THE LATEST

Have you ever seen anyone as cute as this? He is so proud of his uniform and the fact that he is in the scouts. He has been out selling popcorn every night, and doing a mighty fine job of it I might add. Of course, never to be left out of anything on purpose, Naomi gets in the picture.

WEEKEND EXCITEMENT

Some of my family came for a long awaited visit. We had My sister-in-law, Mary Grace and her three kids since Friday night. We had a wonderful visit full of laughter, excitement, shopping and fun. Talbots had their "Big Sale" and we hit it just in time. Sad to say, I didn't get many pictures of this weekend (as you can tell) since Mary Grace was taking them but I don't have any to share.

Anyway, we scored again with the sale. Mary Grace got over $1200 worth clothing for just a fraction and I got a few things for myself. It always makes me feel good knowing that I got a really good piece of clothing that looks nice on. I am trying to really cut back on what I own and pick pieces that fit and are flattering and at that price I am able to. You get my point.

The kids were great, we had some friends over the first night so it was like a big party. They got to meet some of Naomi's friends and had a good time. Everyone thought they were so smart and cute. There is nothing like a group of kids having a good time playing that makes me feel any better.

I am thankful to have such a great family!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD

Today is the big day for Pop, he is 67! He has gone from a young man to being a husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. That is a lot for such a short time, but I'm sure it has been a lot of fun for him. These pictures show only a small portion but I think they tell a good story.He started as one but soon became two.
Quickly went to five.
Multiply by two.
Add ten, and you have Pop's family.

What! Did you think I would have a picture of Pop looking like this???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, POP WE LOVE YOU!

Update-I have been informed that I aged Pop by a year. Sorry, I know how those years go. They go fast enough, we don't need to be adding them on before we have to.

UNCLE SAM

Uncle Sam came for a visit not long ago . It was wild as usual with the kids pulling him this way and that. Because he doesn't get to visit that often or for that long the kids really work him when he is around. (Maybe that's why he doesn't come very often, hmm. ) Anyway, we had a great visit just catching up on the small details of life. He lives in New York but spends his summers working on getting his master degree. I know this is hard on him and I admire his drive to get it done. It seems he is always worn out by the time he comes to Kentucky, but lives such an exciting life. For those of us that don't travel out of the country, we just hang on his every word. Not quite sure what look Naomi was going for. She was not going to be happy until they picked her up though.
The Boys!
We are all such posers!

BEAUTY

My cactus bloomed this year but only once and I missed it, we were on vacation. Once you have seen something this beautiful you want to see it again and again. Pictures never do it justice. Enjoy.

LOST AND FOUND

"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown, but we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious had which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. "
"I still have the confidence that the Almighty, the Maker of the universe, will, through the instrumentality of this great and intelligent people, bring us through this as He has through all the other difficulties of our country."

------Abraham Lincoln, March 30, 1863

I wanted to put this out there for us. I was going through some old picture frames and switching pictures out and this was one of the papers behind the picture. At first I discarded it because I was in a hurry. Then, when I saw who the author was, I felt like I needed to take the time. Once I read it though, I thought, what's changed? I have faith. Let me know what you think about my sudden history lesson. I was a bit surprised but am glad I took the time to see what is in my home.

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!