I have been married to Steve (my high school sweetheart) for 24 years. I have four children...My oldest, Ashley, is 22 and she just got married in November to her high school sweetheart, John! My son Mark is 19, and Laura and Lindy are my 18 year old twins. I also teach second grade and love it. At church, Steve and I co-teach a newly married Sunday School class along with my parents. We have one dog, Rocky. He is a Jack Russell terrier & keeps things hopping with all of his energy & spunk. We love traveling and spending time with our families and our friends. We are so blessed in so many ways & thank God for his love and mercy in our lives!
Are you a risk taker? I totally am not! But Mark is!! For his 18th birthday we gave him a skydiving trip. He wasn't able to go before now because we've been too busy or the weather was bad. But today was the day! He did it!! He went with his best friend Michael (our next door neighbor) and Steve. Only he and Michael did the jump. I didn't want to watch it, so I just stayed home. But he brought home a video and cool pictures. I will try to put the video on YouTube maybe tomorrow. It was so FUN to watch! He had the best time. He said it was the biggest rush of his life.
Tonight was our Sunday School Class cookout. It was way hot today...90 degrees and extremely humid. We thought it was going to thunderstorm, but it turned out beautiful!! It got cool late in the day and we just hung out and talked and had a great time! I'm thankful for all these sweet couples! At the cookout, I found out that one of my friends has a blog and I didn't even know it! How fun!!
If you get a chance, stop by and say "hi" to Kellie. What a sweet, sweet girl! She is married to Brad, who looks just like Ryan Seacrest to me, and has two absolutely precious children!!
Unfortunately, the thermostat is not working upstairs in our house right now. Not sure what the problem is, but it is like a sauna up here. All of our bedrooms except for Ashley's is up here! Looks like we'll be sleeping in as little as possible tonight with the covers OFF!
One of my very favorite blogging friends is Kelly.
She is a preacher's daughter just like me and is such a sweet and fun girl! I read her blog every day and LOVE it! Anyway, she had a fun idea for everyone to post pictures of their favorite room in their house, so I decided to join the party! :)
It was a hard decision whether to choose my den or my porch. But you've probably already seen my porch, so I decided to go with my den. This is where we spend the majority of our time together because it opens into our kitchen, so it's really just one big room. We have had so many fun times together in this room with just our family hanging out and with friends and neighbors over! The thing I love most about it is how much light it gets from all the windows!We have built in bookshelves and, as you can see, I am a picture freak. I have pictures EVERYWHERE in my house. I love having reminders of the people I love all around me.
Sorry about the glare on the picture frame, but here is the couch. On any given day you can usually find a teenager here with TV remote in hand or taking a nap!
The view from the den into the kitchen. You can see a shoe on the floor. Usually there are multiple pairs lying around! My goal for a house is that it is comfortable and welcoming. I know I'm not a decorating expert by any means, but we love it anyway!
Tonight I made a really easy meal that we like alot...stir fry! Since I already had my camera out taking pictures of the house, I decided to pretend I am the Pioneer Woman and take pictures of my dinner before and after. haha
Here are the things you need: fresh veggies of any kind- (I used celery, onion, peppers, mushrooms and broccoli), chicken, Kikkoman stir fry sauce, and LaChoy chow mein noodles for a topping.
You stir fry all the veggies...add the broccoli at the last minute so it stays nice and crunchy. Pour the sauce in and cook a few minutes more. Then spoon over rice and add the crunchy noodles on top! Yum Yum!
Last night I woke up at about 2:30 in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep! Uugh! I hate when that happens. I call it "Brain Buzz"...when your mind is just racing with everything you have to do. I should have just gotten up and written down a "to-do" list. For Pete's sake...I was planning menus in my head and wondering where I had put things I needed and thinking about how I could organize things better and planning what I was going to wear this week, etc, etc, etc.... I even went to bed early so I would be sure to get plenty of sleep. But then I lost about an hour with too much thinking!!
I wasn't tired today, though, so that was good! But let me tell you...it was raining SO HARD today when the bell rang at the end of the day. I have never seen it raining so hard when it was time to go home before.
We tried to bundle the kids up in ponchos and hoodies the best we could, but I just knew I was going to be dripping wet after I walked everyone to their buses (and I was wearing these cute little dressy sandals. I was planning on just taking them off!) BUT, lucky me, they decided that since it was raining so hard, we would just take everyone to the gym and the buses would pull up right to the door and the kids could get on. It was definitely much drier that way!!
It got cold all of a sudden today once that rain came through. I came home and made pork chops and gravy, rice, collard greens, field peas, and baked apples. It was almost like fall! :)
It's weird that American Idol is over! I guess maybe I can make Tuesday night a catch up on reading night. I love to do that anyway!
I think Flickr is the coolest website! I went there the other day and was just having so much fun looking at all the pictures. People are so creative and so good with photography! I'm amazed at the talent in this world. Anyway...I saw so many pictures of cute kids, I just had to share a few! These are totally random, but they just made me smile.
On another note, our Memorial Day was wonderful. Nothing was on the agenda...just the way I like it!! We planted flowers, hung out on the porch, grilled out, played with Rocky. Laura and Lindy got home and told us all about the fun they had white water rafting in the mountains. (They got SO sunburned, though!) I wrote thank yous and wrapped up little flowers for all my WONDERFUL parent volunteers who have helped me so much this year! Got a little cleaning done and called it a day. Here are some images from the day.
Flowers for my volunteers
Do we have the craziest dog in the world or what??? He loves water and goes CRAZY when the hose comes on. Look how high he jumps trying to bite the water!!
Dinner was BBQ chicken on the grill!
Sparklers!! :)
Monday came and went too fast!! But it's back to reality now. Hope you have a good week!
A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom. Bob Dylan
Just thinking today about the men and women who have paid a heavy price for what we have. There is a song by Tim McGraw that always brings tears to my eyes. It's pretty easy for us to take for granted the lives that have been lost for the freedoms and security we have. But this song makes me realize that for every loss, there is a family...a wife, a mother, a father, a friend, whose world will never be the same because of the sacrifice that was made. The song is called, "If You're Reading This."
I have a friend who was probably the first friend I can remember. Her dad and my dad went to seminary together, so we met when we were tiny little girls. Our dads were on staff together at Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, TN. Her name is Betsy, too! We have been friends forever! Her son, Caleb, is serving in Iraq right now.
Could I ask you take just a minute to remember him in prayer? I remember when he was about to leave, she came through town and spent the night with me and we went to dinner together. I asked her how in the world she would be able to let him go? How would your heart not be overcome with fear and worry? How could she stand there as he boarded a plane not knowing if she might ever see him again? She told me that she knew Caleb was in God's hands. God could take him any time He chose to. It could be here or it could be in Iraq. She had peace about it. That was such a testimony to me.
Caleb is coming home in January. God has kept him safe thus far. If you are looking for a soldier to encourage this Memorial Day, you could visit his blog and leave him a note telling him that even though you don't know him, you are praying for him.
Happy Sunday! Usually Sundays can be stressful for me because I have to get ready for school the next day. I call it the "Sunday Blues". But not today! No sirree...no school tomorrow! :)
Sunday School was great. I went to Manhattan Bagel and got tons of bagels and different cream cheeses. I just cut up some fruit to go with it...grapes, oranges, strawberries. Add some coffee and juice and there you have it...a yummy Sunday School snack. I didn't think anyone would be there today since it's Memorial Day weekend, but we had a great group and lots of good discussion! Love those guys!
After church we ate on our porch. Laura and Lindy are still gone out of town. I miss them! They are so far up in the mountains that their cell phones don't work, so I haven't been able to talk to them. I hope they are having a great time!
Ran errands this afternoon and when I got home, I had a driveway full of kids. That is a sight that makes me happy!
Mark with Kelsey and Melissa
Ashley
Michael and John playing basketball
John
Tonight was Rebeccah's graduation party. It was very sweet with lots of friends and family. That is one sweet girl! She has danced all her life so she wanted to push all the chairs back and dance tonight. So, that's what we did! Here are Mark and Ashley having fun.
I think every weekend should be a three day weekend! It is so much more relaxing that way! This weekend has been great so far. Friday night we finally got to go on a date. When was the last time that happened? We went to one of our favorite restaurants-Carrabas. I got a bowl of Italian soup and a mediterranian salad with grilled talapia on top. That was something new for me and it was so good. Then we came home and watched Charlie Wilson's War with Tom Hanks. I love him!
I thought that was a really good movie! Unfortunately, I fell asleep about 3/4 of the way through it, so I still need to finish it. haha! Friday nights I am always so exhausted!
Laura and Lindy are gone for the weekend to the mountains with a friend, so only Mark and Ashley are home. This morning it was rainy and dark all morning.
Steve and I got up and ate breakfast and did a few things around the house. But the house was so quiet! Ashley went to zumba and Mark was watching ESPN, so we did something I don't think we've ever done before...we took a nap at around 10:00 and slept for another hour. What on earth?! We must both be more tired than we think. Then we woke up and did chores and errands. The sun came out and we got ready to leave for my niece's (Steve's sister's daughter) graduation which was in Winston-Salem, NC.
Do you know what the best part of the day was? We got to spend 3 hours in the car together talking and catching up!! Our lives have been fast and furious lately, so that was so fun. We talked about our kids and our summer plans and filled each other in on this past week while we were apart. We listened to lots of good music...country, oldies (Eagles, Earth Wind & Fire, Peter Frampton, Van Halen) all those songs from our high school days.
Sweetest thing said to me today: Steve: "I LOVE when I get to spend time with someone who I love to spend time with!"
Rebeccah's graduation was nice. She was homeschooled so this was for homeschoolers from all over the state. Congratulations, Rebeccah!
Now we are back home. It is late so I need to get to bed. Tomorrow we have church and I am bringing snacks to Sunday School! Busy day ahead!
I really can't even find the words to express how very sad I am to learn about the tragedy in the life of Steven Curtis Chapman. I'm sure everyone knows by now that his 5 year old daughter was killed yesterday when his son accidentally ran over her in the family's driveway. Oh my goodness, there is nothing sadder in this whole world than losing a child. And it is complicated by the fact that another one of your children is going through such grief and guilt. I don't know how you even get through something like that other than with God's love and a strength that only He can give.
I remember when Steven Curtis Chapman was asked to play at the memorial service for the students who died in Paducah, KY, his hometown. He was able to encourage and strengthen those grieving families. Now it is his turn to be on the receiving end of the love and prayers of his extended Christian family.
When I went to his website today, this video was on it and it just broke my heart. It is Steven with his little girl, Maria. So, so sad!! Praying for God to be close to this family today.
Yay for David Cook! I really thought David Archuleta was going to win, so it was a big surprise!! It was a hard choice I thought. I liked them both, but I am happy for David C! I loved the song he sang at the end. But I still felt a little sad for David A.
I talked to Steve today and he told me it was 97 degrees in West Palm Beach yesterday! Wow! That is hot! As we were talking, he was headed to the pool to catch some sun. He's been trying to help his brother do some things around the house while he's been there. I've been trying not to be too jealous. One of the things Steve and I have been thinking about is taking a little trip to Bermuda this summer...maybe a long weekend. So I am keeping that in the back of my mind. I've never been there, but we have some friends who highly recommend it. If you've been there before, where did you stay? I would love any recommendations you might have!
Random Stuff: *I got a new phone on Saturday and I'm LOVING it!! I wish I would have taken a picture of my old one. I don't even know how many years I've had that thing, but it was bulky and outdated. Even the ladies that do my nails commented on how old and beat up it was! I'm just a little technologically challenged so it's taking me a while to get the hang of everything.
*Went to dinner tonight with Laura and Lindy at Mario's Pizza and sat outside. Oh my goodness, it was so nice out there!! I saw several of my kids from school there. They are so cute.
*Came home and took Rocky on a walk (or he took ME on a walk!) Just enjoying the weather today.
*Got Mark's graduation invitations in the mail. I can't believe it's almost here!
I think life is so interesting. It really is a rollercoaster ride full of ups and downs everyday. Ups and downs so far this week (and it's only Tuesday!!):
Downs *So sad to hear about Ted Kennedy's brain tumor. Even though I totally disagree with many of the things he stands for, I respect his years in the Senate and I would not wish that horrible diagnosis on anyone!
*Laura and Lindy have a good friend who they just learned is pregnant. They love her and have already started praying for her. I know this is difficult on her parents, though.
*A friend of mine's daughter just graduated from college and had an exciting prospect for a glamorous job. It fell through today.
*Missing Steve and Ashley!
*Lots of cars got broken into today at my kids' high school. Money and credit cards were stolen. What is wrong with people?
Ups *Only 14 more school days!!! Can I get an AMEN?!!! *Got a couple of good movies in the mail from Netflix today, plus one waiting for me that I got at Blockbuster. Sounds like I've got some movie watching in my future!
*Our grass is sogreenthis year! Yay for that!
*Laundry is down this week with two people gone! *Dinners are easy and quick. Hot dogs, french fries, and broccoli slaw tonight. *Made one of our favorite desserts last night & everyone loved it.
Blueberry Crisp 1 can of blueberry (or any kind!) pie filling 1 1/2 cups of yellow cake mix 1 package pecan chips 1 stick of butter Pour blueberry pie filling into shallow baking dish. Sprinkle cake mix over the top. Sprinkle with pecans. Melt one stick of butter and pour over everything. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Enjoy! *A thunderstorm is rolling in. Maybe it will rain tonight and I will leave the windows open so I can hear it! That is some good sleeping!!
*American Idol Tonight!!
PS-I did watch the Bachelorette. Deanna is cute. She looks sooooo much like my sweet friend, Kelley Brown, who I taught school with and who was Laura's first grade teacher. Laura ADORED her...spent the night with her, played with her kids, etc. Kelley died about three years ago of breast cancer. I still miss her. You might not can tell from this picture because Kelley had just cut and lightened her hair (plus it's just one picture taken on one day--it's hard to know if you didn't see her all the time). But her hair was naturally dark and long. She was beautiful inside and out.
So, Steve left today for 5 days to visit his brother in West Palm Beach, Florida. Can I tell you how jealous I am? No fair!!! And Ashley left yesterday to go back to Columbia for the week to play with her friends, hang out at the pool, go to dinner, etc. So the rest of us are still here sticking it out to the bitter end while some people get to have fun. (Whine, whine, sniff, sniff).
Things really aren't so bad. For one thing, I am so happy that we made the decision to build our porch last summer. Just sitting out here, like I am right now, makes me HAPPY! I think it brings my blood pressure down just stepping onto it. It is like a retreat being out here.
Next week at school we are having a Celebration of Nations. It is where each grade level takes a different part of the world to study. We learn about culture, food, dress, games, dance, language, etc. from a certain continent. Then we have a big parade and everyone dresses in the national costumes from their area and does some kind of performance from that continent. We do it outside and all the parents are invited. It's a lot of fun.
In kindergarten, our continent is South America. My country is Chile, so I have been teaching the students about that country. But anyway, we asked some of our moms to come in and transform the kindergarten hall into the Amazon Rainforest. Wow! They went all out! Our whole hall is amazing. Here are just a few pictures, but, believe me....it is way more than I could take pictures of!!
There has been some good TV on lately. Last night I watched the Academy of Country Music Awards. First of all, let me say that Carrie Underwood is absolutely beautiful to me, plus so talented. And I love her new song "I Don't Even Know My Last Name"!! Haha...fun song! She opened the show and was awesome! Plus I am such a big country music fan, I just love seeing all my favorites...Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, etc...
Today I came home from school and turned on Oprah while I was folding laundry (weird as she's been). She had a Mary Tyler Moore reunion on. I LOVE that show!!! I have several boxed DVD sets and watch them all the time. It was cool because they had the exact replicas of Mary's office and her apartment. It was a fun show today.
Laura and Lindy told me The Bachelorette is starting tonight. I normally don't watch that show. None of the couples ever seem to stay together and even though it's intriguing, it usually seems wrong to me somehow. But...I might try it tonight since Steve is gone and he won't be rolling his eyes the whole time it's on. We'll see....
I am always looking for comfortable shoes since I am on my feet all day every day. So, when my mom sent this to me I couldn't believe it! These shoes are apparently the new fashion in Japan. Can you imagine?
How about this???!!! These are the feet of a Japanese woman who was once a geisha girl. Bless her heart!
I'm thankful for my comfy shoes...even the "uncomfortable" ones are better than this!
What a beautiful day it was today!! Thank you God for Saturdays! It was busy but restful at the same time. Here's my rundown of the day:
*Spent the morning addressing Mark's graduation invitations. Somehow I didn't order enough, so I'm going to have to figure out what to do about that on Monday.
*Went to a Widow's Luncheon at church. They always do a wonderful job of making these women feel loved. It was good food, good entertainment, and good fellowship.
Here is our delicious lunch and dessert.
Steve with his two adopted widows, Mrs. Sherman (on the right) and Mrs. Tuttle (on the left).
Every week one of the deacons is called on to read scripture during the service. Last week was Steve's turn. He said when he got up to read, he could see Mrs. Sherman sitting about six rows back just waving her heart out at him. He said he wished he could have waved back! That made him smile. :)
*Watched the kids wash their cars. Steve was happy about that!! They were having the best time with the radio on and friends over. That always makes it more fun.
*Mark's car finally bit the dust this week. He has been driving our old Ford Expedition and it has been giving him lots of trouble, not to mention how much MONEY it costs to fill up that gigantic tank!!!!!! It was time to downsize. Steve picked up a newer and smaller car for Mark today. He was so happy!
Tonight he's taking his girlfriend out to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. She hasn't seen it yet, so he was excited about driving her around tonight!
*Steve went to dinner and to see Iron Man tonight with a bunch of his buddies. Total guys night--you couldn't pay me to see that movie! So, it was girls night once again for the rest of us. We decided to go to Greg's Barbeque. It's a little Greek restaurant that serves home cooking. I got chicken tips over rice, fried okra, and collard greens. Good stuff.
I'm thinking I'm going to put my pajamas on now and catch up on reading a stack of magazines that has been waiting for me!!
PS-My brother, Blake, played along with the 6 Random Things tag from a few days ago. His blog made me laugh!
I can't even tell you how happy I am that it is FRIDAY!!! The closer it gets to school getting out, the harder it seems to get up each day and go to school. I LOVE my class and will miss them so much. It's just the grind of the everyday routine that gets to you. Up every day at 5:30, working all day, running errands, cooking dinner, etc. I am looking forward to no schedules!
Tonight Mark, Laura, and Lindy all went to a school event called "Battle of the Bands", so Steve and I went with Ashley to Bonefish Grille. I love that restaurant. We had Bang Bang shrimp for an appetizer.
Then I had the grilled talapia with mango salsa, zucchini, and au gratin potatoes. It was sooo good!! Ashley had the fish tacos and I tried them. Really good!! I might get those next time.
When we got home, we watched a documentary that Ashley asked me to get from Netflix. It was called the Up Series.
She watched it in one of her classes at USC and really liked it, so she wanted me to see it. It follows a group of children in London from the time they were 7 years old in 1964 until today. They interview them every 7 years from then till now. We watched the one when they were 7 and then the one where they were 14 years old. It probably sounds boring, but it was really good! The kids were just absolutely adorable! Very interesting!
Tomorrow Steve and I are going to a Widow's Luncheon at our church. Steve is a deacon and all the deacons adopt one or two widows in our church. We take them out to lunch and he goes to visit them from time to time, etc. We love them both! They are both such sweet women with such full lives and so much wisdom. I love hearing their stories about their children and grandchildren. One of them is in her 80's and she takes Tai Chi!! They are both very active. Tomorrow we get to spend time with them. Other than that, our day is wide open. LOVE THAT!!!
A new blogging friend, Faith, had a fun tag today, so I decided to play along! It was to list 6 random things about yourself. So here goes!
1-I love history!
I was driving in the car today and a really old song came on called "Abraham, Martin, and John". Some of you may know the song and some may not. It's a song from back in the '60's (when I was just a little girl )about Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and John Kennedy and how they all died too young.
It reminded me of how even though I was just a little girl, I was drawn to the world events around me and to history. I loved that song so much, I named my 3 kittens after it! One of the kittens was a girl, though, so my kittens were Abraham, MARTHA, and John. Haha.
In elementary school, I loved reading biographies and read every one in our Young Americans series in the library. I still love biographies and have read Truman and John Adams recently.They are both byDavid McCullough and I really enjoyed them.
I can remember tons of facts about the presidents, too. Just yesterday, one of my kids said, "Was there ever a president that wasn't married?" Well, yes there was! James Buchanan! How do I know that?? I have no idea. I just remember it! When I was little, I even named one of my dolls Caroline after John Kennedy's daughter!
And several of my very favorite movies are ones that take place in a past era. I love Places InThe Heart which is set in the 1930's and Forrest Gump which you know takes you from the 1950's-1980's.
2-I am addicted to Mentholatum. I have to put it on every night before I go to bed, every morning when I get up, and many times in between!! Vaseline or chapstick won't do. I've got to have that cool feeling on my lips! It's crazy!
3-Growing up I was probably the biggest Donny Osmond fan in the universe! Seriously! I think I owned every Tiger Beat magazine, every album, every poster. I was a member of his fan club and wrote letters to him regularly. I went to my first Osmond concert when I was 8 years old and the girl sitting next to me was pulling her hair out in chunks! During the concert, Donny took his purple scarf off and wiped his sweaty face with it, then threw it out into the audience. The spotlight was on all the hands that reached up to grab it and ripped it to shreds. Oh, how I wished I had a piece of that scarf!!! What's funny is that he was only about 15 at the time. Now I still appreciate his morals, but think he can be a little goofy sometimes!
4-I have to sleep with a fan on. Complete silence makes me crazy! Steve and I both take a fan with us even on trips! I love that hum! In college, I got my roommate addicted to it too.
5-I love to get new clothes, but I don't like to shop. If I go to the mall, I usually have something in mind that I'm looking for and I am on a mission! I go straight to the store I want, buy the item, then leave. I don't mind browsing around if I don't have anything to buy for myself.
6-I am severely directionally challenged! I don't know what's wrong with my brain, but I can't find my way out of a box. I always turn the wrong way and get so disoriented when I'm trying to find my way somewhere. I wish I had a GPS attached to my body!
Wondering: Who's going to be voted off American Idol?
Needing: To get some rest....life has been a whirlwind lately!! I'm dragging!
Feeling: More organized. I finally got some time to do a little laundry and next week's lesson plans done!
Confused: What the heck was Oprah about yesterday? I watched a little bit on TiVo today and she is just getting weirder & weirder!! Revisiting past lives???
Loving: This lotion.
It's called Tamarind Nectar and I got it last week for Teacher Appreciation. It smells AMAZING!! I've been wearing it ever since.
Dreaming about: This!! A little summertime is just what the doctor ordered right about now! Only 18 days left!!!!!
I'm playing catch up this week. I never got to tell you about my Mother's Day because one of the best things about it was that I got to take a nap. However, taking that wonderful nap made me stay awake half the night, so yesterday I was EXHAUSTED!! I was way too tired to blog last night!
My Mother's Day was so nice! My girls cleaned the house for me (the best treat ever!) and then they cooked lunch for us, Steve's parents, and his sister's family!! We ordered barbeque and then they made some side dishes-corn on the cob, potato casserole, green beans, fruit salad, and spinach salad. Then my neice made some chocolate mint brownies for dessert! It was so good!
I got some very sweet gifts, too! I love smell good stuff, so my kids gave me some Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Pillow Mist and shower gel! Plus they gave me two White Barn candles. I was just thinking I needed some more candles and then I got those!
Sunday night we celebrated Ashley's birthday at Salsa's. We are all Mexican food crazy around here! haha Then it was back to our house to have Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream cake (Ashley's favorite) with the grandparents.
She got a new digital camera, J Crew and Banana Republic gift cards, the movie PS I Love You, and lots of other good stuff.
It was a very busy weekend, but it was lots of fun. Tonight Steve is having his Bible Study at our house so I am taking whoever wants to go out to dinner. Don't know where yet? Then tonight is Art In The Park where all the students at our school put their artwork up at a little park here in town. Then parents come out and bring their blankets and lawn chairs, etc. Different children perform and there are vendors there with food. Parents can buy their children's art work to raise money for our school. The kids are so excited and the parents really enjoy it, too. Tomorrow is Field Day at school. Never a dull moment!! :)
PS-Rocks In My Dryer had a really fun post today all about the simple things in life. You should go visit if you have time!
This really is a happy Mother's Day for me! Today Ashley turns 21!!!
I think that birthday has so much significance because you're finally considered an adult! How did that happen so fast?? I have an adult child???!!!
I remember the Mother's Day before Ashley was born. I went to church and looked at all the other mothers and just couldn't wait until my baby was finally here. I was wishing I was already a mother that day. But later on that day, I went into labor and Ashley was born the next day!! When she came out, I remember that she wasn't crying...just looking around with her pretty blue eyes just taking everything in. She came out curious and stayed that way!
I can honestly say that Ashley has been nothing but a joy and a pleasure to raise. She has always been a little ray of sunshine in our lives and has never given us one minute of trouble. She is just a sweet, happy person who is loving life everyday. I love how she laughs easily and cries easily and how she calls one of us each day to tell us something exciting or funny that has happened. She's beautiful, smart, and she has charisma! When she walks into a room, it lights up with her fun personality! And she truly cares about other people. I thank God for giving us such a precious daughter who we love so much!
She is about to start her senior year at college and then she will be starting her own life as an elementary school teacher (just like her mom!). She will probably be a wife and a mother before too long, too.
And I know she is going to be awesome in all those roles! I can't wait to see what fun things are waiting around life's corner for her. We love you Ashley!!! Happy Birthday!!
My mom had a party/cookout for my dad's birthday tonight. We also celebrated Mother's Day with my mom and Ashley's birthday. It was alot of fun. We are all really busy, so it's nice when we have the chance to get together for lots of good food and company!
Here are a few pictures of the night:
My sister in law, Angie, and my niece Bailey
Laura, my neice Brianna, Angie, me, and Ashley
Steve's parents and Angie's parents joined us!
Whiffle ball!
Lindy, Brianna, Laura, Ashley, and my sister-in-law, Britney
Britney and me!
The birthday boy!
My nephew, Brett and Bailey My brother, Blake and Steve
Me and Mark
After the cookout, all the girls decided to go see What Happens In Vegas. Fun times!
Ashley came home today for the summer! Yay! We love having her home. By the time I got home, Steve had already taken her to lunch at a Thai restaurant then she had gone to my brother's house this afternoon to watch my neice Bailey!
When she got back we got to sit on the porch and talk and catch up a little bit while Steve threw the ball with Rocky. That dog has BOUNDLESS energy!!!
Everybody was going their separate ways tonight. Mark, Laura, and Lindy all had their own plans, so Steve and I took John and Ashley out for pizza at Wolfman Pizza. The night was beautiful so we sat outside.
Then we went across the steet to The Promenade which is a little shopping area with restaurants and fountains and stores. There's a Starbucks, Cold Stone, Wolfgang Puck, etc... On weekends, they have a live band and everyone brings their lawn chairs and quilts and drinks and ice cream and just sits outside like a giant block party. People bring their dogs and babies. The kids get to run around and dance and the adults get to talk and relax and listen to some good music. It's really fun. We met Laura and Lindy and their friend Ashley up there for a little while.
We stayed about an hour then came home and lit our tikki torches and sat on the deck talking politics. Steve is always up for that! It was a relaxing way to end a busy week. I HEART Fridays!!
Well, the spoiling continues. Yesterday we had our lunch catered in by City Tavern, a very nice restaurant here in Charlotte. We had one after another of those silver warming trays with so much yummy food in them. Believe me, it was extremely nice and fancy! We had mom volunteers come watch our class while we got an hour off to relax and enjoy ourselves.
Then today it was dessert day with yet another spread of every dessert from brownies to fruit and dip to cheesecake!! I am not a huge sweets person, but it was all delicious! My favorite thing was the chocolate chip cheese ball. Do you like chocolate chip cheesecake?
Then you would LOVE this! It was served with the little chocolate graham cracker sticks. Mmmmmmmmmm! I looked up the recipe when I got home and here it is.
Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball
INGREDIENTS 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
DIRECTIONS In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in confectioners' sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Shape chilled cream cheese mixture into a ball. Wrap with plastic, and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Roll the cheese ball in finely chopped pecans before serving.
Ashley is coming home from school for the summer tomorrow. While she's been gone, I've been using her room as my laundry room/office. Guess I better get in there and clean it up! Have a good night!
I think it's a tie between May and December as to which one is the busiest. I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed with all I have on my to-do list right now. Mark's graduation is right around the corner and we have several events coming up related to that. So we've got to get pictures together and reserve tables and address invitations and order food, etc. Ashley's 21st birthday is Sunday along with Mother's Day, so there are cards and gifts to buy and parties to attend this weekend.
I have relatives' graduations to attend this month also and I am scheduled to bring snacks to Sunday School sometime this month?
Meanwhile at school, the craziness continues with one event after another--Field Day, Art in the Park, Celebration of Nations Parade, End-of-the-Year parties, year end testing, etc. Whew!! I am starting to spin!
Every day during our calendar time, we count down the days until the end of school and it is so close!! But there is so much to do between now and then. My kids also have exams and AP tests coming up in the next week or so. We can do it!! We've got to buckle down and stay focused. Pray for me! I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling it right now.
Tonight I made a casserole for dinner and I served it with black eyed peas and green beans. If you haven't tried these vegetables, you should!!
Margaret Holmes vegetables are sooooo good!! I love them!! Especially the black eyed peas. Those are my favorite.
I hope you are having a good week and getting lots of rest! The best part of May is all the beautiful weather. LOVE IT!!!!
Well, the good news is it felt like Friday today. The bad news is it WASN'T Friday!! First of all, it is Teacher Appreciation Week, so I wanted to show you what I received on "Flower Day". Each child brought me some flowers. Aren't these beautiful?? I couldn't even fit them all in the vase!
Tonight Steve was having his Bible Study on our porch. Mark, as usual, had plans of his own! So Laura and Lindy and I decided to go get dinner. As we were driving over there, I asked them if they had any homework. They didn't. So, we decided to go to a movie after dinner! I don't think I've ever gone to a movie on a weeknight.
First we went to Panera Bread and ate outside on this gorgeous day. I just love their sandwiches, soups, and salads!! So good! Then, since we had a little time to kill before the movie, we stopped by one of our favorite stores, Hand Picked. I bought a cute new purse there. It just so happens that L & L's sweet friend, Melissa, works there and she was working tonight, so she helped us.
From there it was on to Barnes and Noble for a while then we saw Made of Honor.
It was cute. There were some parts I could have done without. But overall I liked it. As we were walking out of the theatre, we all had the feeling like it was Friday night & we could sleep late tomorrow. Then we had the reality check that it's only Tuesday night! Oh well, it was a fun night and kind of broke the week up a little bit.
Today is my dad's 70th birthday!! Wow-when I was younger, 70 sounded soooo old. Now...not so much! haha Of course, 70 is the new 50, right?? I am so blessed to have my dad not only still around, but living close so that we can spend time together and enjoy these years! We just went to lunch together yesterday, in fact.
In case you don't know me very well, I am a preacher's daughter. So, for all of my growing up years, my dad was my pastor. Our churches were not small so I was known by lots of people and pretty much lived in a fishbowl. But, I loved it!!
Dad is such a great preacher. He is dynamic and God's hand is so evidently on him when he is delivering a message. I loved going to church every Sunday and hearing him preach. I even took tapes of his sermons with me when I went to college because I was going to miss him so much!! He has played such an important role in my spiritual growth and in the lives of so many of my friends!! Many of my friends were saved while he was our pastor and he baptized them, too. Steve got baptized by my dad before we even started dating! He has also married many of my friends and dedicated their babies and baptized their children! Of course, he married us and baptized our children, too!
But the best thing about my dad is that he is REAL. He is the kind of man who is a great listener and advisor. He's down to earth. My parents never enforced lots of rules growing up. It was just the major things like no drinking, no drugs, no sex. I could handle that!! Other than that they were very flexible and open. Nothing was rigid about the way they raised us. So, none of us were really rebellious at all!!
Dad is a great counselor and many people have made their way through the rough times in their life with his advice and guidance. He has so many friends and people love to be around him. He gives you his undivided attention. (He was student body president and captain of the baseball team in high school--that tells you the kind of popularity he has!)
He loves to read history, watch sports, and hang out with his family. He's a little bit of a work-aholic, but is always there for you. He loves to travel, eat Mexican food (which is funny since his birthday is on Cinco de Mayo!), and is now a prostate cancer survivor. And I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man as my example growing up!
Here are a few pictures of my dad!
Since my mom has most of my cute pictures of me sitting on Dad's lap when I was little, etc..., I just had to find this one of us on a trip to NYC back in the '80's!
Dad with Ashley at her 2 year old birthday party picnic!
Holding Mark right after we brought him home from the hospital.
I know this one's blurry, but it's still so cute. Dad with Laura and Lindy.
And here he is with the some of the grandkids at family game night on New Years Eve a few years ago.
It is finally prom night--the night we've been waiting for and getting ready for for what seems like a long time! I had prom night x3 this year. It was pretty crazy trying to spread my time out between 3 kids. The day was very busy with hair, nails, make-up, and helping Mark get his tux on tonight!!
The day started out sunny and beautiful, but got cloudier as the day went on. We were just praying that the rain would hold off until pictures were over. And it did!! (Thank you God!!)
Everyone was so excited and having so much fun. There is nothing better than watching your kids having fun with their friends!
So, here are the pics from the night in random order:
