Happy Father's Day

I don't know how it is possible, but I love my dad more and more everyday.  My mom says I am just like him sometimes.  Well, if that's true, then I am doing okay.  :)  The truth is I have a LONG way to go to be as good as he is . . .  probably never quite make it! 

I love you, Daddy!  Happy Father's Day!

Run or Dye! More like. . .Walk and Dye! :)

Sometimes you just have to do something fun and silly that absolutely makes no sense!  Today was one of those days for me. . . forgetting what makes sense and just having some goofy fun.

Julie Yant her sweet family made my morning!  What great friends to run through colored dye with (okay, WALK through colored dye).  Conner and Cameron were hilarious and made me smile.  Together we were coated in blue, yellow, green, pink, and a little bit of purple dye while making new memories that we will treasure forever.  The weather was beautiful and so was the company!

Let's get going!

Pre-race

Don't take my picture!

Too cute!

We're painted!

Post-race!

Friendships that last a lifetime. . .

I know I say it all the time, but seriously, I am SO BLESSED!  

Life has thrown me more than one curve ball the past decade and these ladies have stood by me through every single thing.  When I needed to cry, one of them was always there!  When I needed to laugh, one (or more) of them would always be ready!  When I needed a little 'fussing' (yeah, that happened, too), one of them would step up and tell me to keep on putting one foot in front of the other and not give up.  These ladies are just as happy as I am that Chris has come into my life and tonight we celebrated a little . . .

YHWH has preformed a miracle in my life and these sweet friends are all a part of that because of their prayers and precious friendships.   I don't know what I would do without them - I love them with all of my heart!  

Red, White, Blue, and I DO!

I can vividly remember getting a message from Chris via Facebook and thinking - yeah, right, he has NO idea what he is asking for!  Why would this sweet boy from school be interested in me?  And, really, would he understand my life and what is most important to me - my walk with God?  I, of course, kindly turned him down thinking I would never hear from him again.  It wasn't long until he was messaging me every day, asking all of the right questions, and making me wonder if he was for real!  It didn't take me long to decide that he WAS for real and EXACTLY what I had been praying for.

Here we are. . . elated and planning our 'happily ever after'! Both of us are walking on cloud nine to have this chance of a home filled with love and joy.  It is such a blessing to know that our home will be sanctioned by YHWH and HE will be here with us.  Our new home is not about the stuff, but about the peace, love, and joy that we both have so desperately wanted for so long.

We've decided to have a private ceremony on 4th of July.  :)  No big party or reception, no frills or anything fancy,  just us and our immediate families.  It will be a sweet day of red, white, blue, and I DO! 

Not so . . . AUTOMATIC

I've spent most of the day thinking about the fact that I am the parent of a high schooler.  Really?  How did this happen?  It seems just like yesterday I was chasing him around the playground.  That was easy - chasing a cute little toddler.  This is an entirely different kind of parenting!  How do I teach him to slow down and enjoy this special time in his life?


I don't listen to country music much anymore and I'm not a big Miranda Lambert fan (I like Blake minus his dirty mouth) but I really do like one of her new songs, Automatic.

How can I teach Andy to appreciate the "important" things?  I want him to see things the way my parents taught me to seem them - with genuine appreciation.  As a teenager I wondered sometimes why my parents spent so much time exposing me and Josh to times past.  We spent hours in antique malls learning about unique furniture and trinkets.  You know, the really cool things that are no longer made or used.  We spent so many family days touring mansions or historic places of interest.  I understand now that they were teaching us to treasure things not so "Automatic".   Now. . . how do I instill this in my teenage son in a time that is even more automatic than when I was his age?

We live in a world where everything IS automatic.  Could you imagine what our grandparents would have thought of text messaging as a teenager?  What?  Instant messages?  I want Andy to SLOW down and experience life with patience and respect.  When everything they do is instant, neither of these things are being taught. Our kids penmanship is horrible because we don't even slow down long enough to teach them to write neatly.  Why bother, everything is digital, right?  WRONG!  Life is not digital!  

So, I end up with a bit of a dilemma.  I want him to enjoy the technology of the present but with limitations.  This makes me seem as somewhat of a mean parent.  Here is what is about to happen at my house - a very strict restriction of all technology, including the cell phone!  Now, there is already a rule here at home that prohibits his phone to be in his bedroom after 9 P.M.  and he really doesn't spend a massive amount of time on line.  But, I think we can both do a better job of how much time we spend "looking down" instead of enjoying the world around us.  I say we because I am just as guilty as he is.

This will not make me the cool parent, but our lives are about to change around here in more ways than one!  Here goes. . .

Fun Weekend!

 Deciding to celebrate "40" all year has been amazing.  This past weekend we had a girls weekend at the cabin and it was a blast.  We spent our time doing lots of fun things - I don't think we sat still for long at all.  We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel three times,  rode the new Alpine Slide, shopped at the Beehive, ate dinner at The Old Mill, spent the evening chatting on the back porch, tubed down the river, had the best burger ever at Five Guys, rode the HUGE ferris wheel, watched the dancing waters, walked the streets of Gatlinburg (with a quick visit to the Ogle cemetery), rode a 1/2 mile zipline, and found a little time to shop!  Shew . . .  that's a lot for one weekend!


The Alpine Slide was so much fun.  Talk about some fast "views" from a mountain.  I kinda think the girls thought I was crazy for wanting to ride it, but once we were all safe and sound back on the ground we were all so glad we rode it!

Tubing down the river was . . . a brand new kind of fun for us!  We learned a lot.  For instance, (1) use LOTS of sunscreen, (2) take a cooler for cold water to drink because 3 hours is a long time, (3) don't panic if you stop moving down the river - just stay calm and don't let Jackey out of her tube, (3) Jennifer Suttle is STRONG, (4) take a rope next time so we don't have to hold on to each other's inter-tubes, (5) and we all know the words to, "Let's go down to the river to pray. . . "

The Wheel is a new attraction at Pigeon Forge.  It was Angie's idea to ride it and she panicked once we were up in the air! Haha!!!  Jennifer had tingling toes and made us all laugh!  

We were excited that we were able to watch the dancing waters while we were there.  It was so cool!  

Before we left I REALLY wanted to zipline!  I had to make Jami Brooke do it!!!!!  Watching Tina laugh, hearing Jami scream, and knowing that Jennifer had "tingling toes" made this last adventure memorable.  

As we pulled out of town to head back home we stopped for ice cream!  Yummy!!!!

Our evening on the back porch was so sweet.  We learned things about each other that we didn't know.  We laughed at stories that will forever be etched in our minds (thanks again, Jennifer) and cried as we talked about how YHWH spared some of us from terrible circumstances in our lives. We are for sure a blessed group of ladies with much to be thankful for.  I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend than with friends that I love so dearly!  

We decided that this had to be an annual trip - can't wait until next year!