Changes are coming!

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!

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....

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

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?

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!

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....

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.