Zoe and Mica's Peter Pan Performance

Our sweet friends Zoe and Mica's were in Peter Pan, Jr.  We were excited to watch them perform!  They did a great job!!

Mid Season Jamboree

Maggie's mid-season jamboree was today!  This group of girls were on fire!!  They came out ready to play and ready to win!  They had big wins over both teams!  The best part is that they have SO MUCH fun while doing it!!

Fresh strawberries

Caroline's friend McCall's grandparents planted strawberries this year.  They graciously invited us to come pick.  Yesterday was the only day this week that we could pick but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate with us.  SO we picked in the rain...it was well worth it to be able to get so many delicious berries to make strawberry preserves!  Caroline requested homemade biscuits to enjoy with our fresh jam.  It was the perfect treat!!!

 

Confederate Jasmine

 Do y'all remember the days of scratch and sniff stickers????  I wish this was a scratch and sniff sticker so that you could enjoy it as much as I do!  This year my confederate jasmine is bountiful and smells amazing!!!!!  I love working in the yard or even just walking outside and the wind blows this.  What a sweet gift it is to me!

Happy Birthday Granny!

Mom and Archie were in town for a drs appointment.  They planned to have dinner with us and watch Maggie's softball.  Unfortunately because of strep, Mags wasn't able to play.  However, she was fever free and had been on antibiotics for 24 hours so they still came for dinner.  We enjoyed celebrating Granny with her favorite birthday pie-strawberry pie!  While we were sad they couldn't watch her play, we loved our afternoon together!  Such a gift!  Happy 73rd birthday Granny, we sure do love you!!
 

JV Soccer Tournament

What a fun, busy, exhausting weekend of soccer!  I had to have the girls at the school before 6:30 yesterday and today.  However, I have determined that we like soccer tournaments much better than swim meets!  While these tournaments lasted all day, you could come and go depending on when your team played.  It was awesome!!  Caroline and Ariel were amazing!  Caroline was asked to play goalie in 3 of the 4 games.  This kid has never played goalie but she was amazing!!!  We were so proud of her.  She slept coming home and hasn't been out of her room since she got home.  I loved every minute!  I'm so thankful that Andy stayed home with Mags this afternoon so that I could go and watch her play!  Even more exciting that our friends Lia and Stacey were in Columbia for college tours and stopped by to watch Caroline!!

We found this really cute park to enjoy after lunch.  It was nice to walk around and see new places.  It was so pretty and quiet!

 

Strep

 All day yesterday Maggie complained that her throat hurt.  It didn't stop her from playing or talking so we thought Maggie it was drainage.  She slept on the way home from Columbia and slept an additional 2 hours once we got home.  While it was odd, we really didn't think too much of it.  She slept with us because she said she just didn't feel good.  She woke me up at 3AM with body shivers and teeth chattering.  I took her temp and it was 103.7.  I gave her Motrin, bundled her up and she slept until 9:30.  When she woke up at 9:30 her fever was back at 104 and her throat hurt really bad.  So off to Urgent Care we went. It was an extremely easy visit.  In and out in less than 45 minutes with a positive strep diagnosis.  We were the 5 cause since they opened 2 hours earlier...off to get antibiotics and she should feel like a new person tomorrow!

Reunited and it feels so GOOD!

 Tonight these girls got to play together again!  It was so fun to watch them work together on the JV team.  Several parents from last years team couldn't get over how much Caroline and Ariel had grown as players since last year!  Just another example of the hard work they have put in under amazing coaches!!

Final Soccer Game

Tonight was Caroline's final middle school soccer game.  Y'all this has been an amazing year!  She has an awesome group of coaches who have taught her SO much!!  I so wanted her to move up to High School JV but I am so thankful that she stood her ground in wanting to stay down.  She has grown so much as a player.  She scored the only goal tonight and it was beautiful!  3 goals this year!!  After the game, there was a small team celebration where they recognized the senior players.  I hated to see this season end...it's been so fun to watch this team grow together!  They worked hard, played hard and had an awesome time together!!  This is definitely one of the sweetest memories of middle school!

 After tonight's game, Coach M, the high school JV coach, invited Caroline to play JV this weekend.  Just when we thought we were finished, we have another full weekend to go! 

Soccer support

 This is the final week of soccer!  Caroline was so excited to have Aunt Tomi Jean and Josie, Eden and Noelle come support her!!  SO thankful for sweet family and friends!!

Spring Break

We had a fabulous couple of days at the beach for spring break.  The weather was absolutely amazing!  Maggie enjoyed the pool.  Caroline and I enjoyed watching from the pool deck.  I enjoyed lots of reading time.  Ice cream was a nightly treat!  The oatmeal cream pie ice cream was an absolute favorite! Mags and I got up every morning and went to the store.  She had $10 to spend but couldn't spend it until day 2.  Each morning she would buy one thing for the day.  It was a sweet time, just the two of us.  Our friends Lia and Stacey joined us on our last day.  We loved having their family with us.  The girls enjoyed having friends to hang out with.  It was a sweet time together and I am so thankful!

 When we were unhooking the camper at Ron's Andy noticed his truck was in reverse even though he put it in park.  We thought it was an odd thing but no big deal.  However, after we got to our house, we got ready to go over to his moms and his truck wouldn't go in reverse.  It skipped from park to neutral.  Praying it isn't something huge but SO grateful that the Lord allowed us to get home before it messed up!

UPDATE:  We had Andy's truck towed on Wednesday after Spring Break.  The folks discovered it was a faulty linkage cable.  We are so thankful it was an easy fix!!  The Golden Goose is back in business!

The best canoe trip to date!!

 This may very well be the BEST camping trip memory yet...definitely the best canoe trip ever!!  One of the things I like most about camping at Lakewood is all the 'free' activities available once you're there.  I've been asking since Tuesday to go canoeing.  Nobody wanted to go with me.  However, Maggie decided she would go.  Y'all we got our jackets and paddles.  Maggie got in the canoe first and did great.  I went to get in and as I was stepping in, the guy asked me to hand him my paddle.  I did but didn't really pay attention to where my foot was going...I didn't step on the line like Maggie did and we tipped over.  Like completely in the water over.  The water was so cold it took my breath away!  I didn't loose my sunglasses or hat and my flip flops actually floated back to the top.  Thankfully the guys on the side were able to get Maggie out of the freezing water quickly.  I on the other hand had to swim between two paddle boats and climb the ladder.  I couldn't stop laughing.  Once they got the canoe out of the water and emptied the water from in the canoe, we got back in.  Except this time, they put me in first.  It took a lot to get Maggie back in but she did.  The entire 30 minute ride around the lake I laughed so very often.  Maggie said "Stop!  Don't laugh.  I am over here taking deep breathes so I don't panic and your laughing doesn't help!"  :-)  She say's she might go again, just not on this trip!

Birthday Breakfast with my bestie

 Today is my bestie's birthday!  We started a fun tradition two years ago of going out for breakfast to celebrate each others birthday.  The last two years it just so happens that we are on spring break for Jill's birthday and it's the perfect time to go.  I'm so thankful for this friend.  We don't see or talk to each other near enough but when we do, it's always a good time to catch up.  Here's to a great year for both of us!

Another egg hunt

Ever since Caroline was a little girl, we have dyed Easter eggs and then had a hunt with the real eggs.  This year I wanted to make egg salad with our eggs so I wanted to hunt them today so I could make egg salad tomorrow.  So I thought what better time than when all the kids are here.  Of course, the friends wanted to have a hunt while my two were party poopers.  So we made a deal, the bigs would hide for the littles and then the littles would hide for the bigs.  I must say, both groups did an amazing job hiding eggs.  Both groups had to work really hard to find all 18.  Caroline and Braedan may have gotten a wee bit competitive.  Braedan tried to steal Caroline's eggs since she had 6 and he only had 1.  It was so fun to see the big kids, who weren't really excited, laughing and chasing each other!  I love our neighborhood family and the friendships our girls have.  I hope they will always think fondly of this season of their childhood!

 

Dying Easter Eggs

 This is one of our absolute favorite Easter traditions.  Before we had kids, Andy and I would always dye eggs together.  Then once we had kids, we would dye them and then have an egg hunt.  Today, we were only able to dye them.  However, tomorrow, before I make egg salad for the week, we will hunt them a few times.  Just when you think the teenager is too old to enjoy fun stuff, she surprises you.  She actually took the longest to 'create' her eggs.  She was very artistic.  

This morning I was a little sad.  We didn't wear new dresses or take a family picture.  Caroline didn't wear a dress at all.  I was sad that we didn't have the cute dresses or coordinating outfits.  But the Lord quickly reminded me that I had so much to be thankful for.  The girls were healthy and wanted to be in church today.  The cute dress or fancy hair doesn't matter in eternity, although I do enjoy getting at least one new dress each year.  Maybe next year.  For now, I will be thankful for the things we did enjoy and the many blessings that we have...we have a Savior who died for my yuckiness...my sin, my shortcomings, all because He loved and came to save a sinner like ME!!

Egg Hunt at Home

Our church egg hunt was scheduled for yesterday.  However, it was cancelled because the forecast called for 100% chance of rain as well as a high of 49 degrees!  So it was decided that we would bag the eggs to send home with church families to hide at home.  We grabbed 3 bags-1 for Maggie and 1 for each of her friends.  After lunch, I hid the eggs for the girls to find.  They had a wonderful time!  They thought they had found everything but Momma hid a few really well so they had to go again.  They were super excited with their mix of candy and toys inside their eggs.  It reminded me of Easter 2020 when we came up with so many games to play with our eggs.  Egg relays, egg hunts, egg counting, you name it, we did it!  So thankful to hunt with friends this year!

 

Yard makeover...my new tree!

When COVID caused our country to go on lockdown, the yard became my happy place.  The fresh air and sunshine was so good for my soul.  It also gave me a place to escape from work and virtual schooling.  I've always enjoyed planting flowers in containers but I've never tried my hand at actually planting things in the ground.  Last year, my cousin Teresa helped me plant my first item...a hydrangea bush...a few weeks later she bought me another one.  I was so pleased at the beauty they added to the yard, I wanted to do a few more things.  My biggest problem is that I don't want to fail, I don't want to plant things and then they die because I didn't plant them in the right place. The whole process was a little overwhelming which took the relaxation out of it.

 A few weeks ago our friends Jack and Beth, who use to own a nursery, came over to help us scope out the yard and think of what I might want to plant where...what would work, what wouldn't work.  Right now, we have about four stages of yard renovation planned.  It will most likely take 2-3 years for me to complete all the projects but I'm super excited.

• Stage 1: Remove dead Japanese Maple tree, Trim yaupon holly bushes within a few inches of their roots.  I can shape them how I want them once they start growing again.  Last step is remove two bushes from the flower bed in front of the other front window.  Not 100% sure I will replace it with.
• Stage 2: Take out old side fence and replace with an arbor (that hopefully my Uncle Ed and I will build) and create a flower bed around the porch.  
• Stage 3: Remove two gumball trees, redo center flower bed where trees are planted and create a flower bed on the back of the house.  
• Stage 4: Create a flower garden along the back fence between our yard and our neighbors yard.  There I will plant blooming flowers to enjoy all spring and summer long.

Today Andy helped me with the first step of stage 1.  We easily removed the dead Japanese Maple tree.  I used money that I received for my birthday to purchase a new beautiful Yoshino Cherry Blossom tree.  I was anxious as I could be.  I'm super thankful for the help I received at the garden shop.  I got it planted and now pray it survives!!!!!  We are going to get a lot of rain over the next 2-3 days so hopefully it will help it settle in.

Softball fun!

 Tonight was Maggie's second game and I was so excited that I got to attend.  They had a rough first inning but found their groove and came back to tie the game.  They ran out of time on the field so the game ended with a tie.  Maggie was super excited that her teacher came to watch.  (her niece also plays so it worked out perfectly)

Not what you want to read...

 Today as I was preparing to leave my office, I picked up my phone to put in my purse and had two text from Caroline..."Mama were in lockdown...it's right outside where I am."  Y'all my heart stopped.  Why do we automatically assume someone has a gun or my daughter is in serious danger.  All I could think of was is she nervous, scared, really in danger?  I didn't want to scare her.  I wanted her to know I was praying for her...because that is the only thing I could do in a moment like this.  We always talk about the fact that God is always with us.  So I prayed and waited for answers.  Thankfully it wasn't too long before she responded that it was a student with a medical issue.  No real danger...while the text made me nervous and I know at times, it can cause panic among parents, I was thankful for this communication with Caroline.  And today I am thankful it wasn't anything too serious...

My hubs is always up to something...

 Tonight I was headed to church and as I prepared to turn onto a busy road I noticed a cup on my antenna.  Only my hubby would put a cup on my antenna vs. taking it inside. 

Sick day

When I woke Caroline up this morning, her first words to me were, "I don't feel good!  My head hurts, my ears hurt and my throat hurts."  I took her temp and it was 101.  So she stayed home and I made her appointment for after school.  Dr. E said he thinks it just sinus stuff...strep was negative.  So rest, lots of fluids and relax.  I thought it was cute that the shadow from her knees looked like bunnies.

 

Two games, same night, same time

So it finally happened...both girls had a game, same night, same time.  We had to divide and conquer.  Mom and Archie came to Caroline's game so Andy went to Maggie's first softball game.  Our friend Anna from Life Group also came to watch Caroline play.  Caroline's team lost but they are the only team to score again Moore.  

We pulled into to parking lot of the softball stadium only to see Maggie's team leaving.  They had a great game, won 8-6 AND Maggie hit the ball twice and scored one run.  She is loving softball and I'm so excited!!!  Can't wait to watch her play later this week. 

 

Trying to be cute and festive

 Tonight for life group I tried to be cute and festive!  Only problem, nobody knew what it was! :-)  It's a bacon and ranch cheeseball in the shape of a carrot. 

Fun With Friends

 After cancelling two months in a row due to sickness, we were finally able to have our friends over for a low country boil.  It was a gorgeous evening to be outside.  The older kids hung out and spent the night chatting while the younger kids enjoyed playing American Girl dolls and other games.  The adults enjoying just being together.  I loved having folks over and being able to use the space we have created in our backyard.  Andy did a wonderful job on dinner!  It wasn't as spicy as it normally is because he didn't want to make it too hot for the younger kids.  It's been a few years since we've had it but it was just as good as I remembered...always better with friends!!