Today is the day...

to dribble coffee on myself 4 times during my reading this morning. Don't worry, I blamed Dave.


to change the sheets. Or wash the sheets and put them back on; who has two sets of flannel sheets for the winter?


to run the trash to the curb while wearing my jammies. I know, I continue to impress the neighbors.


to do countless loads of laundry. This photo was taken BEFORE the boys dumped all their dirty clothes in the floor and I can no longer get to the garage.


to put faux-steer chicken in the crock pot for dinner. Yummo.

(funny story - my sister called me about a year ago telling me how I HAD to go to tastykitchen.com and search for 'faux-steer chicken' and make it. Then she went on and on about how much she loves 'roast-steer chicken' from the grocery store and how this is just WAY better. I finally stop her and ask her...."Does she know that it's really pronounced 'rotisserie chicken'?".....dead silence... This is when I launch into my full bodied laughter. And that folks, is my sister. She totally thought that it was pronounced 'roast steer chicken'. Bahahahahahahah!)


On a different note, it's winter in North Carolina, but you wouldn't know it by the super crazy weather we've been having. It felt like it was going to snow on Sunday, but by Tuesday, I had to put the A/C on. I coulda stayed in California for weather like this, people!!! Not okay!

Happy New Year

We partied last night. Oh how we partied. We drove all the way into town to get a Goodberry's and then found it closed. So then we drove to the grocery store, cuz we needed some New Year's Dessert, and Sweetie sent me and the davester in....HUGE mistake. You don't send the two sugar bandits into the grocery store for dessert. We came out with desserts for a month.

We then hunkered down in our living room to watch a movie and taste all four ice cream flavors.



This is where the partying starts. After the movie, Sweetie and I went to bed. It was 10pm. Our boys were disgusted with us and our lameness. But we didn't care. They stayed up and watched movies and probably ate more ice cream, I really don't know, cuz I really didn't care.



There you have it, our wild New Year's Eve, we're so crazy.

Happy New Year everybody!!!

(And can I just say that it was WAY more special to wake up to the New Year nice and early and spend some quiet time in my chair, just me and the Sweetie, our coffee and our God. It was good for my soul.)



**these pictures are our 'Christmas Pictures' for the 'Christmas Cards' that I didn't send out. So we are making them into 'Happy New Year Cards', cuz that's how we roll! Enjoy!

Favorite Words

This is what I have been meditating on lately....

Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
You have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in the pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and
my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure.

You have made known to me the path of life;
You will fill me with JOY in your presence,
with eternal pleasure at your right hand.

from Psalm 16

September 1st

I don't like summer. I cannot tell you how happy I am right now, it's in the 50's outside this morning and it's September 1st. Summer is coming to an end and Autumn is almost upon us. But in the continuing effort to be thankful in all things, here is my Thankful List for Summer:

1. Summer Storms, thunderstorms to be exact. My goodness they are scary and powerful. I have screamed so many times, once when sitting on the front porch enjoying, and lightning struck down right next to me. Once driving home in it and the lightning was striking on both sides of the car. And then this past week, while sitting in a class with the boys, lightning struck right outside the window, I screamed and then proceeded to climb into Dave's lap. He was none too thrilled. Goober.


2. Time at the Pool....floating around the lazy river on a tube with my book...ah, relaxing. (this is the picture I took to show my sister that I wear a floppier hat than her at the pool)


3. Sweetie and I got to spend a whole week at the beach, just the two of us, one of our very best trips away together. Precious.


4. Wearing flip flops everyday. Me lovey the flippity-floppers. (these are my spenco's, they are so comfy and are very busy rebuilding my arches this summer)

5. A renewed appreciation for the Air Conditioner, I want to kiss the inventor of that contraption!

6. Sonic Ice, it doesn't get any better than those perfect little morsels floating in my diet coke.

7. No homeschooling, nothing else needs to be said about that one.


8. Everything outside is just so green, beautiful. (this is the view from the sunroom of our back yard.)


9. The kids have their Epic Summer Camp and come home so excited & happy. Just love their time there and what they come home with. (apparently my boys are yahoos at camp, just like they are at home.)

10. It stays lighter outside later. For this girl that thinks it's bedtime when it gets dark outside, my family loves that I'm not making them go to bed at 5pm.

For all these things and probably many more, I am thankful for Summer and what it brings.

HOME

HOME.

I am a lover of the home.

I love to BE home.

Since moving here to North Carolina we have lived in THREE houses. Ugh. It's a sign of the economy, not a sign that we like to move.


House #1


House #2

This past spring we moved again. Into a much smaller place, or at least a much smaller yard.

Sweetie loves that he doesn't have a huge yard overwhelming him and a mile long list of things that constantly need to be done.

And I love the house.

It's not overwhelming.

It's compact.

It's cozy.

It's HOME.


House #3

Storm Preparedness

Irene is coming. And us being totally clueless and naive were just planning on throwing a 'Welcome Irene' party at our house. But then one of my good friends kept sending me urgent requests that I take it seriously and get myself prepared. She helped me make a list:

1. Batteries
2. Flashlights
3. Water Bottles
4. Crank Radio
5. Propane on grill FULL!
6. Candles
7. Matches
8. Non-perishable foods.
9. Fill up the gas tanks in autos.


My well stocked pantry, there is no potted meat or vienna sausages in here, cuz, ew, gross..just canned beans and fruit.



My emergency preparedness basket...and can I just say, "NOT COOL WALMART PEEPS! For taking ALL the 'D' batteries, I mean, COME ON! Save a few for us clueless people."

Then she also advised me to bring in everything outside that might blow away or at least stake it down...

Yard Men

So I got myself some new yard men. They're totally cute too.

Sometimes they grumble. But then I make cookies and they are all smiles again.