Lucas' birthday trip to the Lego Store

That's one happy boy! Can you believe he's 7 now??!!

Long time, no post...

Carrie intent on driving in her carseat...

Make it and love it blog...

I've enjoyed quite a few of this lady's handmade projects. Check it out! She's got a sponsor give-away going on right now, too. Cute stuff!

Birthday girl!

Emma's 4!!!

Gotta' catch up...

I'm so VERY behind on posting all the cute photos and precious moments we've had the past few weeks (months?). I never got a chance to do the Christmas photos justice, either. Oh well... So is the life of a mother and the guilt is stacking up...

Lucas gets a Carrie cuddle

I just want a pancake, Mom...

Random pictures to share from the past couple months

Racism is just as bad on the other side...

HT: Barbara Curtis

Alien Nation

Alien Nation

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Pray for our nation!

Crafts this fall

These are a few of the things we made this fall for our church bazaar. The pig and cat are made from old socks! We have a new book on this called, Stray Sock Sewing by Daniel.

I love those cute pin cushions...

Carrie's beloved chair

This is one of Carrie's favorite perches at home. She loves climbing up there and just standing there...

Merry Christmas from the Parente family!

Christmas mantel before the mayhem begins...(2am)

Big bro and Carrie

Girls' piano recital

The girls played in a holiday piano recital at a health mall's Christmas tree festival. Here's their duet:

Homeschoolers DO go to the mall (sometimes)

Just to prove we DO make it to the mall once in a blue moon... we went a few weeks ago and saw all the Christmas finery before it got too crazy busy. My kids LOVE Pottery Barn Kids so we took in the sights there a while and let them play. Check out the weird reindeer mannequins...

My Advent wreath idea...

I got a little creative and made our Advent wreath this year with the cake dome upside down (as it can be a punch bowl) and then put a glass microwave plate on top. The kids and I collected cedar and magnolia tree clippings, etc. to put inside.

Lucas the artist

Gratuitous baby picture

Family Glue: Be Blessed! A Family Study

Family Glue: Be Blessed! A Family StudyWow, this is great! Thanks so much to Angie for giving us nourishment for our souls as we begin Advent in a few days.

Christmas Shopping Op while Helping Others

St. Athanasius Academy:: Christmas Shopping Op while Helping Others Please help out by shopping thru HIllside Ed. if you can. The Quigley family is wonderful bunch!!!

Praying for Grace: It Takes Courage

Praying for Grace: It Takes Courage

I'm copying this idea for tomorrow as we hand out literature outside of a polling site. Lord, be with us!

Gotta' share this one...

I had an incident last week with my own family that made me once again wonder why people think they can open their big mouths and comment on my family. Kim did such a nice job when put in such an awkward situation with someone who was obviously clueless as to her worldview...

God bless the little children!

Faith and Family Live!: Before Hitting Enter

This is a must-read for all the blog fans out there.

Apple Pie Tutorial

Most of you have probably made a bunch of pies before but we had such a grand time last week making pies with friends one afternoon. We had purchased a 40-lb. box of Mutzu apples at the N.C. State Farmers' Market in Raleigh and made apple recipes all week! We tried a variety of pies from The Joy of Cooking, all similar and all good. This was home economics at its best! The only real tip I have is to be sure not to overwork the dough. You are NOT looking for the pie dough to be elastic like pizza dough.... yuck!

Newest member of our animal family...

SneakyBaby!

Under
my
desk!

Gnomes, finally!

Some of us (ahem) are a bit late on the take-off... we're FINALLY getting our gnomes made for our mathematical tale!

Emma in pink....again