19 days and counting....

In 19 days my family and lots of friends will board a cruise ship and set sail!!!! This is our family's first cruise. We are excited and a bit nervous. R wants to start packing next week. I'm thinking we might. There are a few more things that we need to pick up to take with us. C still needs to find some people to work her shifts. M is off for a week before and a week after the cruise. We get back on Monday and head out camping on Thursday! Can you see why we are so excited??? It's the beginning of vacation season! We love to camp!

GOD BLESS THE USA!!!!!

Thank you to all the men and women who have defended the USA forever!!! Thank you to their families. We know what you sacrifice.

God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood
If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.
And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.
That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Life on the run

Well, I'm back! Did anyone miss me? The past 2 weeks have been very busy!!! C has been away at camp and she is earning 2 college credits, so R and I have been playing, cleaning and doing tons of stuff. My neice, M, came for a visit!!!! We went to the FREE movies and the FREE bowling and then her parents picked her up and took her to Sea World! What a big day for a little girl. C comes home tomorrow and it will be nice to have her home. Then we leave the following Saturday for a World Changers mission trip to Anniston, AL. It should be exciting, fun, and hot, hot, hot!!!!!

The washer is FIXED!

Our washer had been broken for about a week now. We have done several things to try to fix it. One thing I am recommending everyone do is this....
Take off the front access panel. It's right under the door. You'll see a thing that looks like it will screw off. It will. Get some towels because water will come out. Unscrew that thing and clean it out. It's not hard. We found tons of lint, 2 and 1/2 tsp of sand, several coins, a pen cap and other unknown things. We plan on doing this every 6 months from now on. Our washer is a few weeks shy of being a year old.
YEAH!!!! Our washer is fixed!

Our church is having VBS this week, so that is keeping us pretty busy. I am so tired! :-)

Broken washer

The washer is broke. DH thought he fixed it once. It was still messed up. He thought he fixed it another time. It was still messed up. C, R, and I thought we fixed it. It's still messed up. We just did 7 loads at the laundromat. I'm eating chocolate chips now. We'll try to fix it again tomorrow.

Life is full of memories and choices

We have choices to make. Choices to remember the good or the bad. We make a choice and we decide what to remember. Here's my choices....

pools and playgrounds in the back yard, fireworks and picnics by the pier, M and M's with my grandfather, singing hymns with my granny, Easter baskets full of goodies, making salt water taffy with Nana, trips out for ice cream, hugs and kisses, picking up McDonald's hamburgers for me and KFC for my brother before going to the fish restaurant, long walks, window shopping, camping, angel food cake because my grandfather remembered I didn't like coconut, 7 - 11 ICEES, trips to the zoo, lots and lots of puppies, bike riding, paper routes, being told "I love you", The World's Fair in Tennessee, Sweet Sixteen chocolate doughnuts, catching dragonflies with my brother, homemade Barbie dresses, reading after the lights were supposed to be out, a pony, playing baseball, mowing the field, and someone caring when I got home,

Thanks for the memories!

LH, COME ON DOWN, YOU'RE THE NEXT CONTESTANT

On.......The Price is Right!!!!!!!
I guess my chance of ever being on the The Price is Right is over. On Wednesday Bob Barker will record his LAST The Price Is Right. It will air twice on my birthday, June 15th. R says, "Let's get tickets for Wednesday." I told her it was all the way in California and she says, "Well, let's go!" If only it was that easy!

2 AM need I say more?

I'm tired, but I can't sleep. Everything I have to do tomorrow is running thru my head. I got up out of bed and made a list so I wouldn't forget anything. Maybe I can sleep now? I've emailed 2 friends. They seem to be asleep because I haven't heard back. Is there anyone out there?

I found out the other day that my neice, M, isn't coming to visit this week. She takes horseback riding lessons and must care for the horse. I'm very bummed, but she has to learn responsibility. I really enjoy it when she comes over. I'm so glad they moved closer.

I may go to bed now. Goodnight.

DREAM BIG BABY!!!!!

Dedicated to my first born….
I knew this time would come. You would turn 18 and you would graduate highschool. I remember the day you were born. I was so excited and you fulfilled my dreams. Did this dream come at a cost? Did I give up much? Yes to both. I gave up a life that consisted of just your dad and me to be your mom. I don’t regret it. I gave up a job because we didn’t want another person to raise our daughter. I don’t regret this either. I gave up my time to homeschool you from 3rd grade to 12th grade. I don’t regret it one bit. Was it always easy? NO! Would I change any of this time? NO! You were and are worth every minute of that time.

You were our experimental child. LOL Did you mind being a guinea pig? I’m sure you did, but from that time I learned so much and I believe you did, too. You accepted my ‘learning’ of how to be a mother. You have become a helpful, compassionate, and loving daughter. I want to scream from the mountain tops of your accomplishments! I miss my baby, my little girl, but I am so proud of the young woman you have blossomed in to! I am looking forward with excitement to the next adventure in our lives together! I love you mostest!

I’m going before I cry…. Oh, too late….

My Wish

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,

And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big

Another 24 hours....

What did I do today?????

First, last night Muffy, our dog, left both C and me a present under our pillows! At least mine was only a chew stick. C’s was a giant, half eaten, pork roast bone. YUK. LOL

Next, our church has a food pantry that is open from August through May. Today was the last day, so after we closed we all went to a Jamaican restaurant where one of our deacons works. I’m not too adventurous with my food, but I had some Jamaican beef patties, macaroni and cheese, and cabbage. I did try a veggie called calaloo that is very similar to collard greens. It's so fun to spend time relaxing and having fun with friends!

After that I went with a friend to a used book sale. I love used book sales!!! It is very weird shopping for only R’s books now that C has graduated. Very odd indeed. I will be teaching 2nd and 3rd grade English and Math and a high school English at our school next year, so I looked for some of those books. I found the math. Luckily I have another book sale to go to on Saturday! Did I mention that I LOVE used book sales??!!!

Then I came home and took a nap from about 5 pm to about 7:30 PM. Boy did I need that nap. DH cooked dinner – polish kielbasa, rice and beans. It was delicious. My family relaxed and watched a movie the rest of the night. It was nice.

I talked to my brother tonight and my niece, M, gets to come stay with us for a few days! I’m excited about that because I’m actually off next week!

Prayer requests:
Jeff – for the nerves in his neck that were damaged from thyroid surgery
Dh’s Mom – will have knee replacement surgery in July

Goodnight….

Well, I've done it....

I've created a BLOG! Woohooo..... now that I have your attention what do I say? First, welcome to my BLOG. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I'm not sure what I'll be writing, but it will be fun for me to share with you. For now, let me share something fun that a friend sent me....

How Smart Is Your Right Foot? I could not believe this!!! Just try this. It is from an orthopedic surgeon............This will boggle your mind and you will keep trying over and over again. To see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't. It's preprogrammed in your brain!

1. WITHOUT anyone watching you (they will think you are GOOFY......) and while sitting where you are at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.Your foot will change direction. I told you so!!! And there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so.
Send it to your buddies to frustrate them, too.

GOODNIGHT!