Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Chin!!!

Our good friend Susan finally tied the knot with her long time beau Lincoln,
we wish them all the best!!! We love you and miss you Susie Q!!

Braces for Ally...

This was just the tops, she now has both bottoms and tops. Just like her potty training herself and insisting she was going to a different school last year, a few months ago informed me that she needed braces and wanted to get them now. Unlike Megan who refused to get braces. Ally has beautiful teeth so they will be so nice when they are done.

THANK YOU GRANDMA ELMA!!

Thanks Grandma for Ally's beautiful velvet skirt for her Choir Christmas

Recital. We could not have done it without you and its BEAUTIFUL!

Nice to have a seamstress in the family, couldn't find a solid black long skirt anywhere, one phone call and poof it was done and in the mail in two days! It was perfect!!!!

I know it's been forever...

It has been a CRAZY month getting back into the real

retail state of mind. Christmas retail in the normal world,

Thomasville did little business this time of year so this

is back to that grind that I have been out of for three years.

And add to that, this guy has me doing his ebay store and

I have no time to sit on my laurels right now.

The kids finished up soccer and football in the last few weeks,

but now basketball season has started. Ally made the "A"

for Springfield and the "B" team for St. Francis. She thought

about not doing the St. Francis team after she did not make

the A team but she had so much playing time on the B team

last year and had a great time so she is doing both.

Last Sunday they scrimmaged against the Media A team

and beat them (thanks to her) 24-20. She had multiple

steals and rebounds and finished with 12 points, 10 of them

in the 4th quarter. What a game!! She got her braces last

week so I am including a picture of that, she looks so old.

Matt finished up flag football, thank God, I could not be at

the field another Saturday at 7:30 am. He is playing

Basketball, also, he started yesterday.

Ally got straight A's on her report card and Megan got

all A's and two B's. Remember Megan has two AP classes

and two Honors classes so I am pleased with those grades.

She is also working at Hallmark since Dairy Queen is closed

and laid her off for the winter.

Ally says its Adam and Eve's fault

So Ally and I were having the Obama and McCain
conversation. She said I don't understand why
Obama is doing so good, I said it's the way of this
country, he speaks well and looks good and that is
the way this country operates now, we like everything
Hollywood even if its not good. She said in total seriousness,
"You know it's Adam and Eve's fault." I just stopped in my tracks.
Makes you think, doesn't it?

Happy Halloween!

That is all I got, Little Miss Ally decided to leave before I even got home

from work and go with her friends and I didn't even get pictures. She

was Supergirl, maybe I will make her put on her costume so I can take

a picture, if she's not too busy that is.

Yes, he's our MVP and he's HOT!!!

Matthew says yesterday morning, "Mom, who's your best player on

the Phillies, I said Coooole Hamellllls in a sultry tone. He said

"I said best Mom, NOT the cutest!" I said, "He is the best AND the

cutest!" I laughed all day about that conversation,

but it is so true! It was the best night EVER!

YAHHH PHILLIES!!!!

GO PHILS.....

GO PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!!

You cannot imagine the excitement in the air

up here, its great. You can almost forget for

a few days that we are all losing all of our

retirement money, our houses are worth

two-thirds what they were worth two years

ago, and a do nothing terrorist could be elected

in 8 days.

Look at Our Girl...

This is all of the 6th grade JV girls, look at her...

doesn't this picture say it all. She's a born leader!

Happy Birthday Dad...

And Booby Pop-Pop, where did that name come from??Love you soooo

much! Have a great Birthday, wish we were there!

Its finally Football weather...

And I'm Freezing! Oh my Gosh, we froze at
Matthew's Flag Football game yesterday,
but it was fun. It was homecoming, so all
the parents got announced on the field
with their child. He loves it and wants to do
tackle next year, He can do that if he moved
to the Springfield league, but I'm fine with
him playing another year of Flag for St. Francis!!
Here are a few pictures of him in his uniform minus the flags. They don't wear pads in flag.
He plays football on Saturdays and Soccer on Sundays.
Then comes home and watches every football, hockey, and baseball game he can. He is a sports fanatic! He can give you stats and info on any sport you ask, its amazing to me.
He is absolutely thrilled with the Phillies, and I won't even tell him what Aunt Jell said or there will be trouble.

Ally Strikes Again...

Field Hockey is done but on Ally's last game,
she played her goalie position for the first half,
letting no goals in they were winning 3-0. Then
in the second half they finally let her play
offense which she had been begging to do all
year. They put her on left wing on the front line
and on the first drive off of the face off, she
scored her very first goal ever in field hockey! It was AMAZING seeing her run back to the center of the field with that ball in her hand. On the way home she looked over at me and said, "Mom, I can still taste it" and I just laughed so hard,
she is so competitive, I don't know where that comes from. I say it must be that "middle child syndrome" Yesterday she said she is the "Happy
Child" which is what I always said she was but she went further to say, I am like the "middle of the oreo" and the "ham in the sandwich". She always makes me laugh!

Did she hold her own? You Betcha!

This was the headline in our local paper, I thought it was funny
and perfect. I was so proud, like a proud mama.
SARAH, You Go Girl!

Hallelujah!

I got offered an new job and took it. It is Store Manager/Buyer
for Carousel Hallmark in Havertown, Pa (4 miles from my house).
I have been assured this is 9-5 Monday-Friday (although I am not
naive enough to think that I will not have to work some Saturdays
during Christmas), they gave me the money and vacation I
requested and the guy just wants me to run the show! And open
him up an ebay store and maintain it, it is right up my alley!
Can't think of how this can be a bad thing in any way shape or form.
I will be able to make dinner before 8pm at night and I will be
able to see my kids play their sports. Thank you Lord!

"Goalie Ally"

Ally's Field Hockey coach who was an All American goalie for Notre Dame wrote me an email this morning that surprised me and made me a proud mama yet again...

HI Denise!
Please let Allison know that she had the best game I have ever seen her play! She did awesome!!! It is so nice to see the girls actually do what you try to teach them. Though we lost 2 -0 ( and it could have been easily 10 - 0 if it wasn't for Allison's amazing saves) it was a positive day for me!!!
See ya tomorrow,
Kate

I will try to get a picture of her in her gear.

Finally a Sunday off!

I finally got a Sunday off, since Soccer season has started I have not

been able to attend any of Matt's games and only 30 minutes of one of

Ally's games.

They both won today, yahhhh! Matt's team won 3-0, he scored one of

the goals, and it was a doozy! Right over the goalies head, it reminded

me of the way Ally kicks.

Ally's team won a tough one, 1-0. She assisted her best friend score her

first goal ever(she has played with her for four years on the travel team)

and was thrilled for her girlfriend, as happy as she is when she scored

any of her own goals, I was very proud!

Here are some great pictures one of the parents took.

Meg has been sick with a cold all week, but I was very proud she

didn't miss any school or work even though I know it was hard

for her and she didn't even complain. I went to her Back To School

night Wednesday and met her teachers, she has two Honors classes,

Honors Algebra 2 and Honors Physics, and AP Psycology which if

she passes a specific test in May she actually gets college credits

for it. So she has a really tough schedule and does so well.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JELL AND RAY, I can't believe its

been six years! I miss you and love you both soooo much!

Soccer, Football, and Homecoming

Ally and Matt's teams both lost their games today but I

thought I would share some pictures of their "moves".

Matt's team won their flag football ball game yesterday, he got FOUR flags, and on the last one got kicked in the face by the other team. Of course it hurt and I had to do everything in my maternal power to sit there and not go up to the bench as they were holding an ice pack on his nose. I got closer but restrained myself not to go up to the bench, no blood, he got the flag on the play so that was good! This is going to be tough....ugh!

Meg went to the Homecoming dance last night and this is her before she left. She only stayed an hour and got bored...$60 bucks for the ticket and the dress, at least she is working and paid for it herself!

David and Goliath and 2012

The setting...studying with Matt his 10 Religion statements for his test this week.
What did David do.....he was a shepherd
Where did David live...Bethlehem
Two other questions I cant remember...correct answers
What did David kill Goliath with....quickly answers "a knife" I look at
him strangely he quickly answers again "a gun" now I am shocked and
laughing hysterically and had to actually tell him a slingshot. I guess
that tells you something doesnt it? I just was not expecting those answers.

On the other hand, Ally has come to me with, did you know the
world is going to end in 2012? I said where did you hear that, she
said everyone at school. I assured her that they have said that at
least three times in my lifetime so far and we are still here. I told her
to talk to Fredo who I work with who has studied this and does nothing
but talk about it everyday so she texted him immediately and
had all kinds of things to google. She is my athlete and go getter but
she is also the one who worries about things. She went onto a blog
where people were making fun of it and she was cracking up at
the comments so I hope that made her feel a little better.

Matts first football game is tomorrow and they both have soccer games
on Sunday, I will keep you posted and hopefully get some pictures on
here if I can figure it out...

My First Blog

I am following my sister Danielle in this because i wanted to call my Mom, Dad, and sister five times today to tell them play by plays of what was happening and thought I really need to do this so they can read at their leisure as i do with my nephews and always feel like I know what is happening in their lives.

Today Ally played her third Traveling Soccer game in three weeks, and had a goal in each game. This is major as she played defense the last three years and had to fight for any offense playing time she ever got. Well that has all changed this year and I called in late to work today and said I had a crisis, then drove Ally to her game and told her she had exactly thirty minutes to score. (Since I missed the first two games because I work every Sunday and was in tears at work last Sunday after she called me to tell me she scored the winning goal.) The game started earlier than 12:00, about 11:50 and at 12:20 low and behold she got the rebound and BOOM, it was a goal. I can't believe she did it and it was the third goal scored by her team in the first thirty minutes of play and the last goal, but they won!
Then there was the call from Matthew two hours later that he scored a goal in his game, and that it was the winning goal since the score was 1-0.
I am so proud and could not wait to share that.