Out with the old.....

Some of you may or may not know, but our clothes dryer has been giving us fits since October. After 3 different trips out by the repairman, we determined its time to say goodbye. Parting, typically, is such sweet sorrow. In this case its, "Adios! See ya!" I am so excited about my new dryer! BIG, hugenormous shout out to my wonderful husband for his dryer research! Now my life can be easier. Although the new dryer is not white on white like I expected, she could be purple and gold at this point and who cares!?!?

This is my memorial to the old dryer. She was a good one. (we all know dryers are female - if they were male, they would be "dry cleaners" and they would deliver!).

Welcome, New Kid on the Block!

Carly's Turn.......

Yesterday was big for us. Carly had the first day of track tryouts. She was ready to run......90 meters into the 100 meter dash her knee dislocated for the fourth time (the first time since her surgery last April). She went down in style skinning the other knee and bruising both hands. We spent this morning in the Orthopedic's office where he determined she tore the ligaments in her knee and tore the lining from her knee cap. Very swollen and in a lot of pain doc drained it and instructed her to do nothing until she comes back to see him in two weeks.

Then came the words neither of us was ready to hear. No more ball. No more running. Just physical therapy and possibly another surgery. Then he turned and instructed his nurse to get her to the cast room. Cast room? OMG!

Now Carly is sporting an awesome blue (Go Panthers!) full leg cast from her hip to her ankle. Doc said "the immoblizing braces are nice, but they can be removed. I want to make sure this knee cap stays in place....."
Carly's upset about not being able to play softball. She sat out last year because of this and now again this year! At least her track coach said she could be the Track Manager! Wow! Carly's response was...."which is about like being the water boy!"

Fever in Action...

One last photo before the season officially ends tonight. (Fever in Gold) Just wanted to share how much I love and appreciate these girls. They make coaching so easy! love you guys!

Thanks Beck! Courtesy of the the i-Phone :)

Go Fever!!!

Tomorrow night is our Upward Basketball Award Ceremony. I cannot believe its already the end of basketball season! I love my girls and all of their hard work! They prayed hard and played hard! Finishing the season undefeated (5-0-1)....simply amazing! Here's a picture of us praying at one of our practices and just thanking God for an awesome opportunity to have fun! Go Fever!

Shout out to Carly for the great photo!

To Flea, or not to Flea...

Ok. Kevin may know the answer to this, but I, on the other hand, do not. CJ's random question of the day was...."how do flea collars work? they make those fleas just jump right off those animals!" I know those little plastic wonders have repellents or medicine or something, but actually, I've never given it that much thought. SO, CJ wants to know why don't we just get one for Winston so we can see how it works? Great idea, except that Winston doesn't have fleas. Dogs that actually spend time outside tend to get fleas. So CJ says, "We can leave him outside, let him get fleas, bring him inside and get him a flea collar." Sounds like alot just to figure out how the flea collar works, but in his 8yr old mind I'm sure it makes sense.......hmmmm

Our conversation about the flea collar ended with...."Alec's birthday is sometime in October." He's random - NEVER boring, but definitely random......

Star Wars?

The three of you that actually read my blog seem to stay curious about what CJ might come up with next. The kid really is funny and can come out of the blue with some crazy stuff. Well, today, on the way to school, he asked me if I believed in Santa. Which, of course, I told him I did. Then he asked if I believed in Star Wars. I told him that I didn't really think it was real. Below is his assessment.....
"About 300 years ago, Star Wars was a real place. And if we had lived there, this is how it would have been."
Dad would be Anakin.....(cause he has a gun that's like a light saber)

I would be Queen Amidala (because she wears alot of makeup)

CJ would be Chewbaca (because he already speaks Wookie, duh!)

And Winston would, of course, be our Ewok......for obvious reasons.

What about the girls, you might ask? Well, I asked too and CJ said, "They are from a whole different world entirely!"

Carly's Home!!!!

Carly rocking the house with Guitar Hero III

WOOHOO! We picked up Carly today. It's so good to have her home safe and sound. She loves spending time at her Dad's and I'm so thankful for that! We are so blessed!

HOWEVER, while visiting, she got 'Guitar Hero III' from her Dad. She's turned out to be an expert and I, well, am not! She's too young to even know the songs! I mean, come on......'Barracuda' by Heart? She had no clue.....anyway. We got, we played, we enjoyed.....or at least she did........

Me shortly after getting Boo-ed off stage with Guitar Hero....

North Georgia Snow!

Today was VERY cold for South LA. Temps dipped into the 30's which pretty much kept me in the house all day. Mimi (Mike's Mom) sent a few pics of the snow that blanketed Atlanta this morning. Isn't it pretty? I miss Georiga's 4 seasons. I really don't like snow, but for some reason, I miss it. Its home for me.......

Date Night

So, Carly is in GA and Mike is hunting, so its just me and CJ. After a long day, yesterday, of working on a surprise for Carly when she returns, CJ and I decided to go out for dinner. I had basketball practice at 6pm, but didn't practice long. Only had a few girls show and it was getting chilly, so we called it and considered it a blessing that we got to shoot some hoops, visit with friends and not freeze. :)

CJ and I decided on my new favorite Mexican rest. in Baton Rouge (thanks to Beck!) Casa Maria. It's awesome! San Antonio is the best, but in Baton Rouge, Casa Maria. As usual, CJ did most of the talking and I tried to stay focused, but he's so random, its difficult. For example, did you know that the hippo can kill with one bite because he has 4 teeth? AND, soft tacos and burritos are the same thing they just like to call them different names to fill up the menu? OMG! Where does he get this stuff? All in all, a good date. OH and I mentioned we were out for date night. CJ didn't like that.....so when I asked what he would call it, he simply replied...."dinner." Still gotta love him......

Laissez les bon temps rouler....

I got this picture yesterday while I was traveling and I just had to share with the three of you that actually read this blog.

This is a picture of one of my best friends ever! Her name is Kelli and, its a crazy, long story, but she's from GA, too AND lives down the street. She's awesome. She and her husband attended the Krewe of Endymion Coronation Ball this past weekend and she sent me a photo. SNAZZY!

What an awesome dress! Don't they look amazing???!!! I just had to share. Love ya, Kel!

Carly's in snow!!

Yesterday, I loaded up Carly and CJ and drove to Alabama to meet Carly's Dad. He lives in N. GA. but whenever she has some time off from school, we'll each drive half way to meet and she can spend time with him! She is now in the N. GA mountains with snow and ice. She's taking pics so check her blog for weather reports.
The 5 hour drive home was just me, CJ and a whole lot of time! This child could talk the horns off a goat! He talked about everything from "why can't we get a blimp? we can keep it in the garage!" to "did you know there is a huge hole in Mexico where the meteor hit? the one that killed all the dinosaurs?" The only chance I got to say a few words was when he figured out that after eating potato chips, his greasy little kid fingers could write on the windows of my car! Then, of course, I got to speak........Best part....we get to go back on Monday and pick her up! :)
Much fun and much love! Oh, and CJ's advice to me.....do not move to Russia to sell Llamas. The money, is in Alpacas. I love this kid!

Rainy Day.....

Not much to post today. It's rained all day and is just plain nasty. Its cold and yucky. I made some deliveries today and one just really sticks out. I visited my friend Traci at her work. She owns a daycare and blesses about 100 children each and every day with love and attention. Today, after just a few minutes in her office I realized - there is a very special place in Heaven for people like her! You could hear children playing and "talking" and yes, some were crying, but all in all it sounded like pure joy! I love that place..........Traci - you are an awesome woman!

So I came home and just hung out in my sweats and then decided to put all my favorite yummies in a pan for an amazing dessert! Starts with a layer of ice cream sandwiches, then a layer of whip cream. Then a drizzle (or more - hehe) of chocolate fudge and a drizzle of caramel fudge. All topped off with chopped pecans (pronounced pee-cans), Beck.

YUM-MY!

Yeah Valentine's Day!

Ok. My husband is so amazing. He just sent me an email showing me the latest in Sprint technology. Those that know me, know that pink is the ONLY color. Some people dream in black and white, some in color. I dream in pink.

So check it out......this is what I want for Valentines Day.

A New Best Friend

CJ got a new best friend yesterday. His first Webkinz! A Koala Bear CJ named Cody. Huge shout out to Aunt Laurie, Uncle Kev and Baby Neil! He opened it after he got home from school and they were inseparable. Played the rest of the afternoon, slept in the same bed and even had breakfast together.

Thanks to Sam and Ms. Paula for helping him get set up! Its really awesome!

CJ and Cody at breakfast....

Mike's Birthday!

Me and Mike at the racetrack...

Today is Mike's birthday! He really had a birth-weekend. Friday night after he came in from work, we had cake and he opened some gifts, then Saturday all day he and his good friend Beau went hunting.
Well, today, we had a special treat. We both served at the 10am service at church then headed south. We went to the horse races at the Fair Grounds Racetrack in New Orleans. One of Mike's co-workers has a suite there and invited a group of them from work for a "day at the races"! I had never been. It was a great time! We are not gamblers, but we put $20 down and then kept recycling it until we either lost it all or won something. They had a real person blowing the horn and everything! They even brought Mike a plate of bread pudding with candles! We left with $46 more in our pockets than we came with and really had a blast. Neither me nor Mike will make a profession from gambling, but it was really fun! Thanks to Chad and Dottie! We love you guys and appreciate your hospitality!

Check out the horn blowing dude. He was good!

I love Upward Sports!

You see, I coach a 1st-3rd grade girls basketball team. No, I do not have children playing, nor do I know much about the game, but I do know that God told me to volunteer to coach so I did. Funny thing. I volunteered to coach a Kindergarten or 1st grade girls cheerleading team. Got all signed up and ready. I had my cheerleader spirit and everything. God had a different plan. Two weeks before the season was to start, Kerry (Director of Sports Ministry) told me that he needed me more for basketball. While I laughed and waited for the punch line, Kerry said, "so I have you signed up to be head coach of a 1st-3rd grade girls team. You'll be great, see you on the court." Alrighty then.......
Can I tell you, it has been AMAZING! I have the most awesome team of girls! Not because they have won every game thus far by at least 16 points. Not because they listen well to instruction and follow it. Not because they are consistent with practice and believe in the team. But because they love the game and love God! These girls are so go-give! At each game, I've had at least one girl get pushed or punched but at the end of the day they say to me, "Hey Coach, that girl pushed me but I held her and followed the rules!" What? I so would have pushed the girl back, but my girls have God in their lives that they know that playing Upward Sports is not just about winning. Its about loving the Lord and showing the fans that basketball is fun and can be played with Christlikeness. Winning is just our added little bonus. I love my team! GO FEVER!

It's Friday....

We made it to Friday this week. How much fun can one have in one day? I got up and got the kids to school. (on time) And then went shopping for Mike's birthday gift. Yep, Mike turns something on Sunday. He will be hunting all weekend (without me b/c I'm a better shot) so we are celebrating tonight.
Then I headed to the church to help Beck paint some new cabinets. I now have black paint in my hair. Oh well.....Beck says it will wash out next week when I wash my hair....hahaha - she's so funny.
Then lunch at Jason's......can't beat the Pollo Mexicano......nor can I say it.....but its good. Then back home to straighten up a bit, help out a friend with a miracle cure (you know who you are), make a cake for Mike, wrap gifts, get the kids off their buses and take Sam to work.
Just sitting down to blog a bit, never thought I'd say that but of course I never thought I would have to tell CJ not to eat dog food or play in the toilet.....never say never, huh? Then I'm heading out to coach my basketball team - GO FEVER! and then supposed to go to a Mary Kay meeting. Not sure how to fit it all in and which is going to get pushed to the side, but I'm afraid Mary Kay will have to wait this week......Oh well, I'll post pics from our family party with Mike later. Until then....smiles, everyone, smiles! :)

Me? Hunt? Nahhh.....

Ok. So the day after Christmas we packed up the kids and drove to my Aunt's ranch in South Texas. I was all keyed up for some "down" time and Mike had other plans. He loves to hunt. He loves everything about it. The cold weather, the camping, the campfire (the more smoke the better). Me, I'm more of a Holiday Inn kind of hunter. I like fires, but prefer them in a nice brick fireplace. And there is not much good I can say about cold weather except it supposedly kills bugs. I'm just a spoiled, country girl. But, I decided to give it a try. At camp before the first hunt, I made my plan public. I was going out there, kill as much as possible, as fast as possible and then be able to enjoy the "down" time mentioned earlier. And basically, that's what happened. The first evening, I laid down two pigs. Neither of which were found until the next morning. Mike found them while I was all nice and cozy in my sleeping bag. (in front of the heater). He also saw an 8-point buck while hunting that morning, and let him walk with hopes that I would get out of bed the following morning to hunt. I hunted the evening and saw very little.

I did get up the next morning to hunt and so did Mike's 8-point buck. While he crossed the road I remembered my plan to lay down as much, as fast as possible and took him. My first thought was I hope I hit him so I can get back to camp and go back to bed. I guess I'm not the best hunting partner, but I did hit him and from 175 yds was told that it was a fairly decent shot. It only went straight through his heart. Oh well......better luck next year.

Much love to Aunt Diane and Uncle Stanley and ALL the Moore's - and of course, South Texas.....

Footnote: Lipgloss is Mary Kay Nourishine Beach Bronze and nails are by Regals Nails...... :)

Welcome to my Blog

I never thought I would have anything to blog about, but my children have made my life so interesting I think I'll post about it. So begins my life as an official blogger........