Random, not necessarily related events

The children have been out of school for 2 weeks now, and I must say we are adjusting rather well, although some days are better than others. We have a routine established, and are getting ready for some fun after finally getting myself caught up on work and home things. I am enjoying my summer vacation and now with the kids home, hopefully we'll be able to have lots and lots of fun together.

Here are some pictures from places we've been the last little bit that I had not yet posted:

Kathryn and Vivy at Fink day at Pappy and Nana's pool

The kids after going to VBS with a school friend of Kathryn's

Jackson at his 1st birthday party

Kathryn and Kaitlyn at Jackson's party


And portraits taken by Jason on a Sunday afternoon:

Summer

School is out in 2 more days, and we are ready for it. Just some pictures of fun in the back yard...

And by the way, Kathryn says she is a cool kid (that's what the V with her fingers means??):

Charlotte weekend

We traveled to Charlotte this past weekend to spend some time with my family there. Randy and Emily were able to come for a couple of hours on Saturday, and we were able to see the adorable Vivy enjoy the pool. The kids and I stayed overnight since Jason was stuck at work for the whole weekend. It was nice to be able to spend some time with Pappy and Nana.

A side note about the dog photos - Minnie is Dad and Sherri's permanent pet (all brown, smaller). Mickey is a foster dog they are caring for for at least the next month. She has heart worms and just underwent a pretty painful procedure to get rid of them last week. She is not allowed to run for a month! She is very sweet and was so good with Kathryn.

Summer 'dos

The kids got haircuts last weekend. Don't they look nice!

And in case you didn't know, this was Kathryn's hair before she went to get it cut:

Fun with a box

Who need toys when we have boxes? Each time we get something that comes in a big box, it's a struggle to get it to the recycling area because the kids want it to play. I guess Julian had more important things to do, but Kathryn enjoyed the box we got yesterday...who cares what came in it! I guess it does look pretty cozy.

Awana

The kids finished their Awana year last week. They both finished their book, and actually Julian was given his 2nd book for T&T a while ago, but the commander asked for it back when he found out. He said the clubbers are not supposed to start their 2nd book in their first year...so he gave it back and started working on the silver and gold sections (which was why he made the solar system model). I am so proud of both of them. I'm glad they are learning God's word and the truth of salvation through it. We were worried sending them to a different church than we were used to, but it was all for nothing. They did really well and even made some new friends.

My newest picture frame

Do I have too much time on my hands now??



I just really like pictures!

Our weekend

Our 11th anniversary was on Saturday, and this in combination with my graduation made me really want to get away to celebrate. We decided to spend a short weekend at Biltmore in Asheville. I had been once before in junior high, and Jason had also been once, but I'm glad we went again. The house and gardens were beautiful, but there was a lot of walking. I'm glad for a day to sit at my desk and work; my poor legs need a vacation now. Here are some photos of our weekend:

Meanwhile, the kids were spending a nice weekend with Ronda, Evan and Emileigh. From what I heard, the kids were not terrible and Emileigh actually wants to dog-sit for us again, so I guess Lucy minded her manners.

Graduation

I graduated with my associate's degree on Friday! Woo hoo! This is the halfway point for me - hopefully my graduation with my bachelor's degree will be in another 2 years (but it looking more like 2 years plus a semester??). Regardless, it was a big day for me, and I am proud of myself.

I was so happy that my Dad was able to come, and that Jason's Mom and Dad were there for the ceremony. I also kept the kids out of school (still not sure if that is an excused absence or not...) Jason and the kids and I went for lunch with Dad after the ceremony before going our separate ways to do real life things - like pool cleaning and work. I had a chuckle when I thought of the differences there are between graduating when you're 20 and when you're over 30. Get the ceremony done and back to work!

There aren't a lot of photos, Jason had issues with his camera, but here are a few I swiped from his folder on our hard drive :

The graduates

Aren't they cute?

Time for a change

Really, I just didn't want my mother's day post on top anymore!

I have started my semi-annual process of clearing out the kids' closets and drawers of things they have outgrown and finding a place for things I shoved on the shelf until later when I had time to do something with it. Well, now is that time and I have huge piles of stuff and need to figure out what to do with it. Too bad our storage building is also nearly popping with things we shoved in there until later. My motivation for starting was the nudge I received last week from the lady who gives us a lot of the hand-me-downs for Kathryn. She emailed to say she has more and asked (again) if I have any to give back...

Anyway, I really enjoy these homey chores that I just don't have time for while I am in school. They give me an outlet and are something I can use to take a break from looking at the computer on these long work days. I know it seems a little weird to daydream about doing chores, but sometimes I do while I'm really busy with school and work things... I think about how things used to be when I had a lot of free time and how they'll be again some day. There will be a day again when if I want to indulge in my OCD tendencies of organization, I can. And I will!

My mothers day weekend...

I don't like mothers day.

Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, and I love the thoughtful handmade gifts they give me each year.

But I don't like mothers day because I don't have my Mom. Some years I'm OK, but this year I have been teary and sad. I'll be glad when some time passes, and I get distracted again from thinking about what I don't have.

This year, we went to dinner with Jason's family Saturday night and then we went to church Sunday morning. Later in the day, we went on a long walk on a new trail we had seen that goes along one of our rivers. It was perfect. And of course I have pictures:

Happy Mothers' Day to all moms

Graduation invitations

In my haste to get the invitations in the mailbox before the mail carrier came, I forgot to put my name on them!! So, if you get an invitation to a graduation of some unknown person in my county, it's me... And sorry for the anonymity - it was not deliberate!!!

An anniversary

When facing big events in my life, I tend to get reflective. Does anyone else do that? Facing graduation, the uncertainty of the next couple of years in school, my upcoming anniversary (11 years!!), etc. I find myself looking back.... As I was cooking dinner last night, I was thinking about how different I am now than I was before Jesus saved me. I realized my "anniversary" of becoming a Christian is also here. It seems like it's been a million years, but it hasn't been quite that long...

14 years ago, when I was 17 years old, I attended a TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) weekend, which is a Lutheran run program for making disciples and leaders of teenagers. A couple of friends who had already gone asked me to go. It is a 3 day program, each day focusing on a major theme of being a Christian. The first day is DIE day - it focuses on the death of Jesus. It teaches how Jesus faced a brutal death on the cross - not for anything He had done wrong, but for what I had done wrong. The 2nd day is RISE day - it focuses on the resurrection and how Jesus conquered death to bring new life to those that believe in Him - even those that had committed the sins that put him on the cross. The 3rd day is GO day - it focuses on making a commitment to serve God and take what you have learned to the world around you. On GO day, there is a re-confirmation ceremony. All of the other kids had already gone through confirmation and were renewing their commitment to God. Well, I realized I had no commitment to God.

From the previous 2 days, I had learned of the sacrifice Jesus made for me (and you!) and the joy of his resurrection. I wanted to make a commitment to God! I wanted Jesus to know that I now understood what He had done for me - as much as I could at the time. He had died in my place. He had died for the sins I had committed. He took my punishment. In tears, I asked Jesus to help me know how to be His, and I consider that the first day of my Christian life. Through the years, Jesus has become more and more real to me and has become the One I can always count on, even when people disappoint me (and they surely will). He is the One that will never leave me - even if people do (and they surely will).

There were bumps after that. I didn't know what it meant to be a Christian and didn't really have a church family to help me out, so I struggled along for a few years with finding myself in Christ. I had a lot of doubt and a lot of anger at God and at the people in my life (and sometimes still do even now). I still struggle with trusting and following and submitting. I am still stubborn at times and say no when I should say yes. I still do the wrong thing when I know what the right thing is. I am still filthy rags compared to His goodness and holiness. But I am SO very thankful that He loves me anyway.

I just wanted to share my joy today and share again how thankful I am that God loved me enough to die for me and loves me enough now to forgive me when I do the wrong thing. For I truly believe life is hopeless and shallow without Jesus Christ as your guide.

Did you know he loves you that much too? It's true! The Bible tells it:

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 10:9,10 "If you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him (the son) will not perish, but will have eternal life."

Big brothers....

Kathryn lost her third tooth last night after being kicked in the mouth by her loving brother (who swore to us he didn't kick her! Sorry, kiddo - the tooth on the floor proves you did!)... It's not often Kathryn gets paid for being abused by her brother - lucky her, now she gets a trip to Dollar Tree for a new toy (or a plain ol' dollar - but she has chosen the toy so far...)

2 things

...and I call them 'Thing 1' and 'Thing 2"...no, sorry. Dr. Seuss on the brain...

Julian made this solar system for one of the sections in his Awana book:

And this beautiful iris bloomed yesterday. This particular plant had some sort of deformity last year and did not bloom. This is the first time I've seen these colors in an iris. This (and many others blooming at my house right now) are from Grandma Knight who shared with me when I told her how beautiful her flowers were. I hope one day my flower gardens look as wonderful as hers!

I had a wonderful half day off today. Not much work work, no school work. Great day!

Blog overload!

Excuses, excuses. I know I have been really slack in posting pictures lately, and I really have no excuses. I have been so distracted with school and work that when I have free time, I just want to sit and stare! Not really, but I forget about blogging and really have been missing some great picture taking...

This week Julian, Kathryn and I have been sick (a nasty stomach bug), and I missed a lab and a test - a first for me - and they missed 4 days of school! Thankfully, my professor will let me make up the exam on Monday. Poor Julian and Kathryn are more than ready to go back to school - they are SO bored.

Last night, I was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society of 2 year colleges. I didn't get any photos of that....I'm sure Jason did - we'll see if those turn up on here. It was a good end to a pretty yucky week.

Graduation is a month away - and I can't wait (only 6 more days of class!). I am excited for the summer and play time! I'm debating whether I'll learn to use my new sewing machine this summer. We'll see. I might just sit on the couch and do nothing...

until next semester starts!

Awana Grand Prix

The kids had the Awana Grand Prix today, and despite our procrastination getting their cars ready, they did pretty well. Julian finished 3rd in the T&T/Trek division and Kathryn finished 2nd in the Cubbies/Sparks division. I, unfortunately, had some battery issues with my camera, so I'll need to wait on Jason's pictures to show the trophies at a later date....

I have to say, I loved being able to sit back and watch the race and not worry at all about the details of it or how things were running. I appreciated all of the workers and knew how much time they must have put into everything. Ben, the man who put the cars on the track, was actually in the hospital last night after getting dehydrated, and his Dad (the commander), Daniel stayed at the church until at least 10:00 last night working on cars. We went by after my induction at 8:30 for weigh in, and they worked with Kathryn's car (which had a bad wheel or axle or something) until 9:30, and they looked like they were still working on some of the kids' cars then. Kent, one of the boy T&T leaders made a car that was amazing! He actually hand made 40 separate pieces to put together. There were probably 10 adult cars in the competition (which I did not get pictures of - hopefully Jason did).

Julian and Kathryn are the only new kids at this church, I think, and they were really welcomed and everyone was so happy that they did well! This is a small church, but they are so welcoming and so friendly. There's nothing fancy about them or their church, but I know we'll be back next year for Awana too, because they are really serious about teaching the kids the word of God. What a great way to start the day!

Easter

Just a few pictures from the easter egg hunt after Easter dinner at Grandma Knight's house:

Julian's 9th birthday

It's hard to believe my baby is 9! Julian's birthday weekend was really great, and after the work I put into his room, it was nice to have the weekend with family to relax and have fun. Saturday we celebrated with my family for our monthly gathering and Sunday we celebrated with Jason's family at his Grandma's house. Both days were a lot of fun, and helped Julian have a really great birthday.

Saturday:

Sunday:

Julian's 3rd grade performance.

These pictures are from Julian's 3rd grade performance which was way back in March. This year, the focus was on music and dance from Africa. I loved it, especially how excited the children were about it. They had so much fun doing the African dance to the song. Julian was one of the readers, and although he was nervous, I thought he did a great job.

Last year was China, this year was Africa, I wonder what next year will be?

Ok, here we go

So much has been going on, and there has been little time to blog about it all! First, the shower:

Our shower had a hole in the floor! Jason has patched it a few times, trying to make it last until we were ready to replace the shower. Unfortunately, the bathroom was built around the shower, so we knew when we replaced it, it would be a major project. Jason and Robert started working on it more than a month ago, and we were finally able to use it for the first time on Friday.

First, Jason took the wallpaper down, since the sheet rock had to be cut out around the shower unit and would be replaced later. Then Robert and Jason cut the shower unit in little pieces to get it out. The reason the original shower had a hole in the floor is because the people that built our house did not really finish the floor under the shower, so it had very little support. Jason and Robert completely rebuilt the floor and framing for the new shower. They had to plumb a bit as well before the new shower could be installed. The new shower was in 4 pieces, so it went in easier than the old one came out. So after the new shower was put in, Jason had to replace the sheet rock around it and do all that joint compound stuff. Finally, it was dry enough to caulk and prime so we could use it. We even splurged and got a fancy new shower head, which is great.

I know this is not terribly interesting, and probably is not exciting for anyone that hasn't used our shower. But we are over the moon because of it!

Julian's room

Several months ago, Julian asked us to make his room more grown up. I told him we would re-do his room as his birthday present this year. I originally painted his room when he was about 2 - when Ronda was pregnant with Evan! I loved it with the little boy cars, trains and airplanes. But, my little boy is growing up and when we were talking about how we would do his room, he told me he did not want any characters or designs on his walls. I worked on it Wednesday through Friday of last week to get it mostly ready for his birthday. I still have a little bit of touch up painting to do (I have had back luck with tape the last few times I painted...don't know what's up with that), one more coat of paint on the doors, and I will probably hang things up today. But, after sanding the designs off, 3 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint, it is mostly finished. I'll post pictures of the final final - if I can remember to!

Chalkboard artwork

I recently caved and returned my children's confiscated chalk, and they immediately went to work creating chalk-art. At the moment, I am choosing to ignore the piles of chalk dust created from said artwork...clean up will happen some other day.

These photos were actually taken by the children:

There's something 'bout the Southland in the Springtime

Ok, so both of these pictures are actually taken in the 'Southland in the Wintertime', but only by a few weeks, and that Indigo Girls song has been stuck in my head since the official beginning of Spring Friday. (I may have to visit Amazon mp3 and download it).

I love the rapidly changing weather here in the South in late Winter/early Spring. You just never know what you're in for. This morning I had to scrape frost off my windshield, and the expected high today is 65 degrees. Lovely!

March 2nd

March 9th