburg, the 4th of July (we had Jen's parents over for a little cookout and birthday celebration), and I was left here while Jen and her family went on their trip to Nationals.


I must admit., I've been feeling a little neglected lately. It is partly my fault. I've been having my own identity crisis and have been really struggling with hair issues. I just can't find my own style that I like and then get really mopey because every day feels like a bad hair day. Not much of a companion for someone who's so busy and just needs a little encouragement. I'm really sorry about that. There have been some new people here, too, besides my sister, Catherine. Catherine really likes to play with the younger girls when she isn't reading or studying. We need to spend more time together, too. I guess the whole doll family here needs to get our act together!

Anyway, the black-eyed-susans are blooming full force, and so it the crape myrtle and the butterfly bush. They are really pretty. I'm beginning to feel better about myself - bad hair days and all. Jen apologized for letting me feel left out for so long and we are going to try to do more together. And I'll try to post more often, too.

- Samantha

Red, red lillies

We planted these red lillies last year in front of our house. They only had a few flowers, which promptly fell off. This year, they bloomed like crazy. We took this picture about 10 days ago, so now the flowers are almost done. I'm glad that they came back! They were a real bright spot through some very rainy days!

-Samantha

Family Ties

Stranger: Thank you for letting me come in and rest. It has been a long journey from Colorado.

Stranger: Do you think I will have to wait very long to see Samantha? It has been so long since we've seen each other. Where is she? I thought she'd be waiting for me.

Jen: She's been waiting for days! It won't be long, she's just practicing her guitar lessons to pass the time. That's probably why she didn't hear you come in. I'll go get her. Just rest here.

Stranger: I am so excited to see her.

Stranger: I wonder how much she's grown up? Will she be the little girl I remember?

Samanath: Catherine! I'm so happy to see you!!! How was your trip? Did you bring anything for me? Will you stay here forever? I want to hear about Colorado and your trip!

Catherine: Oh, slow down! We'll have a lot of time to talk. I'm planning to be here a long time. We'll never be apart again. I want to spend a lot of time with my little sister. I've missed you so much.

Samantha: I've missed you, too. Jen has been a great friend to me since I've come here, but it isn't the same.

Catherine: Oh, Samantha. I've missed you, too. I love you.

Catherine: Thank you, Jen, for taking such good care of my little sister.

Samantha: Yes, thank you, Jen, for letting Catherine come here, too!

A Wonderful Day

I knew something was up when I heard W. on the phone with Jen at work. "Did you order something? ... You have a box here..." I wondered all day what had arrived in the mail. When Jen got home from work, we immediately opened the box. Chloe squeeled with excitement. Inside there were 2 quart sized bags packed tightly with sweaters, skirts, pants and lots of clothes for us!!! Jen had done a surprise, anything goes swap with one of her online friends, and this was the package from her friend, Connie B. We are very glad that they were able to do this fun swap - THANKS, CONNIE!!!

Well, as luck would have it, after a week of cooler days, it is finally warming up into the eighties, so we couldn't model the wonderful sweaters, but we did find some other things that we wanted to try on right away! We went outside and stood next to the sedum for a picture. It is hard to believe that the sedum was only a few inches tall just a month ago, and now it is almost taller than we are!

More good news - Jen has been selling some of the "Others" on eBay (Evie will know what we mean by "Others" - Jen called them "Shelf Sitters"). She is using the money she raises to pay the adoption and transporation fees for my big sister! A lot of the auctions closed last week, and enough money was raised to start the adoption process. There are more auctions closing on Sunday night, and as soon as Paypal releases the funds, transportation arrangements will be made. Connie sent some new clothes for her, too, so she will have something to wear when she arrives. I am hoping that the current auctions raise a lot of money. If they do, we might be getting some other new things, like new hair for me, and shoes for my sister. Spring is a very exciting time of year with lots of possibilities and hope!

PS - On a much more serious note, Jen found out this week that her boss, who is around her age and has a wife and 3 young children, has been diagnosed with lymphoma. We were really stunned when we heard the news, and are very sad that he will have to go through such a tough time this summer. He starts chemo next week. Life hardly seems fair when you see such terrible things happen, but we live in a sin-filled world where bad things can happen to good people. Please say a prayer for him and his family. They are going to need all the help they can get, and God can work miracles! It is hard to pray "Thy will be done," but we know that God knows what is best for all of us.

- Samantha

A Visit to Grandma's House

Yesterday was Easter Sunday. We went to Grandma's house for dinner. Grandma and Grandaddy have a bird feeder, bird houses and a bird bath, so they have a lot of birds visit their yard. The kids borrowed Jen's camera to go outside. W. was going to sit quietly and wait for the birds to come so that he could take their pictures, but then M. decided to go outside too. As they walked around the yard, they discovered a strange bird was following them. They decided to take its picture. They took a lot of pictures of the bird all around the yard. Here he is by the daffodils. We call this one "Daffy Duck."


Wendy went to Grandma's and got to look around her garden, too. Here she is by Grandma's favorite Lenten Rose. We only have one Lenten Rose, but Grandma has a lot of them!

Jen made a new dress for Wendy last week, so she wanted to wear her new dress for Easter. It has blue cherries on it.

Jen wanted to take more pictures of Wendy at Grandma's house, but the kids took so many pictures of the crazy bird and Grandma's flowers, that the camera battery quit.

More later

-Samantha

A Joyous Day!

Wishing you a very happy and blessed Easter!

Jesus Christ is Risen!  
He is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!


Chloe, Samantha
Lilly, Hannah, Jodi
Amy, Alley,Wendy
Melody & Daisy

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I don't remember St. Patrick's Day falling during Holy Week before!  A very unusual event.  In fact, we've found out that this is the earliest Easter will fall in our lifetime!  (See http://www.snopes.com/holidays/easter/earlyeaster.asp).  Sure enough, our Lenten Rose is blooming:

Here is my friend, Chloe, and I in our front yard.  We are wearing our green for St. Patrick's Day.

Even though Chloe has pointy ears, she insists she is a Christmas elf and not a leprechaun.  Since I have never seen her cranky, nor is she the tricky sort, and I've never seen her repair fairy shoes, I believe her.  You don't suppose she is just telling me tht so that I don't try to get her gold do you?

- Samantha

Daffodils

Spring must be coming soon!  Today we are watching the ACC Basketball Championship.  Later, we will do what we've done every year on Palm Sunday, since 2005, watch The Passion of the Christ.  Yesterday, Jen's son braved sticker bushes and high weeds to get to the daffodils blooming in the vacant community space next to our house.  Aren't they pretty?  It inspired me to go searching for a fitting poem.

Daffodils
by William Wordsworth  (1770–1850)

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
 

Isn't it amazing that a poem written so long ago (more than 200 years!) can still be so pretty to hear today?  I hope that I can call these pretty daffodils to mind when I'm feeling pensive!!!

I'm sorry I have been so negligent in updating my blog, dear friends.  I hope to post more often!
 
-Samantha

Happy New Year!

Just a quick post to wish everyone a wonderful 2008! Here's a photo of Samantha wearing the first crocheted sweater Jen made for her last week while in NC. It is a bit bulky, but we both loved the colors of this yarn and went with the oversized look. Great for staying inside, watching the Rose Bowl Parade, reruns of our favorite shows and and a movie! Throw in some hot chocolate and some good snacks, and you've got a great winter day with family and friends.

Happy New Year!
Jen & Samantha