What A Weekend ...

Oh my gosh ... we had soooo much fun this weekend. I have ALOT to blog about and I plan to share everything over the next few days.

This is just a hint of what we did in TWO days:

* Mike's Dad Ray (Pop) and Step-Mom Jeri (Nana) came to visit
* We went to the Pumpkin Patch in Centerville on Saturday
* Then we drove to Washington, DC to the National Zoo
* On Sunday Mike solo'd for the first time while having a flying lesson
* We went to the mountains in Charlottesville to see the leaves changing

I will share highlights of this AMAZING weekend over the next few days.

Saturday Morning ...

I've been up since 5:00 ... no ... not Griffin this time ... I just couldn't sleep. I really have nothing to blog about today. My brain isn't working yet. So, I thought I would share this really fun picture of my sweet family.

They are such goofballs ...



And I love them with all of my heart.

Joy & Kindness ...

Wow ... I have alot to blog about today ... so I might as well get started.

First ... I'd like to wish my sister Joy a very Happy Birthday! I wish we were together to celebrate. I hope you have a fabulous 47th Birthday!

Second ... Happy Blog Day ... LOL ... today is the one year anniversary of my blog. I can hardly believe it's been a year.

Yesterday was a pretty awful day. I was sick all day. I thought my headache would go away, yet it stayed with me the entire day. I'm greatful Mike was home and was able to look after Griffin because I pretty much stayed on the couch the entire day, sleeping most of it with a blanket over my head. I did call the doctor and he's called me in a prescription for a new BC, so we will see if it gets better. I hadn't set foot outside all day yesterday until about 4:30 Mike said we should get outside for some fresh air ... and boy am I glad we did. Overnight the fall colors exploded in our yard ... it was absolutely glorious!!


This is a picture of my handsome husband.


The fallen leaves on the rocks makes a beautiful contrast


My two sweet boys walking down the road ...


And walking back up ...

Today has been a day filled with kindness ... I have observed so many random acts of kindness today ... it is just filling my heart with joy.

First ... when Griffin and I were walking up to the pharmacy today I saw this man struggling with a big box to get into the UPS store. If I were closer I would have run over to open the door for him ... but then I saw this elderly lady waiting to hold the door open for him. She WAITED several minutes for him to get to the door. It crossed my mind at the very minute that we live in a very nice little small town where people are willing to help each other.

Then ... we had to go to Walmart for groceries this morning. We were waiting in line (4th back) and the lady that was next in line offered the lady directly behind her to go ahead of her because she only had two items. I thought to myself ... WHAT is going on here. Another random act of kindness ... so sweet and generous!

And then ... I had a loaded buggy of groceries, I was struggling to get them in the car, along with the child safety gate I had bought and take care of Griffin all at the same time. This very nice lady came up to me and said "Here Honey let take that cart inside for you" ... oh my gosh ... another random act of kindness and this time it was directed toward ME! This lady just doesn't know how very thoughtful that was.

I just don't know what to think ... it's a day FILLED with random acts of kindness. This is the way the world SHOULD be.

Well ... since I had observed two acts of kindness and was the recipient of one act of kindess I thought I should return the favor to three people. So, as we were driving home I let three different turn/pull in front of me while driving. You know you motion to let someone in and then you get the little "thank you wave" ... gosh it felt good!

So ... let's all fill our lives with random acts of kindness each day. I'm inspired to try to do at least one nice thing for someone each day. If you have done something nice for someone today ... no matter how big or little ... please share it in the comments section.

It's Thursday ...

The first part of this post is maybe a little more graphic than I normally post. But I know those that read my blog are my friends and you may be able to offer some advice for what's happening ... so here goes.

I woke up this morning with what I call my "period headache" ... seems like every Thursday of my period I wake up with this awful, sick headache. It's almost like a migraine (I've had those only a few times). I'm still able to function, I can handle light, but I'm sick to my stomach and just want to throw up and nothing helps. I've been on a new birth control (BC) since May and I think that's when my problem started. Normally when taking BC I start the Sunday I'm supposed to. On this new BC I don't start until Wednesday ... and I HATE it. Basically I'm off the pill for four days before I start. Mike says I'm not the same person since starting this new BC. I've searched Google and they have no information about it being a "delayed" type BC. It's called Velivet. Anyone else take this and perhaps have similar problems? I guess the only real thing to do is call my doctor. Okay ... so now you know something VERY personal about me. Hope I didn't embarrass or gross you out.

Now on to some fun stuff ...

Yesterday morning we hosted Carol's birthday celebration at our house! We had alot of good conversation, carrott cake, coffee and shared presents with her. It really was nice having them over.


This is Melinda and Carol (The birthday girl)


Griffin did something new yesterday. Not a good kind of new ... but really a bad kind of new. He climbed up on the kitchen chairs for the first time as in photo. But then ... he climbed on top of the kitchen table. This scared me to death. I know he was going for the leaves in the flower arrangement ... I will definately have to keep this off the center of the table.


Later in the day we went for a walk with Cyndi and her twin boys. We walked a different way then Mike, G and I normally walk so I decided to take my camera. The leaves are beginning to change ... aren't they pretty?


I don't know why ... but I just love this picture ...


And Momma Cow and her baby ... they were so close to the side of the road, the boys went nuts mooing at them.

I'm hoping this headache goes away soon ... I have alot of work I would like to get accomplished today. Hope you all have a great day. M

Dandelions & A Party ...

Our household has been up and running since 5:30 this morning ... 5:30! Guess who decided it was time to make it an early morning?

We are having some friends over this morning for a birthday celebration. It's our neighbor Carol's birthday and she and another neighbor are coming over for cake, coffee and presents. I'm really looking forward to this. I have to get my house cleaned up before they get here though. Everything is pretty tidy, but I still want to vacuum/sweep and mop the kitchen before they arrive.

We won't be able to go to the gym today because of our little birthday party ... when I set the day and time I didn't even think about it being gym day. It would be nice if we could still go for an hour or so after our get-together ... but we'll see. If not ... that's okay ... the rain has finally stopped so we may be able to spend some time outside.

Speaking of outside ... Griffin discovered dandelions the other day ...


He looooooves picking up rocks, leaves and flowers ... and now dandelions!


Just wanted to share this picture because I thought it was cute ... dandelion still in hand.

Fire Wood ...

As the temperatures turn cooler it's time to stock up on firewood for the winter.


Lots and lots of firewood to load


Mike getting things organized to stack


Griffin taking a little sit down break as we take a break from stacking


Emptying the truck ...


A portion of the wood stacked ... it's actually over 6 feet tall!

Happy Fall Ya'll ...

Griffin was totally not into getting his picture taken yesterday, but I really wanted to take some pumpkin pictures. As you can tell it's a bit difficult to keep a 20-month old still for very long. So, for now ... this is my 2006 Pumpkin Picture ... until G will cooperate better ... let's just call this one "Fall In Motion" ...



And ... just for fun ... I thought I would share last year's pumpkin picture as well ... my what a difference a year makes ...

Margie McKee's Tradition

Since it was sooooo cold yesterday I decided to make some homemade soup for dinner.

I put every imaginable vegetable known to man in it ... tomatos, potatos, carrotts, okra, corn, peas, onion, celery, green beans, mushrooms ... and some stew beef for flavor. It was absolutely delicious!

I grew up in a tiny little place in Florida called Eloise. We were very close to several of our neighbors, and one of them was Margie McKee. Everytime she made vegetable soup for her family, she made enough for our family. So ... yesterday I decided to carry on this tradition for a family in our neighborhood. I made two crockpots full of vegetable soup. One for us and one for the Oakes Family. I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did.


Mmmmmm ... good ... chock full of veggies


A closer look


You absolutely can not have soup without grilled cheese sandwiches. I know there are many ways to make them ... but my favorite is to butter the bread and cook them up in a frying pan. They are so buttery and gooey ... yum!!

So ... if it's cold in your neck of the woods, why not dust off the crockpot and make some vegetable soup?

It's 29 Degrees Outside!

It's 29 degrees outside ... and it's October!
Oh my gosh ... what kind of winter are we in for?

Yesterday I posted about not putting up my fall decorations ... and I think it sounded like my house isn't decorated at all. I'll be honest, I've gotten into a "simplistic" state of mind when it comes to decorating ... but ... I did want to share some of my favorite things in my house.


This is my garbage can ... isn't it pretty? Honestly when people are here and they are looking for the garbage can ... I'm like ... it's right there. They can't believe it's actually a garbage can. Mike bought this for my birthday the first year we were here in Virginia. The Raggedy Ann on top is very special to me. It was a gift from my very good online friend Julie. Oh ... and the pictures in the background are not always crooked. Guess who was on the couch moving them around? Mmmmm ... I wonder who.


I just loooove this hand-painted Coca-Cola sign. My sister and I owned a Craft & Scrapbook Store when we lived in Florida. The name of our store was Country Sassafras. Anyway ... this is an item that was in our inventory for many years and no one ever purchased it ... crazy huh? So, when we closed I just knew I had to have it. My mother-in-law put the dark vine on it ... doesn't it make it look old? I just loooove it!


I love picture collages on the wall ... I like changing the pictures out from time to time to give it an updated look.


This is the top of our microwave hutch. I house my collection of mini Raggedy Annies here, along with a few other favorite things like my blue granite ware and I just loooove geraniums.


Okay ... so the cabinets are NOT one of my favorite things ... but the things in the picture are. The long Raggedy Ann is a favorite as it was a gift from my sister Joy. And the pottery on the top of the shelves is another favorite ... I got these when I was going through my sunflower phase, years ago.


Another little collection ... many Coca-Cola items, including several antique bottles. See the green canister in the left hand corner? That was something Mike brought home from England in 1985. He was a "band kid" and they went to England to give concerts. Anyway ... this is a reminder of his trip.


This is actually in my dining room ... more Raggedies and a collection of antique Mason Jars. Also see the little pottery pieces on the bottom shelf? They are all from yard sales and not one of them cost more than $1.00. When I hit a yard sale and see a little piece I like, I will pick it up for this shelf. The awesome school house quilt I found at a yard sale for only $5.00. Also ... the swag curtains were made for $2.00. This is a trick I learned from a Craft Store in Hiawassee, GA. She just went to Walmart bought 2 or 3 yards of fabric, hemmed the edges and voila ... instant swags. So easy and sooooo cheap!


Okay ... so this might be my favorite saying EVER ... DANCE AS IF NO ONE WERE WATCHING ... and you know what? Griffin and I do that every chance we have.


This is our mantle ... I love it soooo much. Mike completely re-did our fireplace. He put in one that looks like a stove, did all the stone work and added the mantle. He did such a FABULOUS job on this.


And this folks ... this is reality ... let's just call this "Decorating By Griffin".

Hope you all have a great (warm) Fall Day.

Fall Decorating ...

Before having a baby I would decorate for every season.

Of course fall is definately my favorite season of the year. I have scarecrows, pumpkins, fall leaves, baskets, candles ... so much fall stuff to decorate with ... but of course that was BEFORE BABY.

This folks is the extent of my fall decorating this year ...



... and it's not even in the house!

It's so hard to have "pretties" about the house right now with little hands touching everything. I've found it easier to remove all of my decorations until Griffin is older. Right now our decorations consist of toys, toys, and more toys .... and they are everywhere!!

But you know what? I don't mind a bit!

Say Please ...

Griffin has only a few words in his vocabulary. Daddy, Mama, Bye Bye and Please. We are working on more words and I'm really hoping he will say "Grandma" by the time we see her in November.

When Griffin wants something we encourage him to "Say Please". And he does, and it sounds something like "A Peas" ... it's really very cute and we are pleased he is doing this. I couldn't figure out why he was putting the "A" in front of please though ... then it hit me ... he's saying "say" too. You know we say "Say Please" and that's what he's saying ... "A Peas" ... my heart did a little flutter when I figured it out.



We were watching Dancing With The Stars last night and I was actually surprised Willa & Maksim went home. They were very good and quite honestly this season has turned into a popularity contest. I really hope Emmitt & Cheryl or Joey & Edyta win. Mario & Karina just do not set well with me. In my opinion, Joey is just as good as Mario, but they seem to have completely different attitudes. I've been very surprised about Jerry Springer's dancing ability as well. He's actually quite good ... and funny. The Tennesse Waltz he and Kym did moved me to tears.

This season is so much different than last. The minute I saw Drew & Cheryl step on the dance floor last year, I rooted for them the entire season. I really do not feel that way about any team this year, well except maybe Emmitt & Cheryl. I'm keeping my fingers crossed they win this year.

The Simple Things ...

It's the simple things in life that bring me the greatest joy ...

Spending time with my family ...
Taking a walk with my two favorite boys ...
Having them pick me flowers on the walk ...



This is my favorite flower bouquet of all time.
Mike and Griffin picked these flowers for me on our walk yesterday.

Pure joy.

The Haircut

I haven't blogged about THE HAIRCUT because quite frankly ... I was pretty upset about it. Griffin has beautiful hair. The color, the texture ... just gorgeous. Daddy decided it was time for a haircut ... it really was, it was getting pretty long and he needed a trim.

I didn't know what Mike had in mind ...


This is the BEFORE picture ... he wasn't happy about getting a haircut


Daddy with the clippers


Trimming the sides ...


Trimming the back ...


A warm cloth for removing the excess hair ...


SCALPED ...

And I do mean SCALPED ... his long, beautiful hair is GONE. I cried. Literally.

Once his hair grows out ... we will NEVER EVER cut his hair this short again.

My Friend Andi ...

My dear friend Andi started her very own blog today ... I thought I would share her link in case you might like to visit the blog of a very sweet, kind, warm-hearted person.

Here's her link ... Andi's Everyday Adventures:
http://andiseverydayadventures.blogspot.com/

I've been tagged ...

I've been "tagged" for the first time by Jolene.

Tag #1:
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they are not any good, but they must be songs you are really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LiveJournal/blog along with your seven songs.

Then tag seven other people to see what they are listening to.

1. Jesus Take The Wheel - Carrie Underwood - the first time I heard this song I was having an especially emotional day. It just hit close to home ... and I cried and cried while listening to it.

2. If Tomorrow Never Comes - Garth Brooks - this is our wedding song ... love it and always will

3. I Will Love You Forever & Ever - Randy Travis - this is such a sweet song. There's one particular verse that goes something like "I'll watch that girl's brown hair turn gray" ... this song soooooooo reminds me of Mike and me.

4. Jesus Loves Me - I sing this to Griffin all the time - this and the next three songs are really the songs I sing most of the time lately. I love singing to Griffin and he likes hearing me sing. Honestly ... I'm an awful singer, but it's reassuring to know that I'm the best singer in the world to an audience of one.

5. Jesus Loves The Little Children - Again G and I sing this together - I really don't think I have the correct words to this one ... so I make it up. Perhaps I should just Google the right words ... ha!

6. If You're Happy & You Know It - Another G & Me Song - he's recently starting clapping in the right places when I sing this.

7. Rockin' Robin - Sung By Mommy - This has ALWAYS been G's favorite song ... it was the one song that I could sing and he would stop crying ... and it still works to this day

Tag #2
Now List 5 weird things you don't know about me:

1. I can not hear out of my right ear ... several years ago I got a cold and it "settled" in my ear ... since then I can't hear out of it. I've gone to the ear specialist for tests and he said there was no medical reason why I couldn't hear ... but the thing is ... I still can't hear out it. So, if you are ever talking to me and I turn slightly to the right putting my left ear closer to you ... you'll know I'm just trying to hear what you are saying.

2. I will drink milk out of a glass only ... and it has to be ICE COLD.

3. I let my ice cream melt slightly before I eat it. Mike and I both do this ... it tastes so much better, creamier, richer flavor. We were actually watching a show the other night ("How It's Made") and the professional ice cream testers at Ben & Jerry's actually said this is the best way to eat ice cream. Who knew we were on to something so trendy without even knowing it. And wow ... wouldn't it be so cool to actually be a professional ice cream taster???

4. So ... on occasion I make myself a salad minus the lettuce. I love salads, but don't always have lettuce on hand ... so everything I would normally put in a salad (cheese, ham/turkey, tomato, olives, etc) goes in the bowl ... I pour dressing over it ... then sprinkle with our crunchy salad topping ... voila ... lettuce-less salad ... yummy!

5. I fall asleep very early ... I'm up so early with Griffin that by the time he goes to bed at 7:30 I'm exhausted. Mike says you can actually see me exhale and relax once Griffin is down for the night. I'm usually asleep on the couch by 9:30. Mike watches TV and then wakes me when he's ready to go to bed. I wish I could stay up later and spend some quality time with my husband. He says I will only stay up later if there is something good on TV. Last night ... I was asleep by 8:00.

Okay ... so I do not know 7 other people to tag ... so I'm tagging those I do know:

Julie
Sue
Teresa - but she's already been tagged, so she doesn't really have to do it

Family Day ...

Saturday was family day ... something I've been looking forward to for weeks. Mike has been working so much ... working at his job and then working on the house addition. And then he was busy volunteering last weekend with the fly-in, he promised us this Saturday belonged to us.

Wouldn't you know it? We woke up to a very, very rainy day yesterday ... honestly it rained the ENTIRE day.

So ... we decided to go to the various Fall Festivals at the local churches. October is filled with Fall Festival days all over the area. I think it's a very sweet thing they do for the local community.

I dressed Griffin in a very cute fallish colored shirt and his overalls and I wore my favorite fall vest ... thinking we would have many fallish photo ops.

First we stopped at my neighbor's church. They were having a bake sale and yard sale to benefit missions. We found Griffin a V-Tech Learning Toy for only $1.00 and then an ABC puzzle for $1.00. What deals! We had to pass up the chocolate chip brownie cookies ... too bad ... they looked so good.

Then we went to the Baptist Church's Annual Children Sale. This is very cool. They allow individuals to consign children's clothing and toys for sale. We found Griffin 6 outfits for only $18.00. Couldn't ask for a better bargain.

On to another Fall Festival at another church ... Mike and Griffin stayed in the car while I ran in to see what was going on. It was pouring down rain and since Griffin has a cold and was acting VERY tired and grumpy we thought it might be a good idea for me to check it out before taking him in. It was a very sweet craft sale and they were selling brunswick stew. Unfortunately there wasn't anything that interested me ... but I really do hope they had a successful day.

All of these folks put alot of time and effort into their events and I hope the rainy weather didn't keep too many people away.

It was like 9:20 by this time and we decide to go to Sam's Club.

We filled our cart with the things we needed ... but I have to say my favorite was our PUMPKIN.



I really wanted to take a picture of Griffin with the pumpkin yesterday, but he was not feeling well and when he woke up from his nap he was still grumpy. So, I changed him into comfy clothes and decided it was NOT the day to take pumpkin pictures.

It was really nice spending time together as a family yesterday ... it's something we definately needed.

This Folks ...

This folks ... is what you might call the custest little human alarm clock.

Up since 5:00 am, he's been keeping himself busy jumping, running and playing.

I might add, it's Saturday morning and raining outside ... definately a sleep in kind of morning ... but not when you have a 20 month old ready to play.

My Sunshine ...

This is what brings joy to my life ...

Do you think he knows ...

Do you think he knows ... where the COOKIES are?

Griffin LOVES vanilla wafers and when he wants one ... he wants it NOW!


Sometimes he tries to get to them by himself ...


With a little help from Mommy he looks through the pantry for ...


YESSSSS .... there they are ...


I've got the box ... now to get to the cookies ...


On the floor they go ...

Mission accomplished.

God's sense of humor

I've been away from the computer since Friday morning. I'm catching up on emails and computer stuff I need to do as Griffin is napping.

I'm hoping to have all emails answered before he wakes up, but if I don't I will have to answer those tomorrow or tonight.

I'm really trying to be a good Mommy ... I've decided I am only going to work while Griffin is napping during the day or sleeping at night ... it's a decision I've finally come to terms with. It's taken me awhile to get to this decision ... but it's the right one. I KNOW it is.

Anyway ... thought I would share this picture I took the other day in the back yard ...



Can you guess what it is?
Gross huh??

It's a mushroom ... God sure has a good sense of humor.