Summer Fun 2013

Well, summer is over and school is back in full swing around these parts. I really hate to say good-bye to summer! I love the lazy, laid-back days of just doing much of nothing :).

Of course, I do enjoy the fall. The nice mild-weather days. The structure and habit of daily routines. Well... we eventually get there!

I've been looking back through my pictures from our summer travels and I thought I'd share some of our highlights.

Back to the Blog

Wow! I haven't been around here in quite a while! I can't believe it's already the end of June and the last time I was here was near the end of April. Wow!

I have to admit... I've kind of gotten caught up in the Instagram craze. Kind of easy to keep up with friends and family through the posting of pictures. But I realize I sure have missed blogging. A lot has happened around here since April.

Fathers and Daughters

Today is a special day for Mike and Kate. They have gone on a "Father/Daughter" trip! They are on their way, across the state from our home in south Georgia to Auburn, Alabama. Tonight they will spend the night with our niece and her husband, and tomorrow they will attend the Auburn vs Georgia college football game. They are both pretty excited because 1.) we are Auburn football fanatics! and 2.) this is Kate's first time going to a game with just Dad and no brothers! They promised to take lots of pictures for me.

I thought we might have a quiet evening around here with just the boys and me, but my youngest has asked to have a friend over to spend the night. So I can assure you, quietness has eluded this household! Really, that's alright with me because I'm quite used to chaos around here and not sure I'd know what to do with myself otherwise. I am thinking I might go to bed earlier than usual, though and snuggle up with a good book and a cup of decaf coffee.

I can hardly wait for tomorrow night. They should be arriving back home sometime around midnight. I'm happy for them to be able to have this time together, just father and daughter. But I really don't like it when my family is apart. I miss them so much! However, I know it's important and I'm thankful my husband has such a good relationship with each of our children.

And I'm especially thankful that he and our daughter find so many ways to relate to one another. That's one thing that I did not have while growing up, (and I am not sure my momma did either) and a girl needs so much to have a close relationship with her daddy. She needs someone to protect her, someone to guard her heart until it is given into her husband's care. She needs someone to look up to, a hero to model for her the qualities that she needs to seek in a future husband. She needs someone to lead her to Jesus, someone to help keep her focus on Him until He brings to her "the one."

God has chosen to provide that to Kate. And for that, I am grateful.

More Snow Pictures

Houston, Texas

Greetings from Houston, Texas! Dh has a class in Houston for three days this week, so we decided that I would tag along. We drove to Alabama to leave our two younger children with my sil (eldest child is in college) on Sunday morning. We had a nice lunch and very brief visit with my husband's father, then we were off to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.

This was my first time flying, so I was very excited! My, how crowded and busy the Atlanta airport is compared to others I've been in (seeing my hubby off on trips)! My husband told me that it is the busiest airport in the world. I believe him...so many people, so many nationalities! LOL... What can I say? I've mentioned before that I'm a country girl from a tiny little rural town in south Georgia. (Actually, I'm a transplant...I grew up in a tiny little rural town in Alabama.)

Well, the flight was great, with no problems. A little minor turbulance here and there... made me think we were driving down our dirt road (lol). When we landed at Houston-Hobby Airport, I couldn't believe the difference...no crowds at all...everything was moving at a much slower pace than at the Atlanta airport! The only problem we encountered here was that the secretary at dh's work forgot to reserve a rental car for us...which really wasn't a problem, as we were able to take care of that ourselves. So, all in all, a nice trip out here.

I took alot of shots of everything, from people in the airport to planes coming and going, to tremendously awesome views from the sky. The only problem is the computer I'm using here at the hotel doesn't have an sd card slot. So unless I buy a usb-cable connector while I'm here (I didn't bring mine along), I will have to wait and post pictures when I get back home.

I'm looking forward to sightseeing around Houston...can't wait for dh to be out of class today! He has to do all the driving when we are in big cities. I have no sense of direction and can get lost in a hurry. He bought me a Garmin gps last Christmas, but I'm afraid she is a little like me...lol...sometimes I think she has no sense of direction either!

Well, I'll post more later!

On the Road Again...

You may remember that I posted a while back about my dear fil having hip replacement surgery...well he was never able to return to living alone at his home. He has been living with his daughter and her family. She (and her family) have gone on a short vacation for a few days, so we drove to Alabama to stay with him. We've had a nice visit, and my sil will be back today.

My dh decided to combine this trip with a business trip he had to make anyway. So my neice came up to stay with fil and my kids, and I came on this trip with dh to corporate offices in Birmingham, Alabama for two days. I'm enjoying my time alone with dh, but I sure do miss my kids. Will be glad to see them tomorrow ;) I went out to sit by the pool to read, but all I could think of was how much fun my kids would have in the pool if they were with us. Sad, I know, but dh is not here with me during the day and I can't help but think about my kids.