Jesus Rocks

Got Hannah and her bud Jessi picked up from camp this morning. They had such a great time! It sure made me remember how much I loved going to camp and meeting new people. Hannah actually cried when we left because she had made so many new friends. They both have already said they want to go back next year. I had to include a video clip of their "cabin song"...Jesus Rocks. Also another picture of Hannah's little gross kitty cat that she's had since she was 3, Maddie. Maddie went to camp too. She goes everywhere Hannah goes...including to the O.R. when she broke her arm. Apparently Maddie was lost at camp. Everyone told me that they would mail Maddie to Hannah if she was found in any one's belongings. Hannah was NOT happy about this. Well, this afternoon when I was cleaning up her things and washing, I found Maddie in the bottom of her sleeping bag. CPR was required but Maddie survived suffocation....and we are SO glad because now she can go to the beach with us. Maddie is very therapeutic. She has endured many long talks, tears and snotty nose wipes!

Going to the beach in the morning!! YEAH!! I'll try to post there if I can figure it out with the laptop. Have a great weekend!!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is the weather like today where you live?

A little cloudy
Soup
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how career-minded are you?

I would say around a 7.
Salad
What type of window coverings do you have in your home? Blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.?

Blinds and curtains
Main Course
Name something that instantly cheers you up.

Chocolate things
Dessert
How many times do you hit the snooze button on a typical morning?

once...maybe twice..

OK....let's hear a few comments! By the way...Had to include a picture of this rainbow I saw yesterday...and for you Colonial Heights people...it was right over our old campus. It was like God was saying..."I know what I'm doing.. Trust me..Your new pastor will be awesome.. I promise!!"

Thankful list

I'm actually responding on my blog to a fellow blogger's blog yesterday..(that's a mouth full! Thanks Cindy!)
Things I'm thankful for....and the list could go on and on..
new days
animals (not the pesky ones)
really good friends--ones that are honest with you
family
blogs
my husband-that has cooked breakfast for me every morning this week!!
healthy children
my job
my church family
salvation
chocolate (although I can't have it right now)

ahhh..SO many things...it's kind of overwhelming when you think about it...
anyway...what are you thankful for today??? I'd love to know!

Oh yeah! My baby girl comes home from camp tomorrow and the boys come tonight and we leave for the beach Saturday for 7 days!! I'm REALLY thankful for that!

Tuesday

great weekend!

Well, Drew made it in Friday..alot earlier than I expected. Friday's are CRAZY at St. D and especially during the summer. We call it "Wisdom Tooth Harvesting Season"....anyway..I didn't get to leave until everyone was out of recovery...by that time, Drew, Hannah, and the babysitter were all at the pool. I headed straight there after work. He is very glad to be home to say the least. We really didn't do much of anything this weekend but hang out around here...which is a good thing. Drew is a bit ADHD...GOT to be doing something every second of the day. We went back to the pool Saturday morning until lunch and fished Saturday evening until dusk. Hannah caught 2 and we caught none. I texted Andrew and Mathew back and forth about how he tells us how to fish. I would say that he really is your master fisherman.......but if you fish with him..he wants you to fish JUST like him. It's really pretty funny. We just go along with it most of the time. This picture is Hannah with the first catch of the day.

The biggest thing of the weekend is that we started the Atkins diet. I hope this is headed somewhere cause I seriously feel like I'm in detox. I've got a sugar addiction like you've never seen. My friends say to just stick with it and you'll get over the sugar hump. I'm not feeling it just yet. I am feeling very light headed though. I did an hour of deep water aerobics yesterday at the Courthouse and my legs are definitely feeling it! I'm going to give it a couple of weeks just to shock my body into better habits. Right now, the thought of eating another piece of meat of any sort makes me want to vomit. Glad lunch is 5 hours away!!

The boys will be coming Thursday for the summer and Hannah is leaving for camp this morning for the week. :( Drew and I are "home alone" this week! Hmmm...we can finally use that Char gift certificate that we've been holding since Christmas!

Friday's Feast

I found a neat thing on a friend's blog about another blog called Friday's Feast. It kinda gives you something to blog about and get feedback on. She has a new one each Friday. This is actually last Friday's Feast...guess she's behind. It is completely useless..but fun! so please leave your comments!

Appetizer
Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?
I believe I'm a little of both at times. Depends on the situation. I really try to be an optimist!

Soup
What is your favorite color of ink to write with?
Blue Ball point

Salad
How often do you get a manicure or pedicure? Do you do them yourself or go to a salon and pay for them?
Professionally about twice a year. Should really do it much more. I started thinking about treating myself. About once a month or two, I'll spread out a beach towel on the bathroom floor and go to town on my feet with the buffer (cheese grater I like to call it)

Main Course
Have you ever won anything online? If so, what was it?
I FINALLY won (I guess you could call it) an Aunt Jemima Cookie Jar on eBay!!

Dessert
In which room in your house do you keep your home computer?
Bedroom...which I hope to do something about when we get our new house...all the kids seem to pile up in our room on the computer.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! Drew comes home this afternoon!! :)

Double Trouble

I haven't posted anything on the boys cause they haven't come for the summer yet...so I guess I will post some old ones...they will be here in a few days....pleanty to post then...they LOVE to have their picture made. Matthew, of course, says it has to be of his good side...whatever that means. What great guys they are! Andrew and Matthew were 3 years old when Drew and I started dating so I've had the blessing of watching them grow up. I've always felt very blessed that they have known me as long as they can remember. I love them like they were my own. They keep us guessing all the time and are complete opposite. Matthew much like Drew..strong silent type, pretty good head on his shoulders, short tempered...Andrew is just a fly by the seat of his pants guy..what you see is what you get. They have gotten very competitive against each other the older they have gotten. Matthew is a great football player and fisherman. Andrew is a great baseball player and hunter. Right now, hormones are raging and it's all about GIRLS.

This first picture is not too long after Drew and I got married. The rest are of a couple of good hunts they had....

Sunday...

Sundays are typically pretty lazy around here. We missed Drew today very much! I talked to him early this morning and he had brought his guys in for the day to get showers and to get some good sleep. If I had to sleep in a humvee during a Mississippi summer, I think I would probably die. I've got sleep issues anyway!

We went down to Meadville to see my Dad. It was a light speed visit cause Hannah had to be back at Colonial Heights at 5:00 for the VBS musical. It was very cute. This is the 1-4 graders. I would try to point out her for you but I'm not even sure I can. the older your child gets, the farther back on the rows they get, so taking pictures is hopeless.. The 1-4 graders were mighty slim probably because lots were out of town for Father's Day. I think they said total attendance this year was about 700....K5 through 5th grade.

Hannah adopted a kitty for her grandmother and grandfather this afternoon before we left. His name is Tom (no relation to "olives in his water" Tom) See previous post....

As we were getting home from church, Hannah heard the ice cream truck coming and ran inside to get money. This is something I didn't grow up with....the pleasure of a van riding around selling ice cream. Very nice guy that does it...Don't think he's a pervert or anything like that.

I've got a busy week ahead but I'll try to find something to blog about!!

Fathers...

Sunday is Father's Day..I claim that it's something worthy to blog about. I am very blessed to have grown up with the kind of father that I have. My husband did as well. His father died before we met but I feel like I know him because of the kind of man Drew is. When someone speaks of his dad, it's always with a certain reverence. I can't imagine life without my daddy. I was reading some statistics that are really heartbreaking....43% of children in the U.S. live without their father...90% of homeless or runaway children are from fatherless homes...63%

of youth suicides are from fatherless homes...71% of high school drop outs lack a father...70% of juveniles in state operated institutions have no father...85% of youths in prison grew up in fatherless homes....Those make me want to fall to my knees and thank God for the family that He has blessed me with! My dad has always as long as I can remember loved us unconditionally..expecting nothing in return. All he ever wanted for us was to do and be our very best. He is always supportive, always loving, always compassionate, always generous and most of all, always forgiving. Thank you daddy for always being there for us...being the Godly father and husband that you are and setting a biblical example for all to see!! I love you!!

afternoon at the rez

After I got off work at lunch , Hannah and I headed to the reservoir to help some good friends (also neighbors) celebrate a birthday. What a great day!! Wish I could post every single picture but I'll pick a few of the best! We spent the afternoon at a campground out there swimming, riding the waverunner, cooking out and ending with homemade ice cream and a beautiful sunset. I really feel guilty knowing that my poor sweet husband is having to hang out on a Bradley vehicle range at Camp Shelby with no type of pool in sight. I'm planning our beach trip for the week of July 4. It will be much needed for him!

I think this will be the shortest post ever. The sun has zapped all of my energy! More later.....

progress and the pool

As we went to the pool with some friends today, I was very excited to see some progress on my neighbor's home that was destroyed during the tornado on April 4. Poor couple...retired...sweet as they can be and their home destroyed in a few seconds. Almost makes me feel guilty. Our house didn't get any damage that day and it's truly a miracle because many of the houses on our street resemble this one. Keep many on Auburn Drive in your prayers...they have a long way to go before they have things back to normal. I just have to tell you about a funny story with Hannah and our neighbors with all the damage. Hannah loves to go visiting on the weekends on the street. We have several elderly neighbors and Hannah goes to see them. One day she came home with the most disturbed look on her face and said, "Mama, Mr. Tom likes OLIVES in his water. Isn't that gross!!!" :) I see Mr. Tom occasionally checking on his big rubble pile of a house and I think he must need a lot of olives in his water these days!

Well, today was the first day I could ease back into the sun after the third degree burns from the weekend. We stayed way too long but the kids had a ball. Always good to have some grown up talk time as well. Summer is most definitely here!!

more berries and a loose tooth...

We did end up going back to the berry farm bright and early Saturday morning and picked another 4 quarts or so. No jelly with this batch...just straight eating. I did remember my camera this time!

Hannah fianlly pulled a tooth that has been dangling for quite some time now....we're talking, if she was looking the other way and her mouth was open, I could've most likely thumped it right out. She came straight in from church and got it out all by herself. Guess we'll be seeing her dentist this week. He saw her about a year ago and said to come back to see him when something happened. He's been seeing her since the 4 wheeler accident when she was 5 and knocked three teeth out. What a nightmare!!

We went to the pool yesterday for about 2 hours...I did apply sunscreen to myself....I will spare you pictures of myself looking like a lobster. It's NOT pretty. I guess you could say that I am miserable. I'm about to get a cool bath and let Hannah break off some aloe vera outside and rub it on my shoulders. What a great little nurse she is!

Any one got any good home remedies for the pain???

Finally Friday..

This has been such a long week for me by myself. I'm SO glad that Friday is here! Hannah made it in from camp last night and was completely exhausted....to the point of tears...I bathed her, scrubbed her head good and put her to bed. Felt very good to have her home with me again! Now to get Drew home in a couple of weeks will be even better! It's amazing how much better I sleep when he's home!

My parents came through Jackson today from taking a couple of children to camp. We went and ate at Cock of the Walk. It's always great and I leave stuffed......apparently not stuffed enough because we had to stop at Baskin Robbins on the way home for a little jamoca almond fudge. I feel almost as fat as the ducks and geese at Cock of the Walk. Those poor things probably have the most clogged arteries in Jackson from all of the fish and fried they are blessed with!

We possibly may make another trip back to the berry farm in the morning. I'll try to remember my camera this time!!

Wow, wow, wow, wow......

tell me this isn't a miracle!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4

Miracles?

This may be something pretty deep to blog about, but let me give it a shot... Last weekend on the way to church, Hannah presented me with this question.."Mama, why doesn't God do miracles today like He did a long time ago? You know, like he did for Joseph, and the dead man and all of them.??" It caught me very off guard and I honestly didn't know what to say other than that, "Oh He still does...we just have to look a little harder for them.." It's been on my mind since she asked though. Obviously God still performs miracles. Webster's dictionary defines miracles this way....An event that seems to be scientifically unexplainable; a supernatural occurence. For the non-christian..that definition could be very mis-leading I believe! You hear almost daily in the news of "modern day miracles" but is that truly what they are? Is it things we pray for that God grants that we consider miracles...if we don't get the answer from God we were hoping for..is it NOT a miracle? For me, I just have to keep it simple....A newborn baby is absolutely a miracle, a butterfly hatching from it's cocoon, cancer that is "miraculously" gone, people being in the right place at the right time, changing seasons, true love...I could go on and on. I'm a miracle of God...are you?

Home Alone!

...and I don't mean that in a good way!! With Drew at Camp Shelby, Andrew camping in Alabama with his Mom, Matthew at Drew's mom's in Tupelo and Hannah now at camp....what on earth am I going to do with myself!! Many friends would say....do whatever you want to!!!! It feels very unnatural! Hannah is going with Colonial Heights to Camp Timbercreek until Thursday. I just dropped her off. I might mention this is her first time to be gone to an overnight camp for that long. I'm sure she will be fine...as everyone assures me...I think she was mostly worried about me and what I was going to do here without her. I think I packed enough stuff for her to stay one month!

We made blueberry jelly last night with alot of the berries we picked Saturday and had it with biscuits this morning. We did "watermelon manicures" right before bed last night so she should be set for the week!
Lots to blog about in July when everyone is home for a while...Drew will be home for the whole month, the boys will be here, Hannah is only gone one week in July......I hear the beach calling!!!!