Happy Birthday Jack and Grace

How in the world are these kids 17?????  I don't have a clue but I am SO thankful that I have gotten to love on them and watch them grow!  They are a blessing to my family and we thank God for them!  It was SO much FUN to celebrate them tonight!

 

Broken shoe

Some sweet friends of ours are in the process of adopting a little girl from Haiti.  They are working to raise the initial funds needed to bring this sweet little girl home.  One of their fundraisers was a fall photo shoot.  We gladly signed up for a time slot.  In the south, it still feels like summer.  Therefore, i haven't really bought fall stuff.  I was so thankful to find these shoes in the top of Maggie's closet.  They were Caroline's and they looked perfect!  As we were walking up to the photo shoot, Maggie says "Hey momma, my shoes aren't working."  I look down to find them falling apart at the soles.  I begin to laugh and ask the photographer if she can work with the broken shoes.  She said she could.  The more Maggie walked, the more they came unglued.  Finally I told she and Caroline both to take off their shoes and go barefoot. 

Then I smiled at myself...had this happened with Caroline, I would have been SO UPSET!  I would have been mad because the picture wasn't perfect!  You see with Caroline, I wanted everything just so.  Oh how thankful and grateful I am that the Lord has broken me over the last 10 years.  I've learned these are the memories we will look back on and laugh at...I pray that the Lord continues to mold me and shape me into the person He created me to be...a person with an eternal view of life and not someone who gets caught up in earthly things.

Thinking of my Daddy

Today my sweet Daddy would be 74 years old.  Hard to believe...As I reflect on my memories of my dad, I found that my daddy taught me more about life than academics and what the world sees as success.  My daddy wasn't perfect and sadly I've inherited a few of his negative traits.  (quick to anger, say things I shouldn't say, etc.)  However, the older I get, I realize that I learned a lot of life lessons in the 25 years that I lived with my daddy.

1. I never understood why folks around me started off with the best clothes, cars, houses, etc.  My daddy said "the longer you have to wait for something, the more you appreciate it once you have it!"  I didn't understand it then but I do now!
2. My daddy lived by the Boy Scout motto 'do a good turn daily.' As a little kid, I had no clue what he meant.  But it means to help others daily in big and small ways.  My daddy believed in the power of community and loved folks in my hometown well.  When daddy died, my family stood in a receiving line for over 3 1/2 hours listening to stories of how my daddy had impacted their lives.  What a legacy.
3. Daddy believed that all problems could be solved using a T chart.  Pros listed on one side, cons listed on the other.  I learned you don't make big decisions in life without weighing the odds of both the good and the bad.
4. Just because you have it doesn't mean you need to spend it.  Now my daddy LOVED big boy toys (tractors, farm equipment, etc) but he and Momma planned ahead.  We didn't live a glamorous life growing up but they prepared for this season of life.  Mom is able to live comfortably because they prepared for a rainy day.
5. Make memories as a family! We didn't take big vacations but we did enjoy our summers at the beach.  Some of our best memories took place at Pirateland Campground.  In this season of life, Andy and I can't afford big vacations either but we do try really hard to make memories with our girls! 
6. One of the last things my Daddy said to Bob, Daniel and I before he died was this..."I am going to a better place.  Yes I am sad I will miss the next phase of your life, but I will be ok.  And so will you...Momma and I may have not have done everything right, but we prepared you three for life.  With your spouses, you will be able to survive on your own and take care of your family."  As a young lady who had just turned 25 I had no clue how true his words were.  Andy and I may not have a lot but we have been blessed to be where we are today.  I truly believe it's because of the life lessons my parents taught me.

Today as we celebrate Papa George, I am SO thankful for the life the Lord blessed me with.  I am thankful for a Daddy who wasn't perfect but did a great job raising a strong daughter and 2 strong sons.  My only wish today was that my daddy was here to see us now and see that although it hasn't been easy, he was right, we would be and we are ok.

Early Dismissal

We got a phone call around 10:50 that said public schools were dismissing at 11:10 due to no or low water pressure in our city.  Maggie and I had already planned to go to lunch with Aunt Tomi Jean so we were super excited Caroline was able to join us.  After lunch, Aunt Tomi Jean treated the girls to Brusters!  Everybody was happy!

Sleeping standing up

I'm thinking our sweet girl had a fun morning at preschool!

Friend Day at The Little Gym

Maggie is absolutely LOVING her time at the little gym.  Today was bring a friend day and she was so excited to have her friend Meir Ruth.

Hurricane Clean Up Crew

The sun is shinning, not a cloud in the sky.  The girls and I headed outside to clean up the storm damage and put our back yard back together.  Thankful for these sweet girls...many hands make for lighter work load.

Hurricane Day 3

We have had rain pretty much all day.  Around lunch time we had a few hours without rain.  We put on our rain gear and took a walk around the neighborhood to assess the damage.  We saw 2 trees down but nothing major.  We also took advantage of McDonald's being open and grabbed a hot lunch that I didn't have to prepare.  I've cooked 3 hot meals a day thinking it might be our last...the freezer is pretty much cleaned out and so is the fridge.  I am SO thankful we've had power the entire time!

About an hour ago, we received a powerful, heavy rain.  And with it came a massive leak around one of our sky lights.  We put a bucket under it and let it roll...we shall see what it looks like tomorrow.  We are still so very blessed compared to so many others around us!

Hurricane Florence Day 2

Today we really began to feel the effects of Hurricane Florence.  I am SO thankful to report that we still have POWER!  The worse part of today has been the wind.  We've had rain showers throughout the day but the wind gusts are what puts knots in my stomach.  As we prepared for bed tonight, we pulled Maggie's mattress into our room.  I told Andy once again, I don't know if my parents were stronger than I was or if they put on a good front.  Today I thought of all the what ifs and they made me so nervous.  However, I told the girls we were fine and we had nothing to worry about.  Praise the Lord, they never once showed signs that they were scared.  Not once...tonight as I laid in bed, I thought about the big, tall oak tree outside our house and what if it fell during the night.  The one thing that brought me comfort was that Andy and I were closer to the ceiling than our girls. :-)

Here's to hoping we get a good night of rest.  The wind should be gone by morning but the massive amount of rain will be here.  Praying for our community and our state as we brace for the rain.

Waiting on Hurricane Florence Day 1

I saw something on FB that said "Waiting for Hurricane Florence is like waiting for your daddy to come home and give you a spanking!"  You know it's coming and it isn't going to be good, but it's taking forever.  The NC coast is already feeling the effects of the storm as we wait...and wait...and wait some more.  We are trying desperately to play outside as much as we can in between the rain bands we have started getting. The girls are being troopers!

Hurricane Rules

We are waiting for Hurricane/Tropical Storm Florence to hit.  It has gone from a category 4 to making landfall as a category 2.  Last prediction is that it will stall over us for 2 days bringing lots of rain and wind...who knows.  What I do know is that we have prepared the very best that we can and now we wait and trust the Lord.

The girls and I have been out of school since Tuesday.  Tuesday and Wednesday were busy days preparing for the storm.  The girls watched way to much tv and so I told them starting today we would be following summer rules.  Summer rules require a lot more creativity before enjoying electronics.  Sometimes I regret the rules because they can easily lead to a big mess being made...

However, I was super impressed with the 'fort' they created in my room while I was washing the sheets.  I love the note the "guard" sent for princess Maggie. :-)

10 year well visit

Caroline's 10 year well visit was scheduled for Wednesday.  However, we are currently preparing for Hurricane Florence to hit and schools are cancelled until after the storm.  So when they called to remind us of our appointment I asked if they wanted us to come in early.  They were extremely appreciative and said YES that would help!  We enjoyed a fun birthday celebration lunch at Red Bone before heading to the appointment.

Caroline is growing into such a mature and sweet little lady.  It was fun to watch her interact with Dr. E.  She answered his questions and he talked with her about some of the changes her body will begin to go through.  She seemed a little bashful but told him we had already talked about several things.  He told her to continue to talk with me as changes begin...how in the world did we get here so quickly??? :-)  

• Height: 73.8 lbs (55%)
• Weight: 56 1/2" (80 %)

Birthday Celebration with Friends

Caroline had a very small celebration today with friends.  She could only invite friends from school and could only invite the number of friends that could fit in my van.  She wanted to do an ice cream sundae bar.  The more she told me the ingredients she wanted to include the more I realized we might be better off going to Sweet Frog.  The girls had a blast and I was pretty amazed as some of their creations...The worker at Sweet Frog cleaned the board off so that the girls could decorate it.  They loved that!

After Sweet Frog, we headed home for them to play with their American Girl dolls.  It was so much fun to watch them and listen to them get all giddy and excited.

I'm learning that at this point in the game, these parties are about the kids, not me.  I let Caroline pick out and plan the entire thing, within reason.  It's fun to see her little personality shine through.  Her theme was sprinkles...She picked out the tablecloth, napkins and plates.  (We have a 5 Below in town now and we loved picking out party decoration there.  Very affordable...I think everything you see below plus gold cupcake plates were only $4.  Andy picked up pizza on the way home from work.  The girls enjoyed pizza and chips before creating their own cupcake.

The bottom decided to fall out about 10 minutes before we were supposed to take the girls home.  So that was a rather fun adventure...they were troopers!  I am so thankful for each of these girls and their sweet friendship!  These days I feel like we hear so much about 'mean' girls.  However, these girls are the sweetest and kindest girls I know...I pray they always stay that way!

Double Digits!! Say WHAT???

We blinked and somehow we have a 10 year old!  I can't believe it!  This sweet girl made me a momma and has been an absolute joy ever since!  She has a HUGE heart and loves well.  She is typically a calm kiddo with a gentle spirit.  It's a true blessing to be her parents!

Entertaining themselves while the adults pack

One last ride on the luggage cart

Never too old or too big to ride the kiddy rides!

Caroline asked for a horse for her birthday.  Since we couldn't buy her a horse, we thought it was only fitting to buy her a ride on a horse for her birthday!

Tonight the celebration continued as we celebrated Caroline's birthday with our life group friends.  This sweet girl prepared and baked these cupcakes all by herself!  (There are some advantages to having a 10 year old!)  I am SO PROUD of her!

Beach Day Birthday Celebration

We got up, ate breakfast and headed to the beach!  The plan for today was to enjoy as MUCH time on the beach as possible.  It was a gorgeous day...sunny skies and a fabulous breeze.  It was all fun and games until Caroline and Catherine both got stung by jellyfish.  However, we treated both stings and 2 hours later we were back on the beach.  Way to go girls!!!!!!!!!!!

We came in late afternoon and showered.  We went back to the Bass Pro Shops to feed the fish because we couldn't see them the night before because it was too dark.  We planned to order pizza for dinner and it was a fiasco.  We finally found a place close to our hotel.  We picked up the pizza and headed home.

We were all exhausted from our fun day.  However, none of us were as exhausted as Maggie.  She fell asleep after the Bass Pro Shops and never woke up...she carried her upstairs on the luggage cart, put her on the couch, attempted to wake her for dinner and finally decided to put her pjs on and put her in bed.  Let's hope we don't have a kid wide awake at 5 am!!

Dave and Busters birthday fun

Today we signed both of the older girls out of school early and headed to the beach to celebrate Andy and Caroline's birthday!!  Today is Andy's birthday and Caroline's is on Sunday.  We got checked into our hotel relatively early and headed to Dave and Buster's before the traffic got to crazy.  This was our first encounter with Dave and Buster's and we loved it!!  Everybody got to enjoy games and have fun.  We ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe before heading to the Bass Pro Shops to see and feed the fish.  We had a fairly early night because tomorrow will be a fun day in the sun!

The girls loved riding the empty luggage cart down the elevator.

Love this sweet picture of all 3!!

I let the birthday boy win but boy oh boy do I love a good game of air hockey!!