Smorgasbord

This may quite possibly be the longest picture post ever! I do not have much on my mind to share, but have tons of pictures to show what we have been up to.

We were able to make a quick trip to Alabama to surprise Tim's dad for Father's Day, and he was most certainly surprised! We had a good visit with Tim's parents and one of his brothers and his family. We missed you John!

I hope your fourth was filled with fun memories. We spent the day/evening at my parents house with my brother and his wife and son, and my sister and her 3 kids. Her husband is still overseas defending the very freedom we all celebrated! We love and miss him and cannot wait for his safe return!

Well, without further ado, here are the pics...enjoy!

Here are all the Day cousins

Anna and Grandpa on the boat. They have a fun pond in their back yard.

We took a day trip to Atlanta. Here is a water show at the Centennial Olympic park.

We also went to the World Of Coke Museum.

Here is Anna with Grandma and the Coke Polar Bear

Inside the World of Coke

This was a fun room where you could taste Coca Cola products from all over ther world!

Tim and Anna waiting for the subway tot take us back to Atlanta Underground for lunch

Lunch at Johnny Rockets in Underground Atlanta. She made it fit!

I love this girl!

The kids waiting for a few fun fireworks.

They are wearing the 3-D fireworks glasses Grammy got for them!

Dillon and Grammy lighting the fireworks

Sparkler fun

We lined my parents back walkway with these giant sparklers.

This is what they look like through the 3-D glasses

The kids around the fire waiting to roast marshmallows

Ben and Drew

Brenda and Drew

The girls Anna and Megan

All the grandkids

Uncle Ben, Dillon and Shane

Darla and her Shane, Brenda and her Drew

My sister and I always take our girls to get pedicures when they are in town.
Here is Megan getting tickled by her pedicure!

Girly time!

Anna is so relaxed!

He Is Exhausted!

What a great week this has been! I have to say that as much as I miss my husband since he still has to work this summer, I have had a GREAT week with Anna! This is the first summer Tim has not been off in the summer like he has as a teacher since we were married 11 years ago! I am so proud of all of his hard work, but we miss him!

I was not worried about it being just Anna and me since we are together all the time anyway, but I was worried that we might get stir crazy now that school is out! She has been so great! She wakes up in the morning and goes into the living room and turns the cartoons WAY down to let me sleep in a little, and then when I get up, she pauses the TV (DVR - best invention ever!!!!) and asks me how I slept and if I noticed that she was being quiet so I could sleep longer! She has been a helper without complaining, and decided that she enjoys doing laundry...His love endures forever!!! I am serious, I hate laundry and it is nothing short of a God thing that she is loving it and that she really does it well. On Monday I needed to get the dishes done but also had been wanting to make a pan of brownies, so I asked Anna if she wanted to make the brownies while I did the dishes...you guessed it...she made them BY HERSELF. The only thing I did was pour it in the pan and put it in the oven.

I hesitate to even write this post at the risk of jinxing the wonderful time Anna and I have had together, but 1) I am not superstitious, OCD maybe, but not superstitious, and 2) I am so proud of what a sweet girl Anna is continuing to be and I want her to read this in the morning and know that I am so proud of her that I had to tell all of my friends about it! (she has already told me I can stop thanking her!)

OK, I am done. I will post later on what an amazing husband I have and all the craziness he puts up with, but for now I will finish with a conversation me and Anna had on our way to VBS tonight. We were listening to the radio and the song "He is Exalted, the King is Exalted on High" came on and we were just singing our little hearts out and then Anna said: "Mom, I think they should change the words of this song to 'He is Exhausted' because I bet He gets SOOOO exhausted putting up with all of us sinners!" HA! How true!

I want the years back!

Ok, so maybe I don't want them back, but I want them to slow WAAAAAAAAAY down! It seems the older I get the faster the years are going by! Anna graduated from Kindergarten today! I am so proud of her and am SOOOO proud to be her momma! Here are a few pics that make me want the time back!

Here is Anna on her first day of Kindergarten! I hate that her eyes are shut, but it will be a sweet memory!

This was her as she went into her classroom for the first time! She was so excited to see us go and leave her to her busy Kindergarten year!

Here is Anna getting to be the claendar helper one day. I was up at her school helping out with some other activities and I got to be there while she helped the teacher. This was her favorite thing this year...getting to help teach the class.

And here she is today getting her doploma from her Principal with her teacher right behind them.

After graduation they went back to their rooms and the teacher gave out individual awards. This is Anna getting her reading award.

OK, so since this is my blog I get to brag a little on my kid, right? Well, my sweet Anna left with a reading award because she LOVES to read and she is reading on a 3RD GRADE LEVEL! OK, this may not be a big deal for some, but coming from a momma who hates to read, it is HUGE! I knew she was ahead of the game early on in the year as we met with her teacher and decided whether to try to test her for 1st grade(we chose not to), but my biggest prayer was that she would have a love of reading like her daddy because I DO NOT! God is so faithful even in the little desires of our hearts! Don't you just love how He cares about the little things that are BIG to us? I could go on and on as I know many of you could too, but I will just say that I mean this now more than ever before...I AM A BLESSED WOMAN!

Over the past 6 1/2 years as we have tried unsuccessfully to have more kids, I have enjoyed my time with Anna. However, there was always that glimmer of hope that there was more on the horizon for our family and that we would have more kids. Not to say that God is finished growing our family, but I can say that if this is as big as our family ever gets, I have no complaints. I have a husband who loves me and his daughter second only to the Lord, and a beautiful, healthy, smart little girl who is blossoming into a lovely young lady. I am sorry THE lovely young lady! HA! We went out to eat tonight and the waitress brought Anna her drink and said, "and here is a drink for the young lady" All Anna heard was THE not A she talked about it all night long, "Momma, I am not just A young lady...I am THE young lady!" What a sweet girl!

Thank you God for the gifts you give us and every moment you allow us to be together! May we NEVER take that time for granted!

Let's Shoot for 11 More!

Eleven years ago today I married the man of my dreams!

He has proven to be more than I could have ever dreamed of!

I thank the Lord for giving me my perfect match and for bringing our hearts together.

Tim is such a hard worker and it seems like these days I just cannot tell him enough how much I appreciate how hard he works for our family.

I can honestly tell you that in 11 years of marriage, he has NEVER ONCE complained about going to work everyday so that he can support my wish to be home with Anna.

He is quick to encourage and slow to criticize.

He loves unconditionally and never judges me for my faults (there are many.)

He is a wonderful daddy to our Anna bug and teaches her how a young lady should expect to be treated by taking her on dates and being as much of a gentleman to her as he has always been to me.

If I could have handpicked my dream guy, I would not have been able to make a better choice. God sure does know what He is doing!

Babe, thanks for filling in the gaps of my heart and for always loving me unconditionally. You have brought joy to my life and showed me the true meaning of commitment. Thanks you for all of the hard work you do on a daily basis to make life better for me and Anna.

I love you!

Seriously????

OK, we knew when we walked Anna into Kindergarten on her first day that this was just one of many "firsts" she would have in public school. She has been exposed to a lot of "worldly" things, and not all of it bad. Most things have been pretty uneventful. This week, Anna came home and wanted to tell me about something that happened at school that day...

Anna: Hey mom!

Me: Yeah Bug!

Anna: You see this red mark under my chin?

Me: Yes.

Anna: I bumped my chin at school today.

Me: I am so sorry. What happened?

Anna: Well, we were sitting on the floor at carpet time and I was leaning over C***** to talk to R***** and C**** raised his head and called me sexy and when he did, he bumped.....

Me: Hang on a sec. What did you just say?

Anna: I said that C**** raised his head and bumped my chin.

Me: What did you say he called you?

Anna: Oh yeah, he called me sexy. Momma, what IS a sexy?



ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We know she is smart for her age, but sexy? Ha! REALLY?

Let's just say that the conversation that ensued will be kept between momma and daughter, and I think I handled it very well (if I do say so myself). I am one of those mommas that does not feel it is necessary to lie to my child to guard them from the ways of the world or to prevent an uncomfortable conversation (which it was), So we discussed it and I will tell you God really came through.

With all of that said, we really are big supporters of public school, and though it was a tough pill to swallow, it was a teaching moment for me.

***Let me pause for a moment and make a disclaimer here for all of my home school friends. I AM NOT AGAINST HOMESCHOOLING! I think God gives us discernment to do what is best for our families, and if God has led you to home school, or to do the private school thing, more power to ya! I have very dear friends who have chosen not to do public school.***

Public school has given Anna some amazing opportunities to share her faith with others. I feel like mine and Tim's job as her parents are to equip her to shine her light in a dark world, and she has truly done that! I got an e-mail from her teacher not too long ago that told me about an incident that happened in centers. A little boy had been ugly to one of his friends and before the teacher could get over to him to make him apologize, Anna swooped in and began to tell him that Jesus is so disappointed when we choose to treat others that way. The little boy looked at her and said "Who is Jesus?" Her teacher said that her eyes got really big and she said, "You don't know who Jesus is? He is God's son, and let me tell you what he did for you! He died on a cross so that we could live in heaven with Him some day, and He would not want us to treat each other badly." Her teacher said that at that point the boy apologized to his friend and they continued playing like nothing had happened. Don't you just love that? That, to me, is what it is all about! Our hearts just overflowed with joy!

So, can I handle a "sexy" conversation every so often? You bet! Is it always going to be easy? No. Will I always like it? Not on your life. But it is her little mission field and I am so thankful for her willing heart and love for the Lord. Her daddy and I have a big job ahead of us, but I know that the return on our investment will be great!

I hope this was not too much of a jumbled mess, but it was on my heart.

I would LOVE to hear your stories and what road you have chosen for your kids and why. I truly feel like there is no right or wrong when it comes to what is right for our families, as long as we feel the Lord leading!

The Obsession Continues!!!

OK, so I know I have posted recently about cake balls, but c'mon, can you really post TOO much about them? In my little cake ball fantasy world, the answer is loud and clear...NO!!!

So, without further ado, here are some of my latest creations. These ones I made for our "Friendly Friend" getogether. I wanted my Friends to eat them until they were comatose enjoy these little treats. Just ask my sweet friend Charity what she thought! LOL

Mmmmmm!!! Don't you just want to...well, for lack of better words, EAT THEM UP?

OK, my BFF (I would add a link to her blog...IF SHE HAD ONE! Ahem!)and I decided that we were going to make cake ball bouquets for our church's annual Make, Bake, or Grow auction to raise money to help our youth group with camp this summer. We each decided on a design and helped each other pull it all together. Here is Cindy's Design. Double chocolate cake balls dipped in chocolate and peanut butter flavored candy melts and a few chocolate covered strawberries to bring it all together. Mmmmmmm!

I decided for my design that I wanted to go springy! So, here are double chocolate cake balls dipped in colored candy melts. Even though they are not technically ball shaped, the flowers are also cake ball inside. We just formed them into flowers to add to the bouquet.

And last but not least...here are our three beauties all wrapped up and ready for auction! It was a long day, but they made money for a good cause and I got an order for a birthday party out of it. I guess you could say it was well worth the time spent with your BFF!

I cannot promise that this is the last cake ball post, because I will probably post some pics of the birthday party ones I will do in May, but hopefully you are enjoying them too!

Calling all chefs!

Hello to all of you faithful readers! I have not disappeared, I have been swamped with a few commitments, but I have posts to share. For now, I need some help. I have to have a Cinco De Mayo dish for Anna's school luncheon, and I do not have ANY Mexican food recipes. I know I could go online and find some, but they lie and tell me it is easy, and then I mess it all up! With that said, I would love for you to send me your yummiest, easiest Mexican food recipes. I am open to any suggestions. I will post a picture of the one I choose. If you are on facebook I have already sought help there, so I may choose on from there, but I have a feeling you girls will knock it out of the park! Thanks in advance, and I look forward to cooking!
Posts to come:
*Bow the Knee(Easter Presentation)
*Three dead...er...uh...blind Mice!
*Snakes? Seriously?
*Words of wisdom from a 6 year old

Can you tell it has been fun around here?