Weekend Fun

This weekend has been fun and busy. We had a garage sale at my sister's house. Her subdivision had a yard sale this weekend and I took some of my treasures to her house for others to enjoy!! I sold lots of treasures and got to visit with lots of people. It was a good Friday and Saturday at the yard sale!

Jody went camping Friday night with guys from our Bible Fellowship class. The girls went to sleep over at friends houses. What was I to do? I went shopping!! I spent 2 hours in Target by myself, it was scary!!

The girls had Living Christmas Tree dance practice Saturday and Sunday. It was a weekend practice. They had a good time of course because they were dancing!! They were really tired by the end of the day of Sunday!!

Sunday night at church Aubrey's choir sang during worship service. This is the first time this group has sung together as 3rd and 4th graders!! They did an awesome job. This is the group I work with and I am glad I have gotten to know these children. They are really great kids and we have a good time each week in practice. We are starting practice for Living Christmas Tree music, Christmas music, etc.. It is a busy time in choir.

Jody is working in Knoxville this week!! We are so excited. I hope everyone has a great week!

Biltmore House in Ashville, NC

Yesterday we went to Biltmore House in Ashville, NC and had a great time. They had lots of demonstrators set up and lots of activities for the kids. We took a tour of the flower and vegetable garden, held a baby chick, sampled good food, decorated cookies with chocolate, made food designs with syrup, and took a tour of Biltmore House. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. Thanks Nana for going with us.

Wednesday Word

As I was doing my Bible study one verse really got my attention this morning.

In Psalm 81:10 God instructs, "Open wide your mouth and I will fill it."

In the study Lysa TerKeurst reminded me that God will give me what to say today. What to say in happy moments. What to say in aggravating moments. What to say in moments where I feel insecure, and what to say when I feel completely confident. What to say in disappointing moments. What to say in response to questions.

I also needed to be reminded that sometimes it is best not to say nothing at all. This is the hardest for me because I can always have a response.

One challenge of homeschool for me is having Taylor and Aubrey around me to see the real me ALL the time. They are always with me, wherever I go, whomever I talk to... to hear the words I use in every situation. Sometimes I will need to remind them to get rid of the bad attitude or to be careful with their words. Then I have to wonder, are they repeating and imitating the words and attitudes that they see from me?

My prayer is Psalm 86:11 "Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth..."

Manic Monday

That is what I feel like we are having today. Since getting up this morning it has been go, go, go. After school today we have been cleaning out Taylor and Aubrey's bedroom. We are getting ready for a garage sale and I am using this as an excuse to clean out clothes, toys, stuffed animals, etc... (yes this is a carried over project from last week!!). I will let you know more about the garage sale this weekend, just make plans to come by on Friday and/or Saturday.

For dinner tonight we had homemade pizzas. This is one of few meals that I can fix that is a favorite for Taylor and Aubrey. I prepare the toppings and then they fix whatever they want on their pizza. The pizza was extra delicious tonight because we had been on a bike ride/walk before dinner and were extra hungry and had extra calories to eat!! (the first pizza is mine, the second pizza is Taylor's and the third pizza is Aubrey's)

Taylor Sings

Taylor sung tonight in worship service. She sung with her 5th and 6th grade choir. This is the first time this group has sung together as 5th and 6th graders. We have just been back in choir practice for 5 weeks. They did a great job. I love to hear the children singing and praising God with song. Thanks Mrs. Cheri and your helpers for making this a great time for Taylor and all the children. I appreciate all the time and effort you put into this choir.

They will continue to work on learning more new music. They are beginning practice for Living Christmas Tree and special Christmas music. It is a busy time in Children's Choir!!

Weekend Projects

First let me say there was not a lot of "we" in the weekend projects. This was poor work boy's weekend projects. What do you expect, he was home all day Saturday? Here are some examples of the great work he did. Thanks a bunch work boy!!



If you can't tell from the pictures here is the honey-do list for Saturday (in no specific order):
1. garbage to the dump (after getting it all together from all over the house)
2. put up a board in the kitchen (after going to Lowe's to get some supplies)
3. unclog the drain in Taylor and Aubrey's bathtub (very yucky job and a trip to Lowe's for a special tool and no picture because still some more cleaning to be done before a picture can be taken!!)
4. mow the yard
5. replace ceiling fan in bedroom
6. replace ceiling fan light in bedroom
7. cook dinner (this is our favorite dish that he prepares for dinner. Chicken and pasta - very delicious. This picture does not really show its greatness. This picture is from Monday when we reheated leftovers to have it for lunch!)
8. watch the Vols ballgame and relax

I am happy to say he got it all done and was probably happy to leave this week to go to Atlanta to work and rest!!

Fun Friday

Today we went to Fort Kid to play and have a picnic with friends. We had a great time and the weather was wonderful. We then decided to go to the Sunsphere and go to the observation deck. I had not been in the sunsphere for a long time. Taylor and Aubrey had never beenin the Sunsphere. It was a lot of fun to read about the World's Fair when it was in Knoxville and to remember the World's Fair. I remember going to the fair with my sister, grandmother and papaw. We would sometimes just go and sit and watch the people who were visiting and eat a funnel cake. We would ride some rides. It is a great memory.

After the sunsphere visit we visited the Candy Factory. Our family has two favorite things at the Candy Factory and that is chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate covered potato chips. Today we got chocolate covered potato chips.

Thanks for a great day Abby and Marie and families!! We had a great time.

Taylor took most of these pictures. She wants to be a photographer one day. I think she did a great job! She wanted to get some pictures of Baptist Hospital to have because it will not look like this in a few months when the building is torn down. The football field is on the world's fair park and was used for the pep rally on Thursday for the UT vs. Gator game!!

How Awesome HE is...

In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our high priest
In Numbers, the fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Israel's Guide
Joshua, He's salvation's choice
Judges, He's Israel's Guard
In Ruth, the kinsmen's redeemer
1st and 2nd Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles He is Sovereign
In Ezra, He's the true and faithful scribe
In Nehemiah, the re-builder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms He is our morning song
In Proverbs, He is our wisdom
Ecclesiastes, He's the time and season
In Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream
In Isaiah He is Prince of Peace
In Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, the call from sin
Daniel, the stranger in the fire
Hosea, the forever faithful
Joel, the spirit's power
Amos, the strong-arms that carry
Obadiah, the Lord our Savior
Jonah, the great missionary
Micah, the promise of peace
Nahum, our strength and shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's brings revival
In Haggai He restores that which was lost
In Zachariah, He's our fountain
And in Malachi, He's the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings
AND THAT'S JUST THE OLD TESTAMENT

In Matthew Mark Luke and John, He is God and Messiah
In the spirit filled book of Acts, He is the reigning fire from Heaven
In Romans, He is the grace of God
Corinthians, the power of love
Galatians, freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servant's heart
Colossians, He's God and the trinity
Thessalonians, our calling King
In Timothy, Titus and Philemon, He's our mediator and our faithful pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting courage
In James, the one who heals the sick
In 1st and 2nd Peter, our faithful shepherd
In John and Jude, He's the lover coming for His bride

AND in the Revelation, in the very end, when it's all over, said and done, when time is NO MORE. He is and will always be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, son of Man, Lamb of God, The Great I am, Alpha and Omega, God and Savior He is Jesus Christ the Lord HE IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED!

A Beautiful Day for a Tea

Today we got dressed up and went to a tea room for lunch. We met a group of our friends from co-op at the tea room. We had a lovely lunch and a good time of fellowship with friends. The tea room was in Gatlinburg, so of course we stopped to do some shopping at the outlets in Pigeon Forge before driving home.

Today was a beautiful fall like day. I had to get a picture of the trees and sky. If the weather stays like this the leaves will be so pretty when they turn colors this fall.

Monday Cleaning

One of my projects this week is cleaning. Not only cleaning up the stuff lying around and cleaning up the dirt but organizing and getting rid of stuff. I am getting ready for a garage sale in a few weekends and I am cleaning out ( at least today anyway ).

But I have noticed that while I clean certain areas of the house (today it was laundry room, dining room, and kitchen) other areas are being destroyed by Taylor and Aubrey (today it was the playroom). I think tomorrow they will be encouraged to help clean up and clean out ( I think I may have to do some bribing ).

Here is a favorite quote of mine regarding cleaning: "Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." - Phyllis Diller

Here is another one: "I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on." - Roseanne Barr

We do not have much going on this week other than the "normal". I will keep you updated through the week. Jody is working in San Diego this week and we already miss him! I hope you all have a great week!

Thankful Thursday

I have had lots of time to think lately while being sick. So "Thankful Thursday" is going to be about my thoughts on God's grace.

I want to live my daily life in praise to God. I want to remember that God gave everything. He gave His Son. He watched His Son die on the cross. He willingly sacrificed His Son because He loves me and He loves you. He has given me many wonderful blessings. I sometimes have a pity party for myself because I am not feeling good, I am tired, I have too much to do, I have to do something I don't want to do, etc.... But I want to live daily in a state of realizing how wonderfully blessed I am. I don't have a need that God does not supply for. God watches over me every day, every step I take, every breath I take. He gives me grace each day and for that I am thankful.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Just a fun day

We had a fun day today. We did school this morning which consisted of prepositions, nouns, subject, verbs, subtraction, addition, word problems, spelling words, etc..... After school Kristy and her boys came by with a birthday surprise. I am so glad they came by. It was so nice to see them and visit with them. We miss you all!!

Later this afternoon Taylor and Aubrey had friends come over to play before church. We went to the park and while the girls played, I walked around the track. It was a beautiful day to be outside. Then we played at the house while I cleaned house (not that much fun!!), had dinner and went to church.

I hope you all had a great day!

Cheer game

Taylor had a game to cheer for tonight. It had been rainy all day so we thought the game may be canceled but it stopped raining when it was time for the games to start. Taylor cheered the South Doyle Cherokee 7th grade boys to a victory.

You may notice in the pictures that Taylor (although her hair is pulled back) and Aubrey got haircuts today.

I hope everyone is having a good week!

What a Storm

On Monday evening, Knoxville had another storm. The wind was strong and the rain was hard. We were not home. We had been at Papaw and Nana's for dinner (which was delicious). We waited for the storm to end before going home. Then the power went out. We could not get in our house because the only way to get in was with the garage door opener - which did not work without power - and/or a key I had left hanging on the refrigerator. So, needless, to say, we had a sleepover at Nana and Papaws.

Also on Monday, we spent the afternoon after school at the pool. We are spending as much time in the pool before it gets too cool.
Jody is working in Dallas, Texas this week. We miss him.
We have a busy week planned. I will update through the week.

Exhausted Birthday Girl

I think this picture of Aubrey tells how she feels about her birthday weekend!! I could not resist taking this picture when I saw her sleeping on the couch. I think it tells what a great birthday weekend she had!!

From Aubrey

More Birthday Fun for Aubrey

Today we continued the celebration by going to lunch at Wasabi's after church. Wasabi's is one of Aubrey's ( and all of ours ) favorite places to eat. She had a good lunch. The people at Wasabi's sung Happy Birthday to her and played the birthday drum for her. She enjoyed this except for having to wear the chef's hat that Wasabi's wants the birthday person to wear (it did not really go with her outfit!!).

What a Fun Day!!

On Aubrey's birthday, we spent the day at Splash Country. We had a great time. The weather was not too good when we got there - it was cloudy and sprinkling, but it cleared up and was great by mid morning. It ended up being sunny and beautiful. There were not many people at Splash Country so the lines were down for all the rides. Taylor and Aubrey had friends go with them. The girls also wanted Nana and Papaw to go with them. Thanks Nana and Papaw for spending the day with Aubrey on her birthday. She had a great time because you all were there with her.

Last night we had a party for Aubrey at our house. Thanks everyone for coming and celebrating the night with Aubrey.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUBREY!!

Happy Birthday Aubrey

Well, my baby turns 9 today....

It is hard to believe that 9 years ago today, Aubrey was born. She was born 8 weeks early. She weighed 4 pounds 6 ounces when she was born. She was so tiny and so frail. Yet she was beautiful and she was a fighter. She had some rough days in the beginning of her life because she was so small and born so early. Yet, she was strong. She began to grow and get stronger and she has been healthy since her birth. We thank God each day for her health and her life.

I was looking at some pictures the other day and thinking of the day she was born and I simply can't believe we are 9 years into this journey with her...

Let me share 9 things about Aubrey that I love...

1)She has spirit. All that know her have no doubt about this.
2)She has passion. When there is something she wants, she will strive with everything in her to get it.
3)She has a sweet and caring heart.
4)She observes and listens to all going on around her.
5)She has a sweet laugh.
6)She loves to dance and sing.
7)She loves her family.
8)She loves clothes and fashion.
9)She is becoming who God has created her to be.

This is the Bible verse I claim for her...

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."


Over the next 9 years, she will move from girl to woman and begin to peruse God's plan in HER life.... I KNOW she has amazing gifts to share with the world....I only pray that I help her discover those gifts.

Happy Birthday baby girl...
You are so loved!!

Dancing at the Sevier County Fair

On Thursday, Ashley's Dance Academy danced at the Sevier County Fair. All the groups did a great job and had a good time. Here are some pictures of Taylor and Aubrey dancing with their groups.


Thanks for going with me mom (Nana) to watch and cheer on the girls!!

I am back!!!

I am feeling much better and I am so glad. I feel normal again, except that I do not want to eat, which may be a "new normal" for me. I have always enjoyed eating and could always eat a good meal or enjoy a good snack. I still get nauseated when I eat and I do not want to eat more than a couple of bites. But that is an improvement. I had a test last Friday. I hope this is the worst test that I will have to do ever. The stuff I had to drink so they could X-Ray parts of my body was disgusting. I feel sorry for everyone that was near UT Radiology last Friday. I was a horrible patient. I do not ever want to go through that again. I have 2 scopes this Friday. I am hoping they are not as bad.

Thank you to everyone who has called to check me and the family, for the cards, for the visits, for the transportation for Taylor and Aubrey, and especially for the prayers. I especially want to thank my Mom, Dad, and sister who basically had to care for me and the girls the first week I was sick. Jody was out of town because of work and I was too sick to take care of myself - let along my children. My mom would cook for us, take me to appointments, get my medicine, make sure I took my medicine, transportation to dance classes, cheer practice, and many other things.... She would let me sleep all day while caring for Taylor and Aubrey and doing everything I should have been doing. She would let me sleep on the couch while she cooked supper and made sure my girls were taken care of. Thanks Mom, you are the greatest. I am sorry that I have worried you and Dad so much in the last few weeks but I do appreciate ALL you both do to take care of me and my family. You all are the best!!

Thanks to Jody to. He missed the first week of me being sick because he was out of town for work. He would call and want to know how I was feeling but unless he talked to someone besides me, he did not get much information. I would be to medicated, sick, or asleep to talk much. So, he was away and not really knowing much about how things were going on at home. I am sure this was hard for him. However, last week he was home. He had planned on taking a few days of vacation last week because we had planned on going camping. However, those plans changed. So, he got to stay home and take care of things at home. You did a good job Jody. Thanks for all your help!

We have lots planned this week. I will keep you posted on our happenings for the week.