Jots & Tittles

Drumroll, Please....

2007-08-13T11:23:00.000-04:00

The curtains are closing on Jots & Tittles. I am starting a new blog called 'Much Ado About Nothing'. There are two reasons for this.

Jots & Tittles was created over a year ago in the old 'Blogger' format. They have upgraded in ways that makes things much more user friendly. My other blogs are in this new format and I've been spoiled. I've put this off because switching means starting over, I cannot transfer my 'history of posts' to the new blog. But, it is time. Say la vie!
I wanted to change the name. (Not that I couldn't have done this without switching, but it made sense to coincide) Why you ask? Primarily because my hubby can't get his mind out of the gutter! LOL. Just in case there are others with him, let me take a brief moment to explain why I chose it in the first place. 'Jots and Tittles' are terms found in the bible. In Hebrew they mean 'the smallest letter, the least stroke of a pen', which is in the small print under the title on my blog. I thought this was cool and a great title for a blog. I chose 'Much Ado About Nothing' as title for my new blog because it's one of my all time favorite movies (from the play by William Shakespeare), and I think it is also an appropriate name for a blog.

So hop on over to my new blog and bookmark it. I've already posted!

7 Weird Things

2007-08-12T19:17:00.000-04:00

I found this on another blog and thought it was fun. The idea is for you (the reader) to post this about yourself on your own blog. Write 7 weird, interesting, or unusual things about yourself.

1.I once jumped off a 35 foot cliff for $20.
2.I carry floss with me everywhere because I can’t stand the feeling of something stuck between my teeth.
3.I once got in a car accident. At the hospital an x-ray discovered that I had a cracked skull. I was transferred to a different hospital two hours away that specialized in head injuries. During the two hour drive in the ambulance, I was put on the prayer chain at home. At the new hospital, a cat scan revealed that my skull was no longer cracked!
4.I’m claustrophobic in situations where I cannot extend my extremities to their farthest reach.
5.As a rule, I don’t use foul language, however one time in the middle of the night in my sleep, I sat up in bed and yelled a big bad one, than laid back down sound asleep.
6.I once helped paint the outside of a mansion in Scotland on scaffolding wearing a harness.
7.I slept in a tent using an outhouse for 2 ½ months

Happy blogging!

It Starts

2007-08-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

I've ranted a few times about infuriating situations I've dealt with in the public school system. I've had a nice break for the summer, but now it begins again.

I’m at home going through my papers figuring out what I have to do to get my daughter set for sixth grade. I have come to a paper that I have to fill out in the event we cannot pick her up from school on time due to an emergency. Ok, everything seems fine, we will probably not need to use this, but it’s nice to have it as a back up. Then I come to the ‘Agreement and Full Release of Liability’ that they want me to sign. It says:

“In consideration of being allowed to participate in the activities and programs of -------after-school program and in consideration of being allowed to use the facilities and equipment of ---- Middle School, for myself as the parent of the below named child, and on behalf of all heirs…(etc.)…do hereby forever release and discharge -------Middle School, its officers, agents, employees…..(etc.)….from and against any and all claims, responsibilities or liabilities for any accident, injury, loss of any kind, and/or damages to me or my property, including those caused by the passive or active negligent acts and/or omissions of ------Middle School, its officers, agents, employees…..(etc.)….including any ancillary events associated with such activites and programs………and the use of any of the facilities, equipment or machinery of --------Middle School, including any obvious, hidden or latent defects therein."

So, they can basically hire someone to sit in a corner and read a book or talk on a cell phone while my child is playing on faulty equipment and breaks a leg and that’s ok? Would you sign this?

And check this out: A Teacher Grows Disillusioned After a "Fail " Becomes a "Pass"-New York Times

Wrapping up July

2007-08-07T14:52:00.000-04:00

Last week Kai and Alyssa went away to Bethel Christian Camp, which is happily only about 20 minutes away in Gaston, SC. They love it there and had a great time.

This year for the first time, Roan got to attend camp of sorts. He went to half day camp at the YMCA. He had a wonderful time swimming, playing in the new splash pad, and making new friends. All of this 'camp stuff' happening gave me some free time, too! I had the mornings all to myself. Monday, Dean and I even got to go out to breakfast together! Tuesday I woke up not feeling well and after dropping Roan off was free to come home and go back to bed....aways a nice thing. I even got to do a little shopping. The evenings were quiet and that is when Dean was able to finish the dinosaur mural. We had a nice quiet week, but are happy to have our 'noisemakers' back!

Saturday, I went to Charlotte with my friend Deborah to attend CKC, a scrapbook convention. We haven't seen each other in a long time, so it was great to catch up. We had fun wandering the vendor fair and we each took a class. I even won a door prize! On the way home we ate at Cracker Barrel.....mmm.....yum! FYI, there is a new Cracker Barrel being built a mile from my house! Yipee!

This month is going to be a bit crazy. It is full of doctor's appointments, school meetings, school shopping, the first day of school and last but definitely NOT least, Andrea's wedding!

(Don't forget to visit my photo blog!)

Roan Quote: "Kai, you are funnier than a coconut head!"

Ladies and Gentleman....

2007-08-03T14:12:00.000-04:00

It's a Dinosaur! Two years after it began, and over a year since this post, our dinasa mu has been finished!

Roan Quote: "Mommy, I am SO SWEATY from all this growing up!"

Amy's Visit

2007-07-23T18:41:00.000-04:00

Amy and her kids, Canyon and Aly, came back with us from Boone last week. They were able to stay the whole week, which was great. All five kids went to VBS which was obviously good for them, but also gave Amy and I 3 hours each morning to ourselves. We did some shopping, had lunch a couple times and generally enjoyed each other's company without 5 lovable distractions.

Wednesday, we all went to the zoo. Dean met us there, too, for a little while. While we were there, it poured rain. The kids loved it! They were running and dancing and didn't care a whit about getting wet, while we grown-ups were huddling under trees and alcoves.

Saturday, I had to work all day at the Scrapbook Store, so Dean shouldered the responsibility of all five kids so Amy could come too and catch up on her scrapping. Brad arrived later in the afternoon and picked Amy up for a bit. From five to midnight, my church scrap group meets once a month. So Amy came back for the rest of the evening. I got more scrapping done Saturday than in the last 3 months! That was great. Brad and Dean took the kids to a park, then to Ci-Ci's pizza.

Sunday after church, we got a babysitter so the four us could see Die Hard 4. It was highly improbable (absurdly impossible) but fun. Amy and the family then went home. Now, I think I catch up on some sleep.....

A Trip to the Mountains

2007-07-17T15:11:00.000-04:00

I’m back! Last Wednesday, the kids and I went to Boone, NC to visit my sister, Amy, and her family. On Thursday we went to Linville Caverns. The kids absolutely loved this. Alyssa even asked the guides questions like, ‘How were these caves formed?’ They equally enjoyed visiting the gift shop afterward since they brought their own spending money with them!

When we left, we decided on a whim to hike the trail up to the Linville Falls Overlook. It was about 1 ½ miles round trip which may not sound like much, but it had lots of stairs, rocks, and tree obstacles, plus it was up hill…both ways! Felt like it anyway, Amy and I were questioning the wisdom of our whim, but decided it was worth it. The kids loved it. It really was awesome looking down at the falls from so far up. I happen to know how big the falls are, because I’ve been down at the bottom before, so seeing them from so high was incredible. On the way back to the van, I heard Kai comment to himself, "We have done SO many cool things today."

The kids enjoyed playing video games and swimming in the inflatable pool on Friday, then Saturday, Uncle Brad took Kai, Alyssa, and Canyon on a hike/picnic to the top of a mountain off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Amy and I took Aly and Canyon to a little creek and walked around. Roan took his shoes and socks off then crossed the creek leaving his shoes on the other side. Then in his bare feet he slipped on a slimy rock, so I didn’t make him go back to get them. Instead, I went. I slipped on the rock and fell in soaking myself AND my CAMERA! Technically it still takes pictures, but it’s definitely not acting right. Arrrgh! Still having fun though…..we went to Golden Corral for lunch and then to a playground.

Sunday morning we returned home and Amy and the kids came with us! Yay! They will be here until next Sunday, but more about that later!

A Little of This and a Little of That

2007-07-10T09:45:00.001-04:00

Last Friday night, our church’s kid’s ministry had a pool party. The fish, I mean kids, all had a great time. We had a cookout and just hung around and swam and had fun. I even got to hold a one week old baby! She was so tiny. I don’t think I’ve held a newborn since Roan was born. And no, we’re done, unless God has other plans of his own! But it was nice to hold a little baby again.Afterwards I went to see Transformers. It was a fun movie with incredible special effects. I mean, the robots were COOL! But the story was lacking and I flat out groaned and rolled my eyes whenever a robot was talking. However, the effects were so awesome, it was worth it.

After work Saturday, Dean showed up just as I was leaving and told me to follow him. He took me to The Close-Out Company and bought us a King Size Four Poster Plantation Bed! Woo-hoo! Thanks honey!

Tomorrow, the kids and I are going to Boone to visit Amy and family. We’re also going to go to Linville Caverns. I haven’t been since I was a kid, so it’s cool that I’m going back now with my own kids! See ya on the flip side!

Independence Day

2007-07-05T10:25:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the 4th of July. We had a relaxing slow morning, then after lunch we went to the pool for a few hours. The weather was suprisingly perfect, as in comfortable and not too hot for July in South Carolina. The highlight at the pool was watching Dean compete to catch a greased watermelon! He almost had it, but man, those guys aren’t fooling around! He got dunked a few times, even kidney punched, but don’t worry, he can take it, and he can also dish it out! Alyssa took this picture of the melee. Dean’s somewhere in the mess:

Later, in the evening, we went to the Fort Jackson Torchlight Tattoo as is our usual tradition. This time we sat in the stands, which was cool because we had a much better view. They also had more kids’ activities this year and they got tattoos, toy airplanes, and punching balloons. We had a great time hanging out, watching the soldiers, and enjoying the music (although Dean feels he took one too many trips to the bathroom with various kids).

The music was played by the 282nd Army ‘Victory Band’. They were awesome! Dean says the highlight was the Green Hornet Theme Song! I filmed the kids goofing around to it. There are two things you need to know before watching. 1) Alyssa is eating from a bowl of watermelon. 2) It spills. Watch it here now.

How can you not feel patriotic when you’re celebrating with the real deal? They did the presentation of the fifty states with the cannon firing after each one, and the fireworks were cool. We had a wonderful day ending with all three kids falling asleep in the van on the way home. (Kai denies this) Roan was still holding his balloon. Cute.

NOTE: Today is my dad's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!

A Fun Week/end

2007-07-03T11:35:00.001-04:00

Alyssa got her new camera for her birthday. She’s very excited. She has even started her own blog!

Last Thursday, we went to the zoo for another members’ night. We had a fun time. The kids got to go on the carousel for free as well as a free viewing of the new 3D movie. We watched the gorillas get fed which was pretty fascinating. Then we got free cokes and dollar hotdogs. We also watched the lions/tigers get fed.

We even got to pet a snake and a chinchilla! Alyssa brought her new camera and had fun taking lots of pictures. It was fun doing this together, too! I hope she continues her interest in photography. It will be a fun thing to have in common.

This past weekend I went to Raleigh for Andrea’s bridal shower. It was very nice. She has lots of great friends and got lots of goodies! Amy was able to come, too. Together with mom, we had a bit of a girls’ day. After the shower we went home and had a fitting for Andrea’s wedding dress and our dresses, too. Then we went to lunch at a great little Italian place. After lunch we went to the mall because, (horror of horrors) Andrea dropped one of her gifts, mixing bowls from Crate & Barrel, so we took them back and they were very nice and exchanged them for her. Later that evening, we all went to mom & dad’s house for dinner and they showed us their pictures from their trip to Israel. That was cool. Sunday morning I went to church with Andrea & Jerry, then to lunch at a Mediterranean place. I had a nice weekend with my family, and it was nice not to have to worry about the kids, too, so thank you to Dean who had them by himself all weekend! They had fun, too. They went swimming and saw the movie ‘Ratatouille’. They said it was really good.

Dean also bought Kai a new bike (again). Yesterday, I took Alyssa for her new bike (again). Please pray that we remain in possession of these and that they continue in working order for the foreseeable future! We still have to fix the tires on Roan’s bike then everything should be in order.

Tomorrow’s July 4th, so Happy Independence Day! We will probably go to Fort Jackson as usual. More later!

Roan Quote: “Mommy when we’re in heaven, it will be a long drive to go to Target.”

Check This Out!

2007-06-26T10:36:00.000-04:00

As you know, my hobby is photography. I love it! I especially love taking pictures at the zoo. I also love nature pics and shots of my kids. I just started a new photography blog. You can check it out here: Angel Photography.

BUT, that's not what this post is about. It seems I have a budding photographer in the family. Alyssa has asked for a camera for her birthday (which is today!). We'll see......but, today she borrowed my camera to take some pictures of the cats and she came up with this:

Great job, Alyssa! Happy Birthday!

Can We Sleep Now?

2007-06-24T23:47:00.000-04:00

Crazy weekend, but a good one. Thursday, Kai went to work with Dean. The kids love to do that, so Dean always tries to bring each kid to work with him at least twice during the summer. Friday, Roan spent the morning at the office, then they came home after lunch to get ready for the yard sale.

At our last yard sale 3 or 4 years ago, I swore I would never have another one, but Dean really wanted to. He couldn't WAIT to get rid of stuff. The problem we have is that we view things from completely different perspectives. I want to (reluctantly) sell some of my 'valued treasures' for a little extra money. Dean wants to get rid of 'all this crap', he doesn't care if he gives it away as long as it doesn't come back into the house! See the problem? Case in point: A customer approached Dean and asked how much we wanted for the area rug. (It's in good condition, just a little dirty) Dean said, 'Make me an offer." Naturally, no-one starts with a high number, they start low and haggle until you meet in the middle right? They offered $5.00. Dean said, "I'm sorry, I can't take $5.00 for this rug. How about $3?" Understand yet? I can't handle that. I spent most of the morning in the house. Admittedly, Dean did most of the work, but it was driving me crazy! I figured, what I don't hear/see, I can pretend didn't happen. The kids were cute though. They had a lemonade stand and made about 10 dollars!

Today, after church, Dean and the boys went swimming at a friends house while Alyssa and I went out for our 'Mommy-Daughter Date' for her birthday. (coming up on Tuesday!)She chose to eat lunch at Chili's. Then we went to the mall where she got a haircut and a new outfit. We finished off with a blizzard at Dairy Queen, and a 3 minute massage for a dollar in the massage chairs on the way out! When we got home, we all went to see 'Evan Almighty'. It was very kid friendly and funny. Our kids loved it. To read a review of this movie (and otheres) from a christian perspective check out Plugged-In Online. I always check this site before I bring my kids to a movie. It's very helpful in deciding whether I think a movie will be appropriate for my kids.

Roan Quote:
Roan: Do you promise?
Kai: yes.
Roan: do you promise?
Kai: yes.
Roan: DO YOU PROMISE?
Kai: YES!
Mommy: Roan, he said yes!
Roan: (walking away shaking his head) I just can't trust him.

Father's Day

2007-06-18T14:03:00.001-04:00

We had a nice Father’s Day. We went to Lake Murray Beach for a few hours. The weather was perfect. It was fun to have Dean with us this time. Also, Alyssa brought her friend Olivia. When we got back, I made chicken stir fry (with fresh broccoli, zucchini, squash, onions, carrots) and rice for dinner. Yum! Then Alyssa went home with Olivia to spend the night. Dean and I took the boys to the Botanical Gardens at the zoo for another movie night. This time we saw ‘The Wild’. This is a really great benefit we get as zoo members. The family membership is not very expensive. Really, you make up the cost by only about 2 visits and you get free guest passes. Plus you get members only nights, like the movie nights in the gardens. They even gave us free popcorn and soda, and the kids got free balloons. Next week we will go to a member’s night where we can get free carousel rides and free 3D movie viewings. There will also be a bird show and gorilla feeding, and something with the tigers and penguins. Sometimes you get to go inside the animals’ habitat. We walked through the tiger enclosure once! If you are local, it is definitely worth it!

Roan's had a sore throat for the last few days. It's been bothering him enough that he's had trouble sleeping. His throat was red and had white spots. I was giving him Ibuprofen. I started worrying that it might be strep so I finally took him to the doctor this morning. Wouldn't you know it? The doctor said it wasn't strep. It wasn't even red any more. Obviously, I'm glad he doesn't have strep. But, the doctor is 20 minutes away, I have to bring all 3 kids with me. I went all the way there and it was a wasted trip! Oh, well, at least he's feeling better, and on the way home we stopped at Chick-fil-a, ate lunch, and let the kids play on the playground for a while.

Happy Monday! Have a great week!

Keepin' Busy

2007-06-12T12:08:00.000-04:00

Last week Alyssa spent a lot of time with her friend, Savannah, swimming, bike riding, spending the night…so in order to do something special with the boys while Alyssa was out gallivanting, I took them to the beach at Lake Murray. It was a perfect day. The sun was hot, but the water was cool. It was beautiful and we had a great time. Then on Saturday, I woke up to breakfast prepared by Alyssa! She made scrambles eggs with toast, fruit (bananas, grapes, apples) and orange juice! She had also made a placard that said ‘Thank You Mommy’. She said it was for letting her do all that fun stuff with her friend that week. Sweet! Later, while I was at work, Dean took the kids to the pool for 5 hours! Sunday night we went to the Botanical Gardens at Riverbanks Zoo and watched ‘A Bug’s Life’ in their outdoor amphitheater. That was really nice, too. We’re going to go again next week to see ‘The Wild’.

Monday, I finally signed the kids up for camp. It was a close call. The week I had planned on sending them was full, but fortunately they still had room in a different week. I would have been seriously up the creek if my kids didn’t get to go to camp this year. I’m not sure they would’ve forgiven me for that one! I also signed Roan up for a half-day camp at the YMCA. He is very excited!

Monday was also my parents’ 40th anniversary and they are currently celebrating in Jerusalem with Israel’s 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War! Cool, huh? Can’t wait to hear all about it!

Bike Update: Yeah, I know, do you really care? Here it is anyway: We finally bought Alyssa’s new bike last week. She loves it. Unfortunately, we woke up this morning to find that three of our bikes were stolen off of our front porch in the middle of the night. We filed a police report hoping to at least collect insurance, but apparently did not meet the deductible. Is God trying to tell me something?

Who Are You?

2007-06-09T10:35:00.001-04:00

Really. I mean do you know who you are? ‘Cause I don’t. I’ve recently realized that I don’t know who the real me is. Or rather, I’m afraid I know who the real me is, and I don’t want anyone else to know, so I wear masks all the time. I’ve lost track of what is real and what is persona.

The dictionary definition of persona is: the mask or façade presented to satisfy the demands of the situation or the environment and not representing the inner personality of the individual; the public personality.

We all wear masks of some sort. The problem comes when you lose sight of who you really are. That’s me. Who am I? When will I have the courage to be that person? Maybe when I come to grips with my last two posts, I’ll know.

Roan Quote: When I went down to kiss Roan at bedtime last night, he asked, "What's wrong with me?" I looked at him and said, "I don't know, what's wrong with you?" He said, "I'm being so silly!"

Just a Bit of Introspection

2007-06-07T23:28:00.000-04:00

I love blogging, and I love reading other people’s blogs. Unfortunately, not very many people that I know blog, so I’m always excited to find out that someone I know does. Just recently, I stumbled upon the blog of someone from my church. I don’t really know her very well, but I was intrigued by her posts. She’s very personal, something I have a very hard time with, especially on a public blog. One particular post of hers moved me because it hit home. Here is an excerpt from it:

"……I love Aslan so much. I feel like Lucy when I think of Aslan. So, this morning, as I was on my way to church- which was hard to get up for, I wondered why I felt so much more endeared by Aslan than by the Lord Himself……First, God doesn't remind me of a stuffed animal, so I guess that might be why I don't feel fuzzy love when I think of Him. Yet the main reason why I think I am so much more attracted to Aslan than Christ is that in my eyes Aslan is still a mystery……

……However, the fact that I think I've got the Lord figured out takes away His mystery. There is a lack of awe in a person's mind when they believe they understand the entire mechanics of their subject……I obviously have a humanly limited view of the Lord. So, the notion of knowing Him completely is inaccurate. I KNOW that I don't know all of Him……Maybe it's just the impossibility of knowing the Lord that leads me to pass Him off as un-majestic…… I have come to the belief that my pride has kept me from worshiping Christ in all of His majesty……It is the fact that, in my heart, I believe that I know what there is to be known about the Lord and that causes my boredom.

Yet, when I reflect on the relationship of Aslan and Lucy, I see my relationship with the Lord in the time when He was still very much a mystery to me……The simplicity of God's unconditional love, void of achievement or knowledge, SHOULD motivate my tears. However, I feel that I need to be brought back to my place again, as a child of God. I need to open my eyes widely and look on Him as a mystery, like I once did."

I also sometimes have a hard time allowing my heart to feel God. I was raised a Christian. So I relate to her sense of boredom. My heart truly yearns for a close relationship with God but then I seem to adopt an attitude of ‘there’s nothing you can tell me that I haven’t already heard”. This of course, is completely untrue. When I manage to open my heart to receive what the Lord has to tell me, I hear a lot that may not be ‘new’ per say, but I hear it with a new significance in my life.

The issue of pride she mentioned is also a factor for me. I don’t like to cry in front of people. Often in church or even listening to music in the car, I’ll be instantly moved to tears but my inclination is to clamp down on the emotions. This obviously hampers my efforts at moving closer to God.

I live for the spiritual ‘mountains’ such as retreats, bible studies, or conferences. Your days are structured toward improving your relationship with God through worship, bible study, and fellowship. But it’s hard to maintain that special closeness in every day life.

I read letters that Dean and I wrote to each other pre-marriage when we were 18-19 years old. We sounded so spiritual! I want to return to a time where God is my first thought, the first answer. I was a child then, and I need to become like a child again.

Roan Quote: Roan was trying to make something but was having trouble and needed help, so he said, “Kai, I’m four years old and I can’t do it!”

Oh, Grow Up!

2007-06-05T10:08:00.000-04:00

I read Chris Sligh’s blog. While I don’t know him personally, he has performed at our church a couple times and so I’ve followed his progress on American Idol with interest. When I found his blog, I was impressed that he basically wears his heart and his faith on his sleeve. He tells it like it is and is pretty personal. I don’t know how long that will last now that he’s famous. He gets a lot of grief on his blog now. Anyway, I came across an entry that sounded familiar. This is what Chris Bligh had to say (before American Idol):

……I guess I'm just trying to figure out when I'm going to grow up. I still find so much joy in the things that make me a kid, and at the same time find myself frustrated by the fact that I find joy in those things. I find myself still looking to people who are a few years older than me and always looking to them as the "adults" in my life. I always think that by the time I get to where they are, I will feel like an adult. But every new year brings a disappointment with where I am in life.And on top of it all, the thing that makes me feel most like a child is the thing that I love the most: music. I know that eventually I'll have to give up music, if I haven't found some success by some time in my life, but I still have this silly optimism and the ability to daydream while my head tells me that pessimism is the adult response to my current status in the music industry……

……My room is still messy. My life is in shambles. But somehow I'm happy. Sure there is some disappointment and there are some regrets, but I find myself happy with the fact that I still love life, I have a beautiful wife who loves me, I have a church of people who love me and I love in return; and I get to do something that makes me feel like a kid. So the question remains: when do we grow up?

I don’t mean for this post to be particularly deep, but I found his statement interesting. I’m 38, have been married for 17 years, have three kids, and own a house. Yet I often wonder when I’m going to ‘grow up’. Does everyone feel this way? Just curious.

Summer Has Begun

2007-06-04T14:32:00.000-04:00

Well, I’ve been officially reintroduced to one of the negatives of summer break. I now have to take all three kids with me to the grocery store. That is a NIGHTMARE. I was just saying to Dean the other day, while we were waiting in line at Ci Ci’s Pizza, that I look around at the other people also waiting with their children. They’re all waiting peacefully at their parents’ side. I asked Dean why ours have to be the ones climbing on things, pushing each other, happily but loudly. Why do we have hooligans? As far as today is concerned, let’s just say, Roan is DEFINITELY taking a nap! Fortunately as the summer progresses, they’ll start going with the flow and things will even out. We have lots of fun things planned to keep us busy this summer. We have a family membership to the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens, so we’ll go there a lot, I imagine. Plus as a member we can attend such functions as movies outside in the Botanical Gardens amphitheater and behind the scenes tours through the animal habitats, etc. Also, we’ll be swimming, going to the park, and the movies. Alyssa’s birthday is at the end of June, and Alyssa and I will hopefully be going to Raleigh again, this time to attend Andrea’s wedding shower. In July all three kids will go to camp, Kai and Alyssa returning to Bethel Christian Camp for a week, and Roan will be attending the YMCA camp, for the first time, in the mornings. Plus we’ll try to catch a week or two of VBS. We’ll close out the summer at the end of August by making one more trip to Raleigh for Andrea’s wedding! So, we’ll keep busy, never fear! Just pray that I keep my sanity!

Last night we had friends over for poker, Karaoke, and ice cream! Our friend Scott brought his girlfriend who is from Raleigh, and as it turns out, she knows my sister Andrea! Small world, eh? We had a lot of fun. Would you believe that’s the first time I ever did Karaoke? Yup. I’m not good at it. But, it was a lot of fun! One by one, everyone left, even Dean went to bed, but Raina and I stayed up until 1 am singing our lungs out until we were hoarse! Good times.

This weekend we are having a garage sale, something I swore I would never do again, but Dean wants to. He SAYS he’ll do everything and I don’t have to help. Like THAT’S going to happen! We’ve been ‘spring cleaning’ for several weeks and in the interest of saving up for our trip to Disney in the fall, we’re going to bite the bullet. Also, I will once again consign with Tot Trade in the fall. I’ve been doing this for four years to save up for our trip to Disney, and we’re finally going! Yay!

This past weekend Dean ran his first Ultramarathon. A marathon is 26.2 miles. An Ultramarathon is anything more than that. The one he just did was an estimated 36 miles! Also he was running on sand through the woods and in the pouring rain! The trail was actually 3 repeating loops. There was a place called Sand River which is normally dry, but because of the rain, when Dean passed it the first time is was mid calf deep. On the second loop he had to cross through it waist deep! But, by the third loop it was back down to mid calf.

He really appreciated the rain, though; it packed down the sand making it a little easier to run on and certainly helped with the temperature. He finished 5th place with a time of 5:41! Way to go, Dean! (Can you imagine running fast for almost 6 hours straight? In deep sand? In the pouring rain? Fording rivers? I can’t.)

Roan Quote: Roan said, “Daddy I can’t bring gum to heaven.” Dean asked why, and Roan answered, “Because Jesus doesn’t like gum.”

I AM SO EXCITED!

2007-05-30T11:33:00.000-04:00

No more pencils
No more books
No more teachers’
Dirty looks!

Is it wrong for a 38 year old grown mother of three to be so happy that today is the last day of school? Because I AM! Actually, I could deal with school if we could just change two things, start at 9 a.m. and NO HOMEWORK. So, I’m doing my little dance of joy that another year of school is behind us. Only 14 more years to go. *SIGH*

This has been an interesting last week of school. Monday, Memorial Day, the kids went to school for a full day. Alyssa had her portfolio party where I go in and look at her best work from the past year, then she gets to go home, at 10 a.m. Kai, however, had to stay the whole day. Tuesday, Kai had his ‘Punch, Pie, and Publications’ party, then got to go bowling with his fellow student council Reps. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, they are dismissed at 10:40. Hardly seems worth going doesn’t it? This whole week is a wash scholastically speaking. They just hang out, watch movies, etc. Of course, they hold report cards until the last day, so no one will skip these useless days. Today (Thursday) was Alyssa’s 5th grade graduation. I can’t believe she’s starting 6th grade next year. She is going to celebrate by going to Frankie's Fun Park with a friend and then swimming. She is very excited.

Above is a picture of her and her friends at the reception after the ceremony. This is the girl who used to complain that she didn't have any friends!

Last week Roan had a little pre-school graduation. Technically, he’s not starting kindergarten this year because he missed the cut-off date by 5 days! But, they let him graduate with the rest of his class because they are all leaving. Roan is leaving too, but to K-4 not K-5. It was actually kind of sad. Even though he only went two mornings a week, he’s been with Mrs. Twila for 2 ½ years. He loves her and teared up a bit when we left on the last day. Roan kept telling us to say congratulations, and he calls his graduation cap his 'gradulation' hat!

This coming Sunday, Dean will be running his first Ultra Marathon, which as I understand it, is anything longer than a marathon. This one will be 50K (about 32 miles I think). What’s worse is that for nearly the whole race, he’ll be running in deep sand. It rather appropriately takes place in Hitchcock Woods.

Roan Quote: Tuesday was Dean’s birthday. We wanted to surprise him with a picnic in the evening, but were going to see him at lunchtime. So I prepped Roan and told him, “Don’t tell daddy about the picnic, don’t tell him about the cake, and don’t even tell him that there is a surprise!” After saying this several times, feeling I was being completely clear, and he understood, we went to pick up daddy. After Dean got in the car, Roan said, “Mommy, I won’t tell daddy!”

Here's Mud in Your Eye

2007-05-19T22:33:00.001-04:00

It’s that time again! This morning we went to Mud Mania. This really is a fabulous community event. It’s even free! The kid’s love the obstacle course, complete with a zip line, over, under and through the mud. There is even a separate area for younger kids with a slide into the mud. (The picture of Roan to the left is of him letting me check his eyes for mud. He hates getting his face wet.) Naturally, the kids had a great time. However, once finished playing, it quickly became miserable. They were cold and wet and uncomfortable. They had a hose to spray them down, but they didn’t like it. We finally got them changed into dry clothes, but they were by no means clean. See Kai’s hair in the picture?

He went to Ci Ci’s Pizza like that! This is our third year at Mud Mania and the whole rinse off part is always miserable with crying and complaining, yet they always want to go back next year! Go Figure.

UPDATE: Finally got Kai's bike back from getting the tire fixed, TWO weeks later. The next day

the

chain

fell

off.

Roan Quote: We were driving and Roan saw a Stanley Steemer Van and said, “Mommy, look! There’s the ice cream truck!” I told him that it wasn’t and he said, “Mommy, there’s a man sleeping on a couch inside. That means it’s the ice cream truck.”

Any guesses? I’m stumped.

The Joke's on Us

2007-05-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Saturday we went to Kai and Alyssa’s Karate Tournament. We had a good time and both kids did great but it was Alyssa’s turn to shine! This is the first time Alyssa competed in sparring. She got a trophy for first place in sparring for the Junior Division. I should mention that she is the only girl! She also got a medal for 2nd place in Kata. Way to go, babe! (That's her on the left)

For Mother’s Day, Dean and Alyssa made me breakfast! For lunch we went to O’Charlie’s because (horror of horrors), in one week they will no longer offer free kid’s meals. *SNIFF*

I must tell a little story about Dean. This is painful for him so I’ll try to be gentle! At church on Sunday, they were having a silent auction to raise money for a mission’s trip. They had some gift baskets, free weekend getaway, etc. Anyway, Dean saw a friend had bid on an ice cream basket (ice cream dish, toppings, coupon for Marble Slab, etc.). This basket had a $20 value. His friend had bid $50. Dean decided to be funny and bid $51 thinking he was helping drive the price up and making his friend bid higher. He even wrote ‘HaHa’ next to his bid. Well…you guessed it; we are now the proud owners of an ice cream basket. (Dean has his own business and we just paid our taxes, so we’re not exactly swimming in money at the moment.) I told him, if he were going to (way over-)bid on something; couldn’t it have been something we really wanted, like the weekend getaway? The clincher is this: Our freezer doesn’t even work right now, so we can’t keep ice cream in it! Yup, it will be a while before he lives this one down! He just keeps telling himself that it’s for a good cause. He simply donated money towards the mission trip.

I'm 38 Years Old

2007-05-11T10:21:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, Alyssa’s Honor Choir performed at Carowinds 2007 Choral Festival. They rated a ‘Superior’! (In the above photo Alyssa is northwest of the red ribbon with the glasses and pony tail.) We all went as a family and had a great time. This was Roan’s first time and he loved it. All day long he kept thanking me for bringing him. We came dressed for warm weather, but it ended up being a bit chilly and it rained most of the day, but we’re troopers and had a great time anyway! The following is a pic of my boys on one of the kiddie rides. I love this picture because of their expressions. Especially Kai, looking too cool for a kiddie ride!

Monday I drove to Charlotte to meet Amy so we could try on our dress for Andrea’s wedding. Brad came too and watched the kids for us. Thanks Brad!

Monday night, Alyssa had her Spring Concert, the last choral event of the year. She did great and is going to miss it. She says she’s definitely going again next year.

Yesterday was my birthday! Dean seriously outdid himself! When I got home from dropping off Roan at his playgroup, Dean had returned from his run and he surprised me by taking me out to breakfast. When he got home from work later he gave me flowers! Then he took me to dinner at Motor Supply Company Bistro, a very cool restaurant where they have a new (handwritten) menu every day. It was delicious. Dean had pan seared sturgeon with creamy jasmine rice and asparagus, and I had a New York strip steak with mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. I had crème brulee for desert, YUM! Then he took me to Bed, Bath and Beyond and bought me a new body pillow because mine is about 10 years old and flat and flabby. He told me before we got there that the gift he was going to get wasn’t very big but it was thoughtful. I have to agree, it was a very thoughtful gift. I love it! I slept with it last night, like a baby! Then we went to see Spiderman Three. I had a wonderful birthday with my awesome, thoughtful husband. Thanks, honey!

Spiderman Three review: Dean and I were exceptionally disappointed. Kind of like when we went to see X-Men 3. This is what Dean had to say about that movie:

“An ill conceived badly constructed television movie of the week and an embarrassment to the few good actors sorry enough to be under contract to make it. Forgettable, disappointing claptrap.”

He had this to say about Spiderman 3:

“It was a complete mess, it had 10 good minutes scattered throughout the movie, those 10 minutes were A+, the rest of the 2 hrs 10 min. were not as bad as X-Men 3, but that’s not saying much.”

I have to say I pretty much agree. The movie was a complete mess. There were too many bad guys, things didn’t make sense, the love story was depressing, and even the CGI was not very good in places. In my opinion, the best part of the movie was in the last 20 minutes. This was very disappointing. I loved Spiderman 2 and think it was the best superhero movie ever made! LOL. (But S-3 did not mar my wonderful birthday!)

Roan Quote: (keep in mind that he is only 4) Dean and Roan were talking and Roan said, “That’s so lame. Psyche!”

Once Upon a Time....Part 2

2007-04-29T20:58:00.000-04:00

If you need to refresh your memory of Part 1, follow this link!

.....Mom eventually gave up on the wretched bike and bought the patient boy a new one. He was so happy and loved peddling it up and down the street. Once or twice. Then the chain fell off. Dad put it back on and it immediately fell off again. Let me add at this point that the eldest daughter's bike is sitting on the porch with the chain off. That's OK, her bike is old, she needs a new one anyway. Also, the neighbor just borrowed mom's bike, and returned it with a BROKEN chain. The oldest son's bike is also sitting on the porch with the chain off. No big deal, he has out grown it, and just had a birthday, so they bought him a new bike. They unloaded the shiny red bike from the van and noticed the tires should be pumped up a bit before he rode it. Dad pumped up the back tire and removed the pump from the stem and the stem just broke right off the tire and the tire immediately went flat. So mom went back to the store the next day and had to leave it for a WEEK to get it fixed for free. This has been going on for SEVEN months and there is still not a single working bike in the family. What's a girl gotta do?

The Circle

2007-04-26T17:35:00.000-04:00

Ok, I haven't done much of this, but I really must give a shout out about an author I've just discovered. His name is Ted Dekker. He is a christian author who writes with a bit of the flavor of Frank Perretti. They have even co-authored a book recently. I have been really enjoying his books and have breezed through most of them so far. My favorite is his 'Circle' Trilogy. The first one is called 'Black' followed by 'Red', then 'White'. I loved these books and I strongly recommend them. They are full of action, danger, romance, adventure, the supernatural, and the Love of God. Enjoy!

Roan Quote: On the subject of Roan's questions regarding marraige, he just asked our neighbor to marry him! He is four and she is nine. Already going for the older women!

Weekend in Raleigh

2007-04-24T10:10:00.000-04:00

This past weekend Alyssa and I went to Raleigh, NC to visit my sister Andrea who was having an open-house party to celebrate her new home. She and Jerry have really done a great job with the house. In my opinion, Andrea definitely has talent in the interior decorating department. Jerry apparently actually enjoys working out in the yard, which makes Andrea happy as it is not her cup of tea! (Me either!) Also, Jerry and Andrea just got engaged and I got to see the ring! It was Jerry’s grandmother’s ring and she wore it for 50 years! It is absolutely beautiful! (scroll down a couple posts for the picture!) Sunday afternoon, we went to the new South Point Mall to try on bridesmaid dresses. Here's the happy couple:I enjoyed having Alyssa with me. We had kind of a girl’s weekend. On Saturday, we all went to pick up the ring from the jewelers, and then we had lunch at Moe’s. After lunch, Andrea, Alyssa, and I got manicures and pedicures! FUN! Grandpa and Grammy came to the party that evening, too. Later, Alyssa and I went out with them for ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s. We had a fun weekend with family and I enjoyed my time with Alyssa.

Roan Quote: I was showing Roan pictures of Andrea’s house and we were talking about the wedding. He asked me when he would get married. I told him when he was grown up. He would find a woman he loved and marry her. He said, “Mommy, I love you, so, can you marry me?”

Chris Sligh In Concert

2007-04-20T22:42:00.000-04:00

If you watch American Idol, you know who Chris Sligh is. He is one of the Top Ten. He has been voted out but will go on tour with the group when the season ends. For now, though, he is home for a bit. He performed tonight at our church with his band "Half Past Forever". This is the first concert he has done since his appearance on American Idol and the only one scheduled in South Carolina (or so I'm told). Kai, Alyssa and I went to the concert. The kids love American Idol and were excited to see Chris. We had a lot of fun. The kids were right in the front row! Alyssa bought a t-shirt and got it autographed. Kai bought a t-shirt and an autographed CD. I had a great time with my kiddo's tonight! Click HERE if you'd like to see a brief clip of Chris in concert earlier this eveing.

Spring Break

2007-04-16T10:22:00.000-04:00

Last week was spring break and we went to the zoo for the first time since last summer. May I say I love the Riverbanks Zoo! I brought my camera and as usual took way more pics of the animals than my kids!

We also saw the 3D version of ‘Meet the Robinsons’. We really enjoyed the movie and the 3D was very good quality. Amy and her kids came on Friday for the weekend. Amy came to work with me and scrapped while Dean took all five kids on a hike through the woods. They especially loved playing in the creek. Then on Sunday after church we went to Macaroni Grill as Kai’s choice for his birthday which is today. He will have a party and a sleepover in two weeks with his friends. He is 9. Happy Birthday Kai!

This Friday night we will be going to a concert. Chris Sligh (American Idol Top Ten) will be at our church. Very cool, should be fun. Then on Saturday morning, Alyssa and I are going to Raleigh to attend Andrea’s house warming party. We are going to have a girls day complete with manicures and pedicures and I’ll get to spend a lot of one-on-one with my eldest and only daughter. Can’t wait. And speaking of Andrea………(drum roll please)…………She’s engaged!

Congratulations Andrea! We love you! Jerry, best decision you ever made! She’s a keeper! We love you, too, and the kids are very excited about their Uncle Jerry!

Roan Quote: One of the presents Kai got for his birthday was 'The Claw', a tabletop candy machine. The kids love it and have been playing with it a lot. Roan just came in very sad and concerned and told me, "Mommy, when we go to heaven, I will miss the candy machine! Can we take it with us?" Dean said, "Roan, heaven will be even better!" Roan said sadly and quietly, "No it won't."

Happy Resurrection Day!

2007-04-09T09:47:00.000-04:00

We are currently enjoying spring break. In spite of the nasty pollen, the weather has been beautiful and our azaleas in full bloom! Unfortunately, we woke up Easter Sunday with a low temp of 26* and all the flowers frozen to death! O well, fortunately, I had already taken pics of them!

This year my friend Brandy and I had decided to try to make this weekend more Holy. For us, that meant, among other things, eating a special dinner at home, not at a restaurant! We moved any egg hunt stuff to Saturday and downplayed it, so we could make Sunday all about Jesus. We also went to our Good Friday Service, which, if you can believe it, I don’t think we’ve ever done before! For dinner we had Lamb, latkes (potato pancakes), green beans with garlic and tomatoes, Charoset (apple nut spread) with cinnamon bread, and Spinach salad (with strawberries, mandarin oranges, praline pecans, and raspberry vinaigrette, yum!). For dessert we had pear pie and caramel matzo crunch. Later in the evening we all had communion together. Brandy and I had a very tough time making all this happen. For the last couple of days, things just kept going wrong, and we were both highly irritated and having a difficult time getting into the spirit of things, so to speak. We decided we were under some kind of spiritual attack. You know, Satan would rather us celebrate Easter eggs and bunnies than bring up his ultimate failure by celebrating the resurrection! But, in spite of his interference, we succeeded in our attempt, and had a great day. I hope our families ‘got it’. I think they did. I know I was closer to God this weekend, and that was my goal.

Roan quote: Remember the bee story? Roan thought maybe the bee was here because it was Tuesday. Well, about a week later, we again walked outside and there was another big bee hovering right in front of our door. I told Roan, there’s that bee again. He asked me what day it was, and can you believe it? It was Tuesday!

Eeewww

2007-03-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

1. Pollen. Yuck. It's everywhere. It is the worst it has been in 25 years, and we've had no rain.

2. My sister is certifiably crazy. She's getting rid of her shed. You should see this shed. You really should. It's awesome, stick a window unit in there and it's a workshop/school room/playroom, whatever you want. And it's huge. Would somebody talk to her please? She won't listen to me.

3. Is this not the biggest carrot you've ever seen?

OK. My wellspring of information has run dry. More next time!

Roan Quote: “Mommy, when we get home, I need to wash my hands. I have ‘boogeryness’.

"Fully Devoted"

2007-03-19T10:54:00.000-04:00

So, I’m back from the ladies retreat. We had a really nice time. It’s always great to get away with the ladies and get to know them better. One lady said this weekend renewed her faith in women’s ability to be nice to each other! LOL. The setting was beautiful. We were up in the mountains by a lake. We even had a campfire one night and made smores. The one downside was it was pretty cold. The temp wouldn’t have been so bad except that being right on a lake it was also very windy. Saturday afternoon Brandy, Leanet and I had a great time going for a nature walk around the lake with our cameras. It’s a little over a mile. During the weekend, we sang karaoke, played games, laughed a lot, and the food was good.

But, as fun as all this was, it was not the focus. We went to get closer to God. The theme of the weekend was ‘Fully Devoted’. Did you know that in Hebrew, the word devoted is ‘Herem’ which means ‘objects devoted exclusively to God? It means ‘chosen’. It’s not something you do, but something you are. I never thought of it like that. Pretty cool. Have you ever wondered what your ‘purpose’ is? I have. It can be a very difficult question to answer. For most it seems full of great and grand things that we should be doing to change the world and give meaning to our lives. But the answer, for those who follow God, is actually very simple. When it comes right down to it, our PURPOSE in life is to know God and his love for us and be transformed into someone who can love him back. The happiest people I know are those that have ‘knowing God’ as their purpose. Think about it.

These are the bare bones of what we learned this weekend. Just a few of the things that stood out for me that were simple enough to record here. I hope I didn’t bore you! If you have the opportunity to go on a retreat such as this one, I urge you to take it. Now the challenge is to carry what I learned down from the mountain into my daily life.

Roan Quote: We saw the first BIG bee of the season. It was hovering right by our front door. Roan doesn’t like insects, and he asked me why the bee was here. I told him I didn’t know. He thought about it and said, “Maybe the bee is here because it’s Tuesday.”

War On The Homefront?

2007-03-15T16:07:00.000-04:00

Look-Up Lodge here I come! This weekend I'm going to a ladies retreat. I am SO looking forward to it. I went last year. It was at the same place and we had an awesome time. Also, Dean recently spent two 3-day weekends in a row away at Marathons, so I'm really looking forward to my trip. Of course I'll miss them. Obviously.

This week I've been working on the Tot-Trade. For those who don't know, this is a huge bi-annual consignment sale. I've been doing it for about 3 years to save money for our big family trip to Disney. After this one, I'll do one more, then maybe I'll be done. I'm getting tired of them.

We've had an interesting week dealing with one of our children who shall remain nameless. It left Dean considering the strength of his right hook, and me contemplating how nice a LONG walk would be. Then we decided the wise parental choice would be putting said child on restriction. Let's just say, this week led Dean to buy the book "Ending the Homework Wars".

Roan Quote: Roan was eating oatmeal for breakfast and sneezed. He called me in and said, “Mommy, I ‘bless you’d’ all over the table!”

Roan Quote

2007-03-07T19:37:00.000-04:00

Short but sweet, this one stands on its' own!

The other day Roan asked me if he had to take a nap that day. I told him no. Later, I was teasing him and saying maybe he should take a nap, naps are REALLY nice. He looked at me, very seriously, and said, “Mommy, in my heart, Jesus says you can’t change your mind.”

More Miscellaneous Information

2007-03-01T09:16:00.000-04:00

Dean ran the Black Mountain Marathon last weekend and loved it. He was happy with his time. He’s really becoming interested in ‘adventure’ marathoning. A friend of his fell and hurt is knee. Rick was running the full 40 miles. He fell at mile 20 but finished the race. His knee was bleeding the whole time. When he finished it swelled up like a grapefruit. Of course, Dean was jealous and wished it had happened to him. Makes for a great story, you know. It’s gross, but here it is if you want to see it. Dean has decided that next year, he's going to do the full 40.

We finally got our new roof! We’ve been blessed in our recent endeavors to fix up the house. We want to sell it, but it needs some major work first. Last summer we had to replace the whole AC unit. As expensive as that is, we were referred to someone by a neighbor and got a really good price. Less than we thought. Now, with the roof, we originally thought it would be close to $4000. We had a friend at church quote it for $3000 but it ended up being only $2500! So, praise the Lord! Those were the main things to do. The next thing is to replace our deck. That thing is dangerous. Who knows, maybe we’ll finally get to move someday!

Alyssa got her ears pierced! This may not sound like a big deal, but it is. She is very afraid of pain, and has been wanting to do this for a couple years, but chickened out. The problem was everybody kept telling her that it didn’t hurt, that it was just a pinch. But when she would ask me, I’d say, “Yeah, it hurts!” So, maybe that put her off for a while, but when she finally did it she was very brave. I asked her, “So did it hurt?” She said, “YES, it hurt a lot!” She asked why people told her it was just a pinch. I explained that maybe for some people it really doesn’t hurt much, but others might say that just so she wouldn’t be scared. I told her I knew she would think it hurt and I didn’t want her to come back and say I lied to her. I think this was a great opportunity for her to learn, 1.) That she can be brave and take the pain, and 2.) Mommy won’t lie to her. She loves her earrings and is glad she got them.

Roan quote: “Mommy, I can NEVER go in my nose. It’s gross in there!”

Catch Up

2007-02-21T18:59:00.000-04:00

Well, now, it’s been about 2 weeks since my last blog. I blame my love of reading. I have been totally hooked on a new series of books I’ve discovered and can’t put them down. I’m not going to tell you what they are, though, because I can’t in good conscience recommend them. If I knew then what I know now, I would have passed, but it’s too late, I’m hooked. Therefore, all of my free time has been spent reading instead of other worthy pursuits. Hmmm.

We had our first (and probably only) snowfall of the year. The kids were excited to wake up to snow. Their school had a two hour delay, so they even had time to play in it. By the time they left for school, though, it was already raining!

As you know, Dean had entered a contest that would take him to the North Pole Marathon in April. Sadly, he did not win, but hopes to maybe find a sponsor and go next year. We’ll see. Last weekend he ran the Myrtle Beach Marathon with a time of 3:28, a personal record. Even so, he believes his weakness is an undisciplined mind. (something I can hardly believe, if his mind is undisciplined, mine must be jello!) Anywho, he has decided to run another marathon this weekend, yes, one week later. He will be running the Black Mountain Marathon. It is a trail marathon through the mountains complete with wild cats and bears and all sorts of good stuff! The first half is straight up, the second is down. Yeah, I’m currently looking into local mental institutions for him.

Valentine’s Day was very nice. We were able to cash in on some free babysitting we traded for, too! We went to Carraba’s for dinner followed by a movie. We went to see ‘Dreamgirls’. Jennifer Hudson won a Grammy for best supporting actress and is nominated for an Oscar with high hopes of winning. She was on American Idol a couple years ago and Dean and I love that show, so we were curious to see how she did. She was fabulous! We were very impressed with her performance. The movie itself, was a bit depressing, though. Speaking of American Idol, my current favorite this season is Chris Sligh. Also, even though he says he is from Greenville, SC, I’m told he currently lives here in Columbia, so that’s cool. I’m also told that he is in a local band that has performed at my church. So, now I have all those reasons to like him! Go Chris!

Have a great week!

Roan quote: “Mommy, NEVER touch a poison bee!”

Alice Elizabeth Fuller 1913-2007

2007-02-06T17:25:00.000-04:00

My Grammy passed away last week. She was 93 years old. She was a kind, sweet, graceful, classy lady. She was a faithful wife and loving mother/grandmother. She was beautiful. My husband says if I look like her as I grow older, he’ll be a happy man! She had a great sense of humor, too! I am so thankful my sisters and I were able to visit her for her birthday back in November. My parents were with her for Christmas, and her son was with her for New Year’s Day. She loved having her family with her. She had a stroke but went very peacefully. She read her bible daily, and the last verse she read the night before she passed was, “For this is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:14-15.” We will miss her, but only for a season. We rejoice that she is reuniting with her husband (Arnold Fuller, my Grampy, whom she has been without for 17 years) and her savior Jesus.

Fun fact about my grammy: She was the captain of her high school basketball team!

Happy Merry Christmas To Me!

2007-01-30T10:33:00.000-04:00

For Christmas this year, my mom gave me a card with a piece of pie on it.

Ok, I’ll explain. When I was a teen, our special mom/daughter thing to do was go to the local Village Inn and talk about boys over a piece of pie. When you have two sisters, any time you get alone with mom is a good thing! Then, I met THE boy, got married and moved out of state. It’s been almost 17 years since my last ‘piece of pie’ so to speak. Obviously mom and I see each other 2 or 3 times a year, but it’s usually a family event, not much one on one time. While it’s no longer necessary to talk about boys, time with mom is precious.

So, back to the card. Inside she wrote that she wanted to take me to Charleston for 3 days/2 nights! Wow! We just got back and we had a wonderful time! Read on if you’d like to hear more!(First of all, in order to make this possible, Dean had the kids by himself for 3 days! Thanks Dean!) Mom picked me up and we went right to lunch at Macaroni Grill. It was great winding down from the kids/life and getting ready to enjoy the next couple days. When we arrived, we checked in to the King Charles Inn on Meeting St. This is right in the middle of downtown with shopping all around so it was our plan to park the car and walk everywhere. After checking in, we went for a walk to see what was out there. Our hotel was only a couple blocks from the Old City Market. We went there but the vendors had already closed down so we went in search of dinner. We considered Bubba Gump’s just to say we did, but we weren’t enamored with the menu. We found Hyman’s Seafood Restaurant. This was a great old restaurant established in the 1800’s. You should see the awesome circular staircase! Also, as it turns out, lots of famous people eat there when in town. (they enter through a back door) The restaurant puts brass plaques on the tables where famous people sat. At my spot, sat David Lee Roth. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick were at mom’s spot. Also at our table were the Beach Boys and Jasmine Guy. Cool. They also have a general store where I bought the kids a few things.

The next day we ate breakfast at Tropical Paradise. It felt like we were in the middle of an old Elvis beach movie! Then we walked back to the Market

and browsed all the vendors. I purchased a necklace there for Alyssa. Mom found a great deal, too. An item that goes with a collection of hers was 90% off! She got it for $6.00! After that, we walked down to The Charleston Battery Park and Rainbow Row taking lots of pictures along the way. By the time we got back we were ready for lunch at Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub. More shopping (with much indecision on my part) brought us to a store we’d visited 3 times already before making a decision to purchase my first Vera Bradley. After all that, all I bought was a wristlet and coin purse! Baby steps. I also wanted to go back to a stall in the Market where I saw Russian Nesting Dolls. I finally decided to buy one but the vendor had already packed up. *Sigh.* For dinner we ate at Bocci’s Italian Restaurant. Mom and I ordered the same thing which turned out to be a good idea since it had a LOT of garlic! I have eaten more than enough food to cancel out all calories burned by walking!

On our last day, we ate breakfast at the Market St. Deli then went back to the City Market to look for the Russian guy. He was still setting up, so we went and had a pastry to pass the time! Back at the Russian vendor’s table, I spent quite a while trying to decide which one I wanted. I chose the Wild Cats. I probably paid too much, but the guy was Russian and told a lot of fun stories. He was very interesting and fun to talk to, so it was worth it. We checked out of the hotel by 11am and drove home. We ended our trip with lunch at Olive Garden before picking up the kids from school. Back home, we gave them our gifts, then mom said goodbye. Best of all, we had a wonderful time of fellowship with each other. Thanks Mom! I love you!

Roan quote: Showing me his work of art: "Look mommy, its magnicifent!"

The Greatest Show on Earth!

2007-01-25T13:46:00.000-04:00

Would you believe I've never been to the Circus? That lapse in childhood experiences has now been corrected! Last Saturday we took the kids to the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. It was a lot of fun! They had all the traditional circus acts but set in a new show called 'Circus of Dreams'! Kai really liked the tigers. Alyssa loved the cats & dogs act. Roan's favorite was 'the whole thing' and I have to say mine was the motorcycle cage! It was amazing! They had SEVEN motorcycles going three different directions in one tiny ball! This picture only shows maybe 3 or four but they added more later. The acrobats were Dean's favorite. They were amazing, too. It was a bit pricey but definately worth it. At least the first time, I don't know if I'd go every year! It was cool though. We went an hour early for the pre-show where you get to go down on the floor and meet the performers and see some acts up close. They even brought out one of the elephants, a 'Zedonk' (zebra-donkey mix), and 2 Alpacas. (related to the llama, they got to pet these). Also, two clowns came up behind Kai and put a hand on his shoulder. He stood there for a minute until he realized it wasn't me. It scared the bejeebers out of him! (I don't think he's too fond of clowns! Me either actually, creepy!) But, they gave the kids red rubber noses to make up for it. Kai wouldn't let me take a picture of him with it on though! The show itself was longer than I expected. It was 2 hours long with an intermission half-way. So, with the pre-show, we were there for a good 3 hours. Again, I think it was worth the money. However, if you are planning to go, I would suggest you come well fed unless you plan on spending $6.00 on popcorn! Ridiculous!

Roan quote of the day: "Did you know the sky is made out of playdough? Alyssa and Kai told me that!" (They plead the 5th!)

Merry Belated Christmas!

2007-01-05T18:25:00.000-04:00

And a Happy New Year! Boy it went by fast! We had a great time at home this Christmas. We really enjoy traveling to celebrate Christmas with extended family, but boy was it nice to be at our own home for Christmas this year. We also enjoyed going to Christmas Eve services at our church, something we usually miss. My mom recently wrote a booklet called 'How Hannukah Saved Christmas." So, this year, instead of the traditional Christmas Story that we normally read on Christmas Eve, we read mom's book. She did a great job and the kids enjoyed it. This year Dean made our christmas card online. If you did not receive it, then we don't have your email address!

I think movies were the theme this year. We watched 'Elf' with the kids on Christmas Eve. Then Christmas morning they got 3 DVDs under the tree (The Pink Panther, National Treasure, and Pirates of the Carribean 2) that we watched with them throughout the week. Also on Christmas Day, we took them to see 'Night at the Museum' at the theatre. That was a fun movie. We really enjoyed it. For New Year's Eve we had friends over to play games and let the kids stay up to watch the ball drop on TV. We had a lot of fun, but I think we need some new games! Ours are getting stale. All in all we had a great holiday season, (although, one gift, it turns out, got accidentally thrown away! Hmph.)

Another activity that Dean did with the kids, is they dragged out ALL the legos we own. (including the ones Dean grew up with) They've been assembling them for a year and finally got them all out at the same time to play with. The room (200 sq. ft. bonus room) was FULL of legos. They loved it. I just want to make sure they all get put away.....

Here's a Roan quote to start the new year off: 'Mommy, if my brain gets wet, it will explode."

Happy New Year!

And The Quest Goes On...

2006-12-12T19:28:00.000-04:00

Dean did not qualify for Boston. YET. He did however achieve a PR (personal record). This is only the beginning, though. he will not give up until he's at Boston! He's already considering another marathon in Myrtle Beach in February. Not to attempt to qualify, though, too soon. This would be, in Dean's words, just to get the bad taste out of his mouth! The high points of Kiawah would have to be that this was the first time the kids were able to be there to support him. We went down the night before and stayed in a hotel since we wanted to get out there early. But, Dean had to go to bed really early, so I took the kids to see 'Happy Feet' at the IMAX theatre. That was fun, and by the time we got back to the hotel, we conked out right away. Arriving at the marathon, we waited at the 13 mile marker to cheer him on as he passed. While waiting, the kids made signs to hold up. Take a look at Roan's! Also, at the end, Kai and Alyssa ran the last 1/4 mile with Dean to the finish line. He loved hearing everyone yell, go Dad! Alyssa was very supportive afterward and rubbed his legs for a long time. As a family, we had a good time. As a runner, Dean has some new methods he wants to experiment with. Onward to Boston! (Check out his blog, Zero to Boston for play by play info of the fated Kiawah marathon and for future updates. It's quite funny, too!)

Runner in the Making?

2006-12-07T09:07:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning, Kai and Alyssa participated in their first 'race'. They walked a 5K (3 miles). Kai was disappointed that Dean signed them up as walkers, not runners, but he ran anyway! He loved his first taste of running and says he wants to keep doing it. Dean says he'll run with him and is thinking of giving him runners gear for Christmas this year. FYI, Alyssa....probably not going to be a runner. She didn't love it. But she has informed me that her favorite things right now are Art, Choir and P.E. I know. P.E.? Yuck! Go figure.

Friday night we picked out our tree! It is the first real tree we've ever had at home. We picked a great one, too! We decorated it Sunday night. Then we had chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa before bed. Yum!

Well, the big day is almost here! Tomorrow, we go to Kiawah! I will probably take the kids to see 'Happy Feet' at the IMAX theatre in Charleston while Dean turns in early(around 8pm). Saturday, he is running the marathon that he hopes will qualify him for Boston. We will all be out there cheering him on. (It's going to be so cold!) We'll see him at the halfway point and at the finish line. He's working on having updates, as he runs, on his blog Zero to Boston. So check him out to see how he's doing and if he makes it. Go Dean!

Governor's Carolighting Ceremony

2006-12-01T12:59:00.000-04:00

Well, as you know, this year Alyssa is in the District Elementary School Honor Choir. She just had her first concert. This was a pretty big event. It was even televised! It took place on the steps of the State Capitol. Her choir joined with the best singers, and musicians from across the state. (That's her right in the middle of the above photo. She's wearing the white sweater and glasses) Governor Sanford spoke for a few minutes and at the end, his four sons lit the Christmas tree. It was really cool. Alyssa did a great job, too. It was an hour long, but her choir only sang two songs, and had to sit there the whole time without wiggling! This was especially important since they were on TV. She had fun, and so did we. Next week she will be singing at the Irmo Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, but on the 11th we'll finally get to see her in a full length Christmas concert. She's enjoying choir right now. I hope it sticks! Since I was in choir and love singing, it would be great if at least one of my kids follow in my footsteps!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-30T13:14:00.000-04:00

Actually, that was last week, but why quibble? I'm thankful this week, too. We went to Raleigh, NC last week to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. Since we won't see them at Christmas, we celebrated that, too. We call it 'Thanksmas'. Creative, eh? We had a wonderful time of yummy food, fellowship, and presents.

The first night we arrived, we wanted to go to 'Full Moon'. This little mom & pop place has some of the BEST calzones ever! However, we didn't get there in time, so the fam went without me! (*SOB*) The day after Thanksgiving, Amy and I got up at 4:20 AM to go shopping! Our first (and very unfortunate) stop was at Circuit City. Might I recommend that you NEVER go there the day after Thanksgiving? It took us 10 minutes to get the things we wanted and 1 1/2 hrs to check out! Now, you might expect the lines to be long at a time like this, and that was fine. But the ridiculous thing was how long it took to check each person out. Unbelievable! The employees did not know the meaning of the word 'hurry'. They moved at a snails pace and acted like they didn't know there were 30 people in line behind the one they were helping. It was very frustrating. We finally did leave, though, and stopped at Brueggar's Bagels, a place I haven't eaten in for at least 12 years. Yum! Then we visited six more stores. Yes, six. But, it was fun. We found some great deals.

For lunch we tried 'Full Moon' again but it was closed until 4. *Sigh* At 2 the whole family went to Andrea's new house. It's really cute, has hardwood floors, giant old trees, a great shed and a large fenced in backyard. Back home, we played Balderdash for a while, then realized that we didn't have time to go to 'Full Moon' for dinner (naturally) because we had to get to church half an hour away. We visited Dad's new Messianic Congregation, 'Shalom Peniel'. The kid's were surprisingly well behaved and really enjoyed walking around waving flags during worship. We were able to have communion as a family, which is very rare. I whispered a quick reminder to the kids what communion was all about. Afterwards, Roan asked me, 'When did Jesus die?' Uh oh! Looks like I had some 'splainin to do! LOL

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful. And my wonderful husband volunteered to take ALL FIVE kids to Burger King so that I could FINALLY go to 'Full Moon'! Amy, Mom, and Dad came, too. The calzone was wonderful as expected, and we had a beautiful time with each other. Mom and Dad told us a bit about their trip to Argentina, too. Dad also told us a lesson he learned from God that we have been blessed, not because of our own accomplishments, but because of the righteousness of our father, just like Solomon was blessed in spite of his sin because of his father, David. He was particularly moved thinking about his own dad.

Saturday afternoon, we got a babysitter! All of the grownups (even numbers, too! Hi Jerry!) went to see the movie, 'Stranger Than Fiction' starring Will Ferrell. It was very good. Then we went to 'Little Italy' for dinner.(Very delicious!) This was mom's choice as we were celebrating her 60th birthday coming up in a few weeks while we were all together. We even got her a birthday Tirimisu! Happy Birthday Mom!
We love you!

We had to leave first thing Sunday morning to get back in time for Alyssa's first Honor Choir Concert. But, I'll save that for the next post!

0-26.2 In 6 Months

2006-11-17T11:25:00.000-04:00

Most of my posts are about my children puctuated by the occasional reflection, rant or whine. So today, I would like to honor my husband. Overall, he is a loving, dedicated husband, and an incredible father. He works in the children's ministry at church and also enjoys participating in drama opportunities. He is co-owner of his own business. But right now, I would like to talk about my husband, The Marathon Runner.

In July 2004, Dean declared that he was going to run a marathon with a group of people at our church. When asked why, he said he would just like to be able to say he ran a marathon. They began training in July for a marathon 6 months away. This is pure insanity. Dean had never been a runner. Sure, he was athletic. He enjoyed basketball, tennis, etc. but had never run. Ever. And then he tells me he's going from 0 to 26.2 miles in 6 months. What could I do but support him? Did I neglect to mention that when Dean says he's going to something, he does it? He makes it a personal challenge and will not let himself fail. For instance, 4 1/2 years ago, he decided that he would stop drinking coke (which he loved) and has not had a drop since. I admire that. I am SOOO not like that! Anyway, he ran his first marathon at Disney, January 2005. He finished in 4.48 hrs. (see above photo) Now let me back up to a few weeks before the marathon. He was so dedicated to his training, etc. that I asked him if he enjoyed running. He said no. I was a bit surprised. I wondered how someone can work so hard at something he doesn't like. I asked if he would keep running after the marathon. He said he didn't know, probably not. Now fast forward to the above photo. Everything changed on this day. He had tasted the sweet reward for all his hard work and he was hooked!

Dean continued training. Over time he hooked up with other local runners who were serious about running. He started reading, researching, really learning how to run. He bought a decent pair of shoes. In January 2006 he ran his second marathon, again at Disney. This time he finished at 3:30. Way to go! Then he announced that his new goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon. He must finish in 3:15 to do this. So, he increased training even more. He decided to run a trail marathon in May 2006. This was only five months later. He began running through the woods near our home, and increasing his strength training. He ran the NipMuck Marathon in the mountains of Connecticut. He ran on single fine paths, sometime skirting the edge of a 10 ft. drop into a creek, running at a slant, on rocks. This was HARD, nothing like the woods in South Carolina. He was disappointed with his time and has determined to return and redeem himself.

In just a few weeks, he will be running his 4th marathon. (The 3rd one this year!) He will be running at the Kiawah Marathon in South Carolina. It is his hope to qualify for the Boston Marathon at that time. If you would like to know more about Dean's quest for the Boston Marathon, check out his blog, Zero to Boston.

Weekend Update

2006-11-07T11:25:00.000-04:00

We've been kinda busy. Gonna cover three weekends here! On Friday night, (Oct. 27) we attended the kid's school Family Fun Night. They had fun dressing up, playing games, painting tiles, eating cupcakes, etc.! Saturday, the family went to Harmons Tree Farm/Pumpkin Patch. We went on a hay ride, visited the petting zoo, played on the playground and bought 3 pumpkins. I love going to Harmon's. This year we may even go back after Thanksgiving and get a real tree there. As a family, we've never had a real tree at home because we always travel for Christmas. But this year we will be home! Anyway, Harmon's is a great place. Sunday after church, we went to Saluda Shoals Park for our church Pumpkin Carving Party. We brought our own pumkins from the pumpkin patch. We had fun and games and ended with the carving. Kai and Alyssa did most of theirs by themselves with a little help from me, and I helped Roan with his. Alyssa chose a cat, Kai chose bats, and Roan chose a funny face.

This past weekend Amy, Andrea and I went down to Florida to visit Grammy for her 93rd birthday! After checking in to our hotel, we had dinner at Red Lobster. We had a fun time together, and Grammy was blessed that we all came together. We took her to church, had lunch with her and even made a State Cake, her favorite. We spent the whole day together. We sat with her at dinner then said goodbye when she was ready to go to bed. After we left we had dinner at Applebees then went back to the hotel and watched a movie. (Click) It was a quick down and back, but worth it. This weekend the kids will be going to Camp Bethel. And in a few weeks we will be going to Raleigh for Thanksgiving with the family. I'm so happy it's November! It's frustrating that so much time is spent on Halloween then on Nov. 1st all the stores stock for Christmas! Hey, I love Christmas, but why do we always skip over Thanksgiving? Well, I think that's it for now! Happy November!

Once Upon a Time...

2006-10-24T17:29:00.000-04:00

...a loving and well-meaning mother, pulled an old bike out of storage for her youngest son. She took the bike to get it's tires replaced, cleaned up and refitted in general. In an effort to save 20 dollars, she elected to add training wheels herself later. After waiting a week, the bike was ready. She and her young son picked it up. He was very excited. After asking if he could ride it now, he was met with the unsatifactory answer of, "No, not yet, I still need to get the training wheels." He was disappointed but willing to wait. The unsuspecting mother then went to Walmart and bought the only pair of training wheels they had. Later, after struggling mightily with the nuts which were screwed on VERY TIGHT, she managed to attach the wheels only to find out that they were too big for the bike. Frustrated, she realized that not only did this mean her son still didn't have a bike to ride, but she had to return the wheels. To Walmart. The service center. A pit of darkness she'd like to avoid for all eternity. Eventually she made it to Toys R Us. The only wheels they had were the previously mentioned pair purchased and one other choice. Having paid attention this time to the size, she knew these should fit. She took them home. These were remarkably easy to attach. Too easy, in fact. When finished, she sent her son to finally ride his new bike. He hopped on and immediately started leaning left, and leaning. Mom checked to see if she had tightened them enough but could find nothing wrong. Just in case she made a mistake or was simply inept in the area of training wheels, she had her husband check them out when he got home. He agreed. They were terribly made training wheels. She had done everything right and they were as tight as possable. So, back to Toys R Us. Finally, in another visit to Walmart, she decided on a whim to see if they might have another choice available (having already checked Target, to no avail). Low and behold, they did, and they were the right size. Returning home, she whipped out her pliers and went to work. Finally, she prepared to send her 4 yr old (very patient and understanding) son on his way with a loving pat on the bottom. At this point her older son, previous owner to said bike, said, "Mom, look, the chain fell off!" Sure enough, he was correct, and the chain was covered by a chain guard, making it unreachable. She took out the screwdriver to remove it only to find out the screw was stripped. I would love to leave you with a happily ever after, however, this story apparantly will not end. Ever. Moral of the story? Pay the man his 20 bucks.

As Promised...

2006-10-24T10:42:00.000-04:00

My Prize Winners! Alyssa won a first place ribbon and $10 dollars at the South Carolina State Fair with this entry:

And Kai won a second place ribbon and $8 with this entry:

The South Carolina State Fair (etc., etc.)

2006-10-20T21:46:00.000-04:00

So, I'm back. I'm ashamed to see it's been nearly a month. Yikes. We've been on a roller coaster ride of busyness. Kai just got back from a 3 day field trip to Camp Cooper. He had a wonderful time. Alyssa is getting ready to go on a 3 day field trip in November to Earthshine. Last year she went on a 3 day trip to Barrier Island and I think at the end of this school year she'll be going on another trip, the traditional 5th grade graduation trip to Charleston. Funny, I don't remember all these wonderful overnight field trips when I was in school! Also, she has had two big projects due this month, a mobile on President Lyndon B. Johnson, and a 3D model of a plant and animal cell. She did great, but it was a lot of work and I'm glad it's over.

Dean just ran the Governor’s Cup ½ marathon. Since this race is in Columbia, the kids and I got to meet him at the finish line. The kids get such a big kick out of it. They cheer everyone on with a lot of enthusiasm. Dean did great, too. He met his goal by finishing in 1.29.55 hrs. with a pace of 6.52/mile. Out of 526 runners he finished 7th in his age group, 26th overall. Awesome! (I should also mention that a few weeks ago he ran the Dam Run 10K race and won first place for his age group!) He's training hard for the Kiawah Marathon in December. He's trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Go, Dean!

This afternoon we went to the South Carolina State Fair! It's been about 4 years since the last time we went, so the kids were very excited. Alyssa and Kai even entered a scrapbook page. Alyssa won a blue ribbon and 10 dollars, and Kai won a red ribbon and 8 dollars! Way to go, guys! I took pictures, of course, but they didn't turn out very good due to the display conditions. But I will post their works of art here as soon as we get them back and I can get decent pics! We had a great time on the rides. We are all very tired and at 9:30 this Friday evening, I'm the only one still awake. So, I blog.

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

2006-09-27T19:04:00.000-04:00

Why can't I help one kid with homework in peace without the other two yelling in the background? Why can't I leave two boys unsupervised for a few minutes without the house falling apart? Why does one throw a pencil at the other? Why is homework such a CHORE? For ME. Why can't I give a simple direction and expect it to be followed? Why must I ask them something 100 times before they even seem to hear me? Why must they argue with me? Why are they so loud? Why? I'm spent.

I Solemnly Swear....

2006-09-25T11:46:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Kai! He was recently elected to be a Student Class Representative this year. I even went to his inauguration and watched him be sworn in and everthing! Here he is down on the left:Our friend and neighbor, Naomi, was also elected. She is standing right next to him on the left. Congrats to you, too, Naomi!

As I mentioned on an earlier blog, Alyssa recently auditioned for the District Honor Choir and made it. She is very excited. We just learned that their big trip this year will be to Disney World to sing at Singabration in February. She has never been to Disney before and is beside herself. Also, it is a singular honor. Normally Singabration has only been open to Middle School and High School Choirs. Alyssa's choir is going to be the feature elementary choir, the ONLY elementary choir to participate! This is exciting to me, because I was very involved in choir in high school and twice participated in a similar event, Disney's Candlelight Celebration at christmas. So here I will be at Disney with my own daughter passing the torch!

This past Saturday, I went to Savannah with my friend, Deborah. We went to attend a class at a local scrapbook store. We had a fun time at the class, but the trip itself was the highlight. We had wonderful conversation during the drive. (about 5 hrs round trip) and ate lunch at Molly MacPherson's Scottish Pub and Grill.

It was DELISH! We started off with an appetizer of Scottish Potato Scones with Raspberry sauce. Then, I had Shepherd's Pie and Deborah had Bangers and Mash. For desert we had yummy bread pudding with cream and a strawberry! We even got to meet Molly MacPherson's great-grandaughter! It was such fun. Then we took a drive down River St. and a few of the famous 'Squares' before going on to the class. I LOVE Savannah!

Budding Photographer?

2006-09-22T10:45:00.000-04:00

I've always loved photography. Since I got my first camera around the age of 11 or so, I loved taking pictures. My week spot, though, is NO patience. My son, Kai, just started a project at school. He had to hang a hummingbird feeder and observe it, filling out an observation sheet every week. When we first started seeing hummingbirds, we were very excited and I wanted to get a picture. And I got one! I was very proud of myself although, the picture wasn't great because I had to take it through a screen. I tried to sit out on the steps, but the hummingbirds wouldn't come while I was there, and I didn't have the patience to wait long enough for them to get used to me being there. The next day I went out and while I was gone, Kai and Alyssa decided to wait out the hummingbirds on the steps. Their patience was rewarded! Kai took several beautiful pictures of them, and his turned out so much better than mine! Way to go Kai! Here they are:

Creator, Comedian, Singer

2006-09-15T07:58:00.000-04:00

These are my children. Meet, Kai the creator. He is 8. He recently checked out a book from the library about Origami paper airplanes. He has been loving this book. I can't count how many different airplanes he's made. (But, I've made at least 4 or 5! Fun!) Naturally his little brother wants to play with them, too! Meet Roan, the comedian. He just turned 4 and constantly keeps us laughing. When Kai got upset at Roan for taking his paper airplanes, Roan said, "You make 'em, I take 'em!" Now meet Alyssa, the singer. She is 10. Last week she auditioned for the District 5 Elementary School Honor Choir. We just found out yesterday that she made it! Congratulations Alyssa!

Happy Birthday, Roan!

2006-09-05T15:19:00.000-04:00

He turns 4 years old today! Roan has been talking about his 4th birthday since his 3rd. And, yes, he's already talking about the next one! Next year he wants a Superman party! We had a lot of fun this weekend. Andrea and Jerry came for a visit. We have not met him before and they've been dating for about 9 months, so it was great to finally get to know him. We had a great time playing games, watching a movie, eating, and just hanging out. Andi and Jerry were able to be at Roan's party, too. The kid's totally love Jerry and wouldn't stop climbing all over him. Literally. Thanks for being a good sport, Jerry! And, sorry about the cat.....(Don't ask.)

I did not win the photo challenge. *sob* But, I will grudgingly admit that the winning photo was very good. Also, CONGRATULATIONS to my good friend Deborah! She won a contest and she and her winning layout are featured in the October issue of Scrapbook Answers.

This,That, and the Other Thing

2006-08-31T19:18:00.000-04:00

In the interest of desperately needing to update my blog even though I've had nothing to say for over a week, (yes, my life can be THAT uninteresting) I've decided to post this photo:

Isn't he cute? We noticed this little baby bird perched in our gardenia one day. If you look closely you still see down feathers on his head. We think he may have been resting after his maiden flight from the nest. I've really been enjoying my new digital camera. Well, maybe not that new any more, it's almost a year old! Wow, time flys! Anyway, for those who care, it is a Panasonic Lumix FZ30. It has 8 MG and 12x optical zoom. I love it! Last month I signed up for a photo challenge online. It was a lot of fun. We are given a list of pictures to take. It's like a scavenger hunt with your camera. At the end of the month we choose our favorite one and submit it to a poll. The winner gets a small prize and bragging rights. This is the photo I submitted:

The challenge was a lot of fun. We should find out in the next day or two who won. I think I'll do the September one, too.

Anywho, let's see, life update, hmmmm. Kai and Alyssa have started back up with Karate. This is Kai's 4th year, Alyssa's second. Alyssa is in an AGP class for Language Arts this year. Our church just moved to THREE services. I know, it's insane, but no-one asked me my opinion on the matter! Oh, on the issue of just replacing our new air-conditioner, now we need a new roof. And, OH YEAH, my sister, Andrea, and her beau, Jerry are coming to visit this Labor day weekend. We've not met him yet so we're looking forward to it. Roan's birthday is next Tuesday, September 5th, he's turning 4! Well, I think that's all for now. Enjoy your weekend!

First Day of School!

2006-08-17T09:28:00.000-04:00

Well, I sent the kiddos off to school today! I know, this isn't the best picture, but it's all I have! LOL! Don't be fooled by Kai's expression either, he's actually very excited. He loves school. He was sad when it ended last year and very glad to be going back.

As an update on the AC, we are finally getting a new unit this morning! YAY! We've been without AC all week and Tuesday it was so hot that we actually stayed in a hotel for the night. But, would someone please tell me where the $4000 is going to come from? I will give 'props' to our friend Chris who referred us to a friend who will save us at least $500. All of Dean's research was coming up with the cost being at LEAST $4500. So, there is that.

Catch-up and a Challenge

2006-08-15T11:31:00.000-04:00

This week we've been concentrating on getting ready for school. Last night we went to our 'Champion Check-in' to see who the new teachers are and get a glimpse of their new classroom plus fill out a truck load of papers, get our carpool number, browse the school store, and join the PTA. They even had a Mad Science demonstration and free food from Xaxby's, Wendy's and Ci'Ci's pizza! I was impressed. They definately did a better job this year. It was more organized and less crowded. We still have a few school supplies left to purchase. Hopefully, I'll get that done today.

This past Sunday, we had a church picnic. They went all out this year! Eastlake rented three shelters near the Saluda Splash at Saluda Shoals Park. All three shelters had food, the kids could play in the Splash, or the playground. They also rigged up a cool downhill slip-n-slide, and even had a dunking booth! But, the highlight of the afternoon was a 'FAMJAM' teaser! FamJam is a monthly one hour family extravaganza that runs on Saturday nights during the school year. The kids love it. At the park, they did a Diet Coke/Mentos demo! The kids were screaming and some of them had umbrellas! It was a lot of fun.

On a less enthusiastic note, a couple of weeks ago we had to buy a new dryer. Now, we have someone coming over this afternoon to replace our AIR CONDITIONER! Contrary to my children's personal opinions sometimes, money does NOT grow on trees! Just keep us in your prayers, please! One small blessing is, it happened now, when the weather is a bit kinder rather than a week or two ago when the whole country was about to spontaneously combust! Last but not least, I am once again responding to a 2peas challenge! I had to interview my family with the following ten questions:

1. What is the funniest thing I do?

Roan (almost 4)-Laugh
Kai (8) - ???
Alyssa (10)- Tickle daddy
Daddy- ???
Me- As you can see, the men of my family are not cooperating! Either that, or I am just NOT funny!

2. What is my favorite TV show?

Roan- Pirates of the Carribean
Kai- Passions
Alyssa-Passions, Big Brother
Daddy-Big Brother
Me- OK. My favorite TV show is Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis, Smallville, House, Bones. But, I can see why they didn't guess that! In my family's defense, none of these shows plays in the summer and Big Brother is about the only thing on, so that's all they see me watching right now. (And I hardly ever watch Passions anymore! Sheesh!)

3. How tall am I?

Roan- <------------This big!---------------->
Kai- 7 feet
Alyssa- 5 feet
Daddy- 5'11'
Me-5'11'

4. What is my favorite thing to do?

Roan-play
Kai- Scrap
Alyssa- Read
Dean-Read
Me-yup!

5. What makes me sad?

Roan- When people take toys away
Kai- ???
Alyssa- When I have to discipline them
Daddy- The thought of something bad happening to the kids
Me-All of the above!

6. What makes me laugh?

Roan-When he makes silly faces at me
Kai- ???
Alyssa- TV shows
Daddy- The kids
Me- yes, and Dean, too!

7. How much time do I spend on the phone?

Roan-<-----This big----->
Kai- 3 hours
Alyssa- If it's someone I want to talk to, 3 hrs
Daddy- Don't know, doesn't matter anymore now that we have Vonage!
Me-all right, in my defense, I don't like talking on the phone in general. I don't even like to answer it! However, occasionally I will talk to my sisters for an hour or two.

8. Am I a better driver than Daddy?

Roan- yes
Kai-no
Alyssa-no
Daddy-no
Me- 'atta boy, Roan, you got my back! LOL! Here's the rundown. If you want to get somewhere fast, you want me, if you want your car to last a long time, you want Dean.

9. What do I do while the kids are at school?

Roan- eat lunch
Kai- take Roan to playgroup
Alyssa-take care of Roan, go to the grocery store
Daddy- watch Roan
Me- I plead the 5th.

10. What should I be famous for?

Roan-toys
Kai- Scrapping
Alyssa- Singing, drawing
Daddy- artwork, photography
Me- I'm not sure what Roan's talking about, but *blush*, I wish I was famous for those things!

That's all folks! Have a great week!

CKC Charlotte

2006-08-08T10:14:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, I went to Charlotte with two friends of mine, Deborah and Leanet. We went to attend the Creating Keepsakes Convention. (Scrapbooking!) We had a lot of fun! I took three classes and loved shopping the Vendor Faire. At lunch we met with other Peas! (members of our online forum) It was great being able to finally meet some of them face to face. I love the forum 'Two Peas in a Bucket'. It is fascinating talking to people from all over the world about our love of scrapbooking. We all made name tags so we could identify each other. I won a prize for the best nametag! Thanks Deborah, for the RAK! Some of the other peas also brought gifts for everybody.Two of my classes were with Donna Downey. Deborah and I took the last class together. DD was a lot of fun! She is very funny and cute. By the end of the day, were were very tired but still quite able to enjoy an excellent dinner at Outback Steakhouse on the way home!

Now, back to life, back to reality....This week will be full of preparations for school. Yesterday, we got Alyssa's glasses repaired. We also have to schedule physicals for all three kids. We still haven't gone school supply shopping or clothes shopping. Next Monday is the big 'Champion Check-in' where we find out what teachers they have and fill out papers, get another school supply list, get our car line number, etc. etc. etc. A necessary evil, I suppose. And school starts next Thursday. Another necessary evil, I suppose. Most parents are glad at this point that school is back in session. Not me. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy having a few hours to myself, but Roan is still with me most of that time, so I'm not totally alone. And the trade off is getting up at O dark thirty in the morning and dealing with homework. YUCK. I hate homework. I know, I'm supposed to be a grown up and grow up. But in this case, I think I'll be stuck at age 12 for the rest of my life! So, instead of rejoicing, I'll be mourning the end of summer! We did have a pretty good one. We started off with a trip to Connecticut to attend Aunt Terri's graduation. Then we went to the mountains for a couple days with Grandpa, Grammy, and Aunt Amy's family. We've had lots of fun family time with daddy playing board games, watching movies, going swimming, going to the zoo, going to museums, going to work with daddy, going to Frankie's Fun Park, and just last week we went to the beach for the weekend! So can you blame me? Summer is almost over, and back to the grindstone! Oh, well. Que Sara Sara! (did I spell that right?)

10 Surprises

2006-08-04T14:12:00.000-04:00

This is in response to a 2peas blog challenge: Ten times in my life that I have been surprised!

1.) When I was in 5th grade my parents showed up at school and pulled us out of class to take us to the county fair. We never got to miss school for stuff like that, not even our birthdays! And we'd never been to the fair before, so it was a real treat!

2.) For my 16th birthday, I was in class at school and my mom walked in the door with a cake!

3.) One year I opened a gift under the tree and it was a guinea pig! They only had it wrapped on three sides so it could breath and my parents couldn't believe it stayed quiet all morning and didn't give himself away!

4.) A couple years after getting married Dean gave me an awesome Camera (Nikon 5005) for Christmas!

5.) In the early part of our marraige, we were visiting Dean's Nana. It was Sunday morning and we were getting ready for church. I had just showered, was COMPLETELY naked and Nana walked in without knocking! When she saw how embarrassed I was she said, 'Honey, you haven't got anything I've never seen before." and walked back out!

6.) For Dean's graduation from college, friends who graduated with him (a married couple) took us on a 7 day Carribean Cruise all expenses paid!

7.) I used to work in a swanky law firm. One day on my birthday, Dean showed up dressed to the nines with flowers and serenaded me!

8.) It was a really cool surprise the day Dean came home from work and announced he had been promoted to Vice President with a substantial raise! (The business was only around for about another year, but it was nice while it lasted!)

9.) I am usually a hard person to surprise. I'm nosey, inquisitive, etc. Especially when I have reason to suspect something. Nevertheless, my friend Karlene managed to COMPLETELY surprise me with a baby shower.

10.) It was a real surprise when I received my first email asking if they could publish one of my layouts in their magazine.

This was a cool challenge. I have a smile on my face as I sit here remembering all these surprises and typing them out. It was fun!

Our Fabulous Family Vacation

2006-08-02T10:38:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a while since my last post, sorry! Been pretty busy. This past weekend we went to Folly Beach, near Charleston, SC. We had such a great time. This was really the only vacation we've had this year with just us. We drove down Saturday morning and went straight to the beach. We ate lunch first at a great little mexican place called 'Taco Boy'. When we first walked in we immediately loved the ambience. They had these great straw chairs and a HUGE wooden table that would seat anywhere from 16 to 22 people depending on how crowded you want to be! It belongs in some old medieval castle or something. LOVE IT! Also, the bathroom was really unique and cool. But, to the important stuff! The guacomole was the best I've ever had and the taquitos were fabulous! We've kinda come to expect to pay a lot for a mediocre meal when at the beach, but this was a wonderful surprise. I am SO going there again next time I get to Folly. As for the beach itself, Folly is a great beach! It's a large flat beach with plenty of room. We were there at the end of July and it wasn't even that crowded. It was a very windy day so the waves were huge. All the better! I had bought a body board for the kids, but the last time they went to the beach (about 2 years ago) they were still scared of the waves, so I wasn't sure if they'd like the body board. They loved it! Alyssa was fearless! Kai was amazing! Even Roan did not seem too afraid! He was all in the surf looking for shells and rolling around! He also enjoyed chasing the seagulls and of course the inevitable sand castle. In spite of our diligence with the suntan lotion, we all did get a little too much sun, but not too bad. We were there for over 4 hours! We finally packed up and went to our hotel. We cleaned ourselves up then went to dinner at a locally owned pizza place called 'Andolini's' (I think). It was New York style pizza. I had a cheeze calzone. YUM! On Sunday we went on a boat ride to Fort Sumter. That was cool. We even saw dolphins on the way back! Later we saw Ant Bully in 3D at the IMAX theatre. Finally we headed home. It was a very short vacation, but very sweet.

As an aside, though, I must mention that when we arrived home about 10:30 pm, we walked in the house and it was HOT! The thermostat was at the very top (90*) . We passed a very unpleasant night. The next morning we looked at the air conditioning unit and it was infested with ANTS! (Kind of ironic after having just seen 'The Ant Bully', a movie that wants you to view 'the kinder, gentler, ant') We've lived in this house for over 8 years, but this year, all of a sudden, they've decided they like our AC unit. They are apparently drawn to the electricity or something. They get up in there and gumm it all up and the AC stops working. We've had to clean them out at least 4 times this year! And believe me, this is NOT the week to be without AC! Anyway, we once again cleaned out all the ants, laid out poison, etc. and things are back to normal. But, for how long???

It's About Respect!

2006-07-25T17:10:00.000-04:00

A pet peeve of mine has risen to the surface lately. How many times have you heard someone on TV or in life around you complain about being called 'maam'? I know, for some reason people equate that with age, feeling old. But, that really shouldn't be the case. I think using the term 'maam' is showing respect. On the one hand, it is proof that I have earned that respect, through the passage of years or otherwise. On the other hand, maybe you've simply encountered a person who is, brace yourself here, POLITE! A well-mannered person should be ENCOURAGED to show respect, not discouraged because of a petty ego-induced self-delusion of youth. There are simply not enough out there. Look at the bulk of todays youth. Self-indulgent, disrespectful, and irresponsible teens lead to self-indulgent, disrespectful, irresponsible parents who complete the circle and teach their children to be the same.

For instance, when I was a child, my parents taught me how to answer the phone. Does that sound weird? We learned how to speak clearly and politely, how to greet the person, and identify ourselves. We knew how to take a message. We also knew what NOT to say, 'my mom's in the shower!' LOL. Well, as a result, people who called our house understood what we said, and knew their message would reach the right person. As an teenager and young adult I have been hired for good jobs based on my phone skills. Another result is, now my husband and I teach our children the same. I can't count how many times we and our children have been complemented about that. Dean and I recently discussed how it's a shame that this stands out so much. Is it really so hard? So, in closing I'd like to say, you can call me 'maam' anytime you want to. I don't care how old I am, I'm honored to be treated with respect by you or anyone else of any age!

Doesn't he have the face of an angel?

2006-07-16T20:58:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I laid down with my 3 1/2 year old son for his nap. We were laying there quietly. He was playing with my hair. It felt good and I started drifting off...but then he started getting a little rough and I asked him to stop now and go to sleep. He said, " But mommy! I can't find the booger!"

The ABC's of Me

2006-07-13T22:57:00.000-04:00

This was in response to a blog challenge on TwoPeas. I must say this was an interesting challenge! I wasn't going to do it. I thought it would be too difficult to come up with something for every letter in the alphabet. (and it was!) But, I also have a tendency to only list my negative attributes and have a hard time listing my positive ones! But I do have them! So, I decided to take the challenge, for my sake really, to make me think about what's good about me instead of always dwelling on what I need to fix! In all fairness, I did have to add a few negatives, though, because that's just life. I'm not perfect. Not yet, anyway! ;)

Angie
Brunette
Creative
Dreamer
Expressive
Florida born
Geek
Humble
Impatient
Jesus follower
Kitten lover
Loquatious
Musical
Night-owl
Often Online
Perceptive
Quiet seeker
Reader
Sci-Fi Chick
Tall Thirty-something
Undisciplined
Voluptuous
Wife
X-rayed
Yellow-bellied
Zaboni's mom

Why, why, WHY?!!

2006-07-09T00:10:00.000-04:00

My husband has had the same car for about 12 years. I drive it, maybe 5 or 6 times a year. Three times in those 12 years, there has been something wrong with the car that is ticket worthy(late registration, headlight out, etc.). But does Dean in all his 12 years of driving EVER get pulled over? NO! ALL 3 TIMES it was ME in one of my rare uses of his car that gets pulled over! WHY ME? It's not fair! (whine) Ok, I'm done. Wait, when I got home, I broke a glass. At 1 AM. Ok, now I'm done.

Today we finally got to have Alyssa's birthday party. We went to Saluda Splash for a Luau. The girls all had grass skirts and we did the Limbo, and of course played in the water. ) Alyssa always invites the same girls to her party. They are her friends from Ben Lippen. They don't see each other all year, but on Alyssa's birthday, they act like no time has passed at all. So sweet. Kai and Roan came along and had fun, even though it was a GIRL party! (says Kai) It was perfect weather, too, with a high of 83! Unfortunately, when we got home I had to go to work, but no biggie. Here are a couple more pics of the Luau:
This evening we had our 'family movie night' and watched 'Superman The Movie'. Sunday after church, we are going to the pool. Fun family weekend. Let's see, any more tidbits? Dean ran 19 miles this morning. He's officially started intensive training (after a short break after the May marathon he ran) for the marathon in December where he wants to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I do realize my blogs have been very 'Alyssa' lately, (and that I am currently rambling) but now that her birthday is out of the way, I promise to make every effort to show off my boys a bit! I think that's it for now, happy Sunday!

The 4th on the 3rd

2006-07-04T12:10:00.000-04:00

I am usually a stickler about celebrating the holiday ON the holiday. Therefore, for the last several years we have been unable to enjoy our usual July 4th pastimes because all the big stuff has started celebrating on Saturday whether that is the right day or not. HOWEVER. This time our favorite 4th activity took place Monday night on the 3rd. What the heck, close enough! So, we went to Fort Jackson's Torchlight Tattoo. We hang out for a few hours on the lawn of Hilton field, eating our picnic dinner, playing cards, soccer, or blowing bubbles, while watching thousands of soldiers filing in. It's really cool! It is also sobering. We noticed that the troops all had new fatigues. They are now dessert gray instead of the green camoflauge. We looked into their faces and knew where they were going. I was happy the kids could be there. We talked a lot about the meanings of the songs, the symbolism, patriotism. The 282nd Army 'Victory Band' plays a patriotic salute to the 50 states, 5 territories and the District of Columbia with a presentation of the flags and a cannon salute for each one. By then it was fully dark and we enjoyed the best fireworks in town! Happy 4th of July on our nation's 230th birthday!

This one's for you, babe!

2006-06-30T12:18:00.000-04:00

So, my hubby tells me my blog is getting stale. I say the kids are at camp, it's been quiet, there's nothing to blog about. He says blog about anything or nothing, then he says 'Geez, woman, you call yourself a blogger?" So, here it is honey....you asked for it! One year ago, our kids left for camp. We decided that week was the perfect time to redecorate their rooms. It was a really big deal. Alyssa and Kai shared a room and Roan was still in the nursery. It was time for Alyssa to have her own 'girly' room and for the boys to move in together. It was a HUGE undertaking. I can't believe we did it in only 5 days! One thing Dean wanted to do in the boys room was a floor to ceiling mural of a dinosaur. Now, technically I'm all for it. Dean is an awesome artist and I knew it would be great in the end. IN THE END. See, I also know something else about Dean. I told him I only wanted him to do it if it would be FINISHED that week. He said it would. I said, "Really, I mean it!" He said, "Lay off me woman, I said I'd finish it!" Just kidding, he didn't say that, but he was probably thinking it! Anyway, ladies and gentleman, this is our mural exactly one year later:
He's still dripping, has pencil teeth and spine ridges, not to mention the poor thing is BLIND! Love you, honey! Thanks for the dinosa mu.

Camp!

2006-06-26T09:47:00.000-04:00

Last night we dropped the kids off at camp. They love it and are so excited to return this summer. They have a couple friends along, too. They'll be gone until Friday evening. Believe it or not, I already miss them! Afterwards, I went out for dessert with my friend Bronwyn. I haven't seen her in a while. It was great to catch up. I'm HOPING to maybe get some scrapping done today since I'm so far behind. Brandy may come over and join me. This week while the kids are gone, we are also hoping to get a lot done around the house. Last year during camp we totally redecorated the kids rooms. This year I'd be happy to just get them clean! You should see Dean's to do list! It'll take at least a year to check everything off of THAT list! We are also going to try and spend some quality time with Roan since he's here alone for a whole week with no siblings. I tried to find VBS or something, but it seems my timeing is off. So far I haven't found any that are THIS week. Oh well. Have a great Monday!

Locks of Love

2006-06-24T22:14:00.000-04:00

Today, for Alyssa's 10th birthday, she got her waist long hair cut! Gasp! This past year she read a book in school called 'Because of Anya'. This book is about a little girl who lost her hair due to illness. Her friend cut her own hair and donated it to Locks of Love to make a wig for Anya. After reading this book, Alyssa mentioned that she would like to do that someday. Well, that day has arrived! Today Alyssa got 12 inches cut off. We will send it to Locks of Love. I'm very proud of her!

What's The Difference Between a Duck?

2006-06-23T20:13:00.000-04:00

One foot is both the same!!! And the hilarity ensues... Today I was reunited with a friend I haven't seen in 10 years. We met in Charlotte with my sister and another friend. It was like no time at all had passed. We took up right where we left off. We laughed, we cried, we reminisced about the old days. We reminded each other of things we'd forgotten. (Except for that movie, what WAS it???) It was cool. Let's not let another 10 years go by, K Sher? (P.S. Jump up and down and land on your feet!)

My Baby's Growing Up!

2006-06-22T22:41:00.000-04:00

My little girl is turning 10. Double digits! Today I took her on our 'Mommy-Daughter' date. (not to be confused with the 'Daddy-Daughter' date!) This is a rare opportunity to be one-on-one without brothers! Yup-it's tradition. We went shopping together at Old Navy, Target, and Barnes & Noble, then we went to her choice of restaurant, Olive Garden. Her favorite thing is the alfredo cheese dip and bread. We had a very sweet time together, just her and me. She's still my little girl but every now and then I get a peek of the young lady she's soon to grow into. It's bitter-sweet isn't it? On Saturday, she's going to a Salon to get her hair cut. Her hair is down to her waist so this is a big deal. My baby. My first. I love you, daughter! Happy Birthday! Love, Mom

I've Been Published!

2006-06-21T10:55:00.000-04:00

It has finally arrived! My first paper publication. Scrapbook and Cards Today Magazine has their summer issue up on their website starting today. You can download the whole magazine! My layout "Alyssa" is on page 60 if you want to check it out here: http://www.scrapbookandcards.com/magazine.html

Fun in the Sun

2006-06-19T17:07:00.000-04:00

Well, yesterday was Father's Day. We had a lot of fun. Dean has the month off in Kid's Cove so we got to all go to church together. After church we spent the afternoon at Mike & Brandy's house for a cookout. Yummy ribs! The kids had lots of wet fun playing with waterguns. Later, we grownups played a board game. As you can see, Roan was well entertained with bubbles!
Today Brandy and I had prepared to take the kids to the lake but when we arrived, we discovered it was closed due to construction. We were all dressed up with no place to go! So we decided to go to lunch at O'Charlies. (instead of our preplanned movie date for later!) After lunch, we went swimming at a neighborhood pool as guests of friends from church. So, our day didn't go quite as originally planned but was fun nevertheless! I even got a little bit of a tan!

Legos

2006-06-16T00:47:00.000-04:00

This is a sweet picture isn't it? Daddy with his three kids playing with legos. They're spread out all over the living room floor, each doing his own thing.Daddy even humming a little tune. Kind of like a Norman Rockwell with legos, right? Until this idealic peek into a day in the life of the Schuster's comes to a screeching halt in RealityVille and the three year old says, 'Daddy, stop singing that, it's annoying!"

What to blog about...

2006-06-13T09:49:00.000-04:00

Well, summer has begun. Yesterday, it was 101*. We started our summer vacation a day early. We went to CT for Aunt Terri's graduation. I think the highlight of the week was going to Rain Forest Cafe. (and swimming in the hotel pool, of course!) After dropping Dean off back at home, the kids and I left right away for Blowing Rock, NC to visit Grandpa & Grammy, and the Wolf cousins! We especially enjoyed our walk around Bass Lake. The kids even got to wade into the lake and pick a few water lilys! (Grandpa's doing!) We have been back home for about a week now. It has been surprisingly quiet and peaceful! We've had a lot of great family time, too! We all went to see the movie 'Cars'. It was very good! We tried to go to the drive-in but it was sold out, so we finally made it to the 9:40 showing at the theatre. Even Roan stayed up for it! Dean also bought the board game, "Clue", so we've played that a few times. We've had some thunderstorms lately that has twice caused us to lose our electricity. Try playing the board game 'Life' on the floor by the front door for light! I took pictures this past Sunday at church for a slide show on Father's day. That was fun, but since then I have been in MAJOR pain. My neck is KILLING me. I don't know what I did to it. There was no obvious point of injury. It just gets worse everytime I sleep. For two days I was hopped up on alternating IBU Profen and Tylenol, then yesterday I started taking an anti-imflamatory so no more IBU Profen. Today, tylenol by itself just ain't cutting it, so I've added a hot-patch. When will it end??? Today, Dean and I need to make final decisions for Alyssa's birthday party in less that two weeks. Also, next week I will be reuninting with a long lost childhood friend! (Well, maybe not lost, but out of touch!) How am I doing Deborah?

Still Challenged.....

2006-06-10T00:16:00.000-04:00

My good friend Deborah has encouraged me to press on and conquer this 'BLOG'. We shall see...

I don't know what I'm doing!

2006-05-15T11:53:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to set up this blog dealio, but I seem to be somewhat challenged in this area!