..:The Wright Tales:..

Christmas Pictures

2010-11-22T08:02:00.002-05:00

For the first time in a long time, I am going to be very organized about our family Christmas photo. I heard about Shutterfly's great deal for bloggers and my mind started creating a plan. We are going to the beach for Thanksgiving and I thought it would be wonderful to have our picture taken on the actual beach - white sand, blue water...and lots of little Wrights around! I can't wait to have the perfect picture to add to the perfect card design. They have so many to choose from! They sell so many products but the greeting cards are my favorite - especially the 5x7 sizes http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/5x7-folded-greeting-cards. My dad is so hard to shop for so we like to get him personalized things w/ the kids' pictures on it. He loved the last mug we got him so we are probably going to do it again with an updated picture http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs. I am planning on hosting a Christmas ornament exchange too. I love entertaining and I thought these invitations would be perfect for me to use http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-invitations ! Half the fun is poking around and looking at all the wonderful possibilities. And Shutterfly is making it so easy for bloggers to get free cards this year. Go to this link to get more details about this great offer http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/. Thanks Shutterfly!

It's been a long time

2009-03-01T21:17:00.009-05:00

I had meant to keep this blog updated as often as possible. Life happens. It happened and I haven't been able to update like I've wanted to. I have a ton of new pictures to share, not sure if I can upload all of the great ones at once. We'll have to see how the computer does.

Alex had a birthday! He turned 8 on February 14th. His birthday was on a Saturday so we had his party on the big day itself. We decided on doing a tae kwon do party at his martial arts school. I was a bit worried about it even up to the day before the party but I am SO glad we decided to have it there. Master Choi did a fabulous job and the kiddos had a great time. His Mimi MaryAnn gave him a Wii Fit and the whole family has really been enjoying it. Mary especially loves the yoga part of the game. She looks so cute doing some of the moves. The entire day went very well. Alex invited some friends over after the party to come and play for a bit. Alex Noblett spent the night which just made my Alex's day perfect.

His birthday cake - and yes, I made it myself! I think Delia would be sooooo proud, don't you? I took the picture from an actual photograph of him and did the buttercream frosting transfer. I think it looked fabulous.

Master Choi had a ninja sword for Alex to cut his cake. How cool was that?

Look at that kick! Mary doing her yoga.

The next weekend, we had belt testing. Alex's school has belt testing just about every two months. This time he was testing for a green belt. He knew his form, he had earned five tapes (very good), and he nailed his board breaking technique. It was all good! The following Wednesday was the belt ceremony -it felt like it lasted forever but we were very proud of him.

I like wearing my tutu to belt testing too. It must makes me feel right.

Mary's best friend invited her to attend her sister's bowling party. She was so excited! We have been trying to set up a playdate w/ Emily forever and this was perfect. I met her mom and dad, and the rest of her family. I bowled, we had cake and pizza, and we all had a great time. The two of them are so cute together.

Mary and Emily...BFFs!

Mary, Emily, and Selena - Selena was the birthday girl!

Today was the first day of March. It "roared in like a lion..."! 3 inches of snow - and it snowed all day long. It was absolutely beautiful. The kids had a blast playing outside, there was hot chocolate and chili for dinner. Good times. The only one who wasn't happy was Otis. Poor Otis, didn't want to go outside and was dying to go out and do his thing. He doesn't do well in storms in general...he didn't know what to think of the white stuff.

Stay tuned for more exciting developments!

Guess what?

2009-02-08T21:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a big day in a little girl's life. Little Mary lost her first tooth! Talk about milestones! It was our last first tooth and to be honest, it made me a little bit sad. But her excitement was very contagious and we were all very happy for her.

When you've lost your first tooth, you must absolutely lick the bowl clean when your mom makes a red velvet cake!

Congrats May May! Now on to tooth #2 (which by the way is VERY loose!).

Sick Kids

2009-01-16T23:20:00.003-05:00

Well, we have had our share of germs around here this week. First it was Liv, then Alex, and now Mary. The younger two had strep. Poor Alex - he had to have the throat stick but I am so glad I took him in to the doctor. He got his meds and was better within a day. So I went back to work and wasn't there but thirty minutes before I got another call from the school. This time it was May May. Poor little angel (like my dad would say). She was so sick. And pretty unreasonable too. She could not understand why she couldn't play with Ashlyn even though she was sick. Ugh. But after 24 hours she, too, was better. In fact, she kept me super busy all day painting, crafting, and playing. When she went to bed she said, "whew, it was a long day!". Can you imagine?

Tomorrow we will have a great day - we will all be healthy and we will laugh a lot. I guarantee it!

Mama's Birthday

2009-01-06T22:56:00.010-05:00

Well, it's been another year since we all got together and celebrated Mama's birthday. Is it just me or is time really flying by? I wish we could have done it up bigger but I guess the important thing is that we did it. We met my brother and his family at Red Lobster and had a family dinner in Mama's honor. She loved to order the Ultimate Feast - she wouldn't eat half of it but she'd order it every time. Mama loved her seafood! It was bittersweet to not have her there but like I always tell my kids...absent from the body means she is present with the Lord. And what could be better?

Olivia enjoyed her crab legs. My girl likes her crab legs! And she cracked them all by herself this time. I was impressed!

Guess what Alex had?

Chicken fingers and french fries. What else?

And Mary enjoyed a fabulous dish of Macaroni and Cheese - the same kind we have at home that is made from a box. But this plate cost $5. I hope it tasted good!

Here are the Wrights.

Fred and Alex. And NO! They don't look a bit alike!!!!!

Happy Birthday Mama. We love you and miss you more than ever. We never thought we'd be okay without you but somehow, we are good. We are living and we are thriving. One look at those little faces proves that "One smile shatters a thousand griefs". And we are smiling!

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T10:43:00.002-05:00

So far the new year has crawled in very quietly. We spent the big night at some friends' house w/ our other close friends. The kids were all playing and running about - very kid friendly atmosphere. There was lots of food! It has been cloudy and rainy ever since. In fact, I think it has been this way for the entire break, except for two days when the sun came out. Kind of depressing.

Alex has been enjoying the heck out of his Wii. Jay likes it too - the girls have played but are not nuts about it. Mary has been doing a lot of drawing and coloring. Liv has a fascination w/ gmail right now so she has been IMing w/ her friends. Why not pick up the phone if you have so much to say? Although I can't complain too much. I love FB and the freedom it allows to just drop a note here and there w/out committing to an entire conversation. Who has time for that?

I am learning to play the guitar. It is a very painful process. No one ever talks about your fingers hurting so much you think they are going to fall off! They are on fire. But, I have been assured that it is only temporary and that as soon as I develop some nice attractive callouses, the pain will be gone. We will see. So far I have learned three chords that I have memorized and am now working on switching between these chords w/ ease. Not that easy! But I am sure it will come.

I have also already failed at my other New Year's goal - to take at least one picture a day. Since I haven't gone out of the house in two days, it really limits my options of what to take a picture of. It will get better. I have to get a camera bag, then I can take the camera out and about w/ out worrying about damaging it.

So, today is Saturday. We are enjoying the last remnants of our vacation - just lounging and relaxing. The kids go back to school on Monday and I go back to work on Tuesday. I think THAT is what I am most dreading. I think my excitement about being a Spanish teacher has ebbed and now I wish I could just stay at home and do my thing around here. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, going to the gym...all in English. Alas, no es posible.

So, I'm off to enjoy some time w/ Jay. A Bientot! Wait .... that's French.

Stone Mountain

2008-12-30T09:45:00.014-05:00

We spent the day at Stone Mountain Park yesterday. It was sunny for the first time in forever so we took advantage of it and headed out. We stopped at Chick-fil-A for lunch first - can't go wrong with that, right? So we entered the park around 1:30 or so. Our plan was to climb up to the top of the mountain. My kids had never done that before. And I know Lorena has never done it.

I used to do it as a child many times - my Uncle Renee used to take us most every weekend, we would take Chico the dog and climb up to the top. We'd stop at our "cave" and have a picnic, head to the top and then climb back down. Those were fun memories. Anyway, the kids were excited about giving it a whirl. So we started out. Alex fell down and skinned his knees right away. I thought it was all over at that point. But my boy brushed himself off and started on his way, despite his injury. Way to go Bubby!

We had a great time. The kids climbed on every rock they could find. They climbed trees when they could find them. Mary had an incredible amount of energy and would run everywhere. Everywhere.

We made it almost to the top, when we saw the rails on this super steep spot. To the left of the rails was the "cave". I was unable to enjoy it at all because my kids suddenly became crazy kids and were climbing all over it and jumping off and in every possible way trying to give me a heart attack. Apparently I have a fear of heights and it was raging yesterday on that mountain! I could just picture any one of the kids falling off the cave and rolling down the mountain. Yikes. Thank goodness no one did.

At one point, we went off on a trail and were able to see a great view of Mount Carmel. The kids were excited about that.

Liv saw moss everywhere and was particularly interested in it. For some reason, Lorena thought it was gross so Liv would tease her by touching it all the time. Here's a shot of her moss.

We finally made it to the top!

It was c-o-l-d!!! The kids were shivering and dying to get down. We decided to take the tram down to the bottom of the mountain and take the train around to our car. Well, long story short, the tram cost $30 for us to ride and when we reached the bottom, there was no train to take us to our car. So we had to walk! All the way to the other side of the mountain.It was getting colder and darker. Mary was whiney and we were all exhausted. Praise the Lord we finally made it before anyone fell out! We were so thankful to see the car! So our adventure ended w/ four very tired kiddos but some wonderful memories made.

Fun Day

2008-12-27T22:26:00.009-05:00

We spent a fun day at the World of Coke Museum. It was a foggy, cool day but we didn't let that stop us. We headed downtown and made it to the museum by our reserved time - 1:00. That turned out to be a great time to go because when we left the museum at around 4pm, the line to get in was ridiculous. The kids enjoyed it - they learned a lot and had fun. Liv got to use her new camera and really, really enjoyed taking pics of every single thing she saw. But that's the fun part of having your very first digital camera, right? Right.

So, I took about 75 pictures....oh - by the way....want to see what Santa brought me?????

Yes, it's true. Now, my mission in life is to become a photographer. Not professionally but professional quality - does that make sense? I have a lot to learn - it's like learning a new language. But, I have a lot of friends who know a lot about photography so I have lots of resources.

Okay - back to the 75 pictures. I won't bore you with all of them but I will post a few of my favorites. By the way, my kids have beeeaauuutiful eyes. Love them and can't take enough pics of them.

Oh my goodness - those eyes!!!!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T00:56:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Vacation

2008-12-22T22:27:00.013-05:00

Today was our first day of vacation. It was a nice and relaxing day. I got up fairly early (7:30ish) to write out my Christmas cards. I know, I know - it's awfully late to be sending them out but that's just the way it has to be this year. I feel lucky to have gotten them out at all. I just can't believe how busy we have been. There has been something every single day. But it's done. The cards are in the mail.

Of course Jay slept late. That's his favorite thing to do. The kids played, read, and just relaxed. It was all good. Lorena came over around 6pm. We were expecting her at 4:30 but Uncle DoDo was on Bolivian time. So by the time she came and DoDo left, we still had to have dinner. We ended up leaving here at 7:45 - we were heading out to Lake Lanier to see the lights. Needless to say, we didn't make it. We got there and the line was so long to get into the park that we turned around and headed back home. We didn't think we'd make it before the park closed. We drove all that way for nothing! But we will not give up...we will try again tomorrow.

Last night was the kids' Christmas program at church. The kids all did a great job! I am always amazed at how the program just comes together. There were kids aged 2 all the way up to 18 in this program!

This first picture is of Alex participating in the Angel Choir during the regular service. The kids dressed like angels - it was very cute.

The next picture is later that night. As you know, Mary has never cared to participate on stage. She chooses not to speak, sing, or in anyway follow directions. This year was different. She did it all ! She was awesome!

So she sang two songs w/ her friends. I like the star sunglasses they wore while singing "Jump for Joy". She actually jumped! Here's a video:

Then she had to come out and say her lines in a poem. Each child had several lines and together they made up a poem. Mary's lines were "Don't be afraid, the angel said, I bring a happy story. Then all around the shone the light of heaven's greatest glory". Just listen to this!

Isn't that fabulous? But let's not forget the boy. He was the most reluctant participant this year. Not sure why but it didn't matter - he did great anyway. He sang first...

Then he said his lines....

Wonderful!

Now, onto our other girl. She did double duty - she was in the elementary program...

and also in the Youth program (middle and high school).

She sang the cutest song!

And then changed clothes to be an angel in the finale of the play.

We were blessed to have Mimi and PapaJohn make the long drive out to see the kids. It meant a lot to the kiddos. Mimi said that John took over 200 pictures! I can't even imagine! Of course he has a very fancy camera....

That was the excitement for this weekend. And with the big performance, all of our obligations are finally completed. No more parties, brunches, recitals, pageants, programs, ornament exchanges, cookie swaps, ensemble singing, belt ceremonies....it's all finished! We are coasting into Christmas now. Now, I just have to find some "alone" time to wrap all the gifts. Hopefully, Jay will be able to help w/ this soon - maybe he can take the kids somewhere.

For Dad

2008-12-15T21:30:00.012-05:00

Hey Dad,

There are too many pictures to send via email....enjoy these random shots. As soon as I get a calling card, I will call you. I hope things are going great and that you continue to have a great time. Saludos to everyone.

Halloween

Day at Chick Fil A

Thanksgiving Feast at Mary's school. Mary is dressed like a Pilgrim!

Livi getting recognized for Scripture Memorization in her Sunday School Class. That is her teacher Mrs. Donna and the preacher Seth behind her.

That same day, Mary's choir got up and sang. She actually moved her lips and sang the words!

Beautiful picture of Livi Lou - just wish it wasn't sideways. This was at her orchestra concert on 12/9. They played great.

Can you see Livi? She has a white headband on her head.

The family supporting our girl from the stands.

Monday

2008-11-17T23:50:00.000-05:00

Boo!

Sunday

2008-11-16T22:24:00.000-05:00

My head hurts. I just can't write tonight. See you tomorrow!

Saturday

2008-11-15T22:37:00.003-05:00

Jay left early this morning to head to the Men's Prayer Breakfast at church. being a deacon means you have to do these things! Actually he did them before (a little) so it wasn't a big deal. The kids and I treated ourselves to the breakfast buffet at Golden Corral. Later, I treated myself to an emergency trip to the bathroom at Wal Mart. But I digress.

The kids and I headed to church because a group of us were getting together to start painting the Nativity scenes. We painted the tomb, Mary's house, and Ceasar's Palace. Just the base coat, mind you. All shading and accentying still needs to be done. It was COLD and windy. At one point, the wind was blowing so hard, it kept knocking our work over. It was at this point that we decided to call it a day. The kids played in the sandbox and on the playground but soon headed up to the Student Cafe to chill and get warm. It was a productive day.

The rest of the day we just chilled. I felt like I never got warm and it was almost 7pm before I came out from under the covers. I had to feed the kids because if I don't, no one else will. Right Jay?

Gladiators Game

2008-11-14T23:15:00.002-05:00

We went to the Gwinnett Gladiators game tonight. It was out first time taking the kids, and my first time in a very long time. It was FUN! Lots of action, lots of noise, and - I must say - lots of fighting! We took Alex's little friend Nathan - it was a good pick because he loves hockey. Mary was a little PITA but when is she not? She fell asleep as soon as her little head hit the pillow though. She called for me to tuck her in and as soon as I walked in to see her, she was fast asleep. Pobrecita!

Tomorrow is painting day at the pavillion. Lots to do! Jay is going to run to Stockbridge for me to drop off some sweatshirts to be embroidered. I have to charge my camera battery because it's been forever since I took a pic!

Thursday

2008-11-13T22:19:00.002-05:00

Unity tonight. We sorted bags for the Angel Tree Project. Man, it sure did open my eyes about how much work is involved in this project! Lots to do, lots of needs, lots of kiddos! It was good for all of us.

I had the kids' conferences today. Long story but suffice it to say that both little kids are doing well. I had some questions and didn't like the answers I got much but that's just their different teaching styles.

Friday tomorrow! Yeah! I'm having breakfast w/ two friends and shopping for sweatshirts for the Christmas Parade.

Wednesday

2008-11-12T21:44:00.002-05:00

Long day. Short day at work since the kids had early release. We went to church early because Alex had an appointment to speak with Seth about being baptized. V. long meeting. But it went well and Alex has a lot of material to think about.

Somehow I found myself in charge of coordinating the painting of the Nativity drive thru. What? How did that happen? So that will probably start this Saturday since time is a-runnin' out! Only two of the six scenes have been built. Hopefully the rest will be done by this weekend. I'm also scrambling to get the Opt to Shop together. Tablecloths, tables, signs, etc. Lots to coordinate. It will all come together, it always does. I'm also singing at the brunch and decorating a table. Crazy busy it will be. Anita has offered to do my centerpiece so that is a relief.

Still trying to plan Thanksgiving. Not sure what we want to do. We've committed to going to the Tanzosch's house but may rethink it - still thinking about it.

Must go finish lesson plan for tomorrow - I'm being evaluated by the principal - yikes!

Alex is so funny...

2008-11-11T22:02:00.002-05:00

My boy is a trip. He tries so hard but invariably gets himself into a mess. He took a shower tonight and since there was no kid shampoo in there, he decided to use regular body soap. He took his nails and scraped some soap into his hair. Yikes! He got out, got dressed, brushed his teeth and was in the bed already before Jay noticed. Luckily he noticed, right? Jay put him back in the shower to wash the soap out and to properly wash it. He came up to me and said, "Mommy - you know that rectangular thing?" He was talking about the soap!!!! How funny. My boy is so cute. He had another great night at TKD. There's a mom there that is always commenting on how he is improving. Tonight she said his stamina has improved since the beginning. She is right. He wants to be a fast runner so bad. He is going to participate in Ninja Camp - it's a board breaking contest, pizza, movie and a sleepover at the TKD place. Should be fun.

I worked today. It was a good day. I had lunch with Carlos and that is always fun. He laughed and laughed and laughed. I want to get him married to Elizabeth soon! That way he won't ever leave. *sigh*

Monday

2008-11-10T22:52:00.002-05:00

I did so much laundry today there shouldn't be a dirty piece of clothing in this house! Why does my family keep changing their clothes every single day? It is so not necessary. They could get two outfits and just switch them up every couple of days. That would make my life so much easier. Oh yeah.

Okay, just kidding. Obviously I couldn't ask them to be stinky. I'll just hire a laundry maid - okay Jay?

I had a great time tonight at BS with Carlos. That laugh can make my day in a heartbeat. Love it. I had him going pretty good too. I really wish he could stay here full time. I think he is having a great time and would do well here. Must pray about it.

Okay, must go check out FB. See what's going on with my peeps.

It was a good day.

2008-11-09T21:12:00.003-05:00

We have just gotten home from a loooong day at church. It was my turn to provide dinner for the Youth Group (did I already mention that?) and so I decided to make it at the church. After worship, we went out to lunch with a bunch of people - tried a new restaurant and it was pretty good. After that, we went back to church because I had choir practice. The kids stayed in the Youth Room and played. They have all kinds of video games and Alex loves to hang out there. I made Hobo Stew and it turned out great. Wendy helped me by bringing salad and bread. We have a crock pot full left over so we have lunch and dinner for a few days. Yuuuummmmm!

I am glad that today was a busy day and that I had lots to be thankful for. Tonight I am thankful for my family, I am thankful for my church family, I am thankful for the many opportunities to serve. I am thankful for all the people that care for me and about me. Thank you Lord for your provision, even today, and for always knowing exactly what I need and when I need it. Today I am thankful for the season of grief that you gave me so that I could clearly see how you carried me when I was too weak to stand on my own. I am thankful for the way and the timing in which you revealed yourself to me. You gave me a new song to sing and I am grateful!

Congratulations to Jay for being nominated and voted a Deacon in our church! Wow, I am married to Deacon Jay!

New Computer

2008-11-08T22:14:00.004-05:00

I'm blogging from my new laptop. Do you like it? Does the font look different? Prettier? Faster? Okay, I know you can't tell the difference but I sure can! I love it! It will no longer take me 10 minutes to flip through websites. My computer won't freeze up if I want to see a video. It won't crash if I want to download an attachment. And it looks pretty too!

Thanks to Albie who gave Jay the heads up about the great computer deal. We had dinner with them last night- it's always fun to hang out with the Watson's. We were going to try to meet up with them again tonight but Jay took longer than expected at the golf course and Albie had an 8:00 soccer game. The kids and I spent the day running errands - I had several things that I had to return to different stores so I decided to knock all of that out today. The kids behaved pretty well so it was a good day. Nathan came over when we got home and I did some cleaning. It's never done though. And the laundry is never caught up. But my new laptop is pretty!

I have to prepare and serve dinner to Liv's youth group tomorrow. I couldn't decide what to make and it was getting down to zero hour. I went to my cooking club today and we made Hobo Stew. Sounds awful but it tastes so good. I decided to make several extra batches and serve that to the kiddos. They will most likely eat it. Wendy is bringing a salad and bread. I think no matter what I fixed, it would be a let down to the steaks Bobby prepared last week. Thanks Bobby! So Jay bought my supplies tonight and I was going to start browning the meat but ... well, now I have to play on my shiny new laptop!

I also have Joyful Noise practice tomorrow. I don't really want to go but I guess I had better. Okay, I guess that's enough for now. Must go play now!

TGIF

2008-11-07T22:59:00.001-05:00

Fridays are good. Too tired to blog. Doing some online shopping for Christmas. Don't tell Jay! :)

Grey's Thursday!

2008-11-06T20:40:00.002-05:00

20 minutes until Grey's...can't wait...Jay is hoping that Hahn and Torres kiss again. Gross! That is one story line I could have lived my entire life without! I heard they are writing Hahn out though, because the network is not cool with the way the show is going, if you know what I mean!

Thursday...let's see. Mr. Obama is still the President-elect. I worked today. I taught 8th grade and 5th grade. I was also able to visit with Carlos for a bit. It's always good to hear his laugh. Mary, Alex and I went to the playground after school and we spent a good 3 hours there playing. Nathan and McKennah were there, Jackie, Katie, and David came, and finally the other Nathan and Becca showed up. Lots of people. We didn't go to karate because the kids were playing so nicely. I know we told Jake we'd be there today but they were just having such a great time. I hope he will be there tomorrow so we can get his birthday party invitation.

Mary had to soak in the tub for a long time tonight - she was that dirty. Yuck. That's what playing in the dirt and woodchips will do to you. Tomorrow is the last day of Alex's restriction. He has been talking non stop about not forgetting to turn in his homework tomorrow. He is on it and he will not forget! I hope this worked and he will continue to work hard and remember his responsibilities. It's so hard being 7!

Missed Post and Election News

2008-11-05T14:22:00.008-05:00

I could have sworn that I posted something yesterday. Did I imagine it? Does this negate the whole NaBloPoMo? Hope not. I'll keep going anyway.

Okay, yesterday was Election Day. I was able to go at 7am to vote, since Jay kindly offered to stay home w/ the kiddos so I could go out. It took 2 hours and 15 minutes to get through the line. But it wasn't bad - it was very organized, the people were calm and chatty. The time just passed easily. I woke up thinking (hoping) we would have one President and went to bed with the realization that we indeed have another one. Not the one I would have chosen. Really the two choices were not stellar by any means but I feel like the (R) candidate was the better of the two. For many reasons. I won't go into all of them now but I'm sure I wasn't alone. I think the (D) candidate is dangerous. Not so much him per se but his following. KWIM? But I do have to agree with just about everyone that there was a definite need for change. CHANGE. Too bad McCain couldn't have coined that phrase first. Even though he is (R) I believe he wanted change too. Any idiot has to be able to see that we as a nation are a sinking ship. And we need to be rescued. I can only pray that now our leader will realize this and do his very best to bring about the help. Let's move away from the rhetoric, the slogans, the charismatic speeches. Let's see some action. I won't go so far as to say OBAMA ROCKS (like I saw on some blogs today) because I don't think he does. He's only been in national politics for 3 years! But I will say that anyone who is willing to take on the job he now has, well, more power to you!

And that's all I have to say about that.

The kids and I had the day off from school. We went to the library, shopping, we went out to eat, we drove around taking fabulous fall pictures...it was all good until the "Chick-fil-A incident". No need for details but let's just say that when we got home, EVERYONE had to go to their rooms. :)

The leaves have turned and the colors are absolutely breathtaking. I especially like the bright red trees that are side by side with the evergreens. What a contrast! And we enjoyed the trees that were red on top and just a vibrant yellow on the bottom.

Our neighborhood just looks amazing right now. I would love to take a drive up into the mountains. We just may do that anyway. We should have done that yesterday! But I guess we wouldn't have had time - Alex had tae kwon do after all. He has a friend in the class named Jake. After class was over, Jake invited Alex to go and have a Smoothie with him. It was so cute!!! Then he got invited to Jake's birthday party at Master Choi's. That should be interesting.

Last night was Lisa's final baby shower. Finally! It was the Bonko shower and it turned out really nice. The food was good, the company was good. We stayed late just talking. I just really didn't want to come home and see the election results because they weren't looking good from early on in the evening.

Today is Wednesday. That meant a day full of preschoolers (ugh!) and church this evening. I hope the kids don't have a lot of homework.

NaBloPoMa #3

2008-11-03T19:45:00.004-05:00

So far so good!

Today was my favorite day of the week - Monday! It started with me thinking Mary was going to wake up sick, since she woke up several times in the night with a runny nose. Luckily, she slept an extra hour or two and woke up fine. I checked her in a little late but it was worth it to let her get the extra sleep. I made a quick dash to the gym (poor neglected gym - this pesky job sure does keep me away from you!) where I did my 3 mile walk. I had just enough time to shower and dress before Wendy came to pick me up for our lunch date. We went to Red Lobster which pretty much negated the 3 mile walk but it was totally worth it! I loves me some seafood. After lunch, I went for a much needed pedi. My toes have thanked me all afternoon. It was shortly after I got home from the pedi that THE HEADACHE made its presence known. THE HEADACHE started behind my eyes and soon spread and was bad. I was able to lay down for a little bit but it still hasn't gone away. I may have to just break down and go to sleep. No, can't do that. I can't miss CSI:Miami - as bad as it is I must watch it. It's a crazy addiction - similar to my Word Challenge addiction.

Tomorrow is Election Day. It will be a big day in history. All we can do is pray that the right person is chosen and that he will honorably lead our nation. These are scary times but as Carlos reminded us yesterday, we needn't worry. We can cast our burden on Him and he will give us rest. PTL!

Busy Sunday

2008-11-02T19:16:00.004-05:00

Today was a great day - lots going on, lots to be thankful for.

I ended up making about 4 dozen little tarts and I don't know how many sausage pinwheels to take for breakfast. They ended up looking fabulous on my Pampered Chef Chillzanne platter after I put some bright red strawberries in the center. What a shock when I got to my Sunday School class and not only did we have a guest teacher but about 10 extra people! It was almost standing room only! It was a very interesting talk - about the history of the New Testament Church and the Independent Christian Church. After that we went upstairs to hear Carlos preach a great sermon on Mat 6:25. You could tell he was very nervous at first but he settled down and really did a great job. I was able to sit with Sue Cates since Jay went to help Bobby cook down at the pavillion. We had a cookout after worship, hosted by Bobby's shepherding group (we are in his group) and the Women's Leadership Team was invited to attend as well. I grabbed a plate and followed the other ladies back to the Fellowship Hall for our meeting. I was on the Nominating Committee to help find replacements for certain positions that have become vacant. It was an arduous task to find someone to fill the President's position and I worried and stressed about it for days. After talking to Sue, I stopped worrying because all the worry wasn't helping me find an answer and I became convicted that the correct person or persons would be revealed to us at the right time. And they were. Sue and Wendy have promised to prayerfully consider being co-presidents. That would be a wonderful combination!

Alex went to play at his friends house this afternoon. He is currently grounded from watching tv, playing on the computer and from playing the GameCube. He has not been diligent with his school responsibilities. He completes his homework each day just as he is supposed to but he is not careful to actually turn the papers in when they are due. He did this (or didn't do this) two weeks in a row. So we are going to try to shift his focus away from the menial to the important by revoking certain privilages. He sure has been reading a lot!

Mary had her friend Ashlyn come over today. They played outside for a long time and then came in to work on a puzzle. I was able to tackle the dining room. It has become a war zone! We have gotten used to dumping our junk in there and leaving it because we can't see it from anywhere else in the house. It has gotten bad. I had Jay buy me a bookshelf so each kid could have a shelf to keep their school work on. This will also help Alex keep up with his homework each week. I sorted all the tons and tons of papers that we have. I need to buy baskets to keep these papers in so they remain organized. Jay also promised to hang the mirror that I've had leaning against the wall for a solid year now. It is huge, black, and beautiful and I can't wait until it is up. It may even happen tomorrow!!!! I asked Joel if he was up to helping out with it and he said yes. If I get my dining room in order I just may have to have a dinner party to celebrate!

Tomorrow is Monday - and you know I love my Mondays! Wendy has invited me to have lunch with her and I am really looking forward to it because we are going to Red Lobster. Yum!!!! I also have Tuesday off of work since it is election day. My school and the kids' school are closed. I hope I manage to make the time to vote. I don't know how I'll do it w/ all three kids home with me and Jay at work.

I didn't think I'd have anything to say on day #2 of NaBloPoMo but it has turned out to be a long post! Good for me!

Happy November!

2008-11-01T21:40:00.012-04:00

I just can't believe it's already November 1st. As Paula Deen says, "Great time of day!"

Halloween was a huge success. We met at Tara's for dinner, as we do every year. We had pasta salad and a whole mess of sides. I made the cutest pumpkin cake

but there were a ton of sweets already so I ended up bringing it home. We had no problem cutting it up today! The entire crew headed out as soon as it got dark, Lisa and I went to her house to give out candy. Joel had decorated his front yard with tombstones and other scary things. It was a big hit because we had a lot of traffic! Lisa and I stayed by the firepit trying to stay warm but it was tough - my hands were still pretty frozen. There was a wide array of costumes, some pretty creative. Of course my kids were the cutest! Liv was a dragon fairy.

Kind of hard to see her wings in this pic. Alex was a black ninja...

He was totally hamming it up once he put his costume on. Mary was a Bratz leopard/cat thing. I don't think it actually had a name but she looked awfully cute, even if she wouldn't smile for the picture.

They were so excited and it was very contagious. Alex and Mary ended up going to the Fall Festival at church with my brother of all people. He said they don't have good trick or treating in their neighborhood so they were looking for an alternative. I heard the festival was really nice - carnival games, pony rides, hay rides, hot chocolate, jumpy things. Fun, fun, fun. It was the first Halloween where we weren't all together. But everyone had a great time and I guess that's all that matters.

Tomorrow will be another long day. It's our turn to provide breakfast for Sunday School, then we have a picnic afterwards and I have to take a covered dish. After that, I have a Women's Leadership Team meeting. Later in the afternoon, Liv has small groups.

A few weeks ago, Alex had his belt testing ceremony in Tae Kwon Do. It was a big deal for us since it was our first time going through this. He worked hard and he passed the test and received his yellow belt. I took a ton of pictures because it just all looked so cool!

He had to do the white belt Form (or as Master Choi says "porm"), He had to break a board, he had answer questions from the judges. Some of the questions included the Korean names for some of the moves as well as counting to 10 in Korean.

He had to take several tries to break the board but it was very exciting when he finally did! A few days later, Master Choi had the belt ceremony - another interesting experience. It just happened to fall on our wedding anniversary so we ended up having a fabulously romantic dinner after the ceremony, with the kids, at the Waffle House!!! Hey, what's a busy mom to do but just take whatever comes along, right? We'll have our date night next year, in April, when my dad gets back!

So I joined this NaBloPoMo thing. Blogging everyday for a month. Considering I don't have an audience, who's going to care? LOL. But I'm going to do it anyway. And I will hopefully post a bunch of pictures so my dad can keep up with the kids' activities. Hope I can keep it up!

It was a happy November 1st after all.

Two in a row!

2008-10-26T22:37:00.003-04:00

Well lookie who's blogging two days in a row!

Today was a busy day. I had to teach the 4-5 year olds - we had 18 kiddos! It was a roomful and a bit chaotic but we made it through. Before that, the little kids choir sang - what a trip. Of course Mary told us up front that she wasn't going to sing. I tried bribing her, buying her a new dress, promising her anything - nothing worked. She totally could have taken me for a ride but luckily she didn't. So, I had the brilliant idea to go up on stage with her. I sat behind her and I had my very own puppet show going! Jay said it was hilarious - she just stood there and I moved her arms up and down and all around. I was very sad because even Gracie Marsh sang and did the motions - her very first time! And Mary didn't. Don't know what to do with that.

We had our Sunday School picnic after church. It was a beautiful day to be outside and everyone enjoyed it. I made a huge pan of mac and cheese and a wonderful cookie pie dessert. Did I already mention that in a previous post? Probably did. I left the picnic early and went to the Joyful Noise rehearsal. I was not really feeling the love but I did it anyway. Who am I kidding? I can't sing!

While I was at the rehearsal, Jay tried to start our car and it was dead. Completely dead. He bought a new battery and all was well. I worry though - will this one have a short life too?

We went home, I cleaned a little, then it was time to go back to church to pick up Livi from small groups. I was able to talk to Joyce and Christy and just hang out a bit. Long day but all in all a good one!

So Jay, why do you hate exclamation points? I love them!!!!!!! They make me happy!!!!! They are so full of emotion and feeling!!!! Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Bad Blogger

2008-10-25T22:49:00.002-04:00

I am the worst blogger ever. I used to be so good! So much is going on, we are so busy, there is so much to tell! And yet, I still don't blog. Well that is going to change RIGHT HERE!!! RIGHT NOW!!!

Today was a beautiful day - cool, crisp, sunny. We tried to catch up on the mounds of laundry but it was a losing battle. It's always a losing battle. But we got some done. Tomorrow, we have a cookout after church and then the cookie bee. We probably won't make it to the cookie bee though because we plan on having a good time at the picnic. And I won't let anyone make me feel guilty about it! I made a huge pan of mac and cheese to take to the picnic (Barefoot recipe, of course), and I made a cookie pie dessert (Giada recipe). I also had to bake a billion cookies for the bee but I got them all done. We were supposed to bake "fun" cookies with the kids but we only managed to make one batch of them. Maybe tomorrow we will do more. Carlos came over for dinner. As usual, it was a pleasure to share a meal with him. We had chili (for the second day in a row!) and it was very good. Perfect time to have chili. We are going to freeze the rest for individual portions. Yum. Even Liv ate the chili. Alex ate spaghetti-Os. That was a first. I can't believe he ate them. He had the tomatoe sauce and everything! Go Bubby! Add that one to his repertoire.

I am beat. Being in the kitchen all day and putting out "Mary fires" has left me exhausted. I must get my beauty sleep now - especially since I have to teach tomorrow (ugh!).

Until tomorrow.....pictures to come!

2008-10-08T21:01:00.003-04:00

I love Bobby Flay's Throwdown. He is so funny - and I just love his personality. Did I tell you that I know Bobby Flay personally? Well, I met him once. Okay, I was at the Dallas airport with him. Alright, alright...I was at the airport and he walked by. So no personal connection but I still claim it! There's nothing wrong with that!

Life is just chugging along. School, work, church, home. Tomorrow night is the last night of the trifecta party planning that I got myself into this week. Lisa's baby shower was Sunday. It all turned out great. I'm a little sorry for all the grumbling I did about there being so many showers and this one really didn't matter. It did matter. It was for my friend. And I think it turned out very special. Natalie and Tara cohosted with me and we each contributed to the food and drink. We had chicken salad, ham/cheese tortes, mini brownies, cheese dip, veggie tray, cheese/olive/sausage tray, cream cheese/pepper jelly spread....and a cake. Natalie made a diaper cake w/ firetruck decorations all over it. It was adorable. I had my reservations about the cake but I shouldn't have worried - Natalie is very creative and crafty. With all the planning going on, I totallly forgot to buy a gift. Imagine! So Tara and I went out Saturday night and tried desperately to find something - anything with firetrucks and firemen on it. It was really hard. We stressed ourselves out. We finally made a purchase and then we went home to start cooking. I was happy with the turnout, I was happy with everything. The "gang" ended up staying until about 7pm. We were just chatting and laughing - just having a good time. Jay had to leave to go and pick up Liv from her small groups. It was a good night.

Tuesday (last night) was Bonko. It was my first time hosting and I wanted it to be special. I chose a Food Network theme and I was able to find a line of FN stuff at Kohls (the day I saw it, they were having a one day sale!! It was fabulous!). I got cookbooks all over town - wherever I could fine cheap ones - but they had to be FN chefs. I cooked the Barefoot Contessa's Cheddar Corn Chowder and it was wonderful!!!! I found a Sangria recipe so we had that too. It was definitely happy juice. I was pleased. I still have two card tables in my family room.

Tomorrow night is Unity. I am not hosting it but I am signed up to bring refreshments. Wendy and I decided on a few things to bring and I will pick her up at 6pm. I'm not really cooking anything but I still have to prepare platters. After that - no more parties! For a while anyway.

Work is going well. I have been able to stay about a week ahead with my lesson plans (which is pretty good I think!) and I have been giving tests like crazy. Good except that now I have lots to grade. The kids are all good kids and they are a lot of fun to teach. I am still struggling with my preschoolers because the room I use doesn't have any chairs so the kiddos are very wiggly. That always causes problems. I am hoping that a solution reveals itself soon and that it will all work out well.

I found out today that my dad is planning on travelling to Bolivia on the 21st or so. That is quickly approaching. I can't believe that he will be gone for six months! I think that's the longest time he will have been away. I'm not sure I like it. It will be hard to not see him but I know he is looking forward to seeing his family.

Bad Blogger

2008-10-02T20:52:00.003-04:00

I am such a bad blogger. I started off with such a bang but now I can barely find the time to check my favorite blogs, much less write in my own. That doesn't mean we haven't been busy cause we have! We've just been living. School is still kicking my butt. I still struggle to complete my lesson plans from week to week. I have been wanting to rearrange my classroom for weeks but have not been able to find the time. I am constantly grading papers and photocopying stuff and planning stuff, and figuring out the gradequick program at school. And then there's all the crap, I mean stuff that I do for the church. We've had a Women's Retreat that I had to help plan, there's Unity, which I hosted last month, there's the cooking club, there's SOAR - we had our picture party, - there's teaching on Sundays - which I have to do twice a month, and there's helping on Wednesday nights (which I prefer not to do), there was the Women of Faith conference which was amazing and fabulous but took up two nights and one whole day, and now there is the Christmas Brunch to plan, and I find myself in charge of the Opt to Shop. I am getting ready to host a baby shower for my neighbor this Sunday - it's a fireman theme because the Baby Daddy is a fireman, of course. Two days later I am hosting Bonko here for the first time. And two days after that I am providing refreshments for our next Unity meeting. Shit - I mean darn it! And all three kids have been sick, at separate times, of course. Now Jay is recovering from an "illness". He thought he was going to die (he would have been the first man to die of a sore throat) but thankfully, he has turned the corner. It was touch and go there for awhile. He was in bed for days and slept the entire time!

Add into this mix the new world of orthodontists for us and we are hopping! Olivia has had two consults to see what kind of treatment plan would be best for her. It's confusing and there is a lot to learn. And let's not talk about how much it's going to cost.

So, the blog has been neglected while we played this silly game called life. Soon, things will calm down and we will be able to breathe.....I hope!

Life Is Good

2008-09-18T21:31:00.002-04:00

I went out to dinner tonight with Tara and Natalie. It is always good to recharge with my girls - especially when it's just us. We laughed, we planned a shower, we laughed some more. I hated having to go home!

Last night was church. Tuesday night was Bunko. It was at Lisa's house and it was wonderful. Of course I only won a stupid consolation prize but the rest of the night was great. Amy went for the first time. She was a last minute sub and I think she had a good time. I am hosting Bunko in November and I have already purchased most of my prizes. I am SO excited about it.

The kids are great. They have each had a turn with strep - all on different weeks, of course. Mary was the last one. The little baby had a fever of 104 for two days. Once we got the drugs in her she was good but I hated that she had to feel bad. I stayed home with her on Monday and Jay was able to work from home and stay with her on Tuesday. I have been working hard on making a sub lesson plan so that I won't have to think twice about calling in sick next time. It's hard for me to think that far in advance, much less have all of the materials ready. One in advance? It may as well be a year! Some teachers don't have a problem with it, in fact some teachers have their entire school year planned out before the year even starts. Not me. Considering I have been a teacher for about 5 minutes, it's hard to do! But I know it will get easier with time and I am looking forward to when it doesn't take me so long to get one class together. It will come.

Okay, enough blogging. Must go play Word Challenge...

This and That

2008-09-14T09:53:00.002-04:00

It's been a long time.

Who has time to blog anyway? There aren't enought hours in the day to do the things I have to do. Then at night I must surf for porn. I have to. It's an addiction and I must do it. Okay - not really! I realize that I occasionally get guest readers on here and they may read that and think I'm a big perv. For the record - I do not surf for porn! I own most of my porn. No, no, just kidding again!

So, I've been having a lot of trouble keeping my house clean. Well, it's never been clean to begin with so it's not hard keeping it in a state that it was never in. There's nothing like expecting a bunch of church ladies to come over to kick my behind into high gear and make me clean. That and finally buying a new vacuum cleaner. I love my little vacuum cleaner. It is so cute and small and light and it works! I'm still going to buy a mac daddy vacuum but this one will do for now. So last week, I cleaned most of the downstairs windows. Nasty. I hung curtains. Okay - Jay hung the curtains. But I picked them out! So last week, on Thursday, about 15 ladies from my Unity group came all the way out to Loganville to visit. It was fabulous. Sharon was our guest speaker and she did a great job!!! I didn't know she was such a good speaker. We really enjoyed having her. So, the food was good, the fellowship even better. It was all good.

Yesterday was the Women's Retreat. It was held at Lorna Cook's home and we had a great turnout. We watched a dvd series of Joni Erakson Tada. It was okay. I have to admit, I didn't love it. But it was okay. We had break out sessions and we actually had to work. We had our lunch catered by Jason's Deli. I was in charge of games. Why am I always in charge of games? I came up with four games and I think the ladies had a good time playing. The first was people bingo. The second was a game where they each had a line from a song and they had to find the other ladies that had their same song, put the lyrics in order, and then sing the song. It was a favorite. Another game was Animal Scramble. Each lady received a card w/ an animal name on it. They had to find all the other like animals in the room to make up their pack but they couldn't talk - they could only make the animal sound. I loved that one! They had so much fun being silly. The last one was Bible Trivia. I had lots of great prizes from Expressions by CK. Katherine gave me a great discount since it was for church. I think the Retreat turned out great and I hope everyone was pleased.

I came home and Mary was at Megan's bday party. I went to relieve Jay since he had to figure out how to bring Alex home from my dad's. Long story. I ended up staying a while because the girls were having a great time.

Today Mary is sick. All three have had the sore throat thing but in different weeks. She had a 102 degree fever this morning. She and I stayed home from church. She took some Motrin and seems fine but I can't ignore the fever from this morning. This means she will miss Ally's bday party this afternoon. I hate that! She was looking forward to it - and so was I!

My J-O-B

2008-08-31T22:55:00.002-04:00

Hmmm..Blogger Dashboard has changed....must tinker with it...looks like it could be fun!

What's up? It's been a long time. Suffice it to say that the j-o-b is rocking my world. I was just getting used to my new schedule when I added five new classes to my schedule when preschool and kindergarten started. I am not really thrilled with the middle school curriculum that I have and I have been searching and searching for some new and fresh ideas. I ended up finding new Elementary curricula and specifically Grade 4 - which I needed too. I'll have to keep searching for MS. I have really liked my 8th graders. They are a fun bunch of kids. They are loose, laid back, funny, and they know when to snap it together and get down to business. I want to challenge them but still make it fun. They keep telling me that they didn't like Mrs. DePue's teaching and that it was boring. So, I definitely have my work out cut out for me.

Liv is doing awesome in MS. She currently has 100 averages in all of her classes. Okay, I know it's only week 3 but a momma can be proud, right? We received Alex's CRCT scores last week and they really knocked our socks off. He just about aced the entire test. His scores were at the upper end of the "exceeds standard" category. My boy is a genius! But he still can't button his pants and he can barely tie his shoes. God love him, right? Mary is just about reading. She is so excited to sound out words and wants me to read to her all the time. She is such a little firecracker.

Our scary tree fell last week. Right across the driveway. Thank goodness it didn't fall on or near the house! That has always been my fear - ever since we moved here and each time there was a storm. So, I'm glad it is finally gone and there is no longer any danger but the yard does look naked. And I am going to have to figure out what to do w/ the island that is out there now.

I had a rough day today. For some reason, I felt like my kids were exceptionally high maintenance today. They didn't leave me alone for a second. And it's not like I want to be left alone necessarily but the demand for my attention was just overwhelming. And then the misbehaving was almost more than I could stand after a while. And the annoying of the cat got on my last nerve (guess who that was?). So you can see that it was a long day and I missed Jay a lot. But I didn't like to think about where he was because it's almost embarrassing to admit to people that he still does those kinds of things. I keep hoping he'll grow out of these childish, immature activities. And I really hate it that he exposes my kids to it.

Enough social commentary on that topic.

Okay, I finished Eclipse and am now almost done with Breaking Dawn. One word - WOW! The entire series is amazing. I have been riveted since I started the first one (was it only last week?). I decided to let Liv read the third one. I think it's okay but she won't read the last one. Not for a long time. It is very intense.

To Do List:

Plan Lisa's baby shower
Organize Opt to Shop
Plan games for Women's Retreat
Host Unity in two weeks and make up a program
Lesson Plans every single day
My new "job" with Gina (very reluctant about this)

I'm sure I'm leaving something out. *sigh* It will be fine! Life rolls on whether you want it to or not.

A very good read....

2008-08-24T17:34:00.005-04:00

I just read....

And then I read.....

And now I'm looking for.....

What a great series! And to think that Liv read them first! Can't wait to find that third book!

Success!

2008-08-16T08:13:00.003-04:00

Our first week at school was a success. The kids all enjoyed the start to the new academic year and I managed to stay employed at my new job. I worked three days this week (and yesterday I had only one class) and it all went well. I learned a lot about everything. I see how I'm going to have to do things differently for some classes and how others will just be easy peasy. But in general, they are all good kids and it will be a good year.

Liv LOVES middle school. She has made a ton of new friends, she has old friends in her homeroom, she has made new friends on the bus. She is going to join the orchestra and the running club. Wow! That sounds great! She is still reading like a madwoman and we can't seem to stop that but I guess we could have worse problems.

Alex is satisfied with his class. He has his friend David in class with him which is great and he seems to like the dynamics of the class. They did a bunch of assessments the first week so there wasn't much work going on. But he is happy and that's what counts.

Mary is a rock star! She loves kindergarten! I could not have asked for this experience to go any better. She is excited to go, loves her teacher, and has new friends. She loves to eat in the cafeteria and prefers to buy a lunch over getting a packed lunch. She insists they are not learning anything at school because they are just there to have fun. Yet she comes home every day and randomly lets me know all the things she has learned: "Mommy, did you know the heart is a muscle? Did you know I can count to 100 by 10s?", etc. Good for you MayMay! I'm glad you aren't learning anything!

So, God is good and He has blessed us beyond measure this week. I can't wait to see what next week will bring.

2008-08-11T22:36:00.004-04:00

Another milestone. The baby has gone to kindergarten. She is now a woman and will soon be splitting the grocery bill. She is also going to start cutting the grass. Good for you Jay!

Today was the day that I dreaded for the last five years. I knew it was coming....I know it would soon be here. But this morning when I woke up, I silently said to myself, "okay Mom, are you ready for this?" And just as I said that I answered myself with an emphatic NO! I wanted to roll back over and cover my head with a pillow and never, ever come out. It's a good thing I had to pee so bad or our day might not have gotten underway.

Like always, Liv was up at the crack of dawn. I mean at around 6am. She should get a job delivering milk. Wait, they don't do that anymore, do they? Okay, she should get a job herding cattle or better yet...she should get a job learning to make the doughnuts. Yeah, that would be great! Okay, so she's already up when I get up to go to the bathroom. And as usual, she chooses that moment to come in and start talking to me. Me, sitting on the toilet - how am I supposed to be cheery at that moment? I'm hoping she'll soon figure out that early visits to Mommy's bathroom = grumpy mommy for the rest of the morning.

Back to the story. Liv is up, dressed, and eating breakfast when I go to wake up the twins. (You know they aren't really twins, right?). Alex is complaining that he didn't get enough sleep so I immediately distract him by talking about his breakfast bagel. It worked. He remembered there was pizza so he jumped right out of bed and started getting dressed. Mary is usually easy to wake up, especially when she has somehow sneaked into my bed in the middle of the night. I love her awake and she rushes to get dressed - it is, after all, a most special day!

The twins start eating, though Mary is really flighty - playing w/ Otis a lot. But that is really par for the course. I pack their backpacks, fix hair, wash faces, make sure teeth get brushed - all those wonderful domestic super mommy duties I have grown to love. All of a sudden it is time to GO (especially after Jay fixes the kitchen clocks to reflect the correct time). Off we go! Mary is having no problem at all. Neither is Alex. Me? Not so much. I was actually doing fine until the bus driver, Mrs. Allen, tells me that she can't believe that my baby is going to school. Thanks lady. Okay, I'll admit it. There were tears. What are you made of stone? Of course I cried! My baby was gone. She was finally on that yellow bus! There is no going back now! No more preschool, days off, or even half days. Ahhhhhhh! Here come the tears. Again.

Okay. Round 1 done.

Liv's bus came about 45 minutes later. We sat outside with the cat waiting patiently. She was so excited. So the bus came, I waved to the bus driver, then I waved to my first baby sitting on that big, scary bus. And then it hit me. Forget about my little baby going to kindergarten - holy crap my oldest has just gone to middle school! There are bad people there. There are mean kids, there are ugly trailers, there is a whole world there that she will have to learn to live in and I won't be there! So I had myself a good cry. And then I forced myself to remember that we have raised her as well as we can. She is a godly child, she knows right from wrong, she has a good foundation - better than most. She will be fine. Won't she?

Okay. Round 2 done.

Round 3? That's a different story. Tomorrow is my first day of work. I think I'm going to start crying again.

School

2008-08-08T16:17:00.002-04:00

I have been meaning to come to this blog for some time now. Poor neglected blog. I just get to reading everyone else's blog and then it's so late that I feel like I have to go to sleep. You know, since I have to get up and go to w-o-r-k now. But, I think my audience of one will forgive me.

We've just come in from the pool. It was hot but it felt really good in the shade so I didn't even make it in the water this time. The Alexes played great, as always. Riley and Liv played well too but I have to say, I missed little May May! She was at Ashlyn's...and is actually still there. I called over there to see if they girls wanted to swim but Joel said he thought they were happy playing and he didn't want to interrupt them. I just called again to say we were home but he said they were still doing fine. Whatever! Some peace and quiet!!!

Okay - onto the topic of the day. I know you are all dying to hear about my job. Yikes - it is still weird to say that. So, I went to pre-planning on Monday very nervous. I took the kids and dropped them at the daycare at the school. Even though they were in the same building, it was weird. Anyway, we had meetings all morning but I learned a lot of new info that helped me a lot. I was able to meet some of the new teachers and some of the old teachers that I didn't know already. Even though I've taught there for two years, I've never been required to attend faculty meetings or do anything "official" so after the meetings and the new teacher orientation, I felt much better. I now know all about the fire/tornado drill procedure, the workroom rules, I know all about the Laminating Lady, I know how to use the complicated copier. It was very informative. I was able to start working in my classroom - can you believe I have my own classroom? Yippee! I re arranged the desks, cleaned out my big new teacher desk, cleaned out the shelves and cabinets - man! Mrs. DePue had a lot of junk! I mean a lot. Papers everywhere. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out my lesson plans. I am still not sure about long term LPs because I just don't know what level my students will be. I have a lot of ideas. I have so much at my disposal I just need to pray that my creative juices flow. I went to Orientation last night and met a lot of my students. They were TALL! I was a little intimidated. But I am seriously looking forward to my first day - which thankfully isn't until Tuesday. I have time to get my nails and hair done on Monday. That reminds me, I need to call the place and make an appt.

So, that's all the news. I wish I had some witty banter or funny stories to share but not today. Today is Friday. TGIF! I wish everyday could be Friday.

New Job

2008-08-04T07:20:00.003-04:00

I am going back to work today. It's been 8 long years since I've had to say that. Not about a real job, anyway.

I am freaking out just a little.

I don't want to put my kids in teacher daycare even for a second. I know they will be bored. I know they would rather be a million other places than daycare.

But, at least it's not a real daycare. It's at our church/my school and I will be right around the corner. And depending on how fast I can come up with some lesson plans to turn in, we can hightail it out of there by maybe Wednesday morning. But not today. Today is a full day. I have new teacher orientation, and lots of other meetings. Yikes! What have I gotten myself into?

I don't have any clothes to wear. I only have mom clothes to stay at home with. I will be wearing the same outfit everyday. I think I will teach that to my kids...otra vez? Again?

Must go wake up sleeeping angels.

My week

2008-08-01T21:22:00.002-04:00

This is Otis in a bikini.

Poor cat.

That's really all I need to say about this week.

Day #3

2008-07-30T22:41:00.005-04:00

It's been a long day.

I can still hear those rotten kids chatting when they are supposed to be sleeping. Man, is it going to be hard to get them up for school in a few weeks!

We went to the museum today - Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Their special exhibit was called "Ends of the Earth" and it was about the Arctic and the Antarctic, polar bears and penguins, and lots of other frozen tundra facts. We learned a lot because I made the kids read just about every little plaque we came across. We learned a lot about Georgia because they had a lot of GA exhibits too (duh!). Alex especially liked the dinosaurs and could name just about everyone that we saw. There were several day care groups there and since I don't like small children (other than my own), I tried to stay one exhibit ahead of them. It was all good.

Each kid got a small treat from the museum store and then we headed to lunch with Papi. We were starving! It was after 3pm at this point. I had taken snacks for the kids to eat but still...we were ready for some lunch. We met Papi at Taco Mac and enjoyed a long leisurely meal. Mary was relatively well behaved. Afterwards, we headed to his house to hang for a while to wait out the traffic. It was a good day.

This is Papi trying to be cute.

The trash is just about ready to go out. Do you think we can make it until Friday night? Hmmmm.

Tomorrow is Thursday...no plans as of yet. We may go swimming if the weather permits. It was cloudy today but still hot. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Have a great day!

Day #2

2008-07-29T16:23:00.002-04:00

Well, today was a pretty quiet day. The stupid cat woke me up at 5am so I got up to let him out. Liv was already awake and said she had been awake since 4am. That kid is so weird. So I told her to go back to sleep and I did the same. We both slept until 8:30! So, needless to say, we woke up groggy and still tired.

McKennah invited Mary to go swimming at 10:30. I packed her a lunch and we waited outside for her to be picked up. She stayed for about 45 minutes before Stacey called and said Mary wanted to come home. It wasn't until we got home that she finally told me that she was sad because McKennah and Katie Bug were playing together and she felt left out. That's so unlike her because she will usually force people to pay attention to her. So we all went to have lunch with Marybeth. Fun! We went to the Mexican place over by the Publix. It was fabulous but I have to admit that my stomach has been very upset since I got home. I mean VERY upset. I barely had time to drop Mary back at McKennah's and then Alex to Alex's before I had to visit the restroom again. And of course Mary wanted to walk there. It's only 98 degrees but whatever! So we all piled in the car and drove 2 miles an hour behind her. It was pure joy. Especially since we couldn't turn on the air and we were roasting. Pure joy I tell you.

We are probably going to see my dad tomorrow. That's about all the news so far. How is Texas? I hope it is very exciting. I hope you are not working too hard.

Three days to go!

M

Dear Jay,

2008-07-28T22:57:00.003-04:00

Well, today was the first day you didn't come home after work. It felt like a normal day but Alex had a crying jag this morning...can you just hear his fake crying? "I want Daddy! I miss my Daddy!" I finally had to tell him (in my very sweet, special way) to knock it off because even if Daddy were in town, he'd still be at work and not at home since it was only 10am! He quit soon after.

I had a whole list of fun things to do today and the kids wanted no part of it. All Alex wanted to do was to play at Alex's (can you guess why?). They wanted to take him out to the Barn but he didn't want to go. Said he was afraid of the horses. We have to get him out more.

Liv, Mary and I went shopping. We had a mission to find some *&%#@ kitchen curtains for my dad. But first we stopped at Shoe Carnival where Liv picked out some $50 shoes. I put them right back on the shelf. Next we went to Payless - Mary found some clearance flip flops - since she has so few shoes. We finally found some Converse sneakers at Marshalls for cheap. I wanted to buy Alex some flip flops but decided it'd be better to have him with me. We also went to Target to buy some bras! Some real bras. For your baby. Because she has boobies. *sigh* And now Mary is obsessed with breasts and wants to buy a bra for herself too. I told her they don't make them in her size and she asked me to make her one. I just may have to do it.

I was exhausted from having to deal with Mary so we went home and chilled. We had a relaxing afternoon, although I had a headache again but I'm sure it was from dealing w/ M. The book I am reading is so good, in fact, I can't wait to sign off here to go and continue reading it.

Otis says hello.

That's all for now. My dad wants us to come out there tomorrow. Not sure, we might. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Hope you have a great day tomorrow! I love you!

You never know who you'll meet at the pool...

2008-07-24T21:19:00.005-04:00

Okay, so I'm at the pool with my kids and my friends. It is hot, hot, hot! It is so hot that I can't stand it a minute longer so I jump in. Ahhhh! Refreshing. That's summer in Georgia! Before long, another family comes in - parents with two kids. I've seen them before, at least I've seen the mom but I've never met her. So I'm not sure why this time is different. Not sure why I stare at her so much. There's something familiar about her - especially her mouth. Hmmmm..... Have I met her before? I don't think so.

Then I see it.

She is the spitting image of my sister-in-law. I mean even down to the bleached blonde hair and the bangs. She even scrunches up her mouth the same way. She doesn't look quite as...how should I say...rough around the edges? There's no bun in her hair, no bluetooth thingie on her ear, and no black roots. But everything else is very similar. She even looks mad all the time.

I just can't get past the resemblance.

I see her a couple more times and finally I just can't stand it anymore. I go over to her in the pool and just start talking to her. You know, just making small talk - neighbors talking. She seems nice, not overly friendly but she didn't seem to mind chatting with me. I tell her that she bears a striking resemblance to my sister-in-law and I would swear that she must be a long, lost relative of hers. She laughs and says, " you know, they say everyone has a twin out there somewhere". Yeah right.

The next time I see her, she comes up to me. We had never exchanged names, I didn't even know where in the neighborhood she lived.

"Hi there. Do you remember me?" she says.

"Yeah, from the other day, right?"

"Yes. I didn't get your name when we were talking. My name is Lisa and I live on Nina Court."

"My name is Maria and I live across the street." I point past the fenceline to my house just beyond the cul de sac where the pool is.

"It's nice to meet you Maria. Listen, I've been thinking a lot about our conversation the last time we talked and I just can't get something out of my mind. You said that I remind you a lot of your sister-in-law, right?"

"Yes. You bear a striking resemblance to her and it is just such a coincidence that I would have met you at the pool."

"Yeah, well. Here's the thing." I start to get a little uncomfortable by the look on her face and "the thing" she is about to tell me. "My family moved to Georgia about three years ago from St. Louis, MO. I was born and raised there. My mother had passed away not long before our move and I found out just before she died that I was adopted. She had never told me that before."

Wow. I just stare at her with my mouth wide open.

She is wringing her hands now. She seems nervous. "Well, I have been thinking about this resemblance and wondering...could it be? Are we related? It would be such a shot in the dark but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. I've never tried to find my birth parents but this has just gotten under my skin and I can't stop thinking about it."

I don't know what to say. Have we just opened a can of worms here, or what? A few days ago, I barely knew this woman and now here she was telling me intimate details of her life. I didn't even know her last name. I knew nothing else about her except what she had told me today. She is adopted. She is originally from St. Louis, MO. I wonder how old she is? Suddenly it is very important to me to know how old she is because all of a sudden I realize something - something so incredible that I can't even get the words out.

"Uh, Lisa? You are not going to believe this. My sister-in-law's name is Renee. She was raised here in the metro Atlanta area but her parents are both from the St. Louis area. " Lisa looks at me with wide eyes, she has a look of sheer disbelief at this incredible coincidence.

"And Renee is adopted too."

Oh. My. Gosh.

PS - don't get your panties in a wad...it's a fictional story!

Partied Out

2008-07-21T22:46:00.004-04:00

Kid parties are fun but I'm kind of glad that we are done with parties until next year! Of course Jay has a big one in December but if I plan a party for him, I'm sure I won't have to figure out what kind of goody bags to give.

Mary and Ashlyn had their parties this weekend. Ashlyn's was Saturday and Mary's was Sunday. Mary chose a pink poodle theme and wanted everything to be pink (of course). So we had snacks, snacks, and more snacks (don't want anyone to be hungry, right Jay?), and then the cake. I have to say that I was very proud of my cake. I baked it from (Duncan Hines) scratch and decorated it myself. I was really worried when I first started that we were going to have to make an emergency trip to Publix to pick up a cake. Both layers cracked on me when I put them together. The frosting acted like glue, though and kept everything together. I had to make Jay go to the store like 50 times but was able to finish with time to spare. I was able to trace the outline of the pink poodle onto the cake from an enlarged copy of a napkin. The rest I had to do freehand.

So, Mary and 13 or so of her friends enjoyed a HOT afternoon at the pool. What could be better? Oh right - presents! Yes, there were a lot of those!

And she and Hannah took care of opening every last one this morning. We had Barbies, mermaids, polly pocket stuff, littlest Pet Shop, DS games, painting supplies, cards, markers, cash....what else? Lawsy, lawsie! It was a 5 year old funfest. And it won't stop there. Alex Noblett is having his party next weekend - at the pool again. Gotta love the pool!

Happy Birthday Mary!

2008-07-17T22:19:00.004-04:00

Today my baby turned 5 years old. Oh. My. Goodness. When did that happen? She really was just born. We had a fabulous day. It started with a special breakfast for our princess. Then lunch at the pool with her friends around her - we spent the entire day there. And I feel really bad that I didn't even think to reapply our sunscreen because we are all pink tonight. We came home to shower and dress for her bday dinner - it seems like the whole day revolved around our meals, right? We went to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner - the little kids' first time seeing a hibachi grill. They enjoyed it - even though Alex only ate steamed rice and crackers. My dad joined us for dinner and it turned out really nice. Baby was tired and cranky by the time she went to bed but I think she did a great job turning 5 today!

I'm having a hard time watching my baby grow up. She just got her first real haircut last week. She went from hair that she could sit on to a cute little bob just to her shoulders. It completely changed her little look but it is absolutely adorable. And she loves it. Maybe all that hair was weighing her down! She certainly is a little spitfire - at all times. She is the first one to get in trouble, the first one to get spanked, the first one to give hugs and kisses. She is most definitely a Mommy's Girl (I thought all girls were Daddy's girls?) and she won't hesitate to let her preferences known. She fills our home with laughter, giggles, screams and lots of love. Her brother would rather play with her than anyone else. Her sister won't admit it but she really loves her. Her Papi is absolutely lost when it comes to MayMay. She has definitely filled a place in our hearts we never knew was empty. We thought we had the perfect family - a boy, a girl. We thought that was enough. Who would want more? Well, lo and behold, we ended up with a little surprise that turned out to be the missing piece to our family puzzle. Now we are complete. Now we are a perfect family. Thank you Lord for Mary!

Back to the Blogging World

2008-07-10T21:15:00.002-04:00

After a lengthy hiatus, here I am again! Life has been rolling on just as it always does. We have been fairly busy, the kids are growing, playing, swimming, growing....it's a viscious cycle.

Olivia and I spent 8 days in Mexico on a short term mission trip. My third time going and her first. I have to say it was a wonderful experience for both of us. I'm glad she expressed an interest in going but I have to say I hesitated just a little when I finally agreed to take her along. The Mexico trip has always been such a special thing for me - special friendships made with people I wouldn't normally cross paths with, profound spiritual growth with each task that was asked of me, just a letting loose and letting the "real" me just hang out. And it always helped that after a lifetime of being a mommy having to take care of everyone else, that I could spend a week not worrying about anyone else but me! But that's not a very Christian attitude is it? And so my 11 year old went to Mexico to serve the Lord.

We started out with a flight delay going into Houston. We had like 10 minutes to make our connection to Aguascalientes. We had to RUN! And you know...Momma don't run! But we made it with minutes to spare. Cris and Rosie were waiting for us at the airport with...get this...KFC! We pulled over to a truck stop and had some fried chicken and warm coke. It was all good! We hit the road and made the 2 hour trip to Estancia. By this time, Liv was so tired she was starting to get grumpy. Rule #1 on a mission trip - you are NOT allowed to get grumpy! She crashed as soon as we set up our room and had a pretty restful nights sleep. Saturday, we hit the ground running. Breakfast at 8am, we headed to the town of Maravillas at 10am. The first vbs is always a rough one. No one knows just what to do and we are always unprepared. Wendy decided to read the story in Spanish and that didn't go over very well. I don't think the kids understood her at all. But Liv did great acting in the drama of the Good Samaritan.

Saturday night was Teen Night at the camp. We had about 20 teens show up to see skits, sing songs, and hear testimonies and devotions. It was nice. Elizabeth Goodwin sang a beautiful song and really impressed all of us. Chase and Dana Barber gave their testimonies. We had a late dinner and then a fabulous devo by Keri. Our theme for the week was "Creado Para Servir" so she spoke of when Jesus washed the disciples feet. And she actually got a bucket of water, some towels, and washed every one of our feet! It was a moving devo and we were all caught up in the emotion of the act, and trying to visualize our savior doing the same to his disciples.

Sunday, we split up in two groups - one went to Saucedo and one went to Refugio. I was with the latter group. There was about an hour of singing (long even for Mexico!), and then we went outside to teach the kids while Art preached a sermon. The lesson we did for the kids was Saul on the road to Damascus. The kids got to paint a butterfly suncatcher. After the craft, I went back inside to give my testimony... a hard thing to do. I had prepared it in Spanish and thought it would be a breeze, but I have to admit, I had a moment about halfway through. It all ended well though. After the service, we walked across a dry field (that was supposed to be a crop but since there was no rain, there was no crop) and had lunch at the preacher's house. Believe it or not, we had tuna salad and crackers! Sunday night, we all went to Rascon for church services: Carlos preached, Dana Brooks gave her testimony and we taught the kids about the four friends who lowered their friend through the roof to see Jesus. Dinner afterward. And singing. Lots of singing. We kept hoping the power would go out to kill the darn keyboard but it didn't and there was more singing. Sunday night Patrick gave our devo.

Monday we went to the elderly home. Liv was finally going to see the old people. The first time I went I had the heebie geebies real bad. It took several visits for me to get over it and I ended that week loving my experience there. I was pleasantly surprised when Liv just jumped right in and started loving on "los ancianitos". She made me very proud. I think that day we did the Prodigal Son story (I think) and had a felt board to help with the story telling. Monday night, we went to Pastoria. It was my first time there and I was very excited. I had heard so much about this town - there is not a Christian church there and there is only one Christian - Adriana. She was baptized last year. It was a big deal for her to be baptized. So we prepared for about 100 kids. Sadly, only about 40 showed up. And in the middle of our thing, a van full of thugs showed up, blaring rap music and teasing the kids that were participating in the lessons. It was easy to get rattled and I just wanted to go and yell at the boys and tell them to leave. The truth is that they looked scary and were plenty intimidating. The devil uses all sorts to try to get in our way. As soon as I realized that, it was easy to tune them all out and to continue on with our work. I had to practically yell when I was translating the lesson and by the end of the evening, I was hoarse, but it was worth it. The boys eventually left and we were able to finish in peace. We went home to a wonderful spaghetti dinner made by our own Conchita. Gracias Conchita y Dios te bendiga! Elizabeth Lindstrom had devos.

Tuesday we started out at the elderly home again. This time we made butterfly windchimes for the residents. Once again, I had to help the blind ladies color theirs. We hung the chimes in their rooms and just spent time w/ the residents. We spoke to Eusebio a lot about his decision to accept Christ and even pressured him a bit about possibly being baptized that day. He didn't want to and we were once again disappointed. Tuesday afternoon found us at Loreto with Israel and Obed. They are the cutest little preachers and they make the work so fun! I was shocked to hear that Obed is only 20 years old and is leading a growing church in Saucedo. We learned about Jesus washing the disciples' feet again and had a wonderful drama to illustrate it. The kids made tote bags ( I think) and then had some play time outside. We headed home to a great dinner and a devo by Art (he talked about being reckless and stepping outside our boxes).

Wednesday we headed back to the home. We played balloon games with the elderly and they loved it. That went on while Patrick played and we sang. Good times in Mexico, I say! We had them make puzzles (again - I helped the blind ones!) and then I gave another testimony about being recently baptized. It was supposed to be directed at Eusebio but he didn't flinch. That afternoon, we headed back to Loreto. We had a small group because the bottom fell out of the sky just as we arrived at the church. But that didn't deter us! We worked as if we had a hundred kids there and they were the most important kids ever. Today, they made backpacks and towels. Liv got to wash the kids hands after they made their handprint. When the day was almost over, Israel got out his zampone and guitar and he played us some nice Andean music. He has a nice voice and I would have loved to hear him sing but he didn't this time. He asked me to send him some music by the Kjaarkas. My mom has a ton of their stuff so I'm sure I can make copies and get them to him somehow. Wednesday night was my turn for devos and I shared my testimony that I gave on Sunday. It was so emotional for me that I couldn't even start. I had to have Carlos read it for me. Everyone was crying and I really didn't mean to make them cry. I had hoped my message would be a positive one, that God used my time of brokenness to reveal Himself to me in a mighty way. Maybe they got it through the tears. Maybe.

Thursday we got up at the crack of dawn to head out to Teneuca in the state of Jalisco. It was a four hour drive from the camp but they felt it was important enough for us to visit that church so we went. We had to pack all of our stuff since we would not be returning to the camp. We made it to the camp, had lunch, did our thing, enjoyed the beautiful landscape and the children, and then started the two hour drive back to Aguascalientes. That's right - six hours total in the car! But it was all for the Lord so "gloria a Dios!" We had dinner at a restaurant that night - it's always interesting when you have a group of 25 or so to eat together. But it was good food and we had a good time. Thursday night Sue Cates had devos.

Friday, we went to the church in Aguas for breakfast. Man, did they put out a spread for us! There must have been a dozen different dishes to choose from! We were truly humbled by their kindness. We did our lesson (washing those feet again!), did a fabulous craft (same craft we've always done but it just turned out so much better here!), and then had recreation time. A good time for all. We went back to our hotel and we were able to enjoy the afternoon off. We were on our own for lunch and then did some shopping. I said I didn't want to shop but I had to help my sisters who didn't speak the language. I was tired but glad to help. We made it back to the hotel w/ about 30 minutes to rest before meeting for dinner at another restaurant. The food was similar to the night before but it was good. Jan Lindstrom gave an exceptional devo that night and had us all in tears. What an honor to have served alongside Ms. Jan. It was a great experience. So, we were off to bed because we had to be up at 3AM!!!! Yikes!

Saturday we took off from the Aguas airport at about 6:30am. Then it was on to Houston, and after several delays, we finally landed in Atlanta sometime around 5:30 or so. It was SO good to be home and to be able to see my babies! And my hubby! God is good to have called me to serve Him but He is so good to have brought me home safe and sound.

What's Up?

2008-06-21T08:54:00.002-04:00

I've been silent in the blogging world for some time now. I get on the computer every night with the intention of writing a funny, fascinating, scintillating post but by the time I check out all my friends in the blogger world, I come here and I have nothing. Nothing, I tell you. My boring life does not compare to all the exciting things going on out there. And does my audience of one really want to hear a summarization of the spectacular, fabulous, exciting events that are going on in my life, especially since he is right there next to me for most of it? Probably not.

My A-of-One and my Little Son are at camp right now. A first for both of them. I am so excited that they have both decided to go together. The girls and I dropped them off yesterday afternoon at the church and they loaded up in two vans and headed up to North Georgia Christian Camp. Livi went last year but declined to go this year since the week at camp would conflict with our trip to Mexico. It saved me from making the two hour drive up there to get her a day early. So, Little Son was so excited to go and couldn't wait to get on the road. He packed his stuff himself (well he gathered them together and Daddy actually put them in the suitcase). They should be having all kinds of fun by now. Can't wait to hear the details.

The girls and I went to my dad's house in the afternoon. We were halfway there so I thought it was a prudent move gas-wise. :) The first thing the girls did was hit the pantry for a bag of cheetohs. My kids have this weird obsession with cheetohs at my dad's house. They must have some as soon as they walk in the door. And they must eat the entire bag. And they must lick their orange encrusted fingers instead of washing them. And then they have a tummy ache. It's a ritual we have come to know and love. My dad prepared a fabulous dinner for us and we stayed until almost 9:30pm! Late for us considering we have such a long drive home. But, the girls and I made it safe and sound. They crashed as soon as their heads hit their little pillows. It's after 9am now and May May is still asleep.

Now it's up to me to find someway to entertain these girls today. It's raining so that rules out the park, the pool, or anything outdoors. Hmmmm...hopefully we won't be bored without our guys today.

One of these days I will download the pics off my camera and post some shots of our exciting life.

***note - Little baby girl just woke up***

Father's Day

2008-06-15T22:07:00.002-04:00

Well, everyone in the blogging world must be writing a Father's Day post. I've always been a follower and not a leader. Here goes...

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's in my life! We celebrated FD yesterday for Jay because I knew that today would be crazy. The day started with my first attempt at making biscuits and gravy. Don't get too excited - they were canned biscuits. I've never made homemade biscuits and I'm not about to start now. Canned are good enough for me! The gravy though - that's a different story. Totally from scratch. And I must say it turned out pretty good! Jay had a second helping so that says something. I also made sausage, scrambled eggs, bacon (for the boy), and grits. It was a monster breakfast. At least we didn't have to worry about lunch! I think Jay enjoyed it. The kids gave him their present (picked out by all three and wrapped by Liv) - he got a new watch. Very nice watch. The only requirement was that it had to have a bezel. He took it to be sized today and has been wearing it like a good daddy.

Lynnette came over last night and we were able to hang out for several hours. We went to get ice cream and then she had to go with me as I did my grocery shopping for today. It didn't matter what we did though, it was good to catch up.

Today was my first time teaching the new curriculum at church. And of course I looked at it for the first time this morning right before we left the house. But, it always turns out just fine (thank you Lord!). Gerry did her Large Group drama which was basically the entire lesson. All I had to do was sing a little, ask a few questions, and work with my small group. Cake. Melinda came to play her guitar for us which is always nice.

We came home to get ready for our big dinner/late lunch. Dad came and brought a whole mess of steaks and potatoes. I baked the taters, Jay grilled the steaks, I added grilled corn, salad and BEANS to the mix. It was fabulous. But no one ate the beans dammit! I sent some home with Renee - that's all they need over there...a dozen cats, a Cujo, and gassy family members. Great.
My dessert went over great. Dad said it was a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. Mom had the 10. Fred was absolutely disgusting and ate at least 4 helpings. Damn!

So now Hannah is here keeping Mary busy. I will send them to bed very soon so they can get their beauty rest. As for me...I am off for my first Icee Pop of the day. Happy Father's Day!!!!

SOAR News

2008-06-08T21:42:00.002-04:00

We had our final SOAR meeting today. The great news is that the entire team is completely paid up. And we got the news that we will not have to pay the additional fee for our second bags. Good, because we have a lot of craft stuff to take. I have a lot of work to do. I received some of the translation today and I am anxious to get started. The first skit we did had a lot of idioms and those are so hard to translate so I suggested that we cut them out and shorten them just a bit. I'm working on them now. I also got Elizabeth's devotion on Singleness. That's going to be tough. But I know that, like always, God will put all the pieces together the way they should be and it will all work to glorify Him. I just get tired of having to explain why I can't translate on the fly like Carlos does. I finally told Melinda today that I didn't speak any Spanish from the time I was about 14 until my first trip to Mexico. I literally had to relearn it. Jay, you'll laugh at this but when I was watching the Spanish soap - I know my Spanish improved a lot. I think I will find another one to watch but I don't want it to be in the middle of the day like before. I hope it's a juicy one!!

2008-06-07T23:53:00.002-04:00

I've been trying to update my preferences on a certain profile and I am completely stumped by my interests and my favorite stuff. What do I like? What are my interests? Favorite movies? Books? I mean I really had to struggle to name a few things. What's up with that? I know I like a lot of things, right? I am usually quite busy but what is it that I do? Hmmmmm...the million dollar question, right Jay?

Today was cleaning day here. Fun! We know how to have a good time around here! I cleaned the two upstairs bathrooms and my bedroom. Doesn't sound like a lot but if you could have seen them before - you would be super impressed now! And I did about four or five loads of laundry. AND I folded, sorted and put them all away. A miracle. I did not have the energy or inspiration to go into the girls' rooms so I left that bit of fun for next week. Wouldn't want to be bored on Monday, right?

The only bad thing about vbs being over is that now I have to start cooking everyday again. It was SO nice not to have to worry about feeding my family for five nights in a row! A little slice of heaven for me. I wonder if we can live on icee pops? I think I could. And Jay too. Probably little Mary would be happy with that. Alex - not so much. The boy doesn't like to miss a meal and I'm pretty sure an icee pop would not cut it.

Okay...totally random but here goes:

Top 6 Dumbest Shows on TV:
1. Keeping Up With the Kardashians - what a bunch of idiots
2. Denise Richards: It's Complicated - only seen it a couple of times but OMG! Stupid
3. Any of the Flavor Flave shows
4. The Simpsons
5. Family Guy (and any animated show intended for adults)
6. Guy's Big Bite - he's nasty, spends too much time on his hair, and wears too much jewelry

Oh there's more my friend but I just remembered two movies that I love and I have to go and put them on my profile before I forget them.

TA!

Too Busy to Blog

2008-06-06T10:13:00.004-04:00

Blog? Who has time to blog? And since I only have one reader (hi Jay!) I figure no one has really missed me. This week has been exhausting but so much fun. The worries with Auntie continue but seem to have calmed down a bit. She is home - AMA - and seems to be managing. Though last night I heard that she finally realized that she can no longer live alone (something we have been trying to tell her for two weeks). We'll see what today brings on that front.

The other news in the Wright household is VBS. We have been eating, breathing, sleeping VBS. I have always volunteered as a crew leader. This year I was asked to be in charge of crafts. Can you imagine doing crafts for about 200 kids each night for five nights? And each craft session lasts 15 whole minutes????? Crazy, right? But it has to be done and we did it. Last night was the last night of our craft extravaganza and I must say it all went well. We made test tubes, slime, bouncy balls, frisbees, goofy goggles, necklaces, and picture frames. Oh - and we took each child's picture to put in that picture frame. Each night was exhausting, rushed, crazy, hot, but fun, fun. Last night we had to break down our rooms - take tables down, decorations down, put crafts in the resource room, etc. A fun way to end an exciting week. Tonight is the Family Celebration and we are going to celebrate with ice cream, water games, and a slime fest - whatever that is. After that I am going to sleep for a week straight.

I'm blue...

2008-05-28T22:31:00.002-04:00

*Sigh*

I'm trying hard to act normal but life is anything but normal right now. I am kind of in shock and trying to keep it all at arm's length but that can't go on for much longer. Auntie is sick. She is very sick. My brother and I are the next of kin and my brother isn't very much interested in the situation. Thank God for my dad. He has been running this show since the beginning and is trying to figure out how to do the best thing for all of us. My heart just breaks thinking about my aunt. I never thought it would be like this. I just thought she would go quietly when her time came. And now here we are. She can no longer live alone. She will have to have rehabilitation. She will need long term care. Physically - she seems to be okay. Getting better and will probably be able to walk, talk, dress and feed herself. Her mind is what worries me. She is disoriented, confused, easily agitated, she is definitely a handful. And forgetful. I have been unable to think of much else since last week. All I can do is pray that the right choices will be made clear to us and that we will have a peace about the decisions we have to make.

School is out for summer! Can you hear the song playing in your head? We have been trying to have fun. There's been lots of swimming going on! Alex is already super tan - the girls aren't far behind. Mary has picked up her swimming right where she left off last summer. It is so exciting to see her swim back and forth. Of course Liv is a very strong swimmer - she never had a lesson in her life but she just learned on her own. My dad came up yesterday to take us out to lunch. We went to Zaxby's and then to Bruster's to have ice cream. It was a good day. Before that we went to Tribble Mill Park for a nature walk. We went off the trail and got lost so the adventure lost a bit of its charm because it took a bit longer to get where we wanted to be but all in all, we had a good time. We saw a deer run right by us and a snake snuck up on us too. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed it. I wish I had taken the camera...

Just Finished....

2008-05-22T15:03:00.005-04:00

This is an excellent book! I just couldn't put it down. Exciting, sad, funny, suspenseful....just all around a great read. This is the second book I've read recently that has to do with King Henry VIII and his many wives. Exciting stuff!

Summer...Here we come!

2008-05-21T22:37:00.004-04:00

Today was my last day of work and the big kids last day of school. We are officially on vacation now. I am looking forward to lounging by the pool and not a whole lot more than that! Lame? I think not. The kids will be getting fresh air and exercise, I will be getting "adult" time, it's free entertainment. It's all good!

berries, low country boil, graduation

2008-05-20T08:55:00.016-04:00

We finally went berry picking at the Strawberry Fields. The funny thing about living right by the Strawberry Fields is that since we see them every single day that there is never really an urgency to go and actually pick the berries! We see everyone having so much fun out there picking and we just drive on by. The farm says that they are having their best season ever and they are bursting with sweet delicious berries.

I daresay they are right! The berries are delicious and plentiful. We just happened to go the day after a huge storm so it was muddy and cold too. We didn't care. And it wasn't crowded either (since it was Friday afternoon). Jay said he has never gone berry picking so we waited until he got home from work and took him (and Ashlyn) along.

The girls had fun stomping through the mud to try to find just the right berries.

Before we knew it, we had filled three buckets!

After picking berries, we went next door to a low country boil. It was a feast! Shrimp, crab legs, sausage, potatoes, corn...we were stuffed! It was a good time - thanks Turners!

Liv's 5th grade graduation was last night. It was a big event at the First Baptist Snellville church. Dad offered to take us to dinner before and it was her choice - Steak and Shake. We met at 5:00 so that we'd have plenty of time to get to the church by 6:30.

We had great seats and we settled down for the ceremony. 243 graduates later...and it was almost 9pm! But my sweet girl came away with an award in Music - for achievement in singing, playing instruments, and composition. We were very proud!

And here she is with Mrs. Davis

I was so happy that my dad came out to support her. He is always there for my kids and I am so grateful for that.

Two more days of school.....

The Sunday Night Blues

2008-05-18T21:03:00.002-04:00

Well, it's Sunday again. The last Sunday before school is out. Yeah! School is almost out! Three more days....and it's all over. Today was a long day for me. I got up and out early today since I had to be at my last Sunday morning choir practice. Today was Patrick's last Sunday. It was sad, emotional, blue, tense, and just exhausting. There were tears for a good two hours. Not for the whole two hours but they were definitely there. Jay was sweet to cover my 3rd Sunday class so I could sing in Patrick's choir for the last time. Keri was a basketcase the entire time. I actually stayed with Seth's sermon for the entire time (big surprise there!) and was so pleased when three people actually came forward at the end of the service. One couple officially joined the church and then my friend Gina decided to be baptized. It was wonderful. Her two daughters were brought in to witness the baptism and they were so excited! A perfect ending to the service. Afterwards, we had a SOAR meeting that lasted a good four hours. But we got a lot of stuff done, including putting coloring books together. It was good. Liv and I went shopping afterwards because of course she had to tell me at the last minute that she wanted a new outfit for her graduation tomorrow. We had luck and found one on sale. I have to admit...she looks very good in it!

Saturday we had two parties for Mary to go to. She was off and on not feeling well towards the late afternoon. While we were at a restaurant for dinner, she vomited all over herself, me, the table, the seat...YUCK! Obviously we had to go home right away. But, the good news is that she instantly felt better and has been great today. She did get to sleep in our bed last night so that was a treat for her.

Random Pics

2008-05-15T20:24:00.007-04:00

I have a lot of random pictures to post. I've been neglecting my pictures because I generally post from the laptop and the pictures are all on the desktop. So, let's see what I can find to put on here...

These two are of Olivia and Alex at their school art show. We ended up buying both of their framed pictures because they were so proud of their work. And now that I'm looking at that pic of Alex, I see what sticker he was wearing that went through the wash and left a sticky, gooey mess on that green shirt.

Here are some outdoor pics from one beautiful afternoon. We were lounging in the backyard and I spent a lot of time watching Mary. She took a lot of enjoyment from just being busy - picking flowers, pulling leaves off the trees, running in the grass, chasing the cat, "sweeping" the patio - it was endless.

Mary went to her friend Aiden's birthday party last week. There were a lot of classmates there so she was in her glory. It was a beautiful day and we had fun.

Megan, Mary, and Katie

The three in the middle - Aiden, Maryelizabeth, and Mary

Going for a swim...

2008-05-14T22:19:00.005-04:00

Well, it's been a very exciting few days around here! Of course, all that excitement was in my head so no one else felt it except me. It's all about me....right?

I was finally baptized into Christ tonight. Full immersion. Not just a sprinkle but a full fledged dip! It was a wonderful moment. Acts 2:38 says, "Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". I wanted to be right with God. I knew in my heart that infant baptism is not biblical, but that full immersion baptism is. I understand that taking a dip is symbolic of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection and signifies that I have been reborn in Him. I also understand that baptism is a public affirmation that I am IN CHRIST and that I have been obedient to His word. There were many people tonight that told me that they couldn't believe I had not already been baptized. I kind of felt bad about that, like I had been perpetrating fraud or something. I guess it all had to do with timing, of how the Lord had placed it on my heart, and how I was ready to submit. So, tonight was the night! The best part? Patrick baptized me. It just had to be him. I couldn't imagine anyone else doing it. I felt so at peace about it that I knew it had to be the right thing and the right time.

Here's some pics of some of my friends that came out to support me. Wow! It meant the world to me to have my church family surround me and share the moment with me.

Melinda

Keri and Wendy

My Chase

Thanks Patrick!

Monday

2008-05-12T21:55:00.002-04:00

Monday, sweet Monday. My last Monday solo. The only day of the seven that I have a few hours to myself. And now it's over. *sigh*

Mary and I headed out early this morning. We went to Wal Mart to pick up plates and napkins for her "Birthday" party at school today. On top of everything else that we have going on, I had to stage a fake birthday. So, we did that and then headed on to school. Her next to last day of preschool ever. I normally head to a 9:45 Pump class on Mondays but today the new priority on my list was to get a pedicure. It was URGENT! So, I ditched the Pump class and headed for a pedi. Again at Wal Mart. I saw Cindy Parker and her new baby, and then I saw Darlene - a lady I met about 4 years ago at Lilburn park. Wow - great memory Darlene!

I had time to go home for about 30 minutes before I had to take the Doll Cake to school. Mary and I worked hard on this cake - it was my first doll cake. She was so excited! She couldn't hold in the grins when I walked in with her cake! It was a fun mini party and then we hi tailed it out of there for our next date. Field Day at the big school.

1st grade had their Field Day from 1-3pm today. We were able to stay for most of it. We saw McKennah there. A lot of the 5th graders were helping out at the different stations. I found out that Liv had helped out with the kindergartners earlier in the day. Poor Alex. Athletic he's not. Coordinated...not really. Graceful? Nah. But he tried. He even tried to hula hoop. And he had a great partner - Luke. Luke encouraged him and tried to help him out whenever he needed it. And they both tolerated Mary. Would you believe that she was the one who told them which station to go to next? I can't tell you how many times I heard Luke say, "Mary told us we have to go to this station". She was totally in charge and loving it. What else is new?

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T21:38:00.004-04:00

Well, today was the big day. The day I had been waiting for. Breakfast in bed, flowers, candy, gifts galore, extra special treatment all day long.

NOT!

There was no breakfast in bed. Hell, there was no breakfast period. No flowers. No candy. I did get a gift (and I did love it), but no special treatment. In fact, I spent most of the day alone, bored, flipping channels. Now Jay, he had a great time. He and Alex went to a movie together. I did tell him he could go but only if he took all the kids. He didn't. We went out to lunch -but we always go out to lunch after church. Dinner? No, there was no dinner. Jay, you owe me a make up day bigtime.

The weather is weird. It was beautiful but extremely windy. Weird windy. And it's still weird windy. We have a lot of trees and they were very bendy today! I was a little worried. Keeping my fingers crossed...

We had a great lesson in Sunday School. Patrick is such a good teacher. Who knows who is going to take his place, whoever it is, it just won't be the same. The sermon was preceeded by a little Cherub Choir treat. Mary outdid herself. She looked pissed off the entire time she was on the stage. I video taped it but don't really feel like I need to share it with anyone. It was very disappointing. I wish she wouldn't act like that. I wish she would at least try. I wish she didn't have an attitude a mile wide. I wish she would just act normal for a change. Sometimes it's cute, it's funny, it's endearing...NOT TODAY! It was annoying.

Yesterday, I took Mary to her friend Aiden's party. She is very particular about who's party she goes to. It was very nice see her actually interacting with the kids. She actually gets along well with the kiddos in her class. It's a different side of her. It was nice to see.

Mother's Day is still hard for me. It's hard to hear all the hoopla and have absolutely no one to think about on this day. I didn't have to worry about what to get my mom, I didn't have to worry about carving out time to go and see her, I didn't have to take her out to lunch. It sucked. It's the worst holiday of the year for me. It's the one where her absence is all the more pronouced. Because it's Mother's Day and I don't have a mother anymore. Will I ever get used to that?

Saturday

2008-05-10T21:05:00.001-04:00

Big News!

2008-05-09T23:14:00.003-04:00

This week has been such a busy week for me. I just have too many projects that I've committed myself to and they are all overlapping. This morning I woke up and was feeling very panicky because I just didn't think I could get all that I had to done. At the end of the day, I did get most of it done. The rest, well, tomorrow is another day!

I had to put together and fill 75 favors for the baby shower tomorrow.
I went to help prepare the food for the shower tomorrow.
I went to Target to buy the rest of the favors.
I delivered six petunia hanging baskets (after putting the awesome bows on that Stacey made for me.)
I took Mary to school.
I taught three Spanish classes.
I went to another Target to buy labels.
I went to Keri and Melinda's to ask them to print my labels.
I came home to pick up Mary from Stacey's but met them at the playground instead.
I finished putting the boxes together (w/ Stacey and Lisa's help).
I took Mary to her soccer game at 6pm (big news involves this part of our day!)
I went out to dinner w/ my family and the Turners.
I made chocolate soccer ball lollipops for Mary's soccer party tomorrow.

Big News:

Tonight's game was a good one. Coach Hawkins told Mary right away that "no flapping tonight" which was great because she hardly flapped at all. Well, all of a sudden, there was a "new ball" and it ended up right in front of Mary - she took a shot on the goal and SCORED!!!!! Her first goal ever! Okay, it was totally a set up but it gets better. She scored a SECOND goal!!!!! And it was all her! What excitement! Way to go #5!!!!! Her last game is tomorrow. (And then the baby shower, a birthday party, the end of season soccer party, picking up Olivia, making a cake for Mary's class on Monday.... it never ends!).

Oh, hello there!

2008-05-05T22:01:00.003-04:00

Where have you been? You mean where have I been? Honestly? I've no idea what's been going on. I don't think there's been anything newsworthy to blog about. Life is life. Last week we had some wonderful weather and it was great for the kiddos to all be outside until we had to absolutely drag them in. Friday night we sat out in Lisa's driveway and the kids played and played and played. They didn't have toys but they managed to amuse themselves for about 4 hours. When Ashlyn and Mary were rolling down the hill, I couldn't help thinking to myself, "oh, to be four years old again!" What fun that would be! Mary was filthy when we went in and had to have a good soak in the tub. That little girl can get dirtier than any little boy I've seen! But she has a great time doing it too.

Wendy came to see Mary's game on Saturday. Can you say disaster? Addie was over to hang with Liv and Mary just loves, loves, loves Addie. So Mary wanted Addie all to herself and didn't feel like playing soccer. She flapped around the field so much I ended up calling her Flaperella. Ugh. I just love it when my kids show out in front of my friends. Later that day, we went to meet my dad, uncle, and my brother's family for dinner. There were 11 of us total and it went very well. My dad says if he doesn't invite my brother and his family out to eat, he would never get a chance to see Hannah. Sad but true.

I was blessed to be able to sing in the choir on Sunday. I had not been to a rehearsal in weeks because of VBS planning but I took a look at the music during Sunday School and decided to give it a whirl. It was great! I am really going to miss singing in the choir when Patrick leaves. But who knows? I may just keep on singing with the new music minister. I had a Women's Leadership Team meeting immediately after worship and we were invited to join the Visitor's luncheon - fabulous food provided by the Boone's - and then we retired to the Legacy Room for our meeting. We are busy preparing for the Mother's Day Event this weekend - we are having a baby shower honoring the Atlanta Pregnancy Resource Center. It should be a wonderful event and we are expecting a great turnout.

Today was Monday - you know I love my Mondays! I went to the 9:45 Pump class and then hit the Wal Mart afterwards to do some grocery shopping. We finally have food! Unfortunately, I was out of just about all my cleaning things. And paper towels, tp, napkins, soap, etc. Pantry is stocked now.

The End of Year Shakedown is in full swing. Coach's gift is taken care of. Now we are on to teachers. 5 teachers. Yikes.

Another Week

2008-05-02T22:08:00.003-04:00

This past week has been difficult at best. For lots of reasons. But there have also been happy moments. This week was Teacher Appreciation Week at MCCS. The kiddos always make me feel so special. They gave me flowers, gift cards, lotions, candy, and I even won a door prize. Yeah me! They talk when they don't need to. They don't listen half the time. They want to talk about stuff that has nothing to do with Spanish. But they are all so special. I love hearing their little opinions and their reactions to the things we are learning. Excellente classe!

Thank you Lord, for planting joys among my sorrows. You always take care of my every need.

"Our joys are made better if there be sorrow in the midst of them. And our sorrows are made bright by the joys that God has planted around about them." (Streams in the Desert, M. Cowman)

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2008-04-29T21:39:00.002-04:00

I saw this on Anna Jane's website...it was an Easter posting but I'm just now getting around to saving it.

1 Corinthians 15:42

Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies... 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:"Death is swallowed up in victory.O death, where is your victory?O grave, where is your sting?"

He is risen.He is risen indeed!

Game Ranch

2008-04-28T21:33:00.005-04:00

Fun day at the Game Ranch. It was a whirlwind, as we had to do the entire ranch in 1.5 hours. But we managed. The kids loved feeding the animals. I have some great pics but I have some priceless videos. Mary was fearless as usual. Bubby was cautious but did enjoy himself. Whenever we go back, we should definitely go early in the morning when the animals are more active. The deer were nuts and were all over us!

It was a hoot. Lots of fun - too much for MayMay. She ended up taking a 3 hour nap and went to bed at almost her usual time. Good for her - she has no idea what's in store for her tomorrow. SHOTS. All three kids. It's going to suck but since I don't have a real job, I don't have a choice but to endure it. Tis my lot.

This is the kids' favorite video of the day. They especially liked the part where I told Mary not to stick the carrot stick up the deer's butt!

Cute Pictures

2008-04-27T20:34:00.004-04:00

It was a good weekend.

We celebrated Natalie's birthday on Saturday night by going to dinner and a movie. It's always a good time with Natalie and Albie. Albie is particularly hilarious when it comes to good food. He couldn't contain his excitement at being at Dominick's. We had to have the crab cakes. We had to have the garlic bread. We talked about different sauces, half orders, full orders. I ordered the eggplant parmesan. I loves me some eggplant parmesan! Jay and I had the leftovers for dinner tonight. It was a little salty but overall very good. Even Mary ate some of it. I told her it was lasagna and she gobbled it up.

After dinner we went to see Leatherheads. It was okay - I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. If it had been on tv, I probably would have switched the channel. The second half was much better than the first so at least it ended well. Jay enjoyed it.

We were supposed to have the Sunday School social today but since we woke up to rain, I figured it was canceled. Well, it was just moved to the Fellowship Hall. It was okay, the food was decent but the wild kids were on my last nerve. There are some kids who are allowed to run everywhere, on the stage, around in circles, screaming.

Tomorrow is the Game Ranch with Alex's class. Mary is going to skip school and go with us. She actually has a field trip to the Strawberry Field but since we live right there, it's not a big deal to miss it. I'm looking forward to it, it's been a long time since we've been to the Ranch.

Here are some fun pics from last week.

Sweet McKennah at the playground.

The Three Muskateers (or the Three Stooges?)

Working hard!

Just off the bus and ready to relax.

Ready to play!

Viernes

2008-04-25T23:18:00.004-04:00

Well, I forgot to ask my kids what day of the week it was. But we did sing the alphabet song and learned a few new words.

Ally came home with me and that was a disaster. She and Mary butted heads all afternoon long. They are both so headstrong. And then when we had dinner with her parents, Ally showed out like she always does. It was a little stressful for a bit.

5 More Random things About Me

I love Pierrot. Always have and always will.
I hate moving the clothes from the washer to the dryer.
I hate it when people can't type with all five fingers like they are supposed to.
I hate animation and never laugh at it.
I always drink out of straws when I'm in a restaurant.

An awful lot of those started with "I hate". I'm going to try a different approach...

I love Mexican food.
I love praise music.
I love rainy afternoons when I don't have to be anywhere.
I love my iPod.
I love to entertain and try new recipes. (no news there)

Tomorrow there is a soccer game, then dinner and a movie with The Gang (kids are going to Papi's house). Sunday I have to teach and then we have a Sunday School social afterwards at Lilburn park. Fun Fun.

Randomosity

2008-04-24T21:34:00.004-04:00

Shhh...don't tell anyone because they won't believe it. I've tried not to dwell on it because I'm afraid it will go away. Any idea what I'm talking about? None at all?

It's Mary.

I have been enjoying her so much lately. She normally drives me absolutely crazy but I've had to stop and take a step back and remember she's only four years old. I have enjoyed watching her play with her friends, play by herself, brush my hair, take care of her babies, color or paint, chase the cat. But mostly I've enjoyed watching her interact with her friends. She and McKennah have been spending a lot of time together and I think it's a perfect fit. I appreciate Stacey calling for Mary so often - it makes both of us happy! But she doesn't just play with McKennah. Of course there's Ashlyn. And Riley, and Becca, and boys if they'll play with her. And she plays with Ally (she'll be coming over tomorrow). Tonight we went to McDonald's and Mary played with a random girl there! She usually doesn't do that. It's not a shy thing, it's a stubborn thing. Anyway, she is my sweet girl and I'm trying to remember that everyday - even when she misbehaves - she is still my sweet baby girl.

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5 Random Things About Me:

I hate commercials on the tv. Must mute them all.
I load my dishwasher in a very particular way. In almost 14 years of wedded bliss, my dh has yet to figure it out.
I think Jamie Oliver is a very dirty little man.
Sunflowers scare me. They look like they should have faces on them and start talking.
I can't walk barefoot. It hurts.

There's more but for now five is enough.

Tomorrow is Friday. TGIF! Friday is my favorite day of the week, remember? Viva el viernes! I have to remember to ask my kindergartners what day of the week it is. Most of the time they get it. Most of the time.

Sad

2008-04-21T21:58:00.005-04:00

I got the saddest news this afternoon.

Vicki T., called me and told me that Patrick had turned in his resignation to Seth today. The public announcement will be made on Wednesday but she didn't want me to be blindsided by it. I really appreciated the thought but honestly - I was still blindsided! It wouldn't have been easy to hear anytime though. He has accepted a position at his previous church in Ohio. Both his and Terri's family (and their oldest son) is in Ohio so it makes perfect sense. He is leaving the music ministry and taking an executive pastoral position. I don't know anything about anything but from what Vicki said, it sounds like he would be well suited for this job. But geez, I can't imagine a day at MCCC w/out Patrick there. He came to see me at the hospital when I had my hernia surgery. Terri brought us dinner afterwards. Chase is my Chase. He totally humored Mary and her attitude. He loved on Alex and acted like he actually understood his conversation. The choir - where do I start with the choir? I have never enjoyed anything as much as I have enjoyed singing in the choir. I will never forget that day in 06 when Patrick made me stand up in the gym in front of everyone at a pep rally/basketball game and made me commit to being in the Living Tree that Christmas. I liked the tree so much that I participated in it the next year too. Along w/ Olivia, Alex and Mary. And Mexico? What can I say about Mexico? I have learned so much from him by seeing him in action on two mission trips to Mexico. He embodies all the greatest spiritual
traits, he knows so much about so many things.

I could go on and on. Just suffice it to say that this was a sad day for me. I will miss the entire family, both at church and outside of church. It just won't be the same.

Sunday Night Blues

2008-04-20T21:52:00.002-04:00

*Sigh*

It's Sunday. Again. Why do I always feel so blue on Sundays? Because we have to go to work/school tomorrow? I don't feel blue any other day before work/school. And I love my Mondays - me home alone. The only day of the week where I get a few hours home alone.

Oh well. Nothing to do but get over it.

Great news! Mine and Olivia's mission trips are paid in full as of today! That was a wonderful surprise because I thought we still had a ways to go. We had a looong meeting today and nailed down a lot of details. Of course none of it matters because schedules always change, time frames go out the window, and we are expected to be flexible! I hope Liv will be able to handle it all. I'm guessing she will though, she's a really good traveller. Oh, btw, I checked our passports and both are good until 2010.

Happy Birthday to McKennah! She had a fabulous backyard splash party today. It was great because the kiddos played while the mamas relaxed. There were kid drinks and not-so-kiddie drinks. It was all good! While Mary and I were at the party, Jay took Liv and Alex out for a fun afternoon. We came home and they were all happy.

BTW, where are the pictures?

The geese are here!

2008-04-14T16:16:00.004-04:00

There are geese at Mount Carmel that make a nest every single year. The nest is always in the same place, across from the front entrance of the school just beyond the portico. We had come out of Sunday School yesterday and just happened to look outside. We saw the Mama Goose leading her little goslings (is that right?) across the street back to their nest. It was truly a sight.

Walking back up the hill to her nest.

Settling into the nest. Cute!

Hanging by the gym.

What? Spring Break Is Over?

2008-04-13T22:49:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it. Spring Break 2008 is officially over.

I have to say that even though we didn't go out of town, we had a very good week. It was action packed but not too action packed, kwim? We did some fun things and we also relaxed at home. Friday was a stay at home day. Livi invited her friend Emily to come and spend the night. She was supposed to be dropped off somewhere around 10:30 in the morning so we spent a lot of time waiting on her. She finally got here ar around 1:00. I was happy because I was able to watch my story! The first time this week - mailto:*!@ that darn VCR. But, as with most trashy soaps, it was pretty easy to figure out all that I had missed.

So, we had a yummy steak dinner that I had to pan fry because the little birdies have built their nest on our grill again. After dinner, the girls and I packed up and headed to Ms. Wendy's house for a sweet visit. Mary was entertaining as usual and had Ms. Wendy waiting on her hand and foot. It was nice to hang with her a bit on a Friday night.

Saturday morning, Wendy and I went to our 1st cooking class at the church. It was fun being with the ladies - I'll have to let you know about the casserole that I made because we haven't eaten it yet. And we might not until tomorrow - or the next day.

Me, Wendy, Trudy, Carrie, Joyce, Cindy, Joy and Angie (kneeling)

The finished product - Chicken and Rice Casserole

After the class, we actually had a date to have lunch with my dad. Guess where? Of course - The Buffet!!! So, that's where we went and had a big lunch. In the afternoon, we went to Hobby Lobby so Liv could pick out some furniture for her dollhouse. Since it was so late on Saturday, Em ended up staying another night and going to church with us this morning. What a treat! She was happy to see some old friends and they were happy to see her. It was all good.

When we got home from church, we all went next door for a marathon cleaning session of the Turner home. They were scheduled to come home sometime this afternoon and I thought since there wasn't much you could do for a grieving couple, a quick clean up would be a great idea. I had the entire crew working - we swept, we mopped, we cleaned toilets and bathrooms, we vacuumed, we cleaned windows. I hope they appreciated it and actually noticed it!

I wonder why everyone was so excited about going to clean the neighbor's house but no one wanted to come and clean our house? Hmmmmmm...

So, Good bye Spring Break 08 CRCT - here we come!

Random Pics...

Little Son

Livi and Emily

Crazy bunch of kiddos

Me and my boy...

Spring Break - Day #4

2008-04-10T23:00:00.003-04:00

Mary:

She talked and talked and talked.
She sang. And sang. And sang. Really high - like she could break glass.
She took a bath.
She played in the dirt.
She picked flowers.
She threw rocks.
She climbed hills.
She played tag.
She ate watermelon.
She blew bubbles.

Alex:

He played PS2.
He helped carry in the groceries.
He took a bath.
He played with action figures.
He played ball with his friend.
He threw rocks with another friend.
He ate watermelon.
He wore a new shirt.
He hugged me.

Olivia:

She spent the night at Mimi's.
She came home way early from Mimi's.
She faked being homesick.
She played at the playground.
She read.
She played Guitar Hero.
She played with Becca.
She ate Icee Pops.
She talked on the phone.

Today was a relatively quiet day. We stayed at home except for a brief trip to Chick-fil-A to get lunch. We had a picnic down at the playground w/ the Tanzosch family. It was a beautiful day - a slight breeze, some sun but not too much. It was nice. I had a long list of household things I wanted to do but guess what? Didn't do any of them. Not a one! Jay said that it was okay because I was on Spring Break too. I'll take that explanation!

We went to the new Kroger in Loganville tonight. Not sure why I thought it was going to be an event but it was just a stressful trip to the grocery store. Mary was absolutely crazy and I just wanted to get out of there. Sometimes I just don't know what to do with her. I'd like to wring her neck but the authorities may frown upon that! When we got home, the kids went to the playground with Amy, Nathan and Becca. It was a nice relaxing way to end the day.

I hope that I get around to doing a few of the things on my to-do list tomorrow! But if not, well, there's always Saturday!

Spring Break - Day #3

2008-04-09T18:14:00.003-04:00

Today was our day with Vegas Mimi.

We met Mary Ann at Target this morning at 10:30 for some marathon shopping. Each kid got a boat load of clothes! I am so grateful to Mimi for everything she does for our kids. She always blesses them with clothes, shoes, and whatever else they need or just ask for. After the shopping spree we had lunch at Steak and Shake - always a treat I must say! The waiter was awesome and got us in and out in just enough time for the movie. We saw Horton Hears a Who. Loved it! Jay was cracking up during the entire film. The kids were laughing too. I enjoyed it - not laughing out loud enjoyed it but I still liked it a lot. Everyone loves Dr. Seuss! It was a great day. When we got home, Mary had to put on her new bikini - pink polk dots! I should have taken a picture but I didn't. Somehow, I think I'll have another opportunity tomorrow. The other Mimi - Alpaca Mimi - came by to pick Olivia up for a couple of days. They went to her house to spend some quality time sewing. Livi has a knack for sewing and Mimi has been wanting to show her all her tricks.

Jay took Alex out for a bit, Mary was at McKennah's house...I was home all alone. What did I do? I started reading the dozens of People magazines that Mary Ann gave me! Heaven! After a while, I went to pick Mary up and ended up bring McKennah home with me. This was the first time that she came over to our house since her heart surgery. I was so excited! When it was time for us to go to dinner, McKennah asked if she could come too. What? Seriously? So we took her with us!

She behaved very well, much better than Mary did! Mary looks sad in this picture because 1)she was grumpy because we wouldn't let her watch the Power Ranger movie before we left the house and 2) because her menu got wet from her drink. Whatever. McKennah was very sweet and ate all her dinner. What a pleasure! I hope she will want to come and spend more time with us very soon...like maybe tomorrow!

Spring Break - Day #2

2008-04-08T21:32:00.003-04:00

Day #2 was a success! Jay and I slept late and then we went to the gym together. He rode the bike (again!) and I used the treadmill - 3 miles and I even started to jog a little! Yeah me! We saw Tara and Natalie there working the cardio circuit. After we got cleaned up, we went to pick the kids up from my dad's. They are so lucky - he dotes on them and always shows them a good time. He took us to lunch - we went to Melton's not far from where he lives. We dropped him off at home and the rest of us headed downtown to the Imagine It! Children's Museum. The kids were excited about going, and I was too because we had never been there and also because it was free today. Yes, free. It's normally $11 a person so we saved $55 today! And I am so glad. It's not that I was disappointed by the museum, but I guess if I had had to pay $55, it so would not have been worth it. The kids had a good time - see the slideshow below - and enjoyed each activity at the museum. Honestly, Liv was a little old for it, it's mostly geared to younger kids. They all three really loved the moon sand exhibit and stayed there the longest.

It was a beautiful day - not hot, not cold. It was sunny which was wonderful after so many days of rain! I didn't realize the Children's Museum is right across the street from the Coke Museum and the Georgia Aquarium. And right across the street from Centennial Olympic Park. Afterwards, we took the kids across the street so they could play on the playground at the Park. I think the kids had a really good time.

We stopped at Fellini's for dinner. It has been years since we have eaten there and it brought back a lot of memories. Of course Alex loved having pizza. And their pizza is soooo good! We came home exhausted but happy. The kids went to bed without a peep. After all, we must rest for our big Day #3!

Spring Break Day #1

2008-04-07T22:39:00.003-04:00

My dad invited the kids to come and spend the night with him tonight. What was that? A night alone with my husband? Could it be? Oh my! Somehow this always happens...our night alone turns into a big night out with all of our friends! But that's okay because that is always fun too. We went out to dinner with Tara and Phil, Natalie and Allen, Julie and Joe. It was SO good to see Julie and Joe because I haven't been out with them in forever. Their kids are in Florida so they were able to comply with the only rule of the night - NO KIDS ALLOWED!!! The rest of the week is about them, Jay has even taken two days off this week to do fun things with the kids, so I didn't feel bad at all.

I had to go next door and take care of the animals today. I took Mary with me and I am so glad that I did. She knew exactly what I was supposed to do and where everything was. Thanks Mary! The kids packed their bags and we headed into town to Papi's house. I checked out some movies to see if maybe he would feel like taking the kids. Luckily I found Nim's Island playing very close to his house. After lunch, I left them and headed to Lynnette's house to pick her up. Today was her birthday and I had not seen her in months - literally like eight months! So since I had to drive down to the airport, I asked her if she wanted to come along. It was a fun way to pass the time on the road! Thanks Lynnette! I got to hear all about her new boyfriend and all the news with her family. I picked Melinda up from the airport (she was on her way back from Mexico) and I took her home. By that time it was almost 5:00 and I had just enough time to call Jay to let him know about our plans.

We went to Longhorn's - and I didn't eat chicken! It was all good! Thank God for good friends and being able to spend time with them!

some pictures...

2008-04-06T21:43:00.010-04:00

Friday....

There were some fabulous views out front that Liv pointed out to me as we headed out to the bus stop the other day. The bushes were wet from the rain and it just looked amazing. I am still trying to figure out the settings on my camera...some turned out much better than others. I knew I should have gotten the Nikon when I had the chance. Although that would have been even more complicated. Oh well, there's always Mother's Day, right?

This is Alex's handprint. It is in the front flower bed by the front door. I say flower bed but there aren't any flowers! Just bushes and pine straw.

The nandina bush out front.

Why did this focus on the pine straw in the background?

Much better.

Okay! Enough already!

My kids

2008-04-05T22:55:00.005-04:00

As I was logging in to update this blog, I took a long look at the header picture. Those are some cute kids! I remember what fun we had that day. I look at their sweet faces and I immediately think of a million ways that they are different, yet somehow, as their arms are intertwined with each other, I am reminded of their very special sibling bond. I am grateful that there are three of them. Each will have two siblings to count on, each will share a distinct but special relationship with the other. How amazing is that? I can only pray that they will continue to be as close, even closer, in the future and that they will always realize that above all else, they are family and nothing is more special.

Okay - on with the blogging!

What a treat to be able to sleep in this morning! It rained all night long. As I was stirring awake this morning, I heard the soft sound of a light drizzle. Ahhhhh...it lulled me right back to sleep. I heard movement downstairs, no voices but I did hear the tv. I looked over at Jay - still snoozing away. Perfect. I knew the kids would be hungry soon so I went downstairs to make some pancakes (an absolute cinch with my handy dandy family sized griddle!). Breakfast was ready in no time. It was uncharacteristically quiet at the breakfast table. Hmmmm.... And then it hit me...Mary was still asleep! The little dynamo was still resting so she would have all her energy to drive us crazy for yet another day! Bless her!

Jay took Alex and Mary to see his dad at the hospital. It was their first time meeting their grandfather. Jay says it went well and that they had a nice visit. He took them to the Varsity afterwards for lunch. This left me and Liv home alone. We decided to out for our own special lunch together. It was very nice! I don't often get to spend time alone with her but we did today and it was wonderful. She is a great kid. I took her to her friend's birthday party after lunch. I got my instructions to pick her up in two hours and I was off to get a mani/pedi. Bliss. My toes are so thankful! They look ready to wear those cute new sandals I bought weeks ago when I thought spring had sprung. Who knew that we would continue to have winter like weather? Maybe tomorrow....I hope!

I have lots of plans for Spring Break - I hope I get to do half of them. It's beginning to look like the one week off isn't nearly enough! I don't know when I'll find the time to go to the gym next week since everyone will be home. I'll have to make the time and just force the troops to go with me. Yeah right...easier said than done.

Rain, rain, go away...

2008-04-04T23:30:00.004-04:00

What a miserable day! It rained just about the entire day. And it was a cold rain. The kind where you should just stay home and sleep. But, Friday is my favorite day, remember? So, I got the big kids off to school - after pumping Liv full of random Social Studies facts - and then had to go out to get flowers for Mary's teachers. Teacher Appreciation Week. We were late - of course. But then I was off to work! Dozens of little preschoolers were anxiously awaiting my arrival to learn a bit of Spanish. Los tres chivos van de vacation. Tienen diez libros en el tren. Gradios! Whatever. Thankfully, it went fairly fast today. I made a quick stop at JoAnne's - love that store! I went looking for hair ribbon for Mary and just had a wonderful time browsing through each aisle. I got two craft projects and some sewing stuff. I just hated that I had to leave so soon! But, poor little Mary - she was waiting to be picked up.

Joel called soon after we got home. His mom has taken a turn for the worse and he and Lisa decided to leave for Charlotte today. He said his mom was unresponsive. A difficult situation had gotten that much worse. My heart just broke for him. I have walked this path before, I know exactly how he feels. My mother became unresponsive just two days before she passed. I didn't understand the lack of urgency in getting on the road as soon as possible but I can't know how he is handling his grief. At this point in her journey, there is nothing left to do but rely on faith and hope. We have put our hope in the living God (1 Timothy 4:10). So, we are looking after their dog, cats and fish for the duration. *sigh* I will pray for their continued peace as they witness their mom/mother-in-law/grandmother pass into eternity. I know these days are hard but the days to come will be so much harder. {{Joel and Lisa}}

We went to visit Jay's dad yesterday. He was supposed to be moved to a private room so we were expecting to be able to see him. When we got there, he was still waiting for a room. Jay snuck Liv back there for a few minutes but the other two couldn't go back. We were able to visit with Carol, though. It was the first time that either kid saw her. Brother Joe showed up later and the kids had a great time playing with him. Jay wants to go back tomorrow to try again - this time we know he is in his own room. And he is supposed to be discharged on Sunday. Once he gets back to Jasper, we may seriously never see him again. Mary's game has already been cancelled because of the heavy rains today so we actually have the entire day free. We are going to try to make it to the Dogwood Festival - it's just down the street from the hospital so that will work out fine. I hope the Festival isn't rained out like it was today!

Jay's Dad

2008-03-31T21:37:00.002-04:00

Jay got a call from his brother last night telling him that their dad had gone to the ER again. He has a history of heart problems and recently had a procedure done. Long story short, he has a staph infection in his aorta. Yikes. He had major surgery today - they cleaned out the nasty infection, replaced a valve, put a graft in his aorta - I hope I got all that right. The surgery took about 7 hours; Jay called just a few minutes ago to let me know that his dad made it out of surgery and would remain intubated until tomorrow. They expect him to be in the ICU for the rest of the week. Jay was able to stay up there all day to make sure his dad came out of it okay. I know he had been super worried. Up until now, all his dad's problems had been fixable. With this recent crisis, I guess we all wondered...how much longer can they keep patching him up? Well, I guess at least once more. PTL.

Cookie Bee

2008-03-30T22:39:00.002-04:00

Liv and I stayed after church today to help work the Cookie Bee. We take cookies, bag them and tie hand written notes to them and deliver them to different people in the community. We have done them mostly to teachers but today we did Firefighters and Policemen. It is part of our Outreach Ministry and is meant to encourage these people that work at helping us in the community. I am going to ride with Wendy tomorrow and help her deliver these snacks. It should be fun!

I was proud of Olivia. She worked hard stuffing cookies and doing some general running around and cleaning up. I'm glad she got a good taste of serving and being a part of this wonderful ministry.

Oh, by the way, Christy asked me to head up her crafts for VBS and also asked Liv to help with the singing on stage. Wow! Big jobs for both of us. She also asked if either Jay or I could chaperone Alex's age group at church camp this summer. It's going to be a busy summer!

Fridays

2008-03-29T21:05:00.002-04:00

I love Fridays. It's the last day of the week - a work day for me. Everyone is in "casual mode", we can often play games in my Friday classes. The day has so much potential to it and you have the entire weekend in front of you. Ahhhh....I love it.

Yesterday, I brought Allie home with me to play with Mary. They played pretty well (I was able to watch my story!) and then we headed to the playground. There we were joined by the Nobletts so I had company and the kids had a great time. We met Allie's parents for dinner and to give her back to them. I was happy to see that Terri and Patrick (and my Chase) joined us at Dan Thai. There were 13 of us for the meal and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I love last minute get togethers like that.

This morning we met my dad for breakfast at the Waffle House. I haven't had WH in forever so it was a welcomed treat. The kids love it - chocolate chip waffles, bacon, hash browns...it's all good! Afterwards, we went to Snellville to go shoe shopping. My dad was so generous and bought shoes for Alex, Olivia, and for myself. We all got sneakers, and I got a pair of cool sandals. They are black and have a wedge heel. And they are nice enough I could wear them to church - which I probably will tomorrow, if it's not too cold.

Mary's 1:30 game was rained out. We had just gotten comfortable when we saw lightening. They automatically call the game for 15 minutes to see if there is more lightening. Well, there was and we just called it a day and went home. Mary went next door and the rest of us relaxed at home. Actually, I did laundry and watched Bobby Flay's Throwdown. Love that show!

Tonight we met the Turner's for dinner at Chili's. I had the Triple Dipper because I had a craving for wings. Good. It's always good to get out with friends, even for the second night in a row. Tomorrow is the Cookie Bee at church, so Liv and I will be staying late for that, while Jay and the other two go home.

Sunday afternoons are the worst. The dread...the waiting for Monday...it's like the witching hour all day long....only five more days until Friday!

Christmas Pictures

2008-03-28T21:00:00.003-04:00

My friend Laura just sent me over a couple of pictures of Mary dressed as an angel in her Christmas program last year. It is now the end of March...but I am still so grateful to have these pictures. I was sitting too far away to get any good shots (and I still had my crappy camera) so we didn't have any pictures of that night. The fact that Mary's teachers got her to wear a costume and actually get on stage was a miracle to us! Of course, this was the year she sang in the Living Tree too. Here's my baby girl....

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-03-26T21:31:00.004-04:00

I tried to post this slideshow within the body of the previous post but couldn't do it.

Wednesday

2008-03-26T21:09:00.006-04:00

Mary's school had Picture Day. This is such a funny subject in our house because Mary is infamous for not wanting to pose for pictures. She has gotten better about it when it's me with the camera, but she will absolutely NOT smile for the camera when it's a professional photographer. Which is why we have no portraits of her since she was a year old. And, she is not smiling in that one, but at least she cooperated. We did have a church picture made last summer and she did smile then, but it came at great cost. So, yesterday, May May and I went shopping. I totally bribed her with a new dress, new shoes, new hairbows...all so that she would promise to smile. She looked absolutely adorable this morning.

When I picked her up, Mrs. Allison told me that she did not smile for her class picture but she did smile for the cap and gown pic. I had forgotten that she was going to have a cap and gown pic! How cute! I loved Alex's pic when he "graduated" preschool. Can't wait to see Mary's.

This afternoon we went to the park with McKennah. The girls played in the dirt a lot. This would explain Mary's feet and dirty fingernails tonight! When Jay got home, we headed out to have dinner with Hannah and her family to celebrate her 7th birthday. There's nothing like going to the buffet and stuffing yourself! Ugh. That's it for birthdays for a while. Thank goodness. Mary's is in July and we will NOT be going to the buffet!

Just finished...

2008-03-26T21:03:00.004-04:00

"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."

I just finished this book this morning. I loved, loved, loved it. The author also wrote The Kite Runner - which was also excellent. This book is also about life in Afghanistan in the 80's until now but it is not a spinoff of the other book. Last night I couldn't put it down! It was one of the best reads I've had in a long time. Okay, it was the best since the last two books I have read! I'm on a winning streak here - what will the next book be?

Cold snap!

2008-03-24T19:48:00.007-04:00

It was FREEZING today! When Mary and I were coming home from her school, we actually saw snow flurries. Mary had soccer practice this afternoon and we had to bundle way up to go. The soccer field is the weirdest place because it is always windier, colder or hotter, more humid there than anywhere else. Lisa and I were sitting in our chairs shivering while Ashlyn was out there in shorts! Mary at least had jeans on and a couple of layers under her coat. She was still cold though. I just noticed some of my plants had started to flower so I hope they don't freeze tonight. The Washington Farms people had covered the strawberries last week in anticipation of this freakish weather. Two days ago the kids were wearing shorts.

I took a few random pics at Mary's last game. Lisa and Joel brought breakfast to share - chicken biscuits from Bojangles. I cannot believe they prefer those to Chick-fil-A. But they do! I was grateful to have anything at all though.

Alex chilling before the game.

Ashlyn and Joel having a biscuit.

Lisa and her coffee.

The back of some of our team. Mary's team is the light blue. Lisa realized today that our girls are playing in the wrong age group. They are playing U6 and should be U5. That totally explains why most of the girls are HUGE compared to my little Mary. Of course that's true of most things and most people for her. They got slammed in their game but they did have fun.

After the game, we went to Mount Carmel's Easter Festival. There were over 800 people there! Wow! That has got to be an all time record. We had stuffed 9,000 eggs and that still wasn't enough. Mary just about got trampled and Alex didn't get very many at all either. But the kids enjoyed the day and played on the inflatables. I worked one of the inflatables for a while and then spent the rest of the afternoon serving drinks. We took Liv's friend Addie with us and all three girls won something in the cake walk. We are still eating Liv's brownies. They are good!

That's my Chase up there!

Addie, Mary, and Liv having lunch

Alex and I had a picnic in the shade.

The girls are watching the 9,000 eggs be "hidden" on the big hill in front of the church. It was a madhouse!

Olivia at Music for Mexico

2008-03-23T20:54:00.002-04:00

Olivia sang at Music for Mexico. I took this video so I didn't get any still shots. I was so proud of her!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-03-23T20:41:00.001-04:00

Good Friday

2008-03-21T22:02:00.002-04:00

Everyone was home today for Good Friday. We were able to sleep a little late and just relax. I'm glad that the kids did not have school today so they could realize the significance of the day. We talked a lot about what Good Friday means and they all seemed to really get it. Especially Alex. He sounds like a mini preacher when he talks about it. I am proud of how well versed my children are in Scripture and in Biblical history. They are so much more knowledgeable than I ever was at their age - even until I was an adult! We never even had a Bible in our house when I was growing up so I know no one studied it. I wish Alex and Mary could have had the benefit of going to a Christian school like Olivia did but I am glad that we are raising them to go to church and Sunday School every Sunday.

We treated the kids to lunch at McDonald's today. It may not sound like a big deal but we have not eaten at McDonald's for a LONG time. We have been trying to not eat out at all if we can help it - especially not at McD's. The kids were able to play and have a good time. We saw a couple of Alex's friends there and Ashlyn met us there to play with Mary. Olivia went to her friend Addie's house to spend the night. We will pick both of them up tomorrow after Mary's 9:00 game to head out to the egg hunt at Mount Carmel. Jay and I are both set to work some of the games tomorrow. I baked some stuff for the cake walk today. I made 6 chocolate chip loaves of bread, one large pound cake, and 6 lemon poppy seed muffins. I hope people will enjoy the baked goods - I made them with love!

Finally getting better!

2008-03-21T08:12:00.002-04:00

Today is Friday and I finally woke up feeling almost normal. It has been a rough week with this really bad cold. Poor Mary has been bored silly because I couldn't do anything and really only wanted to sleep. Today everyone is home for Good Friday so she should not want for company - she'll have her Bubby all day long.

I missed going to the gym this week. I am only three classes away from reaching my Bodybucks goal and I would have reached that goal if I had not gotten sick. Well, I still have time but it would have been nice to get it over with!

Today I hope to get some baking done. We are having a huge Easter event at church on Saturday and I have to bring baked goods for the cake walk. I have been wanting to make this Easter bunny cake and have just not been up to it. Maybe today. We also have to dye Easter eggs and have some more general merriment today.

Otis woke me up at least three times last night. He wanted water twice and wanted to go outside another time. He has been so good for the longest time. But last night he needed extra attention. Ugh. And I slept wrong so my back is sore. So much for feeling good today.

I just finished reading another good book. It is called Mademoiselle Boleyn by Robin Maxwell. Excellent! I think it is the book that the movie "The Boleyn Sisters" was based on. I really enjoyed it. Next up...A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. He wrote The Kite Runner, which was also an excellent book. Can't wait to see that movie too.

Sick Again - Day 2

2008-03-18T21:03:00.003-04:00

Today has been the longest day of my life. I've spent it being miserable with this horrible cold (I actually think it's a sinus infection) and trying to entertain Mary. She started the day being quite high maintenance but thankfully settled down a lot and I was able to rest a little. But the pain....the pain in my face is awful. And my poor little nose is rubbed raw from blowing it so much. Of all days, Jay had to work late and is still not home. But I have to say that the kids were well behaved tonight. They went to bed without too much opposition and Mary has only popped out of her room once so far. I did shower and get dressed today - and that is more than Mary did. She took off her pjs she had been wearing all day just to put a fresh set on to go to bed. No baths tonight. Just this blissful quiet that is surrounding me now....ahhhhhh.

My dad called tonight to let me know that my cousin Marcelo's baby had been born. We were all very excited! Congratulations Marcelo! Babies are such a blessing and we are so glad that yours has been born healthy, even if he is a tiny thing. His name is Javier. After his grandfather. There must be some serious celebrating going on in that house tonight! He is the first grandchild in that family. Congratulations also to my aunt Rina, my uncle Javier, and my cousins Javier and Enrique. Can't wait to hear more news about little Javierito!

Sick again

2008-03-17T19:14:00.003-04:00

This time it's me. Ugh. I'm coughing, sneezing, crying, blowing my nose constantly. It started last night as I was madly folding laundry. I woke up this morning with it ON! Mary's preschool class had a field trip to the Grayson Library (like we don't go there all the time anyway) so we packed up and went, even though my head felt like it was going to explode. I stayed in the corner and sneezed and blew my nose the entire time. I came home and could only manage to lay on the couch before I had to pick up Mary. Luckily, when we got home, she wanted to watch a video so that kept her occupied while I slept. And slept. And slept. Jay is the hero of the day because he got home and completely took over. He took Mary to soccer practice (despite her opposition) and then took Liv to gymnastics. He's even going to bring me an ice cold diet coke! I don't think he even ate dinner. Bless him. I really appreciate it Jay!

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-03-16T22:34:00.002-04:00

Beware the Ides of March! Mine was the last birthday in our family for a while. Nothing until July when Mary turns 5! It was a great day, even if historic tornados ripped through Atlanta the night before and the day of. We woke up early (since all three kiddos were sleeping in our room because of the storm) and Olivia made us a delicious pancake breakfast. I'm so proud of her! She did a great job! Jay went to the Men's Prayer Breakfast at church and really enjoyed himself. At noon, Mary had a soccer game - it was cold and very windy. After the game, we went home to wait out the horrendous storms that were all over town. At about 5:00 I went to church to help set up for Music for Mexico. We had popcorn, candy, drinks, and slushy drinks. It turned out really well. This was a fundraiser for our mission team that is going to Mexico this summer. Olivia sang a solo - Once Upon a December from Anastasia - and did a fabulous job! She also sang I Just Can't Wait To Be King (Queen) with several other girls. The entire team sang two Spanish songs - Levanta tu casa and Pasa por aqui. It was a great success! I was happy to see my entire family show up. I don't know if they donated any money but I hope they did. Lisa and Ashlyn came - I was grateful for their presence there!

Today, Alex made his big acting debut at church. He and three other boys performed a drama in the big Sanctuary. He did great! We were so proud! Alex said he was very nervous beforehand but he still managed to make the audience laugh when they were supposed to. Way to go Bubby!

We went to our neighborhood Easter Egg hunt today. Stacey hosted it as usual and the kids had a great time. Olivia found one of the prize eggs (bucket of chalk) and the kids had lots of snacks and candy. Fun. I came home and cleaned like a mad woman. It doesn't take much for the entire house to completely fall apart. I did multiple loads of laundry and managed to clean my room and my bathroom. They were that dirty that it took all afternoon! But they both look great now and I am happy! Tomorrow I will hit the downstairs.

It never ends!

Unity and 5th Grade Dance

2008-03-13T22:37:00.004-04:00

I went to Unity tonight. Seems like I just went not that long ago! It was at Marcia Reese's house and Michele Hutton provided refreshments. As usual, we had a wonderful time. Sue Cates was our speaker and she gave a heartfelt talk about the Women's Ministry. We had a small group but it was very nice. Next month we will be meeting at Vicki Tyler's house.

Olivia went to her 5th grade dance today. I was a chaperone so I got to be in on all the fun. It was a very LOUD event! There was a lot of screaming, squealing, running, and general merriment. The kids behaved pretty well. I just had to keep the food and drink off the dance floor and make sure the kids didn't get too rowdy. It was pretty easy. I don't want to say too much but ... well, there is a boy...and this boy likes our girl...and our girl likes this boy...it was a scary moment when Liv shared the news with me today! Oh. My. Goodness. I'm not ready for this!

Sick

2008-03-11T13:32:00.002-04:00

Liv is home sick today. Nothing serious - just a bad cold but I'm sure she didn't feel like sitting at school all day. She has taken her medicine (PTL) and is laying down w/ a book and a box of tissues.

I really hate it when one of my kids are sick. Thankfully *knock on wood* it doesn't happen often. I'm sure Liv will be on the mend soon.

Birthday party

2008-03-08T22:27:00.005-05:00

Well, the birthday festivities are finally over. And I have to say this was the easiest party I have given yet.

Olivia loves to have sleepovers. She has celebrated her birthday with a sleepover since she turned 7. I convinced her that we should do something different this year. We searched and searched and finally chose a party at Pottery By You. It's a paint-your-own pottery place here in town. They had several different packages available and we chose the "Making Mosaics" party. Liv invited 8 girls and 8 girls showed up! I love 100% participation. The girls got there and our hostess told them how to choose and make their mosaics. All I had to do was sit there and chat with Tara and Dana! Love it! I made a cake - a special request from Liv. I usually buy the cakes from a bakery but for some reason, she wanted a homemade cake this time. Somehow, I pulled one together. AND I made some chocolate flower lollipops too! The colors were perfect - everything was green, brown and white. It totally looked like I planned it but I didn't - I bought the plates right before the party.

So the girls worked hard, had cake, opened presents...and went home!!! Easy peasy.

Mary was invited to spend the night with her cousin Hannah tonight. What a nice surprise! She was so excited. They were kind enough to pick her up this afternoon.

Tara and I went to the gym today. I've never gone on a Saturday before. We went upstairs to work on the treadmill - I had my best treadmill workout yet. I walked for 65 minutes (including the cooldown) which was a little over 3 miles (at a speed of 3.0 but I did jack it up to 3.5 at one point). I listened to my iPod instead of watching tv which I think made the time go much faster.

Liv and I have a SOAR meeting tomorrow. I hope it goes well and that they don't make me write any checks!

Happy Birthday Olivia!

2008-03-04T21:54:00.003-05:00

Well, our girl turned 11 years old today. What a huge milestone - I can hardly believe that I am the mother of such a young lady! I mean, she was just born yesterday!

I guess it was a little less then 12 years ago...I was working at Summit Bank at the Main Office. I went to eat Chinese food for lunch with some coworkers. It didn't sit well with me and I had an upset stomach. Well, this was the first of several "upset stomachs" that I had over the course of the next week or so. I finally took a pg test - positive. I took another pg test - positive. I think I may have even taken a third before I called my nephrologist (I was under her care for a recently diagnosed kidney disease) and requested a blood test. I took it and Dr. Hill called me back personally to congratulate me! Holy Cow! I was pregnant! It took us by surprise but we were absolutely thrilled! I had major smell aversions and morning sickness w/out the vomiting. When I told my parents they were concerned for me at first (because of the kidney thing) but then they were overjoyed at the prospect of becoming grandparents.

I was spilling a lot of protein in my urine, something that happened w/ the kidney thing but it was happening even more w/ the baby. My OB advised me to take an early leave from work at about 28 weeks, which I did and enjoyed not having to work. Things started going bad at about 34 weeks. I went tot he doctor one day and my blood pressure was elevated and my protein levels were through the roof. Dr. Ellis sent me right over to the hospital for a 3 day stay to try to control the preeclampsia. He sent me home on complete bedrest and major bp meds. I felt like a ticking bomb. My mom had me stay with her where she took excellent care of me. I made it to the first day of my 37th week and had my labor induced. I was so scared! We went to the hospital on a Monday night - my dad took me because Jay had to work (he was a cop back then). Jay came as soon as he could. I was given cervadil and told to get a good nights sleep. The next morning, they gave me pitocin. Long story short, I labored for 11 hours before the diagnosed me as "failure to progress" and scheduled me for a c-section. Still scared! My mom was at work and was a nervous wreck. She and my dad came up for the surgery and were there to see Olivia before I did. I had to be put asleep so I didn't wake up until an hour after she was born. We had long ago decided on her name - Olivia Renee - and Jay had the pleasure of announcing it to the waiting room.

When we got home, I remember my dad came over every single day to see her. We had so many visitors coming through - it was a little overwhelming! But, of course, at the time I didn't know I could say NO! I was exhausted. But it was a wonderful exhaustion. Livi was a perfect baby. She did everything the books said she should do at exactly the age she ws supposed to. How easy! I worked full time, my parents took care of her during the day. This was definitely a "honeymoon phase" of all of our lives. It was all so easy then!

We have enjoyed each milestone and welcomed her little personality developing. She is now a young woman - no longer our baby! It's hard to believe. She is so creative, she loves to read, she loves to scheme, she loves music, she loves to play, she loves gymnastics, she loves science and social studies. She is our first born. We have loved her the longest, we probably have the highest expectations of her, and the greatest hopes for her. We hope and pray that we are up to the challenge of parenting a preteen in this day and age and that we not only do an okay job but that we do an exceptional job raising her. She deserves it.

We love you Olivia! We wish you a lifetime of happiness and all of God's blessings. We love you all the way to God!