There's No Place Like Home

A Poem By My Daughter...To Her Marine Cousin

2011-07-04T09:47:00.003-04:00

Until Your Boots Touch American Soil

When you went to Afghanistan,
It was a very frightening day.
We all knew you had been trained so well,
And all we could do was pray.

You packed your gear and said goodbye
As ready as could be,
To be a part of an important mission
Carried out by the USMC.

The months went by, your mom was sad,
The stress, so much to bear.
Her oldest son, so far away
With danger everywhere.

We prayed, we cried, we sent you food,
We waited to hear from you.
All the while, having no idea
What you were going through.

Seven months came and went,
Across so many miles.
Seemed it had been forever
Since we saw your smile.

Out of danger, home again.
So glad that you are here.
After many months of worrying
We’re all relieved of fear.

You will leave again this month
And to your Country, stay so loyal
We will miss you once again
Until your boots touch American soil.

Autumn Parrish

TWO Graduations in one day!!

2011-05-27T07:57:00.009-04:00

We had a HUGE dilemma last night! Avery was graduating from Preschool and Alex was graduating from Kindergarten. :( We were upset. We were sad. And then we decided it would only be fair to draw names. Each girl drew names to find out who would attend their Graduation.

Alex drew my name, along with Pa, Cindy and Uncle Jeff.

Off we went to see this little sweetheart graduate!

She had wonderful teachers her first year in the big school!

New friends to last a lifetime..who knows, maybe I will get this same picture 12 years from now!

"I am a first grader now."

We enjoyed our evening with Pa.

And Aunt Cindy!

Gifts from Ganky and Pa.

Alex got the LAST piece of cake...thanks Aunt Cindy!

Hope you enjoyed my pics. Now run over to Mom's blog and see Avery's Graduation! :)

Two in a Row!!

2011-05-09T06:13:00.003-04:00

We have two glorious Holidays in a row! First, Mother's Day and then today, your BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest and BEST Mom in the whole world! I can not imagine taking this journey without you beside me!

Happy Birthday from the whole "Village". :)

Love you to Hawaii...and BACK!

To My Mom...

2011-05-08T07:53:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to the most thoughtful, kind, selfless, compassionate, caring, loving Mom. I have learned so much from you. I enjoy every moment we spend together.

You are my Best Friend.

...and the most wonderful Ganky to all your Grandchildren!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

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I love you so very much!

Happy 5th Birthday, Sweet Avery!

2011-03-28T04:30:00.001-04:00

My sweet Avery, I can not believe you are five years old today! Time is flying by, but I am enjoying every minute of you! You are so precious, sweet, kind-hearted, loving, snuggly and pretty! You always tell me I'm pretty, even when I know I am not! :)

My walk down memory lane is so bitter sweet!

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You had so much fun at your birthday party!

I LOVE how Alex is so proud that you are enjoying YOUR Birthday. Look at her face..such a great Sister.

Happy Birthday Avery Michele, Shelly Bear, Shell Bell! I love you to Grandmother's house and back, too! ;)

My baby went to Prom!

2011-03-27T08:21:00.008-04:00

It is really hard for me to believe my baby went to Prom this weekend, but she did! She went with her boyfriend, Justin, and they had a great time! Hope you enjoy the pics, although you may have seen some if you follow Mom or Aunt Cindy! :)

*Click the pics to enlarge them!!

Alex LOVES Justin! She was fixing him for pictures. So sweet!

I love this pic, because it shows her hair. So lovely!

There was a lot of preparation...it was all worth it! :)

Have a wonderful day!!

Do YOU have a lap dog?

2011-01-16T14:48:00.006-05:00

...I don't. But I have a dog who THINKS he is a lap dog! It is actually really funny and he does this all the time. Please understand these pics were taken with my Camera on my Blackberry, hastily, because he moves when he sees me coming.

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Munson sitting in Avery's lap.

He sits on BB all the time. I don't know what he is thinking.

...Or what she could possibly be thinking, but it does not seem to bother her.

He really loves her and I guess she loves him too!

Have a great week!

Snow Day at The Parrish House!!

2011-01-10T18:40:00.013-05:00

This turned out to be a big one! We are trapped at home! See how steep my drive is? No way out! We are just staying warm and catching up on some down time. Don't get much of that here!

Here are my four the day before it snowed. I let the two big ones go to friends' houses, knowing they would get snowed in there. I am not sure when they will be home now!

So...there were just two to take pics of in the snow. They had a blast. We were unable to make a SnowGor (as Avery says) because the snow was covered in a sheet of ice. It would not roll.

It also made the Snow Angels have to work harder :)

Alex had a "Wardrobe Malfunction".

Then came the sledding!

I love the excitement on Avery's face here. She was running and I got her in the air! Too cute.

We tried to slide on everything we could find. Alex was really laughing at me trying to ride down the hill on the teeter totter!

The snowballs hurt because of the ice, so Alex had a shield. We had to create a twist on snowball fights!

Such a fun time...just hanging together!

What is a day in the snow without hot cocoa with mini "smarshmallows"?

Hope you all have a great week! Stay warm....wherever you are! :)

Take Time to Laugh at The Little Things!

2011-01-06T07:22:00.004-05:00

When I went into my basement bathroom yesterday this is who I saw...

Sitting on the back of the toilet. :) I can not help but wonder which of my four crazy kids did this and who they were thinking would see it first. It really made me giggle.

I am pretty sure it was one of my two littlest Angels who left something cute for my Mom (go check it out) the other day.

I am trying not to blink. My kids are growing up so fast. Trying real hard this year to stop and laugh at the little things.

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Have a great day!

See ya soon!

Goodbye 2010.............Welcome 2011!

2010-12-31T09:08:00.007-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

From all of us at the Parrish Home to you and yours at your home...wherever you may be!

The Christmas Present That Keeps On Giving..

2010-12-23T00:01:00.001-05:00

...was a seven pound, three ounce, twenty inch long, red-headed, blue-eyed bouncing baby boy! I received this present 12 years ago today and it auto-renews every year! Happy Birthday, my sweet Austin! You were always, and still are, such a good boy! Everyone was so proud to have you. Autumn was so excited to have a live baby doll in the house. She was your second "Momma" and loved every minute of it~

Here is my walk through twelve years with my "Little Man"!

With Ganky and Pa on vacation.

Pa's Birthday

Your 8th Birthday.

You and Josh in Gatlinburg. Remember, we got snowed in and had so much fun?

You have always been so good to your sisters! Alex loves to play video games with you!

Of course, you have always loved the beach!

Nine years old.

You were so proud of the trick we played on Dave, the Gator fan! I think he rode around for awhile with the Ga. Bulldog on his truck!

The Varsity should have used this one as a commercial!

You are so talented at all sports. I am so proud of you!

Playing in the camaro.

Of course, here you are with Ganky, who loves you so much!

Happy 12th Birthday, to my "Little Man"! We all love you so very much and are so proud of who you are and what a fine young man you have become!

I am so proud to be your Mom!

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Our Marine is home for Christmas!! All is as it should be here!

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Merry Christmas to all!!!

The Story of Jonah...MUST WATCH!!

2010-12-22T14:27:00.002-05:00

The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.

The Christmas Picture Bloopers...and some good ones! :)

2010-12-17T13:02:00.020-05:00

After I sent a few really good pics to Mom and she said "Wow! Great job! How in the world did you get them to do that?", I thought maybe I should show some of what we go through to get those few really good shots!

Munson walked in and Autumn wanted him in the picture.

Then she called in the "Old Lady".

If dogs could talk, mine would have said "Ok, you look one way and I will look the other."

We tried shots in every position and location we could think of. Someone always did something crazy

Mom: "Austin, open your eyes up a little more".

Mom: "Alex, pick up your chin a bit".

Avery: "Are we almost done??"

Are your Christmas Picture moments like ours? I would love to hear! Thank goodness for digital. There were three times as many taken as what I have shown here!

Merry Christmas!!

Alex and Her Spanish Colors

2010-12-02T19:47:00.001-05:00

Guess Whose Birthday it is!!

2010-11-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

....Aunt Cindy!!

Happy Birthday Aunt Cindy!!!!

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You have always been more like a Sister than an Aunt to me. We have always been so close and I am so thankful for all of the fun memories we have. I will never forget all of the silliness in the back yard on those sunny summer days! :)

I can see some of our silliness coming out in our own kids!

You have always loved my children unconditionally and they love you so very much!

I know there is not a thing you would not do for them!...and they do too!

I cherish your whole Family and enjoy every minute we have together!

I can not possibly imagine life without our "CREW"! We have the best kids!

So "Cheers" to you on your Birthday, Aunt Cinnie, Cynthia Lynn, Cindy Simpson, NaNa, and Alex and Avery's "Grandma" at the grocery store!

I am so proud to have you in my life! You are one of my Two Best Friends!!!

I wish you the Happiest Birthday EVER! You deserve it!

Happy 15th My Sweet Autumn Leigh!!

2010-11-04T15:02:00.000-04:00

I can not believe you are 15 today! Time sure has flown! You were such and good girl and still are!

Happy Birthday, my Precious Autumn! I love you so very much! You are so sweet, caring, compassionate, polite, funny, talented, smart and an all around great person! I am so proud of the young lady you have become! I love you!

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Off to get our Learner's Permit!

Wish us luck!!

A Friend in Need

2010-10-21T11:05:00.003-04:00

This is Ivy. She goes to my Daughter, Autumn's School. From what I hear, she is a really sweet and well-liked young Lady.

Ivy's Family Home burned to the ground this week and was a total loss. She said all of her baby pictures are gone, along with everything else they had. She had one outfit and two pairs of shorts after the fire. They are staying in a hotel. The school is taking up donations for the family and will no doubt help tremendously. Please pray for their Family as they try to get back on their feet.

Here is the news story:

House Fire

My sweet girl called me today to ask if we could give some money, along with some other Families, to buy Ivy a new Ipod. They were trying to come up with something that would make her smile again, and she loves music, so that was their decision.

I am so proud of this girl and the other girls who have shown a great deal of kindness and compassion for their classmate and friend.

I always wonder if I am doing a good job raising my kids to be well-rounded, caring, compassionate and giving individuals. It is not easy, but when I see them showing these qualities on their own, it really makes me feel like I am doing my job!

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Have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday to My Sweet Little Alexandra!!!!!!

2010-09-28T00:30:00.000-04:00

My Sweet Girl, I can not believe you are six years old today. Time sure has flown.

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It seems like just yesterday....when you were born. Such a sweet little baby!

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1

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5

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...and now 6. You are so kind, loving, caring, smart, thoughtful and gentle.

I am so proud of you and happy to be your Mommy! Happy 6th Birthday, Noonoo! :)

Autumn's Homecoming 2010

2010-09-26T08:49:00.006-04:00

Last night, we watched our baby girl leave on a bus with 27 others to go to Homecoming at her new school. She is almost 15 and I am wondering where the time went. I took a lot of pictures of her and her friends. I hope they had fun! All of the girls in the group stayed together last night, so I have not seen her yet.

Isn't she lovely? :)

In the car on the way to meet everyone...I wonder what she was thinking...

There were so many beautiful places to take pictures, including a horse and carriage! Avery and Alex wanted to get in on the horse pics!

I do not know many of the girls yet, just the softball players, but aren't they all so pretty?

Here is one I know. Brooke is the other pitcher on the softball team. She is a good kid with great parents!...like Autumn! :)

This is Autumn's Date, Justin. Ganky was pinning his flower on. I like that I got Autumn smiling in the side of the picture!

The group. I am sure they all had a blast.

Autumn and Justin

Softball Friends: Brooke, Autumn and Taylor

Ganky with Avery, Alex and Austin going to the car for a water break.

Me: "Aww, have a great time, Autumn! I love you!" Autumn: "Ok, Mom...Bye" (she meant to hug me and tell me she loved me, too.) Ohh well, I know she does. :)

Can't wait to hear about the evening.

Hope you all have a great Sunday!

The Little Old Couple

2010-09-19T11:56:00.000-04:00

I was getting my hair done the other day, when I looked up and saw a little woman walk in. I watched as she slowly came in to sit down and wait for her turn. Walking slowly behind her was her little husband, staying close behind, carrying her oxygen tank. He got her settled in her seat, handed her the tank and turned to slowly walk out the door with assistance from his cane. As I sat and thought about this, I wondered what he would do while she was there. Sit in the car and read the paper? Go home and wait? I wasn't sure. I just thought the whole event was really sweet. He took care of her and made sure she was ok.

I started to think about the movie, UP. If you saw it, you were probably moved by the beginning of the movie, as I was. The little couple met as children and eventually married. Their names were Ellie and Carl.

They loved each other dearly and had the sweetest little life together.

They grew old together and were so happy, just the two of them.

Ellie eventually got sick and passed away and Carl went on a big adventure to place their home in her "dream location". It was a really sweet story with a fun adventure. I know this movie has been out for a while, but this is what I thought of when I saw the sweet little "Carl-like" man carrying the sweet little "Ellie-like" woman's oxygen tank.

He knew for the rest of his life that he took care of Ellie. I was proud to see that little old man in the beauty shop taking care of his "Ellie".

What a sweet relationship and great example to live by. I feel safe with my "Carl" and hope we will have a long and happy life together! I am sure if the need arises, he will "Carry my tank" to the beauty shop and I hope yours will, too!

Have a wonderful day!

It Takes a Village...To Raise 8 Kids!

2010-09-13T16:12:00.010-04:00

The craziness has returned for us! We are one of four Families who are sending our kids to a private school 45 minutes away. We are all pitching in and it really isn't bad. We "Run the Shuttle" (as my Mom calls it) when we can and we all help each other out. I believe it is a sacrifice we will never regret.

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Here are my big three on the first day of school. There was excitement and nerves, especially the two oldest ones, starting over in a new school. Alex was so excited! No nerves there!

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I enjoyed hearing all about her day when she got in the car. She loves her new school.

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Austin still manages to squeeze a game in while waiting on the "shuttle".

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The first paper that came home was so cute and even had her picture!

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Day Two

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Our first project. We had to make a person similar to Alex. She loves to draw and says she wants to be an artist, so she is holding an art book. Too cute.

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Avery started Pre-K this year. She was so excited, since she had been alone for a while. The big kids started almost a month before her.

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I can not believe she is already in Pre-K!

Sniff...sniff

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When school starts, so does School Ball! Here is a great picture of Autumn Pitching. I am so proud of her. She made Varsity and starts every game, either pitching or at third base.

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Austin is playing Rec. Baseball. He is not old enough to play School Ball yet. Here he is pitching. He got the same number as Autumn this year. Pretty neat! Go 15...and 15! Yay!

Hope the new school year is going well for you and your children/grandchildren!

....until next time

Our Summer Summary

2010-08-04T09:36:00.013-04:00

After the BIG WEDDING in May (previous post) and the end of the school year activites, I needed a BREAK. I have enjoyed my summer and can not believe it is almost over.

We have just been hanging around.

And helping each other have a good time.

Alex graduated from Preschool and will start Big Kid School next Tuesday..sniff, sniff.....

This is Alex getting her diplome from Ms. Pauline, who will have all four of my kids in Pre-K 4 after Avery gets her this year! Pretty neat and she is very special!

Ms. Vicki and Avery at graduation. She will be a big Pre-K 4 kid this year! sniff...

My Sweet Family at Graduation.

I love pictures of these two!

For the end of the year festivities, we went to Stone Mountain and rode a Duck Boat with Ganky!

...and we had a Luau!

...with Ganky...

...and Aunt Cindy!

This is my all time favorite picture of my Mom! Isn't she so pretty?? I love her!!

My kids are getting bigger and learning to handle their own problems....even taking on a hornet in their bathroom!

I got to spend some time with these two (Cindy and Ganky). What fun we always have together!

Avery and Alex went to Cheer Camp and cheered for a solid month after that!! Alex learned the "carpetwheel"!

Daddy and his sweethearts at the Varsity...minus one sweetie! ;)

Happy Fourth (belated) from Alex!! :)

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Off to Myrtle Beach we went! Autumn took her friend, Toni. They have been friends since they were two! They both even had Ms. Pauline together. They are so pretty and good girls.

AND after a very long wait....the Marine came home!!! We got to see him at the beach! Welcome back Justin!!

He really missed these two and they prayed for him every night. Avery would say "God, please keep Justin safe from Americans". And one night she said "I love Justin more than a woman". Out of the mouths of Babes!

Me and the big girls. We figured out quickly that straightening your hair was a waste of time!

Alex rode some rides at the Boardwalk that really surprised me!

And Austin had to really work hard to not get pushed over next to Toni! Too funny!

Avery took a less dangerous Boat Ride!

Alex and Austin on the swings.

Avery on the carousel.

The girls were so excited to get the new Ice Cream Build A Bears!

Props at the Mini Golf Course were great for pics!

Pa and Austin always have fun together! We sure are thankful for Pa!

...and Ganky!

Hello Sunshine!

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We had a party at Ganky and Pa's house for Justin's safe return! Tons of fun!

All is as it should be!

I hope you are having a Great Summer! Thanks so much for stopping by.

...until next time.

Bridesmaids, Flower Girls, Groomsmen...Ohh My!

2010-05-12T07:08:00.011-04:00

Well, the BIG EVENT we had been planning for many months finally happened this past weekend! It was very hard to have every member of my family in a wedding. That is six people with either dresses or tuxes...either haircuts or hairdos...either jewelry or cuff links...you get the picture! Lots of planning. We made it and it was a beautiful day. I did not forget anything. I hope you will enjoy my pictures. There are a lot of them, but I just could not narrow down any further!

***I hope you can click the pics to make them bigger!***

My two little Princesses

I called Autumn my "Spanish Princess". She looked so pretty with the flower in her hair. She is such a good girl.

My Handsome Prince

The Sweetest Bride (My Husband's Sister, AKA Aunt Ginger)

Me and My Princesses

Avery was very entertaining during the wedding. She never stood still. Everyone said they could not stop laughing at her. What can I say? She is four years old. She was so cute!

Daddy escorting the smallest Princess to the "Ball"

The Whole Crew

Daddy and his oldest Princess

The three Flower Girls

Our kids danced until they closed the place down!

This Princess was so honored to dance with her Daddy! She loves him so!

Only one "meltdown" the whole day is not bad at all!!

A beautiful end to a beautiful evening!

Hope you felt like you were there with us! It was magical and perfect!

Have a great week!

Until next time....

And The Winner Is.............

2010-05-10T20:15:00.003-04:00

Yay! Congrats to the winner! Email me your address and what you want from my shop with your $25.00! Free Shipping! Yay!

Two Occasions...One Special Lady!

2010-05-09T08:28:00.007-04:00

Today is a special day for Moms all over the world, but in my world, today is super special because not only is it Mother's Day, but it is also my sweet Mother's Birthday! How special to have been born on Mother's Day and then to be such a wonderful Mother! Happy Mother's Day and Happy Birthday to the best Mom in the whole world!

You love all of your Grandchildren so much and they all adore you!

You love Pa so very much and I have learned so much from watching you and him!

You love Cindy like a daughter and looked after her kids all these years as if their Grandmother!

You love ME with your whole heart. I am so blessed to have you in my life. I am the luckiest girl in the whole world to live just a few minutes away from my best friend, who just happens to be my Mom!

So Happy Birthday and Mother's Day, Crackedy Ann! I love you more than you will ever know!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there! We were at a wedding late last night (pics coming) and the giveaway winner will be posted tomorrow. This blog is reserved today for My MOM! :) I am sure you will understand.

Til tomorrow!

A Mother's Day Giveaway...and Some Special Events!

2010-05-03T13:43:00.013-04:00

To celebrate Mother's Day, I am hosting a giveaway this week! I will hold the drawing on Sunday and post my winner via youtube video on Monday! I am giving away 25.00 worth of free product from my etsy shop!

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You have opportunities to get multiple entries!

1.Go to my site HERE and come back and tell me what your favorite piece is.

2.Grab my button and place it on your site (if my button is already there, tell me!).

3. Blog about my giveaway!

4.I love my followers, but please only follow me if you like my blog and think you will come back! If you follow me, tell me!

5.Tell me how many kids you have and if you have grandkids!

6. Tell me (and the readers) how you know me (example, through someone else's blog, family member, etc.).

Each of the above items gets you one entry, so you have several chances to win! Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

*Bonus...if you mention my giveaway and link to me or reference my button more than once, you will get an additional entry for each time you mention me through Sunday! So, increase your chances daily!! Yay!

Good Luck! I will be back on Monday!!

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My 14 year old, Autumn, recently went to her 8th Grade Dance at the middle school. I thought I would share my pics of her with you. I love her dress. I think she looks beautiful. She went with two friends, Daniel and Toni. She and Toni have been friends since they were in preschool together. I was a chaperone at the dance and she had a great time.

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The other pic I wanted to show you is of my 5 year old, Alex, on her Nursery Rhyme Dress Up Day at Preschool. She was Little Bo Peep. Such sweet memories we are creating!

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Avery did not have dress up day, but she still wanted her picture taken. Who am I to say no to a picture!!??

Good Luck on the Giveaway and Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms!!

BLOGMANIA! Lots of Giveaways!

2010-04-30T06:39:00.007-04:00

I am part of something big that lasts for only one day! I hope you will go and check out the vendors involved in this! There are over 120 prizes to be claimed TODAY!!
Most of you know about my little shop. I am offering a 25.00 gift card to my winner.
You have to go HERE to enter to win my prize.

Visit my store first!

Then, head over HERE to the host site and go through the list to enter in the giveaways!

Best Wishes!!

Guess What??

2010-04-26T09:38:00.002-04:00

I'm Are Smart!

2010-04-24T11:19:00.003-04:00

No. That is not a typo! It is a quote from my little Alex a couple of years ago when she had figured something out. She said "Mommy, I'm are smart!". It is just an Alex-ism that will forever be used by several of us! Do you have -isms like that? I would love to hear them!

Here is why I'm are smart..I created a blog button! Yay me! I have wanted to do it for quite some time and since I opened my shop this week, I thought that would be a good reason for a button. I need all the advertisement I can get. I would appreciate any takers of the button!!

My friend, Cheri, was ready and willing to help me make it, but I know she is busy and since I'm are smart, I thought I could figure it out! Thanks, Cheri! I hope you like it!

Do you like it? Would you go there if you could? I think it is inviting.

Thanks for looking. Have a great day!

Until next time.

Meet my newest baby!

2010-04-21T18:40:00.007-04:00

I have just opened a new shop on Etsy. If you do not know etsy, it is a site for all things hand made. I really like it and have been there several times looking and shopping. I have been making jewelry for a while and decided to put some of it on the site for sale. Since my shop is new, I am offering free shipping until May 1, 2010. This offer is only for my bloggy friends, so leave me a comment telling me what you want and I will go and take off the shipping before you pay. Click the button above to go visit. Let me know what you think.

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Gotta go outside and play!

My Husband is a Star..and I Won a Giveaway!

2010-04-12T20:46:00.005-04:00

My Husband is a STAR!

We went to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN for Spring Break last week and had a blast! We planned out the whole week and ran hard, but we did everything we wanted to do!

We went to the Dixie Stampede, which is dinner and a show. We have been there several times and never tire of going there. The kids love it. While we were sitting among a thousand people, someone came by and asked if we wanted to be in the show. I immediately said "no" because we had the kids and I had flip flops on and to be honest, it made me really nervous. I do not like being the center of attention. Autumn was upset at me for not doing it and I started to regret. I was wondering if I would ever be asked again. Guess what? They came back! A different person came and asked. We decided that it was meant to be, so off we went. I had to wear Austin's tennis shoes and Autumn and Austin sat with the girls. We were one of only four couples racing stick horses and we WON! Too much fun!

On to my Husband. The next night, we went to the Comedy Barn. Guess who was called up on the stage? Just watch and see. He is Julio! ...and a really good one! He is going to kill me!

Funny?...and it wasn't a sweater vest! :)

He was a really good sport! I have shown everyone!

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I won a giveaway! Have you heard of Scentsy?

It is wickless warmers that you plug in. They melt scented blocks and are much safer than candles. Go check them out HERE. Thanks, Amber! I can not wait to get my prize!

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My Step-Dad is getting better every day. He retires from AT&T this Friday, so we are really looking forward to having him around this summer! Please continue to remember the family of the lost children in your prayers.

Until next time...............

I Heart My Kids Necklace

2010-04-12T13:08:00.000-04:00

I have been making jewelry and am really enjoying playing around with it and seeing what I come up with.

I made this necklace and really love it. It shows all my kiddos and I thought the circle in the center represented Derek and Myself. Isn't that sweet?

I made earrings to match. Maybe I will start selling them someday!! What do you think?

Have a great day!

If you love them, say it OUT LOUD...and often!

2010-03-30T18:29:00.007-04:00

Some of you know the terrible tragedy that happened to us recently. Some of you know and have been praying. Some of you do not know and I would like to tell the story. If you have already heard it, listen again, if you will, and pray more, if you will.

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I received a call from my Mom last Thursday, March 25th. She was frantic and fragile. She said that Marc (my Step-Dad) had been in a terrible accident. She said she thought he was ok since he called, but he said the accident was real bad and she needed to go to him. She usually takes Autumn to school, so I jumped out the door to take her to school. The only update I received was that the police would not let her get to Marc, which meant not only that it was a bad accident, but also that she did not know for sure if he was really ok. The Sheriff called Mom and said they were taking Marc by ambulance to Georgia Baptist Hospital in Atlanta because they had a trauma center...that did not sound good. Off we went to the hospital to see about Pa!

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When we got to the hospital, he told us that the car that hit him lost control and spun into him. There was nothing he could do. He said he did not know if there was one person or two in the other car, but they were not moving. He said his chest hurt badly. Marc was checked out and released from the hospital that day.

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I received very bad news on my way home from Autumn's teacher. She said that two people were in the other car and that they both perished. She also said that one was a 13 year old student at Autumn's school in her same grade and that Autumn knew her. The other person was her 18 year old brother. They were their Parents' only two children.

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The schools were flooded with guidance counselors all day Thursday. The schools of these two were turned upside down with grief. These were good kids. They will be missed by many.

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Marc is very banged up from the impact, including severe bruising. Most of all, there are emotional scars that he will carry for the rest of his life. The accident was not anything he could have avoided. It is a bad, curvy road and he just happened to be right there. It still hurts to know that two kids are gone and he was there.

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Mom, Cindy, Autumn and I met the Family at the service for their two children. They were amazing. They were apologetic. They were strong..for us. They said they were praying..for us. The moment they embraced my Mom was the most moving moment of my entire life. My fragile and heartbroken Mom just stood in their embrace while they comforted her and gave her exactly what she needed to help her and Marc get through this. I will never forget it.

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So now, I ask for your prayers. Pray for the Family of those two beloved children who were lost. Pray for my Family to get through this time of recovery. Pray for strength for Marc. Pray that this event will impact whole communities of drivers to slow down. Pray that the ones you love will be safe from horrible tragedies.

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...and if you love them, say it OUT LOUD...and often!

Happy Birthday To My Littlest Angel!

2010-03-28T08:49:00.007-04:00

My Sweet Avery,

I can not believe you are four years old today! I have enjoyed every moment of being your Mommy and am blessed to know you. You have the sweetest heart. You tell me I am pretty every day, even though you are the one who is truly beautiful to your very core. You are so much fun to have around and you love everyone with all your little heart. You are such a wonderful little girl. Happy Birthday, my sweet little Avery Michele!

We love you so very much!!!!

WE LOVE SPRING!...and lots of other activities!

2010-03-23T16:11:00.007-04:00

Hello all! I hope you are doing well. We are so glad to see Spring come our way around here, although my Hubs has a very bad cold! He says it is the worst he has ever had. :(

I made another wreath. If you have been following me for a while, you have seen these. I made an Easter one this time! They are cute and look great on the front door!

This one has bunnies on it. The picture was not supposed to be sideways! Ohh well. Turn your head, please. Too much trouble to flip once it is here! :)

If you would like to see the other wreaths I have made and see the directions on how to make one, go HERE!

Here is my foyer table. I tried to add some spring touches. Nothing spectacular, but cute!

I took a picture of the "egg tree" I made for the table. I found the branch in the yard and hung eggs on it! Voila! Egg Tree!

One of my "cute little egg-heads"

The other "cute little egg-head"!

It was nice outside, so we went for ice cream last weekend. They had a blast!

.............and made a mess! Avery said she loved it so much, she wanted to have her Birthday Party at Brewster's!

I love finding art! Alex drew this of her and Autumn!

I don't get a whole lot of pictures of my Austin because he hides alot. I caught him doing his homework! He is so smart!

Since baseball has started, we are spending time at the ball fields. We love to see good weather on a ball field day!

When we have an early game, we go to Wal-Mart and goof off until it gets warmer! This is a look Autumn used to have when she was little. Funny the girls do it!

The littlest things make them happy! Autumn cringed. She said Ronald had to be germy since all those kids sit on him! The girls came out ok.

I told you he hides. This time, he was hiding from a haircut!

Yes, that is my child driving my car! She is 14 and will be 15 in November. We let her drive on our little road where it is closed. She is pretty good. Look how focused she is!

My Mom has had these little straw people for as long as I can remember. When she was not paying attention, Autumn and I took the chance to be silly with them! It is not hard to get Autumn to be silly!

See.

Last but certainly not least, here is my little Avery with "Teddy". You know I am a sucker for a sleeping baby!

I know this post was all over the place, but so are we! ...and we LOVE IT!!

Until next time...........................

And The Winner Is.....

2010-03-05T19:36:00.006-05:00

Derek!

My Hubs won the Biggest Loser competition we had at work! Yay Derek! Guess who won second place??? Me! Yay me! Out of nine people, we won first and second! Derek beat me by one pound, but hey, WE WON! If you were not around when we started this competition two months ago, here are the details.

Nine of us at the office decided to have a contest, Biggest Loser style. We did not want anyone to not get into the contest because of the possibility of losing money, since that is negative, so we decided that the winner will have all the losers over to their home for a half day on a Saturday for free labor!

Let me tell you, this has been GREAT! If you have the opportunity to participate in something like this, DO IT! Find some friends, relatives or co-workers and decide what the losers will do. You could decide on cleaning your house, helping you with a painting, picture hanging, yard work project. Those would be some great ideas! It is very motivating and if everyone plays, everyone wins! There is no real loser...only the biggest..which happens to be my Husband (who is actually much smaller)!

Here are the top results: Derek lost 37 pounds! I lost 22 Pounds! Vince and Dave both lost 26. There were nine total and most lost weight. Two were girls and I was one of them! The results are based on percentage of body weight lost, so anyone can do it! We were serious about it. Everyone started eating lunch at the office. Think of the money we saved! We counted calories and were very dedicated around here. We ate healthy foods and exercised and I tried out a ton of new recipes. It was great and I highly recommend it!

Well, Derek will have to decide now what he wants everyone to do around here and when we will have the big day. I can not wait to see what he makes me do... maybe cook! That is what he likes for me to do and that is fine with me. He will not be hard on me since I fed him for two months! :)

Now we have to keep the weight off!!

Softball this weekend! Yay! Go Prowlers!

Please continue to pray for my cousin, Justin, who is still in Afghanistan. I saw a sticker on a car the other day and thought I would share what it said:

"Land of the Free....BECAUSE of the Brave"

I thought that was appropriate...and true.

I also won my first giveaway ever! I have been blogging for not quite a year and have never won anything! Check out my friend, Cheri sometime. She hosts giveaways with lots of vendors who enter, so there are always many chances to win! She is also a really nice person, who also happens to have four kids, and I am so glad to know her! Thanks, Cheri! Go here to see what I won!

Have a great weekend.

...............until next time

Have You Seen This?

2010-03-03T13:49:00.001-05:00

What I've Been Up To

2010-02-25T15:27:00.006-05:00

Well, I know it has been a bit since my last post, but I have been all over the place. I have also spent more time focusing on this weight loss contest that is over NEXT FRIDAY! Spare time has been spent working out, but for a good cause.

Austin had a Birthday on December 23 and because it is right at Christmas, we pushed it back a bit. I did not intend on pushing it back this far, but Austin could not decide what he wanted to do. We finally settled on Snow Mountain at Stone Mountain Park. Here are some pics from that day.

Me and Derek

Autumn and Bradley (Cousin and Brother to Justin, who is in Afghanistan)

The whole crew. It was fun. We had to take both cars to get them all there.

Autumn and Bradley again.

I got some pics of them sliding on the snow, but the pics were taken from so far away.

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I captured my Oldest and my youngest in a moment! Aren't they sweet?

Such Sweetness. Cute story: My Birthday was December 13th and Avery does not understand that my Birthday was only for one day. Every night, she tells me Happy Birthday. I am not kidding. She only missed a night when she fell asleep and I had to carry her to bed. She knows it is not my Birthday and tells me anyway.

Does this child look 5 years old? She fixed her hair this way and was sassing around. I think she looks much older.

They love baths!

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We took a trip to TJMAXX. Avery could not resist! How many times have you or your kids put on big hats in stores?

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Baseball practice was called off Saturday due to tournaments, so I decided to be a good Mommy and take them to the park. They were so excited and we were the only ones there for a long time. It was a beautiful day.

That is NOT a bird way up in that tree! It is Austin's Boomerang! He threw about 50 sticks before it finally came down!

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Derek and Munson wrestling on the floor.

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Wanna know how to make the yummiest Asparagus and Prosciutto Wraps? Go HERE!

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And here is Autumn entertaining the girls.

Please continue to pray for my Cousin Justin. He is in Afghanistan and we do not get to talk to him very often at all. He sure could use all the prayers you can spare! Let's pray our Marines home!!

*********************

Have a great week!

Snow Day!

2010-02-13T08:41:00.003-05:00

A Man in the Ladies' Lounge and What I've Been Up To

2010-02-01T06:18:00.006-05:00

First of all, let me explain the title. We have specific areas for certain types of toys. With the two little girls, things can get pretty out of sorts. We do not always get everything back where it belongs, but there is still a designated place. I like to clean the girls' rooms while they play in the tub because the bathroom is beside their rooms. I was collecting Barbies for the Barbies' Lounge and could not believe my eyes!

Sir!!! You mustn't be in here! Can you not see some of these women are changing clothes? This lounge is for Ladies only! Ken is not even allowed in here! You must exit immediately! He threatened me, kicked the red-head in the face and I ran. He may still be there. I am pretty sure he can take me.

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Enough of my goofiness.... I have been READING so much lately! I love it! There are days that I do not blog, although I really enjoy it, because of reading. I got a Sony Digital Reader from my Hubby for Christmas and I LOVE it! I have read so many books already. It is a really neat gadget. You go to the store and search for books. When you find one you want, you just download it right there. No computer needed. It is 3G wireless! The books download immediately and you just start reading! I love it!
My most recent book (which I started on Sunday and read 230 pages ON Sunday) is Sarah's Key. This is a great book! I was always fascinated with The Diary of Anne Frank and this is a similar type of story. I could not put this book down Sunday. If you are looking for a great book, go check it out. They are making it into a movie (which does not really mean anything to me, since books are almost always better {Twilight, New Moon, The Lovely Bones}).

I WILL be disappointed when it is over!
Have you read a great book lately? If so, let me know! I need the next book and I am not sure what it will be! Suggestions please!!

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Moving on.......

Lots of dogs are "car dogs". What I mean is that I have seen dogs riding in cars all over the place, but BB was NEVER a car dog. Getting her to go somewhere means picking her up and placing her in the car forcefully. Taking her to the vet is horrendous. She usually has a nervous "movement" (if you know what I mean) on the way across the parking lot. Munson, on the other hand, wants to go EVERYWHERE with us. He rides in the bobcat to the road on trash night. He gets in the car and rides with me every day to get Autumn from School. He LOVES the car. Here he is on our way home one day. He rides on the console. I believe he thinks he is little. I call him my "Lap Dog" because you can not tell him he isn't.

Austin gave himself a lesson Static Electricity this week. This all ties in to Munson. Just wait. He rubbed the pillows and ended up with this hairdo! This is funny because Austin will not wear his hair spiked in any way whatsoever. I kindof like it! :)

Staying with the electricity subject. I heard BOTH dogs arguing with each other in the yard. I looked out to see what the commotion was and saw them playing tug of war with this.

An electrical cord (or part of one)! Then I began to wonder where it came from.

Found the source.....STILL plugged in! HUH? Aren't you supposed to get shocked if you chew an electrical cord in half while still plugged in?! Not Munson and BB! They are fine! Derek, on the other hand, was furious! Apparently, the cord they ruined was quite expensive!

I'm still shocked they didn't get shocked!

That's all for me. Not a very eventful week, but still a good one!

Please continue to pray for my Cousin, Justin. He is about to complete his first mission and I know that some of his guys have been killed on this mission. So sad. Please pray for those families and a safe return for the others.

BTW, Cheri at Its So Very Cheri is hosting a great giveaway! There are several drawings and several chances to win each week! Click Here to Check it out!!!

Til next time...............................

Dogs, Babes and Activities

2010-01-25T07:50:00.004-05:00

Well, I know it has been a while for me. I have just been so busy and have also been reading in my spare time instead of blogging. Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks. I love this pic of Munson. It reminds me of the Alfred Hitchcock show. Remember?

Sweet BB. It is hard to see how fat she is. She actually looks thin here. She is hiding it well. Trust me!

If you know me, you KNOW I am a sucker for sleeping babes! Here are some pics I have gotten lately of them!

Autumn and Avery

BB and Simba

Avery and her Build A Bear, whose name changes from time to time.

Autumn and BB

Avery literally fell asleep in the car either mid-twirl or mid-head scratch. Isn't that funny?

The girls were having a bonfire. I thought it was neat that they turned a ring toss game upside down for that.

Derek and the kids in the "Sports Clinic" next door.

This was too good not to share. Please enlarge and take a look. I can not think of anyone who has gone down in flames as much as this one!

Well, that is it for me. All of these pics were taken with my cell phone. My picture card is not loading in my computer, so I have to work on that.

I hope you all have a great week!

............til next time.

I Don't Really Like Snow.........But They Do!!

2010-01-10T07:38:00.011-05:00

We got SOME snow. I say some like that because it was very little. Not quite what they wanted but they were happy still. Alex could not wait to make a snow angel. She made a really good one, although the only place to do it was on the driveway!

This is what our back yard looked like this year.

And this was last year. Quite a bit more and beautiful big snowflakes.

Last year, we were even able to make a snowman! Not this year. Maybe it will still happen. It rarely ever snows in January here anyway. It is usually late February, early March.

Austin was doing whatever made Alex happy!

Avery passed on the snow angel. She did not want to get her hair wet.

Doesn't she look so innocent??

Well, she wasn't! She was just about to throw snow at me! Little stinker! I was already complaining about how cold I was because I gave the girls my gloves!

This is just an innocent picture of Avery and Munson watching Austin and Alex walk through the yard. What happened next was that because of the snow, Munson forgot where the electric fence is. He got lit up!

Here he is keeping his distance from the edge of the yard! You may say "Poor Munson", but do not forget all the mischief he has gotten into!!

The kids enjoyed seeing their names in the snow.

The kids will be excited to get a better snow day, but they still had a good time!

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On the break, we got out one of the "Do this with Mommy" items Alex got for her Birthday. This turned out to be the cutest craft and they had a blast! Hand Puppets made from paper bags!

They each made two!

I am not certain who gave this to her, but if you ever run across it, pick one up! It is a lot of fun!

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Avery really likes to dress herself. I usually let her wear whatever she wants if she is going to Mom's house to play. Here is one of her creations!

I was testing my hand at Chalkboard Paint a while back, so I painted a big wall in the pantry. I painted with Magnetic paint and this is where we write our grocery items we need and put coupons up with magnets. Avery has a great time playing with it!

Hope all is well with everyone! I have not been blogging as much lately. Still cleaning up from Christmas!...I do have four kids!!!!

...........til next time!!!

Santa, Birthday,Christmas and My Homemade Gifts!

2010-01-01T10:11:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all! I hope this New Year finds you all happy and healthy. I have enjoyed getting to know ALL of my new Blogger Friends and getting to know even more about some of my own Family Members.

This post is a bit long, but it covers about two weeks or more of my hectic December. We have been so busy.

The first picture in this post is a present Alex wrapped and prepared for Ganky. I thought it was so cute. I am glad I took the picture!

Santa visited Alex and Avery's Preschool in December and neither of my little ones really like to be near him. Avery finally went to see him with me and I had to stay there. She finally warmed up, but Alex never did.

Me, Cindy and Mom with Santa.

Alex has no idea Santa is there. He snuck up to get the picture. She was mad when she saw it.

Avery waiting for snack.

And Alex at the snack table.

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The girls had a Christmas Play at their preschool. Here they are before we left. Look at Alex's feet. She looks like she is a ballerina... hmm. maybe..

Avery was a teddy bear for the song "Jumpin' Jack and Teddy Bear". Is that not the cutest teddy you have ever seen??

I wanted to take this teddy home with me!! So cute.

And look at my little Angel! How precious is she?

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We always have a candy-making day. I do not have any pics, but this one. My silliness always comes out. I had to make a snowman for the girls!

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We went to a Christmas Party at a friends house. They do this every year. The kids make cookies and SANTA COMES! My girls loved the cookie part. Look at Alex with flour on her nose.

Making cookies.

"WHO did you say is here?"

This Santa was wonderful. He was so good to the kids. He even HoHoHo'ed instead of laughing, even when talking with Adults. Once he found out there was one child that was terrified of him, it became a challenge for him to warm her up before he left. Here he is working on Alex, who just acted like he was not even there.

Avery got a candy cane for talking to Santa. She LOVES Candy Canes!

Another picture where Santa snuck up behind Alex.

Avery loved Santa because he carried her around the house and talked to her. So sweet.

My Autumn helped me tremendously because Daddy was out of town. Alex stayed snuggled up under her the whole time.

Austin had lots of friends there, but had to stop and be a little one again to make Avery laugh.

Low and behold...Look what Santa finally accomplished! See the look on her face, showing still a little fear. Look at her hand on his shirt.

We got better as the night went on and got lots of pictures. I love this Santa!

And Avery loved this snowman. You know she loves you when she hangs a candy cane on your nose!!!

Look how gorgeous he was!!! He read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the kids and was just the best Santa ever!!

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As you know, Austin turned 11 on the 23rd. All he really wanted was a new bike. We searched everywhere for the Tony Hawk bike he wanted. Toys R Us had no more (although the tags said they had three left) and they called three other Toys R Us stores in the area...no more Tony Hawk bikes!! Mom went to Walmart and found ONE! They only had ONE and she sat on it until I got there. That is total dedication and love. Look at her sweet little self. Funny story, though, we got so wrapped up in a conversation in line to make our purchases, we left the bike several people back! Luckily, no one wanted it!!!

Here is my boy on his new bike!!

We had to "test drive" the new bike.

Of course, Daddy had to show some old tricks he remembers.

Alex loves to "scoot"!

The girls were cruizin'!

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Well, the Birthday kid always gets to pick the place to go eat and alot of us usually go and celebrate for Dinner. My kids usually pick Daruma, a Japanese steakhouse close to our home, and we certainly do NOT argue with that decision! The little girls call it "The Fireplace". Wonder why?

My sweet Birthday Boy had a great time!

Britani and Autumn looking all cute at the table.

Austin and Bradley. He always gives me a good laugh when I look at his pictures! So silly!

To some, this looks different than what it really was. Bradley was playing SANTA and the napkin was the beard. The girls got the biggest kick out of that!

The other thing Austin really wanted was a camera, which he got from Ganky and Pa. He loves it!

At Daruma, they sing, play this big drum and sit this Buddha looking character in front of you! Not sure what he really is, but that is where the candle is that you blow out.

Austin had a great Birthday. Thanks to everyone for your sweet Birthday wishes.

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On to the big day! Santa came to the basement this year. Great idea, whoever came up with that....ohh wait... it was me!! :) Here are all the goodies before the kids came down! See Band Hero? Autumn and Austin have had a blast playing drums and guitar. Autumn does not play video games, but loves this one (blisters on hands, bandaids on hands and then gloves on hands to keep blisters from hurting)!

Santa even brought BB and Munson stockings. Here Autumn is giving BB her gifts. No telling where Munson was!!!

My Family comes to our house for Breakfast after we open gifts from Santa. Here the little girls are enjoying their Christmas Breakfast!

And here are the adults having breakfast!

The girls were so excited to get big Barbie dolls from Cindy and the crew.

I love getting pictures like these. So sweet.....

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On to my homemade gifts. My three Aunts, My Mom and myself have been doing "My Favorite Things" for a couple of years at Christmas. We borrowed the idea from Oprah. She gives her favorites and we decided to give a bag of our favorites at Christmas, like our favorite candy, kitchen utensil, magazine, lotion, etc. It was alot of fun, but we were finding that our Favorite Things were rolling over from one year to the next, so we decided to give something Homemade, food or otherwise, for Christmas this year. I decided to make drink coasters. I bought tiles at Lowes and got busy. It was a really fun project and I miss doing it. I think I will make more...want some???

Here is Alex joining in the project. She made one for her and one for Avery. She did a great job!

Didn't she???

Everyone got a set of coasters and a trivet for their countertop. Here is the one I made me. I made Cindy one with three hearts.

Here is the set I made for my Aunt Brenda (AKA Granny). Trivet and four coasters.

I made a special set of coasters for Cindy (Marine Mom of Justin)!!

Here are the ones I made for my Mom (AKA Ganky)!

Here is the set I made for My Aunt Barbara (AKA Nanny)!

Packaged and ready to go! I had so much fun doing these!

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My two Sisters and their families came over the day after Christmas. Here is Madison (niece) with Ganky!

This is Maybree, who has been officially renamed "Mavery" because we have Avery and they just never have said her name right. That is just what we call her. Wouldn't you like to open a present and find this insided?!!

Well, that is it for me! I hope you all have a great year in 2010! Justin will be coming home this year! Yay!!!

.......................Until next time!!!

The Best Christmas Present Ever...

2009-12-23T06:29:00.010-05:00

...was a seven pound, three ounce, twenty inch long, red-headed, blue-eyed bouncing baby boy! I received this present 11 years ago today! Happy Birthday, my sweet Austin! You were always, and still are, such a good boy! Everyone was so proud to have you. Autumn was so excited to have a live baby doll in the house. She was your second "Momma" and loved every minute of it~

Here is my walk through eleven years with my "Little Man"!

With Ganky and Pa on vacation.

Pa's Birthday

Your 8th Birthday.

You and Josh in Gatlinburg. Remember, we got snowed in and had so much fun?

You have always been so good to your sisters! Alex loves to play video games with you!

Of course, you have always loved the beach!

Nine years old.

You were so proud of the trick we played on Dave, the Gator fan! I think he rode around for awhile with the Ga. Bulldog on his truck!

The Varsity should have used this one as a commercial!

You are so talented at all sports. I am so proud of you!

Playing in the camaro.

Of course, here you are with Ganky, who loves you so much!

Happy 11th Birthday, to my "Little Man"! We all love you so very much and are so proud of who you are and what a fine young man you have become!

I am so proud to be your Mom!

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Justin Update: He is safe and has called home once since he got there and is close to a "Chow Hall", which is a plus for him, since he is surely missing his Mom's cooking! Thanks for all the prayers. Please keep them up! They really work!

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Merry Christmas to all!!!

To Most, He is a United States Marine...

2009-12-11T05:55:00.000-05:00

...to us, he is FAMILY!

Need your prayers. My Cousin, Justin, has been deployed to Afghanistan and leaves next week. This is what his training was for, but it is still so hard to see him go there. I know many will have to go, but one of them is OURS!

He is such a wonderful young man. He LOVES his Family.

Justin and Autumn

Alex, Justin and Autumn

Jeff (Dad) and Justin

Justin watching Monk (his fave)

Justin wrestling with Bradley (brother)

Avery jumping in

Then Alex jumping in

Cousins (Autumn, Britani (sister), Avery, Justin, Alex, Bradley (brother) and Austin

Siblings

Justin with Ganky (my Mom)

Loves his Church. Here he is with Preacher Tommy.

Justin with his Dad

The Family

Cousins

All of us with Justin

Forgive our tears

We were not trained to be strong.

But we have been so proud of you

all along.

Your Parents have raised

Such a fine young man.

I know you will take that with you

To that far away land.

Your Faith and courage

Amaze me so.

So many will be praying for you

Wherever you go!

So, go be the Marine

You were trained to be.

Protecting this Country

So we ALL can be FREE!!

We love you so much!!

Please add this Marine and his Family to your prayer list! Thank you ALL!

My Dog is a Serial Killer!

2009-12-01T06:46:00.014-05:00

Yep. You read that right! Most of you know some of the antics of Munson Parrish! He is a bad puppy! It is not getting any better either. He, along with BB Parrish, has killed a cat in the yard. Munson has demolished my Halloween pumpkin, ate my umbrella, my Georgia cooler Derek bought me, numerous garden hoses and more front porch handrails than I can count. This time he really made me mad! He knows he is in trouble in this picture. Look at that face. Wanna know what he did???

He murdered my whole scarecrow family! I had a cute little family of six (me, Derek and all four kids) with name tags and everything. Some were beheaded, others dismembered and he even scalped a few! I was so mad at him. He knew it. He probably even knew he was going to make me mad while he was committing this unthinkable crime on the DAY BEFORE Thanksgiving dinner at our house! I hope you can make some sense of the devastation. These two pics were taken with my camera phone. Hopefully you can click and enlarge them.

It is nothing for him to jump in our cars, but this week he tried to leave with the mail carrier!

Here are some of the pics of the previous crimes.

See how he will not look at me when he is in trouble!

And here is BB, being good as usual. She is old, so no more antics for her, except the cat murder, but I have to believe she was just an accomplice.

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I will move on to the good kids now. Here is Alex. She was told by her preschool teacher to read on her break and she did just that. She even went and got the kitchen timer just like Austin does when he has to read for school. I love that!

Another sweet girl, Avery, having applesauce before bedtime.

Austin came along to say good night to all!

I love these simply sweet moments. They are passing by so quickly.

Avery made her own Thanksgiving dinner while we were preparing the basement for the big feast.

And Alex was teaching Avery to ride her "Big Gor" bike. Isn't that sweet?

Well, I know my blogs are posting more sporadically (did I murder that word?), but Christmas season is here and I am a busy "Gor". I have four kids and a huge family to shop for! Five of us are making gifts for each other this year and I have been working on that. I can't show you yet, but they are good!

I hope you all have a wonderful week and thanks to all the people from Davis Middle who have stopped by to look at the Savannah pics. Leave me a comment and let me know you were here. That blog is below if you came to see those pics.

Have a wonderful week....

................until next time.

The Savannah Trip With Teenagers and a Surprise!

2009-11-24T13:24:00.001-05:00

Well, folks, I made it through the trip to Savannah! It was so much fun. I was actually surprised at how well behaved 240+ teenagers could be! They were great! The company that organized the trip did an excellent job of scheduling everything! We had five motor coaches (as our little old tour guide called them). We were so busy, with hardly any down time at all. There is so much to see and do in Savannah. It truly is a wonderful place to visit. There is so much History there.
The first place we went was The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Is this a great picture, or what? I just love it.

Here are some of the pics from that stop. This was truly the most beautiful church I have ever seen! They still have one Confessional. There were three before. I would like to think it is because there is less sin to confess, but I am just not sure that is the case!

I thought my little girls would love this picture!

I loved this picture. I wonder if Mr. Parrish can re-create this look in our driveway!!! Wishful thinking!

Here is one of the cemetaries in town. We went here on a Ghost Tour, where we rode in an open Trolley and heard stories from the past. They say Savannah is the most haunted City in America!

I love the Spanish Moss, but hear it is actually full of bugs and a true nuisance!

Look how the headstones were placed in the wall!

We also went on a Dolphin Cruise tour.

I honestly did not get my hopes up. They said sometimes you do not see any at all! We were shocked to see our little friends!!!

They were very playful! .............. or mad at each other!

Pretty cool, huh?? I took alot of pics to get those really good ones! I was so excited!

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We went to Fort Pulaski. It was alot of fun. They were actually filming a movie at the fort so that was also exciting.

The movie being filmed is called the Conspirator and it is about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Ok, here comes the surprise part.

Guess who the Director of the movie is?

Do you know?

Well, he was there!!

And........... I got pics!!

ROBERT REDFORD!!

Enlarge to see closer!

Pretty neat, huh??

Here he is telling that guy to take the camera out of my hand, I'm sure!! I took lots of pics.

Next stop, Tybee Island beach study. I love lighthouses and I thought this picture turned out good.

While we were there, one of the Teachers came and told me that this sweet girl had never been to the Beach until this trip. That is something I do not even think about. We have ALWAYS gone to the beach, but there are kids that have never seen the Ocean or Sand or Seashells! I took her picture. I will be printing out and sharing with her. She is such a nice kid. I held the door for about fifty kids and she was the only one who thanked me... THE ONLY ONE! You notice that.

Here she is with Coach K.

Here are Toni and Autumn on the beach. These two have been friends since they were two years old.

I took this one for my Mom. She always likes to see feet in the picture! :)

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Next stop, Mighty Eighth Air Force Base. If you have young boys, they will probably like these pictures.

We were showed a series of movies that were very moving! I loved this wall. Look at all the crosses.

Here is Autumn with Coach McClain. She loves Coach K and Coach McClain so much! I do too! They are the greatest.

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Our final stop was shopping on River Street! Here are the steps that Mom and I always take Autumn and Austin's picture on. We got a group of girls together and the picture turned out great. I printed this pic out poster size for Autumn and we framed it last night. It looks great.

Of course, my kid was the one to get a big glob of Caramel Apple of her shoe!

I thought the kids would love this Ferry Boat. I do!

Finally, here is the Waving Girl Statue. The story is that this little girl came out every day and waved at ships as they passed. I loved the statue and wish I had a pic from the front. We were boarding the bus to go home and I had a sick kid to take care of (not mine, but one of mine on the trip that I was responsible for).

Hope you enjoyed my pics. I tried to narrow it down, but still had alot!

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NOTE: One of the bloggers I follow has a little girl named Hannah. She is 10 years old and has started her own blog. I hope you will visit her and leave a comment. She is doing a GREAT job. I am so impressed with her to be so young. You will be too! Click HERE to go to her blog! Come back and let me know if you do!!!

I hope you all have a Wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I will. My Marine Cousin, Justin, will be home for Thanksgiving, which means his family will be here too, instead of visiting him!

...............................Until Next Time!

Playing With Food and The Finished Project

2009-11-17T07:45:00.000-05:00

Hello All!! We had three parties at my house in one week and two days! I am Exhausted!! We had Autumn's Party, Cindy's Party and Sunday we had Austin's Baseball Team Party!!! The Coach's Wife, Brooke, made a pasta salad that was really good and it had Black Olives in it. What Brooke did not know is that my littlest Angel, Avery, LOVES black olives! I mean she loves them. I can order a pizza for me and her with cheese and extra black olives and she will want to pick more off of my pieces! She decided the most effective way to eat her black olives was to wear them and eat them one after the other off her fingers. I guess you can play with your food if you are still eating, huh?

Here is the team. Austin is in the front with the tye die shirt. The boys played football for hours, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. It was a great end to the season.

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Here is the project we have been working on. At first, there were the steps with nothing at the top. For a very long time, I called it "The Stairway to Nowhere". We finally got the Gazebo and I love it. The kids love to go up and lay in the hammocks. Here is the Gazebo during our "big snow" last year (which was not much, but more than usual). Look at the big snowflakes. It was a really pretty snow day! Click on these to enlarge (if I did it right).

And here is the Gazebo with the new Fire Pit area my Hubby designed all by himself! I was a bit nervous since I had NOTHING to do with it. I believe he just wanted to do this one on his own. I told him it better be good since he left me out. ;) He really outdid himself. I love it. We have already had so many good times sitting out there and it is not even that cold yet. I am already needing a break from roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, though.

The view from the back of the Gazebo. I love the "Flintstone" couch he had built. We do call each other Fred and Wilma so the "Flintstone" couch is totally appropriate!

The fire pit. I ordered these chairs unfinished online and love them. We stained them to match the gazebo and the fence. He even had me a planter box built!

Wilma's view from the couch! ;)

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Most of you know I LOVE sleeping babies, big and small! Here is my oldest and youngest. They, too, were exhausted from all the parties. Aren't they the sweetest?

Ok Gang, please pray for me! I am leaving Wednesday morning (hence the early post) to Chaperone my 14 year old's class to Savannah Georgia! I am very excited because I love Savannah and they have a lot of really fun activities planned. You know I will have my camera ;) I am also excited that my 14 year old Daughter still wants me to go to things like this. I know that won't last forever so I will seize the moment!

Have a great week!

................until next time!!

Happy Birthday Cindy!!

2009-11-16T03:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Aunt Cindy! Today is your day and I hope it is a great one! We had a lot of fun celebrating your Birthday Friday night. Here are some of my pics from the cookout!

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You hold a special place in Avery's heart.

And Alex knows what she wants, she gets!

Of course, you know I love you more than anything! You are like a sister to me!

The real sisters!

Your sweet little Family.

Go crazy today! Eat lots of cake and if you happen to get some on you, no big deal!

It's your Birthday..............

You can wear cake if you want to! :)

Love you so much and I hope you have a Wonderful Birthday!!!

Date Night Details and The Birthday Bash!

2009-11-12T07:19:00.022-05:00

This has absolutely nothing to do with the title, but I could NOT resist! Avery came to me and said this would be her Halloween Costume instead of the Ladybug Princess! Ohh My! Luckily she forgot about this one when it was time to get ready. I still think she was cute! Don't you?

On to the Date Night! My Handsome Husband took me to the Fabulous Fox Theater to see The Zac Brown Band! It was so much fun. The whole concert was a benefit to raise money to re-build The Georgia Theater in Athens, Ga. The theater was built in 1889 and was almost completely destroyed this past year by a fire! I hope you will go look at these pics and come back. http://www.georgiatheatre.com/pics_fire.html

The concert lasted four hours and all the proceeds went to the Re-build Project! Don't you love to see artists giving back? Along with Zac Brown, there were many other artists who came and played to show their support and give us a great show! Here are just a few (you may know them): Kid Rock, Little Big Town, Nic Cowan (we loved him), Sonia Lee (she was great too) and Joey and Rory. They were all great and it was a wonderful evening!

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Last week was Autumn's 14th Birthday. She chose Frontera Mexican for her Birthday Dinner. We has so much fun, especially watching her embarassment! :)

Then Robert decided to sing to her in English!! (further embarassment!)

Autumn and her Friend, Rylee

Autumn and Britani

Avery and her Aunt Cindy

Autumn and Bradley

My crew

Then there was the Birthday Bonfire at our house! We had a great time, even with almost 30 teenagers! Everyone got along. It was a great group of kids. Please find Bradley in the picture with the red shirt on! He has done this face in pictures since he was a small tot!!!

The Birthday Girl!!

Thanks to all who helped with the party!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I made a boo boo! I hung this a while back in the Laundry Room to hold uniform belts, book bags, etc. and it fell! It was too heavy so I finally decided to re-hang it. I asked my Football watching Husband how the anchors worked and he explained it to me. Off I went to drill into the walls and I put the screws in the anchors and.......... Uh Oh! The anchors opened before they went into the wall! I had these really ugly holes that needed some TLC, so they got Nemo and Dory! Turns out the anchors go in and then the screws. Hubby should have paused football!

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Here are some ballfield pics. The girls wanted me to take these!

Do you ever get your shirt stuck and wish you could get Mommy to assist? Nice to still be little, huh?

Have a wonderful week!

........................Until Next Time!!!

Happy 14th, My Sweet Autumn!

2009-11-04T04:58:00.000-05:00

I can not believe you are 15 today! Time sure has flown! You were such and good girl and still are!

Projects, Princesses and Peanuts..Ohh My!

2009-10-30T06:30:00.002-04:00

I hope you all had a great week, although I know how most of you are doing since you blog ;)

I was bored last weekend and looking for something to do. Everyone was occupied doing other things and my wheels were turning. I found this frame with no glass in the laundry room and decided to make something for Alex. She has more wall space than Avery. We love butterflies, so I was thinking butterflies and it had to be made with things I had here. I was not leaving. I love being home on the weekends.

I painted the back white. I found these cute little wooden butterflies and got out the stencils. She loved it.
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Austin had to do a cell project for Science. I remember doing this project when Autumn had the same teacher, so I could not bake the cool Betty Crocker Bake N Fill cake for the project for fear that she would remember and think he should have been more original. Anyway, at Hobby Lobby (ahhh, I love that place), I found candle wax. We made his project with wax and it was really fun. He had to label the items, so we made a key. Here he is doing his part, which was hard to get him to do since there was a Halloween special on TV. Don't feel sorry for him. We recorded it!

Here is the finished product! He was proud and he said his friends loved it and the teacher said she would give him extra credit if he took it outside and burned it (not because she did not like it! She just thought it was neat that it was a big fat candle).

We had leftover wax, so I poured it into a silicone muffin pan. OMGosh! We love these little candles! Look for more of this with colors and things floating around.

Avery could not wait until they cooled. They are so squishy and cute!

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The little girls had their Fall Festival at preschool, so they got to wear their costumes.

Avery was a Ladybug Princess.

Alex was a Princess. She wanted her hair down with a headband because that is the way she likes it these days. I was trying to put it up. She is beautiful just like this. Don't you think?

Here are some pictures from the Festival.

And here we are! Mom, Me and Cindy with the girls! I love this picture!

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Cindy made some boiled peanuts last weekend and had so many left! We got some and I took some to work for all the peeps to enjoy! OMGoodness! They are so good! I started eating them and before I knew it,

there was this monstrous pile of shells! Well, the girls ate some before they left and there is a napkin underneath, but I really overdid it! They were so good, though! I felt sick. I was not happy, but they were good! Do you ever overdo it like that!

After all those salty peanuts, I had to drink alot of water! I mean alot of water!!!! I am still trying to flush salt out! But they were so good!!!!

Of course, after salty, comes sweet! Are you also one of "those"? Well, I bought some 100 calorie brownies from Little Debbie. You know the ones. The regular fattening brownies are really good. Well, why have we not yet realized that 100 calories is just a smaller version of the real thing? LOOK how little that thing was!

I bet you could cut the real ones in half and eat just one for 100 calories and save money! Ohh well, it was good!

Speaking of all this crap I am eating, I have committed to doing 30 minutes of some sort of exercise a day with Mom (Ganky) and Joyce (Mam)! So far, so good this week! I am back to doing my Cindy Whitmarsh videos and I love and hate her all at the same time! She works me hard! Jump on if you would like! Accountability is key!

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Enjoy the beauty all around while it is still here! I am!

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

til next time...................

BTW, my Hubby is taking me on a date Friday! He has not told me where! Isn't that fun? I will tell you all about it!