The Santa visit really paid off for my kids. They got everything and more than they asked for. Cole wanted Guitar Hero for the Wii. Kamden wanted a "Scooby Car" (The Mystery Machine). Max wanted a set of left handed golf clubs. I wanted a Honda Odyssey, but it wouldn't fit down the chimney - darn! Most of all I wanted my Daddy to be released from the hospital, but my poor parents had a "Blue Christmas" in room 4410. Craig wanted a trip to Cabo to go fishing with the "Cabo-Boys" but the tickets were no where to be found. Even though the adults didn't get our heart's desires, at least the kids racked up. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Day and will enjoy the rest of the "kid filled" holiday. We have all been so blessed!






**Fabulous Update! My Daddy is being released from the hospital
TODAY! Craig and I are fighting off bad head colds with loads of
heavy sneezing, so we are not going to be able to be a bit of help. My Daddy's chest continues to be ever so painful, so we wouldn't want to be responsible for him catching our yuck!
I pray that everything goes smoothly and they are able to get home all safe and sound.

Christmas is just a few days away and having my Daddy make it through his surgery without having to go to ICU is simply the best gift of all! Tonight he sat up on the side of the bed and actually fed himself! This is just one day post-surgery and he is doing great! He is still in a lot of pain, which is understandable - considering he now has three titanium plates in his chest, some kind of muscle flap procedure where they joined together both sides of his chest muscles and they rewired his chest. His incision is much larger than the original one and they stapled it together. I didn't know plastic surgeons stapled, but apparently they do. They also stitched together his open wound on his leg. He is sporting lovely drain tubes on his leg and two from his chest. We are just so THANKFUL that he has the surgery behind him and he is well on his way to being the strong Daddy / Pappy we know him to be.
Kamden has a terrible cough (bronchitis - and on antibiotics) so we can't get her or the boys any where near Daddy. They may have it too and we don't know it yet - so better to be safe than sorry. One more cold and cough might be more than Daddy could take.
My Mother has been right by his side as expected. Mickey, Dee and Jane stayed with Mother while Daddy had his surgery. Thank goodness for wonderful family and friends. I was busy taking Kamden to the doctor and felt so very torn. Daddy's surgery lasted forever. They took him back at 10:20 am and he didn't come back until 3:50 pm. I thought I would never get the call from Mother telling me that it was over! Once again, he is on the slow track to a full recovery! He will be strong and smiling again soon, I just know it!

My DADDY IS BACK IN THE HOSPITAL!! I can't believe my sweet Daddy has endured so much, and been such a trooper, and now, after a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, has returned to the hospital. He started bleeding from his chest incision and bubbling air - weird, I know, but that is how both of my parents have described how it all started. The heart specialist got him right in for an appointment where they opened his healing incision completely with a surgical knife (or something of the sorts) right there in the office! How sanitary! He said it was so painful! I can only imagine. They poked around with swabs and agreed that he had pulled his wires holding his chest together loose by coughing - thanks to a booger of a cold he has been fighting for two weeks. So they went straight back to the hospital and he is to have surgery on Friday at 12:30 pm. This time a plastic surgeon will open him, rewire, look for any infection, do a muscle flap procedure to secure the area, and possibly use a plate and screw system (don't know what all of that entails).

I looked at the opening on his chest yesterday as they were changing the dressings and it looked like he had lost a recent sword fight! Really, it looked just awful (UNDERSTATEMENT!) and I could NOT believe my eyes! His chest had been doing so great and healing so well! His leg still looks bad and the plastic surgeon says he will probably repair his leg wound also (according to how everything goes). Daddy is excited about that because that would free him from the wound vac (maybe). One nurse told us that he could end up with the vac attached to his chest too. ARGH!

We are just praying that Daddy will remain strong, and have a will to fight with all his might. He keeps saying, "You know, there is only so much shock a body can take. I'll be 71 in March and I just don't know about all of this!" He really doesn't have any choice, but to trust the doctors and pray that they will handle and care for him the way they would want their own parents taken care of. We are all stunned and heartbroken to hear that all of the healing has to be undone and started from scratch - pretty much. If he handles the surgery well and all goes as planned he will return to his regular room. If it doesn't go as planned he will be back in CVICU again. He is going to have a ventilator again and more chest tubes and who knows what else. He has a rough road ahead of him.

Yesterday he and I walked around the floor of the hospital together while Mother went back to their house to get all of their "stuff" and medicines. He said that it was the best he had felt since his surgery. Bless his heart! I could just have broken down in tears right then and there, but I swallowed hard and put on my strong face (only to cry all the way home, about five times already today and now!). I am having a hard time keeping myself together because I am so scared for him! He has always been my "partner, best friend and that's what" (something he always says to me!). Please keep him especially in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow, and in the weeks to follow as he faces another long recovery period.

DADDY / PAPPY IS HOME!
Friday afternoon, around 3:30 pm my Daddy was officially released from Roger C. Peace. I am sure being outside on a beautiful sunny day and driving down the road in their van was quite a surreal experience for them. I followed them for a little while and my mom called on my cell phone with excitement about the drop in gas prices ($1.39). She had heard about the price going down, but to actually see it large and in "real life" was shocking. They slowed down to a crawl to appreciate the beauty of low numbers! It was funny for that to excite them, but it did! They went on home and I stopped to grab some groceries for them and all of Daddy prescriptions (seemed like 20 or more) and ran home for Craig to load our recliner in my van. My parents have a recliner that is not nearly as comfy as ours and theirs took quite a bit of arm action (big no-no for heart patients) to get it to recline, so we figured our big, soft green recliner would work out better for Daddy. The boys constantly fight over sitting in it and were sad to see it go. I now have more room in my family room, and less confusion, so I am happy. Christmas trees always offset the entire balance of our already crowded space.
Speaking of our beautiful tree . . . that cotton-picking booger fell on Tuesday night (last week) while we were all snug in our beds taking a long winter's nap. No one heard it, but I think my head twirled around on my shoulders - three times Wednesday morning! I said I couldn't take much more Christmas decorating, but guess who got to decorate the darned tree again, once it was tied by ropes to the window trim and a built-in bookcase? JOY! Why on earth would they make a large, heavy, pre-lit tree with flimsy plastic feet? ARGH! I know having every ornament on the very front of the tree didn't help either!
My parents were certainly happy to have their house all decked out for the holidays. Daddy said they wouldn't have had Christmas without our hard work (bless his heart). Mother has thanked me everyday for all that we have done. I am just so glad they are finally home to enjoy it all. I don't think anyone could have stood another week in that place! The nurses and doctors were great to my parents, but they felt imprisoned, not to mention Daddy was more than tired of the food! Daddy feels very useless and weak, which work together to make him angry. He has always been such a "get-er-done" kind of man, so using patience is becoming a honed art form for him.
Taking one day at a time is the only way he is going to get better. Mother is feeding him well, they are sleeping in their comfy bed, he is taking tons of meds, the wound vac is doing its thing, he is napping throughout the day (when he is not eating) and the home health nurse is visiting three times a week to re-dress the wound /vac area. He is definitely well taken care of, so healing is just going to take time. They have plenty of family and friends checking on them, so they are in good shape in my eyes, but Daddy feels he still has a huge mountain in front of him he has to attempt to climb everyday. Truly we are all so blessed and have countless things to be thankful for. "Think positive," I keep telling him. Eventually he will catch on!

After two really rough days, my Daddy is doing so much better. I really believe we witnessed a miracle last night around 8pm, when after two straight days of being in the bed and coughing his lungs out, he decided to get up and walk around the halls. It was truly amazing! Today when I walked in the room he said, "I like to have died the past two days, and now I feel much better!" Prayer really works! Dr. Hippensteal had a pulmonary doctor (Dr. McCraw) check out the CT Scan they did on Monday night and we thought he was going to have to drain the fluid from around his lung yesterday evening, but thank the good Lord he didn't! They had already had him sign the release forms and had the "tools" (looked like a railroad spike!) to get the job done sitting in the room (ready for action). Daddy wanted to shake that doctor's hand! Finally, someone gave him a break! His chest is still painful because he has coughed a rib loose from the "joint" where it meets the cartilage. You can actually see it protruding. They started him on prednisone last night at 10pm and he is on another round of antibiotics. His leg is still on the vac system, so the ugliness remains "under wraps". We all kind of forgot about the leg when his chest became so very painful. Thanks from the bottom of my heart to Angel for keeping my kids so I could run back to the hospital and watch the procedure that didn't end up taking place. She is my truest, very best friend in the whole wide world and I love her! Not just anybody would be willing to take on my bunch! Thanks to Val for volunteering too. Hopefully this is the last "scare" we will have and they will consider releasing my parents soon. This has been so hard on them! Thanks to Mickey and Dee for always visiting and calling to check up on everything. What would my parents do without such caring family? Keep praying for my Daddy - obviously it is working!

Well we made it through another weekend with Daddy in the hospital Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Center. He had a really bad night on Saturday night and coughed instead of sleeping. He had several rough episodes when he couldn't catch his breath. Now he is on an antibiotic called Cipro (sp?) and is taking a much stronger med for his cough. They did a chest x-ray and should get the results today. I asked the nurse for a sleeping pill for him last night and after the doctor's approval they gave him one at 11:00 pm and he slept like a baby. Nothing like a good night's sleep to make you feel better! He is still having a lot of pain in and around his wound on his thigh and now his chest is really hurting. I am sure he has pulled muscles coughing - hopefully not wires where they put him back together after heart surgery. I made a picture of the wound vac that is hopefully aiding in the healing process. This looks much better than the pictures I have made of the wound itself! Yuck!
I included a few pictures of Mother's birthday on November 30th we celebrated in the "gathering room". What a great picture of my parents! Kamden and I made cupcakes and we all enjoyed some time together in another room besides #2807.
OK, I said no more Christmas decorating, but I just had to do this! I made a great little pick-me-up gift basket to decorate my Daddy's room. I got this wonderful idea from a fellow blogger, Wendy. Thanks for planting a seed and motivating me in an awesome direction. A basket from Ross (one of my favorite stores on earth!) and a few things I had in my own (too much) Christmas decorations and voila! I even put some energy efficient, tiny LED lights on the little tree so it even looks pretty with the lights off. My Daddy's sister (who is super crafty) came by to visit last night and said I "out did myself" on the basket! Yeah! Anyway, MeeMee and Pappy liked it and that's what mattered most of all!

I am finishing up on getting all of my families' (and their) laundry done and will be off to visit with my precious parents. I hope they will get some good news from the doctors today. Maybe even a date of a possible homecoming! I think today is the day for removing the packing and measuring the leg wound and taking a bit of dead skin off (not a fun event). I will post soon with some good news - I hope!

Just a quick update on my Daddy, also known as Pappy! He is still in the rehab section of the hospital called Roger C. Peace. His leg wound still looks horrible. My Mother can't even look at it. Today they are putting an appliance called a wound vac on his upper thigh to draw out drainage and hopefully help the healing process. I think they are just moving from one thing to the next to hopefully find something that works. I have been taking close up pictures so we can keep up with progress, but will not post them because there is nothing pleasant at all about how bad his opening looks. Angel and Leigh, sorry for sending a few on your cell phones. Hopefully you were not eating!
On top of the pain from his leg, he now has a bad cold with sneezing and coughing which hurts his chest like crazy. This morning Dr. Hippensteal heard a rattle in his left and right lung and they are starting breathing treatments again. On Tuesday an x-ray showed a little fluid in his left lung, but not pneumonia. His oxygen level went down substantially last night and once again he is on oxygen. I feel so sorry for my parents! We were hoping they would get to go home and now it looks like that wont be happening for a while. It has been over a month now (November 4th)!
My children, Craig and I went to my parents home and put up their Christmas tree and all of their decorations. Surprise! The kids quite enjoyed looking at and handling (argh!) all of the cool ornaments their grandparents have collected for so many years. Thank goodness nothing was broken during the crazy "appreciation moments"! Hopefully the tree will not fall forward, since most of the ornaments were specially placed on the very front of the tree! You know, that's what kids do! We are praying that my parents will get to go home soon to enjoy all of their decorations. Lord knows we didn't put things where they were supposed to be, but this is a Davenport twist on the Pearson house! One thing is certain, I would never be a Christmas decorator for a living! I think I will scream "BAH- HUM-BUG!" if I have to do much more decorating!
I'm off to the hospital again with positive thoughts, clean clothes, and some food for Mother, also known as MeeMee! Keep them in your thoughts and prayers!

My Daddy has really been through a lot - to say the least! The pictures above are just a few of the day by day journey through open-heart surgery! Yes, I made him smile, but he instantly went back to his sad look after the camera clicked. His chest pain is much better and his heart (praise the Lord) is doing everything right. The only things holding him back are his legs - especially his right. He has an open wound on his upper thigh from the doctor strolling in his room and declaring that he had to have the incision from the vein harvesting opened and drained. The physician's assistant came in and opened the very painful sight using scissors (with no pain medication for my poor Daddy who moaned in pain) and proceeded insert his entire pointer finger & a few swabs under the skin and other tissues until he ruptured the blood clot that was causing such pressure. It looked like a volcano erupting! OH MY! I witnessed the entire event and wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. It was definitely a sight I will never forget! Now, Daddy has a large gaping hole in his upper thigh and cellulitis on his lower leg. I keep questioning the possibility of Staph, but the medical pros just "blow me off". Long and short of it is that he just can't walk by himself, let alone get up. He barely can take baby steps with two aides on either side and is in terrific pain. Never thought this would happen from heart surgery! We have since heard from others that the legs could be the most painful. He just doesn't seem to be getting any better and today they are talking about sending him home. My parents just couldn't handle being at home with no help from trained professionals. I, of course, would be there as much as possible and feel totally capable to dress the wound areas (I videoed the nurse, so now I am trained - ha!), but after Tuesday the kids will be out of school. I think one loving leap in the lap from Kamden would send my Daddy over the edge! I just don't know what is going to happen and I am so worried for Daddy and Mother. There is a rehabilitation place next door to the hospital, but Mother wouldn't be able to stay with Daddy and he doesn't want her to leave him. Argh! I pray that he can at least stay two more days in the hospital, as I think that would make a difference in his mobility. WE SHALL SEE! You know how all hospitals want to kick you out on your nose? Well after nearly three weeks of Daddy being in there I think they are more than ready to give him the boot! Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, y'all!

Daddy's surgery went well on Wednesday, but nothing could have prepared us for how he would look when it was over! My mom and I walked into the room he was in and it echoed with sounds from an array of busy machines surrounding him like I have never heard before - pumps, puffs, beeps and constant humms. The wires and cords covered his head and body like a maze. And there was my poor, very swollen daddy beneath it all. We wept like babies. How could this be? He was so lifeless and distorted. Luckily, there has been daily progress, but it has been slow. He takes two baby steps forward and one step backwards, and we have learned to accept this happily. He had five bypasses and a maze procedure to hopefully correct the afib condition. They took veins from both legs and his chest to replace the blocked ones - so he really is sore all over! He is now having problems with his lungs and taking deep breaths, which hurts clear through to his heart. One doctor thinks he has pneumonia in his left lung, but another doctor doesn't quite agree - so who knows. He is just so SAD. He has cried a couple of times (NEVER have I seen my STRONG Daddy weep) and keeps apologizing for putting everyone out so much. I think this must be the hardest surgery on your body you can have and survive it. The nurses keep reminding us that depression occurs in many of their open-heart surgery patients, but we hope this is just fleeting sadness and he will be back to his happy self SOON.
He was officially moved to a regular room on the heart monitoring floor yesterday. We couldn't be happier to be out of the CV-ICU. We could only be with him for a few hours at a time when he was in there and it seemed like he would improve while we were in there and then go downhill when we left. It has all been very frustrating with many hours (5 days and nights!) spent in a very uncomfortable, small waiting room. My sweet mother never left Daddy. She has spent every night at the hospital since election day when this whole thing started. The five sleepless nights on the hard mini-love seats were especially uncomfortable, but there was no way she would choose to be in a comfy bed while Daddy was just down the hall going through so much. She kept telling each of the nurses (and he had many) that she was just down the hall. I hope last night was better for her. She could sleep right beside her true love and listen to him breathe. I think that kind of contact is healing for both of them. Many, MANY people would tell her to leave and let the nurses do their job, but she would hear nothing of it. He would never leave her and she would never leave him - they have obviously made a pact. Mother's sisters Delores and Betty switched off staying with her at night and I am very thankful for them. My children needed me too, so Mother would hear nothing of me staying the night, but I felt so guilty leaving her.
I must run to the hospital while the kids are in school and encourage my daddy. I want to see him smile again. I love him so much! I want his pain to lessen and for him to be glad that he agreed to have such a big surgery. He has whispered how he wished he hadn't. To regret is to dwell on the past and I want him to see that brighter, happier, painless days are ahead and just around the corner! He has made it through so much already and I am so proud of him. With everyday we are going to see his strength building up. I will blog again soon and add a couple of pictures. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Ok, the election didn't turn out like we had hoped, but we must lick our wounds and go on. This is an opportunity to see if O* can really deliver. Only time will tell, and I hope we (the disappointed) will be pleasantly surprised. I'm still hopeful for 2012 - Palin will return. That chick is awesome!

We have had some scary stuff happening in my family. My dad started on Election Day (didn't even get to vote!) having shortness of breath, rapid heart beats and pain down his left arm. He has been in the hospital since then and mother has been right by his side. I have been there everyday to take food and clean clothes to my mom. Daddy had a heart cath. yesterday and has much more blockages than he did this time last year when he had one (85% in 5 arteries). The picture collage is from the night before surgery (all smiles!). Long and short of it all is that he is having open heart surgery on Wednesday (tomorrow) and they are "going to fix him". Those are Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Dr. Barry Davis' very words. Daddy also has an abnormality in his heart that he was born with and they are going to readjust the entire artery. His heart was going crazy last week with a heart rate of 150 and pulse at 80. Daddy's pulse rate is normally around 50 at rest. Luckily Dr. Parker who did the heart cath. yesterday said that his heart muscle looked strong and needed a bit of work to get it running dependably. If he doesn't have surgery he is like a ticking bomb and we just can't have that! I am terribly worried and would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for my daddy. He has quite a long road ahead of him and I have to admit I am a nervous wreck. He had one of those "....If something happens to me...." talks on Sunday when we were alone and I cried like a baby. Nothing can happen to him, because we love and need him too much.

Poor Cole thought that he caused it all by playing football with his Pappy the day before it all started. Angel has been big help with my kids and had Cole when he just crumbled in tears last Tuesday. She dried his tears and prayed with him for his Pappy. Thanks for making Cole feel better and for being there for us. We love you Angel!

I am off to the hospital to take my mom some breakfast and to spend the day with my Daddy. I am taking the video camera so we can do some before videos. Daddy wants me to record his talent of making his chest muscles jump on command! My kids think this is an amazing talent. With his chest being opened and muscles being cut, he is afraid he will never be able to show off for them again and he wants it all documented. I know this sounds weird to some, but if you know my crazy Daddy, you would know this is pure Joe Pearson! He is so funny and loves to show off is muscles. He has always been fit and exercises everyday to keep that way. Within the last couple of years he has had two total knee replacements and had a beautiful recovery. Before he was in a lot of pain and hobbled around. Now he could be a spokesperson for why you should have your knees replaced if you even think you need it. I hope and pray that his heart surgery turns out the same way. He has a great, positive attitude and that can make a REAL difference.

I hope everyone will take time tomorrow to make their vote count. You can make a difference! I do have my favorites - daaah! My kids think election day is a holiday because schools are closed. They are quite excited. I am sure the lines will be long and we will spend quite a bit of their "free" time waiting for me to vote. I don't feel great (nasty virus) and have spent the entire weekend sick, but I plan to wait my turn to make a difference. This is the perfect opportunity to show my kids that everything counts, even one person and one vote. I really think Max gets it. He has been very interested in everything political lately. He nearly can't handle it when someone we know says they are voting for O****. I have to nearly put a sock in his mouth. I am sure this election will be a close one, which makes it quite exciting. Happy voting everyone and best wishes for short lines and determined voters!

Goodness gracious I have obviously been lost in FALL y'all. So much has been going on around here; I just haven't taken the time to blog. I love looking at a bunch of blogs and by the time I take a peek at other's lives, I don't have the time to blog about my own! Any - WHO, here I am finally!

I'll start off by saying baseball is over, for a little while at least! We had the last fall tournament and the guys won all of their games except for the final (and most important one) against Easley. They are apparently (news to me) our rivals! Our guys wanted to win so badly, but they just couldn't do it. The Southern Steal really had a fabulous winning streak of 15 games in a row. That is in itself fantastic and losing one game is nothing to be ashamed of, but those words couldn't ease the pain my poor Cole felt after swinging the final strike of the last out of the game. He was HEARTBROKEN and there was nothing I could say to make it better. He sobbed from deep inside his heart. I can't lie, I hurt too, but for my child who felt like he had let his team down. It felt like a movie in slow motion. I will one day look back at my video that I was taking and surly, once again, feel the hot poker in the heart that I felt for my guy! On a happy note they got the biggest trophy they have ever gotten, but that didn't make a single player happy. "The winners got gold and they got crummy old silver" (a Cole quote). We will be happy to have a break and the boys need to get over the loss. They have a lot ahead of them, and they will bounce back and learn from all of this. You have to loose like a winner to win like a winner - what? It made sense to say to Cole at the time - but looks strange now seeing it typed on my screen! Kamden, still wanted to hold the trophy and was quite proud of her big brother, just as we all were!

It is already trick-or-treat time around here. We went to a "Trunk-or-Treat" at our neighbor's church on Sunday night and the kids had a ball. This was the perfect test run for the REAL Halloween! No, I could not talk Miss K into being a pretty princess, instead, Kamden was a spooky spider, Cole was a hunter (easy to pull together outfit in a flash), and Max was Max. He is officially too old for dressing up, or for "begging for candy from strangers", but doesn't mind at all bumming candy off of his brother and sister. I put a big hairy spider on my back (home decoration) and was the mommie spider, which thrilled Kamden to death! Craig thought I looked like a goober! We ran into a guy we went to high school with (hadn't seen him in ten long years) and he hugged me and my spider - pretty funny! "Watch out for mommie's big hairy spider", Kamden screamed! Belly laughing moment - guess you had to be there! Bryson, my nephew, went with us and had a great time hanging out with the cousins! He is pictured (above) with Cole after the big baseball game. We just love him!

Today was team dress up day for Red Ribbon week at school. Cole, of course, wore a Clemson sweatshirt. Kamden wore an old hand-me-down Furman University sweatshirt that both Max and Cole wore when they were 5 or 6. She thought she looked awesome - especially since it was her brothers'! Craig's sister graduated from Furman and is now in her fourth year at medical school. Max really wants to follow in her footsteps. I hope he does too! She has always been a super smart cookie and has done well at whatever she sets her mind to do. We are so proud of her! We hardly ever get to see her because she is so busy with a very full life! I couldn't imagine doing what she is doing now! She is specializing in radiology, which means an extra four years of schooling (maybe five - I can't remember). You go girl!

Well, we have pumpkin carving and more trick-or-treating ahead of us. Our dentist would be proud - we are brushing and flossing. We will not have cavities at our next visit! Wasn't Halloween started by The American Dental Association? Have a happy boo-day and more fun on the way!

Wahoo - Over 1,000 Clicks - Chicks!

This is a real painted cat! Talk about weird! No we don't do this kind of stuff to our kitties in the south - just thought I would share a spooky Halloween-ish picture I received in an email! Here comes the big news......(drum roll)..........I am shocked that I have had 1,010 hits on my blog since its creation! I know that that is pure peanuts to some mega-bloggers out there, but I feel that I have really done something - over a thousand clicks on my little old page in the massive blog world! From free panties (see below blog for details) to this, I am easy to get excited! I know, I really need to get a life! Happy Tuesday!

Another Championship!

We just spent another weekend full of travel team baseball and guess what? Cole's team won their third championship! Wahoo! Go Southern Steal! So far, they are ranked the top team in the state! They have won 12 consecutive games and have the State Championship coming up this next weekend. These guys have done so well and us parents couldn't be more proud. This is a group of pictures of all of us. We really had a great weekend!

Yahoo! This is not a laundry Monday for a change! Don't worry, it will be waiting for me tomorrow! I had a teacher meeting with Cole's science teacher at 8:30 am (yuck), who's name is oddly enough Ms. Cole. How confusing is that for my poor guy. Bet we never forget her name! I then visited with my sweet girl in her K-4 class who did not want me to leave, went grocery shopping at Bargains (that's a discount food store that I have always loved), and then the boys had piano after school. My day was officially shot! On Mondays I spend about two and a half hours (sometimes longer) in my car waiting in both school lines and piano! I do have "green thoughts" and turn the engine off (some of the time) to conserve precious fuel! Diddly do -Gas was down to $2.83 today! Who would have ever thought that would be a "low" amount! What is this world coming to?

As you can see in the pictures, my Mother and Daddy have finally returned from Myrtle Beach - their second home - ha ha! They were only gone for three weeks, but it seems like longer when they aren't near by. They have so much fun down their with all of their camping buddies! Anyway, we are so thankful they made it back without a hitch - well except for the can of spray Crisco that coated all of their groceries, car carpet and a bit of their house with oil when they unloaded the mess. Poor Mommie! Word to my Mother: "Never pack aerosol cans on the bottom of your stuff - always in a protected top space". Heck, use a zip-lock baggie just to be safe! Hind sight is always twenty/twenty - huh mom?

Wow-WEE it's Wedgie Free Wednesday - tell your friends!

Something FREE that I love and thought I would share the fun: Wedgie-Free Wednesday sweeps at http://wedgiefree.com/. This is from Hanes and I have gotten two FREE panties in the mail so far. You can ONLY enter on Wednesdays - hence the name! It really doesn't take much to make me happy these days. Now, they are not super sexy Victoria panties, but very comfy and don't creep in the crack (if you know what I mean). They don't send junk mail or the likes, and I haven't even received any "Congratulations - You Won" emails, just freebies in the mail. I found this on a blog I check out every now and then called freebies4mom.blogspot.com. This chick makes sure there isn't any junk attached to freebies or sweeps. I have actually gotten a bunch of coupons and free samples in the mail recently, but the panties make me laugh out loud! My mom has entered and so has Angel, but they haven't received any yet, but I don't think they have given it long enough. I think there is about a four week turnaround. Good luck!

Mountain Monday!

Hello Mountain Monday! This is my yuck day if I haven't been smart throughout the week or even weekend and gotten a few loads of lovely laundry done. Lord have mercy, I despise sorting, washing, folding, and returning clothes to their proper drawer! Heaven help me if I were living back in my grandmother's (rest their souls) younger days when they actually had to do laundry in wash pots over an open flame stirring with a stick and scrubbing on a board. I would die! My children and husband would surely wear everything until it stunk like a skunk and would actually stand up in a corner all by itself from pure nastiness. You think I am kidding? Not in the least! My family is very "clothes rich" and I am to blame because I bring every last piece in the house. I apparently want them to have plenty of choices and I want them to look nice. Even though I make sure there are nice, CLEAN clothes available, Cole and Kamden are happiest when they look ragged and homeless. Bless their hearts, they love what we call "play clothes". You know the ones I don't care if they get chicken doody on because I view them as disposable - almost. Max always has stayed clean (thank you buddy - no stain stick needed for you). Thank God for my wonderful washer and dryer! Here's a big shout out to the fabulous person, in our not so distant past, who had the forethought to know that I would die if they hadn't have invented the washer and dryer! I really should be massively(underline, underline) THANKFUL instead of irritated when doing laundry and I actually try to play a kind of mind game with myself (works sometimes).

I don't know if anyone else is in my shoes, but my kids will try something on and change their minds, or only wear it for a few (clean) hours and decide to change - and instead of folding (yes I have shown them how many times) then they toss their clothes in the laundry hamper (all of them - including my hubby). ARGH! I could just hang myself on a hook when I sort laundry and realize clean stuff has been wadded up with dirty stuff and crammed in. Now it all has to be washed and I do complain out loud - with an audience and sometimes to myself like a crazy woman! I consistently notice how I have very few things to wash, so it's not my doings.

I wouldn't trade my family of five for anything in this world - their mountains of accumulating laundry I could more than do without. When I feel most agitated (washing machine throwback) I have to tell myself to think of others with a house full of dirty clothes creators! Think about poor John and Kate Plus Eight! I hope that poor woman has more help than she lets on when it comes to laundry. But, maybe she really is just a super, WONDER-WOMAN and can leap big piles of "L" in a single bound! When I think about (real) families who have droves of children, like a lady that lives just down the street from me who has eleven, I think about the laundry. I am so warped! I even asked her once how she ever got it done (truth - never is done) and she said, "Everyone helps!". Wonder what that's like? Here's my theory: I actually think that they only have a few pieces of clothing and wear them many, many times until they themselves (no matter what the age) have to wash, or wear it dirty (again). Perfect plan if you ask me. I should take note!

I know there will come a day in the future when I would gladly (haa haaa!) take the lovely, sometimes backlogged, laundry days back in exchange for having my house full of kids again! That is at least what I am told by the "older than I generation". I have already told my oldest (Max) that his days are numbered and that once he leaves home for college (in four years) he'd better not come home with dirty clothes. Mean-Momma-Me, - I can dream, can't I? Let's just see what happens! I hear the washer beeping! Sounds like music to my ears! Must get 'er done! Hope to have a mountain conquering MONDAY!

Just a thought: Sarah Palin really IS the smartest woman ever . . . she has figured out how to get her husband to do the laundry! Right! HEEE HEEE! If he plays his cards right he won't even have to do it!

Kamden's 4-K Pumpkin Patch Field Trip was a blast on Thursday (Oct. 2)! There was a tractor /wagon ride where we got to see the apple orchards, beautiful deer who are quite the peanut butter cracker lovers, geese (loud and aggressive), have a duckie race using old fashioned pumps, feed the goats (old hat for us), milk a wooden cow (you would have to be there to understand this one), and wash our hands at a cool troth with soap dangling from pantyhose (weird, but worked). We even had ice cream (yummy - but burrrr). The children had so much fun and all got a cute little pumpkin to take home. Kamden got the runt pumpkin - an apple looks large next to it, but it is cute. She had so much fun with her little friends and showed me her boyfriend (WHAT--- Craig and the boys will die!). His name is Christian and he is a quiet, nice boy who luckily could care less about our girl. Don't know where this boyfriend idea has jumped into her brain from, but we need to keep it in check. She loves her teachers and seems to enjoy her time with everyone.
Kamden's teacher asked me to do a craft with the children today. Two days in a row at her school has officially warped her and I need medication. She loves having me there, but honest to goodness if I had to be a 4-K teacher I would die. Isn't that awful? But I am just being honest! Those teachers deserve every single dime they make and then some. Bless their hearts. Anyway, I took one of the group pictures from the trip (impossible to get them all to look at me for the picture - but I did my best) and they made a fridge magnet out of it. Turned out cute - but even foam sticker decorations proved to be quite the challenge. I had the bright idea to let them put their names in those sticky, foam letters at the bottom of the picture. Big mistake - I don't think we will do that one again! I felt like I was on a game show trying to quickly find all of their letters in their names before the bell rang to end the day. Whew, it is done and everyone ended the day with a cool craft.

Finally, I am posting about my little ol' life! Last weekend was another baseball weekend and the "Southern Steal" won another championship! Two in a row! How awesome is that? The guys won all of their games, but Cole got "slammed" in the back by the baseball, while at bat by the other teams pitcher, TWO TIMES - in the same game & same spot on his poor back - no LESS! He has had a sore back this past week! His team has really come a long way and we are quite proud.

I have been hard at work tagging items for yet another consignment sale! This is my third this season. Tots to Teens is the name of this one and it is in Greenville. It is a much smaller sale, but that could and seems to be working in my favor. Angel is once again selling t-shirts and squeaky shoes and she said she has seen a bunch of my stuff going through the registers today. Yeah me! Tagging the items was very different from the others because it was done on the computer with bar codes and everything. Pretty high tech! This way I can see exactly what has sold and was hasn't. Cool! Once I got over my "oooh this is going to be hard.... I can't.....this will take too much time....." goofy mind reasoning and just sat down and figured out the entering process it was SOoooo much easier! I love that I can account for everything. Never had that kind of sure feeling about my sales before.

Yeah! My oven is finally fixed! We had to get a new (speedy) company to get the job done! I guess Jackie at the other fix it place will be stuck with my part if she ever finds it! Craig was so excited he made two pumpkin pies and our family's favorite chicken casserole last night while I was shopping at the early-bird "Queen Bee" sale at the consignment sale. Euphoria again.....sigh! CRAZY PEOPLE GO TO THOSE SALES AND I AM GLAD I AM NOT ALONE! I have a smart hubby who can really cook! The kid's have been eating pie all day. Hope he has a slice left when he comes home from work!

HAPPY NEWS! We have a new neighbor born on Sept. 12. Her name is Carter Lee and we all think she is beautiful. She has two older brothers, Bailey (10) and Ashton (5), so my boys have been warning them about the future. Things like, "Enjoy her now while she is sweet and little, because when she gets older she will drive you crazy!" You know, lovely sweet sentiments like that. We look forward to watching her grow up! It's fun to have some young neighbors!

Southern Steal Wins Championship!

What a great weekend of baseball we had! After spending hours in a southern furnace the "Steal" finally won a championship! Cole's team did an outstanding job and we couldn't be more proud! Mee Mee and Pappy were able to be there for the excitement! Cole loves hearing them cheer him on! He made some awesome plays and even hit in the winning run! Way to go Cole! Bryson, Cole's cousin and our nephew, is pictured a couple of times in the collage and we just wanted to say that he did a great job too! The guys were so impressed with their trophies and as you can see, Kamden wanted to know where her trophy was! She thought she should be getting one for being subjected to the elements (whew it was HOT) and long periods of 4 year old (loud) restlessness. I just had to make her picture with the trophy and she was ok then! She was very proud of her brother!

Anna Grace - turns the big TWO today!
This was a crazy and fun day all wrapped into one! Here I sit at 2:00 am like a wack-job looking at other's blogs and now posting on mine! Do I not think I should have a little sleep? Well I think I am still feeling the euphoria from shopping early at the Weecycled Consignment sale with my "bestest" friend in the world, Angel! We were there from 4:00 pm until 1:25 in the MORNING! Can you say "MARATHON SHOPPING"? Angel was actually there selling her ever popular Carolina Girl T-shirts (and shopping too)! Nanna, Ashton, Kelly, Angel and I had so much fun showing off our "finds" and asking "Do you like this?"! By the time the night was nearly over, my sweet parents came by to give me some much needed bicycle advice (found Kamden a great one) and helped me load my BUNCH of stuff in my van. They are night owls - well sort of - at least my mom is, and she just props toothpicks up in daddy's eyes and drags him along. The alarm clock will go off here at 6:30 am and that will be here before I know it! Must run, but can't log off until I wish Anna Grace a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! She is two today (it is now tomorrow Sept. 11)! She is so precious and we all love her!

 
My sweet parents!

Fruitful Friday!

My Daddy and I had a very productive day yesterday! He came over with a yummy Chick-Fil-A biscuit and a truck full of hangers first thing in the morning! I am doing a consignment sale next week and have to have a ton of clothes priced and ready to go by Sunday, September 7th at 7:00. Everything has to be on hangers and goodness knows you can go through a bunch in no time at all. Anyway, my thanks to Pappy for stopping at a local thrift store and sweet-talking a little lady into giving him some hangers. We also organized our messy garage (a little) and hung a few things up on nails. It is amazing how much more room you have when you go vertical! We tried our best to repair the leaky garage doors, but came to the conclusion that the cement was poured wrong. The doors are super big and catch the blowing rain, which just runs down and puddles under the doors. Makes quite a big mess when we get a bit of a storm! Well we tried! Daddy boinked himself on the head with the hammer by leaving it on top of the ladder and then moving the ladder. Bet he won't do that again! Glad he didn't really get hurt, just a little crack on the noggin.
Then we moved onto making some new chicken nests for my "girls" from a recycled football bench that we found next to the dumpster at the high school football stadium. J. G. who made it and signed his initials to the bottom - made it back in 1971. WOW - vintage! Daddy revamped it into great chicken nests for the barn and the boys helped when they got out of school. Daddy was amazed at how strong Max was carrying the newly fashioned nests out to the barn. He said he was as strong as a man! Way to go Maxie!
My mother came here after her hair appointment, so Kamden quite enjoyed having her MeeMee over for some extra loving. I had made a photo album for her for "grandparents" day which is on Sunday, but decided to go ahead and give it to her. She brought every one's attention to an amazing rainbow that went completely across the sky. What a good sign! It was beautiful, but I couldn't see it completely from the top of the chicken coop!
Daddy and I had also found some old metal signs at the football field -roofing material idea! They had put up all new sponsors signs and the old trashed ones made a lovely roof for my chicken coop. As you can tell we are big into recycling around here! I ended up on top of the chicken coop hammering nails in. Never pictured myself doing that, but I can now say that I did it! I was afraid the roof would cave in if daddy or Craig got up there, so I acted like Spider-Woman and tried to distribute my weight on the support beams - if you could call them that! Quite a sight! A few chickens roost on the roof of the coop and tried to scare me to death flying up there and "ice skating" across. They were used to the old rippled roof that gave them a little traction. Funny sight - you will have to take my word for it!
We got so much done in a day. Daddy was a BIG help and I just wanted to thank him. My parents sit down together and read my blog every now and then and I just want you both to know how much I love and appreciate you. We got so much accomplished in a day! I love it when you guys come over and so do the kids! Hope you enjoyed the waffle supper - you deserved steak! Thanks from the barnyard chickens too! They are ready to lay a bunch of eggs in the new nests and will appreciate the "new" roof when the rain comes!

THREE NEW BABY CHICKS & a BILLY!

Kamden and Cole were thrilled to find we have three freshly hatched baby chicks in "Blonde's" nest. She is the most wonderful hen and allows the children to pet her continuously while she is setting on eggs and is friendly and accommodating when my kids want to cuddle the babies. We were hoping for a couple more, but only three hatched. Maybe there's just been too much moisture in the air - who knows. Honestly after buying the 17 chicks from the feed store for Kamden's birthday (only 13 survived to be "teenagers" as we call them), we didn't need a lot more babies joining the family. I don't know for sure, but I believe we have around 60 hens and three roosters who are all just pets.
We got a new goat on Tuesday and can't decide on a name. Kamden wants to call him Billy, but we just have to be a bit more creative with a name than that. A sweet, elderly man at our church gave him to me in exchange for some fresh eggs and a promise that I will sing a song at church for him. Pretty good deal! My parents assisted in the goat delivery, which wasn't the easiest! Thank goodness he is small and young. Our two girl goats, Cocoa and Cookie Dough needed a boyfriend in the yard so eventually we can have some baby goats. Kamden and Cole would love that! The new billy is young, so I believe we will be waiting a while on an offspring. You will notice that I don't mention Max while writing about the barnyard, because he detests everything about it. The most he does is carries the 50 pound bags of feed to the barrels (while I am helping) and he complains the entire way. I am thankful for his help! He is the strongest one here when his daddy is at work. Needless to say he will never have animals as an adult. He doesn't see the beauty or enjoyment in them - and only sees work and nastiness (as he says). He is such a grumpy old man sometimes, but I love him! LOL!

Happy Frustrating Friday

Have you ever just wanted to open your mouth and scream as loud as you could? I did this morning when once again the chick named Jackie at the appliance fix it joint told me that they couldn't seem to find the part to repair my oven. Argh! We bought this thing only four short years ago and have had countless problems with it. Kamden and I were making muffins on August 10th when something blew (really - scared us) while the oven was preheating. We put the muffins in and they did not cook. Strange - we thought! I must have done something wrong. We tried pushing every high-tech button on this expensive contraption (ES400 Electric Range) and nothing would work. I called Frigidaire, which is owned by Electrolux (huh?) and they finally suggested three repair shops that were authorized. After calling two of them and receiving no answer, I called McDonalds - good name you would think, but NOT! I paid a guy $85 to come out here to tell me what the problem was (a blown control panel). Now I am for sure getting the run-around! My family is about to die without Totino's frozen pizzas, Tacos and Martha White brownies from my oven! Apparently higher fuel costs are effecting my part coming in - according to Jackie - who sounds like she is just counting the minutes until her next smoke break and could really care less. It's Friday and I am being put off yet again for another weekend! They are probably adding up the number of times I have called their repair shop for updates and are going to charge me for each one when and IF I get my part in and they ride in on their horse and wagon to fix it. Sorry I sound so angry, but try living without your oven for an extended period of dinners with five hungry mouths begging. Thank goodness it's not my refrigerator! We would be in a fix then. Oh well, I guess if this is the only thing I have to frustrate me I am in good shape! Happy Frustrating Friday!

Kamden is all smiles after her first day of K-4! Yeah!

Well my baby has started school (snif, snif) and to my surprise she loves it (so far). She went on Monday and skipped Tuesday (half the class came on Mon. and half on Tues. to start). She was terribly upset to have missed Tuesday and all of the explaining in the world couldn't make it make sense to her. Why were her brothers at school and she was not? She loves Ms. Trotter and Mrs. Walker and got to be the line leader during a walk to the bathroom, so she thinks she is the "stuff". She is such an independent child and would rather do all things "all by herself", so school is perfect for her. They strive to make the four year olds independent because some of them have been "babied" - you know like Max and Cole! Not my girl! I swear she came out of the womb independent and with a definite opinion! She did not cry at all when Craig and I left her on the first day, but I teared up in the car driving away from the school. Craig looked over at me and said, "She'll be fine." I knew she would be fine! That wasn't the problem. The emotional pull at my heart strings, apron strings, and brain strings (yes I have those too) was killing me. All of my children were out of the house and I was not a needed constant in the home. Premature empty nest cyndrome? True, I am free (sort of), but a super strange feeling came over me and I just couldn't hold back the explosive tears from jumping out of my eyes!

Today I went to a volunteer breakfast at the school and committed myself in every way I could to her teacher. I am the room mom and I hope that makes Miss K happy! I will also be helping with Cole's class (5th grade dance, parties, and DC trip). I sat with him while he had a school breakfast (something he normally doesn't do) and I sat with Kamden who eats breakfast everyday with her entire class. She was so proud to have me there and wanted me to see her favorite kid in the class. Her name was Anna Lee and her brother is in Cole's class. These little girls have a lot in common already with big brothers. Plus they will both be taking speech together (just heard the good news from the speech teacher!). I am amazed at what a wonderful little girl I have. She is an obedient student and respects her teachers and classmates. We must have done something right! I am so proud of her and miss her loud voice ringing through the house. Never thought I would say that! Way to go big girl Kamden. Time is flying, just like Mother has always told me!

My how she has grown! From a three week old bundle of joy to a four year old full spirited little girl!

These are the words to an old song by the group ABBA (who made the "Dancing Queen" disco song famous) called "Slipping Through My Fingers". I stumbled upon it on someone's blog and found it to be so profound!
It makes me think of my Kamden who will be starting school on Monday of next week. I cried listening to the song and reading the words. My baby is turning into a "big girl" and I don't want her to slip through my fingers!

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see whats in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when she's gone there's that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I can't deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
(slipping through my fingers all the time)
Well, some of that we did but most we didn't
And why I just don't know

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see whats in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers...

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile...

Well, it is official....summer is over! I am sad and excited for my children to be turning onto a new path in their journey. Max is a "senior" at Wren Middle School. I can't believe he is in the eighth grade! In so many ways he is growing up, but when I look at him I still see the little scared four year old who shook like a leaf walking into school for the first time. He tried to smile to tell me bye when he let go of my hand. I was fighting to hold back the tears until I got back to my car. Now he tosses his book bag over his shoulder and is ready to go without a second thought. Cole on the other hand has been willing and ready since day one. He is happiest around a group of kids laughing and bouncing around. We have always called him Tigger and it is a very fitting nick name! He is a "senior" (fifth grader) at Spearman Elementary! He too is growing and changing in so many ways. I am tearing up typing this (actually boo hooing)....reflecting on how quickly time passes. Wasn't it only yesterday they needed me for everything? I love my boys and I am so proud of them! Max's mature ways of viewing the world yet his innocent perception of so many things. He is considering his future, asking big questions like, "How do you know where you want to go to college? When do you know what you want to do with your life?" These are the questions for a maturing mind! He realizes that his future choices are nearing. It all just scares the life out of me! Cole is refreshing because he is still young enough to LOVE recess with his entire heart. School is a social affair and he greets it with a very toothy smile. Thankfully, his grown up future is still a long, long way off in his mind and he just lives for the moment! He makes my heart smile! Kamden and I have a week to get used to the idea that she will be walking through the doors of her K-4 class. Don't know if I can take it! I hope my boys are having a happy first day and that they love their teachers! Where did our long summer go? Where have those little, sweet arm fulls gone? It is strangely quiet in the Davenport house and I miss them and so does Kamden!

The sweetest thing happened today! Craig came home and invited Kamden out for a Daddy-Daughter date. I couldn't believe that he came up with the idea without a bit of prodding from me. She was quite excited and was ready to go in an instant! I snapped a few pictures, but Kamden did not want to slow down for hardly a smile. They went to Chuck E. Cheese and to Chick-Filet. When they came home she was sound asleep in Craig's truck and he gently carried her into her room and put her to bed. We kept our fingers crossed that she would stay asleep, but in just a few minutes she made her way to the sofa and that is where she spent the rest of the night. Tomorrow is the first day of school for my boys, so the extra time with them (alone) tonight was wonderful. All systems are go for the first day! Thanks "Big Daddy" for the break and especially for making Kamden feel so special! She is crazy about her Daddy and so am I!

This is a blast from our past! In 2006 we went to the beach with the Rice Family for the July 4th week and (of course) had a wonderful time! My children have grown so, so, so much! They have grown loads more hair too! Just thought it would be fun to add a collage (I finally figured it out) to my blog! Thanks for always making great pictures for us Angel! If you weren't with us I swear I would never get in a picture! Hopefully my children will remember that I am usually (always) the one behind the camera unless it is a "staged" Angel assisted photo session! Enjoy these great pictures of my family from two years ago!

My Mom & Daddy a/k/a Mee Mee & Pappy

Say hello to Mee Mee and Pappy - as we all call them. This is my Mother and Daddy I love them both so much. Yesterday they came by for a haircut and visit! We LOVE having them over and are so thankful to have them in our lives. Now that they are "Pickeneese" they live a few more miles down the road, so it seems that we don't see them as much. They hang out a lot at various doctors' offices throughout the week trying to get things straightened out with Pappy's heart and now hips. He suddenly began having super sharp pains deep in his hips on Tuesday night and was rolling around in the floor in pain. It has to be bad for him to be on the floor. Hopefully they will get to the bottom of the situation and find out what is causing all of this. I am sure it will take them playing "doctor tag" to a few of the professionals for who knows how long. I hate to see my daddy hurting. He tried to put on a brave face for us last night, but admitted to having some really bad pain. Mee Mee is the super wife by his side making sure that everything is done RIGHT. We are so thankful for her! They better not try to over-charge for the least little thing. She is a stickler - glad somebody is!
My kids LOVE spending time with my parents! Listening to all of the "back when I was a kid..." stories really connects my kids to the true to life past. I just love us all being together! Some of our best times have been spent with them at the beach in their camper. We truly spend some wonderful, close family time there in the Spring and Summer! I will have to include more pictures later. We love y'all and know you love us!

We have had such a full weekend and it is only Saturday! Our friend Gracie had a princess tea party for her fifth birthday and my Uncle Joe celebrated his 80th with a surprise fish fry. Kamden quite enjoyed dressing up as Snow White and getting all glittered up. Anna Grace was precious - but don't dare try to put a princess dress on the child! Ashton did everyone's hair and Angel did makeup. Thanks for the extra glitter on her scalp (she loves it-hee hee!). I believe we will be reminded of this party for at least a month! How on earth do you get that stuff out anyway? We want Kamden's fifth to be a lot like Miss Gracie's. It was so much fun for all the girls. I am sure that Kamden will make lots of new friends at "BIG" school next year - giving her more little princesses to invite to a party.
Uncle Joe was completely surprised at his party. Cole and Kamden went swimming and the fish was yummy! Cousin Joey did a great job catching and cooking our dinner. Craig and Max had to work an auction tonight, but I brought them plenty of fish home! Happy Birthday to Uncle Joe and Gracie! What a fun day!

Vacation Bible School will be over today and our lives will hopefully get back to summer-time normal. We have enjoyed spending time with all of the little ones, but it is exhausting! I really appreciate my helpers, Max and Ashton so much. Angel, you have been a big help too. We will not know what to do with ourselves after tonight. Let's go to Dollywood!

Welcome

Welcome to my brand spankin' new blog designed by Ashton - who is rather talented and amazing!
This will be a scrapbook/journal of my life as a mom to three fabulous kids. Max is 13 (so hard to believe!), Cole is 10 (double digit man) and our not so dainty princess, Kamden, who is 4. I am married to my high school love, Craig. Can't believe it has almost been 17 years since we said our "I do's." Time flies when you have a life full of joyful moments.
We are so very blessed!