Friendship...a wonderful gift!

I was so thrilled to go see Beth in April! It was my wonderful husbands birthday...and for his birthday, he wanted me to go see Beth. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing husband! I can't say enough about how much it means to me that for his birthday, the gift he wanted was for me to be happy and have this time with Beth. I was elated to go see Beth and touched beyond words that Jeffery cares so much for my friend and values the friendship as much as I do! Our visit was priceless and I just wanted time to stand still for a moment. Laurie flew out from Atlanta too and our visit overlapped which was incredible...God has blessed me with the most amazing girlfriends and I don't take that for granted. While in Seattle, I was surrounded by the wonderful friends that God has brought into Beth's life...each one was just incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed this time with them. I shed more than a few tears over this long weekend...tears of joy, tears of laughter and tears of sadness. So many emotions, all swirling together. I spent time with Beth's family...my extended family...talked, laughed, cried, laughed, talked and cried some more. The girls had some hair and make-up time...somethings you never outgrow! :) I didn't want to say goodbye...we are so far apart - coast to coast. I treasure every single minute of this time with Beth. For whatever time God gives Beth, or any of us, on this earth, I am truly thankful. For the eternity that He gives us, I am both humbled and awed at His Grace. Thank you, God for my incredible friend...she touches my heart and is a tremendous gift to me...Bless her with your presence and Grace as she fights this battle with cancer...be ever close to her as she relies on your presence and love each day.

Austin had to do a science project on Solar Energy. He was quite creative with his project, deciding to make a solar cooker. He did a GREAT job and did it on his own! He even added the rotisseire for hotdogs and even meatballs! He had fun trying to cook on his new invention. He had fun and did a great job...and he got a 100%! Way to go Austin...our "Master of the Solar Grill"!

Mother's Day 2009

Mother's Day was a truly wonderful day! From the moment my eyes opened until my head hit the pillow, it was wonderful! My sweet husband spoiled me all day long...along with all the kids! Connor made me eggs for breakfast...they were perfect! The kids and Jeffery made this beautiful fruit arrangement...sprinkled with gift cards to my favorite places...Kirklands, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and Bone Fish Grill...perfect choices...they know me so well!

I love Mother's Day...celebrating my own Mom - who is very, very special! I'm also very thankful on Mother's Day for the joy and privilege of being a Mom. I always wanted to be a Mommy! God has blessed me beyond my imagination in this department...being a wife and mother is truly a gift from God! I look at our children...who are growing up so very fast...and I just marvel at the wonderous creation that each of them is. Each one is uniquely different...I'm tremendously proud of each of them! I love being a Mom...it's my greatest joy and my proudest accomplishment! Thank you, God for such an amazing family!

We were off to the early service at church, which was a wonderful service as always! After church, we went to my sister, Kathy's, house and celebrated with her, my Mom and Julie. The boys were into their electronic devices...IPOD, handhelds, xbox and cell phones and the girls were all about dressing up and make-up! We had a mexican fiesta...keeping it simple! We headed home in time for dinner and Jeffery and the kids had a wonderful evening planned...J grilled steak and shrimp...yummy!!! We had a fun evening....and I even got a foot massage...ahhhh...my favorite! A perfect end to a really perfect day!

Happy Mother's Day Mom - I love you!! Happy Mother's Day to all the incredible Mom's I'm privileged to share this "Mom's" journey with! Thank you, Honey for making me feel incredibly special today and every day...you are the love of my life. Thank you, Brandon, Connor, Austin and Anna for being the incredible kids that you are...I'm so proud of each of you and I love you more than anything...it's amazing to be your Mom...WOW!! You all made my day perfect...I'm thankful for you!

Little Ballerina

Anna just finished her first year of Ballet. She enjoyed her class very much and her teacher, Ms. Nicole, was fabulous! She was so proud on the day of her recital and she looked beautiful in her pink and green tu-tu! She had a wonderful performance!! We are so proud of our Ballerina Princess!!

New Mulberry Park

 

Spring Break has been fun and I'm sad to see it come to an end! Only 5 weeks of school, though, so it's ok. I love those moments when everything goes on the back burner and it's all about the fun! Today was one of those great days!! I'm so thankful for our family and for hand-in-hand walks, talks, laughter and just being together...Life is Good...

Spring Break Little Mulberry Park

 

We had a wonderful family day...Jeffery and I took some much needed time off and we headed out for a late lunch at Eagle's Landing...compliments of Connor who had won some gift cards. After a delicious lunch, we drove to Little Mulberry Park where we walked the 2 mile loop...it was a beautiful, sunny day...perfect for being outdoors! The dogwoods were in bloom and were sprinkled throughout the woods...we spied a couple of deer who were staring at us as we were staring at them. After that, we tried our luck at Geo-caching...a successful find! Then we headed to the movie to see Race to Witch Mountain. I am dating myself by admitting I saw the original two movies...way back when?? :) We had a great time and enjoyed our day together!

Connor Odyssey of the Mind 2009

 

We are so proud of Connor and his OM team for the wonderful job they did preparing, practicing and performing at the Regional and State competition! They chose their problem (Superstition) and began to brainstorm ideas on how to solve this problem...one idea led to another and they began to formulate a plan...wrote a script, built props and practiced for the big competition. They did an amazing job! It has been so much fun to watch the team work together and have fun doing it! They were very proud of their accomplishments...winning 3rd place at Regions and advancing to State. They didn't place overall at State, but did an amazing job...both on and off the stage! The did win the spontaneous portion of the competition for their division...WOW! That was fabulous!! They are already talking about next year...