THE FIRST WEEK OF THE YEAR

Our Christmas was really nice. We had my parents, Mike's parents, Mary, and Noah here on Christmas Day. It was so fun and relaxing. We played games and ate and Skyped with Trevor and Jessie. Our church service was so good.

I made some hor d'oeuvres to have after church so that we could eat a little later in the day. I enjoy cooking and fixing stuff ahead of time so things are ready to enjoy.

We ate Christmas dinner about 4:00. I put the potatoes in the crockpot in the morning to cook all day. I love to "bake" potatoes like this because it frees up your oven and you really don't have to even think about them.

Mike grilled 7-8 pounds of steak. They were so perfectly tender and juicy. They were seasoned just right so no steak sauce was needed. The other sides were green beans casserole, caesar salad, roasted San Marzano tomatoes, and dinner rolls. For dessert I made a pumpkin and pecan pie. Mike's mom made a pound cake and peanut butter hershey kiss cookies. My mom made 2 cheesecake pies.

The week after Christmas was nice and relaxing. We didn't have anything on our agenda so we enjoyed all the down time. We didn't drive our van from Christmas Eve til Friday. We have been driving less and less. Most of our errands can be done on our afternoon walks. Our bank, post office, Trader Joe's/Whole Foods, Walgreens, Metro station, and library are within a 10-15 minute walk so there is always somewhere to walk.

My sister wanted to go over to D.C. so on Thursday we caught the subway over to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.


We ended the day at the White House. It was cold out but it didn't keep us from enjoying being together. On the walk back home from the subway we stopped at Starbucks for a treat to warm us up.

New Year's Eve was a nice, relaxing day. We ate subs and watched the ball drop. It was cool to be on Eastern Standard time again. Shelby and Abby tried to stay up but they had stayed up late the night before so they crashed around 11pm. Mike took a little nap while the news was on but woke up to watch the last 30 min of 2011 with me.

Our New Year service was a time of reflection as well as looking forward to 2012. We invited our friends Krisstal and her son, Elias, over for lunch. I am looking forward to digging in and establishing relationships this year.

We started our lessons on Monday and this week has been a very fruitful one. There has been lots of good discussions about explorers and Hippocrates. There were many games of Uno. Plain old Uno. Love it. Music classes and Choir started back this week.

We have goals in place for 2012 and lots of grace to extend to ourselves and others. The most exciting thing for 2012 will be, by far, The Wedding. Gosh, we can hardly wait.

12-01-11

This was on our impromptu field trip to the Bush's Visitor Center

(I'll write about this visit soon:)

The Day After Thanksgiving

We just lounged around the hotel and ate the free breakfast until Trevor and Jessie came so we could all take a dip in the pool. We ended up going to the hotel next door because they had a hot tub and hardly anyone was staying at it. We were able to enjoy some good family time.

By early afternoon, Trevor had to go get ready for work and I had to get ready for my date with my friend, Casey. We went to lunch at Cheddar's and stayed there for a couple of hours. It was so nice to catch up and laugh with her. It was such a good time of catching up.

My sister came and picked up the girls so that could spend the night with her and Noah. She had a fun time planned for them and they were so excited to see Noah.

I spent Friday evening with Jessie. We ate supper at Chickfila and then we talked for a few hours. By the end of the day my throat hurt but I loved every second of my day. I can't wait for Jessie to join our family.

On Saturday, Mike, Trevor, Jessie, and I ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel. They sat us by the fire and it was so cozy and festive. We talked and laughed. I sat back and soaked up every second of us being together. I made note of their faces, these people I love with all my heart. I can't tell you how happy that breakfast made me.

We went to my sister's apartment to pick up the girls and hang out with her and Noah for a little while. We really liked her new place and it was nice to be able to picture where she lives.

Trevor had to go to work at 2pm so we dropped them off so he could get ready for work. We headed to Nashville to drive around and go by to see our old house. We were meeting Cindy and Mackenzie at a bowling alley at 3 so we were able to drive around our old stomping ground.

The girls and Mike bowled while Cindy and I talked and ate our snacks from the snack bar.
They had fun and we got to catch up on a lot that has been going on. Our family has missed them so much.

After supper at a local favorite we went to see Sonia, Bailey, and Mason and we met a new friend, their dog, Sunny. I have missed them so much. I wish we could have seen Marvin, too but he is overseas doing his job for the military. We are so proud of him. They were our homeschool field trip buddies and there are so many places that we didn't get to experience. I am praying that they get to come see us soon so that we can do some awesome field tripping around here.

When we got back to the hotel we all just fell into bed. I love days that are exhausting but full of love and friendship. It truly was a day to remember.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

This is Ms. Clarice's* tree and it is over 40 years old.
It is the same kind of tree my Mamaw and Papaw had when I was growing up.
(*Shelby's piano teacher)

This week has been a whirlwind of activity with the aftermath of Christmas and the after holiday blahs. My parents got into town Wednesday after the threat of being snowed in at my brother's house. They were blessed with over a foot of snow starting Christmas night.

We have enjoying their company just spending time together. We were able to go to the Nativity Museum at the Upper Room Chapel downtown. They have over 100 creche from around the world. We were also able visit the Oryland Hotel to see all the changes they have made since the flood and the beautiful Christmas decorations.

Last night was our 4th annual New Year's Bash at Marvin and Sonia's house and it did not disappoint. We laughed, talked, played, laughed, ate, and laughed until almost 6 this morning.

Like 2008, 2009, and 2010, 2011 was rang in with a look back at God's blessings and a look forward to the blessed hope we have in the future. As we sat around the table playing games I was reminded of some of the struggles we have all endured this year. Some have been resolved and some we are carrying over to the new year.

I was also reminded of the awesome favor and grace we have been given that will flow endlessly over 2011. That thought should make us want to give Jesus our laud and honor. He truly is my Rock and my Shield. My ever present Help, my Comfort, my Deliverer.

Welcome, 2011! I'm ready for you.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

O wait a minute.... that was last week!!!

I think I'm behind.

Anyway, I hope y'all had an awesome Thanksgiving.

We did! We ate at Trevor's girlfriend's parent's house. I hope you followed that:) We ate, listened to Jessie and her family play music, sang, and ate.

It was a pretty relaxing day for the most part. Well, except for a few tears. No, not one of the girls. Not Mike. Me. Why? Because I'm a girl~~that's why. I can't even pin point an exact cause. If you had asked me on Thanksgiving it would have been because Mike said something that hurt my feelings but, a week later, I don't think that is what it was. I just think I needed a good cry and when you need a good cry it doesn't wait til a convenient time or day. Does it, ladies?

I'm all better now. Thanks for asking.

Moving on....

Our Christmas tree is up. Trevor and Jessie came over on Sunday afternoon and ate lunch. Then we went and got our tree. After we got it in the stand we watched Polar Express and some of us took naps. Then we decorated the tree and reminisced about the ornaments. I love it.

We have already done some Christmas-y things and there are lots more on the agenda. I'm going to try to blog about a couple. No promises.

Christmas shopping has to be a little more creative this year because Trevor is no longer at home for babysitting. We are doing a little more shopping on line this year.

Shelby had her first mini piano recital on Nov. 22. I call it mini because the whole thing didn't last more than 15 minutes. She has a choir performance on the 10th and a piano Christmas recital on the 16th. She has a lot of practice to get to in the next couple of weeks.

We have been watching family movies the past couple of nights and we've laughed til we cried. Abby was upset the first night because we were watching one that didn't have her in it~~because she wasn't born yet. So last night we watched one with her in it. She was about 9 1/2 months old and was whining a little and Abby got upset that we were just letting her whine. Mike and I cracked up. I told her that just because she was whining a little didn't mean she wanted to be picked up. She may just feel like fussing a little.

THIS WEEKEND I...

• finished up grocery shopping.
• went to the Farmer's Market. We love the Farmer's Market.
• made a Pampered Chef sandwich ring that Mike loves.
• had the privilege of listening to my husband teach Sunday School.
  
• went out to eat with Trev and Jessie for Jessie's birthday. We were going to go to Loveless Cafe but there was an hour and a half wait so we ended up at Blue Coast. It was good:)
• took a GOOOOODD nap on Sunday afternoon. I love Sunday naps.

I know I'm a little late with this but it's better late than never:)

In other news, I made this soup tonight: Roasted Vegetable Minestrone and it was awesome. I absolutely loved it and it was so easy. I had Shel cut the veggies up this morning and put them in the fridge. This afternoon Abby helped me finish it up and it was so quick and simple.

At our house it has turned too cold, too fast. The girls have been wearing 2 sweaters and 2 pairs of socks in the morning. They are miserable until mid-morning when it gets a little warmer. They want us to turn on the heat but we are trying to hold off until it gets colder. It's supposed to get warmer by the end of the week so we just need to wear long sleeves and socks.

IN THE MERRY MERRY MONTH OF MAY

A Graduation!

A trip to Disney!

Cocoa Beach for the Space Shuttle launch

Jessie and Kaiya when they were out here for Trevor's graduation.

Not a whole lot going on here. Just a lot of talk about snow. If you want to read a funny post about it go here. She cracks me up!

My friend Eric posted something worth watching on his blog here. It is worth watching.

The girls and I did a full day of school and I got a lot of cleaning done. It feels so good to get things back in order.

The kids and I went to church tonight and wouldn't you know the meal was pork roast:) At least we didn't have the same sides as last night. They made mashed potatoes and green beans. It was so delish!

Trevor worked all day and got home just in time to leave for praise band practice.

I am really hoping we get some snow but I will believe it when I see it.

THESE DAYS.....

We are getting ready to head out in a couple of hours to join some friends for

50 cent corndogs from Sonic

some trick or treating

and some Project Pumpkin

In others words, we are going to have FUUUNNN.

As I take my little ladybug and Sarah Palin around to get as much candy as they possibly can

I want to soak in all their kiddy-ness

because it will fade soon and then they will be too big for all this

dress up stuff.

Live in the moment, Jennifer, because it will pass.

Live in the moment.

I MISS THIS SWEET BABY

I BET YOU THOUGHT I FORGOT!!!

I didn't forget about this kid graduating! I just wanted to have time to write a post about the whole week of graduation festivities and so here we go~~~

Mon, May 25~Jeremy, Jessie, and the littles got here around 5pm. Mary brought Noah down so they can hang out with us. We just talked, talked, and eat~and then we talked some more. Oh, and the kids played and I smooched on Baby Kaiya:~) Jeremy and Trevor went to a movie, Mike went to work, and the rest of us hit the hay.

Tues, May 26~ Mary, JR, and Noah came over and ate lunch. It was the first time They had met Mary's husband~their new brother in law:) It went splendidly and the kids had a ball playing the Wii (and the adults:) Jeremy found out that Wii boxing is quite the workout!! In the afternoon Jessie and I sat outside and let the kids make mudholes in the yard with the sprinkler~ Hey, don't judge us~ there were 5 kids here~ we had to do something to keep them occupied so we could chat. Jeremy, Jessie, Mary, JR, and Trevor went to the late movies, I listened for the kids and slept, and Mike went to work:(

Wed. May 27~Early in the morning~ Mike, Jeremy, Jessie, Baby K, and I went to Cracker Barrel and had a nice long, leisurely breakfast. Trevor was at home to take care of 4 littles. They were all asleep when we left but by the time we got back he had already feed them all and they were happily watching Qubo:) Mom and Dad were on their way with Jeremy's two oldest. I had to go pick up the decorations for the party so Jessie, Baby K, and I did that. We sent Mike, Jeremy, and the other 4 littles to the Bicentiennal Mall to get wet. They have a bunch of water fountains that you can run through, sit on, or refuse to be a party to it (right, Sam?:) Jess, Baby, and I met them there and we were going to walk to the big globe that turns on water but we didn't make it becasue it came a huge downpour. We raced into the food court at the Farmers Market and sat in there to wait it out. After about 15-20 min. we decided to go because it smelled good in there and the kids were "starving" or was that the men? Anyway, we went home at lunch and hung out there playing Wii and~~~there's a pattern here~~talking, and napping. Mom, Dad, Steven, and Zoie got here around 6pm. After a little while we decided to go surprise Trev at Chickfil@. It took three vehicles to get us all there but it was worth it~with my 50% discount (because I am Trev's Mom~I love that perk:) 13 of us at for $30! When we got home Mike got up and~~can you guess?~~went to work:(

Thurs. May 28~Dad, Mom, and Mary got here around 10 am because Mom and I had hair appointments. Mary, Mom, Jessie, Baby K, and I left to go to the appt and the menfolk stayed with the kids. Jessie ended up getting her hair cut too and donating it to a charity here. We hung out for the rest of the day at home just soaking up everybody~it's so long between visits! We had baked spaghetti for supper and Mike~oh~you know what he did:(

Fri. May 29~We went and decorated the fellowship hall for the party. It turned out so nice! Pat and Tommy were on their way. They got here around 3:30pm. All of my family went to Opry M^lls and to hang out at Mary's house. We(Mike, the kids, and I) took Tommy and Pat to Loveless C@fe. It was awesome!! We also went and hung out in their hotel room for a little while~although it was so tiny we were getting claustrophobic. I made final preparations for the next day and guess what~Mike didn't have to work!!!(fooled ya:)

I went to the restroom and this is the pic that was taken while I was gone. I left instructions for someone to take a pic of Trev and the girls and this is what I got. Abby might as well not even be in the pic:)

Pat, Trev, and Tommy

Sat. May 30~ THE DAY~ We started early getting showers and stuff. Jessie, Baby, and I went to pick up the cake and finish some things up at the church. Trev and Steven went to run a few errands~~AND I forgot the dern crockpot~~I needed it at the church so Trev had to go home get it and bring it to me. Mom and Mary met us at the church so Mom could make her Taco dip~delicious!! Then, we raced back home to 2 frazzled husbands that were trying to wrangle the littles and give them baths. Let's just say they weren't exactly bundles of pleasantries when we arrived. Jeremy was all about feeding the kids lunch and we weren't the least bit concerned with it. He got his way so we ended up feeding the little darlings:) Jessie, Mike, and I took the high road saying we could make it through the afternoon without eating. We are martyrs that way. We got everyone loaded up~we didn't forget a single person~can I get a hand clap for that none to small feat??? We made it up to the church on time AND we got good seats. AND then the processional started~ and I cried like a baby. The End~ Nah that's not the end but I was undone. My baby was graduating and I turned into a blubbering mess. The ceremony was great. Mike said it was a little too long. The littles did awesome and Confession time~after they called Trevor's name and they still had a bazillion people to go~I snuck out and went to the vending machine because Mama needed a SHNACK! Mike had leaned over and asked me to bring him back a pack of Nabs. I bought 2 Dr. Peppers, 2 packs of Nabs, and a bag of Sour Cream and Cheddar Ruffle$ . I was walking back from the machine wondering how I could get these delicious goodies to Jessie without her husband not catching on. I rounded the corner and there sat my girl in a chair nursing the baby. I started laughing and handed her one of the Dr. P's and Nabs. She started laughing and we tore into that stuff like it was our last meal. We thought that we could keep this little picnic from Jeremy seeing as how he tried to tell us we needed to eat something before we left~Dang if he didn't come out to check on Jess and catch us with food in our mouth!! He laughed his head off and gloated about being right! Right before the end of graduation Mom, Dad, Mary, and JR had to leave so JR could get to work on time. We took some pictures and then headed to the church for the PArrrrtay! My friends were there helping set everything out and we had a blast. Mike got up and said a few things, Trev got up and said a few things, and then I got up. Because Mom's are all emotional about their kids I decided to just play a song to remind me of Trevor's last year of High School. If you want to listen to it I suggest you go get a box of Kleenex and listen here. There is a story behind that and I am sure you can figure it out:) It was hilarious!! When I pulled out the player Trevor thought I was gonna sing. YOu should have seen his face. He kept saying "Are you serious?" "You're not serious!" He was scared I was gonna break into a rendition of "Sunrise, Sunset". If you want to hear that click here.

I am going to post about Sunday separately because it was a whole post within itself.

Zoie, Samuel, Jeremy, Kaiya, Trevor, Jessie, Taylor, and Steve

Kaiya and Trevor

OH THE DREARY LIFE OF A BOOTBLACK

If you have read this blog AT ALL you know that we have a teenage son.

A teenage son that got his drivers license in October.(He had been driving for a year with his learners)

A teenage son that got a ticket in December while driving home from work.

He disclosed this info on myspace so I feel okay to share this with ya'll~and truth be known most of you probably know by now anyway.

My sweet hubby and I discussed what punishment he would receive. Of course, without question, he would pay for the ticket out of his pocket. He will go to traffic school on Monday.

We also felt he should have some kind of consequence from us.

This is what we came up with:

1. he was not allowed to work more over Christmas break.(He only works 2 days a week, Fri and Sat but they are almost 12 hour days.)
2. he was not allowed to drive for recreation for one month.

He was not happy but later came back and said he was just mad at himself for getting the ticket in the first place. He took his punishment like a man and this Thursday he broke his month long restriction from driving for pleasure by taking his girlfriend, Jessie, on a date.

Don't you love it when your penance is paid and you are free.

Along this thought, we have tried to keep away from being "fair" parents.

Trevor will tell you that my favorite come back for the phrase "That's not fair" is "Do you think it was fair that Jesus had to die on the cross for YOUR sins?"

That usually shuts the offended child down right away.

We don't think that if one child gets ______ (insert toy, food, present, money, praise for something specific, etc.) that the other kids are entitled to get the same.

Entitled is pretty much a dirty word in our family.

I can't stand it.

So, sometimes just for fun one child gets a cookie and the others don't. Or, one gets to go to a party or an outing and the others don't.

Why? Because life doesn't work that way. Just because So&So down the street gets _____(again, insert new bike, scooter, new car, cruise, a big atta boy, etc.) doesn't mean you get one too.

I've heard that in some families when a child has a birthday all the kids in that family HAVE to get a gift.

WHAT!!!! I don't think so! Why? Because someone might get their little feelings hurt that the birthday child got a gift and they didn't.

Give me a break. Can we say "I am trying to raise brats"?

Okay, I'm done now. I think I'll go get a cookie and dare my kids to ask for one.

NO TROUBLE HERE

We have just been chillin' out here at home today.

Mike took a quick trip to recycle our tree and some stuff to the city dump.

I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few things for lunch tomorrow. We are having friends over from church and I am making Mexican.

See I told you~~~ boring. I love it.

Have a chillin' weekend, yo. (I am channeling my inner gangsta:~)

COMIMG DOWN OFF A HOLIDAY HIGH

We are getting back to normal around here.

Mike went back to work last night and the girls went and spent the night with Aunt Mary and Uncle J.R. They are having fun with their new cousin Noah. When I called last night they were watching Kung Fu Panda.

Mike is now asleep on the couch and I am trying to muster up the energy to tackle the mountain of dishes to be washed.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that it was joyful and meaningful.

WHOSE BLOG IS THIS AND WHY HAVEN'T THEY UPDATED IT??????

Oh, goodness!! It has been over a week since I blogged a post!!!

Shame on me!

Let me give some reasons for the bloggy break:

• my sister got married Sunday
• my sister got married Sunday(I thought that needed to be stated twice:~)
• my parents were in town
• it's Christmas time
• I have had two sweet house guests since Saturday~I'm not sure I want to give them up
• I have been trying to stay warm by snuggling with my hubby every chance I get~except yesterday morning when I temporarily lost my ever-loving mind~can we say PMS!!!!
• and last but certainly not least~MY SISTER GOT MARRIED ON SUNDAY!!!

So, as you can see I have had quite a bit going on since the last time I posted.

Please forgive me!

Or, not. Whatever.

In other news, I am so glad that we live in the south where even the hint of ice or snow sends people screaming to the grocery store AND makes them forget how to drive.

The kids were supposed to have their Christmas parties at tutorial yesterday and they canceled it. Excuse me? What? And here's the kicker~there was NOTHING on the roads.

Remember one of my reasons for not posting? I'll help you. It had three little letters in it. P.M.S.

That cancellation sent me to the edge considering I had already taken a shower and made about a bazillion pig in a blankets. And, guess what. I ate them ALL. HaHa just kidding. But I wanted to.

Anyway, that is my life for the last week:~)

I will post pictures of the blessed event when JR and Mary get back from their honeymoon. I figured she might want to be the first to show pictures seeing as how it was HER wedding:~)

FABULOUS FRIDAY

The other day we made these Advent calendars. All of us made one and we put name tags on them out of scrapbooking paper.

Instead of rings like JOYS OF HOME used, I had some craft clips that have holes in them.

I have been trying to use up what I have and they turned out so cute.

It was fun! and easy!

We went and got our tree tonight. The house smells so wonderful!!! I love this time of year.

Busy weekend ahead~Christmas play practice, Christmas play, Christmas Sunday School party, church~all enjoyable things~fun stuff.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

MISS KAIYA EDEN

My new niece is here!!!!! She was born last night and she weighed 6lbs and 8ozs. She has a head full of red hair~~red, curly hair just like Taylor!!!! Jessie sounds great on the phone. She said this was her easiest delivery yet.

We are excited about going to Virginia!!!!!

GIVING THANKS PART 11

Today was a strange day. I had a lot to do, of course, it was Monday after all. Some how it became a weird day. I can't put my finger on it.

I had some baking to do because tomorrow is the kid's Thanksgiving feasts at Tutorial. For Trevor, I made Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies at his request. I made some Muddy Chex Mix for the girls. I made Butterscotch haystacks for supper tomorrow night at church.

Plus~school, laundry, making breakfast, lunch, and dinner, cleaning, taking phone calls, etc. etc. etc. So, you see I was productive, I was in a good mood, but was having a weird off day.

Could it be I didn't sleep good last night? Could it be I didn't have my quiet time? (I am leaning toward this explanation) Although, I did have some knee time when reading this situation. I have been following Adrienne, Jim, and little Owen for a while now and I was on the edge of my seat to hear that they were picking up their new little daughter. I am praying for God's Will in the whole emotionally charged decision that has to be made. Please join me in praying for all the people involved in this precious baby's life and that the right thing for her will be done. I want so much to see Adrienne take her home but God knows all and so I am praying the prayer that never fails~God's Will be done.

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and going to Virginia. Hopefully I will have a new niece to cuddle by then. Wooo-hooo.

Today I am thankful for:

• measuring spoons.
• kisses and hugs from my man.
• direct access to God.
• the prayer that never fails.
• sweet preschool voices in class tonight.

WEEKEND UPDATE

We have had a really good weekend.

Mike and Trev were on Fall Break from the college and they took time off from work. We were going to go camping but it rained all day on Friday and although we LOVE to camp there are a couple of guidelines we live by:

• we can handle cold weather camping (one year we camped in the Smoky Mtns., in Nov., in thirty degree temps., the kind of cold where when you touch something you can't tell if it is cold or wet~in a tent.)
• we can handle wet (one year we camped in the Smoky Mtns. in April, it rained the entire time we were there, our tent collapsed on all our stuff and drenched everything, we rolled with it and had a great time.
• we have a hard time tenting camping in the rain AND cold with kids it's unpleasant for us and them so we decided to have a staycation. You know where you take time off but stay at home. It was relaxing and refreshing. I recommend it.

We were a wee bit disappointed that we didn't get to camp one more time this year but we still had a good time.

I worked on the girl's costumes and got them done. I can't believe I did it. Woo-hoo! I'll post pictures later.

Our Trunk-N-Treat was tonight and the kids had a ball. There were lots of games and a bouncy thing. We had a pie and chili contest. The kids were great and we had visitors come and participate.

AND THE RAIN KEEPS COMIN' DOWN

###update~I took the music off because it was driving my husband crazy when he gets on at work:~) I will put it back after a hiatus:~))) Also~~we purchased another vehicle so we are back on track with schedules. My brother will be happy to know that we bought a Chevy:~)He loves that bowtie ;~)


We have had blissful rain yesterday and today. It it glorious. We needed it so bad. It has been a long time since we have had any.

That last bullet point from yesterday~I was actually able to pull that off!! After supper the kids cleaned up and I crashed on the couch. When they finished, Shelby and I played checkers and Mike and Abby played Dominoes.

I love to play games but I don't make it enough of a priority to do it. I need too!! We have educational games that we could play as part of school but I am sad to say that I don't work them in as much as I should.

I was telling my SIL about an article I read a couple of months ago and decided to put the link here so you could read it to. Go here and read about being a status symbol if you stay at home. This article talks about women with no kids but I say it applies to us women that are moms too!!

How is it that if you stay at home with no kids it's a status symbol but if you stay at home with kids it's degrading??? I will admit that staying home AND loving it took a while because of the ideas society pushes on girls at a young age. Let's face it Homemakers are not on the list at a Job Fair. They are not in textbooks and they are NOT promoted at school as an option for your future.

I have a friend who said that when she was in school she was asked by a teacher what she wanted to be when she grew up. My friend replied that she wanted to be a wife and mother. The teacher proceeded to tell her that on top of being a wife and mother she needed a career. My friend could have taken away from that conversation that being a wife and mother was not enough~but thankfully her mother taught her differently at home.

Today I am dwelling on the goodness of staying at home and serving my husband and my children.

THESE PICTURES CRACK ME UP!!!!

I came across these pictures while browsing through last years photos and I just cracked up!!! They are photos of little Samuel's birthday at Hot Dog King (the BEST place to get a hotdog and cheese fries on the East Coast!! ya'll from Tidewater know what I am talking about!!! Can I get a witness??)

Jessie looks like she is looking at Mike and saying "Say what????"

Look at those sweet curls!! Taylor is a sweetie!!

Samuel with the big hotdog on his head makes me laugh!!! (what the hay~~ why is spell check giving me a red line under hotdog~should it be hot dog because he doesn't have hot dog on his head~that would be real strange!!!:~)

Samuel saying, "Hurry up and read that stinkin' card cause I want that present!!!"


Daddy in a rare picture of him smiling. He likes to take "serious" pictures. Don't you, Daddy.