GIFT

I got a big surprise the other day when a client of mine ask me if I would like to have something. She had a picture of this candel holder above a fireplace. There were no candles in it but it was taken fairly up close and looked really cool. Always one for something a little different (free always helps) I couldn't wait to get it. Well, it came and was big. It was a lot more detailed that the picture had shown but was really beautiful. Now all I had to do was find a place for it. Because my fireplace has an uneven stone face, I didn't feel that would be the best place for it. We have done a little rearranging and this is what we came up with. The candles were a little hard to find but I think I made a good choice. I really wanted ones that were a little shorter but once I started looking this kind of candle is hard to find. I love it and am very thankful my client thought of me.

She was in the other day and told me the rest of the story. It was her mother-in-laws. A decorator had chosen it for her, but after she decorated, never put candles in it. I think it is awesome and really looks at home in our house.

GUITAR MAN

Elijah had to have a picture for school of himself doing something he enjoys. We thought about looking through all the thousands of pictures we have (still not organized) but decided it would be best if we just took some new ones.

Elijah has a lot of interest so when he said he needed a picture, I wasn't quite sure what he wanted. See, we have pictures of him singing, riding his motorcycle, playing video games and doing several other things that he really enjoys. His new passion (besides girls) is the guitar. You know we don't do anything small, so when he decided he wanted to play guitar he had to have more than one. His dad is plays too, so he helps with acquiring what my boy needs. After trying to decide which guitar to play for the picture (we took several) and after taking the first picture, he decides he needs all of them in the shot. Playing the Stratacaster.
How he really wants to play the Stratacaster!

TEST RESULTS

We went to the lab last week to get more blood work done. I didn't tell her until we were in the parking lot and she guessed. I had told her the day before and several other days, I just didn't make a big deal out of it. She cried, she said she didn't want to, she cried some more. In the end she did a great job, they only took one vial of blood and it was over fast. She knows she is going to have to do it, she just doesn't like it.

So, we went to the doctor today to get the results and she came in at a low, 2.5. When the normal range in between 0 and 5, the doctor was happy ! Her score was 4o when we first went to him, so that only made today even better. He said it would take 6 months to a year for her to return to normal, and then he reminded me this is a lifelong thing and she could never be without her medicine. Her goiter had gotten smaller and all was well. I will once again say thank you for all your prayers, we are blessed. Eating doughnuts on Levi's birthday.

OUR NEW RIDE

With the gas prices being so high, we thought it high time to look at what we were driving. Since we can't change how much we drive when school is in, getting better gas mileage seemed the only way to go. So I started looking. First I was checking lots of different websites, then I realized that the small amount of money really did make a difference. Then I found Craig's list. It was updated all the time so it made it much more interesting if nothing else. After several weeks looking and one failed attempt to purchase a car, we came across this one, a 2001 Toyota ECHO. I had never heard of them before but after some research found out they weren't too bad. I have never owned a foreign car before but with purchasing one to drive like this, it seemed like the right thing to do.

It has definitely taken some time to get used to it. It is super small, but big enough to fit all of us in it. We haven't got to test the gas mileage yet but I feel like it should get pretty good numbers (It had a full tank when we picked it up). It has a little body damage where Joe's hand is but no rust. A few stains on the seats and trashed mats, all easy to work with. So far I am happy with our purchase and hope and pray it gives us many good years and miles.

THE GRAND FINALLY

So, this is it. I've gone through all the vacation pics and while I have many more, this is pretty much sums up the week. Well, this and all the other pictures. Joe, doing his water dance. I don't know if it was meant to bring in the fish or not but this is the day one swam right to my dad. He caught it but wasn't able to bring it to the surface. We all had a good laugh since Pop is the big fisherman of the family. Joe wants the title sooo bad. I guess he will have to invest A LOT more time before he passes dad.
Levi, doing his best Mafia impersonation.
Now, these two pics go together. The girls out on Georgia Island (they all had their own islands) decided that they needed to do some experimenting. First it was the top of the head only and then it was the whole head.
We just thought it would make a funny picture, and it did. Naomi has more of the pose down, don't you think?

This is between the shops in town. It looks so clean.
Posing at the hatchery by the house. I like what they had to say.
We played lots of games. Mostly cards, but scrabble was a lot of fun. It would be more fun if I played more and got my brain thinking in the scramble mode. Funny, I think it's like that most of the time until I need it to work that way!
This was not a big hit at the time, but I brought bowls that we were able to customize ourselves. I thought that we would all like to have souvenirs that we didn't have to go shopping for. I didn't get a picture of the finished product but they all turned out so cool. I'll take a picture of mine sometime and post it. Maybe Mom will too.
I think this is one of the cutest pictures ever. Memories made with love.

Naomi, always the poser. Cherokee had all these decorated bears around town. We got a picture of a few of them. We have horses in our town, but they are not decorated in the same way. It seems like most of the bears were painted with mask on or to resemble another animal.
This was made at the outdoor drama at the intermission. It took me several times and still couldn't get everyone to look. We were having a good time, that's all that matters I guess.
Joe and I in the sweat lodge in the village.
PJ and Gregg hanging out after the Indian ceremony.
This is what it was really all about. Hanging out, playing, wrapping ourselves in love. Experiencing life without cell phones, enjoying the nature of it all.

Oh, and that look Elijah has, I saw plenty of that!

I'm so glad that my parents decided to join us on this adventure. It gave us the time to spend together that we haven't had for a while. We caught up on old stories and the new, the kids got to get tickled by Pop, and memories galore. Thank you.

The added bonus was our good friends, PJ, Gregg, and Georgia. Thanks for the entertainment and good times together. I can see many good years ahead of us!

MY LITTLE DEVIL TURNS 10

It is so hard to believe my baby boy is 10 years old. It seem like we have had him forever. He has brought us great joy and entertainment. He is very talented and smart, is learning to have a good sense of humor and special in his own way. We pray he has a happy birthday today, and has many happy years ahead of him! My little devil.
Just home from the hospital, he get a warm welcome from his big brother! Levi says they are best buds already.
His new look this summer with glasses and long hair before we cut it off!

VACATION WILDLIFE

No, I don't mean us. Although we had a good time, we didn't get too wild. Thankfully, we didn't see to many big critters but we did see a few small ones worth mentioning. Elijah was trying out one of his "new" dos. The dog in the middle followed us home one night. He was with another dog that the owner came and got but this one didn't want to leave. We (the girls) named him Gerald, short for Geraldine. She seemed to really like us and enjoy the attention. The guys wanted to take her and drop her off in the evening but it turned out best since she had tags. The men at the local fire department took her until her owners could come and get her. The kids now have fond memories of Gerald and Sniffy.
Lizards! They seemed to really enjoy the morning sun. This one was a little more shy than the striped one.
Water striders. They don't look anything like the shadows they make in the water, but I thought this was to cool a shot to pass up. Joe loved it when he saw the pics. He had been admiring them too, but didn't think to take a picture.

I know I showed you the butterflies before, but now I am going to give you my uneducated guess. If you know different, please let me know. After looking at the pictures up close, as I was not able to tell this from just looking at them. I thought it was just the way the light hit them. One is iridescent and the other is pretty but doesn't have the wow factor. Now I (think) know why. I would like to think the iridescent one is the female, but going with the bird theory it would be the male. Which would mean the female is bland and HAIRY! I found it very interesting and thought you might too. I especially like the bottom picture because of all the things in the sand around it. The shiny piece of mica, the lone plant, the water droplet. It all adds to the beauty.

THE VIEW FROM BELOW

I hope you all aren't getting sick of the vacation yet. I told you that I had too many pictures to choose from! These were made on various days through the week. Everyday was beautiful. Some of the memorable things you don't see everyday was the abundance of butterflies. I thought it was a fluke when I saw 15 or so together on the ground but it turned out I would see a group like that almost everyday near the water. The other thing that I loved that in no way could I reproduce was the way the water sparkled. I'm not talking about clear, which it was. I'm talking about mica. It is a mineral found in A LOT of rock there. So of course there is a lot of it in the water and anytime the water is stirred it sparkles! Joe tried to go fishing at least once everyday.
Naomi's excited!!!
Some of those pretty butterflies. Counting, there are 14 and that wasn't all of them!
The water was sooo low. They didn't have much luck here but that didn't stop them from trying. Pop is trying to catch one while Joe is out in town.
The only one on record, caught the last day. I guess it made it all worth while.

A VIEW FROM THE TOP

We took the day and went driving around to see some of the well known sights. The only problem was, the temperature had cooled off so much we weren't prepared. I think it is a well known fact that I do not like the cold weather and I like it even less if I am unprepared. The day was overcast which made it nice for walking around but the further we went up the cooler it became. Joe is a little (lot) less effected by the temperatures so he set out on the hike to the highest spot. It is the very top of the mountain behind us. We are huddled together for a reason.
Levi and Naomi braved it with Joe. Meme and Pop saved the day with the only blanket. Notice how the air has changed in the higher elevation.
This is looking out at the mountains from our cabin. We had a bush outside the window that attracted so many butterflies, it was beautiful!

THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS

Once again, looking at my pictures, I am having a HARD time choosing only a few to post. Please bear with me. I guess I am only going to do a couple at a time to start with. You know that is subject to change.

We went to the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, compliments of Joe's parents. Thank you Lee and Paul, we had a wonderful time! We rented a cabin just a mile from where Lee grew up to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Sadly they left us early to return home but we made the most of it without them.Joe's oldest cousin Mike, brought copies of old slides that he made into photographs. We all had a good laugh and they shared some memories.
Clockwise from left. Second cousin Harry, Mike, Paul, Lee, Aunt Joanne, and Joe.
The next night after sitting for hours in traffic PJ and Gregg, Mom and Dad show up. Getting ready to be entertained by Greggs guitar playing and singing.
The next night we celebrate Levi birthday a few days early. He ended up with strep and had to go to the UT. We wouldn't let him blow out the candles but he didn't care. We had his favorite dish of lasagna and the cake was supreme.
The girls being attacked at the village. You can see how scared they are!

OH, WHAT A VACATION !!!

We had a great vacation. Of course it wasn't long enough and came too close to the start of school, but I loved having the opportunity to go. Now we are full speed ahead as school starts Wednesday. I don't have time to share the trip now, but I have so many pictures to share, I couldn't wait any longer. For those of you who don't know where we went, take a guess. I can't wait to tell you all about it!

THE WORKS DONE

Now it is time to play! I look forward to a little R&R and telling you all about it when I come back.

Have a wonderful and blessed week. Try not to miss us too much!!!

MORE PARTY PEOPLE

After having such a good time at Danny's birthday party, we decided to do the same for Mitch a week later. Only this was a surprise! We met him out at a restaurant that has live music saying it was the band we wanted to see. He was (acted) very surprised and seemed to have a great time. With a few extra trills hopefully we made his day memorable. I love the look on Danny's face, mission accomplished.
What Mitch really looks like.
I couldn't pass up this picture of the cutest couple ever.
Mitch and Paula busting a move.
Ta Da! The biggest and BEST birthday surprise ever. Thanks to PJ. I have been wanting to get my friends together for a long time and this was a perfect opportunity. Gregg is a musician and wanted to see the band, I wanted to introduce my friends and we had a free babysitter. PJ called her friends to join us and the you see the end results. Hopefully we will get to see each other more often now that everyone has met.

It certainly looks like Mitch had a good time. Do you think he could have used a turbo fan after this picture was taken???