I've been tagged....

by Tonya. This means I'm supposed to tell everyone 8 things that you might not know about me. Let's see if I can come up with 8 things to say about myself that aren't common knowledge.


#1. I have never been north of the Mason-Dixon Line, or anywhere close to it for that matter. The northernmost city in the east of the US that I have traveled to is Asheville, NC. The farthest in the center of the nation has been Omaha, NE; and the farthest north on the west coast has been Sacramento,CA.

#2. Sometimes I think I'm Tonya's evil twin. Not evil really, but un-disciplined. We do look enough alike that my husband has to second-guess before he gives me a love pat from behind.

#3. I, too, enjoy doing laundry. I love the warmth and the fresh smell and feeling of accomplishment from doing something for my whole family at the same time. It's like a little treat to myself to only pull out a few items at a time and fold them while the others are still tumbling and staying warm for me. I also buy a different fabric softener scent each time so I don't get used to the scent and not notice it anymore. I just don't seem to be very good at reminding everyone to put away their laundry so the laundry room tends to become a giant closet for the whole family. That's why I can't let myself fold in a different room.

#4. The activity I enjoy most on alone times with my husband is target shooting. I like handguns and he prefers rifles. I just like to keep practicing with my 38 special while he tends to talk to the other men at the shooting range and they all try out each other's guns. Then coffee or dinner afterwards is nice.

#5. I really like to cook and entertain, but I don't like to clean. I'm blessed that most of the time when we have company Paul does the dishes while I get to visit and relax.

#6. I am a fanatic for punctuation. So much that I go overboard sometimes and I start putting in too many commas.

#7. If I go into someones house and the toilet paper is facing the wrong way, I change it for them. Wrong way is facing up and the paper falls behind the roll, right way is when the paper is draped nicely over the top. I especially like it when ladies fold it to a nice little point.

#8. I have to use my cruise control to help me from going too far over the speed limit. Even on small streets. I tend to loose track of the speed and just go as fast as I feel like going.

Tribute to my Grandpa

I have a new respect for my Grandpa. I already love him immensely, but my respect for him has grown. This respect comes from the fact that when Papa Lewie cuts Nolan's hair, Nolan sits quietly in the barber chair while his hair is being cut. The only time he ever moves is to turn his head to look at his Great-Grandpa and get a smile. I tried to cut Nolan's hair at home and I'm sure glad no one was listening because the kid was screaming like never before! I even turned his favorite movie on and he wanted no part of it. I guess he likes watching the whole thing in the big barber shop mirror. Or maybe he just knows that haircuts are Papa Lewie's job and I shouldn't be intruding. I don't know, but I'm never going to cut Nolan's hair again as long as there's gas enough to get to Texas. Nolan will just have to wait every 4 to 6 months for a Papa haircut.

Nolan's Haircut

He is not happy with me, but he's sill a cutie pie!

TIP

If you want to view a picture in full-screen, just click on that picture.

The pictures you've all been waiting for...

Emily is having such a good time at horse camp. Her friends Evan and Mary are in the first picture with her. Yesterday her horse, Zeffer, took off in a fast trot and Emily looked pretty panicked. She did really well and continued to ride even though it shook her up a little. After camp was over she said that it was kind of fun and scary at the same time.

Zoo Trip

The little ones and I went on a zoo trip with our Mom & Me group. Emily got dropped off and picked up from horse camp by my wonderful, beautiful and kind friend Catrina. Then she hung out at their house for a couple of hours until I got back from the zoo. Lily's favorite part of the zoo is still the snake house. Nolan really got into it this time, too. The best thing about the Greenville Zoo is that it's small and there is a great playground at the end. We really had a good time. Time to go to horse camp!

Horse Camp!

Horse camp started today for Emily. She had so much fun and they didn't even start riding yet. She practiced leading a horse, learned the body parts, how to groom a horse and what brushes to use in what order. She looked so cute combing the horse's tail, but looked grossed out at the same time. Lily and Nolan wanted to get in there with her so bad. There was a cute little miniature pony off to the side that they talked to through the fence. His name is Little Buddy. He is the same height as Lily. I was so sad that I forgot my camera.

We had to leave horse camp early because Emily had an appointment with a dermatologist. She has a mole in her hairline that has grown 3 times in size in the last 8 months. It has also changed color and shape. The dermatologist looked at it for about 2 seconds and said he wants to take it off asap. Her appointment for that is in 3 weeks. He also noticed a second one that he said he might take off depending on how the results of the first mole come back. She will be wearing a hat for the rest of the summer. She looks so cute in hats, too.

We have a few things growing in the garden so far. Not anything ready to pick yet. We have 2 green tomatoes and a jalapeno that looks like a rabbit tried to sample it. Hopefully, he learned his lesson and won't come back.

Emily is eagerly awaiting her turn at the computer so she can send her pen-pal in TX an email. I think they should have to use pens to be pen pals. I guess no one uses snail mail anymore. I promise to take my camera to get pictures at horse camp. Emily keeps pointing at where I wrote that she is eagerly awaiting. I guess I'm aggrivating her now. Gotta Go!

Fishy Face

This is our new fish.



This is Lily's impression of the fish. She's so cute trying not to crack up at herself.

The Cat's Out of The Bag

I guess I'll go ahead and let everyone in on a secret since I told two people and now I'm getting asked about it from other people. Also, Paul already told his parents so it's pretty official if he is proud of it.

WE ARE ADOPTING!

There's the secret. We know that we are led to adopt a sibling group from the US and it will probably be a group of no less than three, but we are open-minded to the groups of 4,5 and 6 also. Feel free to call us crazy, but this calling is from the Lord and He will supply all the sanity and financial needs as they come. We are definatly going to need a bigger vehicle. We have been talking about adopting for 4 years (since before we became pregnant with Lily, actually), but we are ready now. We called last Tuesday to start the process so our waiting has begun. Right now we are waiting to be called to set up an appointment for an orientation class. According to the information we have been reading, we could be a much larger family in about 12 months, maybe less if we adopt within GA. We also lost a lot of paperwork in the fire so I hope there won't be any hold-ups getting anything. I guess this is a good way to keep everyone updated. Anybody have a church van for sale?

Cowboy Nolan

Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen!? He loves these boots! He is so proud every time he walks in them. He did have some trouble with balance at first (as shown in the pictures), but he never fell down. He even walks bow-legged in them! He cried last night when I took them off his feet. These boots have been on the lost and found table at church for weeks and yesterday they said that anything left was going to charity, so I grabbed them. I'm pretty sure I know whose they are and that kid is too big for them anyway. I bought the Wrangler jeans a year ago secondhand because I thought they were cute, but didn't have boots to go with them. I just remembered that he has a cowboy hat. Expect a picture in the full outfit soon.

Note to my friends planning a trip to the Creation Museum: I found out that there is a State Park in Union, KY to camp at. It is 28.8 miles from the museum. We are so excited about it! We really should all plan a trip together.

Emily's Art

Emily's beautiful artwork was displayed at the Fine Art Festival on Tuesday night. She really is an amazing artist for her age. She loves to draw and paint flowers. I'm glad that she has a creative talent and I get to decorate my home with it.

Yesterday I told Lily that one set of grandparents were sending her birthday money in the mail and that we could go shopping with it to buy her a present for herself from them. When I asked her what she wanted to buy with her money, she said that she wants to buy food for our family at the grocery store. I guess my thrifty ways have rubbed off on her, but it might have gone to the martyr extreme. I'm sure she will forget all about food once we go down the toy aisle.

My garlic tonic should be ready tomorrow. I'm willing to share if any brave souls want to try it. We may be known as the stinky family, but we'll be healthy!

Lily's Birthday Party

Well, my sweet Lily turns 3 tomorrow. As far as she's concerned, she turned 3 at her party on Saturday. We all had a great time. The weather was a perfect 75 degrees and sunny. It was windy enough that we had to tape the plates down to the picnic table, but that didn't effect playing on the playground. Even Paul got to play on the playground.