Labor Day

On Labor Day, my family had a cookout at my brother's house. Which again is something that I had not been able to enjoy for several years. We had a great time together. There was a nice breeze blowing and it was comfortable enough to sit outside and enjoy the afternoon. My nephews, Spencer and Brandon, along with Jonah and Courtney enjoyed slipping and a sliding on the slip and slide. This is what happens when you get Rascal and a slip and slide together. You get one very wet dog! Rascal had a blast chasing the kids as they played on the slip and slide. In fact I am not sure who had the most fun, the kids or Rascal.

My dad and brother

My HONEY

My brother Bryan, my brother in law Doug, and my try to dodge the camera by putting a cup in front of her face sister Robbin. She should know me my now that even when a cup in front of her face, I'll still take the picture!

Phillip, Cheyenne (my sister's look alike daughter), Robbin (no cup this time, she was not fast enough) and Ms. Betty watching the kids play on the slip and slide.

Courtney's New Look

As you can see, Courtney has a new look. She decided to have Ms. Jay cut her hair before the big move. Doesn't it look cute. She loves it so much that she has decided that this is her new style for a while. I like the way it makes her hair look thicker.

3 Football Games in One Day

While in Florida we had the opportunity to attend three football games in day. The first game was my youngest nephew, Brandon's pop warner game. This is his first year playing and he is really excited about the game especially after watching his big brother play for several years. He did a really good job and played most of the game both defense and offense, however after the game he did make the comment that he would be happier if they did not play him as much. This is also the first year that my brother is helping coach, he has always enjoyed playing football himself.

Brandon #10

After Brandon's game, Jonah and I headed to "The SWAMP", to watch Florida play WKU. It was a good game even though it was very one sided. Jonah and I had a blast. It was neat to watch our two favorite football teams play each other. By the way, I did have a little of WKU spirit with me even though I wore a Gator shirt, I still had my WKU tag on the front of the van. Oh, by the way, thanks Shirley for the awesome football tickets.

Jonah and me

After getting drenched leaving the Florida football game, Jonah and I headed back to my dad's to meet up with Phillip and Courtney before heading to the third game of the day which was my nephew Spencer's game. Of course he is a natural when it comes to football. It was nice to be able to attend both of my nephew's games since this is usually not the norm with us living so far away. I guess that is about to change.

Spencer #85

Florida Friends - Old and New

Just thought I would share these pictures with you of our Florida Friends, both old and new. On my birthday, a dear friend since 1995, Tamera came down and surprised me with a birthday cake. I had not seen Tamera since the death of my mother, so it was a real treat to have lunch with her and to show her our new house. Oh, we did a little shopping also. Don't kill me Tamera for posting this picture.

Our next friends were new ones that we made at the hotel, who were in the same situation as us. This made us get to know each others families and hopefully we will keep in touch in the days and years to come. Nicole and Courtney became good friends at the pool. Before we left they were spending a lot of time together playing with Nicole's 200+ "My Littlest Pet Shop" pets.
This is Cade, him and his family are also relocating to the area and his mother and father along with Phillip and I, spent several evenings sitting by the pool talking. We hope that once we are all settled in our homes we can continue the friendship.

Thursday night, while we were getting everything togther for the trip back home, both families had to come by and give us their numbers so that we could stay in touch after the move. Nicole's mom is also a big scrapbooker so maybe a good friendship has been started.

We Chose House #...............

TWO!!!
I loved house #1, the screened in pool was nice but it was on the west side of town and after looking at the whole picture with the location of church we thought it would be out of the way when it came to church activities.

House #3, had me written all over it, I was even ready to deal with the washer and dryer being in the garage. However the kids and Phillip was not to sure about all the work especially with it being the same price as house #2.

So we chose house #2, we like the fact that it is move in ready, even the ceiling fans in the kids rooms matched their decor. The hardwood floors are awesome and the tile has character. Phillip will have his own office located at the front of the house. The house also has lots of closets which I love (now to get them organized). We had the home inspection done this morning and everything looked great. We love the location of the house, we will be only a mile from church. Also, not having a pool at the house right now is fine with the kids since we will be able to hop on our bikes and ride to the community pool, this will give the kids a chance to meet the other kids in the neighborhood and who knows we may take the challenge of putting in a pool next summer. Plus, the bonus of being in a gated community with security sounds nice.


Check out the before pictures (click on the colleges to enlarge them), before we move in that is. These pictures are of Jonah and Courtney's new rooms (which I plan to paint first thing) and their bathroom. The sage room is Phillip's new office and there is even a closet in there for me. The picture to the far right on the middle row is our new dinning room.

These are pictures of the master bedroom and bath (the master closet is huge with lots of built ins). The kitchen has the same color counter tops as our current home and has a large walk in pantry. The kitchen has all stainless steel and black appliances. The great room is located in the center of the house and as you can see the house has lots of natural light and windows.

These are pictures of the foyer, outside of the house and the screened in lanai, which I can not wait to fill with plants and enjoy a relaxing evening on.

House Hunters Goes To Florida

Not really, but it feels like it, well maybe not, there's no camera men following us around, no staging, no Suzanne Whang and certainly no perks from any of this. Just a lot of houses that DO NOT meet our standard of things, but is certainly the Florida style. Well I thought it would be fun to share with my fellow bloggers the three top picks and then I will share with you the one that we have decided on.


House number 1: 4 bedrooms/3 bathrooms plus den/office, screen in pool, hardwood and tile flooring with carpet, 2435 sq. footage, quite subdivision, fence in backyard, needs a little work to the kitchen cabinets, needs new paint throughout the house, inside laundry, built in 1998, price at $16,000.00 above house 2 and 3



House number 2: 3 bedrooms/2 baths plus den/office, gated community, community pool, tennis courts and community center,screened in lanai, privacy fence, no carpet all hardwood and tile floors, sprinkler system, beautiful spacious kitchen, built ins in every bedroom closet, 2303 sq footage, needs no work except to paint the kids rooms, inside laundry, built in 2004

House number 3: 4 bedrooms/2.5 bathrooms, the house is 2 stories, the house is nestled among trees in a peaceful neighborhood and very unique fenced in backyard with screened in porch, 2450 sq footage, bathrooms and kitchen has been updated but needs a lot of new paint, needs new carpet and needs to replace 2 french doors off the back of the house,brick wood burning fireplace, washer and dryer hook ups in garage (no inside laundry), built in 1985

HBTM

As I turn 34. Here is 34 things that you may or may not know about me.


1. I hate chocolate (don't hate me)

2. I love fruit and salty things

3. I like to iron our clothes

4. I am an EBay junkie

5. Up until now I have only lived in two cities my entire life (I've been sheltered)

6. And I have only lived in 5 houses

7. I have had Lasik surgery on my eyes in 2001 and I love it!!

8. I am not a big tennis shoe wearer

9. I am not a big reader

10. I am not a big T.V. watcher, in fact I could live without cable

11. I love to travel and explore new things

12. I hate sitting and doing nothing, I guess that is why number 9 & 10 are true for me, not that they are nothing but I feel like I could be doing something more

13. I am a perfectionist

14. I am not a red meat eater (one steak, once a year and I am fine)

15. My middle name is Lucille (don't laugh)

16. I love to organize

17. I drink about 4-5 bottles of water a day

18. I lack self-esteem

19. I am not 100% sure of moving to Florida

20. I do not wear a lot of jewelry

21. I have not worn a watch in about 1 1/2 years, maybe that is way I am late most of the time

22. I am a sucker for Jelly Belly Jelly Beans especially cinnamon and butter popcorn

23. I love fall, pumpkins, hayrides and the changing of the leaves

24. I hate making decisions

25. I am a dog lover not cat

26. I would give anything for another child or two

27. I love to scrapbook and take pictures

28. I prefer Pepsi over Coke

29. I do not like writing in black ink, I prefer blue ink

30. Besides being a wife and mom, I have only had 5 true jobs in my entire life

31. The doctors said after I was born that I would not live through the night, boy did I prove them wrong

32. I have the best husband in the world

33. I have great kids, maybe that is why I stopped at two, no telling what number three would have been like

34. I have been to Walt Disney World way too many times but I have never been to Epcot

Well I hope everyone out there in blogger world has a wonderful Tuesday. As for me, the day has been good. My friend Tamera came down for lunch and surprised me with a birthday cake. Phillip had a presentation in Orlando this afternoon and is taking me out for supper when he gets in. So, Carrabba's here I come.

A Brief Update

Last week the kids and I did a little exploring around the area. We ended up at Rainbow Springs which was very nice. The area has several waterfalls and gardens along with the springs. Which Courtney was not to sure of, especially after passing a Black Racer along one of the nature trails and was very concerned about swimming when she spotted a "Swim at your own risk" Alligator sign.Two of the falls located throughout the gardens.

Jonah was the first one in the 72 degree water. It looked like a pool, it was so clear. However, looks can be very deceiving because the water was clear it looked swallow but was over every ones head, even dad's.

After much hesitation..........

Courtney finally jumped in!

Even in 95 degree weather, 72 degree water is very cold!

On Saturday afternoon, we treated Rascal to a visit to the Millennium Dog Park. Way to cool!!! There were two separate sections one for big dogs and one for small dogs. The parks were complete with dog toys, water dishes and pools. In the small dog side, the owners sat on park benches under the trees, talking about their dogs like parents talk at a park while their children play. Very neat!!!

On Sunday, we attended church and I saw a old camp friend which was a blast from the past. After church when headed to my dad's to spend the afternoon with both my brother's and sister's family. We had a great time, even Rascal enjoying being spoiled by Aunt Robbin.

This week has been jammed pack with house hunting. Now that my realtor is back in town, the kids and I have probably looked at 50 houses easily. For some reason, "House Hunters" is not even fun to watch right now. But we are now under a time crutch. The word is getting out and yes, it is true, we have a contract on our home so it looks like the first of October we will be moving. We have had several people at the church down here praying for us and I am sorry GWP but it looks like their prayers maybe answered. Finally today, we found a couple houses that look promising, I can not say that they would be my choice but in this market they look better then what we had be looking at.

We Made It

Just wanted to let everyone know that I made the trip migraine free, praise God. We had a safe trip and arrived at my dad's around 4 yesterday afternoon. Phillip met the kids and I at my dad's for supper and then we followed him to Ocala. Our hotel is really nice, they even greeted Rascal with a doggie bone when we arrived. Our room has a kitchenette with stainless steel appliances and a full size fridge, which is nice because I will be able to cook a few good meals. I was impressed this morning when I went for the "free" breakfast and everything was hot and tasted very good.

Today, while Phillip was at work the kids and I did some driving around, of course I was checking out all the necessities (Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Joann's) and even found a few local stores that are great. By the way Diane, I found my Florida Gator Crocs and the kids found Mickey Mouse Crocs (too cute). The kids did work a little on their school work and the three of us enjoyed an afternoon swim.

Tonight, we attended a church that Phillip had been attending. Very Friendly!!! Needless to say church was over at 8 and it was 8:45 when we pulled out of the parking lot. We met the youth minister, who is a good friend of Sam Hartford (what a small world). Jonah is very excited that the youth group starts at 6th grade and he has already been invited to a youth event on the 26th. Courtney is tickled that they have a tween program, so she will have devo's and get togethers with kids her age. We were also invited to supper Friday night at an Elder's house. Maybe things are started to come together (I know that some of you really don't want to hear that). Well I better go for now. My dad is coming down tomorrow to spend the day with the kids and I.

Heading South

As of last Friday, I am no longer employed (YIPPEE), thanks to courage and prayers of my husband and several friends, I was able to say goodbye to a job that I have done for 6 very looooong years. Thank you Alicia, Diane, Joanna, Judith and my hubby. Also, thank you Diane for a wonderful celebration lunch on Friday.

With all that said, I just wanted to let my fellow bloggers know that I am heading south in the morning (not for good, just for some R & R/ family time). I hope to be on the road before any of you are awake, well maybe not the ones with little babes. We hope to stay until well, I am not really sure but sometime around the second weekend in September. So please remember us in your prayers. We are taking our school books (one of the perks of homeschooling) and anything else we may need or think we need. I promise, Courtney is not packed in the suitcase, but I thought it was too cute. This afternoon while I was setting at my desk on the phone, Courtney climb in the suitcase and as a scrapbook mom my camera was handy and the moment was captured.

With a safe trip we should be there by mid afternoon. Please pray for our safety and especially pray that I can make it with getting a migraine (which are way to common here lately).

Determination

Determination, I will honestly be the one to say that if Jonah puts his mind to something he will try everything he can to get it done. This past February Jonah earned his Arrow of Light with Cub Scouts which made him able to move up to Boy Scouts. As many may not know with Boy Scouts there are several rankings that a boy must earn before they can reach the goal that only a few boys will reach, Eagle Scout. With DETERMINATION, Jonah earned his first rank - Tenderfoot- in only 4 months something that usually (every boy is different) takes about a year.

During the recent Court of Honor ceremony,

Phillip had the privledge of pinning Jonah's tenderfoot patch

on his shirt, always upside down until the scout does a good deed.

We are so very proud of his DETERMINATION!

Congratulations Jonah!!!!!

"Please Don't Go Away" Going Away Party

Back in April we shared with our GWP family the news that we were moving to Florida and immediately there were tears. I feel that my family has been so blessed to have made such wonderful friends here in B.G. A group of our friends were afraid that we would move faster then we are so they gave us a going away party back on June 30th. But seeing how it has been over a month since the party and we are still here well at least the kids and I, maybe a second not so planned party will be needed when we finally say goodbye (I am only kidding, Terri, Joanna & Alicia). I apologize for taking so long to post these pictures but everytime I look at them I start to cry and since I am having a rough night tonight what is a few more tears.

Many Thanks goes out to.....Alicia you made a awesome cake, you rock!!! Thank you Jill, for all the wonderful pictures, I don't know what I would have done with out you and your camera (except for not have such a large selection of pictures to choose from when I scrapbook, but I can handle it). Terri and Joanna, you did a great job putting everything together (I know it was not easy, since it was the busiest time of year) and thanks for the awesome scrapbook, I LOVE IT!!! Judith, I am so sorry you missed it, I guess your husband being in the hospital was a little more important. To everyone who came and to those who could not make it, we love you all and thanks for 6 awesome years and many more to come just a few more miles apart.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

80's Flashback

Okay, I guess this would fall into the category of an infomercial as well as a flashback. Since my last blog, I have received several comments about the last CD that I bought. Well actually I have came across three Casey Kasem 1980's CD's; The Long Distance Dedications, and then two "Top Ten Hits", there are 20 #1 hits on each CD all by the original artists. I found all 3 CD's at Sam's if anyone is interested (that's the infomercial). I have enjoyed listing to the CD's and boy, the memories some of those songs can bring back.

Anyway for all of you 1980's fans check out this list of songs that are from our younger years. How many do you remember and do you still know the words?

"Mickey" (I had the 45 at one time in my life)
"Time After Time"
"Love Song"
"He's So Shy"
"Karma Chamelon"
"Walk Like An Egyptian"
"Heaven Is A Place On Earth"
"Wishing Well"
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
"Heaven"
"Rock This Town"
"If You Don't Know Me By Now"
"Another One Bites The Dust"
"The Living Years"
"Hungry Like The Wolf"
"Sweet Dreams"
"Right Here Waiting"
"Three Times A Lady"
"I Honestly Love You"
"Endless Love"
"Unchained Melody"
"If I Could Turn Back Time"
"You're The Inspiration"
"Greatest Love Of All"
"Back On The Chain Gang"
"Shout"
"Addicted To Love"
"Kiss On My List"
"Who Can It Be Now?"

Well I hope you enjoyed this small stroll down memory lane. I can not believe that I have turned into my parents, YIKES!!!!

Happy Birthday Dad (Pappy)

Last weekend the Kids and I were able to help my

father celebrate his 66th birthday.

Something that normally

does not happen since we live so

far away from each other.

Ever since the passing of my mother,

the opportunity for us to spend

time with my father does not come very often.

So you can imagine how

wonderful it feels when my father is able to visit us .

We surprised him with an ice cream cake on Sunday

and Jonah was able to take him to the

Catfish House for his birthday

My sister would totally disagree,
but I am a "daddy's girl."

Puppy Love

Yes, we have a new addition to our family.

Fellow bloggers meet Rascal.

Rascal is six weeks old and weighs around 1-2 pounds (if that).

His mother is part Pomeranian and part Maltese,

while his dad is a Yorkie.

As you can see there is a BIG size difference in Penelope and Rascal.
However, so far Penelope loves her new play mate.
Enjoying the afternoon breeze on my lap.


Special thanks to Ava for letting us have such a
special little dog.

One Proud Momma

Jonah was awarded Male Bible Student of the year,

last week at Bible Camp.

I am so very proud of this accomplishment.

Way to go, Jonah!!!

Also, Emily Johnson, was awarded Female Bible Student of the year.

Way to go, Emily!!!!

Ready for a Nap (and it's not even lunch)

What a week it has been! With Jonah at Bible Camp this week and Phillip in Florida, Courtney and I have had the best time together, just one on one, Mother Daughter time (for the most part). Along with Courtney making two pairs of flip flops (I'll have to post the purple and tie die flops later)on Monday, Scrapbooking for 13 hours on Tuesday, Celebrating the Fourth on Wednesday, Courtney spending the day Thursday playing with a friend while I scrapbooked and organized some old photos. Then every night Courtney and I crashing in my bed late after staying up watching HGTV. Which is our favorite TV channel. It has been a great week.

On Friday, Jonah came home and OH, how we missed Jonah. Courtney and I picked Jonah up from camp around 3:30. He nearly talked our ears off on the way home and if I did not know any better, I would say he had a great time. However, I did dissappoint him this morning when I asked how bleach got all over his camp shirt and he told me that someone squirted him with bleach. He then looked at me and said "you can get it out, right". Unfortunately, that is a laundry trick that I have not learned yet.

Last night the kids and I went with some friends to the drive in, something that is normally a "daddy thing" to do with the kids and we even stayed for the second movie, which I have never done. Last time I went to the drive in, I crawled in the back seat and went to sleep. Anyway after leaving the drive in at midnight, I realized how crazy I was because the kids had to be at our neighborhood's "Alex's Lemonade stand" at 8:00 this morning. What was I thinking?

Since the Lemonade stand is just opposite of our house. I did let the kids sleep till 7:45 and sent them out the door with breakfast in hand. This is the kids second year helping with Alex's Lemonade stand and it will be something that we will either start or continue once we move to Florida. All proceeds goes towards the fight for childhood cancer. What a GREAT cause!!!


"I think Jonah is awake"


"Fighting Childhood Cancer one cup at a time"

While the kids were selling lemonade, I decided to mow the grass. It is funny how a little much needed rain can suddenly make dead grass or should I say weeds grow. However the grass would look better if I knew how to weedeat. I guess I'll be making some phone calls before my nap. Any takers? Well I have rambled on long enough. It is getting closer to lunch and then I think we all may take a nap or maybe I'll take the kids to the pool and I'll nap in a chair by the pool.

Fourth Of July

Courtney and I had a wonderful Fourth of July!!


On Monday, Courtney made these adorable flip flops with a matching ponytail holder. Does she look patriotic or what?


Since Jonah is at Bible camp and Phillip is in Florida, Courtney and I were invited to spend the Fourth with our adopted family (The Word's). Jason and Jonathan grilled hamburgers while the girls cooled off in the pool.


Firecracker Popsicles, YUM, YUM!!!!

After lunch and a short nap. We all gather up at Western for music by the B.G. Orchestra and a spectacular firework show. Several of our friends joined us for the music and fireworks. We had a wonderful time!!!
Lizzie, Courtney, & Rachel

Sweet Music to my Ears

Phillip and I feel so blessed to have two wonderful children who have a love for music. At the end of last year, Courtney decided that she wanted to learn how to play the piano. Well as most of us know, a piano is not a musical instrument that you can rent month by month, like you can a guitar or violin. Phillip and I were clueless as what to do, we could not just go out and buy one with the hopes of Courtney loving it and wanting to play forever. We let sometime go by and still Courtney would bring up the thought of learning how to play the piano. Little did we know that with the wait would come a piano given to us for Courtney from a wonderful couple at church and it is this piano that brings "sweet music" into our house along with Jonah's guitar. However, he is at camp this week so you only get pictures of our sweetpea. Today as Courtney was practicing, she was getting frustrated by the mistakes she was making, but in my ears all that I could hear was the sweet music that her little fingers were making.


Courtney has been a very quick learner and has a wonderful teacher whom we will miss dearly when we move. A few months ago for her daddy's birthday, Courtney asked her teacher to write out the notes to "Happy Birthday" so that she could play it for Phillip. What a sweet and wonderful daughter she is.