The here and now....

Buster and the Big Leagues

2008-06-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today around 2pm, twin boy and I turned on the tv, and sat back to watch our favorite guy, Buster Posey, go to the Big Leagues. Twin boy loves, loves, loves baseball. Buster Posey is from the town we live in. He grew up playing on the same baseball fields that twin boy now inhabits. In fact, Buster's family is still well know in these parts, and Buster has a younger brother who still attends our local middle school. Last weekend we took the family to see Buster play in Tallahassee in the NCAA regionals. It was awesome. Buster plays for the FSU Seminoles, the same school that the hubby and I graduated from. Twin boy feels like he KNOWS Buster personally....

So today was a big day in our house. Our local boy made it to the big leagues, being the no.5 pick and going to the San Francisco Giants. Of course now twin boy wants a SF hat! Never the less, it's a neat time... baseball lives on!!! Go Giants!

Summer is here :-)

2008-06-04T18:18:00.001-07:00

Well, sorry about the length of time that has passed since my last posting. I can't begin to explain how very busy life was these last few months. School, sports, gymnastics etc... Now summer is here, school is out and we are enjoying the time at home, sleeping in, eating dinner at home, swimming... oh the little things.

Let me catch you up on a few things. The oldest child finished up her first level 9 season by qualifying for regionals in Huntsville Ala. It was absolutely a fun time. We stayed with my sister in Alabaster and the whole sister Clan went to watch her compete. She is now back in the gym working level 10. She will attend a college recruitment camp this August. Can't believe we are thinking about college!! Twin boy finished up Baseball, playing 2nd base and catcher. We were 2nd in the league and had a wonderful time. He was nominated for All Stars, but we turned it down. He wants to attend some basketball camps this summer and we are going on a vacation. The oldest child finished up the year with 2 C's on her report card. This was a extremely difficult year for her, juggling high school work & 18 hrs of gymnastics each week. I was proud of her struggling through. Twin boy finished the year as A/B honor roll and recieved several awards. Twin girl was once again highest academic average for the 2nd year with straight A's. (97 overall average) Whew... I'm glad we are getting a break from school work for a while.

Several things have happened over the last month or so, that have me thoughtful these days.

*I got to visit with my sweet nephew and his pregnant wife, who is pregnant with twin girls. They have moved to Raleigh, and I will definitely be going up to help out when the girls arrive. I also attended my brothers church, where he is an associate pastor. It is a awesome church.

*A dear friend of mine is currently battling lung cancer. She moved from our church and Albany to live with her children in Alabama. A few of us from church drove to visit her about 5 weeks ago. Since our visit she is not doing well physically, but is so ready to meet the Lord. She is such a strong and devout christian, loves and serves the Lord with her whole heart. So why does she have cancer? I felt very blessed to have been able to spend some time with her, before she started succombing to cancer. It was a blessed sweet time.

*The headmaster of my children's school, has resigned and is taking a job at a bigger school in S.Carolina. This was very difficult for our family and we have become close friends with he and his wife. His wife was the twins 5th grade teacher and such a blessing. So now the school is looking for a new headmaster.... again...

*Last but not least, something amazing is happening at our church. This last month there has been a big rise in attendance. We are growing, and it feels good. We have been through some changing times, but the Lord has always been in control and a very big part. I can't explain the joy and peace that is in our church family. Our pastor has such a heart for our Lord and our church. The Lord is blessing us over and over... it's totally amazing!!!

Well I'll close for now..... Happy Summer!!!!

add golfing....

2008-04-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

The Team

"Like Tiger!"

Putting...

Ok, just when I thought he had done it all... he hadn't. Oh, there's golf! Our school PTO does a annual golf tournament and it was today. Since I am a officer, of course I had to work it. So, the High School Golf coach calls me yesterday and asks if twin boy can play on his 4 man team. The team consisted of two adult men and one of the high school boys from the golf team. Coach only has one child, a daughter, (who happens to be one of the oldest child's best friends) and he loves spending time with twin boy. The twin boy was stoked! He's never played before and did pretty good for his first time. The team came in second, which I'm sure the twin boy did not contribute to!! But he had a blast and now of course he wants to play golf all the time. Yeah, buddy, we'll do that, in between baseball practice and bedtime :)

Twin Girls!!!!

2008-04-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

My nephew and his wife are expecting twins. Today they had a anatomy scan done which revealed that the twins are identical girls! They have separate sacks (which is good) but share the same placenta, which will need to be monitored. We are all on cloud nine! So excited! AND, if God didn't just really show off, the job in Raleigh came through!! My nephew will be teaching AP art and possibly be coaching the high school swim team. He was a awesome swimmer in high school!! I can't wait for them to get to NC~~~~~ Tar Heels baby!!!

Happy Birthday My Sweet Daughter!

2008-04-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

Being sung to in Japanese!!!

She's loved and adored by her twin siblings:)

April the 1oth, the oldest will celebrate her 15th birthday. Ugh... you've got to be kiddin' me. It just seems like yesterday that I gave birth to her, and I can remember every single minute of it, it was a precious time. We celebrated tonight due to her gymnastics training schedule. We decided to go to a Japanese place called Mikata's. It's a bit on the pricey side, but well worth it. In our family, on your birthday, you get to pick your place to eat. She's definitely got good taste, we're praying for her future husband ha! We are so proud of the precious young woman she is becoming. She's sweet and loving and has a big heart. She is excited about getting her learners permit and finally driving legally! I'm not so sure I'm ready for this, but as my Mom did for me, I'll let her drive home once she passes her test. Happy Birthday Baby, you're growing up too fast! We love you so much.

Spring Break 08 St. George Island Fla

2008-04-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Lovin' the Beach!

That extra child is a friend of the oldest, who came along.

Twin girl doing what she loves the most...reading:)

Twin boy... is there not a sport he can't do???

So at the last minute we headed to Florida to one of our favorite places... St. George Island. It is a place of comfort and solitude for our family. There's not a lot to do except play on the beach and eat the most magnificant seafood. We really had a great time... hopefully we'll go back before the summer is over.

Stay away....

2008-03-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

I noticed today that some unknown person had posted a comment on one of my posts. I should have dragged the mouse over it to see what website it was but I figured I knew the person since only a very few friends and some family know about my blog. Wellllll..... how wrong was I? Evidentially some fool fishes peoples blogs all day and leaves comments so when you click on the comment some stupid add shows up... grrrrrr... that really ticked me off. How dare they come uninvited?? Nothing is private anymore... so to you JO-JO, you have been deleted, and STAY AWAY from my blog.... :<

Flowering the cross...08!

2008-03-23T13:05:00.001-07:00

Flowering the Cross during worship

The flowering of the cross is a tradition that we started in this church over 10 years ago. I grew up in the Episcopal church, and flowered many crosses during my childhood. To me, Easter isn't Easter unless there's the flowering of the cross. So, the husband and I started this tradition for our children and the families of our church. It's a awesome thing to see a bare cross decended upon by children, only for them to walk away and see the beautiful flowering! Surely this was what it was like the day Christ rose from the dead....just simply beautiful. Thanks Mom & Dad for a wonderful tradition.

Easter Morning 2008

2008-03-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

My precious baby chicks :)
Yes, the Easter Bunny still comes...

Easter morning is such a precious time for our family. The kids really get it... that Christ has risen indeed! Twin girl commented that the sun is always shinning. There are still chocolate bunnies, new clothes and flower picking for the cross at church. Such a precious time.

Soccer sensation!

2008-03-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

Get outta my way!

Twin girls strategizing in her mind :)

Along with spring baseball comes spring soccer. The twin girl loves this sport and is amazing! She has grown several inches since fall season, making her one of the tallest on the field. She is aggressive & and loves "going for it!" Saturday she shot one in the goal from at least 2o foot! Though we lost the game, we're off to a good start, they are currently 1-1! Go SAINTS!

Go RED SOX!

2008-03-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Twin boy at bat!

The crack of a bat and the giggles and shouts of little boys fill the air once again. Twin boy has moved up to the 11-12 year old "Major" league. He's improved tremendously, what a difference a year makes. He's playing catcher and 2nd base and doing quite well I must say :)

This is the first year that the husband has taken a back seat and is not coaching. It's been relaxing and fun sitting in the stands cheering for our son together. We were very blessed that he got on a team with Christian coaches. Should be a fun season, they are already 2-1!

Speaking of a crack.... the first game, I parked too close, and what do ya know, my windshield caught a foul ball ..... yep... baseball season is here!

Baseball & Soccer~~~

2008-03-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Yep, here we go again, another round of baseball season sprinkled along the way with soccer games. :-) The twin girl's soccer team is off to a ferocious start. They skunked the rival Christian school 4-0! It was awesome. After that game we headed 20 miles in the other direction to the twin boy's baseball game. They too won 6-5! Needless to say we had a happy ride home. It's 5:30pm and they are currently passed out on the couch watching Parent trap.....

oh the chance to be young and carefree again....

My Little Bell Ringer

2008-03-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

Twin Boy - Ringing the bells :-)

Kohl's had it's grand opening this morning. The Twin boy is in the handbell ensemble at school. They have become pretty popular, and have been asked to perform through out the year at many functions. Some how or another we got asked to perform at the ribbon cutting of this new store this morning. Thus explaining why it appears to be dark in the pictures... it was 7:15am!!! The store opened its doors at 8am with a long line of people! There was a brief ceremony with the kids playing several songs. They got alot of attention and clapping! I'm proud that my son embraces his love for all kinds of music.

On a side note: The paper DID NOT print my squawk for underage drinking... imagine that.

squawking ....

2008-03-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

Our local newspaper has a squawkbox. I think its put there to purely irritate people.... and it's successful in doing that to me. They, of course, are annonymous squawks, mainly becuase people are probably to embarrassed to admit they said something stupid. Today's stupid squawk was this:

"We need to quit blaming and holding store clerks responsible for underage alcohol sales. The blame for this rests squarely on the kids and their parents for breaking the law."

HELLOOOOO, and selling alcohol to persons under the age of 21 is NOT breaking the law??? This was my response:

Kids attempting to get alcohol is an age old problem. The law plainly states that the sale of alcohol is prohibited to anyone under the age of 21. Any drivers license, issued to a person under the age of 21, clearly states so in RED, and under the person's picture. The responsibility starts with the sale of the alcohol, by the retail clerks. How hard is it to take 3 seconds to check an ID and save a life? If alcohol is sold only to persons of legal age, then the responsibilty is completely lifted from the retail clerk!

What I really wanted to say, is the clerks that sell are idiots, colorblind or can't read or all three.
Don't even get me started......
We'll see if that gets printed!

March Madness....

2008-03-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

The gymnasts and her best friend in the Arch

another pic in the Arch

Bush Stadium, had to take this one for the boy,
taken from top of the Arch.

Who ever coined the phrase, March Maddnesssss definitely knew what they were talking about! It's only March the 10th and it feels like it's March 30th. The past couple of weeks I have been traveling with the gymnast to some out of town meets. We spent several days in Charleston SC, and then this past weekend, we did St. Louis Missouri! The midwest was a blast, I mean a BLAST of severe cold. I've been to Chicago in February, New York and Pennsylvania in January and I thought I had experienced cold...this was different! I don't know how people survive in that. Anyway, we had such a fun time, we did the Gateway Arch and the City Museam. Not to mention we stayed at a 4 star hotel (courtesy of priceline!) in Union Station. The gymnast did very well at her meet, picking up a 3rd place on Vault and a 4th place on Floor! I have really enjoyed my time with my eldest lately. Won't be too long til she's grown and gone :(

Twin boy has started baseball practice. He had his first scrimmage game tonight. He'll be playing 2nd base and catcher. Right off the bat the threw the first batter out at 1st base, then next caught a line drive...right in the mouth! Busted his lip, no tooth damage, but bled all over his shirt. Wiped him up and he stayed in the game... I love baseball season, sitting in the sun, eating sunflower seeds and yelling for my boy! Twin girl has also started spring soccer practice... she's a menace on the field...can't wait to watch her too!

One more side note: My most precious nephew and his wife are expecting twins!!! He is our first born nephew on my side of the family. I practically helped raise him the first 3 years of his life, as I went to college in the town he was born in. He and his sweet as pie wife currently life in New York.... too far away. The day I found out and called him, he was walking home from the laundry mat... we screamed, laughed and cried together. I am so proud of him and the wonderful young man he has become. He has a heart for our dear Lord and he is a fantastic husband. He will be a precious loving father, I have no doubt! I can hardly wait for the birth of my new babies!!!

The Twins turn 11!

2008-03-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

Coach and some of his girls...

11 years old :)

We celebrated the twins turning 11 January 31st. This was the first year they opted for a large present instead of a birthday party. Boy Twin wanted an ipod and Girl Twin wanted a digital camera. Much to my delight, that's what we settled for! We got to celebrate at Red Lobster with Granddaddy and Grandmother.

January turned to February which brought on ALOT of basketball in our family. The husband coaches girls basketball at the oldest child's high school. Twin boy also played in a church league where the hubby was assistant coach. It was a fun time and also tiring. About the time basketball season was over, the gymnast in the family began competition season...

January...Atlanta Crown Invitational

2008-03-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn, Coach Elena, Coach Shelley & Ashley

Back Tuck on a 4 inch beam, & she nailed it!

Gymnastics competition season begins in January and goes through April. We began the season in Atlanta. Kaitlyn is now a level 9, there's only 10 levels before you can go collegiate!! It snowed that day in Atlanta... Gymnastics is getting harder for Kaitlyn, but she is a trooper and determined to be a collegiate gymnast one day! She amazes me.

January, Christmas with the Shinglers

2008-03-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

David, Hannah & Seth

We celebrated our "Perry" Christmas in January 08. Primarily because that's when we got to see my new niece, Destin. Along with Destin came, her Mom and Dad, my nephew Dustin's child, McKenzie, and my nephew from Cleveland, David. Of course, there were other's there, my sister in laws, and my oldest brother. It was a precious time.

More of December 07

2008-03-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

Daughter Aimee, Morris, Sarah & daughter Jennifer

On December 30th, our dear friend Morris Gurr was set in as Senior Pastor of our church. The Lord could not have given our church family a more precious gift. Our church is thriving and growing....Thank you Lord :-)

Where did the time go?

2008-03-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, I really wanted to keep this post going, and I have several valid reasons that I so abruptly stopped writing....my pc monitor died :( Thus I am using one of the hubby's work laptops. But primarily...our social calendar picked up speed trememdously following Thanksgiving. Here are a few of my favorite moments over the last few months.

December/Christmas: Christmas 07 was wonderful. We spent the annual King Christmas at Cloudland Canyon State Park in North Ga. It was wonderful and we got snow the day we left.

Grandaddy also took the whole clan to Ruby Falls in Tennessee, we got to explore the caverns and see the under ground water fall.

Thanksgiving in Perry, Fla

2007-11-22T17:39:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of year. I could hardly wait to get away from "busy-ness" of our lives in Albany. We rolled into Perry on Thanksgiving eve, unloaded at the Mee-ma and Pee-pa's, and immediately I felt relaxed. I love to cook Thanksgiving dinner. We woke up to the pitter patter of rain and the smell of the turkey cooking in the oven! God is good! The day was spent with both of my brothers and my parents. There were a few missing, such as my baby sister, but it was a fun filled day. I save the wish bone for the twin boy and girl to pursue. The twin girl won the pull for the third year in a row! I am very thankful for the love of my family. We spent the afternoon, lying around, feeling over stuffed, giggling and laughing at each other and just enjoying the day. I really wish it could last for days on end... Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and thank you Lord for your gracious love for us.

Coach King & his Lady Saints

2007-11-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

This is what my sweet husband loves to do! Coach his Lady Saints! This past weekend was our annual Tip-off Tournament. His girls won one, lost one... but they played hard!!! Thought you'd love to see him in action... GO SAINTS!

"Just-a-workin!"

2007-11-08T13:45:00.003-08:00

Since the first of August, the husband and I have been heavily involved in the kid's school. The husband is the Athletic Director along with coaching the Girls Varsity & JV basketball team. I am on the board of the school's PTO, as well as keeping up with getting the kids to their various activities, which are too many to name. So I cherish my mornings at home. I spend these morning hours cleaning house, handling school email, organizing for upcoming school projects and much more. Today I headed out to the mail box around noon to check the mail. As I was standing at the mailbox, I heard what I thought was a "creaking" sound coming from the near by pecan tree in our front yard. I walked up closer and notice just what the creaking was. It was a wood pecker, and he or she was working really hard pecking in and around a hole in the limb. I stood there for several minutes watching this beautiful bird work very methodical and deliberate. I could definitely relate. I mean, this bird never took a break. It seemed to ignore the fact that I was in the vacinity. So, I decided to take a picture of this precious bird. I knew the Mee Ma would love to see this bird. So tell me Mee Ma, what kind of woodpecker is this, and doesn't it just remind you a bit of your oldest daughter who's always...."just a workin!"

Jack Frost swooped by!

2007-11-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up to a cool 32 degrees. We love the first morning of cold weather. The husband had the pilot lit and the gas tank filled several weeks ago. So this morning, my kiddies woke up to a roaring fire in the fireplace! ( Thanks goodness for gas logs!!) I stepped out the front door to see the amazing art work of our Lord and His partner, Jack Frost. I was able to fool the twin boy for a second, telling him it has snowed! So off to school the kids went, with hooded sweatshirts and jackets galore. It's supposed to be in the nippy 30's again tonight.
Just seems like yesterday we were sweatin' it at the all-star baseball games.....

Pumpkins no more :-(

2007-10-31T05:27:00.000-07:00

Today is Halloween. The last day of October. I don't quite know what the deal is with me. I guess it's the fact that I'm 45 years old, and for whatever reason, my feelings are "tender" these days!! This is the first October, since the birth of my oldest child, that we have not carved a pumpkin, or gone to the pumpkin patch to buy pumpkins and play. It's also the week of our local county fair. This year, the fair rates higher than trick or treating. It's ok I guess, I knew the day would come, I just didn't expect to feel sad about it. The twins explained to me a few weeks ago, that they were too big to go trick or treating. They first stated that they wanted to stay home and give outcandy to the children. That was until they took note that the fair was here. So, tonight is family night at the fair. The sweet MeeMa always sends the kids candy money for Halloween. The twin boy states he will honor MeeMa by spending his money at the game booths!!! Soooo the husband and I will take our three little goblins, and head to the fair, where they will join up with other friends, ride thrilling rides, and stuff themselves with that good ole fair food. It'll be fun, I'm sure. I just miss my pumpkin....

On another note, soccer is winding down. We have one more game left. I have to post another picture of the twin girl. She is just amazing on the field. You have to understand, this is the child that loves to spend her time reading, writing stories and watching animal planet. Sports is really not her thing, but put her on the soccer field and she becomes the captain of that ship! So here's another photo I captured of her this week, "taking control!" Happy Halloween!

The Pain of it all...

2007-10-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

The oldest crashed last night at gym. She was practicing her bar releases, and hyper extended her left elbow/arm. It was not a good situation. We ended up having xrays, meds and dr. visits today. She's in alot of pain but will recover... in time. Time is a very sensitive thing for gymnasts. It takes time to advance, learn new skills, master them..progress to the next level, etc. When you get hurt, it takes time to heal, time to rebuild your strength, time to aquire lost skills etc. She has cried a river of tears in the last 24hrs. She was preparing for her first level 9 meet this weekend. It's the only meet close enough for family and friends to attend. So she's bummed.... She'll be ok... it'll take some time to heal...rebuild...get back to where she was. But she's tough. Gymnastics is her first love. There are times I pray she'll walk away from this sport. But for now, I'll just love her through it...

Sometimes I wonder....

2007-10-20T19:05:00.001-07:00

Today was like all the other Saturdays during the school year.....too busy. It was Fall Festival at our school's church. The School PTO/Booster club handles the food sales as a fundraiser. Since I am a officer, (that's a whole other story), I had to be there. The twin girl had a soccer game, the husband and twin son were leaving to go to the FSU/Miami game in Tallahasse, and I was stuck organizing/setting up/working the Fall festival. The husband was able to attend the twin girl's first half of the game before leaving for Tallahasse. I get two phone calls that my child has scored goals, one to tie the game. She usually plays sweeper or mid fielder. Two of our players were out so she was moved up to forward. So of course, I missed her scoring... just like a few years ago, when my son hit a grand slam homerun to win a baseball game. I was at work during that game, and missed the most amazing moment of his little baseball career. Sometimes I wonder.... maybe I bring them luck, by staying away!!!!

Destyn Laine

2007-10-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

Destyn Laine DOB:10-18-07

Yay! Destyn Laine was born yesterday! She weighed 8lbs 13oz & was 23 inches long. I can't believe I'm once again a great Aunt! I can hardly wait to hold her and kiss on her. I can still remember the day her mom was born. Life surely has a way of fast forwarding... :-)

Cousins....

2007-10-19T19:07:00.001-07:00

Adams Beach, Taylor County Florida

My sister and I are 2ys & 3mos apart in age, with me being the eldest. Growing up, we fought like crazy, but were very close. We now have children of our own, who are all close in age. We have successfully worked at fostering close relationships between them. The boys are thicker than thieves..."cousin-brothers" is what they named themselves years ago. The two oldest girls are crazy about each other, and I have visions of them being like sisters forever, being in each other's weddings and raising their own children together. The girl twin fits nicely among the whole bunch. The oldest cousin looks out for her and gives her extra special attention and the cousin brothers often include her in their play. This past week, while they were all on Fall Break, we headed to Perry Fla, our home town. We spent several days with the grandparents (my parents). Perry is located in Taylor County on the gulf coast of N. Florida. It's a ritual to go down to the beaches and eat seafood at good ole "Roy's" restaraunt. The beaches are not your typical white sand beaches. They are marshy, swampy and harbor loads of fantastic marine life. My sister and I loved growing up in that area, fishing, crabbing and hanging out with friends and family. Now our kids share the same love. Whenever Pee Pa and Mee Ma can, they load us up and we head to the beach. Our few days in Perry didn't last long enough, but we'll be back many many times. 'Cause being with Pee pa, Mee Ma and the cousins is therapy to the soul!

Another era ends....

2007-10-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

When our oldest was about 8 we went through the "hamster" phase. We bought dwarf hamsters, and had lots of baby hamsters. We had cages, hamster toys and supplied all her friends with new furry friends. Eventually they died out and the oldest moved on to hanging with her friends and being too busy to deal with "pets." A few years later, the twins sought out to have hamsters. The husband grimaced "No not again!" But of course, me being the tenderhearted mom that I am, convinced him that we have to let them have one, as we did their older sibling. So, eventually, "Spaz" & "Junior" became new family members. That was about 18 mos ago. Spaz died about a month ago, and Junior died today. It's a ritual that the husband takes the child out to the back yard and they bury the hamster, gold fish or whatever at the time, together. I'm not much on handling dead animals. Well today we arrived home from school to find that Junior was pemanantly asleep. The husband is out of town. Thankfully my sweet son stepped up to the plate. "I can take care of this mom." He and his twin sister went out to the back yard and buried their little pet. Thus ends the era of the hamsters in this house hold. I've been a bit nostalgic lately, realizing that time is flying by, and my children are reaching milestone after milestone. Such as life.... now the bird..... hum....

Will we survive?

2007-10-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am so tired, I can't even begin. The past week has been a whirl wind of church activties, school activities, meetings, soccer games and dealing with teenage issues...and just trying to get 6hrs of sleep each night!

Some how I got voted in as volunteer coordinator for our school PTO. Ugh, what have I done.? We had a fund raiser this weekend. Our organization provide/cooked/sold meals for the local horse show. It was all weekend, and boy are the husband and I bushed!

Anyway... I'm so tired, I want to post more but it will have to wait...

night night ;-/

Kitty comes home

2007-10-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Well she made it, she survived 2 days at the vet, antibiotics and fluids. I, none the less, am $240 poorer. She is one happy cat. She follows us around, loves on us, talks to us constantly. She is acting very appreciative of me... hummmm wonder how long that will last. Any who.... the twin girl is so happy to have her kitty home and well!!

GrandMartha, I wish you were here...

2007-10-02T18:51:00.001-07:00

I have a love for English. It was my favorite subject in school. I could spend hours, tucked away on some far remote island reading scripture, novels and writing short stories and poems. I think this was passed on to me from my paternal grandmother, Martha. Grandmartha taught high school english. She knew I loved to read. She bought me books, read to me, shared her writings etc. I still have some of the books she passed on to me. Grandmartha was a lover of books and correct grammer. I thought of her this evening as I was helping my oldest with her English homework. She was reviewing simple, complex, compound, compound complex sentence structure. That... I did not love! I wish Grandmartha were here to help me explain it. I can picture her sitting at my table, hovering over my oldest, calling her "dear" and delicately but precisely explaining sentence structure to her. I'm sure she would have had more patience than me! Grandmartha, I hope I'm doing ok, explaining this to your great granddaughter!

On another note, The Kitty Cat is sick and in the "hospital." Apparently she has some liver issues that is caused by a parasite or something. She ran fever for several days, and did not eat, so I took her to the vet. She got a shot of antibiotics and some fluids. The girl twin was very concerned and upset. She is so tender hearted when it comes to animals. We visited the cat at the vet today. She is much better, fever is almost gone but she isn't eating. She perked up and snuggled against us, begging with her eyes to "get out!" Hopefully she will come home tomorrow, feeling better and having a better appreciation for her caregiver...me :-)

She's growing up...

2007-09-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

Homecoming 2007

My beautiful baby!

The oldest is a freshman in high school this year. Our children attend a small private Christian school which does not have a football team. Since it is football season now, the local public schools are having their homecoming celebrations. The oldest has many friends that attend other schools, than her own. One of her very best friends who used to attend her school, now attends our local public high school. She invited our oldest to attend their homecoming dance with her. Even though it was many years ago, I can remember the excitement of dressing up and attending our homecoming dances. When the oldest came walking through the door late last night, she was hot, sweaty and her feet were dirty from dancing barefoot. She burst through the door to tell us of all the fun, seeing friends and dancing til her legs hurt. Ahhh the days of carefree fun, no obligations but getting your homework done, making good grades and keeping curfews.... she's growing up and the husband and I are hanging on for dear life!

Happy Birthday Brother!

2007-09-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today is the 52nd birthday of my oldest brother. I love reminding him that he is older than me and always will be. He is an amazing person. The Lord blessed me with 2 older brothers. Growing up, and even now, I have always felt loved and protected by them. The oldest brother took care of me during my college days, as I attended good ole Florida State, in Tallahassee, where he lives. He also gave me my precious nephews who I absolutely adore.

Happy Birthday my sweet brother.... I love you so much!!!

The blanket

2007-09-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

When my children were newborns, I would swaddle them tightly in their soft baby blankets. It would always calm them down, and seemed to soothe them. All three of my children had baby blankets that were made especially for them. The baby blanket in the above picture belongs to my oldest. It was given to her 14 1/2 years ago, upon her birth. Her great grandmother on her father's side, lovingly made it for her. It quickly became her favorite. The edges are frayed, and there are a few holes in places where it was loved too much. Just the other day, she was home sick from school. I went into her room to check on her and found her asleep with the blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her face lying upon it. It was such a precious sight. I stared at her for a few longing moments, wishing she was still that sweet precious newborn that I could swaddle and hold. The blanket seems to come out when she's sick or just feeling blah. In the near future, she'll be yelled at to clean up her room, and the blanket will be put back in the closet until needed again. It is a sweet reminder to me, what a precious gift I have in my oldest daughter, and also how the years are flying by......

Little Miss Fireball's brother...

2007-09-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

The son is a lover of ALL sports, and I mean ALL sports. He can't get enough. He loves soccer with a passion too. This season the coach named him and his best buddy team captains. The son is elated over this title! I must admit, of the 3 children we have, he's been blessed with the most raw talent. There's just one little glitch in all this talent. You must work at times to keep excelling! Yeah, he's a bit on the lazy side at times. For the most part, he's all boy...going for the gusto! Today he head butted the ball several times and almost had a goal with a head butt! After the game was over he said, "Mom, if I hadda made that goal with my head, that woulda been sweeeeet!!" He's hard headed enough that's for sure.... :-)

Little Miss Fireball

2007-09-22T14:14:00.001-07:00

Fall Soccer has arrived. The twins had thier first games today. She plays on U13 girls, and he on U13 boys. When the girl twin first approached us several years ago about playing soccer, we tried to talk her out of it. You see, she is the one (out of our 3 children) who doesn't really like sports of any kind. After explaining to her that she would have to run up and down the field, she still begged to play. "Ok" I said, "but you know the family rule...once you start something, you finish it." We had sat through hours of begging to get out of dance (after we purchased the $100 recital costumes) and hours of begging to get out of gymnastics (before the end of the year show) and I was not about to let her quit soccer should she decide that this too, was not for her. Well as you know, the Lord tends to catch us off guard at times! Not only did she finish the season and go on to continue to play every season, she is one heck of a player! Aggressive and smart at reading plays. So, it's been a joy watching her attack the soccer ball. Watch out .... we might have another World cup player on our hands!!!!

Giggles & Silly Faces

2007-09-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

The Twins Class

Water Festival Field Trip

Finally got this picture uploaded. Sometimes this computer has issues! This is the twins 5th grade class...we took a serious picture but of course they couldn't wait to do "silly faces!" So here you go. Their teacher is a precious person who we parents are very blessed to have her teaching our children!

Rain, Rain, Rain

2007-09-21T05:49:00.000-07:00

I love to wake up and hear rain in the mornings. Today we have a sorda tropical depression looming over us. It's gloomy, dark and there's a steady rain. I love it. Unfortunately for me, I'll have to enjoy it while I do laundry, clean bathrooms and other "stay at home" mom stuff. But all in all I am thankful that I can do this. I love being at home, taking care of my family, etc. But it has it's moments... :-)

Yesterday the husband traveled to Chicago. The company that he is currently contracting with is based out of Chicago. It's nothing for them to fly him up for the day just for a meeting or two. They have decided that he is very valuable to them...they want him exclusively! The husband is considering, should the money and perks be right! God is good, he blesses the husband & I daily. I suggested that we could move to Chicago.... husband says no.

Anywho, I'm off to clean the house, listen to music and basically enjoy my day! May the Lord Bless you Tons!!!!

Water Festival Field Trip

2007-09-21T05:26:00.000-07:00

Hedge Hog from Chehaw Park

Yes

Yesterday I helped chaperone the twins field trip to Dawson Georgia. We attended the Water Festival put on by the Georgia Dept of Soil and Water Conservation. They had tents set up with different activites/shows/experiments etc. The kids had a blast. Our buddy school, who traveled tent to tent with us, was another private school called Randolph Southern. There was a tent about agriculture. After a short lecture the kids played a game, like Family Fued, with buzzers etc. We put a "hurtin" on Randolph Southern! Our kids whooped 'em! This felt particularly good, as this school is famous for "whoopin" us in basketball. But hey....we got the brains! Big hit for the twins was the tent from Chehaw Park and the Hedge hog. The girl twin had a fit, and spent the better part of the day trying to convince me that we could in fact take care of a hedge hog...yeah right. It was a fun day...elementary school is such a neat time in the life of kid...

I think it's almost here :-)

2007-09-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

After several months of unbearable heat, this morning felt like...... FALL! The kiddies and I stepped out the back door to get in the van to go to school, and the twin girl squealed "I gotta get a jacket, ITS COLD!" Well not really, but it was a beautiful 62 degrees...ahhhhh. So upon dropping them off at school, I rode home with the window down, inhaling the beautiful day that the Lord so graciously painted. I snapped a picture of the family abode so you could see the bright blue sky and the beauty of green... hope you're having a blessed day!

Homework blues

2007-09-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

The son left his homework at school AGAIN. "That's ok mom, " he says. "I can use sister's books." You see, this is a perk of being a twin. Plus the fact they share the same classroom. The problem is, sister never forgets her books, loves to do her homework, and despises having to share with her brother. The father's solution, is to let the son go to school without his homework and therefore after a few zero's he will learn his lesson. "OK" I say, the son pouts back to his room. Later as I am loading the washing machine for the 5th time today, I hear giggles in the brother's room, they are sharing her spelling book and brother is doing his homework. The brother has promised to give the sister one of his webkinz in exchange for the use of her books, and of course, sister gladly hands over the books! Kinda worries me about their bargaining in the future years..... Wonder how many loads of laundry I can get done for a webkinz??????

Wedding Pictures

2007-09-17T08:42:00.001-07:00

My beautiful friend, me & the hubby. (He's kinda cute too huh?)

My adorable children, the oldest, and the

twin brother & sister, along with me, mamma whale! ;-)

Yeah! I FINALLY learned how to post pictures! This is the Wedding pictures from my friends wedding this past weekend. I am soooo sooo happy I was able to do this! Took me a while. I'm not as computer literate as the husband! Don't we look precious! Well except for me, I look like a pink whale... it was a fun event!

The Wedding

2007-09-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday Morning and I'm up early recovering from an exciting weekend of weddingness! Hannah and I were in a wedding of a friend of mine. Yes I know, I'm too old to be a brides maid. But the bride and Groom are 39 and 41 respectively, so most of the Wedding party was 40ish!!!! The bride was a friend of mine from my child protective services days. She was the first friend I made upon moving to Albany and pregnant with twins. She has since remained a precious friend too. She is african american and the groom is caucasionl! It was such a beautiful wedding and reception. We had a blast. Needles to say, I can't walk this morning due to unbearable painful feet. Ugh! Well I must get going. The twins have to give their testimonies this morning at the church that there school is a part of. Sweetness! I hope to learn to post pictures soon.....

hummmm

2007-08-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

Head cold today. Ugh...had so much planned. Oh well, nothing ever goes as planned. I worked at the kiddies school this morning. I love their school, small, christian, family oriented. I feel they are protected, loved and they learn about life, not just academics. Sent the nephew home yesterday, had him for a week. Precious child, love him tons, but 2 boys in the house definitely ramps life up a bit! The son is sad today, missing his cousin-brother. He's settled for playing star wars Play station 2 with the twin sister. Listening to their laughter and love for one another warms me so. My children are precious..life giving for me and the husband. They are our world. Ok, enough mush, I'm off to ly down & try to do something about this dang head cold.....

Summer's almost over...

2007-07-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

Well I wanted to blog, started one in Feb '07 and here it is July 31st. Where has the days and time gone? This summer was interesting to say the least. We spent the better part watching my son play baseball & my husband coach his team. 10 year old boys are something else, full of grit, dirt, smiles, laughter & love of pure life. We did manage to make a couple of beach trips with friends. I miss my most dear friend, who moved to Pennsylvannia a year ago. It still seems like yesterday she pulled out of my drive way for good. I still have moments of missing her terribly. (Even though we talk nearly everyday :-) ) I experienced my first death of a friend this summer, due to a jet ski accident. She is with the Lord no doubt, and she was an amazing christian and person during her time here on earth. I still have to stop and gather myself from time to time, I can't believe she's gone. I know she is having a blast in Heaven. Well enough for now, I really want to continue this blog...I'm gonna try!!! Yay me!