Thankful Tuesday

My blogging friend Christal is the QUEEN of thankfulness. If you don't read her blog, you really need to stop by sometime because she is just the sweetest person and she inspires me so much with her Thankful Thursdays. So today I thought I would have a Thankful Tuesday instead. I think being thankful and being grateful for what God gives us is so important. Here are just a few things I'm thankful for today....

1-Laura accepted a bid from a Christian sorority at Appalachian last night!


I am so happy for her. I know God worked out all the details for this to come about and she is really excited about the sweet girls that she has already met. I love when my kids are happy!

2-I got alot done in my classroom this afternoon. I haven't really shown you my classroom yet, so here is a little peek at a math bulletin board I made today. I love putting up fall leaves and colors in my room at school! So I even turned a math bulletin board into something seasonal.




and this is my desk (a little messy at the end of a long day)...


3-Fall is finally here! It has been absolutely gorgeous here today. Blue skies and cool breezes....that kind of weather puts everyone in the BEST mood! I think this weekend I am going to put some pumpkins out on my porch...


and a fall wreath on my front door...


and maybe put some pansies in my pots!


4-Hot showers and my bed! I fall into it every night so tired. And to make it even better, I have been sleeping with my windows open the past few nights. Mmmmm....so cozy!

5-Speaking of Christal, I saw this picture on her blog and I just thought it was so sweet.


This is what she wrote about it....

"But I am most thankful for a loving Heavenly Father and pictures like this one...that remind me that no matter how bad my day is it's okay... cause at the end of the day when I kneel down to pray, I know there is SOMEONE who loves me, that HE wants what is best for me and that He understands me, and HEARS me. Isn't that AWESOME. To KNOW. TO FEEL IT."

I totally agree with her...that is one of the things I am most thankful for in life, too!

Hope you're having a GREAT week!!

So Much To Catch Up On!

Ok...so much to catch up on. I am not doing so well on keeping up with the blogging lately. Mark sent me a message on Facebook today that said, "Hey I need a blog update soon. I'm running out of things to do when I should be studying." haha

This has been a really nice weekend. Friday night Steve and I went out to dinner at Outback. We got our favorite....filet with sauteed mushrooms. Plus we got to catch up on some good conversation.

Laura came home again this weekend, too. It was Parent's Weekend for both her and Lindy. We didn't know what to do??? So we decided not to go to either. But in October we are going to go to see both of them on different weekends.

Anyway... Laura had planned to go visit her best friend, Melissa, this weekend. But Melissa got the flu, so Laura just came home! I was glad to see her! She lost her camera charger, so this is the only picture I have of her since she's been at college!


I hope she gets that fixed soon!

Lindy is LOVING ECU, by the way. She sent Steve and me the sweetest text the other night. It said something like, "Thank you so much for paying for me to go to ECU! I love it here and it is just the perfect fit for me! I love you!" That made me soooo happy! Here is Lindy with her cute roommate, Chelsea.


Saturday was rainy and cool here. Ashley and Laura and I went to Starbucks that morning, then we just hung out inside all day. I made chili and we watched football. I love that kind of day every once in a while. :)

Today it was church, then out to lunch with my family. We went to Chili's and we must have seen at least ten different people we know there. That's what I love about where we live. Even though Charlotte is big, you still run into friends every time you go out somewhere! That makes it feel like a small town.

Today the clouds finally lifted and the sun came out and it is MUCH cooler! It finally feels like fall. Ashley and Laura and I went to the mall this afternoon and found Ashley a GORGEOUS dress to wear to the rehearsal dinner. We got it at one of my favorite stores, White House/Black Market!


Then Steve and I took advantage of the great weather and went on a walk together before dinner. That was so nice!

The new TV season is here and Ashley has talked me into watching Desperate Housewives with her. I have never watched it before but I told her I would give it a try!


(Steve and I really like to watch The Amazing Race, too, so I might have to TiVo one or the other!)

Here Ashley is hanging out on my bed with me waiting for it to come on.


Every time we get on the bed, Rocky has to join us! That big collar around his neck is a bark collar. Unfortunately, Rocky loves to bark. So he has to wear this collar that sprays out a lemony smell when he barks.

The other day, Ashley bent down to pick something up off the floor and Rocky was standing there. I think she coughed or sneezed while she was bending down and that lemony spritzer sprayed her right on her face! We all started laughing so hard. She smelled like Lemon Pledge for the rest of the day!!

I hope you had a great weekend!

Grey's, Bouquets, and I'm Amazed! ;)

Just a few quick things today...

1-I don't normally watch Grey's Anatomy, but I AM curious if Izzie is going to live or die tonight??? What do you think will happen? I might have to TiVo that one!


2-Ashley got her wedding portraits made yesterday and she looked so pretty! I just took along my little camera and took a few pictures while the photographer was working with her. I wish I could show them to you, but I want everything to be a surprise! She would kill me if I showed her in her wedding dress on here! haha

But I can show you her bouquet! It was very "fallish".


3-I saw this on msnbc today....Can you IMAGINE????

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Fall Is Here!

It's the first day of fall! I am so excited because I love fall! It is such a pretty season and so cozy, too. I think one of my very favorite months is October! I am so looking forward to the beautiful fall leaves

all the cute trick or treaters

anything apple...apple cider, apple pie, apple dumplings, etc...

fun fall clothes



fires in the fireplace

and Thanksgiving

and so much more!

And, of course, on November 14th, Ashley is getting married so that is going to make fall even more special this year. She is getting her wedding portrait made tomorrow so I can't wait to see how those turn out! :)

The weather here has felt like anything BUT fall lately though. It has been so humid and cloudy. Uuuuggghh! But at least we're not getting any of the flooding that they are getting in Atlanta.

Today is actually the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Hugo.


I will never forget that! I was pregnant with Mark and Ashley was about 2 years old. We were camped out behind our couch in the den all night trying to stay away from the sliding glass door and the storm was just raging outside. We had a little portable radio that we were listening to. Our power got knocked out for about a week and alot of Charlotte was damaged or destroyed! That is the only hurricane I have ever really lived through.

So....has anyone gotten the swine flu??


It is really going around here. We have several students at my school that have it and the middle school near our house has it going around, too! I have been trying to teach my kids how to wash their hands and cough into their elbow and we have been dosing up on hand sanitizer. I hope no one in my class gets it!

Ashley's Shower

Today we went to a shower for Ashley. One of her best friends, Michelle, that she has know since she was about one year old was sweet enough to host it with her mom, Rhonda.


We had such a great time. They had it in the clubhouse of Michelle's apartments and it was perfect. There was lots of room, but it was still homey and comfortable. And Ashley got sooo many nice gifts. That girl is set! She got her bedding, sheets, towels, a crockpot, a blender, her flatware, dishes, glasses, plus tons more.


We played a game where everyone had to think of a funny or embarrassing memory with Ashley. Here I am with Laura trying to think of something....I have so many memories to pick from!!



And, Michelle knows how much Ashley loves Mexican food, so they had Moe's cater a taco bar. Then we had cheesecake for dessert. Yummm!

Ashley is getting so excited. I was telling her that I had nine showers the summer before my wedding. One of them was a lingerie shower hosted by the deacon's wives in our church. (I know...that's kind of a funny thought in itself!) But somehow with all the showers I had gone to, my mom and I had gotten the time mixed up on this one. I was just getting out of the shower when the hostess called and said, "Ummmm...hi...we were just wondering if you were on your way?" WHAT????? Oh.my.gosh. I couldn't believe I had the wrong time. Everyone had already been sitting there for about 30 minutes waiting on us! We started flying around the house grabbing clothes and makeup and I literally got dressed in the car. I arrived at the shower with wet hair and alot of embarrassment!!

For a wedding update...Ashley and John have picked out the apartments they are going to move into and it is about 5 minutes from our house. Yay! I am so glad they are going to be close by. :)

And they bought their wedding rings this week, too. Plus they finalized the honeymoon accomodations, so they are ready for a nice tropical vacation. Ashley's roommate from USC, Rachel, came in town today and helped her do lots of shopping and organizing for the wedding. Rachel got married in January and she has tons of great tips and ideas.


Mark came home tonight, too. He went to Columbia to visit some friends yesterday, so on his way back, he came through Charlotte. When we got home from the shower he was here and I always love that! :) He is such a sweet boy.


I think this is the first time all of my kids have been home in at least a month and I love it!

Before I go, can I just ask you to please pray for my good friend, Ginger?
We have been friends for a long time and now she teaches right next door to me! Anyway, her daddy passed away last week and it has been so very hard on her and her family. You might read her blog!? If you do, I know she would appreciate you stopping by and letting her know you are thinking of her. Thank you!

The Good, The Bad, and The Yummy! :)

Just a few quick things today...

The Good...
I think ya'll know how much I love Michael Buble. And I was so excited when I found out he has a new CD coming out October 9th!! Yay! It's called Crazy Love and I will definitely be buying it. I already love his new song "I Just Haven't Met You Yet". Has anyone heard this?? It's so good!



The Bad...
What is up with all the rudeness going around lately?? I was shocked at this...



and this....



and this!


Seriously! I hate it when people aren't respectful. I think some people have forgotten their manners. :(

The Yummy...
I saw these at Wal-Mart tonight and I had to have them...


Coconut M & M's!! I love Almond Joys so I knew I would love these too and they were sooo good. But they are limited, so you need to get them soon before they go away.

I hope you are all having a great week! :)

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Weekends go by so fast! I can't believe it's already Saturday night! Really...already??? Anyway...it's been a fun weekend so far. Last night we got together with four other couples from our Sunday School class for dinner at Cajun Yard Dog. We have dinner groups in our class where we get together with different couples once a month either out at a restaurant or at somebody's house. I love it because it is such a good way to really have a chance to talk together in a relaxed environment. The couples we were with last night are so sweet and we had a great time...not to mention that the bread pudding at Cajun Yard dog is soooo good! MMMMmmmm!


One of Ashley's roommates from college, Robyn, came in town last night and spent the night with Ashley. She came just to help Ashley with any wedding things she needed done, so today she and Ashley worked on getting her wedding invitations ready to go out. This is what they look like...


My neighbor, Candy, addressed all the invitations with her beautiful calligraphy as a wedding gift to Ashley. The invitations looked so pretty!


I got my hair colored and cut today and got my nails done, too. I know...I felt like a little diva getting all that pampering in one day! haha The only thing I'm not crazy about is how much gel and spray they have to put in my hair to get it straight at the salon. I usually like to wash it and re-style it myself when I get home. Why can't other people style your hair like you do it yourself?? I ended up just putting it up in a pony tail since we were going out and I didn't have much time.

Tonight my whole family went to dinner to celebrate my brother Brent's birthday. I wish I would have gotten a picture of us all together!




His baby, Brooklyn, is doing really well, by the way. Remember she cracked her collar bone last week?? She is such a sweet baby.

Now we're home watching the South Carolina vs. Georgia game. Not looking too good for USC so far. :(

Happy Memories

Well, I have been sick all week with a really bad cold. Boooo!! When I get a cold, I usually have it for at least a week. I got this one on Monday, so hopefully it is almost at the end.

For some reason this week, I have had different occasions to take a walk down memory lane when I was least expecting it. The other night I was flipping through channels when I came across a very old Billy Joel concert that caught my attention. I stopped to watch it for a minute and I called Steve to come watch it with me because we went to a Billy Joel concert exactly like that in high school when he looked just like this....


We just sat there laughing and remembering the other couple we went with and how great he could play the piano and how one of "our songs" in high school was Just The Way You Are. The next day I was driving in the car and that very song came on! I turned it up and started thinking about high school and all the songs that we used to love.

We had one of our very first slow dances to "We've Got Tonight" by Bob Seger. I gave Steve his greatest hits CD a few years ago and we still love all his songs!

Then there were all the songs we danced to in our high school gym after football games like Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" and Kool and the Gang's "Ladies Night". They don't even have dances at the high schools here anymore (except prom). That is a shame. Those were so much fun!


And Steve was the BIGGEST Eddie Money fan! I would go over to his house and he would put Eddie Money on his stereo and put his speakers at the top of his stairs pointing downstairs and I would help him clean up the kitchen after dinner. That was a big job with five brothers and sisters! But it was more fun while we were listening to Eddie. :) This is the album we always listened to...


Then I got two sweet messages today from old friends reminding me of memories we had had together when we were children. These are friends I had when I lived in Nashville, Tennessee when I was about seven years old and we all still love each other and keep in touch! That is so special to me!


And, not only that, I recently found an old autograph book that I got for my birthday when I was about 8 years old. It had all the signatures and little notes from all my friends at that time. I remember I had a slumber party for my birthday and everyone signed it and wrote sweet notes to me in their cute child-like handwriting! (Things like, "You are my best friend, Betsy. I hope you get to marry Donny Osmond one day!") haha


Anyway...I think it is important to remember special people and places in your life and to write all the memories down while you can still remember the details. Happy memories are such a gift!

There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more.

NYC Girls Trip Video

I just wanted to share something with ya'll really quick....


Lindy made a video of our girls trip to NYC recently and I was so excited because I thought she could put it on YouTube and I could put it on here. But that didn't work for some reason??? Anyway...I always have fun seeing my bloggy friends "live and in person"...so if you are interested, you can friend me on Facebook and you can see it on there! We had the BEST time and I think she did a really good job with the video! :)

The Unexpected

Sometimes life just takes a turn that you didn't expect, doesn't it? Well, that is what happened to us Friday night. We were sitting in Ashley's room at her little "make-shift" desk and skyping with Lindy. She was being a goofball! haha





About that time Steve answered the phone and my sister-in-law Britney was on the other end sounding very frantic. Apparently my sweet little niece, Brooklyn, who is only four months old, had fallen out of her carseat and landed on the parking lot head first.


That afternoon the whole family had gone on a walk in the park. Brooklyn's carseat can move from the car to the stroller but while they were walking, she was so unhappy being buckled in, that Britney undid her straps for the walk. When they got back to the car, Britney forgot she had unbuckled Brooklyn and when she hoisted the carseat up to put her back in the car, she tumbled out!!! Britney stuck her foot out to try to catch the fall, but she still landed pretty hard. It was heartwrenching!!! Needless to say, they were calling for us to come get their older daughter, Bailey so they could take Brooklyn to the hospital. We went as fast as we could and picked up Bailey. We had fun with her while we had her! She helped me water my flowers....



And Steve played a little basketball with her.


We took her out to dinner at Q-Shack. Mark was driving in from Raleigh and met us there.

Then we went to listen to some music and just hang out.


Bailey had the time of her life dancing and running around!

I took her home and gave her a bath and was reading her a story when Brent and Britney got home. It turns out Brooklyn didn't have any head or neck injuries, but she did fracture her collar bone. Poor little thing!!! I felt so bad for her...and so bad for Britney. Those kinds of accidents happen, but they are so scary and upsetting.

Yesterday was a fun day. Laura came home and her college, Appalachian State, played Lindy's college, East Carolina University, in football. Lindy stayed at ECU for the game, but the rest of us went to a sports bar for lunch and to watch the game.


Here is the shirt Steve wore yesterday. We didn't know who to pull for!!


Last night we grilled out steaks and I made some twice baked potatoes, salad, and sauteed green beans for dinner with some peach cobbler for dessert. We ate on our porch and for the rest of the night, that's where we were! It was very nice.

We all went to bed and then around 2:00 am, Mark and Laura came into our bedroom saying they had both heard a really loud noise....kind of like someone had dropped a huge stack of big books on the floor. We didn't hear anything, but Steve got up and started looking all around the house with a flashlight. Ashley woke up, too, and so did Rocky. So everyone was up and talking and trying to figure out what had made that loud noise! Mark said it sounded like Santa Claus had landed on our roof. Then they all started cracking jokes about how they had been so good, that he came early this year, etc.

They looked around the house for at least 30 minutes, inside and out, even in the attic! But we never found out what had made that loud noise.

So....anyway, it has been a weekend of the unexpected. Who knows what this day will bring?? :)