All Day Crop!

Guess what? I'm hosting an all day crop here at my house tomorrow! I am SO excited. I love having company anyway, so this is right up my alley. So far, 6 people have confirmed that they're coming. Everyone is gonna start showing up around 9:30 in the morning and the "plan" is to go until midnight. How cool is THAT?!?!?
Everyone will be bringing a brunch item and a snack to share. Then we'll order something for lunch and probably dinner too. The tables are all set up in the basement and I'm ready to go!
I'll have to try and take some pictures throughout the day and hopefully get them posted here.
I've never done anything like this before at my home, so it should be interesting. NOW, I know why we got our basement finished...so I could host all day crops every few months, huh? :-) Guess we'll have to see what hubby thinks about THAT!
Have a great weekend!!!

Middle School Cutie!

Ok, I can't post the picture of one good looking child without posting for the other, now can I? Absolutely NOT!!! This is Markell's first picture from Middle School. I can't believe this boy is in the 6th grade already!!! And oh my gosh...he's so freakin HANDSOME!!! Even though he wants to wear this pink shirt, almost to the point of nauseum, I must admit, he looks GREAT in it. So I was glad that he decided to wear it for his pictures.

Isn't he just the cutest thing? :-) Thanks for looking.

Pre-K Cutie!

Back on 9/12, I posted an entry about my DD's first REAL school picture. I mentioned that I'd post the one the school took as soon as they came back. Well guess what? They're back! And oh my GOODNESS....this is one cute little girl.
Soooo, here she is: I am so proud of this little girl. My goodness, they just grow so fast. Before you know it, I'll be posting her Senior pictures.

How can you question God's existence?

As I mentioned in my 2 previous entries, we went up to the mountains last Friday. Well, not only did I get great pictures of the kids and pumkins. But I got the chance to see some of God's handywork.
Heading back home, we got a little, shall we say "misplaced". However, I am now convinced that it wasn't by accident that we missed our turn. As we drove down these long, winding country roads, we were able to see some of the most amazing scenery. I was so glad that there was no one driving behind us, because on more than one occasion, I just HAD to pull over on the side of the road to capture the beauty.
So without further delay....enjoy what God has blessed us with.

The color purple....it simply makes me smile.

My 4 year old caputured this picture of the horizon.

In the far distance, just beyond this mountain top, you could see the Atlanta skyline.

Special thanks to my friend, Amy for taking this shot as I drove.

Thanks for your time and thanks for sharing in the beauty that God has created JUST FOR US to enjoy!

Fall/Pumpkin pix - Take 2

Ok, let's see if BLOGGER will cooperate this time. Here are a few more shots from our field trip to the pumpkin patch. Enjoy!

Originally, the boys had planned to lift the wheelbarrell with Jayla sitting in it. However, when they tried to lift it, it tilted to the side and she almost fell out. :-) This is what we ended up with because she wasn't havin it any other way...LOL.

This little girl is a MESS!!! I think she tried to pose on EVERY pumpkin there was! It seemed like every few minutes I was hearing the words, "Hey mom, look at me!" And I'll be darn if just about every shot wasn't a keeper :-).

I am convinced that the ONLY reason this kid runs from me when he sees me with the camera, is because he knows that he's incapable of taking a bad picture. He even makes pumpkins look good :-).

Too cute! Nothing more to say....

The kids ended their day of pumpkin hunting by hopping aboard a John Deere tractor for one last picture. Amazing how they even make a tractor look good :-).

Thanks for looking.

Fieldtrip to a REAL pumpkin patch!

Happy Friday!!!
I don't remember if I did an entry on my most recent fieldtrip with my daughter. But last Friday, her class went to visit a pumpkin patch. Well let me tell you, this was NO pumpkin patch! Scattering about 40 mini pumpkins on a 20x20 size area in the woods does not a pumpkin patch make. And needless to say, a bunch of 4 & 5 year olds DO know the difference. Personally, I'd never been to one before, so I was really looking forward to it. Boy was I disappointed. Due to that disappointment, I decided that I'd take the kids to see a REAL pumkin patch. But first, here's a couple pictures from last Friday's fieldtrip.

Here's Jayla holding up her cute little pumpkin. And sadly enough, this shot actually shows almost all of the "patch".
This is Jayla's class showing off their findings.

Ok, now lets fast forward to today. The kids were out of school so it made for the perfect day to take them to see some real pumpkins. My friend Amy and her son, Nick came along with us. Now, before I go any further, let me tell you that this trip was obviously VERY important to me. So much so that we drove 1 hour away just to take pictures in a pumpkin patch. I know, I'm nuts! ANYWAY, we made it up to the mountains (along with 1/2 of Georgia). Jayla was in awe. Markell on the other hand, could have cared less about this fun field of orange :-). But he made the best of it. As I've mentioned before, my Jayla is quite the little model and this was the perfect backdrop for her many poses. Here are some of the 93 shots we got today:

Now THIS is a pumpkin!!!

Alright, Markell & Nick, if you can lift it, you can have it!

Ok, I have come to the conclusion that BLOGGER is experiencing some issues. Therefore, I'll have to share the rest of my pictures under seperate cover :-). So check back later.

Welcome back into my life

Isn't it just the coolest thing we you get the chance to reconnect with an old friend? I can't tell you how excited I am that this has recently happened to me. Me and my friend have started chatting with eachother after 22 LONG years! I think the last time we actually saw eachother was when we walked across the stage at our high school graduation on June 6, 1984! Unfortunately, we haven't gotten to actually see one another yet, but I'm anxiously waiting for that day to come. My hope and prayer is that this time, we won't lose touch and that our friendship will not only pick up where it left off 22 years ago, but that new windows of opportunity will open in our relationship. No doubt we have a lot of catching up to do, but that's part of the fun and facination of reconnecting with an old friend. Welcome back into my life, my friend, I look forward to what the future holds.

~~~

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring; all of which have the potential to turn a life around." Leo Buscaglia

I'm back!

Happy Tuesday everyone! As you can see, I have yet to give the update on our trip to Illinois! Well, it takes a minute to get back into the groove and get your body back in sync with the right time zone. I know it's only an hour difference...but it's a difference nonetheless.
Anyway, I have a question...how can TWO women fill a Nissan Quest jam packed with STUFF??? Well, we did it! Between the 2 of us, we had 2 bags with our clothes in it, 8 bags/carts/containers of scrapbook stuff, 2 tubs of childrens clothes (for one of the people we were going to meet up with) and one bag of snacks! Isn't that just crazy?? :-) No one can tell us we don't have our priorities in order...hee hee. Oh, and Stacey did carry a big Roughneck tote of stuff to crochet socks with on the ride.
Ok, let's fast forward a bit. We left Georgia around 9am, stopped once to eat and fill up with gas. Then we were on our way...on our way right into off and on rain showers and MILES of traffic. Fortunately, the traffic didn't come until we were about 70 miles outside of Mount Vernon. There was a terrible accident on the opposite side of the highway and that backed everything up for miles. I just hope the people that were involved are alright.
We got to Mount Vernon around 5:30pm and our friends hadn't made it in yet. Fortunately, we were able to get into the room and get things set up for a weekend of scrapping. After everyone arrived, we went to Walmart for a few things, grabbed dinner from Applebee's and got right to work on our scrapbooking. Before I go on, do you think it's strange to require that the CHICKEN meal that you ordered actually have chicken on it? I don't! 4 of the 5 of us ordered a meal that we THOUGHT chicken would be the main ingredient. WRONG!!! We had to call back to Applebee's and tell them how they messed up. However, they were nice enough to bring us our chicken and throw in free desserts to compensate for our inconvenience. Umm, ummm...gotta love cold chicken & broccoli alfredo :-(.
ANYWAY, we wound up having a ball. I have such fun friends! I love those ladies. We were up most nights until 1 or 2am. Which for the 2 of us that live in EST, was actually 2 or 3am! Let me tell you, it's catching up to me now (insert yawn here). Oh, and did I tell you, we were without a toilet for a day and a 1/2.? I won't tell you HOW it happened...just that it happened :-). So that was interesting. I got 17 layouts done..YAY ME!!! and I was also successful in catching a cold while I was there.
Ok, I think that's enough of a recap of our weekend. We had such a fun time and I'm looking forward to doing it again. Just next time I'd like to do it closer to home and minus the cold. Oh and about the cold...please keep this in mind...DO NOT EVER drive through the mountains of TN (or any mountains for that matter) with a head cold, ok? That did not make Dawn a happy girl! Can anyone say spontaneous combustion? Now I know how Arnold Schwartsawhatever felt in Total Recall :-)
Here's a few pix, enjoy!

This is my best buddy Stacey. I absolutely love this lady. We hit it off the very first day we met over 2 years ago and we haven't stopped yet. Riding ALL THAT way to Illinois with her made the trip so worth while...both times. She KEEPS me laughing, talk about a great friend!

This is Kris. She's Stacey's sister in law. She is TOO funny! The first time Kris and I met about 2 years ago, we instantly hit it off. She said we were long lost sisters :-). Love ya girl!

This is Aline (aka Mrs. Quick). Aline is Stacey's other sister in law. I met her the same time I met Kris 2 years ago. She likes to call herself the "elder" of our little "group" and likes for us to call her Mrs. Quick...WHATEVER! :-) Love ya Aline!!!

This is Jamie. Jamie and I first met 2 years ago also on our first trip to Illinois. Stacey and Jamie were friends back in high school.

Kris works part time at a scrapbook store in Omaha. She was nice enough to bring us a stash of stuff. Wasn't that nice? She even gave us a nice little discount on anything that we bought.

This is what we ALL looked like around midnight every night. However, we're not sure if it was from scrapbooking or laughing.

And THIS is what Kris looks like after midnight! :-) This chick is a MESS!!! She got such a kick out of herself and her new found use of candy corns!

And here we all are on our last day. See ya next time ladies!

Time for a ROAD TRIP!!!

I am so excited...tomorrow morning, me and my friend, Stacey, will be hitting the road for a 6 - 7 hour drive. We're headed to lovely Mount Vernon, Illinois! What's in Mount Vernon, IL you ask? Nothing yet!...ok, nothing EVER! :-) That's just a spot that we chose to meet up with some more fellow scrapbookers. Two years ago, Stacey and I drove to this same destination and scrapbooked for the weekend with about 10 other women. We had a TOTAL BALL!!! We got a hotel room, called dibs on the beds, blew up air mattresses and set up our scrapbooking stuff. There were a few nights that we scrapped until 2 or 3 in the morning. Talk about fun! I think we spent most of the time laughing! (what's talked about in Illinois...STAYS in Illinois!) LOL

Anyway, we're leaving Georgia at 9am and headed to Mount Vernon to do it again. But this time there will only be about 5 or 6 of us. The others are coming from Omaha, NE. THAT's why we chose Illinois...it's about a 6 - 7 hour drive for everyone. We literally looked at a map, closed our eyes and picked a place that was equal distance for everyone. And for those of you who are scrapbookers, get this...there's about 3 scrapbook stores within a mile in each direction of the hotel we'll be in. AND, a super Wal-Mart. Doesn't get much better than that. We're gonna fill up the little fridge with snacks & drinks and get our SCRAP on!!! :-)

Well, that's a wrap for me. Got some last minute things to do before I go, then I'm gone 'til Sunday. Ya'll have a great weekend!!!

I went on a FIELD TRIP!

Before I get to the real reason for this post, let me say that, today, I had another confirming SAHM moment. I know I don't "need" anything to "confirm" that I'm a stay at home mom. But you know how sometimes you can lose yourself in a moment or in a certain circumstance? That has happened to me quite often since I've taken on this "position". Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a SAHM, but sometimes I feel that my identity is fading away. However, today, along with a few other pivotal moments over the past couple of years, I got "confirmation" that I made the right decision.

Today, Jayla had her first REAL field trip. This week at her school is Community Helpers week. So, they went to visit a fire station. She was so excited and asked me if I'd be able to go with them. You have NO idea how happy that made me feel. I was so glad that she wanted me to be there with her. So of course I agreed to go. Not only because she asked me to, but because I've never been to a fire station before.

Man, when I tell you that those trucks are big...believe me when I say, they're even BIGGER!!! You can't really appreciate how large they are until you're standing next to one. Fortunately, ALL of the trucks were there today. One of the classes went earlier this week and there was only 1 truck for the kids to see. Jayla's class was fortunate to be able to see ALL of them. All being the HAZMAT (hazardous material) truck, the pump truck (with the hoses), the extension ladder truck, the giant command center truck AND the SWAT team truck, the police battering ram truck (not sure what the REAL name of this one is), and of course an ambulance. Not only is this a fire station, but also a police station. The kids had a ball. (and so did I)

Well, that's enough talking :-). Here are some of the pix from the field trip. Enjoy!

What a pretty truck! And the picture's not too bad either :-).

I know this picture is pretty blurry. But I had to keep it because I love the look on her face. The firemen let the kids go through the cab of one of the trucks. Jayla was BEYOND excited...can't you tell? :-)

This is a picture of the kids listening to the fireman telling them about all the tools on the truck. The boys really enjoyed seeing that big ole pick ax :-). On another funny note, the fireman asked if the kids knew how far a certain length of fire hose would stretch (I can't remember the exact number he said). But my Jayla raised her hand and said, "However far you just said!" All the fireman could do was laugh and tell her she was right. :-)

This is one of the smaller trucks (small is relative, I guess). They pulled it out for the kids so they could see it up close (again). And they even turned on the flashing lights and "briefly" turned on the siren. Talk about LOUD!!! Funny thing is, they say this isn't even the loudest one.

This is my Jayla posing for mommy.

Here's Jayla's class posing with "Mr. Fireman" and his "big ole truck".

This picture is funny. I took it soon after the truck was pulled out and the siren was sounded. The kids still look like their in shock...or they still can't hear just yet :-).

Well, that's about it for our Field Trip. It was such a pleasure to spend a few hours with Jayla and her classmates. It was SO exciting to see the excitement on these kids' faces. And Jayla was so proud to be able to tell her friends that HER mommy was there with her. To me, that's what having kids is all about, sharing in their experiences, and in turn, making memories with them. And I must say, I'll remember this day for a long time.

Have a great weekend everyone!