Net's Notes

New Hobby

2011-11-07T07:38:00.000-08:00

I've discovered a new hobby that doesn't require buying supplies of any kind and the resulting clutter build up. It's called Pinterest and I've really gotten a kick out of pinning things I'm interested in to my "bulletin board". It is a time waster and I'll need to cut down my time spent on it, which will happen as I learn to use it more efficiently. I think I've pretty much figured it out now. Anyway, off I go to pin....and happy pinning to anyone else who is starting...

2011-01-04T09:22:00.001-08:00

Yes! I figured out how to merge the two blogs I had into one. I figure even if I write about private stuff I can hide it later I suppose. This really is about expressing oneself, flaws and all. Take the good with the bad, right? Loving this sunny day in January. Going with the family later to eat at PF Changs and buy fish for the tank Santa brought. Should be a fun afternoon/evening. Life goes on. I wonder how many folks start out January of the new year hoping to blog more. Probably not as many who vow to exercise more. That will not be my problem, however. I will probably exercise less than I did last year. Come on, I know it's true. I did download music to my blackberry so I can use that to listen to as I "walk". Ha! We'll see. (using reverse psychology on oneself can work, right?)

Merry Christmas to all!

2010-12-23T03:35:00.000-08:00

I don't give much time to blogging. I'm sure I'll regret it in later years. Here's yet another attempt to get back into it. Anyway, here are some of our Christmas photos. I love the one where dear daughter is looking a bit put out with her zany boys.

Tornado Watch in November

2010-11-16T18:37:00.001-08:00

Here we are in the middle of November under a tornado watch until 4 a.m. It freaks my youngest out completely. I don't know why he feels so afraid. Maybe he became unnaturally frightened by a storm as a child but honestly I don't remember a specific time. I know our tough but sweet Wolfie dog would howl and try to get under heavy boulders we have around our yard when a storm would hit. Maybe he watched her freak out and thought, "Hmmm, if this tough watch dog is scared of thunder, I ought to be too." He's very logical like that, even as a three year old. So, here we are, seven years later with a child who wants to crawl in our bed to wait out the storm. Poor guy, I don't know how to make it okay. I suppose he'll have to outgrow it, but our daughter is nearly 22 and still terrified of spiders. That's a whole other story.

2010-03-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a cruise to the Bahamas aboard the same ship, "Monarch of the Seas", that we discovered we were pregnant with Michael ten years ago! I'm still swaying as if still on the boat. It takes me about 2 weeks to fully get over that effect. Strange. Anyway, here's a picture of the kids off the ship in Nassau.

Christmastime for the Wax Family

2010-01-06T03:47:00.000-08:00

We spent time here in North Carolina before and up until Christmas Day and then on the 26th we headed south, deep south to spend time with my parents and my husband's family in Mississippi. We have done this every Christmas since we moved to North Carolina in 1989. That is a lot of miles and that's not counting the times in between Christmases we've gone back for visits. I don't think we'd know what to do were we not traveling at Christmastime. It just seems natural. We've adjusted our plans to suit our growing family. At first, we would all pile in various spots around the houses, on couches, on floors, in a spare bed, wherever we'd fit. As we had more kids and they kept getting bigger (they tend to do that, you know), we decided we'd be better off staying in a motel. This has changed our attitudes greatly. Now we can squirrel away when we're feeling squirrely, yet still get in nice long visits. It really makes us look more forward to the trips and we've really learned to like egg tacos, the breakfast of choice at the Holiday Inn Express. Mind you, we are very tired of it by the time we are heading home, but not so much that we aren't looking forward to it the next trip....besides, you can always eat cereal.

Standard College Essay?

2009-10-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

If anyone is reading this blog you probably by now know that I am a part-time college student. I recently had the assignment of writing a narrative of 500 words or so. I would have to say this is my first actual college essay. I chose to write about a true-life event, which is as follows:

“Diagnosis: Cancer”

Gradually I come to, becoming aware of my surroundings. The room is bright and everything in it is white. The smell of clean cotton sheets, antiseptic cleanser and metal awakens me. I feel the pinch of an intravenous needle in my right arm. I begin to remember why I’m here. I have just had surgery to remove what the surgeon assured me was an aspirated bean in my left lung. I am not afraid, just curious to find out what it is that has made me cough nearly non-stop for a month. I am ready to feel better and my young children are ready to have their mommy back. As I look around, I notice the faces looking at me are not smiling. I begin to worry.

My husband, Tim, is holding firmly to my left hand. There is a doctor I don’t recognize standing to the right of my hospital bed. As the new doctor approaches the bed, Tim introduces him as Dr. Moore, a medical oncologist. The doctor carefully slips his hand into my right hand as the recognition of the word oncologist hits me. I am familiar with medical terms and I know oncology means cancer. My mouth goes dry and my heart beats rapidly. I begin to shiver. I am having a reaction either to the anesthesia I’m still coming out of or to the news that I know I am about to hear. Images of my children flash into my mind and I wonder if I will get to see them start Kindergarten.

Dr. Moore gently reveals to me that I have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of lymph node cancer the surgeon discovered encasing my left lung. My mind races as my husband’s grip tightens around my hand. I take a moment to absorb what I’ve heard and then I want to know what can be done. Dr. Moore tells me I will be receiving nine months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, during which I will be sick often. He assures me he will do his best to control my nausea. I take in a deep, painful breath and let it out slowly, feeling the burden of the months ahead of me.

Dr. Moore’s voice is confidant as he assures me he has treated many patients with the same diagnosis successfully. I assume this means many are still alive, but I’m afraid to ask. He elaborates on the side effects. I am doing my best to listen but words are swirling around in my head, confusing and exhausting me. Suddenly I hear the words “...your hair will fall out.” I begin to sob. The curly brown hair that flows half way down my back will disappear. It is the first and last time I cry during my struggle with cancer.

This type of cancer grows rapidly and must be slowed down as soon as possible. It is recommended that I begin chemotherapy before I leave the hospital, giving my surgery wounds little time to heal. I agree to this plan and begin to prepare mentally and spiritually for the months ahead. At 26 years old I am about to face the fight of my life.

By the way, I got an A.

New Semester

2009-05-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well, with two classes behind me and a 4.0 GPA I'm looking forward to starting my math class on Wednesday. I've been on a short break and I actually miss it. Whether I feel that way midway through July remains to be seen. My instructor is supposed to be really good, but...she's going on maternity leave soon, so I hope her sub is equally as good. Learning for learning's sake...who would've thought.

My 6th grade son has been inspired to do a research paper on the War of 1812, a part of history I learned and shared with the family this past semester. It is such an important war, yet very underplayed in our history. I believe part of the reason it is underplayed has to do with the supernatural elements that occurred during the war. In my belief, God intervened to establish this nation.

I've been reading "The Unlikely Disciple" by Kevin Roose....I wish I could go to Liberty University. He isn't really endorsing it, in fact it is sort of an expose, but it makes me wish I'd gone to college there. It is Christian training camp accelerated. It is in the home town of my father and grandparents, Lynchburg, Va. I grew up visiting there about once a month to visit family my whole childhood. Once we moved to Mississippi I have only been about 6 times in 26 years. So sad really. Even here in NC, I don't get to Virginia like I should. Life gets in the way. Speaking of, tomorrow is a day of errands to complete before class starts. Time to get my daughter a new phone as she dropped hers almost immediately after getting it and the screen cracked. It has been usuable since, but sad looking. We are replacing with a cheapie one I think. Who knows once we get in there and the pretty phones are calling our names.....

Back in School

2009-05-13T09:25:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking about shifting the focus of this blog a bit. I would like it to more honestly reflect what is going on in our lives. I use to just update periodically about what we as a family are doing. That's nice but very superficial. I thought I'd narrow the focus down a bit. Why not make this about a wife & mother going back to school 26 years after graduating from high school. Could be interesting. Let's see if I can make it so.

I just finished my first semester at a local community college. Since I have four kids in four different schools, I started out as a part-time student. I had two classes, psychology and American history. Both very interesting topics to me and I learnedso much. The most interesting aspect of this is not what I learned from the books and instructors however, but from the students around me, students the same ages as my older children. The first classmate I met while waiting in line to have our picture taken for our student ID. Chelsea was 20 and had moved here from Texas to attend another school, but then decided she didn't like it. In the meantime, she had met a boy and they were now living together, so young and on their own, with no outside help from either family. They have financial issues and can't afford to get married, but plan to eventually. Then there's Lianna, a friendly girl, with a big smile who made my first day of class feel so welcoming. We maintained a friendship, sharing notes and giggles during the semester. She is moving on to a bigger university in the fall and seems to have a plan for her future, despite her own mother ruining her credit by identity thieving her. I was shocked by this, wondering how a parent could do that to her own child. I admire Lianna for having such a positive attitude and ready smile, despite what she's dealing with. These are just a couple of the kids I've gotten to know over the last little bit. As I recall things and meet new people I hope to share more. I'm not sure what I expected out of my classmates, a bunch of kids with no worries but grades and entitlement attitudes? I did run across those, but for the most part, most students were in school full-time working part-time. They were struggling to make passing grades and working to pay expenses. And while I had only two classes, they were balancing 4 or more. I enjoyed my semester so much and I look forward to more.

Little Boy Blue

2009-02-26T14:01:00.000-08:00

Poor Sweet Puppy....look what mama did to me. :( I have a queasy feeling every time I see him. The thing is, he forgives me even when I haven't forgiven myself. Bless him.

2009-02-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

My Valentine Flowers. Tim gave them to me at dinner on Friday night at the restaurant. I'm so glad...he gave Jenileigh a bunch too. It was a sweet moment. She really appreciated it.

An Afternoon with Cats

2009-01-23T14:37:00.001-08:00

Our growing kitties. By the way, that is her own foot she's licking though she's not opposed to cleaning up her sister on occasion.

And then one without flash....

Time Ticks By...

2009-01-22T14:16:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I actually wrote a lengthy update. So much has happened I don't know where to begin. First of all, our puppies have all gone to good homes except one. He is the last little one. He seems so much a part of the "pack" that I doubt we'll let him go. He has especially bonded with Wolfie and even now sleeps with her at night in a crate inside and they stay all snuggly and warm and he doesn't pee. We always joke that she tells him, "Look here pup, no wetting the bed. I've gotta sleep here too." He's 11 weeks old so that is pretty good I think.

I started my spring semester of classes. I have class everyday-MWF-American History, TTH-Psychology. I am learning a lot and my brain feels as though it is growing. I can almost hear it squeaking along....good thing I'm taking psychology, huh? I'm not the oldest in my classes but I am definitely one of the oldest. It's great fun and I am really enjoying every minute of class...even today when we had a pop quiz in Psych.

I miss Jenileigh a lot. She was home for so long over Christmas break that it felt sooo weird for her to leave. She must have thought so too as she came home the first weekend back. She will probably come home on her birthday weekend. I can't believe it! She will be 20!

Davis has quite a few days off with teacher workdays, holidays and being exempt from all his exams he doesn't have school for like 11 days. He has been so helpful with running errands and picking up the boys for me and such.

John is a full fledged middle-schooler. He likes it and is doing very well in school. He cares much more about what he wears and how his hair looks than he used to. He's on the OM team and is looking towards doing either football or band next year, maybe both.

Michael still needs me to comb his hair. He could care less. He enjoys school but is blissfully unaware of appearance right now. He enjoys his friends and the animals in the house and (usually) takes care of their needs when I ask. He mainly tends to the lizards and the kittens.

We've had snow recently, enough to close school for a day. It melted by the afternoon, though roads were still slippery out here in the country. The make-up day was today, so they missed out on a 4-day weekend this weekend again.

As I write I have a kitten trying to get in the hood of my hoodie. She's all over me for some reason tonight. Her purrs are so loud I'm having trouble hearing my itunes!

We are having Black Beans and Rice tonight, hubby's specialty. I used the rice cooker to cook the rice. This is a handy appliance if you cook a lot of rice dishes. You must follow the directions, otherwise you can get a nasty boil over, but if done properly, it is super convenient.

Well, I'll leave you with a recent photo of the four labs lounging in the sun today. Can you say awwww?

Curiosity

2008-12-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Sookie likes to read.

Checking out Net's Notes

Meow

2008-12-10T10:25:00.000-08:00

Introducing Topaz and Sookie, our new kittens. Purrr Boxes both.

2008-11-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

Eyes are opening!

A Dozen Pups...the most we've ever had.

2008-10-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Magnificent Bird

2008-08-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

Check out the hawk...

...and zooooom-

2008-08-31T16:19:00.000-07:00

Bubble Bath

FDOS

2008-08-31T16:15:00.000-07:00

Back to College (Sophomore)

Back to High School (12th)

On to Middle School (6th)

Back to Elementary School (2nd)

My Walk

2008-08-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

Sooo....let me tell you about my walk today. I started out with the regimen that Tim and I did all last week, while he was off work. We would each take 2 dogs on a 2 mile walk. I admit, I had the easier of the four dogs, Wolfie and Baci. They both stay close and walk at a good pace for me. He always had Duchess, who is a good walker also and Baby who is a monster! She will not heel, she pulls so hard that you have to yank and make her stop every so often. Well, John decided to do the walk with me and he had my dogs from last week and I had Baby and Duchess. Baby would not cooperate. She pulled as though her life depended on it, as though she were in the Iditarod and I was yelling "Mush! Mush!" I felt like my arm was going to come out of my shoulder socket. After about 200 yards or so I told John, "You are going to have to take Baby back to her crate. I can't take it anymore." He gave me Wolfie and ran back to the house, which Baby was happy to do...I guess she wanted to run all along. Anyway, she was crated because she would definitely break through the invisible fence after us if we didn't do so. I told John I would walk slowly and wait on him to return for the walk. We have been walking to the large lake's beach/boat ramp area which is one mile from our house. This gives the dogs a place to cool off in the lake as well as water to drink. Anyway, I make it to an empty lot at the beginning of our street and decide to walk a bit in the grass to wait on John. After standing there for a bit, Wolfie decides to freak out like I haven't seen. She pulls so hard to get away that her head comes out of her collar and in my exasperation with her I begin to realize why she was getting away so rapidly. We were standing in FIRE ANTS which had at that very moment decided to bite me, all of them at once. What a desperate feeling that is! While trying to run after Wolfie to catch her and not lose the other dogs I was ripping off my shoes and socks to get the ants off me. It was CRAZINESS! I would estimate about twenty of them bit. It was pretty bad. I get things under control and finally, John makes his way back to me. He takes Wolfie and we continue our journey to the big lake. We sip our water bottles along the way, chat and just enjoy the walk, despite my itchiness from the ant bites. We make it to the lake and John talks about how tired he is due to his running and I tell him we will take a break and rest at the lake and let the dogs in the water and let them rest as well. When we arrive John sits on the concrete under a tree with Wolfie by his side and I have Baci and Duchess just chilling nearby while I stand in the shade. Suddenly, I feel the backs of my legs go very warm, then very wet. Baci had lifted his leg and let loose with a pee like I've never seen. I was soaked! It smelled strongly of urine. I was livid! I couldn't believe it! I absolutely could not walk back with that all over me so the only thing I could do was once again, rip off my shoes and socks and go into the lake up to my knees and basically wash the pee off me. I was so ready to be home, you just don't know. What a morning! I finally dried enough to put my shoes back on and we headed home. I doubt I will soon forget this day!

Vilas, NC

2008-08-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

Our woods in the mountains.

Checking out the old barn.

Mystery Bug

Grandfather Mtn

My How the Years Change Us.

2008-08-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

1985

Now

Size 6 Fatty!

2008-08-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

Look what I found...my how the years have gone by! This was summer of 1985 taken in Pensacola, FL...and to think...I thought I was fat! Yeah fat as a size 6! Ha!

NYC Westin Window (before the blinds collapsed)

2008-08-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

New York was great! Loved spending time with my little cutie pawootie. She is such a lovely young lady. I love her spirit and the woman she has become. We saw Conan O'Brien at "The Little Mermaid" which was great! It was such a full circle moment for me watching that play with Jen. I remember when she was an adorable little 2 year old listening to her sing those songs from the movie as I was recovering or resting from chemo. We would have neighbors sitting with the babies (she was almost 2 Davis was a newborn)...and I can still remember hearing her sweet voice singing "Part of that World!" in my groggy, anti nausea medication stupor. She was passionate about it, even at that age. She still loves singing and the Broadway thing is just perfect for her, but she has college to finish and she is so uncertain about what she wants to do. I want her to do what she loves to do but will it make her happy in the long run. I don't know. I do believe her heart is in NY. She still longs for K. but will he make it? I know she loves him and it breaks my heart for her. He has had such a hard life. I think deep down he is a good guy, he's just not into authority figures. I pray he can stick with it, for his sake and hers.

So I'm in that play at the Lunt-Fontanne theater and this overwhelming feeling of nostalgia and sadness sweeps over me just as Ariel leaves her father and I am just sobbing. Wow! Didn't think it would affect me so profoundly. I just wish Tim could have been there too. He and Davis are right now camping in the North Rim, AZ Campground for their father/son trip. I miss them soooooo much. Davis is almost 18 so they are my men. Love those men! The boys have been taking good care of things while the real men have been gone. John (12) and Mike (7) are big helpers during the day while Jen is at work (Fractured Prune). I am such a lucky woman. Thank God for my good fortune to have a lovely family. Amen!

Check out the photo from John's Pizzeria...it was delicious...and the Italian Margarita wasn't bad either!

Home from NY NY

2008-07-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

View from Westin Lobby.

We were on the 35th floor. Nice. We got massages the first evening and crashed from 6 pm to 7am...waking to room service. So nice.

On line for Ariel.

The Big Apple

2008-07-18T04:08:00.000-07:00

Jen and I are off to NYC. The weather forecast is hot, hot, hot. But we will be inside a lot so that's okay. We will se the Little Mermaid on Saturday. Can't wait. Photos later.

Back from Vacation...Traveling Band of Waxes!

2008-07-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

So, we are back from our lovely vacation. The weather in Alabama and Mississippi was so nice. The temperature was in the mid 80's most days and not at all humid, which is much different from how it normally is. The condo at Orange Beach, AL was fabulous! I'll never forget the first walk in and how the condo seemed to go on forever. We had so much room and enjoyed the beautiful kitchen and the deck overlooking the waterway was gorgeous.

Despite a few squabbles, it was all in all, a great bonding family time. I just love my family! The teenagers drove their own car and the rest of us rode in the other car. That may have helped a lot as far as getting along. We took our time, spent the night on the road in every Holiday Inn Express we could find. We visited family and took in a mall outside of Atlanta. I'm sad it's over.

The Bella Luna, OB AL

The Gulf...with a knee.

Eating out just over the line in Florida!

Look at all the freckles between the two of us!

Then we drove to Brandon where we visited my parents...and their bird...

Papa made the boys dreamcatchers...here they are doing their job...

Grandmama Visit

My Life is Good Boys!

Jeanette and Tim...23 years and counting. Love my man!

Random thoughts I gotta get out...

2008-06-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

Vista sucks! Hate it-yes I do!
Orange Beach-Will it suck? I wonder?
Geckos-will they die? I hope not.
Mother-is she crazy? yes
Will I become like her? God, I hope not!
Wishing I had more time to:
~Read
~Knit
~Craft
~Sew
If I cut out the TV I would have more time for these things. Why don't I? I have no idea. Laziness & stupidity.
NY will be fun I hope. Westin Times Square and Little Mermaid Matinee COOLNESS!

Will J want to see K?
Probably.
Wish it was a weekday so we could see Regis & Kelly...maybe another time.

LDOS

2008-06-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

LDOS~~~~Last Day of School!

What will 2nd grade be like? I wonder...

John coming on through the 5th grade tunnel with a silly string attack!!

John and his three 5th grade teachers.

John's Kindergarten teacher. She started his many great years at MPES.

John with Mr. Cochran who started as principal the year John started Kindergarten. He's a good guy.

King Tut Wrappers!

2008-05-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

At the Egyptian Bazaar John and his buddies were "wrapping" about King Tut and his life. It was pretty cool.

Michael and his friend ran the Jingo table.

The cool thing is both boys are going to either be on the television or in the newspaper. Will post about that later.

all my chicks are home

2008-05-09T05:29:00.000-07:00

strawberries

2008-05-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

stroll

2008-05-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

Happy 80th Birthday!

2008-04-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

Eightieth Birthday Celebration-April 13, 2008

(acutal birthday April 14th)

She was quite surprised by our visit.

John, Hunter, Michael, Merrell, Cecelia, Ethan, Evelyn

Hunter, Davis and Merrell.

All Gone

2008-04-08T07:46:00.000-07:00

The last puppy has found a home. A nice family from Indian Trail got him today. Uno will be very spoiled as they have designated his own room and lots of toys plus 2 boys to play with. Lucky dog.

Uno Mas

2008-03-31T04:02:00.000-07:00

One puppy left...and we named him...Uno. He is a sweet one.

The boys "tucked him in". He's not spoiled or anything.

Ours? maybe...

2008-03-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Uno...

UNO

2008-03-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

The only one left...

Our Newest Members

2008-03-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

Just call us the Wax Zoo! Look what we have now...

Believe it or not, they are so sweet. We actually have three of them and I guess we better get used to them as they live for more than 20 years! It is amazing how much of a personality they have. They are nocturnal and are acutally Leopard Geckos. Fun! Oh...and by the way, we are down to two puppies now. Bye Bye Lil Anne.

We had 9, down to 3

2008-03-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

Well, we used to have a litter of 9 puppies but we are down to 3 and expecting to have 2 more go home with families today. Sweet puppies! This one has been my favorite all along. We named her Lil Anne as she was the runt but feisty...we love her and it will be hard to let her go. Below is the litter a mere 8 weeks ago.

The Sun and Moon Out at the Same Time!

2008-03-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

By the way, only 4 puppies left and they are going fast. Sweet babies...

My injury taking care of them....no they didn't bite or scratch me...I scraped it on the kennel lock. OUCH!

Odyssey of the Mind Third Place Winners!

2008-03-09T05:02:00.000-07:00

Yes! Out of 17 teams our Mount Pleasant Elementary School OM Team placed 3rd. What a fun day. They placed first out of 17 in their spontaneous question category. So cool!

Mike

2008-03-07T04:47:00.000-08:00

The weight of the world.

I love to cook.

2008-03-06T16:40:00.000-08:00

Isn't this pretty?

*added note on 4-1-08: This was the veggie base for a delicious spaghetti sauce. We had it that night and then froze the leftovers with which about 2 weeks later I added meatballs. It really was good...I need to try this again. It was so pretty.

Are we tired of puppies yet? No!

2008-03-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

That's one relaxed puppy!

But that's nothing...

and...

Feedin Time!

2008-02-25T03:47:00.000-08:00

Solid food now...

One Escpaped!

2008-02-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

I didn't have time to grab my camera because I was so shocked but one of the pups managed to climb out of the whelping box and was under the pool table this afternoon. He was not happy, puppy barking for mama to put him back. She was sleeping at the top of the stairs knowing she had just fed them and it wasn't time. She doesn't give in to their demands. I guess with nine puppies and only 8 "milk holes" (as Michael calls them) she has to be stern. lol

This is possibly the puppy that nurses while upside down. Literally, all the brothers and sisters are going at it on their tummies and here he is on his back, lying on top of the others just nursing away. Too funny.

A Sunday Afternoon in February

2008-02-17T14:34:00.000-08:00

Precious is not having it!

Me and My Love

2008-02-12T17:12:00.000-08:00

One of the few pictures I can tolerate of myself...maybe cause Tim is there with me. :)

The Pups...10 days old.

2008-02-10T18:28:00.000-08:00

The lab puppies are ten days old today. Aren't they adorable?

Mourning

2008-02-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

My cousin Pat passed away a week ago today. He was 49, so young. I still don't believe it. Here he is holding and playing around with Jenileigh when she was a babe. He really liked little kids and got a kick out of their antics. He had a good sense of humor and loved to make you laugh. He will be missed.

Happy Birthday Jenileigh!!!

2008-01-30T04:11:00.000-08:00

Nineteen years ago my belly was huge. I had been feeling quite miserable for about a week. Hard to sleep, couldn't roll over in the bed without great effort. I had been off of work for about two weeks, taking an early maternity to get things ready around the student dorm we were living in. I was 24. It seems so young by today's standards. So many women put off having their first kid until their 30's. Anyway, I was ready. Was she ready to come? Was she a she? We didn't know. By around noon I was feeling some tightness and sharpness so I thought...This is it. As it turned out, I wasn't in active labor but the OB decided she wanted to hit close to her projected due date of January 31 so she induced me. In retrospect, the labor was not bad at all. She was born by 8:27 pm, welcomed into the world by her Daddy who promptly took her swaddledness out to meet Grandmama, Granny and Papa. Tim said, "Everyone, meet JLW". Our good friend Gary was also there. It was so exciting and Tim claimed, "We need to have six of these!" That first baby, especially a sweet little girl, will always be a warm, happy memory. She has been a joy and is such a precious young woman. I love her so. Ahhh, memory lane.

In other family news, Michael lost a front tooth. This was more traumatic than the last two on the bottom. He sounds funny now trying to talk.

Yes, that is just one tooth missing on top. It looks like almost enough room for three teeth. The famous Hammock gap I guess. LOL. :)

Jen's Gone, My Back

2008-01-14T08:43:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am missing my girl. She's only been gone a weekend but it seems like a month. I know she's happy to be starting classes again, keeping herself busy. She likes to keep busy. She is taking 18 hours this semester, a full load. She made the Dean's list last semester. Keep it up girl!

In the mean time, I have pulled my back out, although it is much better today. I must have improved due to watching a bunch of old movies yesterday. Actually, while in the shower this morning I felt it go Pop! and all was well. My muscles are sore from all the weird movements I've made to compensate, but I am on the mend.

The movies I watched yesterday:

Breakfast at Tiffany's(1961)-still love this one...Audrey Hepburn is exquisite.

Sunday in New York(1963)-Jane Fonda was beautiful, Robert Stack gorgeous-frank sexual talk for that time I would think, cute though.

The Tender Trap(1955)-speaking of Frank, Sinatra that is and Debbie Reynolds, lovely costumes, ah the fifties

Trip to Bountiful(1985)-Geraldine Page, what a wonderful actress, just wonderful

All of these were on Turner Classic Movie Channel. It was delightful. I imagined what my parents were doing at that time in their lives and how old they were when the movies were released. Bountiful was released in my time, however this was the first time I had seen it. I don't know what it was about yesterday, but there were a lot of good movies on.

Tim got a new motorcycle. Lord help us! He has already ridden John to get a haircut. He and John plan to utilize it for middle school drop off next year. Should be fun.

Notice how you can see two of the dogs in the reflection and me?

The Day Before the Night Before...

2007-12-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy fall. John graduated from DARE program at his school. DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. The DARE officer was so nice and sweet and all the boys had crushes on her. Here she is giving John his diploma:

Here she is giving her speech:

Here is the keynote speaker, a Charlotte morning show host from Fox News Rising, Steve Lyerly. He was very good and joked that after hearing the essays from these kids he was, "definitely not smarter than a fifth-grader". He was actually filling in for his co-host Beth Troutman, who was a Miss Cabarrus County years ago and is now a Charlotte celebrity too.

...and finally here is our very local celebrity, the principal, Mr. Cochran with John:

It was an exciting day for everyone. These kids learn so much from the DARE officer and have a good basic knowledge with which to fend off offers of drugs. I hope they can all remember what they've learned and take it with them into middle and high school. Sadly, there are rumors that this is the last year that DARE will be offered to our school due to funding, which I think would be a huge mistake. I remember when Jen and Dave had it and they still remember their DARE officer very well and what all he taught them. I will find out more about that after school starts back up.

We also did a lot of hiking this fall. Here are the boys hiking...I was there too, taking the picture. I made it almost to the top. What a beautiful day that was. I love the mountains!

The boys made the walking sticks. They made me one too! We were such hikers...we looked just like the signs that indicate hiking areas all over the parkway.

This past week we had parties at school. Here is John and one of his friends at lunch before they got all hyped up on sugar. I think they were anticipating it though...

Jen came in to the school to help out with the parties since we had two at once and her Christmas break started a week and a half ago. Here she is helping Michael build his gingerbread house.

Jenileigh gave Michael some really good ideas and I was able to go around and help some of the kids whose parents couldn't make it to the party. Sadly, there were quite a few.

I wanted to share this with you all...what a difference five years makes...

I cannot believe how young the kids look in the 2002 photo. Why does the time have to go by so quickly?

Merry Christmas to all!

Rain, Rain Come Today!

2007-11-07T04:24:00.000-08:00

Evidence of the drought in this area. It looks pretty bad around here. Luckily our lake looks better than most. These pictures are the large lake (left) and a smaller one that feeds into it. Pray for rain for us please.

November is Upon Us!

2007-11-06T04:22:00.000-08:00

November is here with Thanksgiving only 16 days away. Time for turkey and the fixings. Jenileigh tells me she is looking forward to coming home for all that. We are all looking forward to all six of us sitting down to a big dinner again.

Recently we spent a few days up near the Boone area where Jen is in school. It was beautiful. The trees were in peak fall colors and it was crisp and cold. They had just come off of 5 days of rain which they badly needed as do we in the Concord area. I don't know if the rain helped or what but I thought the colors were the prettiest I've seen since we started going up to that area annually 6 years ago.

Jen is so happy at Appalachian. Her grades are great and she is staying very busy. She gets to travel around with Gospel Choir and that's been fun for her. I'm so happy she's happy! Here are a few pictures of when she was home for her fall break.

Some fall color in the Boone area.

Pretty tree in the mountain neighborhood.

Appalachian State

Our little cabin in the big woods in the mountains...no really, our new house...no really.

There is the cabin upper left. We already have a driveway too. :)

Toothfairy Visits Wax Family Again

2007-09-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

*By the way, in case you couldn't tell, this was his first lost tooth.

First Day of School!

2007-08-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

...and the boys are off!

It's a bit sad this year, not only missing Jenileigh but the fact that this will be the last year the younger boys will be in school together. They are big buds. They had a great day and were so chatty on the way home talking about their first days. John is committed to not pulling any below the lines. He got a collection of them for "inappropriate talking" which he thought the first time meant he had said bad words, which he knew he hadn't and was upset more about that than the fact that he got into trouble at all. He gets it now. No talking when your not supposed to. I think this 5th grade year will really prepare him well for middle school next.

Long Week

2007-08-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

This has been a long week at the end of a very short summer. The boys all start back to school tomorrow and I will hopefully be able to post their traditional first day back photos. Davis goes into 11th, John into 5th and Michael into 1st. This will be the last year that John and Michael will ever be in the same school. Kinda sad, dontcha think? Jenileigh left around 3:00 pm to head back to college. She came home Friday afternoon. She missed her exit and drove about an hour out of the way, a mistake I doubt she will make again. Anyway, since we drove to the mountains midweek last week, we aren't having too much trouble with separation. She will plan to come home on weekends, at least until Kenny leaves for NY.

So, I will be driving the younger boys to school as the bus was not the best situation last year for them. That should be okay, especially since I plan to meet a friend downtown and walk for an hour or so after I drop them off. I really need to come on home and catch up on all the laundry that has accumulated over the summer. It is amazing how bad it can get. I did manage to get all of Jen's done Saturday so she had a bag full of clean stuff to take to her dorm room. She seemed excited to get back to classes and all the activity on campus. I guess my next project will be to organize what is left in her room, box up stuff, get rid of clothes she doesn't want anymore. It makes me sad and tired.

Storms are rolling in. I love summer storms.

Jen leaving to go back to college.

Moving to App

2007-08-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

We move her on Wednesday. What will I do without my girl here? Can she really be this age? I feel my heart breaking.

John on his way to tennis

2007-07-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

Teenagers

2007-07-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

one of the few times we get to see all their teeth. yes!

this was a few seconds later. ups and downs of siblings.

Finally figured this thing out!

2007-07-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

Jen singing Wicked, "I'm Not That Girl". Excuse the shaky photography please.

And then there's Cinderella in "Into the Woods".

I can't believe this...

2007-07-11T04:05:00.000-07:00

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/cartoonist-doug-marlette-dies-in-crash/20070710164709990001

I actually met this man a few months ago. He spoke at our elementary school and I spoke with him and helped him carry a box of his books to be signed to the front of the school. He was so kind and funny. He personalized the autograph of a first edition of The Bridge thusly:

"TO JEANNETTE-

FELLOW DESCENDANT OF COTTON MILL WORKERS! BLESS YOUR HEART!

DOUG MARLETTE"

This is exactly how he signed it, all caps and with the mispelling of my name. Who was I to correct him, right? Anyway, with all his success and celebrity he took time with everyone who wanted to talk to him after his moving speech. He was a Pulitzer Prize winner after all. What a sad day.

Summertime Reading

2007-07-05T04:48:00.000-07:00

Books I've read this summer:

March by Geraldine Brooks-simply loved it, historical fiction, my favorite style right now.

The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll by Jean Nathan-a biography of Dare Wright, very well written and fascinating

Ocracoke in the Fifties by Dare Wright-who the biography above was about so I very much enjoyed this book as well

Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks-this book drug on and on to be so short, not a fan, only read it because we saw the house on the OBX where the movie, starring Richard Gere, was filmed.

March

One more addition that I had forgotten about. I also finished up Answered Prayer by Truman Capote. I started this one a few months back after I read In Cold Blood (which was excellent). I suppose I was expecting something with a more cohesive story. It was an unfinished work of his and based on true life situations he found himself in, with thinly veiled characters. It was interesting but not really my cup of tea. It did feel incomplete. Capote was a fascinating figure, to say the least.

2007-07-04T05:16:00.000-07:00

New Bird

2007-07-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

Check out this new bird in our front yard. What a pretty bird and he sat there for so long so I could take lots of pics. Wonder what he is? I am beginning to believe he has a nest near the weeping willow as I saw him fly to it and then he was in the tree this afternoon. He almost looks like a roadrunner in this shot. Also, check out the oregano. That and rosemary, the only things growin in my yard this spring. Everything else is the same size it was when I planted it. Guess we need to refresh the soil a bit.

Baci Boy

2007-06-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

My how he's changed.

January 25, 2007

Puppy Love

2007-06-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Awwww! Baci lurves Daddy soooo much. Seriously, this dog is so mellow and sweet to be a 5 month old puppy. He is a layabout but when it comes time to chew up stuff he's all puppy again! Cool dog this one. We lucked out. Maybe being hand fed by humans and cuddled so much as a newborn helped him be so mellow....could just be his genes. Just won't ever know will we? He enjoys a good sunbath by the pool. Good boy! He has the prettiest eyes. Light brown almost golden, like Davis.

back home trying to adjust

2007-06-28T03:36:00.000-07:00

We've been home 4 days and I must say, I cannot get back into the swing!We went to our favorite place on earth, Ocracoke. It has changed so much since we started vacationing there 11 years ago. It has really changed since I first visited there over 30 years ago. Our trip was only marred by a few rude, obnoxious people not from the south. They need to chill out, and realize that the pace is slower, especially on O.

The ferry ride over from Hatteras was so exciting as it always is when you anticipate seeing O while approaching the docks. It had been a long two days...we had spent the night in Greenville the night before. We expected to take the Swan Quarter ferry over but the one we had reservations on was cancelled due to "mechanical" problems. I secretly believed they just cancelled it due to not being completely full. Something about the sly grin on the guy's face who told us about it made me think he wasn't being completely honest. Anyway, we took off on hwy 264 through Bath, lovely historic town, and headed on up to Nags Head and down to Hatteras. We arrived in the village right behind a group of Ohioans who felt it necessary to blow our doors off to pass us on the narrow highway 12, only to arrive 2 seconds before us at the rental office. Jeez louise!

The house was much the same, a little more worn but feeling like home. The kids all scattered and found their rooms and we unpacked for the week. Tim took off down the road a bit and rented a little bike attachment so Michael could ride and pedal behind him. He was so cute. I somehow managed not to get a photo of him though. Grr.

On Monday and everyday after that except Weds. we drove to the beach and stayed through lunch, packing sandwiches and snacks. The water was the most absolutely beautiful I have ever seen it. It was clear and very Caribbean-like. I could see my feet, even out in the thigh high water. I didn't want to get much deeper as the riptides were pretty strong this year. Gorgeous!

Weds. we took off for a day at Nag's Head/Kitty Hawk expecting to climb the dunes. Well, about the time we approached the Bonner Bridge (I hate going over that thing) the sky turned black as night and a strong heavy storm came on and we had to stay inside the Kitty Hawk Kites complex the whole time. The drive home was treacherous with hard downpours and I had to drive the truck while Tim drove the teenagers car so as not to encounter problems with flooded roads. I wanted to close my eyes over Bonner Bridge(did I tell you how much I hate that bridge?) but I of course couldn't and I made it over by only watching the taillights in front of me. We made it back to the Ocracoke house all in one piece.

On Thursday we did our usual Coffeehouseing,beaching, shopping and walkabouting and then that night had a fabulous meal at Cafe Atlantic. Parmesan Crusted Red Drum. So good. Highly recommend. We usual always go to Back Porch but didn't make it this time. That is usually our date night but we wanted to do everything with the whole family. It just seemed like the time to bond as a family what with Jen going to college in August. Change is so hard. I'm not a fan.

Recovering from our Ocracoma

2007-06-27T03:19:00.000-07:00

We're home! We've been home since Sunday night but it is so difficult to get back into the swing of things again after a weeklong ocracoma! We went to the beach nearly everyday, we swam, cycled, walked, shelled, kayaked, ate and shopped. It was so lovely. While its good to be home, I miss Ocracoke. It is so beautiful there, but all the publicity lately has drawn a lot more tourists. I've been visiting there since I was a little girl, over thirty years, so I don't consider myself one of those tourists....LOL. What would you call me then?

I noticed this year, more than any other year, so many rude, fast paced people who needed to chillax and slip into the slower pace on the island. I won't say they ruined the trip, but they were an annoyance. I hope the publicity dies down a bit. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the trip.

On the ferryboat Ocracoke.

All four in the waves...

Now I'm dreaming of next year....

Bizarre Bazaar

2007-06-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

A few pictures from the Greek Bizarre Bazaar a few weeks back.

Gladiator!

Homer and the Homettes

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Jenileigh is a Graduate!

2007-06-13T05:15:00.000-07:00

She did it! She graduated! She sang her song and it sounded so great. She sang it with her friend Lauren. It was "For Good" about friendship from the Broadway show "Wicked" that they saw in NYC. It was so moving. What an eventful day.

We went out afterwards to Red Robin, a favorite of hers from when she was a tiny girl. They sang to her much like the did when she turned 8 only it was a graduation song. It makes me tear up thinking about what a little punkin she was and what a lovely young woman she is. Here she is with Tim. She only smiles like that for Daddy.

The dress.

Me and the Boys

Jeni & Kenny

Graduation

2007-06-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

I have to deal with this...Jen graduates next Sunday and I'm kinda sad about it. It seems like yesterday she was this sweet little punkin talking to us behind her paci all the while twirling it in her mouth. She is such a sweet young woman, so talented and smart. Her voice is so sweet and I would rather listen to her sing than anyone out there. Her last play ended two weeks ago and the other night was the last chorus concert. I will miss her so much but I know I have to let her go, give her wings. She won't be too far away and I know I can easily get up to Boone if she is in a play or chorus~or if she just needs me! She is a young woman, that little girl. Oh, how I love her!

as Cinderella in "Into the Woods"

The Choral Concert featured songs from the two plays they saw in NYC~Tarzan and Wicked. They did such a good job and had a lot of fun with it.

performing "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked....it was so good. Her voice was perfect.

Here she's singing a Wicked Medley with her buds, Lauren and Marcie.

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Davis got his driver's license yesterday. Yet another of my children trying to grow up. I know he's happy to have it and he's already run some errands for me. I just pray for his safety these early months of driving alone. He is quite cautious but its the other crazy, drunk, sleepy drivers out there.

The last day of school for everybody is the 8th. There will be lots of parties, field days and activities at the elementary school so I'm gonna be very busy. AAAAA! No time to be sad. This afternoon the cast and crew from the play are arriving to swim and eat. Should be fun for all.

Michael's Catch.

2007-06-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

Michael caught a fish! He won't hold it but he caught it by fly fishing in a 6 year old fashion. Daddy tries it all afternoon and Michael just pops the rod in hopping it all around the water and boom! Caught!

By the way, I painted that shirt he has on using the freezer paper method. It was so fun. I hope to do a bunch of them this summer.

Our Trip to Orlando

2007-04-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

We are recovering from a trip to Orlando. We stayed in the Nickelodeon Hotel which was pretty fun. Magic Kingdom was nice but very crowded. The line for Peter Pan (my favorite ride there) was 90 minutes long and the ride itself was only 4 minutes. We must have been crazy. It was raining most of the day last Tuesday that we were there. Then on Weds. we made it over to Universal, which by contrast was stifling hot and miserable. We lasted longer in the rain than the heat. LOL! The last day we just shopped and the boys and Tim spent the afternoon just at the hotel swimming at the Lagoon. The pools and waterslides at Nick were great! We came home and stopped in Daytona to eat breakfast and to walk out on the beach. Nice but it put us behind and we got in tons of traffic and finally got home around 9pm. Loooong day Friday. Jen and Dave enjoyed their trip to NYC with the high school. They got to do a lot and were very well supervised. There were 51 on the trip. It did them good to do a trip on their own.

Short Spring

2007-03-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

More photos from the outside. When I get home from my walks I enjoy throwing the ball for the labs and strolling around taking photos of the new life blooming around. With 80 degree days forcast for the week, I think our spring will be very short this year.

Changes are coming!

2007-03-26T05:11:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and in just about two months our baby girl will graduate high school. When did this happen? It wasn't supposed to go by so quickly. I've put it in the back of my mind for so long now, and I guess I need to accept it and move on. In the meantime, spring is blooming all over. The dogs have been enjoying the warmer weather and I've been out taking loads of pictures of all the blooms. I cannot wait to get my basil and thyme in the ground. My rosemary looks fabulous. It wintered rather well. Yum my herbs!

Yes Indeed, Spring is Here!

2007-03-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

We are officially into spring. Gorgeous weather lately. Turned on the air Saturday. So much busyness coming up. I think I might lose my marbles. Wowza! Orlando, NYC, Prom, Play and Graduation, then Kiawah, Ocracoke and a lot of Boone. Aaaa! Help! Somewhere in there I've got to clean the house real good for guests and I really should paint the walls but I give up on that. Too much. I knew my soul soared too much the other day. :) Okay, well, on with the day!

This is my Father's world....

2007-03-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

As I walked along this morning, it was very cloudy but after about 20 minutes the sun began to peek and spring was springing out everywhere. I was listening to Larnelle Harris on my ipod and just as I saw the sun through the trees he was singing in my ear "This is my Father's world". So perfect. I was so pumped up with joy I walked for over an hour! Praise God!

See How He's Grown

2007-03-18T05:32:00.000-07:00

Just like kids, puppies grow up...despite our wishing they wouldn't. He is still a sweet puppy, pretty calm considering he is a male lab puppy. The other big dog's don't think he's so sweet. Maybe the fact that he is obnoxious to them, he saves sweetness for us. He still loves to lay across our laps, but we have to be on the floor now.

There are some photos that are random shots of Charlotte I took one day when Tim and I visited a running store to pick up his 1/2 marathon packet, which he ran last Saturday. His time was 1 hour 50 mins. Eight minutes better than the one he ran 11 years ago. Good job Tim!

There have been several write ups in the local papers about Tim becoming chief of staff at the hospital. It comes at a controversial time with an imminent hospital merger about to occur, otherwise, we doubt it would have even made the paper. Anyway, I included an article with his photo.

What have we done now?

2007-01-27T02:52:00.000-08:00

Check him out! We now have the most adorable puppy. He's now 7 weeks old and is so sweet. He has the most adorable puppy smell and he thinks he's human. Here's why:

His mother nearly bled to death and his siblings all died at birth. He and his mom were rushed to the hospital where with blood transfusions they both survived but mama couldn't nurse so he was hand fed until he could eat solid food. Is'nt that just so sweet? He loves to snuggle close and lay on your chest to snooze. I don't think this will be so cute when he's 70+ lbs! We are hoping he will be a good mate for Baby and in the process we should get some beautiful chocolate lab pups. We love him already!

ASU here she comes!

2006-12-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks like Jenileigh will be going to Appalachian State University. She applied only there as that was the only place she wanted to go. She got the good news on December 13th. She is so excited. We are too. Boone is one of our favorite places in North Carolina. She is going to audition in the Spring for their School of Music so I'll let you know how that goes. We heard her sing a solo last night at the high school's Christmas Concert. It was very good. She sang "Grown Up Christmas List" despite the fact that she is not quite grown up.

All the babies are growing up though, and much too fast. Davis will get his license in a few months and I think he has finally accepted this fact. He's not too keen on independence yet...and that's okay with me. There are plenty of years left for that. He is such a caring 16 year old and very conscientious. He truly thinks of others first, which is such a rare quality in anyone.

John has started basketball season and really enjoys running up and down the court. He really seems to like his coaches and looks forward to games which are on Saturdays. Keeps us busy, that one does, both physically and mentally. Ha!

Michael is loving the K! Kindergarten that is. He still thinks it is awesome 4 months in and I see no reason why that should change. He really is reading well and loves doing small math problems, mostly during preaching on Sunday mornings..but hey, whatever keeps him still, as long as it's not his Gameboy right? I must state, however, that I have seen a couple of young boys playing their Gameboys during service which I was surprised by and had to explain to my boys why I wouldn't allow them to do that. That was difficult to do and ended up being a "Just because I said so" conversation.

Tim and I are okay. He is overwhelmed at work, I think. So much going on. He did get to meet Jeff Gordon and his new wife at the grand opening of the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital. That was kind of neat, though he felt the honor was a bit wasted on him as he has never once seen a NASCAR event. He did enjoy "Cars" the animated movie, but that is about the extent to which this family has been exposed to "racin'".

I am trying to tidy up and get all the laundry done (yeah right) before we go to Miss. for the holidays. We are renting an RV again and cannot wait for the adventure to begin. It will be so good to see the families. Until next time....

Another parade....

2006-12-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

Today was another parade for Jenileigh and Tim. This time I got a little bit better pictures, but still not perfect. I'm not so great at the camera I guess. Her crown stayed on this time! Yaaaay! It was a much smaller parade than the Concord one and I think I liked it better. It was so cute and sweet. John and I sat on Main Street in our beach chairs, sipping hot cocoa and just really enjoyed it. Michael didn't want to go so he stayed home with Davis, who wasn't too keen on going either.

Also, I threw in a picture of me in the Emergency Room with my dislocated fibula. Oh, did that hurt. It happened Thursday on my way out the door to the garage and I hit the step the wrong way...my body went one way, my lower leg the other. I was in a great deal of pain but I really think I will never go to the ER again. It was not a good experience. The doc was a cold jerk. Let's just say, he didn't even touch the area, only went by xrays and told me to go home and if it got worse see primary care. Well, I still couldn't walk on it and was wheelchaired out to the car. The next time I got out of the car and tried to walk on it the fibula popped back into place and the relief was unbelieveable. I am still sore and very cautious about walking on it but I am much better, no thanks to the ER doc. Grrr!

Davis got his new car about two weeks ago. He was completely humbled and surprised and is so grateful. We figured he needed to practice before he goes for his test in May and the truck is too big and bulky and the other cars have stick shifts. I have been driving the new Corolla and I really like it. It is roomy and smooth. He really likes it. It blends in with the crowd, nothing too flashy, just his style. Sweet boy.

Panthers Lose...whaaa!

2006-11-28T04:26:00.000-08:00

The boys were bummed that the Panthers lost. Oh well, maybe next year they'll make it to the Super Bowl again. Today I see the reflexologist so it will be a slow day, but tomorrow I'm supposed to do some Christmas shopping with my friend Stacy. It's about time I got out and about. I am definitely not a fan of the Black Friday shopping. I still think I'm a hermit at heart. However, the weather here has been so near perfect that I can't stay in for long. Hope all is well in all your worlds. God Bless.

Panthers Win!

2006-11-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

Yeah! The Panthers won and Tim and Davis were there to see it. They played the Rams which is the team Denzel Washington's son is on. So cool! When the Panthers win you can count on Tim & Davis being in a great mood, and they were. They had some fellow football fans take this photo. They had great seats to boot. What a great Sunday. They also went to early service and got some good preaching in as well. Good times, good times.

Almost Thanksgiving

2006-11-19T07:26:00.000-08:00

Here we are, a few days from Thanksgiving and my house is a big ol mess! I am trying to get organized...but I fail miserably. We had a busy weekend, Jen was in the Concord Christmas Parade representing Mount Pleasant as Miss Mt. Pleasant High School and she rode atop my Mini Cooper with Daddy driving. It was fun and we got to catch up with so many old friends from our years of living in the big city of Concord. Now that we are in the county, we seem to have lost touch. It was a long day, and besides Jen's crown not wanting to stay on (She finally had to slide it onto the Mini's antennae) and the fact that my pictures turned out blurry for some reason, the parade was so very nice. However, our ride home was not so nice. I had Jen, Dave, and Mike with me in the Avalanche and as I was just cruising through a very, very green light ( I have two witnesses) an older man pulled across my path. I slammed on the brakes with both feet and I missed his jeep, but he was pulling a trailer with a four wheeler on it and we hit that. As you can see from the photos, it messed the truck up pretty bad. No one was hurt, thank God, and we had to wait and hour and a half for the police to finally get to us but all is well now, except for my jangled nerves, and stiff legs from the force of pushing so hard on the brakes, but I guess I'm okay. All the way home last night I was on edge, expecting cars to jump out at me at any moment. Yikes! I hate having a wreck! It turns out, the man who pulled in front of me lives very close by. Small world. Well, that's all for today. Hope all is well with everyone out there!

Autumn...My Favorite Time of Year, at least til Spring!

2006-11-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

So much time has passed since the last entry. How sad that I can't keep up with it any better than this. On the other hand, nice to be so busy I guess.

Where to begin....School has started of course, and we are seeing the final public school year of our dear daughter. She is facing this whole big wide world and it is scary. We are not sure where she is going to college, though chances are it will be very close by. She isn't ready to fly the coop for too far away.

Dear Son #1 is a sophomore and is anticipating getting his liscence in the spring. He's in no hurry. I don't blame him. If I had had a sister to drive me around everywhere I never would have gotten mine. LOL.

Dear Son #2 is in 4th grade and has lots of homework. We literally have to stand over him to make him get it done. Not at all a self motivator. What happened with that one? He actually does very well on tests though, so he retains what he hears, he's just not into the nuts and bolts of it all.

And then there is DS#3. Kindergarten is awesome! That is what he says when you ask him. He has two teachers who share one position. One of them is just precious. The other, not into warm fuzzies. I think she would make a better 5th grade teacher, but I suppose it is a good balance as he must wean away from the warm fuzzy types after the loving preschool he had.

We made our annual fall trip to Blowing Rock and it was beautiful. It was rainy our first day there but gorgeous leaf viewing occurred after that. DD walked the campus at Appalachian State just to get a feel for it. She may apply. Who knows?

Two October birthdays were celebrated, one turned 16 the other 6. What a range of ages we have. It makes for some wild times, some fun times and some stressful times. I guess that is what makes the family machine roll along. Until next time...

so far i've failed miserabley

2006-10-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to be a better eblogger blogger but so far...not so good. But I will press forward. So much is happening here in the fall. Hard to slow down and catch my breath. Maybe I can show with pictures rather than so many words what we've been up to. Here goes....first of all....we have discovered how tasty Sushi is. We have discovered a cool sushi bar with a revloving bar. Too cool. They also serve delish Japanese food as well. Yum!

2006-08-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new Blog!

I thought I'd give blogger a try. I have one on another server which is really the only thing that keeps me with them. I am hoping that this one works out and I can have free access from now on!

Charleston-Faith Hill and Tim McGraw

2006-06-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

Guess where I got to go? Charleston to see Tim McGraw and Faith Hill! My dear friend, Deb, was given that as a gift for Mother's Day and she asked me to go with her! We had so much fun! I didn't realize how much I enjoyed Faith and Tim. LOL! We ate well and managed to squeeze a little shopping in as well. Back to normal life. I knitted a coffee cup dishcloth on the drive home. That is about all the knitting I have time for now a days. Kids are out of school and the busy-ness of summer is at hand!!

Prom

2006-05-08T04:43:00.000-07:00

Another Prom has come and gone. Oh the drama! I hope boy proms are easier than being on the girl's side. Anyway, Jen looked so pretty and seemed to have fun, regardless of the drama. Here she is with Mayra, her friend through thick and thin. Also, note the tractor in the background of the last picture, typical Mount Pleasant. Ha!

Great Grayson Week

2006-04-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Michael and I spent some time at Deb and Grayson's house. Deb and I had reflexology appointments and Michael entertained us while I held and fed Baby Grayson. Ooooooh...we just love him. He is the sweetest. He really is a very happy child. I also had the opportunity to babysit him on Weds. It was a great Grayson week!

I took some photos earlier in the week of our mini magnolia tree and the labs playing around outside. Check em out.

Pouty Michael

2006-03-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

Michael had a bad day at school this day and refused to smile for the photographer. He can't even remember why he was so upset. The teachers say it was because he wanted to sit on the purple piece of carpet for story time and he didn't get to. This is unusual as he is normally cheerful and compliant. I think he still looks sweet though. The picture makes me want to tickle him and make him laugh.

Spring Weather

2006-03-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that we are 8 days away from Spring it sure feels like it's here now. We went to a local park for tennnis lessons for John and playtime for Michael. The kids even got to swim. It is going to get cooler later this week but hopefully only for a short time. Sunday morning we got up and saw a bunch of spooky fog hovering over us. I got a couple of good pictures of it. Michael has a fever today, so no school. I'm at home all day, probably tackling laundry for most of it. Well, gotta run do many things. Until next time.....

March Roars In....

2006-03-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

Another month has flown by. At this rate, Jenileigh will be off to college before we know it. It is a beautiful, sunny day but windy and chilly. Tim and I had a nice overnight date night last night and we had a yummy dinner at Adam's. Wow! We rarely eat steak but last night we indulged. Then this morning we had breakfast in the room. I forgot to take pix of the breakfast but I saved the roses that were on the table. Notice we had four roses...one per child. Cool, huh? Tim and I feel like we had a mini vacation. So nice. Looking foward to the next one. :)

Super Grayson

2006-02-08T15:51:00.000-08:00

Hello all. February is upon us and only now has NC decided to get cold. I had just about decided I wouldn't get to wear heavy sweaters anymore this winter. Many of our plants and trees had begun to bud and wham! a blast of cold. Who knows what our yard will look like come spring/summer.

We had the Benjamins over to watch the Super Bowl and eat Taco Soup. Grayson was adorable as always. He watched the kids play and Tim wrestle with the boys on the floor. I think he couldn't wait to join them. What a sweetie pie. We had not gotten together with them for Tim's and my birthday yet so they even brought a birthday cake. Yum!

Here at the end of January...

2006-01-31T04:39:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day of January.

Jen turned 17 yesterday.

I cannot believe it. She suddenly seems so grown up. Unreal.

We have had a busy January. It was hard to get back into the routine of school after winter break but it wasn't long before the new semester was upon us and report cards came home. Everyone did well, some struggled here and there but for the most part we were pleased. Jen took the SAT this past Sat. It will be a while before we get results. Davis is playing basketball and swim team just ended. Jen goes to states this weekend so she still has swim practice after school. John is enjoying cub scouts on Wednesdays. When he and Michael aren't fighting they generally have fun playing outside as the weather has been so mild this winter. It has been pretty windy though.

Tim has to go back to work today after a four day weekend in which we just did stuff around the house. Yesterday Tim washed all the cars, including my new little min cooper. I love that little car....I could put it in my pocket....and it is great on gas. With Jen driving, I do so much less driving around with all four kids so I could use a smaller car. It's mostly Michael and me in the mini. It is a convertible so I can put the top down, which I've done several days this winter....can't believe it...not a bit of snow. I guess we could still have some, but it seems unlikely.

We watched our Carolina Panthers win win win in the playoffs and then lose the championship game which would have put us in the Super Bowl. Bummer! Tim had blown up our Panther Man and put blue lights in all the outside lights. We were in the spirit! Now we will have to watch the Seahawks vs. the whoevers. I guess we can look forward to the food anyways. I plan to cook Taco Soup and various appetizers. I can always look forward to good eats! :) By the way, have you heard that someone is trying to patent the sideways smiley? How crazy, we will have to pay to use it? Well, then what about the ? or the ! I think I'll try to patent those....please!

On the knitting front, I've done several scarves this winter as gifts and not taken any pictures. Smart huh? I am working on a Panther's scarf for Tim. I'm pretty happy with it. Since it won't be leaving this house, I should be able to get a photo on here.

Until next time....

New Year New Cold

2006-01-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

Today is a bit of a bummer as I have a nasty head cold. I missed out on a concert last night due to feeling so cruddy. Davis stayed home to study but Tim, Jen and Jess went to see Lenny Kravitz and Aerosmith. Tim had seen Aerosmith in the 70's and he said they were so much better last night than they were then. Just goes to show you how much getting off drugs can help. (Aerosmith, not Tim he he) They were energetic and they very much enjoyed it. I was all achy and stuffy and felt so yuk I didn't want to drag myself around that new coliseum and sit there and blech. Anyway, sounds like Davy and I missed a good one.

Our Christmas trip to Miss. was nice. It seems so long ago now. I have been knitting a bit but not as much as I'd like to but I never do seem to be able to accomplish much anymore. We are supposed to get some violent storms today. I would imagine so with this crazy nearly 70° temperatures we've been having. Kids are out of school Monday and Tuesday but poor Jen has to have her wisdom teeth out Monday morning. I know she can't be looking forward to that. It is necessary though as her bottom teeth are definitely shifting and messing up her perfect teeth.

Well, I better go eat some chicken soup. I feel so out of sorts as I haven't had a cold in years it seems. Hope all is well with everyone. Unitl next time.....