Who's My Man?

I copied this from another friend's blog. Hope you enjoy it. Who is your man? Phillip Anthony - AKA Flipper
How long have you been together? 14 years (married)
How long dated? 2 years
How old is your man? 39
Who eats more? Phillip
Who said "I love you" first? Phillip
Who is taller? Phillip
Who sings better? Carla
Who is smarter? Carla is booksmart, Phillip is smart in other ways (politics and Current Affairs)
Whose temper is worse? Phillip
Who does the laundry? Carla
Who takes out the garbage? Mostly Carla
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Phillip
Who pays the bills? Carla
Who is better with the computer? Phillip
Who mows the lawn? Phillip
Who cooks dinner? Carla
Who drives when you are together? Phillip
Who pays when you go out? Phillip mostly
Who is most stubborn? Both
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Carla
Whose parents do you see the most? Carla's
Who kissed who first? Phillip
Who asked who out? Phillip
Who proposed? Phillip, on my 19th birthday
Who is more sensitive? Carla
Who has more friends? Carla
Who has more siblings? Phillip has 4 (Don, Ricky, Stephen, Tammy); Carla has two (Robbin and Bryan)
Who wears the pants in the family? depends on the subject and we will leave it like that

Courtney's New Friend

Last Saturday, we meet several of our new neighbors. We live on a street with 10 houses, so all of the kids (around 12 total) can play on the road since only the people who live on the street usually drive down our street (we live on a "Loop"). The family that lives in front of us has a boy and a girl both of which is the same age as Jonah and Courtney. Andi is the little girl and as you can see in the picture, her and Courtney has become good friends. I took this picture from my front door. I thought it was sweet, because instead of the girls running and playing with the boys. The two of them sat on the grass talking for about an hour. It was neat to watch them sit and talk just like I would with a friend, but yet this was two nine year old sitting and enjoying each others company. Yesterday, I look out my dinning room window and saw the two of them sitting on Andi's front porch talking. Is this a sign that my little girl is growing up?

A Quick Update

Well as you can see from the pictures, our move was very interesting. Phillip and I found out quickly that we have too much stuff! The moving company was able to get everything on the 53' semi except for the basketball goal, which we ended up donating to FCA. The kids enjoyed riding their scooter down the ramp of the moving semi on moving day. As most of you heard, one of the packers stepped through the ceiling of our attic into the kitchen. A major OOOPS!!! We closed on our house in BG on the first and spent the next two days traveling south. We closed here on Wednesday morning and our moving semi arrived on Thursday. Which allowed for me to paint Courtney's room Wednesday afternoon. It turned out really cute, if I do say so myself.

All of us, has worked very hard trying to get everything in order and I think we have accomplished a lot in just a few days. We are now down to less then a handful of boxes in the house. However we still have not been able to locate the extension rods for our bed frame yet. My guess is that they were placed somewhere in the garage, which is a whole different story. We went from a large walkout attic to hardly no attic at all.

Day 1 of Moving

Well as of 4:30 this afternoon, this is what inside our house looks like. Everything except for our computer and the office has been wrapped, boxed, taped and is ready for the loading day tomorrow. I still can not believe that we are moving in a couple of days. I thought we would live in B.G. the rest of our life. I thought these pictures of Rascal were too cute to pass up. Twice Rascal got a hold of a roll of tape and had a good time with it, including get tape stuck around his mouth and neck.

First Goodbye

Well, the time has come to start saying our Goodbyes. Our dear and close friends, Alicia, Jason, Lizzie and Rachel, came over yesterday to say their goodbyes before they headed to the beach. Needless to say, we both cried and I had the hardest time watching them leave our driveway. Alicia and I have became very close friends over the past several years and it tore me up when she told me that she had never had a best friend to move away. Well, over the remaining days left in B.G., I am sure there will be many more tears shed. Several friends have already said that they can not bear to watch us pull out on Monday. The moving company dropped the semi off yesterday that will soon be loaded with every material thing that we own and the packers arrived early this morning to pack everything. I consider myself lucky to not have to pack.

I Have a New Look Too!!!

Well after looking at Courtney's new "do" and helping her fix it, I was hooked and had to get my hair cut the same way. I love it. It is so easy to style. So, Jill and Valerie here's the picture of my new "do'.

Happy Birthday MOM

Today my mother would have celebrated her 65th birthday if she was still alive. This photo is one of last photo that I have of her and I together. It was taken a few days after Christmas in 2003. If I had only knew then that she would only be on this earth for 5 more months, I probably would have taken a hundred pictures of her and I together. I surely would have hugged her and thanked her and loved her just a little more. I miss her terribly, especially now that we are moving back to Florida, she would have given anything for Phillip and I to have moved back closer to home while she was still alive.

Happy Birthday MOM, I love you!!!!!! Bryan (brother), Robbin (sister), Aunt Bernice ( my mom's sister), me and mom

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!!!!