Big Boo Cast: Episode 421
4 days ago
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Vacation...here we come!
We are leaving for vacation in the morning. I am so looking forward to it. We will have 7 whole days of fun AND we get to see Anthony graduate from boot camp. Well, we will see you when we get home. Lots of love and many blessings to all!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Savannah
A the beginning of the summer, Janessa and I went with her Girl Scout troop to Savannah. We had a great time, but haven't shared our pictures with many. Here are a few.....
This is Janessa on the Pirate Walking tour. He was a great sport and the girls really had a great time.
Janessa with her best friend.
This is Janessa on the Pirate Walking tour. He was a great sport and the girls really had a great time.
Janessa with her best friend.They are growing up so fast
Our kids are growing up way too fast. Last night they went swimming in the lake. All of a sudden, Brayden stuck his face in the water and actually swam about 5 feet with his legs and arms just a pumping. No one had showed him what to do or even told him to do it. By the end of the night both boys were swimming with their faces in the water for a good distance with life jackets on of course. I don't want them growing up this fast. I wish I could look away and they would stop, but I don't want to miss anything either. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, but I will next time.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
The end is near.......
It is 1 am and I can't sleep. Janessa is at a sleep over with some friends from church and I'm worried about her. What is her blood sugar? Will she drop low? Did she take enough insulin for what she ate? Will she wake up in the middle of the night needing something to do with her diabetes? Have I taught her enough and equipped her to take care of herself? Have I taught her friend's mom enough? Does she need me? Or do I need her to need me? This stinks!
Ok, I've vented about diabetes, so moving on.....
Carson spent the night away from home last weekend for the first time ever! Besides with grandparents that is. He stayed over with his little buddy from church and had a blast. I was told he teared up once, but took it like a big boy. He will be five next month. Wow! Well, his best friend is back in town, so he wants to stay the night with him tomorrow night. Janessa's friend (his sibling) is coming here, so we are switching kids. I hope Carson does as well with him.
Tomorrow is a big day. We have to do all the school and vacation shopping, Vernon's dad is coming over for a cook-out for his birthday, Vernon and his dad and going on a Father/Son date to the Braves game, Carson is spending the night away from home and one of my best friends is coming over for the evening. I can't wait, but I guess I do need to get some sleep....
But just a few more things.....
Highlights of the week......
*Vernon fixed our AC unit and it only cost $55
*The kids went swimming in the lake twice
*We returned our library books and they were only two days late =)
*We implemented a few new rules including
No TV what so ever on days that start with "T" and the kids were great about it
(and the amazing thing is we already have pretty strict TV rules)
Family Night is now Thursday, but can't include TV (changed from Friday, which always seemed to interfere with something else)
Monday is Family Movie Night
*After much thought following the last two weeks of a parenting class (relationships vs. experinces is one topic) at church, I realized my children are actually doing OK on the relationship side and I'm pretty proud of that. I guess I can stop thinking we are not doing good by our kids, because we don't have them in all kinds of sports and classes or because they don't have that many big electronic toys such as Ipods, game systems, individual TVs or computers. I am so glad we have such great open relationships with our kids and we spend lots of time talking, interacting and listening to each other. (For now..I just hope and pray we can continue to keep it that way as they get older. We are going to try our hardest to say the least.) I do sometimes wish they had more experiences, but I'm going to stop beating myself up about it. They are allowed to participate in two sports per year plus scouts, so we will stick to that (and not get a second mortgage, haha-just kidding) I do, however, need to continue to cultivate their relationships with adults outside of family. Vernon finally sees why I'm always planning something for us to do with others, but we also trying to spend more time at home this summer.
(OK, can you tell I'm getting tired...slur...)
*I found some really good deals on shoes for school. Yeah!
*I figured out how to put pictures on my blog posts
*We made glob as our science experiment this week
*Vernon fixed my headlights on my van and they work great. No more worrying about traveling at night.
*And Vernon fixed his lawn mower and cut grass. Now we can find the sand box! haha Just Teasing!
*We decided to re-implement date nights. We use to do it a lot, but somehow life happens and you get away from it. Vernon use to take Janessa out all the time when it was just her and then even after Carson was born. Now we want to make it more of a priority.
*With that being said, We enjoyed our dates with our boys tonight!
*Not a highlight, but something that happened-Brayden went to the Asthma specialist and is now on 6 different meds and it seems more complicated than Janessa's diabetes, but I will do anything for my baby to be able to breathe.
*We decided to host a monthly get-together at our house beginning in August...more details to follow I'm sure.
*I was able to connect with 4 friends this week
*We finally made our goal for Callaway Gardens memberships...I can't wait to go.
*My father-in-law had a date tonight with a really sweat lady I set him up with. I can't wait to see how it went.
*We went to a very moving prayer meeting at church where I had the privilege to pray over my dad with the rest of the church. Wow, he has changed so much..... Please pray for him to find a lasting job soon. I REALLY am too tired to blog about my dad, but it is an AMAZING story. Maybe some other day!
*We are going to my parents after church on Sunday to go swimming and hang-out. I can't wait. I need a momma fix!!!!!! I'm such a momma's girl I know, but I NEED that time with my family. ALL my family. We usually all meet over there, including my brother and his family and my sister. And the pool is finally full and up and running..Yeah!
*And #1 is Carson learned to ride a bike without training wheels in like 10 minutes flat!
Have a great week!!!!!
Ok, I've vented about diabetes, so moving on.....
Carson spent the night away from home last weekend for the first time ever! Besides with grandparents that is. He stayed over with his little buddy from church and had a blast. I was told he teared up once, but took it like a big boy. He will be five next month. Wow! Well, his best friend is back in town, so he wants to stay the night with him tomorrow night. Janessa's friend (his sibling) is coming here, so we are switching kids. I hope Carson does as well with him.
Tomorrow is a big day. We have to do all the school and vacation shopping, Vernon's dad is coming over for a cook-out for his birthday, Vernon and his dad and going on a Father/Son date to the Braves game, Carson is spending the night away from home and one of my best friends is coming over for the evening. I can't wait, but I guess I do need to get some sleep....
But just a few more things.....
Highlights of the week......
*Vernon fixed our AC unit and it only cost $55
*The kids went swimming in the lake twice
*We returned our library books and they were only two days late =)
*We implemented a few new rules including
No TV what so ever on days that start with "T" and the kids were great about it
(and the amazing thing is we already have pretty strict TV rules)
Family Night is now Thursday, but can't include TV (changed from Friday, which always seemed to interfere with something else)
Monday is Family Movie Night
*After much thought following the last two weeks of a parenting class (relationships vs. experinces is one topic) at church, I realized my children are actually doing OK on the relationship side and I'm pretty proud of that. I guess I can stop thinking we are not doing good by our kids, because we don't have them in all kinds of sports and classes or because they don't have that many big electronic toys such as Ipods, game systems, individual TVs or computers. I am so glad we have such great open relationships with our kids and we spend lots of time talking, interacting and listening to each other. (For now..I just hope and pray we can continue to keep it that way as they get older. We are going to try our hardest to say the least.) I do sometimes wish they had more experiences, but I'm going to stop beating myself up about it. They are allowed to participate in two sports per year plus scouts, so we will stick to that (and not get a second mortgage, haha-just kidding) I do, however, need to continue to cultivate their relationships with adults outside of family. Vernon finally sees why I'm always planning something for us to do with others, but we also trying to spend more time at home this summer.
(OK, can you tell I'm getting tired...slur...)
*I found some really good deals on shoes for school. Yeah!
*I figured out how to put pictures on my blog posts
*We made glob as our science experiment this week
*Vernon fixed my headlights on my van and they work great. No more worrying about traveling at night.
*And Vernon fixed his lawn mower and cut grass. Now we can find the sand box! haha Just Teasing!
*We decided to re-implement date nights. We use to do it a lot, but somehow life happens and you get away from it. Vernon use to take Janessa out all the time when it was just her and then even after Carson was born. Now we want to make it more of a priority.
*With that being said, We enjoyed our dates with our boys tonight!
*Not a highlight, but something that happened-Brayden went to the Asthma specialist and is now on 6 different meds and it seems more complicated than Janessa's diabetes, but I will do anything for my baby to be able to breathe.
*We decided to host a monthly get-together at our house beginning in August...more details to follow I'm sure.
*I was able to connect with 4 friends this week
*We finally made our goal for Callaway Gardens memberships...I can't wait to go.
*My father-in-law had a date tonight with a really sweat lady I set him up with. I can't wait to see how it went.
*We went to a very moving prayer meeting at church where I had the privilege to pray over my dad with the rest of the church. Wow, he has changed so much..... Please pray for him to find a lasting job soon. I REALLY am too tired to blog about my dad, but it is an AMAZING story. Maybe some other day!
*We are going to my parents after church on Sunday to go swimming and hang-out. I can't wait. I need a momma fix!!!!!! I'm such a momma's girl I know, but I NEED that time with my family. ALL my family. We usually all meet over there, including my brother and his family and my sister. And the pool is finally full and up and running..Yeah!
*And #1 is Carson learned to ride a bike without training wheels in like 10 minutes flat!
Have a great week!!!!!
Friday, July 18, 2008
My heart swells with pride
My kids had two of their friends over today. They haven't seen each other all summer, because they were visited their family up north until two days ago. These two kids are basically Carson and Janessa's best friends that just happen to be siblings, thank goodness.
After playing in the lake, they were having a brownie that the girls made earlier. Carson's friend Alex was telling us about someone he met. I only caught bits and pieces, so I'm not sure who it was. Alex then says... "Hey, you might know him, he's a Christian."
It makes my heart swell with pride knowing that my kids' friends know that we are Christians!
Well, Janessa is on her way to a slumber party and Vernon and I are taking the boys on dates, so got to go for now!
After playing in the lake, they were having a brownie that the girls made earlier. Carson's friend Alex was telling us about someone he met. I only caught bits and pieces, so I'm not sure who it was. Alex then says... "Hey, you might know him, he's a Christian."
It makes my heart swell with pride knowing that my kids' friends know that we are Christians!
Well, Janessa is on her way to a slumber party and Vernon and I are taking the boys on dates, so got to go for now!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
My ring!
I forgot to mention the beautiful anniversary ring and cross pendant my wonderful husband gave me for our anniversary.... I know he reads my blog, so thank you again and I love you very much!
10 Year Anniversary
Yesterday was our 10 year wedding anniversary. Wow, 10 years! Sometimes, it doesn't seem that long and sometimes it seems much longer=)
I love my husband with all my heart. He truly is my soul mate and best friend. We were engaged within a month of knowing each other and married a year and half later. He is a wonderful man, husband, friend and father. I am so lucky. He arranged childcare for the kids including for them to stay the night! We went out to eat, did a little shopping and came home to watch a movie we had Netflixed. It was a great night. I thoroughly enjoyed adult conversation without having to worry about blood checks, counting carbs, calming the boys, telling anyone to eat, hushing the kids and so forth and so on. It was great! (Earlier this year we took an early anniversary trip to the mountains.)
Moving on, I recently realized that the boys haven't experienced a lot of things that Janessa has, such as Stone Mountain, Six Flags, World of Coke, and the Aquarium. We either did those things with her before the boys were born or she has gone with her Girl Scout troop. I decided we needed to change that. So far we can check Six Flags and The World of Coke off our list. Earlier this summer we went to Six Flags and today we went to The World of Coke
We had so much fun. We decided to do lunch at home and head to Atlanta. We got there around 2 after getting lost (My fault of course = ) and finding parking. We enjoyed the museum. It was really neat to see all the older Coke items and see how it has developed over time. The 4D theater was awesome, but the kids' favorite part was taste-testing all 64 flavors of coke products. (Janessa actually tried everyone of them!) There is one named Beverly (my mom's name!) that was awful, but there were lots that were really good. The really cool thing is that there is an actual working bottling line you can tour and at the end of your visit everyone gets their own bottle of coke that was manufactured that day. Carson enjoyed picking out his bottle. He must have touched 20 of them before deciding! We then ate dinner at the CNN center and played in the Olympic Water Rings at Centennial Olympic Park. The kids had a blast! It was so much better than playing in the sprinklers at our local park. There was even a show with music, lights and water. It was so cool.
I love my husband with all my heart. He truly is my soul mate and best friend. We were engaged within a month of knowing each other and married a year and half later. He is a wonderful man, husband, friend and father. I am so lucky. He arranged childcare for the kids including for them to stay the night! We went out to eat, did a little shopping and came home to watch a movie we had Netflixed. It was a great night. I thoroughly enjoyed adult conversation without having to worry about blood checks, counting carbs, calming the boys, telling anyone to eat, hushing the kids and so forth and so on. It was great! (Earlier this year we took an early anniversary trip to the mountains.)
Moving on, I recently realized that the boys haven't experienced a lot of things that Janessa has, such as Stone Mountain, Six Flags, World of Coke, and the Aquarium. We either did those things with her before the boys were born or she has gone with her Girl Scout troop. I decided we needed to change that. So far we can check Six Flags and The World of Coke off our list. Earlier this summer we went to Six Flags and today we went to The World of Coke
We had so much fun. We decided to do lunch at home and head to Atlanta. We got there around 2 after getting lost (My fault of course = ) and finding parking. We enjoyed the museum. It was really neat to see all the older Coke items and see how it has developed over time. The 4D theater was awesome, but the kids' favorite part was taste-testing all 64 flavors of coke products. (Janessa actually tried everyone of them!) There is one named Beverly (my mom's name!) that was awful, but there were lots that were really good. The really cool thing is that there is an actual working bottling line you can tour and at the end of your visit everyone gets their own bottle of coke that was manufactured that day. Carson enjoyed picking out his bottle. He must have touched 20 of them before deciding! We then ate dinner at the CNN center and played in the Olympic Water Rings at Centennial Olympic Park. The kids had a blast! It was so much better than playing in the sprinklers at our local park. There was even a show with music, lights and water. It was so cool.
They were so excited to finally be inside
Getting ready for the 4-D movie
Brayden "punching" the water
This was taken at the end of the night while waiting for the water show.
A really cute pose I got from a friend, but ours didn't turn out quite as good, but still cute!
At the park again. We just couldn't seem to end the night.
4th of July
I know it is over a week past 4Th of July, but things have been super busy this past week. I love fireworks, so 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays ranking up there with Christmas, Easter and Halloween. This particular year has been one of my favorites. Ever since moving to this town, we have enjoyed the annual parade and city celebration. This time we went with several other couples from our church and had an absolute blast! We are so lucky to have found friends at church that we enjoy spending time with so much. The kids (all 8 of them!) left the parade with bags of candy, beach balls and all kinds of goodies. We then met at the local football stadium for the city celebration. There were jumpy things and blow-up slides for the kids. We had a picnic dinner and listened to some REALLY loud music. The kids played with the beach balls and a cool frisbee ball thing. James and Vernon even threw the football back and forth for a while. The evening was even complete with watermellon and boiled peanuts which I truly associate with the holiday. We relaxed and watched the amazing display of fireworks and my heart swelled with pride. I am so proud of this country, my son that is at Army boot camp right now, and my whole family in general. What a night! The traffic couldn't even ruin it for me.
God's humor
The other night I woke up around 1 am to the sounds of someone getting sick in the bathroom. I quickly went to see what was going on. My middle son was leaning over the toilet. (I am so glad he is finally getting old enough to make it to the bathroom even in the middle of the night!) I got a cold wet washcloth and began wipping his face while sitting on the edge of the tub. He started to get sick again, so I just rubbed his back. He slowly looks up and says the cutest thing.
"Momma?"
"Uhh, huu?
"Wish God didn't make fro-up."
"Me too, son... or mosquitos."
I believe that God has a great sense of humor. How else do you explain things such as ants, flies, poison ivy, and kudzu? Or how our bodies make such unpleasant smells and embarassing sounds? I love that God has a sense of humor. It helps me be able to laugh at myself!!
"Momma?"
"Uhh, huu?
"Wish God didn't make fro-up."
"Me too, son... or mosquitos."
I believe that God has a great sense of humor. How else do you explain things such as ants, flies, poison ivy, and kudzu? Or how our bodies make such unpleasant smells and embarassing sounds? I love that God has a sense of humor. It helps me be able to laugh at myself!!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
the time is off on my blog....
I just posted and it says that it is 9:30 or so. Well, it is much later than that. Does anyone know how to change that? The time on my computer is right....
A fun blogger game...what am I doing up so late!
The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.
"What was I doing 10 years ago?:
Making last minute preparations for our wedding. We celebrate 10 years on the 11th.
What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Balance checkbook
schedule a conference with the health officer and counselor for Janessa's third week of camp this summer (but that's a whole other blog)
Bake cupcakes with the kids for Fourth of July
Go to the library
Take the plastic bottles to the recycling place
3 Snacks I enjoy:
Popcorn
Sugar-free popsicles
Sugar-free butterscotch pudding
4 Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Buy a home big enough to foster children with diabetes
Travel ( a lot)
Take care of all my family and friends
Fund research for a cure for Diabetes
5 Places I have lived:
Riverdale, GA
Point South, GA
Senoia, GA
Fairburn, GA
Newnan, GA
I'm just a Georgia girl!! Those are the ONLY places I have ever lived since birth...
6 Jobs I have had:
Inside Sales (Masterack)
Editor of my college newspaper
Journalist (Coweta Newspaper)
Green Oil (cashier when I was 18)
Lowes (cashier when I was 17)
Burger King (first job when I was 16!)
But the hardest and most rewarding is being a full-time Mom.
People I want to know more about:
I only know two people personally on here and they have both been tagged already....It was fun though!
"What was I doing 10 years ago?:
Making last minute preparations for our wedding. We celebrate 10 years on the 11th.
What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Balance checkbook
schedule a conference with the health officer and counselor for Janessa's third week of camp this summer (but that's a whole other blog)
Bake cupcakes with the kids for Fourth of July
Go to the library
Take the plastic bottles to the recycling place
3 Snacks I enjoy:
Popcorn
Sugar-free popsicles
Sugar-free butterscotch pudding
4 Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Buy a home big enough to foster children with diabetes
Travel ( a lot)
Take care of all my family and friends
Fund research for a cure for Diabetes
5 Places I have lived:
Riverdale, GA
Point South, GA
Senoia, GA
Fairburn, GA
Newnan, GA
I'm just a Georgia girl!! Those are the ONLY places I have ever lived since birth...
6 Jobs I have had:
Inside Sales (Masterack)
Editor of my college newspaper
Journalist (Coweta Newspaper)
Green Oil (cashier when I was 18)
Lowes (cashier when I was 17)
Burger King (first job when I was 16!)
But the hardest and most rewarding is being a full-time Mom.
People I want to know more about:
I only know two people personally on here and they have both been tagged already....It was fun though!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
all are asleep, but me and peace is not found yet
Last time I posted was about my daughter, Janessa. She was diagnosed with diabetes almost 5 years ago to the date (July 19). She has come so far since then. I am so proud of the little lady she is becoming. Just recently I received an email telling me about a good deed she did (Thanks Kim!) and it totally made my day. She handles everything dealing with diabetes without complaint and does what she needs to do to take care of herself. She blesses me daily with her strength and endurance, but mostly with her faith in God. To be only 9, she is truly an inspiration and I know she will do great things throughout her life. I am excited to see the plans God has for her and my other children.
We received another letter from Anthony today. It was great to hear from him. He seems really excited about us being able to plan our vacation around his graduation. The kids were disappointed to not get individual letters like last time, but we made a big deal about reading the letter out loud after dinner. We miss him so much and can't wait until Family Day on July 30, because we get to spend the whole day with him before graduation on August 1.
We (I) wanted a beach vacation this year. We decided to go to Hilton Head for 4 days and then head to Fort Jackson for 3 days. We are going to go to Tybee Island to visit the lighthouse and fort. Does anyone know any other great places to visit in that vicinity?
Vernon and Janessa are heading to Six Flags tomorrow. We already made one trip there this summer, but it was with my friend, her kids, me and my kids. Janessa and Vernon want to go and ride all the BIG stuff.
Tonight we went to the Y to go swimming. When we got there, we realized that we didn't have any towels. I claim I handed them off to someone to put in the van, but no one will fess up. Who knows.... I guess I will take the blame =) The kids were so excited to be there that we decide to go ahead and swim and figure something out later. Do you know how hard it is to dry off with paper towels? hahaha But we did it and had a blast. My kids may not remember every time we took them to the pool, but they will remember the day we forgot towels. It was so funny!!!
With getting the letter from Anthony, cleaning out the garage a little bit, catching up with two friends that I hadn't talked to in a while and going swimming at the Y, we had a great day.
I am so excited about Fourth of July. I LOVE FIREWORKS!!!
We received another letter from Anthony today. It was great to hear from him. He seems really excited about us being able to plan our vacation around his graduation. The kids were disappointed to not get individual letters like last time, but we made a big deal about reading the letter out loud after dinner. We miss him so much and can't wait until Family Day on July 30, because we get to spend the whole day with him before graduation on August 1.
We (I) wanted a beach vacation this year. We decided to go to Hilton Head for 4 days and then head to Fort Jackson for 3 days. We are going to go to Tybee Island to visit the lighthouse and fort. Does anyone know any other great places to visit in that vicinity?
Vernon and Janessa are heading to Six Flags tomorrow. We already made one trip there this summer, but it was with my friend, her kids, me and my kids. Janessa and Vernon want to go and ride all the BIG stuff.
Tonight we went to the Y to go swimming. When we got there, we realized that we didn't have any towels. I claim I handed them off to someone to put in the van, but no one will fess up. Who knows.... I guess I will take the blame =) The kids were so excited to be there that we decide to go ahead and swim and figure something out later. Do you know how hard it is to dry off with paper towels? hahaha But we did it and had a blast. My kids may not remember every time we took them to the pool, but they will remember the day we forgot towels. It was so funny!!!
With getting the letter from Anthony, cleaning out the garage a little bit, catching up with two friends that I hadn't talked to in a while and going swimming at the Y, we had a great day.
I am so excited about Fourth of July. I LOVE FIREWORKS!!!
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