Happy 18th Birthday Kate!

This one, my only girl child... she turned 18 in February. 

Yeah, 18. I can't believe it either.

Visit with the Little Boys

We had a visit from our little nephews just after Christmas. These are the little guys we had in foster care when they were 2 years old and 9 months old. We had them for about two weeks while the Lord was making ready their forever home. If you missed it, you can read about that  here.

sweet brothers

Getting Caught Up!

I'm still trying to play the catch up game. I haven't kept up my blog like I need to. For some reason, I've not really felt an urge to blog, and that makes me sad. Because this blog is sort of like my journal. It's just a place for me, really, more than for readers or followers. I use this place to chronicle my family's life, the big moments yes, but mostly just the little day to day moments that make up our lives.

Myrtle Beach After Christmas

I thought I'd share some highlights from our recent trip to Myrtle Beach. We had some points left over from our vacation club, enough to book a 2-bedroom unit for 3 nights, so we decided to pack up and go. The boys didn't want to tag along, so it was just Mike, Kate and me. Kate had some Christmas money and she wanted to hit up the outlet mall, I wanted to see the Christmas lights and decorations at Broadway at the Beach, and Mike... well he said he was just along to be our chauffeur :).

Welcome to South Carolina!

Christmas

Christmas...

Just the word conjures up so many memories, so many emotions.

 

The tree, the lights, the food, all the decorations, the carols, the fellowship with family and friends, the traditions.

I just love everything about Christmas!

 

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.

Vacation to Orlando

It's been a while since we've been to Orlando, Florida, so that's where we spent a week at the end of May. It rained and stormed our first day there, but only for a little while. We were able to get out and explore the resort late in the afternoon. What a lovely place!

view from our balcony on a rainy afternoon

 

May Highlights

Well, May was a busy month for us, as it probably was for some of you. Finishing up with school and all the end of the year details that go along with that, and trying to squeeze our family vacation in too, kept us hopping!

2013 Lady Eagles

July 4th

We travelled home to spend a few days with and to celebrate Independence Day with our family. We grilled -- the menu consisted of smoked Boston butt, grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken, layered salad, potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, baked beans, deviled eggs, hash brown casserole, macaroni and cheese, and rolls. For dessert there were brownies, cookies, cakes and homemade ice cream... There were alot of us.

Still Trying to Catch Up...

We finished up football season recently by claiming the GCAA State Championship on a cold, rainy Friday night. Go Eagles!

We're #1

my daughter, Kate and Natalie

our dedicated H2O Specialists for the team

Birthdays

We've had the privilege of celebrating 3 birthdays in the past two months, well actually 5 in both sides of our family, but only 3 that we were directly involved in celebrating :).

In October, my dh celebrated his 43rd...

out to eat lunch on his birthday

Family and Auburn University

We had an opportunity last weekend to visit with our families. If you remember, Mike's dad is somewhat handicapped and lives with Mike's sister. Debbie (that's Mike's sister) and her family were on a spring break vacation, so we spent the weekend with him. We were also able to visit my parents and one of my brothers, as well. It seems the older our kids get, the busier our lives become, and the fewer our visits with family.

Catching Up Again

We've had so much excitement around here, I can hardly stand it! Where to begin?

I guess I'll start with the wreck... Kate and I were involved in an auto accident last Wednesday afternoon. We are very fortunate; we sustained minor injuries. CT scans revealed slight concussions, cervical spine sprains, a sprained ankle. We are still very sore, and I continue to have headaches and neck and back pain. But, gratefully, no broken bones or more serious injuries. Unfortunately, my Explorer did not fare so well.



I don't yet have an update on the repair status of my vehicle. And unfortunately, the "at-fault" status is still up in the air as well. The lady who ran through a red light at the intersection and hit me claims to have been part of a funeral procession that was already about 350 feet down the road. The police report doesn't accurately portray my side of the story, and it doesn't include the statements made by eyewitnesses at the scene.

Today I had to go to the police station to write out my statement of what happened, and the eyewitnesses were asked to come in to write out their statements, as well. The chief of police came in to talk to me about it, but, thinking back on what he said, it all seems so absurd. He said this case might go to court, because the "code" is not clear on just how far away a car can be from the rest of the funeral procession, and still be part of the procession. If that is the case, it seems to me that the city should be required to post a police officer at the intersection to direct the traffic, and to make sure there are no stragglers racing through red lights trying to catch up with the procession.

On to the fun stuff... we traveled to Alabama over the weekend to have our Christmas celebrations with our families. Here are some pictures detailing our fun!

my parents

Nana & Papa with some of the grandkids (why can I not remember to take a picture while everyone is still there??)

Granddaddy and my kids

I had to take Will back to the doctor today *sigh*. He started feeling sick again on Saturday afternoon, and by Sunday night he had a temperature of 103.6 and was complaining of a sore throat. I wasn't sure if this was related to his previous illness, but the doctor said it's not. This time he has tonsillitis, so she called in a prescription for Augmentin.

And we are leaving tomorrow, going to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for a short vacation. We will be coming home on Christmas Eve day. It is getting late and I am still not finished packing... Judging from the lack of noise at this moment, I assume that my husband has tucked everyone into bed already, as we plan to get an early start in the morning. We are all very excited! I suppose I should log off this computer and finish packing so that I can get into bed myself.

Goodnight!

Update Pt 3

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...

Will was pretty much over whatever he had within a week of the blood work and testing. I was waiting to see what the results would be, to find out what he actually had.

We finally heard back from the doctor after two and a half weeks of waiting. The results? Inconclusive. Seriously??? She said that's what the pathologist said in the report. There is evidence that he has been exposed to/and had mono at some point, but it is inconclusive as to exactly when. I really don't understand. And the doctor told us that she has seen this kind of result twice in her years of practice.

So, that's what we're going with... that it was a combination of strep throat and mono. There is really no way of determining otherwise.

As for the rest of the family, no one else has had mono or strep, but there has definitely been some sort of bug hanging out at our house. We have all been sick... and not all at the same time. It has kind of lingered. Head and chest congestion, cough, runny nose, etc. Not the flu, but close. I thought at one point that I might have had bronchitis, my chest hurt so whenever I coughed and even when breathing! So let me tell you, if you've never tried Mucinex DM, it really works wonders! That's what we've all been taking, along with vitamin C tablets and immune support/echinacea/zinc gummies. We are on the road to recovery, but it's been a long, slow process!

Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving celebration with our family.

my niece and my youngest son

my daughter and another of my nieces

my niece and my oldest son

my nephew and son playing the wii

two of my nieces

my daddy and me

The day after Thanksgiving is THE big game in the state of Alabama, The Iron Bowl -- Auburn University vs University of Alabama. Football is big in the south, and in this rivalry the lines are clearly drawn. It is not unusual to have divided houses when it comes to picking your team!

grandfather and granddaughter

my husband and me

ready to watch the game

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our families. We are so abundantly blessed -- great food, wonderful family, good friends. I don't ever want to take this life for granted. God is so good! Even in the midst of all this sickness *smile*. I hope you had a blessed holiday as well!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34

On the Cover of a Magazine...

I thought I would share one of the pictures Mike sent to me from Auburn University, where he and Kate are having a wonderful time enjoying all the pre-game activities. War Eagle!

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.

Family Matters

We attended the last football game of the season for our school last Friday night. We made it to the State Championship Game! But we didn't win. So we're not state champs, but our team certainly had a good season!

Kate, cheering at her last football game this year

Since the game was close to our families' hometown, we made plans to spend the weekend with them. With my husband's birthday being October 27th, and his dad's birthday November 1st, of course we had to have a birthday celebration!

My father-in-law is 84 this year, and my husband is 42. Exactly half his father's age. We had a joyous celebration... we love parties! God is so good to have blessed my dear fil with 84 years thus far.

 

my children with their granddaddy

with his children, except for his oldest son (who couldn't join us this time)

 We are so blessed to have him in our lives and are very grateful for the time we can spend with him!



We also spent some time with my family. Weekends at Nana and Papa's house are spent "hanging out" in the barn behind their house. They have converted part of the horse barn into a gathering place of sorts. Inside the barn is a wood-burning stove, which I absolutely love. On chilly nights, I spend most of my time there standing in front of this stove, or sitting in a chair pulled as close to it as I can get without burning myself or the chair. I'm not sure what it is about me and this stove, or a fireplace for that matter... lol.

my daughter, my brother and his two daughters, and my daddy

my son and his friend

my son and my brother

my brother and his son

my niece cuddling with Lizzy

Yes... when I count my blessings, family is pretty high on the list.  

Holidays Are For Families

We drove home to Alabama to visit with our families for the holiday weekend. I've mentioned before that both my family and dh's family live in the same town, so that means we have to share our time between them. And that means that we don't get to spend much time with either family. Sometimes I wish our families lived in different towns so we could go visit one family for one holiday and then visit the other family for the next holiday, and so on...

The Last Days of Summer

Although it is still HOT down here in south Georgia, our summer break has officially come to an end. I thought I'd share what we've been up to these last couple of weeks of our summer...

My dh's sister and her two daughters came to visit and stayed with us for a few days the last week in July. We absolutely LOVE them and we had so much fun!

Here they are with 2 of my kiddos in the pool

Kate & Will, with their Aunt Debbie

on our evening walk down our dirt road... the doggies

always join us!

We made one last day trip to the islands off the coast of Georgia. I say "last" but I really hope we can make a trip back in the fall, when the weather cools off... maybe to bike ride around the island. I have some friends who spent a few days there recently and they really enjoyed biking there.

on the beach at St. Simons Island

supper at Spanky's Seafood Restaurant after a day of touring the islands

I feel like the older I get, the faster these seasons of life seem to whirl by. It seems as if we hardly had a summer break at all :) But we made lots of memories, and that's so important. Especially now that we are going in different directions this fall (one off to college, one off to school, and one still at home with me).

...Thanking God for these days with my family.

Our Week With Granddaddy and Billy

Our week-long visit with Granddaddy and Billy has come to an end...they are back at home now. I've posted before (last year about this time) about how they stay with us for a week while my dh's sister and her family go away for spring break. Granddaddy is my dh's 83 year old father, and Billy is dh's 58 year old mentally and physically handicapped brother. Neither can live alone or even stay by themselves for very long. My sil remodeled her home last year so that they could move in with her after Granddaddy's hip replacement surgery.

They are definitely a blessing! And we really enoyed their visit. I wasn't sure how well Billy would do because he is so dependent on his routine, and sometimes he is easily annoyed to have anything out of his normal routine. He loves to watch several preschool programs on nick jr, so we upgraded our tv channel line-up to include this particular channel for him (lol). I think he enjoyed his visit. I think he has had to adapt to some changes since they had to leave his home (that he's lived in for all of his 58 years!) to move in with his sister and her family. So I think that had some impact on how well he handled being out of his comfort zone for the past week.

We really love being able to spend time with them, and we especially love listening to Granddaddy tell us stories. My, the wisdom he has to share with us from his 83 years on this earth! He regaled us with tales from his childhood, from his early days of marriage, stories from his military service during WWII (my children sit spell-bound during his stories!).

There are other benefits from their visit. We all learn to think of others more and ourselves less.  Having them here to take care of gets US out of OUR comfort zones, as well. The kids have to make sacrifices, such as giving up their rooms for the week, and giving up their tv time so that Billy can watch his shows on nick jr (lol). That's kind of funny in itself, because they started the week saying things like, "Man, we have to watch these baby shows on tv!" Then later on in the week I noticed that they were sometimes sitting with him watching those "baby shows." :)

While we were tired after having them here, I like to say that it is a good tired. I'm so glad that we have these opportunities to spend time with them, to grow and to learn. And it gives us a healthy appreciation for what my sil does on a daily basis. But I know that she would have it no other way. I hope that I can take care of my parents in the same way when the time comes!

Here are some snapshots of our week.

Kate and Granddaddy

Granddaddy and Will

Billy, sitting in Will's room, "reorganizing" some of Will's card collections (remember when I mentioned sacrifices earlier? I just had to tell Will, "It'll be alright. You can put them back exactly like you had them after he's gone. lol)

my dh and Granddaddy, planning our route to take them to meet my sil

Mike, Kate and Granddaddy

Kate, Granddaddy, Ryan, Will and Billy

Billy and Kate