Blogging Break

I'm going to be taking a blogging break until after the 4th. I'll miss checking in on you guys . . . but it won't be a long break.

For those of you asking about the bangs . . . I LOVE them!!! But, my camera battery is dead, so I'll be posting pictures when I'm back online.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and a very Happy 4th of July!!! Let's all celebrate the most wonderful country in the world . . . and, as my buddy, Mr. Larry Hardwick, always says, "God Bless America."

A Week of Firsts

This was the FIRST time EVER Ashley has gone to any camp. She went to soccer camp . . . and I dropped her off. . . which is amazing . . . and what's even more amazing is she survived and was safe and not emotionally scarred that her Mom wasn't there on the sidelines for 3 hours in very hot 95+ degree weather, . . . amazing I tell ya! Can you tell I have control issues when it comes to my kids?





This was the FIRST time EVER I fell asleep while listening to my baby read books to me. Yes, Hanna read her first books this week . . . and she loves it . . . and she wants more . . . and I love hear her reading to me . . . as I fell asleep. It made me actually feel like a little girl again when my Mom would read me a story and I'd fall asleep. I even thought as I drifted off to sleep, "Lord, I pray she will read to me when I am too old to read for myself."





This week Alec got his FIRST pimple. . . and he was excited . . . very excited. Meanwhile . . . I have one on my forehead that makes me look like Cyclops and I HATE it!!!





This week was the FIRST time Jon played 18 holes of golf in a long time. He played with his best friend, Stacy. He SOOO deserved it. He's been working so very hard on this house.





This was the FIRST time I'd spent some good girl time with my friend, Jennifer, in months. She is such a sweet and Godly woman. We always have the best conversations . . . deep and meaningful. We spur one another on in becoming more like Jesus. She also has great recipes.


This is the FIRST time we've seen Jon's Uncle Jerry in over a year. He was down for a short visit and came by. Talk about lots of energy? Whew! He's really a lot of fun to be around. Know another cool thing about him? He's Mark Richt (head coach of GA Bulldogs) former pastor and very good friend. He was trying to talk us into coming to New Orleans (where he and his family live) if GA goes to the Sugar Bowl this football season. I asked him if he thought he could get us to meet Mark Richt? How cool would that be?

What One Mom Can Get Accomplished While Getting an Oil Change

1. Cleaned out purse . . . that has so much trash in it . . . I literally filled up a small wastebasket.



2. Returned 4 phone calls. Three were business related and one was personal. Shew . . . don't you hate it when you have returning phone calls hanging over your head? I love talking to my friends and returning their calls. . . but business calls related to real estate . . . I don't love so much.



3. Made an invite list to a monogram party I'm having at the end of July.



4. Made an invite list to Alec's birthday party.



5. Made list of things needed for Alec's birthday party.



6. Talked to my Mom.



7. Found receipt for some of the light fixtures I bought for the house.



8. Cleared out all of my voice mails that needed deleted and saving.



9. Relistened and resaved a voicemail from my sweet niece, Noelle, saying, "Aunt 'Chele, it's Noelle. We're at a friend's house. Call me back. Love you." I love that girl! She loves the phone . . . .like her Aunt 'Chele.



10. Put all of the echinacea pills back into the bottle that had spilled in my purse. This herb is great. If I ever feel like I'm getting sick, I take some and it really helps to ward off sicknesses.



11. Let Hanna have the change out of my purse . . . on one condition. . . that she doesn't ask me to take her anywhere to spend it.



All of these are such little things . . . but all of them together make a lot . . . my head feels much clearer now.

My newest addiction

Okay. . . confession time . . . addictions . . . I have more than I can count on one hand. Here's a sample version

• coffee - I drink 4 to 5 cups per day. My doctor has just informed me that I've got to cut back. So far I've been very noncompliant. I really haven't even tried. I have a friend who told me she'd keep me accountable . . . but, I haven't aggressively pursued it . . . I just don't want to give it up. Maybe when I get back from vacation?
• blogging - for any of you reading this that blog yourself . . . 'nuff said.
• reading - I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to read. Thankfully we've been working on our house, but it is almost finished. I hope to resume my love of reading very soon.
• scrapbooking - I started out the year with a bang . . . but I'm behind . . . starting with the month of March . . . but I refuse to let it discourage me. . . I will hop on that train again . . . one day soon.
• running - I just frankly love to sweat . . . makes my pores feel clean . . . weird, I know. . . but Jon says the same thing . . . so at least I'm not weird all by myself. I love the way running makes me feel.
• approval - yep, I hated typing that one. But, it is what it is. I really like for everyone to like me . . .and my feelings are hurt if they don't. . . I'm breaking free of it though . . . and it all started with that confrontational real estate call I had a few weeks back . . . doesn't even bother me that girl doesn't care for me.

Enough of that . . . the list could really go on and on . . . but I wanted to share my newest addiction - COUPONS!! Oh me, oh my. I've been playing the coupon game for a few weeks now. My friend, Stephanie, taught me how to do it. I've been saving money but it wasn't until this week that I actually met my goal . . . to save more than I spend. Ready for the outcome?

I got $236 worth of groceries for $85. Can you believe that? I literally got enough to feed a small army. I bought 18 packs of hot dogs!!!! Why, you ask? Well, Alec's birthday party is coming up in a few weeks. Now, we're not having THAT many people here . . but once the house is finished I do want to have several get togethers . . . and hot dogs are just great for the kids. With my coupons plus the sales, they were just cheap enough to go ahead and stock up. Here are some of my other deals.

• 4 pints of Starbucks ice cream . . . know what I paid? I didn't!! They actually paid me $.80. I have no idea what I'm going to do with these because I could take or leave ice cream. It doesn't temp me. Jon is the ice cream fan . . . but he doesn't like coffee. He's already tasted one. Gifts maybe?
• Mrs. Edwards sliced pie (individual slices) - $0.29. Oh WOW! I really don't want this poison in my house (ha!ha!). . . by my FIL loves Key Lime . . . so I stocked up for him. I did keep a few for the family though.
• 2 jars of spaghetti sauce for $0.01 . . . even though I'm sick of spaghetti I couldn't pass this deal up.

I have actually hated grocery shopping for a long time. I've always said I spend too much money and have absolutely no fun doing. Now with this coupon game . . . I can't wait until I go grocery shopping again!!! For any of you who are interested in playing with me go to http://www.couponmom.com/. She explains how to play very thoroughly.

Jon and I have put ourselves on a really tight budget. We have some things that need to be paid off and . . . we really want a golf cart. I think we are probably the only people in our neighborhood that doesn't have one. But. . .we want to be wise and frugal and just put it off until we have some debt paid off. That means . . . no new clothes, shoes, or accessories for Mama in High Heels right now *wink*wink*.

Father's Day - Part 2

Whew. . . that last post was certainly a heavy one. I appreciate all of your sweet comments. All of your words lifted my spirit and encouraged me so very much. I actually meant to post this one on the very same day. However, my baby got sick . . . and we all know when our babies are sick, they want their mamas. With that being said . . . here is the positive, much lighter side to Father's Day.

Jon is not only an amazing husband, but he is one heck of a Daddy. He brings so much fun to our family. He is strong, smart, brave, and very, very loving. If I haven't said it once, I've said it a million times . . . I don't deserve this guy . . . he is living, breathing, walking proof of God's grace over my life.

Father's Day actually started one day earlier for him. He and Alec went to Atlanta Fest and saw Family Force Five and Casting Crowns. I was so super excited when I got a picture text from Jon of Casting Crowns singing. The drummer for this band is actually the middle school minister at one of the churches we've visited . . . pretty cool, huh? The boys had a GREAT time.

Meanwhile, back here on the home front, Mama in High Heels was working on a little Father's Day surprise. Jon had already picked out a few shirts from the kids and I . . . but I LOVE surprises . . . and certainly the love of my life deserved one on a day that was set aside to honor him. Our garage is AWFUL!! You CANNOT walk in it without stepping on something. It is actually a very nice garage for someone with lots of tools (like Jon). But, with all the work he's been doing on our house things just get thrown in there haphazardly. I worked for 3 hard, sweaty hours . . . and still didn't get it as clean as I wanted . . . but Jon loved it . . . and that was my goal. You can actually walk out there now . . . and when we get our new garage doors installed (hopefully soon) my Noah's Ark will fit.

Sunday morning we woke up, laid around, got ready and went to church. We then went to Jon's parents' house, ate, and played. We started out by all surrounding the computer and watching Tim Hawkins videos. If you don't know who this guy is, he is so funny. Check him out on God Tube or You Tube.

This is my sister-in-law, Holly. I prefer to call her my sister . . . 'cause she really is my big sister. I love her just like I would a big sister. Isn't she beautiful? I think my Hanna looks just like her . . . uh, oh. .. I'd better start now preparing to ward the boys off for the teenage years.

We then went on the zip line. Shoot . . . I'd worn my white pants again. But, in honor my hubby on Father's Day, he and the kids really wanted me to try it out. . . I couldn't be a rotten apple about it . . . so here I go . . .

(No, those are not monkey feet . . . they are mine . . . horrible, huh?)

Hanna gave it a go . . . total priss pot . . . like her Mama . . . in her dress and all . . .

Here is Ash. This girl changed out of her Sunday clothes into her play clothes while still in the car riding home from church.

Alec and Holly decided to chill out in the blazing heat . . . while we zipped.

You know Big Daddy was going to give it a go. . .

Here are the girls and Gigi . . . Her foot is MUCH better.

The highlight in all of this was Jon's Dad wanted to get on it. He is still pretty weak from all the medicine and such he was on. He's lost LOTS of weight because he lost his taste for awhile. But, the fact that he was going to give it a go . . . and it was his idea . . . was HUGE, HUGE progress. He is the type of Daddy this side of heaven that every girl dreams of. He is such an awesome, awesome man of God. He went to climb up the stand . . . and stumbled . . . and fell. My heart broke for him. He cut his arm and hit his side. His legs are just too weak to get up there. I felt so very, very sorry for him. But, I'm going to look at this glass half full. . . he wanted to get up there and give it a go . . . and that is HUGE!

We came back home . . . Jon and I took a nap . . . we watched the U.S open and pulled for our favorite golfer, Phil Mickelson. We ordered pizza . . . and then Stephanie and Barry stopped by and hung out for awhile.

I am so very honored and humbled and grateful to be married to an amazing man like Jon. I'm even more grateful that my children have a Daddy who loves their mom, who loves them, and who loves the Lord.

Father's Day - Part 1

This year Father's Day will be broken up into 2 parts . . . first I'll start with the bad . . . but then end on the good . . . so definitely come back and read part 2. . .

With that being said, I have to start out by saying for as long as my memory goes back I have been a Daddy's girl. Loving him to the very best of my ability, being his biggest cheerleader, and ALWAYS, ALWAYS being on his side and, worst, making excuses for him.

I am a pretty merciful person . . .but I always carried it extra far when it came to my Daddy.

I don't know what makes people what we all refer to as "Mama's girl" or "Daddy's girl". But, I do believe God, Himself, orchestrates our hearts this way for one reason or another. I just happened to have a heart that was just crazy about my Daddy . . . not because he deserves it . . . because it doesn't. It's just been that way always.

Let me give you a short history lesson on my Dad. I believe he happens to be the worst case scenario. He believes he is a Christian. The Bible tells us in Matthew 7:20 that we will be known by our fruits. The Bible also tells us that we will turn from our sin (1 John 3:6-10). There is no evidence of this in my Dad's life at all. I've tried to talk to him, love him, lead by example, and most importantly pray for him . . . but he has not changed.

My attitude towards my Dad changed about two years ago. My family and I had just returned from a trip to Disney World and I had, what seemed like, thousands of voice mails. They were from my Dad's wife. She was playing recordings to me of voice mails he'd left to her. I thought to myself, "Who is this monster?" "How can he say those awful things?" "What possesses him to talk this way?" These are messages that are forever seared on my heart and my mind. At that point I totally and completely released him to God. My constant prayer over him became very simple, "God, do Your Will in his life." Simple and straight to the point. I think because he could be a pretty decent person when he was around me made me believe the lie that he was close to accepting Christ. I had been very deceived!!!

Since then my heart towards him has changed also. I'm no longer afraid of him, as I have been all of my life. My Dad is an alcoholic, drug user, and I grew up with him abusing my mom and stepmom. He has NEVER EVER laid a hand on my sister or I, but the fear that he would was always there.

I can remember as a little girl closing my door at night, laying on my stomach, and putting many covers over me . . . thinking this would keep him for hurting me. There were times when I would fall asleep to the screams and cries of my stepmom. I can remember him hitting my mom in a parking lot. I can remember him coming home and shooting a gun in the house. I can remember sneaking out of my bedroom window with my pregnant mom because she was so afraid of him. I remember him pulling a knife on her and me getting in-between them. I can also remember finding what I called, "bags of grass" and hiding them in the couch . . . hoping if he didn't find them, then maybe he'd stop. I can remember finding a bottle and syringe on the back of the toilet, calling my mom and her calling the pharmacist to find out what he was shooting through his veins. It was steroids.

As a teenager, my memories of him are times of him cussing me out for not being at home enough, my stepmom calling me telling me he'd been drinking and to please spend the night with a friend or my grandparents.

But slowly and surely my fear of him is gone. . . and because of that I am able to boldly speak the truth to him. Now that doesn't mean I'm not nervous or butterflies aren't nesting in my stomach . . . but the words are able to make it from my heart to my mouth.

A few weeks ago he called and left me a voicemail cussing me out. There were no tears this time. No anger. No resentment. I knew I had to let him know he was wrong. When this had happened in the past I'd call him soon and in my bubbliest, sweetest voice act like everything was okay . . . never, ever addressing how he had just spoken to me.

Not this time though. This Father's Day is different. For the first time in my 32 years of life I will not be speaking to my Dad on this Day that was set aside to honor him. Instead, I sent him a card, and this is what it said:

"Dad, I got your message the other day. I love you and you are still my Dad. However, I don't know how to respond or even if I want to respond to a message like that. In the past, a message like that would have sent me into tears. When I heard this message I didn't feel anything. I was just numb. I love you enough to tell you the truth, and, the truth is, it is not appropriate to talk to people this way. I refuse to shut you out of my life, nor am I angry with you. But, you have to know that this is not okay. I know that you were angry because you feel like Melissa and I do not call you often enough. However, we all lead busy lives, and truth-be-known, my life has been so crazy lately with our move, that those I have talked to, get in touch with me. Praying for you always. Know that I love you!Michele"

The thing I struggle with the most is still being obedient to my LORD. I am still commanded to honor my father and mother (Exodus 20:12). I have an open heart and mind, and I'm not offended easily. If any one of you have any thoughts on this, please feel free to share.

I wondered if it was dishonoring him to put this out there for everyone to read. But, this blog is my journal. I haven't purposely meant to dishonor him, but I want to be able to look back and see what this day was like. I could have privately noted it. . . but you never know if someone else is dealing with the same issue also. I've never talked disrespectfully to my Dad, and I don't intend to. . . any ideas or further thoughts on this?

If you notice on my profile I say I feel like I have a real-life Cinderella story . . . . understand now why I say that?

Making me Laugh. . . . Making me Cry

Jon called me yesterday as I was grocery shopping. He had been to the bank to make a deposit (praise the Lord for that). As he was making the deposit an employee of the bank asked him if he was the runner with the funny shoes?

You've got to be kidding me!!

Then she said, "Didn't your wife win the race (talking about the 1st woman to cross the finish line, not the 1st person . . . the men always win these things)?"

She told him that she was on the race course taking pictures for the bank. Apparently our shoes must've stirred up some chatter in the bank. They're going to make us famous in the running community. When shoes are that ugly they have to do something for ya, right? (if you have no idea what kind of running shoes I'm talking about . . . click here)

This made me laugh and giggle.

I heard from a friend of mine I used to go to church with. I was really glad she called me because I'd lost her phone number. She called to invite me to her daughter's baptism. She was so, so sweet. Working in the children's ministry for the 10 years I've done it . . . you don't get very many thank yous from parents. Now I've always felt and received appreciation from each children's minister I served under. But, if I stopped and thought real hard . . . without making my brain hurt. . . and then I counted how many parents have actually thanked me? I would have to say (including this one) somewhere in the ballpark of 3 people . . . maybe? That is serving for 10 years, at 2 different churches. I have never once dedicated my heart and my time to this ministry to receive thank yous or praise. . . I do it because I love Jesus and those precious children.

Meredith's words made my eyes fill up with tears. She thanked me for dedicating my time to teach her child about Jesus . . . and although I wasn't there when her child accepted Christ . . . that I had planted seeds in her daughter's life. Meredith's words were so very kind and genuine. She was so excited about her daughter's baptism and I feel very honored she went out of her way to call me and invite me. Meredith really made my day!

I told someone a couple of months ago that that has really been the hardest thing for me about this whole church transition thing. I was not burned out with the ministries I served in . . . Jon and I both just knew in our hearts it was time to move on . . . and looking back now . . . I can see where God had orchestrated things to lead us.

I've been oh so very lonesome for a church family. I used to kid with people and say church and Wal-mart were where we spent all of our time. Other than the loneliness I have felt for a church, serving in the church is the other thing that has been so very difficult for me in this transition. I'm itching at the bit to get back to being involved and dedicating my time and energy to serving . . . especially after my sweet conversation with my friend.

We were Dancin' and Singin' and Movin' to the Groovin'

This past Saturday some friends and Jon and I got together for . . . "Oh, what a night." We are all still laughing like crazy, texting one another about it, and planning for another outing real soon . . . THAT is how much fun we had together.

It was actually a free event. However, if you wanted a table you had to "buy" one. Suzanne got this shin-dig together. We all chipped in for the table and all brought a smorgasbord of food. In fact, we had so much food, our table runneth over!!

Here are some fun moments that the camera captured. . .

First of all the picture above. . . I dragged Jon onto the dance floor with me. Remember the 6 weeks worth of dance lessons we took? They had some good "Swing" music playing. My friend, Pam and her husband, are taking those very same lessons that we took, right now. She challenged me to a dance off . . . game on, baby!! I ran to our table, grabbed Jon's hand, and begged him to go with . . . I even tried to coerce him by telling him it was a competition. . . . No dice!! Dude was off the dance floor as soon as I dragged him on the dance floor. This picture had to have been taken very quickly . . . 'cause Jon wasn't out there long.

Me, Terri, and Lisa

Awww . . . sweet Tim and Lisa

Me and my hunny who wouldn't cut a rug with me . . .

Me and Lisa. I think I've mentioned before that Lisa was my very first friend when I moved here. She and I have such a special friendship. We can talk everyday (in fact, her hubby, Tim, used to refer to use as "phone friends") or, we can go weeks or months without talking, and our friendship just picks right back up where we left off. I just love this about our friendship. Since we've moved into our new house we all see one another much more . . . and I'm so glad. We initially became friends through church. Then, after they left the church and we left . . . our friendship stayed strong and has continued to do so!!

Jon and Tim . . . . I have to say, in my opinion, these are 2 of the nicest guys ever!!! Tim is the type of person who will not say a negative word about anyone. He has such a servant's heart too . . . always willing to help friends out when needed!!! Thank you Tim for taking down the fence off my cabinets and for being here when we discovered our termites - YIKES!

Here are Ms. Suzy Q and Andrea cuttin' a rug big time on the dance floor. Andrea is my friend that I wrote about here.

View of the band and dance floor from our table . . .

Suzanne and Barron . . . aren't they sweet looking? They are such a fun couple to hang out with!!! Our families mesh very well together.

Crazy Carey and Andrea!!! Oh me, oh my. . . what fun this couple is!!! I am just going to leave it at that!! Carey had everyone in stitches laughing. We live in the same neighborhood now, so they hopped in our backseat and rode home with us. Jon and I both ran to the car to clean it out (it was bad, I'm tellin' ya) before we'd let them in -hee!hee!

A great group of friends. You know what I love about these ladies? We all lead very different lives. One is a full-time, stay-at-home mom, one is at work-at-home mom, two work for their families' businesses, and one is busy working in a corporate environment. Three are Baptists, one is Pentecostal, and one is Catholic. But our common denominator is that we all love our children, we all love our families, and we all love Jesus. . . and we all are crazy soccer moms!!! We also all know how to have a good time!!!

Side note here: One of my biggest pet peeves in life is when a mom gets on her high horse because she stays at home and doesn't work, or because she works and doesn't stay at home; when she sends her kids to private school rather than public school. Even worse than that, is when a mom thinks she is a better mother because she homeschools rather than sends her kids to school. I know SO many people like this . . . and it literally makes my skin crawl!!! We ALL love our children. We ALL want what is best for them!!! We ALL make the best decisions we know how to make. I HATE the prejudice that moms have with other moms because they choose different roads for their families. Imagine if we, as women and as mothers, started encouraging and learning from other moms who are different from us, rather than shooting arrows at them, what the world would be like. I think sometimes people think they can only be friends with people who make the same decisions as they do . . . big, huge mistake. These sorts of people do not know what amazing friendships they're missing out on!!! Prejudice, in all forms, drives me nuts!!! I think this is such an issue to me because I know a good bit of people like this who are very judgemental about other mothers. It makes my heart sad. Okay . . . 'nuff said about that.

Me and my sweet, funny, and amazing, friend, Suzanne. Thanks, Suz, for always being such an awesome social coordinator for all of our outings. I am so very thankful for you, for our friendship, and for the memories we're making. You make life so fun . . . not to mention, you are wearing great accessories!! You make this Mama in High Heels very proud!

Okay. . . see the hand. I know I've mentioned several times that when my mouth moves, so do my hands. In this picture I can tell it is getting its motor running so my mouth can start moving too. I think Jon and I are sitting here listening intently to whatever that Crazy Carey is talking about.

This is the point in the night when Carey is telling us what an athlete he is. He is a runner, but has had a really bad injury for the last year now. He was talking about the Muddy Buddy. Jon informed him that he can't be an athlete because he never knew of an athlete that came from Ga Tech (Carey played football from Ga Tech). Remember we are HUGE Ga Bulldog fans and Ga Tech is one of our biggest rivals.

I love dancin!!! But . . . . unless you go to weddings . . . there just really is not a place you can go and tastefully dance. Dance clubs are not just an option!!! Things that go on in places like that is not a place I care to be. This band that was playing played great 80s music. It was so fun to be able to get out on the dance floor and cut a rug in an environment that wasn't drenched in sin and darkness!

I must've had my camera already put up, because my friends Stephanie and Emily were out there cutting rugs with us too. I can't believe we didn't get a picture together. We had such a BLAST!!! New friends met old friends . . . oh, how I love that!! It was such a fun, fun night!!

**Any of fellow old school Baptists out there . . . now don't go to judging us for being on the dance floor. Everything was very tasteful and fun . . . nothing raunchy or sleezy. I was dancing in the same way I dance here at home when we crank the music up with the kiddos.

He's Growing Up

Last week, my sweet, almost 12-year-old boy got contacts. We were all so very excited. Alec is very responsible and trustworthy, so I knew getting contacts would be something he could handle . . . something I wouldn't have to hound him about. These are some of the things he had to say about getting contacts . . .

"Mom, its like you have this old TV and it is all fuzzy. . . then you put your contacts in . . .and it is like you're watching HDTV."

"In my contacts, I feel like Peter Parker . . . when he takes his glasses off to become Spiderman."

I'm so proud of how he is followed everything the doctor has told him!!

Isn't he a cutie pie? I just love seeing those baby blues again!!

Mama in High Heels Goes Camping

No, that title is not a typo. Yes, you did read it correctly. Now, if you've read my blog long enough or perhaps have even seen pictures of me . . . I have one question for you . . . Do I look like the type of girl who will get in a tent and go camping? Your answer is probably, "No." But. . . looks are deceiving.

I grew up going to the lake camping, and I loved it!!! There is something about camping I like. I LOVE being outdoors. I love that there are no electronic distractions. I love spending time with those I love.

So, when Ash was invited to what I am now calling,"The Best Birthday Party Ever," I was quite excited about this one. It was called Camp Runamuck. My friend, Suzanne, was chief of this camp and she did a FANTASTIC job!! Boo Boo is one lucky girl to have a mom that will throw a party like this one.

The girls were divided up into 3 teams . . .blue, pink, green. They played games. They decorated picture frames. They decorated pillow cases. I actually dropped Ashley off, took Alec to guitar, took Alec back home, then came back. I was one of the lucky ones and I got to camp out with the girls. Truth-be-known . .. it made Ash feel better (she doesn't like to spend the night off away from home) to have me there. Suzanne was so sweet to let me crash the campout!

We went on a scavenger hunt that night around their neighborhood. I was in charge of the pink team. Yay pink!!! We had our flashlights, and the items we found were actually items for the goody bags. How cool is that?

We got back to camp and made smores. My sweet girl made one for me. . . and I didn't even ask her to. . .

The girls all decided what tent they were sleeping in and who was sleeping in the tent.

I was actually going to sleep in a lounge chair with my sleeping bag. As I got all cozy I started thinking about snakes . . . What if one crawled on me in the middle of the night? No sir re!! I hopped myself into a tent real fast.

Here are me and my chatty campers. They were the last ones to stop talking.

Here is the chief of this party. The party was so amazing I told Suzanne she needed to charge admission.

Here is my other friend Angi. She stayed the night too. She had her mask over her eyes to sleep. Suzanne and I were cracking up!!!

That morning we had coffee and biscuits and the girls all danced to music.

I haven't been tent camping in ages. This was so much fun. I can't wait until next year for Boo Boo's b-day to see what kind of party will await us!!

Our Biggest Laugh of the Year

Okay, so when you finish reading this post, please don't think we are horrible people.

Last Sunday we were at Jon's parents' house hanging out for the last day my nephews would be here. They have this amazing tree house with a zipline that goes from the tree house to another tree. Gigi wanted the kids to have another zipline so she had someone come and build this separate from the treehouse. . .

The kids were so excited. Now they have 2 ziplines to get on. After the kiddos tried it out, Jon gave it a go. I so wanted to get on that thing. . . but I still had on my white pants from church. . . and you know, Mama in High Heels, ain't gettin' her white pants dirtied up.

I told Gigi she needed to do it. I started chanting, "Gigi, Gigi, Gigi." The kids joined in with me. Gigi gave in. After she set off from the tree stand she got really close to another tree. I screamed. She started panicking and fell to the ground. Half of her pants came down. Jon and I could NOT stop laughing. Y'all we were laughing so hard, we didn't even ask her if she was okay.

Aren't we horrible?!?

After we were finished with our make-your-belly hurt so hard, can't hear anything coming out laughter, we asked her if she was alright.

She said her foot was a little sore . . . she's so faking it in this picture, but I had to visually document this moment.

The next day she call us to tell us . . . her foot is broken. . . she has a hairline fracture. OH.MY.WORD. we felt awful . . . but we did thank her for a good laugh. Does that make us a little bit better people?

My Week with 5 Kiddibos

The week before last my 2 sweet nephews came up and spent the whole week with us. Man, I sure do love these boys. In fact, last week, then they had gone home . . . I would count the kids and when I only came up with 3 . . . I really missed them. I felt a little empty. Here is what 1 gal does when she has 5 kiddos.

We spent lots of time at the pool. . .

Eating snacks . . .
Doing tricks on the diving board. . . .

Yes, even Mamas/Aunts can have fun and join in on the diving board fun!!

The kids made movies together. Alec grossed up their faces with sharpie marker to look like blood.

We had a "Make your own Pizza" night. . .

We tie-dyed T-shirts . . .

Gigi and I split up time. When they were at her house they played in the tree house, went to the park, and ate junk food.

Man. . . life with 5 kids sure is fun . . . and tiring!!! My kids get so excited because I buy junk food when the nephews/nieces come into town. I bought kool-aid drinks to take to the pool rather than water. After all . . . I want to be a cool aunt. I can't wait to see the boys again!!!

If you were inside my brain . . .

these are the thoughts you'd see . . .

. . . I'm hoping my bloggy funkaroo is over. I've really missed reading blogs and blogging itself. There's just been other things going on and I haven't made any time for blogging. Work has kept me pretty busy and when I get a chance to get off this computer . . . I'm gone. . . . hopefully though I'll be back in full swing tomorrow.

. . . The kids finished VBS this week and it was a huge success. They had so much fun, and I'm glad that I sent them. I'm still lonesome for a church family, and I can't wait until we know definitely know where God is leading us.

. . . Still studying Daniel. This week it is chapter 9. I'm learning so much, but this past week I've not been in the Word very much . . . that's probably why my heart feels a little empty.

. . . Jon and I are still talking about June Jam (post later in the week) . . . about how much fun we had.

. . . The kids spent the weekend with my mom. We went and got them this afternoon. Ash and Jon went and played soccer with some friends. Alec and Hanna watched, "Kit." I took a nap. We had tacos for dinner and played charades on the deck tonight. It was fun.

. . . I'm so excited about the rocking chairs I got for my front porch. I only have 3 right now and 1 doesn't rock right. I've got to take it back and get 1 more.

. . . Hopefully next week I will do a "Big Reveal" on my blog of all of the before/after changes of the house. We have one more room to do . . . the dining room. . . I'm putting extra pressure on Jon to have it finished by the end of the week. Something very exciting is happening next Tuesday (more to come) and I am hoping and praying the downstairs will be close to being finished.

. . . Alec has finished a whole month of guitar lessons. He's loving it and so am I. Our friend, Barry, is teaching him. Barry is a wonderful teacher and Alec has learned so much. I love it because I get to hang out with Stephanie every Monday night. She is so very funny. When I'm with her I feel very young.

. . . I need to make an appointment this week with a primary physician. I don't have one. Is that weird? My only doctor is my GYN who is an hour away. My back has been hurting me and I know my gynecologist can't help me with that problem. So, I'm going to find a local doctor.

. .. I filled up my car for $70 and bought 2 weeks' worth of groceries. I am refusing to spend any money at all until 2 weeks from last Friday. Jon has got us on a pretty strict budget . . . and I'm excited about it. . . how weird is that?

. .. I'm so itching to read a good book. I haven't read any this summer, which is a total bummer!! Next week the kids are starting back to school. We took a good long break when we were moving. Hopefully we'll get alot accomplished before we go on vacation.

. . . We are loving the pool we joined this year. I'm having a blast hanging out with my friends there. The added bonus is the kids are too!!

Hanna's Big Day

Although Hanna's recital was weeks ago I didn't want to miss blogging about it while I've been in my bloggy funkaroo. It is those little sweet details in life that are so precious to me, and it is so important to me to jot them down before I forget.

Hanna, my baaabbbyyy, as I call her, is my super shy child. She is really the shyest child, maybe even person, I know. So much like her Daddy that Hanna is. Last year she played soccer 'cause her big sister did and all. When she would run away from the ball I knew being on the soccer field was not this girl's thing. . . . after all, she is my priss pot.

I told her I was going to enroll her in ballet. She freaked out. I knew she'd love it if I could just convince her to go. I told her we'd do it until Christmas and if she hated it we'd drop out.

She loved it. However, there was one moment that gave Jon and I butterflies in our stomachs . . . recital . . . arggghhh!!! Now when Ashley took ballet this was her THING. She (in her best 4-year-old voice) "wuvveed bein' on da stage." She just didn't like the practices. But Ash is also our outgoing extrovert (I'll give you one guess where she gets this from).

Oh, but Hanna, poor, sweet, little Hanna. . . she is so shy some people may consider her rude. When others talk to her, she doesn't respond . . . she just looks down. She has a hard time looking those in the eye that she doesn't know well. Even to talk to me about things that are bothering her I have to drag them out of her. Again, she is just super shy.

Jon and I both were anxious the day of her recital. Now I am one of those control freak mamas who has to be involved in every.single.detail of my kiddos life. When Ash took ballet I was backstage with her at all times (unless she was performing). However, I knew if I went back there with Hanna she'd cling to me for dear life when it came time to perform on stage. I sent her backstage WITHOUT me!!! I do believe I deserve a medal for this *wink*wink*. Huge step in this control freak mama's life . . . huge I'm tellin' ya!!

I took her backstage to get her dressed . . .
I wonder what was going through her little head at this point. . .

All smiles for the camera. She was really, really hyper this day. I think it was to try to show she was not nervous . . . or maybe to take her mind off how she was feeling. . .

Here is Hanna with BFF, JuJu, and ballet teacher, Ms. Jena. Hanna will not have Ms. Jena as a teacher next year. She is so nervous the teacher next year will be mean (prob. 'cause Ms. Jena is so sugary sweet). Hanna at first told me she didn't want to do it next year . . . but, I got Ms. Jena to give her a good talking to . . . to tell her all the teachers at the studio were sweet. Hanna's in for another year of dance!!! Thank you Ms. Jena.

My sweet girls . . .

Posing for the camera . . . She's a natural, don't 'cha think?

You know Nanna and Papa drove up to see her.

Gigi and Grandaddy, of course, were there also

Here are some pictures just 'cause Hanna's so super cute!! The theme to the recital was Broadway Tunes.

In this picture they had to pretend like they were rolling dice. The song was "Luck be a Lady."

This is my favorite. Hanna so hammed it up! I was so excited. I know her little tummy was probably a bundle of nerves . . . but she did fantastic. I was so teary eyed watching her in the audience. . . so proud of her . . .

At the end when we went to pick her up, Hanna ran to Jon, jumped in his arms and said, "I want you." She knows she is like her Daddy . . . only those 2 can truly understand the ordeal she had just gone through . . . conquering those shy-girl nerves. She knows I will be full of words, enthusiasm, and hugs . . . but she didn't need that . . . . she needed someone who "gets" her . . . that someone being her sweet Daddy. Such a sweet moment!!!

Okay, so this next picture is totally posed. . . but when the actual thing took place it was not. . Jon dropped the girls and I off to get Hanna ready. Our bank is right down the road and he needed some cash, so he and Alec were going to walk. As he was walking away Hanna ran up to him and kissed him smack dab on the lips. My heart melted to butter!!! After the performance I had to recapture the moment with a picture. . .

My parents came back to our house after the performance to drink a cup of coffee. Here is a picture I snagged of Alec and her Bubby. (don't pay attention to those unfinished cabinets in the background:))