Remembering.....

Today has been a pretty long day for me already and it's not even 3 pm! We had our preschool Open House this morning and to have 30 two and three year olds in a room with all their parents at once is CHAOTIC!! Whew! Take the parents away and I do much better. I know the rest of my week will be just as challenging as children deal with separation anxiety and parents have a hard time just walking away from their little one crying out for them. But they always settle down and do much better than their parents expect.

Today would have been Roxy's 6th birthday. For those of you who don't know about my Roxy, she was the one that inspired me to start my blog. She found me just a few weeks after moving to NC. She was a beautiful Plott Hound. How I loved that sweet girl. She helped me deal with a lot of depression issues and even though Mia has been with me since she was 6 weeks old, Roxy was just special.

Today is also the anniversary of my grandpa's death. He has been gone for 15 years now. He was the most important man in my life growing up aside from my dad. I never have gotten use to the idea of him being gone.

So, today is a bit bittersweet for me.

The boys seem to like school and Brandon has been upset that he hasn't had enough homework. Go figure!!! Brady has enrolled in 3 out of 4 honor classes this semester so I'm hoping he'll keep his focus and continue to make me proud.

Well, off to walk Miss Meadow......if the kids aren't needing me, the dogs are! Have a great week!!! :o)

Summer's Over? Are You Kidding Me???

Well, this is it! My very last day of summer vacation. It seems like it just started yesterday!! I am a bit excited to get back to work but to be honest........I've enjoyed sitting around the house and resting up a bit.

Brandon is extremely eager to get back to school. He decided to drop band and join the chorus. That makes me ecstatic!!!! Hey, someone has to follow in my footsteps!

Brady made it home Saturday and I don't believe he's as excited as Brandon is to hit the books. I'm hoping that he'll get accepted into the Fall Driver's Ed. program so he can finally get his learner's permit.

Josh is doing well. He sent us this picture of him and some of his co-workers. Evidently, there's a lot to be discovered along the California terrain. Don't worry, they destroyed the plant.

Josh is in the top right hand corner....

Other than gearing up to go back to work tomorrow, there really isn't much going on. We've had thunderstorms all week-end. But for some reason, I've found them relaxing. Never use to so I'm not sure what's up with that.

Hope everyone has a safe return back to school!!!

NASA Adventure...

NASA in Florida

Brady sent me a few photos yesterday via mobile phone and I thought I'd share them. He should be home within the next few hours. That takes some stress off of me! :o)

He said that they did endure some pretty fascinating weather while sailing. They got to go snorkeling and all he could talk about was the large angel fish and eel that surrounded them. I can't wait to see photos from his adventure at sea. Of course, I advised him to take a few disposable cameras so that his good equipment didn't get damaged so I'll have to wait until they get developed the good old fashioned way.

Since the troop is only allowed to travel a maximum of 500 miles per day, they stopped by NASA yesterday.

(Not sure what it is....LOL) Some space craft!

Only Brady would take a picture like this.....Neal Armstrongs car

One Boy Safe...

Well, I finally heard that Brady is out of the Florida Sea and on land once again. I'll be more relieved once he gets back to NC Saturday since there are still numerous storms roaming about him. The scout troop is only allowed to travel 500 miles maximum per day so that makes his trip that much longer. Not to mention that school begins on Tuesday!!

It has been extremely muggy here this week. We usually have a ten minute pop-up thunderstorm in the afternoons.

I've been trying to enjoy what is left of my vacation but the stresses in life do not seem to be cooperating with me!!!! I think that Brandon has been bored out of his mind without Brady around to pester him. Poor little guy. I'm sure that Brady won't be home more than an hour though and he'll be wishing he was gone again! LOL

Well, I'm off to do laundry.....you know, that never-ending job...........

Craziness All Around....

Things have just been so stressful lately! The weather has been clear as anything here in the Carolina's, yet our Internet service keeps wanting to go out on clear sunny days. Cell phone service has also been a bit of a bewilderment the past few days.

Of course, there is wonderful Tropical Storm Claudette hitting the Florida Coast and my sweet boy Brady is sailing along the Florida Sea Channel to the Keys with the scout troop!

There is absolutely no way to contact him since there is no cell reception out at sea! (Actually, I told him to leave his cell phone on land so he didn't risk any water damage issues.) But it's very nerve racking wondering how he is and if he's safe.

To top that off, Ray's older son, Joshua is fighting fires out in Santa Cruz, California.

He has been waiting all summer to get called out to fight fires. To be young again and enjoy facing such risks! He's pretty good about checking in with one of us though to let us know he's alright.

This is my final week of vacation before the school year begins. Now I'm wishing I had one more week to just rest! It's never been my nature to just lay around and sleep, but with all the craziness around us, I think I'd welcome it with open arms.

Birthday Wishes For Two Precious Mothers....

Just thought I'd drop a quick line to wish my mom a Happy Birthday today!! Geez, I can't believe she's a year older! That's bad because that means I'll be a year older soon! haha

My crazy mom!

Today would have also been Ray's mama's birthday so we are remembering her as well. Prayers are much appreciated for them since she has only been gone for a little over two months. It's hard to lose a loved one and even harder to remember them on special days that you wish they were still around to be a part of.

Ray's Sweet Mama

Room to Wrestle.....

I couldn't help but grab the camera this morning as I tried to walk through the living room to get to the kitchen among the many boxes sitting off to the side and capture these photo's of House and Abbie wrestling around in a very small area that was "boxless". LOL


These two are so cute to watch together. House physically picks up Abbie and back flips her! Watching them is like watching two best friends play together. No matter how cluttered and chaotic it is around here right now, they've made time to enjoy themselves as always.


It has been extremely hot here in the Carolina's. I'm sure that the evening thunderstorms will begin soon.

Brady is getting ready to head out on a ten day sailing trip to the Florida Keys with the boy scouts tomorrow. I am a bit worried about him being out there in all that water! Especially with the chance of a hurricane developing. Hey, I'm a mother.....it's my job to worry. I guess I'll just have to trust that God will keep him safe. I know he's excited and I'm so very proud of how much he has accomplished in scouting.

Well, I guess I had better get back to packing up a few more things. It's so hard right now because the majority of things we have left to pack up are the things we use every day! I'll just be glad when it's all over!

Boys Day Out....

Brandon and Brady challenging each other to some wild racing game.....

Yesterday the boys and I hit the town. We had a nice lunch at Red Robin and of course, they both had to hit the video games! What is it with boys and those crazy machines that rob them of their money?? Brady couldn't wait to get finished with lunch so he could get at them. Shortly thereafter, Brandon followed. I felt a bit abandoned.....LOL. I guess they are too old to be hanging with mom all the time now

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That gameboy goes EVERYWHERE!!

Brady needed to run to Dicks Sporting Store to check out the latest goods for baseball and an upcoming camping trip he is taking. Actually, he's going to be sailing for 10 days to the Florida Keys. Let me just state for the record that I'm just not too thrilled about this latest adventure of his. But I know it will also be a great experience for him. I just pray that God keeps him safe.

After bickering for over an hour as to what movie to see, we decided on Orphan. Now I love horror/thriller movies but this was a complete waste of time and money!!! First of all, I couldn't believe they raised movie matinee prices from $7.50 to $9.50! No wonder the cinema was empty!! You can't do anything fun anymore with your children without cutting off an arm and a leg it seems.

Other than the movie putting us to sleep, we had a great time. My boys are growing up and that is so hard to grasp. I can tell that they've been exposed to their dad's family way too much over the summer because I had to call them out on some of their manners yesterday. Brandon is extremely excited that school is starting in a few weeks and I think Brady is more interested in going back to see the girls and getting that driver's permit.

Brady chatting with a girl before the movie starts.....

Well, enjoy the photo's and have a wonderful week-end! I'm sure ours will be full of packing up more boxes for the move in a few weeks. I think it's safe to say we are getting pretty excited. :o)

Brandon and I before the movie began....

Deeper Still Conference

Deeper Still

Well, of course, we had a blast this week-end. It was so nice to spend some time with my great friends Kara and Debbie!! We were missing my mom, but we still had a few good laughs.

Kay, Beth & Priscilla were incredible!!! And of course, the best part was truly the praise & worship lead by Travis Cottrell and his team. Of course, we hit the merchandise tables and bought plenty of Beth's studies.....and a few others as well. I simply cannot wait until our next adventure. Enjoy the pics.

Beth Moore (love her hair & outfit here)

Kay, Priscilla, Beth

Praise & Worship Team

Deb, myself, Kara


Kay Arthur, Beth