For A, if she stops by and anyone else who might take a peak.

There are only ten days until daylight savings and I'm on the verge of counting the seconds. Already the days are longer. Last night I drove home from a consultation with the sun blazing in my rear view mirror. It seems impossible not to feel happy at the thought of longer, warmer days. I have visions of light and airy outdoor parties with paper lanterns, soft jazz, the sweet scent of fresh cut grass, and maybe a mojito or two. When the sun sinks below the horizon and the cold Pennsylvania evening sets in we'll gather by the bonfire and talk about nothing and everything all at once. You are all invited.

But I must try to live in this moment. The snow is slipping slowly away and the cold is not as bitter. Today I shoveled the walkway without a jacket, my blood has finally thickened. Does that make me officially a Pennsylvanian or do I need to say "yins" before I can join that club? I did hit my first dear a few months ago. I thought for sure that would get me in the door.

Life is as usual a jumbled of mess of work, home, and taking care of the kids. Erin is fully 14. I can not begin to explain to you the joy and pain of parenting a teenage daughter. It is something you will have to be lucky enough to experience for yourself. It seems that for all our attempts to show her the path of least resistance she insists on forging her own way. I am coming to terms with her need to do this, but I reserve the right to say "I told you so." once we are on the other side of all of this.

Hayden is all boy. He laughs almost all the time. He loves books and puzzles. Like Zoe, he's pointing to all of his body parts and only occasionally mistakenly points to his nether region when we ask where his belly is. I honestly think he only does it to see our reaction. He laughs hysterically every time he does it. Boys! This is such an amazing age. He is learning so much so quickly and it's so exciting to see that spark of understanding when he grasps a new concept. He also loves to sing. Every morning on our way to grandmas house he insists that I sing "Old MacDonald" so he can join in on the "e i e i o" part. He also likes "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Row Row Row Your Boat". He and I love doing My Gym at Home together. He loves clapping his hands and saying goodbye when the show is over.

David is working and preparing to take the test to become an auto appraiser. He's been training for it since he took the job. He seems to fit in well with the two guys he works with and seems to like his job very much. That makes me happy.

After briefly considering getting my CNA license to work as a CNA for six short months until LPN school starts, I've changed my mind. I don't want to change everything only to have it change again in a few months. So, I'm working at Ross and enjoying the low stress level that comes along with the job and focusing on the photography business which is going fairly well. I've booked two new weddings for this spring/summer. So far I have a total of five weddings. Three are paying jobs and two are favors for friends. It feels so good to have the validation of someone choosing me to photograph their wedding. When my cousin first told me I should start photographing weddings I thought he was crazy. But I did it because I trusted him. I'm so glad I listened to him. Photographing weddings scares the crap out of me, but it also makes me so happy and I have learned so much in the short time I've been doing this. All of the things I just wasn't getting from books I am getting from the hands on experience.