Random Facts About Me.

This is for Kelli who posted this on her blog. It's a LOT of questions so be warned. ;)

RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME ...
1)Name one person who made you smile today? Andrew with his cocky little smile because he learned to ride his bike without training wheels
2)What were you doing at 8:00 this morning? Laying in bed still
3)What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Painting Elizabeth’s fingernails
4)What is something that happened to you in 1998? Wade and I went on a missions trip to Costa Rica
5)What is the last thing you said aloud? I’ll be in to kiss you when Daddy is done (talking to Andrew to tell him goodnight)
6)How many different things have you drank today? Milk, Pepsi, water
7)What color is your hair brush? black
8)What was the last thing you bought? Fontwerk stamps (THREE!!)
9)What was the last gift you received? Anniversary gift from my secret pal
10)What color is your front door? Warm red
11)Where do you keep cell phone? In a pocket inside my purse.
12)What was the weather like today? Mild and we had a good rain shower
13)What is the best ice cream flavor? We recently bought mint chocolate chip and I reeeeeally liked it!
14)What are you excited about? Fourth of July plans.
15)Do you talk a lot? A LOT? Well, I do like to talk but I try not to be obnoxious or overtake conversations.
16)Name a weird food you like? Pickled okra
17)Cold or hot? I’d rather be hot than cold.
18)What's your favorite thing to do? Go on dates with my husband.
19)Do you want to cut your hair? It’s already short but how short can I go? I’m thinking a tad bit shorter, maybe?
20) Are you over the age of 25? Unfortuantly, yes. I turned 30 last November and sometimes mourn for my twenties. LOL
21)Are you ticklish? yes
22)Are you typically a jealous person? Sometimes, when it comes to my husband.
23)Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "L" : Lorrie
24)Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "A": Annie
25)Do you chew on your straws? no
26)Do you have curly hair? Not at all
27)What is the next concert you're going to? I never go to concerts.
28)Who is the crappiest person in your life? Crappiest? Man, I don’t think I have anyone that I consider that.
29)What is your favorite color? Warm red
30)What is something you say a lot? I love you.
31)What's your room like? Bedroom – I’m still re-doing it but it has very calm colors – aquas and tans.
32)What was the last movie you saw? I don’t remember!
33)Do you have work tomorrow? No, it’s Sunday, our “day of rest.” ;)
34)What's your dream job? I’m doing it – stay-at-home-mom to two wonderful children and wife to a great man
35)When was the last time you said "I love you"? this afternoon
36)What should you be doing right now? Telling Andrew goodnight!
37)Do you have a nickname? Les
38)Are you a heavy sleeper? no
39)When is the last time you did the dishes, honestly? Yesterday morning
40)What are your pet peeves? Selfish people – those who only think of themselves

Now if you read them all go and post these questions onto your blog and leave me a comment so I can go check out your answers too.

Cleaning House. Meeting SBO Sistas.

I waited too long again to catch up on my blog. I know I won't remember everything that's happened since Monday but that's okay. It's been a fun and good week. Thankful for that!

Monday evening we got a good rain. Boy, have we needed it. The kids LOVE to go out on our front porch to watch it come down. Wade is the one who has fostered this. It's cute though. Here are some photos from then. I love this one of Andrew because he was turning and jumping and I caught him in the air. Cute!

Look at my sweet girl with gum hanging out her mouth. LOL She looks like an eight-year-old here, I think. It must be those two big front teeth that have come in. ;)

Tuesday. When I got up that morning, Andrew and Elizabeth were already up (as usual). I stepped on a wet spot of carpet going into the kitchen. I asked Andrew about it. I cannot keep that kid out of the water. He gets himself in trouble a lot playing in it. I try to remind myself that it IS just water and doesn't stain. Back to the story. He tells me that he had cleaned that spot on the carpet and "can't you tell how I got some dirt up." He had "cleaned" a spot of carpet that the family knows is an eyesore for me. The dirt is ground in because it's a direct traffic path and nothing has been able to get it out (two professional steam cleanings and numerous steam cleanings with my carpet cleaner). I then notice that there's wetness on the arm of the leather sofa. I, again, ask him why there's water on that. He says he cleaned the sofa with a wet wipe. "What wet wipe?" I ask. "Those wet wipes in the closet for the leather sofas." He was smart enough to use those, I guess. *smirk*

I had to clean my house that day because we were having a play date on Wednesday. Andrew was definitely in a cleaning mood and asked to mop. Sure. That's one thing I have never cared for. So I got him set up to mop the wood floors in the kitchen. I was busy downstairs working. Elizabeth asks to help and I let her. Soon I hear giggling so I think it's best I go and check on them. Sure enough, they had got into mischief. My whole kitchen floor was a big puddle - kitchen and eat-in area. I was mad. Andrew, being only 5.5 yrs old, still knows not to let water sit on wood. I got up the puddly part and they took bath towels and dried the rest. At least I knew my floor was really clean!!

My main course for Wed night was Almond Lemon Chicken. So good! My kids even liked the rice this time with the "gravy" you make to go on it. It sort of had a citrus-y flavor with the lemon juice and orange marmalade but it wasn't too strong. The toasted almonds were delicious and my kids ate a ton of them by themselves.

Wednesday was our play date. My friend, Penny, brought her three kids over. We all had fun. Her kids are Jacob (5), Luke (3) and Sarah (20 mos). Andrew played well with the boys and Elizabeth was sooooo sweet with Sarah. It made me happy to see her take such good care of her and entertain her the whole time. She would pretend to facepaint Sarah and then let Sarah do it to her. We got the sprinklers out (all three!) and they got on the swings, played in the club house and then I made some icees. Mmmm! ;)

We had church that night. I made calls afterwards to invite some friends over for the Fourth. I haven't hosted a get-together with friends in a long time (other than birthdays). I'm excited and have some good food planned. Can't wait!!

Thursday was our library day. We've been enjoying these last few Thursday visits to the library. This week they had a magician that was quite the comedian. Several jokes the kids didn't get but all the adults enjoyed. (Nothing vulgar at all but just above their heads.) We ran by Walmart so I could get some ingredients to make Cookies and Cream Freeze for that night. Our friends, the Browns, had invited us over for dinner. We came home, ate lunch, I made the dessert and then we went back out for art lessons. I ran by the scrapbook store and TCBY for a capuccino chiller while they were there. I can't blog without mentioning food, can I? Hee hee.

So we went to Bobby and Christy Brown's that night for dinner. She had made some delicious food. I use her baked mac and cheese recipe but hers is always better than mine. Everyone liked my dessert. The kids went to Vacation Bible School while the adults hung out. They introduced us to the most hilarious sermon I've ever heard. Any of my friends who are interested can e-mail me and I'll e-mail it back. Make sure you've used the bathroom beforehand. Yes, it is THAT funny. LOL

Today, was an exciting day for me. I got to meet another SBO "sista," Marti. She is visiting with Patty and some relatives down here from New York. I invited them all over along with Brianna to meet up. We had NINE, yes, NINE kids at my house today. Man, I should have got a photo of all the kids. Marti has 3 boys (DJ, Adam & Jack), Patty has 2 (Chase & Sarah), Brianna has 2 (Cristian & Ellie) and then my two. I have never had that many kids at my house. They were great though. Admittedly, it was a little loud but us sistas got to chat it up while the kids played. Patty was sweet enough to pick up some pizzas for lunch so I wouldn't stress over feeding the whole lot.

I was supposed to cook tonight but I'm hoping to get out of it. We ate lunch so late and I know the kids won't be very hungry. I'll have to see what I can rustle up for Wade to eat. Tonight we plan on going out after dinner to find Wade some pants for work. I'm going to answer some questions for Kelli to blog tomorrow, I hope. ;)

Stacy's birthday. Trip to Pikeville.

Wow, a lot has gone on in the last (almost) week. Wednesday was my SIL, Stacy's birthday. I got to talk to her that night to wish her a happy day and I was glad to hear she had been having a good day. I always like for others to have great birthdays. Earlier that day, Elizabeth and Andrew had hit that point in the week/day where they were . . . yep, you guessed it, BORED! I wonder how many times I must have said it to my mom for payback now?? LOL Well, I was about to jump in the shower and was doing something in the kitchen when I looked out the window (as they were whining around) and saw a friend they could play with. :)

(BTW, don't even ask why Elizabeth is wearing a fleece top in 90 degree weather!)

When Wade got home we let "Tiger" go. That's the name Elizabeth gave it. Oh, and guess what? It kept them busy for the rest of the afternoon.

Thursday was a busy busy day. I took Elizabeth and Andrew to the library at 10:00 am to see one of their guests for summer reading program. It was a cowboy/magician guy. He had a 14 week old porcupine, an albino Texas rat snack (yikes!), and a nine-band armadillo. (The three-band armadillos are the kind that can roll up in a ball but the nine-band cannot. Just a little info for you there.) We went home, ate lunch, packed our bags and then went to art lessons. Wade got home at 5 and we left around 5:30 to go to Pikeville for the weekend.

I almost forgot to tell this part of our trip to Pikeville. Papa and Ms. Evelyn (who does house keeping and everything else under the sun for him) had dragged the boys' old bunkbead out of the attic and attempted to put it together for the kids to sleep on this time. It was very shaky but Papa told us it was ready to sleep on. We didn't have any twin mattresses but used the crib mattresses. Elizabeth had asked to sleep up top first. Andrew was having a fit because he didn't get to sleep on top. I had just put my foot down and was going to make him get in bed when Wade had pity on him and let him put the mattress back in the crib. (Why there are cribs still we won't get into on this blog post!!) Wade was tucking him in when Elizabeth and the top bunk fell. Elizabeth did hurt her knee pretty good and was justifiably shaken. Andrew's guardian angel or the good Lord was looking out for him. The edge of the top bunk fell right in the middle of the bottom and would have hit his head and probably hurt him quite a bit more than it did Elizabeth. Papa got the low-down the next day. I think possibly a new bunk bed is in order. You can get them pretty cheap at Wood You unfinished furniture.

**Ben & Stacy, be glad our children get to be the guinea pigs for things like this before your kids have to find out the hard way!! LOL**

I had Ruby Falls planned for Friday. We left around 8 and arrived around 9:30 am. We got there at the right time - no crowds and good parking. Wade and I went to Ruby Falls 10 years and one month ago for our one year anniversary. Elizabeth took a photo of us where we had someone take our photo then. :) May 25, 1997 and June 22, 2007.

The kids played at the playground they had and Elizabeth found some little fragments of rocks in their panning area (emerald, rose quartz, amethyst). She picked out a little box made of rock and Andrew picked out some magnetic rocks from the gift shop. Here's some photos from the cavern.

I heard a boy tell his family that he had learned about tobacco crops in school. I laughed to myself. That's one of the main cash crops around here. Not so much anymore but you see it growing all over and drying later in the summer. Most of the kids around here learn about tobacco crops by helping to put it up.

Later we ate lunch at Sonic, found a Books-A-Million for Papa to try to find a book. What he was looking for wasn't there but he bought the kids several books. Elizabeth got some more Cam Jansen books and book on rocks and minerals. She's really been interested in rocks for a while now. She's enjoyed that book the last few days. Andrew got two Curious George books and one that was a board book (and one I didn't want him to get but he HAD to have) with all things that go in it - tractors, trains, construction, boats, etc.

After a much needed nap (we had got in bed really late that night), we did something completely out of the ordinary and ate dessert before dinner. We went to the local ice cream palor (it's in one of Tom's rental buildings) and had some cold stuff on a hot day. Tollette, Rachell and Brooke met us at Pig-n-Catch for dinner. Wade and I love their loaded BBQ baked potatoes. Afterwards, we all went to the farm to play. We rode the four-wheelers, ranger and the kids tried to catch the new barn kitties Tollette has brought to the farm. I saw why when we were leaving and I saw a huge rat. Ugh! The kids ate ice-pops at Uncle Tollette's before we went back to Papa's to settle down and go to sleep.

Saturday, Wade helped doctor a few of Tollette's cattle that morning. I went to where Rachell works (hair salon) and she cut Elizabeth's hair in the back. Now it's "stacked." We really like it. Then we came home. It's always good to be home.Yesterday, we told the kids that we would play with them for 30 minutes when we got home from Papaw and Nana's after lunch. Andrew wanted to play with Daddy and Elizabeth wanted to play with me. She and I doctored her "pet" lizards and snakes then we hunted for my old rock collection from when I was little. We found it! We also got the rock tumbler I had as a kid and cleaned it up. I'm going to buy some refill stuff to use it again. The kids are excited needless to say! :)
Wade and Andrew built a massive tower. They were very proud of their building and I heard the word "architecture" used several times. LOL

We had a bad thunderstorm last night. I slept with Elizabeth part of the night and then slept with Wade AND Andrew (together in our small full size bed) part of the night. I slept in a little this morning. We got groceries after lunch. I need to get my house cleaned. I have one and possibly two playdates this week. Plus, we are going to be keeping the college boys doing our Bible school in a couple of weeks so I need to start making sure everything is spick-n-span. ;)

Happy Birthday Lori. Father's Day Recap. And today.

Today is my sister’s birthday. Happy Birthday Lori!! I won’t say how old she is but you may be able to figure it out. ;)

I gave her one of my most favorite birthday cards I have ever made.

Look at the inside too.

Hee hee! What’s in your mouth, Jeremiah?

He was loving the bowl of Jelly Belly’s that Jon had out on the table. (Oh, Jelly Belly jellybean recipes are fun too.) More photos. Cannot forget my sweet BIL who was trying to make Lori's birthday special. ;)

Elizabeth went to her friend’s house for a play date this morning. It was her friend Haven. Her mom invited Andrew to stay and play. Haven has three younger brothers. One will be six next month and will be in Andrew’s kindergarten class next year. Andrew was all for it and was it something I would turn down? Sometimes life really gives you easy decisions, doesn’t it!? LOL They had a great time though. SHOCKER: Andrew even got in and swam in their 3 foot deep above ground pool. I couldn’t believe it when it was told to me. He’s always been afraid of pools but will play in the ocean and in kiddie pools. He will not get in my parents’ in ground pool at all. He and I had made a deal that if he gets over his fear of the pool and learns to doggie paddle that I will buy him this.

Oh, I never posted anything about Father’s Day. I have to show the cards that Elizabeth and Andrew made Wade. They picked out all the stuff themselves and I helped with cutting. Andrew inked and stamped the camouflage heart himself.

Elizabeth used the Quickutz herself for the letters and inked the edges. All her idea! I made him a quick card. (Can you tell? I still think it cool though.)

We sort of had a theme of green going. I had bought a bright green gift bag for the stuff we gave him. I got him two tank tops. Why tank tops? Well, he always wears “homemade” tank tops which is okay for working in the yard but it’s time to get nicer ones for when we’re places . . . oh, like at the beach. ;) I also gave him a Choxie bar that was made from cocoa beans from Costa Rica. It sounded the best and matched AND we’ve been to Costa Rica so I thought it appropriate.

I did get a little taste and it was quite yummy!! This particular bar is basically like dark chocolate but has hints of caramel. Mmmm! I’ve been good to not sneak or ask for more. I wish he would hurry and eat it or get it out of the house though. LOL I also got him a Starbucks gift card. I’ve decided that is his hobby and we should allow him the same money amount that I get each month for scrapbooking. Only problem is that I like Starbucks too!

Look at the visitors I’ve had in my kitchen since yesterday. Why one would ask? Well, apparently at some point yesterday when I wasn’t paying attention to my children, Andrew decided he needed to wash these stuffed animals in their bathroom sink. Where was I? Andrew said I was downstairs. Online maybe? I wasn’t too much yesterday but it’s very possible. Wade found them in his room when he got home from work. Half of them were sopping wet. So they’ve been hanging out with me and drying slowly. I guess I could have thrown them in the dryer but I just haven’t taken the time. Plus, I think there’s something in there now. Oh, the adventures in having a boy. I can only imagine the families with more than one. LOL
Did you know my kids have their own driver’s licenses? Yep! We made these yesterday. I smeared the address for privacy. I’m going to print them out, have them sign it and laminate them. They are almost exact replicas. It really didn’t take me long to create in Photoshop Elements. We enjoyed doing it.

Tonight was our monthly church crop. Only problem is that I was the only person to show! I ran by Brianna's house on the way home to finally drop off her white Sharpie and snuck back in my house. Wade heard me but thankfully the kids were in their rooms. I was able to sneak in and downstairs without them knowing. He was sweet enough to let me stay down there undisturbed and unbeknownst to my children for the whole evening. I went back upstairs at 9:00 and Andrew heard me creaking through the living room. LOL I was glad to kiss my babies good night.

I, myself, should hit the sack. BTW, the zesty pork chop recipe I posted yesterday was woooooonderful! Wade gorged himself eating it. The zucchini was delicious grilled. Definitely a keeper! P.S. Going to upload a LO I made over the weekend on my last post.

Catching Lightning Bugs.

Whoooooo wee! It's 93 degrees outside today. HOT! I had my monthly allergy injection this morning, did our grocery shopping next, ran by Chick-fil-a for lunch and got out the kids' pool when we got home. They got out their water guns and were having a "fight." They would fill them up, get out of the pool and stand about 10-15 feet from each other and take turns shooting each other. They wouldn't move as they shot each other. LOL

Catch-up! So we all got our hair cut on Thursday. The first time we've all had it done in one day. My mom cut Wade, Andrew and Elizabeth's hair and I had mine done by the hairstylist I've been going to for around six years. I promised before and after photos of Elizabeth. Here they are.




She looks cute and looked more grown up afterwards. :( Wade said she will immediately be growing it back out!! Ha ha! ;) She has been admiring herself as well. She got lots of compliments at church yesterday which she relished.

Friday was spent at home. We went out that night for dinner though. Gino's again in Gray. This time we had a coupon for a ex-large two topping pizza for $8.99. We had two slices leftover. We love cheap eating. Bad thing was that afterwards Wade and I ran by Starbucks and paid a little over $8 for two espressos. We took the kids by Dollar Tree to spend their money and we ran by Verizon. Wade gave me his "old" phone which is a Razr. It's less than a year old. I'm due for a new phone soon but for now will use it.

When we got home, we decided it was the perfect night to catch lightning bugs. We walked over to the woods beside us where they were already out. By the time we had caught a dozen or so, they were out in our yard. We used the new bug container and net I bought at Dollar Tree. I couldn't talk Elizabeth or Andrew into getting one so *I* bought it!!

Everyone agreed it was a cool little thing. You can hang it around your neck while you catch bugs. :)

Saturday was my day. Yay! I got to go to Croppers Corral and scrap from 10 to 9 with my friends. We ate at Cootie Brown's for lunch (I ordered the Caribbean Pizza) and then left around 8 to go to Chili's for appetizers and desserts. I only finished three layouts. Oh well! I DID have fun with my scrappin' buddies. I'll update and put photos of my LOs later on this post.

So, what's for dinner? Zesty Pork Chops and Grilled Vegetables.

Hair Cuts and Lava Girls.

So here's what I made on Tuesday night, Grilled Chicken Wraps. Click on the name to get the recipe.
The kids even like it. I didn't put the tomatoes in theirs though. ;) I was going to grill tonight but Mom called and said she had leftovers still and would we be interested when we came over tonight for the boys to get haircuts? Uh, yeah! She doesn't have to ask this girl twice. FREE and especially FREE FOOD has always been a coveted word(s) in the Farmer family. We don't pass it up. Oh, btw, the chicken wraps were better the next night when we had leftovers. We warmed them up in our toaster oven and they weren't mushy like wraps can get when reheated. Just perfect!

I got my haircut today. I really like it. I keep wanting to be bold and get some cute shorter-than-it-already-is style but I'm not sure if I'm up to hear the negativity from other people. It's sort of crazy when you're 30 and still worry about that, huh? Anyway, I'm going to take some hairstyles I've seen and show my hairstylist when I go back next month. I updated my avatar at SBO with a photo Elizabeth took of me this afternoon.

Wade took the kids to their art lessons while I went to get my hair cut. On our way home, we got behind a semi truck whose driver must have been learning to drive one. We were probably less than five minutes from home but waited on the semi truck to try turning around three times that took at least 15 minutes of waiting. I was feeling real patient at first but then began to feel a little perturbed after 10 or so minutes had passed of me sitting in 85 degree heat with my air conditioning blasting to keep us cool. Yes, I think it was the cost of gas I was wasting that aggravated me the most!

Oh, exciting news today!! My sweet friend, Annie (well, her hubby is okay too ;)) found out yesterday that she is having twins!! Woohoo! I am so excited for them and even feeling a little scared for her too. She's feeling the same way she said. I know she can handle it though because she's worked the last few years at a childcare center and handled a room full of toddlers on her own. Twins run on both sides of their families and Tony was wanting twins from the beginning. When she called and told me, I didn't believe her at first. I thought she was joking around with me because we have that type of crazy friendship. She finally convinced me and Tony emailed me the ultrasound pictures while we were talking so then I had no doubts. I can't wait! As Tony said, "Ask, and ye shall receive, and ye shall receive!" LOL

You know my hardworking boy? Well, he's been at it again. Yesterday, Andrew mopped my bathroom for me and today he mopped the guest bathroom and laundry room. Plus, he vacuumed the whole upstairs yesterday. I don't know how well that was done, but he does great mopping. I paid him $2 and he was ecstatic. Elizabeth spent most of yesterday working on her "Lava Girls" comic. It's a spinoff of the Volcano Sisters from Backyardigans. She said she started having the girls in her class at school would play it sometimes. I know there's a movie, Shark Boy and Lava Girl but this is her own little take on it, I suspect.

Elizabeth has decided to get her hair cut short. She will be having it done tonight. I'll have to post a "before" and "after" photo. :)

The kids worked on their Father's Day cards today. I helped them but they picked out most everything. I'll have to take a photo on Sunday and post them too. I ran to Target yesterday while the kids were at art lessons (a make up lesson) and got Wade a couple of small things for Father's Day. I have a card already made that I think I'll give him.

Having Courage.

What does courage mean to me? That’s what I was supposed to write on for my blog challenge for a couple of weeks ago. A recent Sunday school lesson really got me to thinking about courage. We’ve been discussing the book of Philippians. The apostle Paul was in prison when he wrote the book. He had someone chained to him at all times and I can only imagine what conditions he lived in. Why? All because he proclaimed the name of the Lord as his saviour. Sadly enough, there are Christians today in other countries that are still imprisoned because of their faith. That’s not where I wanted to head but that’s just some extra food for thought I threw out there!! ;)

Almost eight years ago, I went to see my dermatologist for my routine annual visit. I’m extremely “moley” so when I was in eighth grade, my mom started having me go to get checked. In August 1999, I went in and the doctor took off a suspicious mole. A week later, I get a phone call from his office and the nurse says my doctor wants to talk to me. I knew it couldn’t be good. He got on the phone and told me the mole had melanoma skin cancer in it. I really didn’t know what this meant. Cancer wasn’t good but I didn’t know about melanoma. I went in the next day to have more cut out of my leg. Lab results came back saying they had got it all. That was a miracle in itself because a week later I got pregnant with Elizabeth. Melanoma is a very aggressive cancer and can spread to the baby through the placenta.

It really scared me but a few years went by and I was fine. The scare of it was over. Then in late summer of 2003, my aunt Emma got sick. They discovered that she had melanoma. No one before me in our family had had it. Within a couple of months, my aunt died. Fear set in again. I cried several times. I didn’t want to die and leave my children without a mother. I didn’t want to leave my husband without a wife. I was getting checked more often than before and was even in a special, highly sought after program at Duke University seeing a melanoma specialist but I still feared. I wasn’t afraid to die, don’t get me wrong. I have had that settled for a long time but I just didn’t want to die.

Again, months and then a year rolled by and the thoughts died down. I quit worrying again. Then my mother-in-law discovered she had melanoma. I felt like this cancer would never leave me. It felt like it was once again trying to rear its ugly head and put me down again in fear. This time was different. For some reason, I met it this time the way I should have all the other times. I prayed. And the fear never came. I decided the Lord knows best. If God wanted me to die from melanoma cancer then I shouldn’t worry. Sure I don’t want my kids to not have their mom but again, the Lord knows best.

I still go regularly to get checked. I’ve been told that since I melanoma at such a young age that it’s very likely that I’ll get it again. So now I’m seeing a melanoma specialist at Vanderbilt University twice a year and I see my local dermatologist twice a year. When my mind tries to get me to worry there are a few Bible verses that I remember.

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
II Corinthians 12: 9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

These are all verses that I’ve known for a long time and when I try to worry or fear, they give me comfort.

What does this all have to do what courage means to me? Well, this is just what I think about – when I have to be courageous. Or at least I feel like I’m being courageous. I’m not afraid to die. I don’t want to but I’m ready. I won’t let cancer scare me. I trust that if I’m ever faced with the situation that I will continue to say the same thing. I hope I continue to have courage when I possibly face death.

Pass It Down. Our Yard Boy.

I think Daisy may be trying to take up residency at my friend/neighbor's house. My friend was out of town last week and I went to check on her cats on Saturday. The kids and I were leaving and Daisy rubs up against us. I knew she had hung out there while we were out of town. I pick her up and put her in the van to bring home. Before Andrew's sliding door could close, she jumps out. I go get her again and put her up front with me. The window is open so as we back up, she jumps out again. Forget it! I'll get her later. I don't think she's been home for a couple of days though. It's going to take some work to get her back home, I'm afraid.

Andrew saw my favorite childhood stuffed animal, Pinky, in the top of my closet a few days ago. He asked if he could sleep with her. I told him she needed to be cleaned. He used his sweet boy charm to ask if I could wash her that night and put her in bed with him when she was done. I couldn't resist of course. ;) Well, this is how I found her yesterday morning.

And then when I went to kiss him goodnight last night, he said, "Mommy, will you please, please, please, please . . " This went on for several more so I stopped him and told him to just tell me. "Will you please pass Pinky down to me?" Again, could I resist? My grandmother gave me Pinky one year, I think for Easter, when I was three years old. She was my constant companion for many, many, many years after. She went everywhere with me. Can you tell? She still holds a sentimental spot in my heart. If my little boy wants to have me "pass" her down to him (yes, he used that word!!!) then I will. This is how I found them last night.

And there's more about this crazy boy of ours!

Meet our new "yard boy"!

He had told Wade he needed some gardening gloves like mine over the weekend. I think I had mentioned to him that he needed some a week or so ago. He didn't forget. I bought him a pair at Wal-mart yesterday. He could not wait to get them out and use them. So yesterday afternoon, in 80-something degree weather, he pulled weeds and LOVED it. He said, "These come in handy" referring to the gloves and then later he said, "I'm getting the hang of this!" Do you see why I have to scrapbook these things? I can't forget it! I want to record it so he and his children can read it some day. I gave him a five gallon bucket to lug around the yard to put his weeds in. He filled it about 1/6 full. BTW, I wanted to buy him some gloves with "gripping" stuff on it. They didn't have any boy pairs and only had Dora. Andrew said it was okay that he still liked Dora. ;)

On Sunday we celebrated our preacher's 44th anniversary of preaching at our church. His birthday is also this week and he'll be 75 years old. Dr. Gene Lasley has been very faithful to our church. We had a reception for him and his wife (because we all know a good wife helps to make a good man!) on Sunday night. I made him a card. It's the same design as the card I made Wade for his birthday which I lifted from the ever-talented Nicole. I used my new white Sharpie I ordered from SBO on it. The patterned paper is Crate Paper.
Here's the card I made and gave Wade for our anniversary. I used one of my new stamps I bought at Hobby Lobby last week and heat embossed it.

Oh, I'm still out at the grill doing dinner this week and I'm still using the Kraft Food and Family recipes. Last night we had Caramelized Beef Skewers and Grilled New Potato Packet but I used regular potatoes and just cut them in 1.5 inch chunks. Andrew said it wasn't one thumb up but two thumbs up. He likes to rate his meals. LOL

I'm sure there are more things I should be writing about to remember later on but for now I'll close. I heard the dryer buzz so I need to get back to work!

Thoughtful Prayers. A New Me.

I wanted to remember phrases from two recent prayers, actually prayed by Elizabeth and Andrew. The day before yesterday, Andrew knew we were going to go outside and do some yard work after dinner. Wade asked him to pray and part of his prayer was "help Daddy and Mommy to cut the bushes short." Elizabeth prayed for us at lunch yesterday, she inserted in her blessing, "Please help Mommy and Daddy to have a good time tonight when they go out." She knew Wade and I were going out for a "date" to celebrate our eleven year anniversary. I thought those pieces of their prayers were so thoughtful and sweet for a five-and-a-half and just turned seven-year-old. Almost every time one of them pray, they include all of us in some way. Andrew will pray that "Daddy has a good day at work" and has even said several times "Help Daddy to make a lot of money at work today." LOL He'll pray that I get a lot of housework done and during school, almost every day he would pray that Elizabeth wouldn't "lose any points at school." That was for the responsibility chart they had in her first grade class. If she talked, was disrespectful, etc, then she would lose points. They were turned in at the end of the week for the parents to sign.

Wade and I did have a great evening out celebrating our anniversary. Thank you, Elizabeth. ;) We ate at Allison's on West Main Street in Abingdon, VA before we went to see Oliver! at the Barter Theater. It was an adaptation of Oliver Twist by Dickens. The restaurant was good - our second time there but it had been a long time. It's in an old drive-in restaurant and is a local favorite. Before we went to Allisons, we stopped off at Starbucks on exit 7 in Virginia for some pick-me-up to help us stay awake through the play and our trip home. The calories were taken in yesterday, that's for sure!

Daddy and Mom met us at Hardee's this morning so we could pick up the kids from where they spent the night with them last night. (Thanks Daddy and Mom!) We ate breakfast and then headed toward Chuckey, TN to go to the Mountain View Bulk Food which is the name of the Mennonite store we planned on visiting. It took us longer than the 30 minutes Wade's smart phone (see previous post Vacation Catch-up. Wednesday.) told us it would take. And we turned around more than once! BUT we had a fun drive out in the country and seeing parts of the area we'd never seen before. We plan on going back - but the 30 minute way next time. ;)

Oh, I got a makeover today. Meet my makeover stylist:

And look what I got done! :)

I am one brave mama! No? Ha ha! I also set up nine other appointments with her for next week. She also applied some lovely pink and blue eyeshadow and bright pink lipgloss. I do have photos but they won't be posted. Sorry! She "loved" how it all looked on me and said "pink looks good on you."

Here is what Elizabeth wants me to include on my blog today. "Mom and I were being silly and she made me mad. She ran and hid and scared me when I came back. And I tried to spank her because she was mean to me." Yes, I was a temporarily bad mother and ran and hid while we were playing together. (The "men" were outside working.) I jumped out and scared her. I mean, I reeeeeeeeally scared her and she got reeeeeeeeally mad. Sorry sweetie! We are friends again. ;) Ha ha!