Mom With Big Dreams

Saying goodbye to the old and hello to the new.

2010-12-29T19:53:00.002-05:00

WOW, my New Year does bring about a lot of new to me. After 3 years of very hard work I finally graduated nursing school in December 2010. For the first time in several years I will not be starting the new year as a student. This is both a very happy time, but also a very scary time, I no longer have the safety net of school. Sometime in January I will take my state boards to become a registered nurse. Thanks to my school, I was able to get my lpn in late July so I have been working since August at a nursing home on weekends, I will continue there as a RN. It will be great not to have to spend so much time studying. I am so glad that I will now have time to spend with my family going to Braxtons ball games and whatever Devin may be into at the time. I am so thankful to God for everything. I absolutely love being a nurse and I LOVE the residents that I am blessed to serve. I was so scared of working in a nursing home and prayed to God that he would find me something else that I could do as a LPN. Funny how he knows so much more than me. I also prayed that He would open doors so that I could find a full time job where I would not have to work every weekend and it appears that He has opened more doors in the nursing home. I can't wait to see where He will take me in this profession.

Love to all!!!
Rene'

Much needed get away

2010-06-04T18:12:00.006-04:00

With my school and Robert's work, we have not had much time together lately. The end of my last semester was on April 28th and Robert left the next day for Washington DC for a month. So we planned a get a way for the weekend of his birthday. We had heard about Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia where wild horses run free, ruins of one of the Carnagees homes and beautiful beaches. It was a wonderful break and so much fun!!! I have posted some pictures of the trip below:

Robert and I standing in the ocean.
Wild horses in front of the ruins of the Carnagee house.

One of the packs of wild horses that lives on the island.

My graduate!

2010-06-02T15:49:00.002-04:00

I am so thrilled to say that Storm has graduated high school! I am so proud of him. The last several years have been complicated to say the least, and there were times that I was not sure he would make it to graduation, but he did. Not only did he graduate but for the last semester he has been on the honor roll! Prayers are being answered, slowly but surely!

Learning

2010-05-19T20:32:00.002-04:00

As my oldest son, Storm's graduation nears I reflect back on his life and all that I have learned during his childhood. I have learned how to remove a filthy stinking stuffed animal from a sleeping child, wash, dry and return it to the sleeping child without him realizing it was ever gone. I have learned that frog urine does not cause warts, but that a frog can make mommy scream when placed on her shoulder. I learned that when he was 2 until 10 I was the most beautiful woman in the world. I have learned that boys don't bounce, but are pretty resiliant. I have also learned that it is very hard letting go of that beautiful little boy that I still see when I look at him. It is so bitter-sweet to see him grow up. As a parent,in your head you know it is your job to raise them to be Godly adults and then let them go into the world, but in your heart you want to keep them in that crib forever. I cannot believe my Stormy-Normy is eighteen and all grown up! I have also learned how much God must love us, his children!

The Greatest Gifts I Ever Received!

2010-05-09T12:02:00.005-04:00

By far, these are the greatest gifts I ever received in my life! I thank God for them every day!

Braxton 11

Devin 17

Storm 18!

Hello again!

2010-04-26T18:03:00.007-04:00

I know it has been a while since my last post, but I have been busy with school again. Since tomorrow is my last final, I have a few minutes to post pictures of my handsome boys in tuxedos. Braxton and Devin were both in my sister, Tracy's wedding and Storm's senior prom.

Braxton and Brooke dancing at Tracy's wedding.
Devin dancing with one of the brides maids, Stephanie.

Devin with me.

Braxton with me.

Storm and Kessie.

UPDATE

2010-01-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

Good news! All 3 tumors are benign!!!

Biopsy update

2010-01-26T12:23:00.002-05:00

The procedure was done this morning. It took longer than expected, one of the 2 lumps in the left breast was very deep and was difficult to reach with the needle, after about an hour and a half they finally got that one, the next two took less than an hour for both of them. I was very lucky and had a really nice doctor who was very informative about what was going on. I have an appointment to find the results on Thursday at 2pm. Thanks for the prayers!!

Rene'

New update

2010-01-21T16:54:00.002-05:00

Procedure is now scheduled for this Tuesday at 8 am. Will have results on Thursday! I am so learning patience!!!

Learning Patience

2010-01-19T15:17:00.002-05:00

Well, the biopsy did not happen today. The surgeon did another ultrasound and determined that the left breast is a lymphnode but the right breast still needs a biopsy, he just didn't feel comfortable trying it in his office. He wants it to be a MRI guided biopsy rather than the ultrasound guided biopsy. Not sure when it will be scheduled, will update later.

Rene'

I Love My Church

2010-01-17T12:54:00.002-05:00

I was absolutely blown away this morning at church! The message, as always was great, Perry is an awesome leader and great man of God, but that is not what blew me away. What was so amazing to me is the generosity of the church family! Perry asked the church to give to the relief efforts in Haiti, all of our donations are going to Samaritan's Purse for their ministry in Haiti. I was lucky enough to be an usher who was asked to hold one of the 10 offering buckets for people to drop in their donations as they left. This offering was over and above what they had already given in their tythe. My bucket was overflowing with checks and money, and the bills I saw being dropped in were not ones and change! My son also was lucky enough to be one of the ushers collecting this special offering and he was also blown away, and this was just one service at one of NewSprings 4 campuses! I love the heart of compassion this church has! I am so blessed to be a tiny part of this wonderful body of Christ!!! Thanks NewSpring for giving us the opportunity to serve God, not only here, but all over the world!!!

Elephant in the room

2010-01-15T09:10:00.002-05:00

I sit here today, a day before the 19th anniversary of my mom's death. This is always an emotional time for me, I reflect on her life and the time we spent together and compare our relationship with my relationship with my kids. Well, this year it is even more emotional for me, I have a huge elephant in the room right now! I had my yearly mammogram in December and got a letter last Wednesday that my results needed follow-up and had a follow-up mammogram on Thursday. The radiologist found what he called a fibroid cyst in my right breast and two areas in my left breast that he thought were lymph nodes. My doctor felt that with my mom's history it would be a good idea to do a MRI so we did that on Wednesday. Yesterday my doctor called and said that he felt I needed to have biopsies done on both breasts, the before labled fibroid cyst is now being called suspicious. I am scared, but not worried. As I told Robert last night, I fear the unknown and the consequences that come from the unknown, but I do not worry; I know that my God already knows what is there and the outcome of it all! I do ask for prayers, not for the results, but for peace for me and my family. Thanks!

Rene'

Picture:Devin being Devin

2010-01-06T19:48:00.002-05:00

This is classic Devin, he put the tie and glasses on and came in my bedroom on Monday and said, "How do I look?" I asked him why he was wearing that and he said he thought it looked goofy and he felt like being goofy.

My picture for today

2010-01-02T12:21:00.004-05:00

I read a post on my blog friend Robin's blog about doing a picture journal for 2010, so I am going to try to do at least one picture a week, I don't think I will have time when school starts back for a picture a day, but the pictures will be of my family, especially my boys, so I can look back at the pictures at the end of this year and see how much they have grown and changed. So here is the first picture of the year: Braxton playing the Beatles Rock band on the wii! He is sooo concentrating on what he is doing. Don't even ask why he has that hat on inside or why it is on sideways, he has his on style!!!

Happy New Year

2009-12-30T14:42:00.003-05:00

I do not do resolutions, the never stick anyway. This year however, I do intend to make this year about me. I know it sounds selfish, but I don't mean it that way. I am going to take time this year to learn myself, to take care of myself and to learn to cherrish myself. If I can learn to take care of myself, then I will be able to take care of others better, be a better wife and mother, and by the end of the year I will be a RN!!! Looking forward to this year!

Happy New Year

WOW!

2009-12-28T16:53:00.002-05:00

I was cleaning up my son, Devin's room and came across the rough draft of a paper that Devin had written titled Mom, My Hero. He had given me the final draft last year after his English teacher graded it and told him that she thought I would like to read it. I was swept away then, but today when I found the rough drafts I was really blown away! There were even more details in his rough drafts, it was amazing what he noticed in me and even respected. In moments that I did not realize he was watching me, he was. It made me think deeply, if he saw all of these things he perceived as good, what had he seen that was not good, that I did not realize. It made me realize what a big influence I am as a parent in my children's lives, both good and bad! What a big responsibility that is!!! I am honored that at 16 years old I am still his "hero" and I will try so much harder to deserve this title!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-27T12:24:00.007-05:00

I had a great Christmas! All 3 of my boys were here on Christmas Eve! I so enjoyed having Storm home and his brothers loved it too, especially Devin! They were like 2 little kids again!!! Below are some pictures of all 3 of the boys!

Devin and his Run DMC shirt
Not sure Devin loved this hug from Braxton!

Braxton playing with his footbal from papa and mema on Christmas Eve.

Storm and Devin, not quite sure whaqt they were doing!

Two boys, one hat and possibly one brain! (their words not mine)

Storm in his Joker hat I got him for Christmas!

Most Wonderful Time of the year

2009-12-18T18:33:00.002-05:00

I love Christmas! I love the lights, the smiling faces, the hustle and bustle of the season! I love it all! I love that I get to spend extra time with my sister because we do a lot of our shopping together. I actually have had even more time with her this year because she had surgery last week and I am her official taxi! I have loved it! This time of year makes me think of my mom, she is the one that instilled the love of this season in me. She was like a child at Christmas time. I miss her so badly at this time of year, but I also feel closer to her now than ever! I make sure that her traditions are passed on to my children, she always read "The Night Before Christmas" to us on Christmas Eve, and then my dad would read the True Christmas Story from the Bible just before we went to bed! My mom always had the family over every Christmas and of Course on Christmas Eve dinners with her best friend Wanda and her family! I pray that one day when I am no longer here on this side, that my children will be able to look back on the memories we are making now and smile as I do now!

Hello again!

2009-12-07T07:39:00.002-05:00

I know, it has been forever since I last blogged. I have been so busy with school. I had been told that the 2nd semester in nursing school at SCC was the worst but figured that it was mostly hype from students. Well, it is not hype! It was the hardest thing I have ever done (including birthing 3 babies)! The workload was overwhelming, but I did live through it and am now officially a 3rd semester nursing student (there are only 4 semesters once you are in the nursing program, it does not count all of your pre-requisite classes). I am so blessed that God has opened so many doors to allow me to return to school and persue my passion to help others! I have been blessed again that my unemployment has been extended again and that my funding has been approved for the next two (and final) semesters!!!

I am such a blessed girl!

PRAISE GOD!

2009-10-10T21:43:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I've blogged, it has been really busy! I am half way through this semester and have B's in all of my classes. My husband Robert, was offered a full time job with benefits. Of course the benefits will not start for 90 days, but it is still great! This is a great relief since he has been without a full time job since March and I have been out of work since May of 2008! We have been blessed throughout this difficult time and have had enough to get what we need, as HE promised.

PRAYERS PLEASE

2009-08-27T23:43:00.002-04:00

I am not going into specifics, but I need your prayers for my family and marriage! There are some very hard decisions that have to be made and have needed to be addressed for quite some time now. Please pray that I make my decisions wisely and not hastily. I am seeking Godly counsel. I am very scared and need your prayers!

God's Grace

2009-08-21T07:50:00.003-04:00

Monday was my first day back to school and man was it a day! We had our medication calculation test thatwe take the very first day of each semester and must make a 100 on in order to continue in the nursing program. You have 2 attempts every semester to pass, if you aren't successful on the first try you have to take it several days later and it is a huge weight on your shoulders for those days because you know that all of the work you have done hangs on this one test, no one wants to have to take it the 2nd time! Well, of course, I made a silly error on my first one and had to retake it! It is so hard to concentrate on anything else when you have this black cloud hanging over you! My husband posted a lot about my ordeal on FB and had lots of his friends that I do not even know and some of our friends and family praying for me and God's will in the situation. I promise you I felt a peace when I took this test. I still wasn't sure I would pass it, but I just felt like it was all in God's hands. He had opened so many doors for me to get back into school, if he needed to close those doors now I would understand, I wouldn't like it, but I would understand. He has plans that I can never comprehend. There were 12 of us who had to retake this exam and sadly one of us did not pass! I felt so bad for her, I knew what she was feeling, the same all 12 of us had felt for the past 2 days only amplified by a million!

This semester is going to be crazy! We have 3 papers due by mid September, at least 2 test every week (sometimes 3 a week) and 2 days of clinicals! It will be very time consuming! I pray that my family, especially my 10 year old Braxton can be patient and understanding!

Good News

2009-08-12T10:09:00.002-04:00

Robert got the job he interviewed for. It is part time now, but should become full time with benefits by fall! I have been so amazed at how God has provided for us these last 5 months! When I found out that Robert had lost his job, I was devistated and worried. I asked for prayers and turned to God on my knees as well and stopped worrying. When I turned it over to him, he took care of everything, we never went hungry and didn't lose the house! God is sooooo good! Thanks for all of the prayers!!!

Summer fun

2009-08-10T11:17:00.014-04:00

This summer was about spending some time with my boys. Devin started working this summer, so he only went on one trip with us, to Cherokee, NC. Robert, Braxton and I also went to visit his family near Syracuse NY and then to Gettysburg, PA. Other than the trips I enjoyed spending time with the boys just hanging out at the mall, at the local water park or just around the house spending quality time togehter. I did not get to see Storm a lot, he is still doing his own thing, please keep him in your prayers. Also keep Robert in your prayers, he has an interview today and could possibly still have an opportunity to go back into the work he used to do in Nuclear power plants and would be in Kansas for several months. This would be a good opportunity!

I have posted some pictures of our trips!

Braxton shooting the cannon at Gettysburg.

Braxon with his favorite monument at Gettysburg.

Braxton and 2 of our grandchildren, Colby (4) and Akayla (3) at the Alpaca farm in Marathon, NY

Braxton on his new bike. "The Fastest Bike Ever".

Braxton floating down the river in Cherokee, NC

Braxton on a rock in the river in Cherokee, NC

Devin skipping rocks across the river in Cherokee, NC

Pouty face Devin!

Devin exhausted after cross country practice.

My stud Devin relaxing in the sun on our visit to Cherokee, NC

Summer Doo

2009-06-04T10:46:00.004-04:00

Braxton has been begging all year to get a mohawk and I did not think that it was a good idea, so I told him that when school was out, if he had good grades, so he now has his mohawk! He is so funny, everytime he passes a mirror he has to look at himself. I have a mirror on my mantel and as he walks up the stairs he peaks over the banister and looks at it in the mirror! He loves seeing peoples reactions to his hair! We went to pick up his report card at school and he had to show all of his teachers, the lunch ladies and the custodian. He is so funny! I am glad that I can make him happy with such a little gesture!

Berrylicious

2009-05-28T13:29:00.002-04:00

It is strawberry season here in the upstate of SC and there is this wonderful strawberry farm here named Strawberry Hill, USA. Yesterday was Robert's 50th birthday and he loves Strawberries so we bought 2 gallons and I made him this yummy strawberry cake! It is sooo easy I have attached the recipe below:

1 box white cakemix

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries (sweeten them to taste and set aside)

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 3 oz box strawberry gelatin

Bake cake mix according to box and allow it to cool completely. Mix the gelatin according to directions and refrigerate it until it is cool, do not let it set up at all. Use a straw to poke holes in the cake and pour the gelatin over the cake evenly allowing it to soak into the cake. Now spread the sliced strawberries on the cake. Whip the heavy cream, confectioners sugar and vanilla on high until it forms stiff peaks, spread it on the cake. I sliced 4 cups of strawberries and set aside 1 cup to add to the top of the cake.

It was delicious! The only problem you will have is that unless you live in upstate SC you will not have the best strawberries in the world! I swear it tastes like they put sugar in the soil, the berries are just that sweet!!!

Taking Chance

2009-05-25T10:06:00.003-04:00

Today is a day that we remember the sacrifices that many men and women have made to keep this the "land of the free". So many have paid the ultimate price so that we can live in a land where we are so blessed. Robert and I watched a movie last week called "Taking Chance". It is a HBO movie that he found on NetFlix about a Colonel that offers to escort a PFC that was killed in the Iraq war on Good Friday 2004 home. It is a very thought provoking movie. If you have HBO it is on today at 9 pm, it will truly make you think!

Enjoy!

Rene'

Quick and Tasty chicken salad

2009-05-20T15:31:00.002-04:00

I thought since it is getting warm you may be interested in a real easy chicken salad recipe:

I use a Rotisserie chicken (either lemon pepper or original) because it gives it great flavor and it is already cooked, so you do not have to cook the chicken, it makes it a lot quicker. I let put the chicken in the fridge and let it get cool. After it is cool, take the skin off and pull the chicken off the bone. I just rip the chicken up, in small pieces if I want to use it for sandwiches, or bigger pieces if I plan to serve it as a salad. I then add mayonaise, I add it a wooden spoonful at a time until I get the right consistency. Salt and pepper to taste and serve on sandwiches. If I plan to serve it as a salad I also add sliced red seedless grapes and either wal-nuts, peacans or almonds and serve with crackers. I hope you enjoy it!!

How?

2009-05-15T16:38:00.003-04:00

Storm and Devin before Storm's Junior Prom in April 2009

Have you ever wondered how 2 children can have the same parents and the same rearing and grow up to be completely different? As most of you know, I have 3 boys, Storm 17, Devin 16 and Braxton 10.

The oldest two boys have always been very close, but since Storm turned 15 he has changed so drastically. Shortly after he was 15 he decided he could not live with my rules anymore and that he wanted to live with his dad, normal for a kid his age. This was very difficult for me because I felt that I had somehow failed as a mother. If I was a good mother my child would want to live with me, right? I have struggled with this for the last 2 years and still do in some ways. About a month ago, Storm decided that he could no longer live with his dad and his rules. To him, both me and his dad are tirants. For goodness sakes, we terrible rules like you have to be in by 11:00 and no phone calls after 9:00, no smoking, drinking or drugs period. Storm broke all of these rules numerous times at both houses and would rebel more and more every time he was punished. It got to the point when he lived with me, as well as with his dad that we were concerned about the well being of the other children in the house (my other 2 boys here and his dad's 2 year old daughter and 1 year old son). We never knew what to expect with Storm, he has stolen prescription drugs from his dad's house and my house. So when he told his dad he was moving out from his house, we both told him that it was not a good idea, but we did not stop him, again another heart-wrenching decision. He has moved in with one of his friends and his family. I have now heard of even worse behavior on his part. I talk to Storm as often as I can and even visit him at work to let him know how much I love him, but am so scared for him! I worry so much about his salvation and live by the scripture: Proverbs 22:6-Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Storm was such a loving child and his brother Devin was my hellian when they were small, you never knew what he would get into next. Now Devin is so grounded, he even tries to give Storm advice and positive encouragement. He is so good with all his younger brothers and sister and even consoles me when I am upset. He is not perfect, but he is so grounded and will refer to the Bible for solutions to any problem. I am so proud of him, he is very active in our youth group and volunteers every Sunday with the two year olds and loves it! I pray for all of my boys every day. I pray that Storm begins to make better decisions for himself, that Devin continues to make good decisions and that Braxton will make good decisions when he gets older. I also pray that I make good decisions for them all and that I become a better model of Christ for them.

Please pray for my Storm and the decisions he is making right now.

Being Mom again

2009-05-13T17:48:00.002-04:00

Okay, I am trying to get adjusted to being home again, of course the last week or so has been more hectic than school just trying to get things done that were neglected for the past several months. The boys still have a couple of weeks left in school, so I hope to have a little more me time before summer starts.

It is so strange trying to change back from student to stay at home mom (for the summer). I keep thinking I need to read something or write a paper or something! I can't wait for the boys to be home so we can spend some quality time together this summer! I plan to catch up on my blog and may try to start some quick and easy recipes at least once a week!

A Needed Break

2009-05-04T10:36:00.002-04:00

I have been away for a while, I have been so overwhelmed with school and my family that I have not had any time for the blog world! I have just completed my first semester in nursing school! I am so relieved, B's in all 3 classes, but have been told by the professors that next semester is the most intense out of all 4 classes. I am so glad that I have the summer off to rest, rejuvenate, get some stuff done around the house, read a book other than a text book and of course study what I learned this semester so I don't forget what I learned! Thanks to all that have been praying for my success this semester!

Lights Out!

2009-03-29T20:48:00.003-04:00

Last night everyone was encouraged to turn out their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 in their time zone, it was called Earth Hour. Robert decided that we would participate in this, but not only would we turn off the lights, we would unplug all electronics in the house and sit in the candle light and play checkers! We had so much fun that we ended up playing for not just one hour but closer to 2 hours! The candles I have are all scented and are all different scents, not good when you are already fighting bronchitis. So after about an hour and a half I blew them all out but 2 that were the same scent. Robert and Devin continued to play the game that they were playing, it was hillarious, they couldn't even see the checkers, but they struggled through it. I think that they enjoyed it even more because it was a challenge! We enjoyed it so much we decided that it will be a weekly event, except we will not use candles, we will use flashlights! I would have taken pictures, but I'm not sure that they would have shown up! I will attempt to take pictures next time!

Online Friends

2009-03-27T13:45:00.002-04:00

I started this blog as a journal for me to express my feelings. I never expected to meet real people online and become friends with them and gain encouragement and love from them! I have been so amazed at the comments and e-mails I have received from so many people that I only know online! Thanks for all of the encouragement! God has shown me the beauty of His people through all of you!!!

Spring in the south

2009-03-25T10:23:00.006-04:00

Gotta love spring in the south, it is absoutely beautiful and I have tulips blooming in my yard! The flowers are blooming and trees are budding, it is wonderful! My neighbors daughters told me that my tulip bed was the most beautiful garden ever! However, there is aways a price to pay for such beauty, it is also allergy season here and many are suffering (including me), but I don't mind paying the price when it is so beautiful here!

Update on my daddy

2009-03-21T16:45:00.003-04:00

The doctors came in last night and said that daddy did not have a stroke, the problem is that his blood is too thick. So the doctors told him to take 360 mg asprin per day and he should be fine! Thanks for your prayers!

When it rains it pours

2009-03-19T18:05:00.002-04:00

My last post was about Robert losing his job, he is still looking, he had a interview today but it is only going to be maybe some part time work if that, so he is still looking for a job. Then, today I got a call from my sister that my dad had a "mini" stroke. He seems to be ok right now, when I saw him he seemed to be very clear minded. He could remember the event and described it clearly to me. He will be in the hospital for a few days while they run tests, please keep him in your prayers.

Worst fears revealed!

2009-03-17T18:45:00.002-04:00

Well, today Robert did indeed get laid off! It is scary, but I am so surprised at how Robert is taking the news. He says he knows it happened for a reason and God has something out there for him. He has been unhappy at this job for a while because of of the attitude in the office. It is hard to see the good right now, but God is in control and we both know that! Continue to pray for his job search and our mental status during the next couple of weeks. We are thankful that Robert had carried over 2 full weeks of vacation so we have a couple of weeks before his paychecks stop coming in. Thanks for your prayers!

Prayer Please

2009-03-13T12:17:00.003-04:00

I have a huge request today. I think most of you know that I have been out of work since last May and have been unable to find a job, and am now in school full time for nursing. My husband called me just a few minutes ago and told me that it is a very real possibility that he may also lose his job. I know God is in control and he will take care of us, but if he loses his job we have no way to pay any bills. It is a very real possibility that we will lose our house and that I may have to quit school to be able to survive, that is if I can even find a job! Please just pray that Robert and I have peace, no matter what happens with his job!

Thanks,

Rene'

My Blog Friend Robin

2009-03-11T10:41:00.002-04:00

Back in November Heather from Whittaker Woman hosted a blog party and I met one of the neatest, sweetest and loving people I think I have ever met. She has a huge heart for the Lord and for her children. Well, she is in a bad place right now, her daughter Steph had to have an emergency c-section yesterday due to complications in her pregnancy. The baby girl was 4 weeks early and Steph is very sick. Please pray for Robin, Steph and her baby girl. Please pray for the doctor and nurses as they take care of both of them and as they search for answers and try to treat and cure Steph! If you get a chance go to her website http://robinrane.wordpress.com/ and leave her a message of love and prayer, Robin really needs it now! She is posting updates every couple of hours! I want us to cover that family with our love and prayers!!!!

half way

2009-03-05T18:07:00.003-05:00

OK we are now half way through my first semester of nursing school! I can't believe how fast it is going by! Only 3 1/2 semesters left!!! So far I am doing pretty well, I still have 5 tests in one of my classes, and four in both of the other classes. I have one week left at the nursing home and then we go to the hospital for our last rotation in clinicals for this semester. I gave my first shot to a human today (one of my classmates) and he lived to tell about it! I am really enjoying school! I am so blessed to be able to do this at my age!!!

Thankful

2009-03-04T11:06:00.003-05:00

The snow was so beautiful and so much fun to play in, but in all of this beauty and fun there were a lot of people without power, and it was very cold for this area, especially in March. I am very thankful that we did not lose power at all during this storm. Another problem caused by the 2 to 3 days of rain prior to the snow and then this very heavy wet snow was that trees were falling everywhere. One of our friends had an oak tree fall in his front yard, it totaled his truck, fishing boat, his neighbors 3 cars and motorcycle and also hit his neighbors roof and knocked down power lines, so on top of all of the damage, they had no power!! The interstates were backed up for hours and there were lots of wrecks and several teenagers lost their lives in weather related accidents. I am so very thankful that my family was warm, dry and safe during this storm!

Fun in the snow

2009-03-03T14:01:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures from yesterday. Braxton and his friends built a snowman that Braxton named "Governor Mark Snowford." We had such fun, this is the first snow that Braxton has been able to really get out and play in! I had so much fun with him!

Braxton and the Governor
Braxton building the snowman.

Braxton and his friends building the snowman.

Snow storm

2009-03-01T22:54:00.007-05:00

I love snow! We have not had a good snow storm in several years. The snow started falling around 5:00 pm today and is still falling now at 11:00 p.m. here are a few pictures of the snow falling that Robert took an hour or so ago.

Cool new Blog

2009-02-27T15:45:00.002-05:00

There is a new cool blog that I heard about on Karen's blogsite. It is called Roof with a View and is full of encouragement for women. Check it out! BTW they are also having a giveaway, go check it out!

Roof with a View: 1000th Hit Celebration Giveaway!

About Boys

2009-02-24T12:36:00.002-05:00

Things you find out when you have boys:

1.) A king size waterbed holds enough waterto fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.
2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
3.) A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.
5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane)doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words 'uh oh', it's already too late.
8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36- year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.
10.) Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.
11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12.) Super glue is forever.
13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
15.) VCR's do not eject 'PB & J' sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
20.) The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.
21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earth worms dizzy.
22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.
23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
24.) 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.
25.) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

guilty

2009-02-21T20:44:00.004-05:00

I feel so bad, my Braxton threw up on Wednesday night right before bed time, but did not get sick any more during the night. I had clinicals on Thursday morning and had left before he got up for school. Robert said he was feeling ok before he left for school on Thursday morning. After he got to school he got feeling bad again and I was in clinicals and could not be reached, Robert was at the doctor's office and the nurse could not reach his dad. Finally, they got hold of my dad around 12:30 pm, the nurse had started trying to find someone at 10:00 am. Daddy picked him up and babied him until I could get him. When I finally picked him up he threw up again right before we left my daddy's and again in the car (in the bag we had fixed just in case). It made me feel so guilty, that my dream and my school kept me from getting him! I know that I probably should not feel this way, but it is the protective mom part of me that wants to always be there for my kids.
He stayed home from school with me on Friday and is completely better now.

Lots of Love

2009-02-13T19:21:00.001-05:00

I hope you all have a great Valentines Day!

Spoiled

2009-02-11T16:31:00.005-05:00

Sometimes we need little things in our life to remind us how fortunate we are to live in this country with all of our luxuries, and even when money is tight we, as Americans, are all rich and spoiled.

It started on Thursday. Class ended early so I was home a couple of hours early thinking I would get some studying done before we went to the Conway Twitty show. Well, I had done some homework and walked outside, I don't even remember why and there was water all over the front walk. I immediately knew that a pipe in the wall had burst. It took until Friday afternoon to get it fixed, so we lived without water for a day and a half. It drove me crazy not to be able to take a bath, and of course theres the potty thing, and even something as simple as brushing your teeth is impossible without running water.

Then yesterday I got home from school, early again, (maybe that should tell me something) and the power had just went out. A transformer down the street had blown. I had planned to come home and cook for the boys and I needed to check some stuff for school on the internet. I called Duke Power and they said we would have our power back on by 9. So instead of doing what I planned, we went to McDonalds, I did take my schoolwork and read it while Braxton played on the playground and then we went to the mall. We got home about 8:45 and the power was on!!!

We don't think about how much we have and how much we take forgranted! There are places around the world that do not have running water or electricity and I cannot function for even 1 day without these things! I admit it, I am spoiled.

I am blessed and I thank God that I was born in this country to my parents! I pray that I remember this lesson for a long time!!

A wonderful evening

2009-02-06T10:16:00.003-05:00

As I posted in my blog last night, Robert had bought me tickets to "Conway Twitty, The man, the music, the musical". After the concert we met my sister, her boyfriend and my 2 aunts at Krispy Kreme for donuts and conversation. We had finished our donuts and were talking and a lady walked in with a backstage pass on, Robert kept looking at her and telling me that he thought it was one of Conway's daughters, and I blew him off and thought he was crazy. He kept insisting that it was one of the daughters and wanted me to talk to her, but I hesitated thinking that it was probably a stage hand. Well, Robert spoke to her and asked her what her name was and she replied, Kathy Twitty. She got her donuts and sat down in the booth beside us. At this point I did go over and talk to her and let her know how much her dad's music had meant in my mom's life. She told us that her sister, Joni was in the car and would be inside in a minute when she got off the phone. Joni did join us minutes later and we sat and talked for about an hour! It was amazing, they were so down to earth and I loved watching them talk about their dad! It was the best Christmas gift ever. I so felt my mom with me last night!!!

The autograph I got from them so that I could prove to my sister that I had met Conway's daughters who had written and produced the show we had just watched.

Hello Darlin

2009-02-05T12:35:00.002-05:00

I am so excited about tonight! My mom was a huge fan of Conway Twitty, if he came in the area she would be there. In fact, when she was sick Conway was coming to Greenville for a concert an I had contacted the radio station that was sponsoring his concert to see if he would come by our home to see her. The day after she died, the radio station contacted me and Conway had agreed to come visit her! She would have met him if she could have hung on just a few more days!

My husband knows how much she loved him and bought me tickets to "Conway Twitty, The Musical" for Christmas. He said that he knew I missed her so bad, especially at Christmas so he wanted to give me a part of her and that was his way of doing it. So the musical is tonight. My sister and her boyfriend and two of my moms sisters are all going tonight, our tickets are not near each other, but we will meet up afterwards at Krispy Kreme. I am so excited for this little break since I have been so stressed out from school! It almost as if mom is with me today!!!

Thanks again to my sweet hubby, Robert for the thoughtful gift!!!

My latest test grade

2009-02-02T17:49:00.003-05:00

I got a 88 B on this latest test. I am beginning to feel more comfortable with taking her tests and kmowing how to study for them! Please keep praying for me, I am loving nursing school even though it may be the biggest challenge I have ever faced in my life!

Update on my 1st test

2009-01-27T22:02:00.002-05:00

Well, I got my test back today, I scored 81.5 on it. I am not thrilled, but am happy that I made a C because in order to pass nursing school, you have to pass with at least a C, whic is an 80. I have another test in this class on Thursday and pray that I do better now that I know how to study and what to expect on the test. It is particularly hard for me to accept a C, but maybe God is humbling me!!! Thanks for your prayers and support!

Rene'

A good afternoon

2009-01-23T18:33:00.002-05:00

Today I spent the majority of the day with my favorite aunt, my mom's oldest sister. I have an assignment in my nursing class to interview someone that is at least 70 years old about their life. The assignment had interview questions to ask the person you are interviewing and use that information to write a paper about their life. I chose my aunt who is 78 years old. I enjoyed my afternoon learning about her memories of her childhood. I was amazed at the things she remembered. Her first memory was when she was 4 years old, the night their barn burned down. That was a big deal because grandpa, her father, made his living as a farmer. All of their animals were in the barn. She could remember seeing her daddy going into the barn on the end that she was on and not seeing him come out the other side with animals that he was rescuing. She remembered a neighbor holding her as she screamed for her daddy, thinking that he was lost to the fire. She shared stories of her memories of her younger brother's death and funeral and the fact that she met her dad's mom and dad for the first time at the funeral because her mom and grandpa's parents did not get along. The funeral was the first memory that she has of going to church, even though she was in church her entire life, she clearly remembered the organ and exactly where she sat at the funeral and who was holding her and she remembered watching her mom and dad at the funeral.

She talked about her memories of her dad's stroke and death and the 25 days that he was in the hospital between the two events. She spoke about my mother, her baby sister, and her illness and death. She also spoke about how close she was with my mom. When my mom was born it was my aunts responsibility to take care of her and my uncle who was three years older than my mom. My mom always looked up to her like a mom, they were very close. In fact most of my childhood memories revolve around my aunt, uncle, their 2 daughters their boat and Lake Bowen in Spartanburg, SC.

I loved hearing her talking about her daughters and how much they meant to her and how much the time she spent with them, especially one summer that she took off just to spend with them. She has so much pride in her 3 grandchildren and her newly born great grandson.

She repeatedly spoke about how real death was now, and how she wasn't scared to die. She also talked about how satisfied she was with her life and how now is the best time of her life because she understands a lot and she doesn't feel like she needs as much as she thought she did when she was younger.

I think she enjoyed talking about the memories, but I really believe she enjoyed spending time with me, I know that I surely enjoyed spending time with her and plan to make more time to spend with her and other people in my family that I have neglected lately.

What a wonderful day!! Thanks to my teacher for the assignment.

Another first

2009-01-22T21:04:00.002-05:00

I had my first test of the first semester of nursing school! I think I did pretty well, but you never know until you get the test back. Next week I have 2 test and a skills check off, to ensure that I know the skills I should to go into the hospital and do clinicals. The 1st check off is handwashing, oral care, bed baths and making beds. Robert volunteered to let me do as many baths on him as I needed to. Even though this is very tiring and mentally draining, I am having so much fun, I am meeting lots of new people who have the same goal as I do, to become a great nurse! I will update with my grade, if I want to publish it, next week!!!

Snow day

2009-01-20T20:04:00.002-05:00

Well, we had snow last night and they cancelled school today. I looked out of the window and could not believe they cancelled school, you could still see the grass and there was no snow on the road. Evidentally other parts of the county had more snow than we did here. I am from the south and love snow and love the way things close down so that I can enjoy the day with my kids, but today was so bad that by the time I decided to go outside to take pictures it was all melted away! Well at least I got to stay at home and watch this great day in history!

First Week of School

2009-01-15T18:20:00.003-05:00

Well, one week down and many more to go!!! WOW, I am overwhelmed, so much information to absorb. We have a test this Thursday, check off on skills on the next Thursday and another test and a math test in 5 weeks that if we don't make a 95 on it we are out of the program. It is very tiring, but I am already loving it! It is so much fun getting to know the other people in class. Please keep me in your prayers, my brain does not function as well as it once did!!

Pictures

2009-01-10T10:11:00.007-05:00

Braxton got a digital camera for Christmas, thank goodnes that they are really inexpensive now! You never know now when you will get your picture taken so you have to be careful what you do around him! These are a few of the pictures he took. I think this lets you know what his favorite gifts were this year!

The picture of me putting up Christmas decorations! Love this one, I had no idea he took it until I downloaded them for him!

Love Lost?

2009-01-09T22:02:00.002-05:00

I stood in the livingroom of an aquaintance who had lost her husband recently. I went to high school with her husband and Robert and I both worked with him. Robert was recently moved into his office and in the process of moving his stuff in, he found some pictures and art that his boys had made in the desk. Robert thought we should drop them off to his wife, he figured she would want them. He was correct, she seemed so happy to get the stuff and told Robert if he found anything else, please make sure she got it. As we stood and chatted she started talking about Chris and how it was still so unreal, she could not believe she was not married anymore, that she was there alone. She has 2 little boys who keep her quite busy, she says that helps somewhat. I could see her love for her husband in her eyes.

This morning when I was reading on the Lamberths website how Angie already feels alone after Mark went to be with Jesus yesterday after a month of struggling to live after his accident I started to think about death and love. I have lost people in my life by death, but not a spouse. I watched my dad after he lost my mom and my sister after she lost her husband, but have never experienced anything like this myself. I experienced a divorce, the ties of love are severed in a divorce, you make a choice that for some reason you can no longer be with that person, your feelings you once felt are no longer there, at least not like they once were. But, to lose someone you still love, by no choice of your own, how do you move on? Do you ever stop loving that person? If you do move on do you talk to your new love interest about that person?

These are just some things that went through my mind.

I want to end this by saying that my heart goes out to Angie and Shannon, they both have such a long and winding road ahead, they suddenly by no choice of there own are now single parents raising boys alone. I will pray for them every day, for strength that only God can give them.

Back to School

2009-01-05T16:34:00.002-05:00

I am getting so nervous as the first day of classes grow nearer. This is such a comitment and it takes so much time away from my family! I know that I am doing this for the family as much as I am for my self, but I still worry about not spending as much time with them. I do praise God for the months that he has given me with them since I have been laid off. I have had time to spend with the boys in the afternoon and have actually been able to cook real meals. I know that with my schedule I will still be able to cook at least casseroles or in the Crock Pot.

I am sure that all will be well as long as I continue to seek God and his will.

Happy 2009

2009-01-01T18:16:00.002-05:00

We had a great time last night! Robert and I went to some of our friends house and played Rock Band on the Wii. That is way harder than it looks! We watched the ball drop on ABC, poor Dick Clark looks so bad, but he has done the show now for 36 years!!

I hope you all have a great New Year!

Christmas at our House

2008-12-26T14:23:00.009-05:00

We had a wonderful day! Braxton was sooo excited this year! He did not get as much as he has in the past, but he was so happy with everything he got! Devin too, they were both so greatful for everything! We had so much fun watching the boys faces light up!! Sunday my sister and dad will come over to my house and we will have our family gathering! Can't wait!

My hummingbird feeder, my husband knows I love to watch the butterflies and hummingbirds.
A Christmas hug!

Robert showing off his Syracuse shirt!

Braxton showing off his Syracuse shirt!

Braxton got a digital camera, he was surprised!

Devin and his Converse shoes! (or are they boats?)

Devin's new hoodie!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T16:48:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas traditions

2008-12-23T18:19:00.002-05:00

This year my sister is in Florida and won't be here on Christmas day so we are going to have our Christmas dinner that I usually do on Christmas Eve on the Sunday after Christmas, so Robert declared that I will not cook 2 big meals, it is too much work and he won't allow it! I was glad to hear it actually.

I told the boys that I thought I would make Nacho soup on Christmas Eve and we would have our "big" dinner when Tracy came over and they were thrilled! Devin even thought we should make the Nacho soup our new tradition for Christmas Eve. He said, mom, you work so hard that you can't enjoy the time with us, so why don't we just make the soup our new tradition!

What a smart husband and kid I have. It will be so much more fun to cook the big meal with my sister on Sunday, she plans to come and help me! The older we get the more fun doing things like that together are! I am so excited about our new tradition!

Christmas Service Rocked

2008-12-21T22:40:00.002-05:00

New Spring Christmas service was awesome today! Perry is so awesome, he used the Christmas story in a way that I had never heard it used before. He focused on King Herod! Over 200 people received Christ today throuhgout the 3 campuses. It was really cool, because Robert had invited a girl from his work to come, he has been on her for a while and she conceded tonight and she accepted Christ tonight!!! How awesome! Inviting people, well sometimes even begging or bugging people to come to church works!!!!

Christmas with my boys

2008-12-20T11:44:00.004-05:00

Storm came over on Sunday and spent some time with me and his brothers! He will be with his daddy on Christmas day so I wanted to spend some time with him and give him his gifts. We had such a good time! I love it when all 3 of the boys are together! I so love my boys!!!

This is such a good picture of Braxton and Storm, I don't know what Devin's problem is! What handsome boys I have!
I thought the days of them picking their noses were long gone! They had such a good time!

The "Real" Santa is in Charlotte, NC

2008-12-18T07:45:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful night last night. We decided to go to Charlotte, NC (about a hour trip) to Bass Pro Shop because they have Santa's Wonderland until Christmas Eve night. They have Santa and some retro games like a Red Ryder bb gun shooting range! It was so fun! We did not tell the boys where we were going. We told them we were going to the store, when we got past Gaffney the boys realized that we weren't just going to the store, but had not figured out where we were going. In fact, Devin figured it out when we got off of the exit, but Braxton did not until we pulled into the parking lot, and he had no idea that Santa was there.

We went inside and found Santa, when Braxton saw him he looked at me and said, "how did they get the real Santa". Look at him, he has a real beard and everything! He is the real santa! He was so excited! We played the games for a while and then left.

On the way home Robert decided to go through Macadenville, a town in NC that everyone in the town puts up lights! It was great. We went on a good night, it only took us about 30 minutes to go through the entire town. On the weekends it takes 2 or 3 hours due to traffic!

The boys enjoyed it. Even Devin said that even though the activities weren't some that he would have chosen, he enjoyed the family time!

WOW! Girls are sooo different than boys!

2008-12-14T14:35:00.002-05:00

OK. You all know that I have 3 boys. I have gotten used to dealing with boys and realized last night that I have no clue how to deal with girls! A friend of mine had a Christmas gathering to go to last night and did not have a sitter, her parents usually watch her kids for her but they were out of town for the weekend, so I agreed to watch Haley 7, and Zack 3 1/2. They are such good kids and had lots of fun with my boys. Well, when it came to bedtime I took them upstairs and put them in bed. Zack asked for something to drink, because he may get thirsty during the night. I explained to him that I did not have a cup for him to keep upstairs. He told me he knew I had cups and I told him that I didn't have one with a lid on it. He proclaimed that I needed to get 2 sippy cups for the next time he was here so that one could be washed while he was using the other one. I agreed that I would have them next time he stayed and he rolled over and went to sleep.
Haley on the other hand did not want to sleep in the same bed as her brother, so I explained that I did not have another bed and that she would need to sleep with him or in Braxton's bed and Braxton would sleep on the couch. She said that she would just stay in the bed with her brother. I thought that was the end of it and went downstairs to watch TV with Devin. In a few minutes I heard someone coming down the stairs and looked up to see Haley, tears streaming down her face proclaiming that she wanted her mommy and daddy, she missed them. I explained to her that mommy and daddy weren't home and the she could not go home tonight, she would have to go back to bed. She turned and went upstairs and again I thought that was the end of it until I heard the bathroom door close and Haley sobbing loudly. I went upstairs and talked to her again and had her to lay down again.
By now I was beginning to lose it, I had done everything I have always done with my boys and their friends that have stayed over and it had always worked in the past, what was I doing wrong? I called Robert exasperated and told him of my plight. He explained to me that girls are different, he has a daughter and remembers some of the drama from her childhood. He told me to see if she wanted to sleep in the papasan chair that is in the bedroom they were in and to console her a little bit and remind her that we had church in the morning and how much fun she would have. So I took his advice and went back upstairs.
When I walked into the room she was still crying, so I asked if she would like to sleep in the chair, to which she replied with a smile, yes and she climbed out of the bed. I laid the papsan chair down flat and it resembled a birds nest because the cushion is brown. I told her that it looked like a birds nest and she agreed and laughed. She climbed in the chair with her baby doll and I covered her with her blanket. Within 5 minutes she was sound asleep. When she got up this morning she declared to the boys that she got to sleep in the birds nest. We went to church and she was completely happy until her parents came and got her.
As much as I wanted girls I am now greatful to God that he gave me boys!

Today is Rene' Day

2008-12-11T10:14:00.002-05:00

My husband has declared today "Rene' Day". He told me that if he came home and I have cleaned anything he will be angry. So, I decided I would start the day off with some Starbucks. I got so excited when I got there, they have Gingersnap Latte, that is my favorite, yes even better than Pumkin Spice! And now I am back at home now, I am going to sit around and read my book, "Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks, (it is going to be a movie next year) and just enjoy doing nothing (if I can). I am like most females, it is hard for me to sit here and see dirty dishes and not wash them, but I will fulfill my husbands wishes and take a day to relax, just for me, so I will be nicer, just for him!!!

In this time of year, remember to take some time off for yourself, it is so important.
You can't take care of others if you don't take care of yourself!! How do you relax and take care of you?

Christmas without Parents

2008-12-10T20:34:00.002-05:00

I was on facebook today and read a note that one of my friends from high school wrote. She lost her parents several years ago in a bank robbery. She was saying in her note how this was such a hard time for her because everyone talks about going to be with their family and although she is close with her brother and sister and she has great in-laws, she still misses her mom and dad. She talks about having a Santa collection because her dad had one and baking the bread that her mom used to bake.

I am so lucky to still have my dad, but I do find myself thinking of my mom a lot during this time of year, she was such a child around Christmas time! She loved everything about Christmas. She loved having everyone she loved near her and packed as many people in our house as she could. She loved decorating the house, as my sister put it, it looked as if Santa's shop exploded in our house, every room, including the bathrooms was decorated. She loved the Christmas lights, we would ride around every year and look at lights. Every Christmas Eve she read The Night Before Christmas and dad followed it with the True Christmas story from the Bible. I find myself doing a lot of the same things, my way of keeping her alive and passing her on to my children. She was so much the Spirit of Christmas, you felt the love of Jesus when you were in the room with her, I miss her dearly.

Big Boy

2008-12-08T13:34:00.003-05:00

Braxton was helping me get wood in to start a fire yesterday and I told him he needed to put on some shoes before he went outside. There were several pairs sitting at the front door and he chose Robert's work boots! He was so cute. It amazes me how big he is getting!

Santa

2008-12-06T15:48:00.003-05:00

We have a fireplace in our house, the real deal that burns wood, so we had to go to get a CSL (Creosote Sweeping Log) to burn to help prevent a fire in the chimney. We were at Home Depot and they were expensive ($14.00). I thought that Wal-Mart had them cheaper, so since Wal-mart is in the same shopping center I drove down to check out their price and left Robert and Braxton in Home Depot. While I was in Wal-mart they announced that Sant a was in the Children's section taking pictures with the kids and the pictures were free. I went back to Home Depot, because the logs were the same price at Wal-Mart. We finished at Home Depot and then went into Wal-Mart for Robert to look for something that they did not have at Home Depot that he needed, while he was looking I took Braxton to the back of the store, he had no idea why, I did not tell him Santa was there. When he saw him he was surprised and excited! This is the picture we got for free!!!

Braxton and Rudolph

2008-12-04T08:40:00.005-05:00

Last night Braxton and I watched Rudolph, another one of those must watch Christmas shows. Devin was at church, but would not have watched it anyway, he is too old and too cool to watch these shows with me anymore. I am so thankful that Braxton is still into it. He has a little Rudolph that his "Aunt Grandma" had given him a couple of years ago, so he had to get it to watch the show with. He was sooooo funny, he acted it out with his Rudolph. I have attached some pictures below:

He and Rudolph are intently watching at this point.

Then came the moment when Clarisse told Rudolph he was cute!

I'm not sure what part this was, but he was talking for Rudolph! It was adorable!!!

Dickens of a Christmas

2008-12-03T13:16:00.007-05:00

It has become a tradition for us to go downtown Spartanburg for the Christmas tree lighting. It is such a fun time, they have people dressed up in Dicken's era clothes walking up and down the streets, Christmas Carolers, and live window displays. Santa, also dressed in the Dickens era is there. They have people in different areas reading Christmas books to the children, hot chocolate and horse drawn carriage rides and of course the tree lighting at Denny's plaza. It was last night and we did not get to go because it was quite chilly and Braxton has a cold and is losing his voice, so I borrowed a few of the pictures that were in our local paper (online of course) this morning.

The lighting of the tree!
Christmas carolers.

Horse drawn carriage.

And of course, Santa and Mrs. Clause.

Holiday Traditions

2008-12-01T18:10:00.004-05:00

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

Tonight on ABC the cartoon version will air at 8:30 p.m. We do not miss this animated classic. My son Devin says that I am so funny because even though I have seen this every year since I was little I still act like a little kid watching it the first time. The boys and I will have hot chocolate and sit together in the floor and watch the Grinch steal Christmas. I can't wait!!!

What are some of the traditions that you do each year?

It's beginning to look like Christmas!

2008-11-30T17:47:00.010-05:00

Here are the pictures of the house decorated!

The kids tree upstairs.
The fireplace. Yes, the cat has her own little stocking.

My purple Christmas tree. I know that it is not "traditional" but last year Robert bought me purple ornaments because that is my favorite color and the tree turned out to be the prettiest one!

The table centerpiece with the tree in the background.

The tree in the dining room that Braxton and I decorated together!

The cat must have been worn out after all that decorating!!!

Christmas Decorations

2008-11-29T17:18:00.007-05:00

The day before Thanksgiving we put up all 3 of my trees. I took pictures of the kids decorating the one that is upstairs. That one is theirs. I let them decorate it completely by themselves. I give them the ornaments that I use on that tree and let them do their thing. The two downstairs, I am a little more picky with. Braxton and I decorated one of them together and it was soo much fun. He loves telling everyone that we did it! It is one of the first things you see when you walk in my front door and people comment on it a lot! It brings a great big smile to his face and a sense of pride. I will post pictures of it and the rest of the decorations later. For now here are the pictures of the kids decorating their tree.

Devin "fluffing" the tree after we pulled it out of the box.
Braxton hanging ornaments.

The boys and our neighbors little girls hanging ornaments.

Devin did such a good job "fluffing" the tree. Here he is laying under the tree so he could get to the back of the tree!

He's 10

2008-11-29T17:08:00.006-05:00

This is what happens when you let a 10 year old a camera!!!

Unwelcomed guest

2008-11-25T20:31:00.002-05:00

As I posted last week Braxton had a stomach bug. He was sick for a day or two and then he was fine. This bug started at his dad's house and everyone there has had it and all been really sick with it. So far we have all been fine though, well, today Devin came home from school and said his stomach felt bad and withing minutes was in the bathroom puking! He has done this about 5 times in the last 4 hours. I am starting to feel kinda yucky, but am not sure if it's the bug or just hearing him! I have to start cooking tomorrow and am trying to finish my Christmas decorations. I pray that I am not sick tomorrow, there is no way I can get everything done on Thursday.

I love the Holiday Season

2008-11-23T13:22:00.003-05:00

Don't you just love the Holiday season? Starting at Thanksgiving and ending at the New Year is my favorite time of year. I seem to focus more on the things that I have not on what I don't have and on making everyone else around me happier. Even though we have more things to spend our money on and I have a lot more stuff to do, I am always a little happier. I love to watch little kids and their excitement at this time of the year. I also love watching older people, they are almost as excited as the kids. This time of year so often brings back happy childhood memories. My favorite memories of my mom are around this time of year. I can remember getting up on Thanksgiving and smelling the turkey cooking, and her cooking all day and how much she enjoyed everyone being around and the fellowship. I remember "helping" her decorate the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. She always played Christmas music and we would have cookies and hot chocolate while we were decorating it. I remember Christmas Eve dinners with my mom's best friend, Wanda who had no family in SC, so she had her and her family at our house, this quickly became a tradition. I think that is why I am so happy at this time of the year, I remember the joy it brought my mom and in turn me.

I have tried throuhg the boys childhood to make memories for them that will last their entire lives. We have made the ornaments for the tree on several years. One year we made Ginger Bread People ornments, painted them and decorated them. Devin and I made the dough and cut them out. Storm and I painted them a gingerbread color and decorated them. We then decorated the tree together, Braxton helped to decorate the tree that year, but he was too little to help with the ornaments. I always took several days to bake cookies with them.

What do you do to make memories with your family?

Crazy week!

2008-11-21T11:50:00.003-05:00

This has been one crazy week. I have been running all over town trying to get everything I need to get done for school before the deadline. I had the funeral on Monday and then on Wednesday morning, the school called and Braxton was throwing up, so I spent all day Wednesday taking care of and cleaning up after him. Then on Thursday morning Robert had to be at the Airport for his one day trip to Alabama! We got up at 4:00 and I dropped him off at the Airport and then came home, woke Devin up and got him out of the door to the bus. I let Braxton sleep in, I did not want to send him to school until I knew he could hold something on his stomach. He did well, he ate pretzels for breakfast and then grilled cheese for lunch and had no problem with either of those and was acting like he felt fine so I let him go with his semi-weekly visit with his MiMi. I then had to go back to the Airport to pick Robert up. We got back home just in time for the youth group to meet at the house. This morning was another early morning, 4:00 again so poor Robert could drive the 3 hour drive to Atlanta for business for the day, he should be back sometime this afternoon. I then had to go back to the health department to get the 2nd part of my 2 part TB test. I am now back home, just finished cleaning the kitchen, started supper and potato salad for my neighbors birthday party for tomorrow night. Now to fold clothes and clean the house, because tomorrow I will be in school all day with my CPR class.

I guess it could be worse, I could be bored with nothing to do!!!

Running club and hot cocoa

2008-11-19T10:27:00.003-05:00

I am thankful for my warm clothes, coat and mittens and hot chocolate. It is really cold in SC this week. Braxton had a "fun run" yesterday and we had to sit outside in the cold wind! My neighbors daughter, Abita is also in the running club and her mom had to work, so she and her sister came with us. Poor Ritika was freezing! She had to sit in the stands with me, in our school you cannot be in the running club until you are in the 3rd grade and she is only in the 2nd. On the way to the car, I said when we get home we will make some hot cocoa. Both girls said that they had never had it before and then quickly decided that they had tasted some in 1st grade when they had PJ day at school, but that it did not have marshmallows in it. I asked them if they would like me to get some marshmallows and some cocoa mix while we were at the store so they could try some good cocoa and of course they said yes! We came home and drank hot cocoa with marsmallows in it, not the little ones that are already in some mix, we bought the miniature marshmallows. The girls both seemed to enjoy it, but I think Ritika liked it more.

When we got home I started a fire before I made the cocoa, I think they liked that the best. Ritika kept saying, it is so warm! I am glad that it is getting cold, it is helping me to get into the holiday mood.

What things do you do to help keep warm when it is cold outside?

Busy Day

2008-11-17T17:45:00.002-05:00

Today was the deadline to pay my deposit to hold my spot in the nursing program. I had to see my case manager at CareerSource in order to get the voucher for the deposit and take it to the school to ensure they got it in time. This normally would only take a few minutes, but of course, today when I was on a time schedule, it took about two hours. It always seems like when you are in a hurry it takes longer to do everything. I finally got that taken care of and then it was time to go to the funeral, so Braxton and I made our way there. I expected that the church part of the funeral would be around and hour, of course I was wrong again, it was an hour and a half. Braxton was good for the first hour, but kept watching the clock because I told him we should be through by 2:00. When it got to be 2:00 he started saying, it should be over soon, it's 2, and then he would whisper, it's after 2, why are they still talking? And then he just laid his little head on my shoulder. It was quite emotional for him, he cried most of the funeral. This is the 2nd person very close to him that he has lost in the last 11 months. His Gammy (his dad's mom) died on New Year's Eve at the age of 59 with a heart attack, and now Myra, who was like a grandmother to him. When the funeral was over, I left him with his MiMi (his dad's step-mom) so that he could go to the burial with them and then I was off to finish my to do list for school.

I then had to go get a drug test done. This is not the normal pee in the cup test, you pee in the cup, but the person administering the test stands in the bathroom with you and watches you go! I am glad that I don't have a shy bladder. After that it was off to the school to register for the CPR class that I have to take. Then it was off to Wal-Mart to pick up my allergy medicine. So finally I was through and able to come home and get in my really soft PJ's I got for my birthday! I am glad to be through for the day, tomorrow I will have to go get my blood drawn and then Friday I should be able to get my last shot and the last step of the TB test. I am exhausted and haven't even started school! What does January have in store for me???

Thankful day 4

2008-11-17T17:41:00.002-05:00

I am thanful for my car and that gas has went down enough that I can afford to drive it. I don't think we realize how lucky we are in America that almost every family has 2 cars. I know I often forget that a car is a Luxury item in many countries.

Death and Love

2008-11-16T13:28:00.003-05:00

This past week my ex-husbands aunt, whom he was very close to passed away. She had been ill for quiet a few years, but we were still caught off guard by her death. This aunt was like a grandmother to my boys, in fact Braxton called her "Aunt Grandma". She was part of my family and my life for 14 years. She was the one person that always remembered my birthday and made it special for me, she wanted to fill in the empty space my mom had left in the best manner that she could. She knew she would not be my mom, but she tried to fill that void as best she could. I am so glad that she was in my life and miss the role she played in my life. I will never forget the kindness she showed to me and the love she gave my children! The boys are so blessed to have experienced her unconditional love.

I talked to her dauhgter today and she was asking me how old I was when my mom died and we paralelled our experiences somewhat. I told her that I knew her mother loved her dearly and she replied, "I know that she loved me, I just hope that she knew I loved her, and she burst into tears". This shocked me because this girl was always there for her mom and sacrificed so much during the past several years. She then went on to say that she felt bad because in the past 19 months, since she had her son, she had chosen him, her own child over her mom. She actually felt guilty for taking care of her child over her mom. What do you say to that? I told her that I was sure that it made her mom proud that she was such a good mother and that she put her child's needs above everything else. I also asked her, didn't you tell her that you loved her every day? And she replied yes I did. I told her that there was no doubt in my mind that she knew how dearly she loved her.

This just reminds me how important it is to tell the people in your life that you love them, but more importantly go the extra mile to SHOW them how much you love them and acknowledge to them that you know that they love you, so that if tomorrow never comes they will have no doubts that you loved them and that you know they loved you!!

Thankful day 3

2008-11-15T13:46:00.001-05:00

I am thankful for running water. I am thankful that I can go to the bathroom inside my house and flush the toilet and know that everything will be taken away by the runnig water, for the warm bath I take in my own tub, for the water I use to wash my clothes and dishes.

Pictures of I'm a Stalker Blog Party

2008-11-14T13:30:00.008-05:00

Me, Carlos, Heather and Robert

Heather's Nana

Cookie chatting

Stephanie, who organized this wonderful event

Carlos

And of Course Heather

Shot Day

2008-11-14T12:01:00.002-05:00

I have to go today for my shots for school. I have to get 4 shots and my TB test to prove I don't have TB so that I can go into the hospitals for my clinicals. Of course, today I feel like I am going to puke, not because I know I have to get shots, I just feel sick and achy! And of course the shots won't help this at all!!! My sweet husband is going to take me to the Health Department so he can hold my hand like my mom did when I got them the first time when I was 2. I am lucky to have him.

Thankful day 2

2008-11-14T11:36:00.002-05:00

I am thankful that I have a home where I can stay warm and dry and will stop complaining that it needs to be cleaned. I will be thankful that I have a house to clean.

Thankful day 1

2008-11-13T12:49:00.005-05:00

Starting today through Thanksgiving I will post at least one thing I am thankful for.
In these times of economic hardships it is so easy to complain about what we don't have and not focus on what we do have to be thankful for. So these posts are to help remind me of everything I do have.

I am thankful that I have the opportunity to go back to school and that I was accepted into nursing school and God has provided a way for me to go and not go further into debt.

Sex everyday for 7 days

2008-11-13T08:34:00.002-05:00

I was watching the Early Show this morning and they had Ed Young, the Pastor of Fellowship church in Grapevine Texas on the show. I don't know if you have ever heard or watched him, but he is great! In fact, I think that is the church Heather of Whittaker Woman was last week with Carlos. Anyway, Ed has issued a challenge to all married couples in his church starting this Sunday to have sex every day during the week. I am sure that he has some very happy men in his church and probably some very stressed women. He made the point on national TV that GOD invented sex and that we had let culture take it over and it is time to bring the bedroom back into church and God back into the bedroom! WOW! What a powerful statement. I can't wait to see the results of this "sexperiment" as Ed called it. My husband is on board and wants to know why Perry has not tried this one yet!!!

Shots aren't just for kids!

2008-11-11T15:50:00.002-05:00

I got the good news on Saturday that I was excepted into the nursing program at Spartanburg Community College, so on Monday I started getting everything together that I need to ensure my spot in the program. I thought that the immunizations would be easy to get so I went to the Health Department, they no longer have my records and suggested that I go to my high school, they should have it in my records. So I drove across town to my high school, they do not have the records on site so they will have to request them from the company that stores them off site and they cannot guarantee me that my immunization records would be in the transcript. Since this would cost $10 and take up to 2 weeks, I decided I would check at the college because they have my high school transcripts. I drive back across town to the college and go to the records department. Guess what? They no longer have them. So I decide that I will call Greenville Tech. to see if they have my high school transcripts and if my immunization records are attached. Of course, they have the transcripts but my immunizations are not a part of them. So now I decide to call my dad to see if by any chance he still has them. He looked where he keeps all of our vital records and found my sisters and my brothers, but not mine. I think he gave them to me before I went to Europe and after living in Germany, Kansas and then back to South Carolina they have been lost. So, I say all of that to say that I now have to get them all done over again on Friday, and this time I won't have my mommy there to make it all better!! I wonder if they'll give me a sucker or at least some stickers if I am good.

My 40th Birthday Party

2008-11-10T17:30:00.014-05:00

Yesterday was my 40th birthday so Robert gave me a birthday party at my favorite Mexican Restaurant in Spartanburg. He invited our closest friends and family. Below are some pictures:

My BLACK cake! The black was sprayed on the outside of the white icing.
Daddy and Braxton.

The back of Tracy's (my sister) head, Liz Haynes, Me and Faith Haynes

The Snyder family Alan, Zack, Melissa and Hailey

The Gregory's- Thomas, Robert, Susan and Robbie

The Ghandi's Di, Kiran, Braxton, Ritika and Abita

Me in my birthday hat. My sister is sitting down behind me with her boyfriend "uncle" Mike.

Robert and the Birthday Girl

Di and Me

My daddy has to put icing on my nose every year. He has done it every year that I can remember!

Devin and Shannon.

Great Weekend

2008-11-10T07:54:00.002-05:00

This has been a wonderful weekend! My weekend started on Saturday when I got my acceptance letter to nursing school. This has been a dream for 10 years now since I decided to leave school to stay home with the boys after Braxton was born. I am so blessed that God has given me another opportunity to finish my degree. And then Robert and I traveled to Atlanta to the blogger party. We had a wonderful time getting to know so many of the other bloggers. Even though it is not but about a 3 hour drive, we decided that we would stay in Atlanta over night, so we went back to the room and just spent time together! That was nice! Then on Sunday morning we got up and came home to go to church at NewSpring in Greenville. Clayton King is awesome, we are so blessed to have him as our teaching pastor and the back up when Perry needs a break! Then after church we picked up the kids and came home to take a nap! Then we went to my favorite Mexican Restaurant with a group of our closest friends and celbrated my 40th birthday! It was a great weekend! I will post pictures later!

Exciting Weekend

2008-11-08T10:08:00.002-05:00

This is going to be a busy and exciting weekend for me. This afternoon we will be traveling to Roswell, GA for a Bloggers Party hosted by Heather Whittaker of Whittaker Woman. I can't wait to meet all of my fellow bloggers that also follow Heather and her wonderfully funny family. Several of these people are members of the NewSpring Florence campus, can't wait to meet my fellow NewSpringers.

Then tomorrow we will come home and go to church. I can't miss this series, beautiful, this has meant so much to me and my Christian growth. After church I will get my boys and we will celebrate my 40th birthday! I am excited about this birthday, I am not sure why, but it does not bother me! I guess I still feel young because I am challenging myself by going back to school and finally following my dream and passion of becoming a hospice or oncology nurse.

Can't wait!

Turning 40

2008-11-06T14:20:00.007-05:00

My birthday is Sunday, November 9th, I will be 40! I am actually pretty excited about it, it means God has allowed me to reach yet another milestone in my life. I am not depressed like some people get at 40. I am however reflecting on my life and especially my mom's life.

A little history, my mom died from breast cancer at the age of 44. She discovered her lump when she was 41 and it had probably been there for 2 years. The closer I get to those ages the more I reflect on her life and all of the moments we shared!

My mom and I were very close up to the very end. We talked about everything, things most girls are afraid to talk to their parents about as teenagers. I know that she didn't always like what I told her, but she always tried her best to understand.

I have tried very hard over my children's life to be the kind of mom I had! There are many times that I feel that I have failed miserably and other times that I rejoice that she would be proud of how I handled the situation.

I started looking for pictures of me and her together and couldn't find many because she did not like pictures being taken of her. I am a lot like her in that way, I don't like pictures being taken of me either. I will be changing this when it comes to pictures of me and my boys, I don't want them to look for pictures of me and them together and not be able to find them because I didn't want anyone to remember how fat I think I am.

Below are the few pictures I found of us together!

My mom and me at my first birthday!
My mom and me at my Jr. prom, she turned 40 that July. (love the 80's hair)

My mom and me at the first prom I attended.

My sister Tracy, my mom and me at mom and dad's 25th wedding anniversary. (again love the 80's hair on Tracy and me!)

Election

2008-11-05T10:16:00.002-05:00

I am so glad that the election is over! No matter if you are pleased with the results it is now time to get behind the new President and build him up! Now is the time to start praying for him and his family. This is a very difficult time in our country with the wars and the economy, it will not be easy to lead for anyone! Let's pray for all of our leaders, both newly elected and those who have been serving for years! Pray for guidance for them and for the entire country!

VOTING

2008-11-04T12:44:00.002-05:00

WOW! Robert and I voted this morning. Polls open in SC at 7:00 a.m. so we decided to be there early so we would not have to wait so long! WRONG!!! We were there a little before 6:30 and did not finish until 8:00. That is a good thing! Voter turn out is great! I don't care who you vote for as long as you throw your hat in the ring! It is so important to have your voice be heard and to excercise this huge right and privaledge. Don't forget the men and women that have fought and lost their lives so that we would be free to vote!!!

Praise God for this country and our freedoms!!!

November already?

2008-11-03T10:39:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe that it is already November! I talked to my sister yesterday and we were making plans for Christmas. I cannot believe it is already that time of year again! I do so love this time of year! Not just the Holidays but the fact that it is cooler outside and I start baking stuff that makes the house smell good and the heat from the kitchen warms the entire house! I baked apples last night! They were so good! It has been 18 years since I had one, I baked them for my mom when she was sick! I also baked her a pumpking pie and forgot to put sugar in it, by the way girls, pumpkin pie must have sweetener of some sort in it or it is bitter!! That is a story for another day! This time of year makes me so sentimental and makes me think of my mom and my childhood a lot, it makes me smile. I hope that when my kids are older they have a special time that they think of their childhood and smile!

For women only

2008-11-02T16:01:00.002-05:00

WOW! This series at church (NewSpring Community Church) has been eye opening. This week Perry was in Australia so they had a guest; Shaunti Feldhahn. She is a bestselling author and is a weekly columnist on women's issues in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She has written a book, for women only what you need to know about the inner lives of men. She has also written similar books for teenage girls and with help from her husband a book for men and teenage boys. The message was wonderful! She has interviewed over 1,000 men to get the information in her book, it is indeed an eye opener! As a gift to every woman that attended Sunday, NewSpring handed out the book. I can barely put it down! I am already 1/4 of a way through it! It has already helped me to understand how to relate to my husband! I can't wait to finish reading it! Girls I highly recommend that you get this book, I assure you it will help your marriage!

Again the book is "for women only-what you need to know about the inner lives of men" by Shaunti Feldhahn. I also would strongly urge you to go to www.newspring.cc and listen to the current series, Beautiful, it has helped me so much!!!

Trick or Treat

2008-11-01T12:14:00.004-04:00

Braxton went Trick or Treating with his "bestest" friends Rhatika and Abita, our neighbors. They got enough candy to fill Wal-mart! We walked around our neighborhood and the neighborhood beside ours. They had a lot of fun but were tired by the time we got home! It was a lot of fun! Check out Heather Whittakers blog @ http://whittakerwoman.typepad.com/.

Braxton and the girls. Rhatika was a Chinese girl and Abita was an Evil witch.

My evil wizard!