Hope Chest

After seeing my daughter with my senior prom dress on last night, I realized that time is flying!  She is only 12 years old, going to be 13 in a few months.  My dress fit her like a glove!  I was only 17 when I wore it.  Of course she is already taller than I am, so the dress would be a little too short for her.  (She takes after her dad, being tall, and after me during my youth, being skinny!)  The imagine of her in that dress last night made me think today that "Whoa!  She's getting older, quick!"  I miss those times with her curling up beside me on my bed, watching TV.  Or just she and I going places.  Or playing Kelly dolls.  Time flies quickly as many parents say!  So, with that, I started to think in 5 more years she will be graduating high school.  TEAR.  She will be starting college and life on her own.  Building her life to who she is.  Maybe I should start thinking about preparing her for those days.  Maybe I should start collecting things for when she is on her own.  Memories brought back the idea of what my father made me....My HOPE Chest.  Inside, we put things in there that I would need on my own when I graduated and went to college.  Why buy things all at once?  We bought towels, packed away a quilt, plates....etc! 

The Hope Chest my dad made me....1994.



I still have my hope chest, lined with cedar, like my dad made me.  I'm thinking I am going to pass it down to my daughter, filling it with the essentials she will need on her own.  I never thought about it until now.  I will include the scrapbooks I made for her every year as she has grown, little notes that I write about her growing up, words of encouragement to live by, Christmas ornaments to fill her own large tree one day, photos to cherish, my colorguard uniform that she played with as a little girl, and her first prom dress (when that happens), so that one day her little girl can try on and make her think back to these days when she tried on her mommy's. 

Get Together Girls

I have to first apologize for not being on here lately.  Things have been really busy.  Vollyball practices and scrimmages, hockey, pneumonia, ear infections, family visiting....it's a lot for two weeks for one person to handle!  Haley has volleyball practices and had two scrimmages that we attended.  She played at both scrimmages and got the ball over the net!  Woohoo!  For those of you who don't know my daughter, she is a true bookworm.  By the time volleyball is finished, it's already 6:30 and time to make dinner, do homework, get showers, and go to bed!  It's exhausting!  I can't imagine those parents who are running around with more activities for their children!  It's crazy!  Give those kids a break to be a kid before they are adults!  Anyway....This past week we had pneumonia, ear infections, and family from out of state visiting us!  A few days to recover and here I am!

I want to share an idea with you that I did a long time ago for my daughter.  When she was in the fourth grade, I had 4 of her close friends sleepover on Friday nights during the winter season.  They formed the Get-Together-Girls, a.k.a. GTG to them.  After school all the girls came over our house.  I would make them afterschool snacks and drinks.  Every week we picked two different movies and a craft to make.  I decorated the living room in a different theme.  One week was hearts for Valentine's Day.  Another week was shamrocks for St. Patty's Day! They decorated pillowcases for their pillows.  Another week we made t-shirts.  I tried to stay with things that were easy to make and things that tied into sleepovers. 

The girls making their pillow cases.

The girls had lots of fun that winter.  Hanging out with friends, watching movies, eating snacks, and making crafts. 



When you have children, things are never ending.  That's how my weeks have been lately.  Cameron and Ryan are in hockey on Saturdays.  Haley is on the volleyball team and has practice almost every day after school.  My husband took a mini vacation last week since work has been really stressful and he has been working 6 days a week!  During the week, we went to a resort in West Virginia to spend some quality time together without the kids.  The kids stayed with my parents. 

We stayed in a two bedroom cottage that sat on the lake that overlooked the lodge on the other side!

This is the view from our cottage of the lake.

After a long night, this is what we woke up to:

 Everything covered in frost!

 It was very pretty seeing the lodge lit up in the fog and frost on the lake!

As we left our cabin that morning....the view from the road of the cottages and the sun coming up!

On the way back home, we saw many Mail Pouch Barns!  Ahhhh....a favorite of ours!

It was a fantastic week spent with my husband!
The weekend we did our normal....Saturday, we went to Cameron and Ryan's hockey game.  They got crushed!  Poor little kids!  The other kids on their team, besides one, just wasn't in the mood to play, including Ryan!  Cameron was pumped more than ever and was trying his best.  He just didn't have any support out there!  The Gray Team, the other team, played a great game!  Their team played as a team.  Oh well....Maybe next time they play against each other!  Sunday, we were invited to my cousin Janet's daughter's 2nd birthday party out in Cleveland.  Great day for a trip in the car.  Nice weather!  Her daughter Audrey is the sweetest little girl you will ever meet!  I love her to death!  She just has a way to make people smile no matter what!  Audrey twirled around for me in her ballet pose.  She smiled the whole time!  She liked to stand on all her birthday present boxes!  Daddy, you are going to have to make her a stage!  We got to see my cousins that I haven't seen since the summer at the reunion.  It was a great day!

Then came the end of this week....Ugh!  Cameron and Haley both got sick with a stomach virus.  Cameron came home from school sick after losing a tooth!  His stomach was not very good.  He slept on the sofa most of the day when I brought him home.  Haley went to volleyball practice after school and got sick!  Poor girl!  She was trying to make it to the locker room in time.  No luck.  I was called to come get her.  She was horrified!  It happens to the best of us, I told her.  I don't think anyone at school will pick on her.  The girls are a good bunch of girls.  Ryan, thank goodness, did not get sick!  Healthy little man!  Josh, too!  Lucky!  As for me....well, I'm the mom.  Of course, I got it!  Fun!  So, we are all trying to be healthy again as we watch the snow coming down outside!  Until next time!