Great Scott

Just peddling along

2010-03-13T21:27:00.002-05:00

Not too much has really been going on in the Scott household. Dylan is nearing the end of a long road to recovery from his surgery. On March 9th we were 6 months out. He went for a biodex test on March 1st the test wasn't reported correctly so he had to have another one performed this past week. We hope and expect to hear if he will be released this week. His quad on his involved leg was 88% and his hamstring was even. The only concern was that his endurance isn't where it should be. So we are waiting to see.

Dylan is right now since he can't play sports acting as support staff as I like to call him for the CMS baseball team. He loves baseball but since he can't play he did want to be involved. Dylan also recently showed alot of character by standing up to a bully that was picking on a friend that had recently gotten hurt. I was very proud of him

Zack is doing well in his second semester of his sophmore year. I still cannot believe he is 16 and only has 2 years of high school left. Me, Henry and Zack had discussions about his future the other night at dinner. I am worried he will sale himself short on where he can go to school so I ask for much prayer there. He is still showing intrest in the Navy and has talked with some recruiters. I have told him I will support him no matter what he decides. I know we will do it with Gods guidance and we have tried to teach Zack to weigh the decision carefully. It is all coming too fast.

I have to admitt even though I know there are one or two girls he talks to I still get that knot in my stomach when I think of him dating. I guess I gotta let him grow up and that is fine but he will always be my little boy that used to like to cuddle with me and watch Elvis movies!

Zack is just weight lifting now for football in the fall. He thought about running outdoor track or maybe playing tennis but opted not to.

Henry is working very hard enjoying his downtime in the off season. He and I just recently went to a coach/wife christian clinic hosted by Carson Newman. We really enjoyed the fellowship with the other couples that went and the time we had together. Other than work not too much is new around here. I will do my best to keep you posted on Dylan and Zack and the going ons of me and my guys!

Our Week

2010-02-07T06:42:00.006-05:00

As we have went into February the boys and myself have pretty much been homebound almost the entire week. The only day we had school was on Thursday the 4th. Last weekend our area was pounded by a snow storm which in my yard left about 10" of snow. To be honest I really didn't mind the bad part is laziness set in on me in a big ole way.

Like I said we did make it to school Thursday, however we were 2 hours late. The boys would have caught the bus at 9am or thereabouts. I got a phone call at 9:20 "Mom the bus still hasn't shown up" UGH. So I proceed to call Henry because I can't leave on the spot I have been filling in for my manager who is very sick. I called the schools to see if they know what is goin on and find out the bus got stuck! I call the boys and tell them hang tight that way it won't be counted against them. They finally made it!

I am thankful that was the day we were able to get out because Dylan had an appointment with Dr. Lebolt, the doctor that did his surgery. We go in anxiously waiting to hear how things look. Dylan is 5 months out from surgery. Thi is the point we would find out if he could get fitted for his ACL brace which would also release him to begin being normal again. Normal meaning he can play sports, do pe all the things a 13 year old should be doing.

Beth Ashe who I love love love, came in to ask how things are goin, Dylan of course said good. She checked his flexion had him flex the muscles in both legs. She thinks things look good. We do have to work on how far back he can bend but otherwise looks good. As we were goin out of the room Dr. Lebolt came down to chat with us. Dr. Lebolt is a great guy he along with other doctors from Tech work with our football program which as a mom and coach wife we are very thankful to have that. Anyway, Beth updated him and he wants Dylan to go do the biodex test to test his strength just to be sure where we are. Aaron, the physical therapist guy should be contacting me this week for us to get together to measure Dylans leg and get his brace. It all goes well by March Dylan will be able to get involved and not have to be on the sidelines WOO HOO! I will keep you posted.

We knew that another snow storm was expected to move in on Friday. OH BOY! I made my trek to the grocery store along with every other person in town. I actually had to tell a woman she was line jumping when she tried to cut me. She didn't want to hear but I made sure she did. Not a good trait I have but one I have to ask the good Lord to help me with.

We wake up Friday morning and so begins another storm that has kept everyone snowed in all weekend. It snowed, and snowed, and snowed, and snowed! Henry stayed home from work because the last big one it took him nearly 2 hours to make a 30 mile drive. Better safe than sorry. I will have to say so far me and my guys have done really well not killing one another. Yesterday Henry and I got a little snippy with one another but it was very quick and over.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, GO SAINTS who are playinig the Colts. To be honest I don't normally cheer for either one but I have picked the Saints as have my guys. So we shall see.

Anyway that is it in about a nutshell. We hear we are supposed to get 8 more inches Tuesday... UGH... Here are some pictures of this weekends snow.... Enjoy......

VENTING

2010-02-03T02:45:00.002-05:00

The last time I checked my calender we are in the first part of February. Correct me if I am wrong but isn't that still part of winter? So please tell me why people are complaining about snow. I always thought that was part of the package deal winter = snow. I always loved being from the old Dominion because you could tell the difference between all 4 seasons. We always, when I was growing up, had the great privilege of being able to enjoy winter, spring, summer, and fall as they were meant to be. It wasn't always blistering hot, or freezing cold, or raining.
I remember one year when Zack was first starting school he only went to school one day the entire month of January. I remember there always being snow to play in when I was a little girl.
God gave us these seasons and the weather we have for a reason. It is all part of His plan. I am just amazed because the same people that complain it is too cold and we are having too much snow tend to be the same ones that complain it is too hot and dry. Give me a break even the good Lord can't please everyone and it is all part of His plan so see the joy in it don't complain all the time it gets old!!!!

2010 Snow

2010-01-31T17:10:00.005-05:00

Well we have had the first snow of 2010. It came right at the end of January. We had a big snow previously just 2 days before Christmas giving us here at my house 18". We were thrilled to have had a white Christmas.
This time we ended up with just under a foot. I live in a very beautiful wooded area and even though I am in town limits I still feel like I am somewhat in the country. I get the best of both worlds
This scene of trees is in my front yard. I am surronded by different pine trees, maple and oaks. They are beautiful one way or another year round.

This is a shot of my van, about 11am on Saturday morning. Needless to say it hasn't moved any since all this started.

I placed this ruler on my front porch roughly about 11am. At that time we had about 9". It continued to snow on into the evening. While it is beautiful to look at my guys sure don't enjoy shoveling

This is my small garden flag. The pengiuns are appropriate in the snowy weather.

This is the view out my front door to the neighbors house across the street. Which as you can see you cannot see the street!!!! We tend to be one of the last ones that gets scraped.

This is mhy backyard.

The Dodge is getting buried too.

Just liked the way this tree looked...

Destiny of a Season by ME

2010-01-31T04:32:00.000-05:00

The date was August 3rd;Time for two-a-days to begin.Coach Cromer hits the field;With a big optimistic grin.Two years no play off dance;This year will be our year.The boys keep their focus;This year there is no fear.The Buffaloes were ready;They gave us quite a game.Straight into overtime;Rasnake made known his name.The Demons were fired up now;Ready to show their fight.So next we played the Spartans;Giles wasn’t ready for that night.Cavaliers are an old rival;We had not seen in awhile.They needed to be reminded;CHS would beat them by a mile.The poor Bassett Bengals;They had Boo no more.The boys sent those little kittens;Right back out the door.Patrick Henry Patriots;On homecoming we played them again.Weller was crowned our king;And we got that big fat win.The Pulaski County Cougars;We were ready just the same.God opened up the heaven;When the Demons won that game.Hidden Valley Titans;David Williams stole that game.The Titans won that night;But the next outcome would not be the same.Salem was senior night;The Demons were ready to win.But after three overtimes;The refs said Ryan wasn’t in.The Knights on Bogle Field;Were the next ones we would see.Too many holding calls;Seemed to be playing the referees.The Blacksburg Bruins;Weren’t ready to give in.But that cross town rival;Was the Demons to win.We entered into playoffs;With many goals in mind.But one was not to be beaten;By the Titans and Spartans a second time.Bassett came to our house again;Hoping for a second chance.But with Jay and the JV against their first string.It would be the Bengals last dance.Hidden Valley wasn’t ready;For what the Demons had in store.For Zac, Williams wasn’t ready;And of Aaron that QB wanted no more.Tyler’s catch was beautiful;But pain to him it would bring.It set the game in motion;Beating the Titans 28-3We rolled into Salem;The Spartans thought it would be our last stand.But the boys, and the fans with their spirit shakers;We we all had other plans.In all the years past;This field brought us down.But oh no not this year;The Blue Demons were in town.The game was on a cold night;But no one there would care.CHS had not won region;Since ’88 when Coach Scott was a player there.Coach Lewis pumped them up;While they jumped all around.Coach Millers defense was ready;To put them on the ground.The Demons came out fighting;Leading 6-0.Steven found his kicking foot;As he found his arm long ago.We went into halftime;Still holding the lead.It became evident;Region 4 champs we would be.The Demons shut down the Spartans;13-0 on that bitter cold Friday night.That had not happened on that field;Since ’82 and the days of Willis White.Onto state semi-final;Against Amherst they would play.A lot is on the the line;With Mr. Cromer our QB’s would pray.All the boys fought hard;With great coaches teaching them the plays.But even with Josh’s last minute touchdown;It was time to call it a day.Our boys made a lot of history;For CHS with each game they played;First 10 win season ever.With a great bunch of seniors leading the way.They proved everyone wrong;News media and other teams.Becoming the 2009 Region 4 Champs;These boys were destined to be.

Been awhile... no pics ... LONG BLOG

2010-01-31T03:15:00.004-05:00

Well it has been awhile since I have blogged. Life caught up with us in a big demanding way this past fall. So I am gonna try in a nutshell to get up to speed.
The last time I blogged was in July so I will start in August. In August of course football started up in the Scott household. Henry is still coaching the defensive line for CHS varsity and jv. My oldest Zack played his last season of jv for CHS. He will be moving up to varsity this next season. Zack still played wide receiver and safety. Dylan as a 7th grader went out for the 8th grade team. As a 7th grader at CMS you must try out for the 8th grade team. That is the only time you have to try out for football in Christiansburg. Dylan along with 2 others Andrew and Asher (both great guys) made the team.
So the season began actually a little before that because this past summer our varsity did some 7 on 7's and also did a camp with Amherst which would be ironic later on in the season. Also we did an inter squad game called the Blue and White game with jv and varsity. We sold tickets and had the event catered by Texas Roadhouse. We, being the Touchdown Club, were so very pleased with the turnout we had from the community. I do believe with all this little extra the team did made a huge difference in the squads season and attitudes.
The varsity started their season 6-0. We were rolling on and our star linebacker Zac Weller got hurt along with a few other factors we lost 3 in a row. Once things got back on track the boys went on to become Division IV Region 4 Champs. They beat Salem at Salem which is something they had not done ever at Salem's field. Not only that they shut Salem down scoreless on their field. That had not been done since 1982. VERY BIG DEAL!!!! The boys went onto state semi-finals, one game from state. They played AMHERST. They gave Amherst the closest game they had played all season losing 21 - 23. A few mistakes took place that lost us the game. It was a tough loss but the boys had a GREAT season with the schools first EVER 10 win season. This also was the first Region Championship since my husband had played his junior year in 88. So it was pretty cool that my husband was the only one who had won that honor as a coach and player.
My son Zack moved up to varsity during the playoffs and played in the first round where the boys beat Bassett for the second time that season. Zack had a really good season. He started at safety all season up to the point that he came down with the H1N1 flu. He missed a week of practice and had a tough time from that point. But he had a good season acting as captain and putting some boys on their butts hard. I as always was very proud of him. He will be a junior playing varsity this next season so I hope to see them go on to greater success next season.
Dylan went to the 8th grade team earning a starting positon as center. He was starting nose guard but was moved back to 2nd string so that he wasn't playing both ways all game every game. Dylan forced a fumble the one defensive series he played in the Floyd game. The kid that he forced the fumble on a dear lady to us got a great picture of it. (I will post some pics in a later blog) The young man that he forced the fumble on is actually the nephew of one my dear friends. We came to discover that Dylan broke this boys arm with a hair line fracture. Dylan went on to practice the next week. On August 31st in practice some of Dylans teammates came down on his knee when a fumble went between his legs.
When the boys (about 6 of his teammates) came down on his leg Dylan hurt his knee. His dad and I took Dyl to see a great guy and surgeon that works with our teams to see what was going on because Dylan was very swollen. Dr. Lebolt sent Dylan to have an MRI. When we went back we were told that Dylan had torn his ACL, strained his MCL and ripped the Meniscus. He scheduled a surgery to repair the damage for 9-9-09.
We showed up on that day nerves up in throats for all of us. They took Dylan back at 9:09am for surgery. (Do you see the pattern here) They had told us that they would be grafting off Dylans hamstring to repair the ACL. When they got inside his knee (the right one) they found that is MCL was also torn and it had to be tacked down and his meniscus had to be clipped and cleaned up too much tearing.
Surgery went very well, and Dyl was determined he was gonna do what was needed during his therapy to get well. Unfortunately he picked up some bug in the hospital and was very sick with stomach issues for about 2 weeks which put him back to school later than planned. Anyway, once his stomach settled he got back to school into therapy. Dylan worked very hard in therapy and is now in weight training. We actually go back to Dr. Lebolt this coming Thursday and hopefully he will be fitted for his ACL brace and will be able to have some restrictions lifted from him. He has been unable to do p.e. or any sports at all. He cannot even turn corners when he runs. So I know he is sick of sitting on the sidelines.
Also with Dylan as I had told you awhile back about his C-Peptides, well they got a little out of whack during his surgery and sickness. So they were elevated again the last couple of times he went to Dr. Faris. But the kid is averaging 1-2" of growth about every 3 months. So needless to say both boys are taller than I am.
So that gets us through football season. We had a great banquet for which I wrote a poem I will post in a separate blog. I love those boys on all 3 teams like they are my own....
My sister and her husband bought a house but unfortunately the weather has not been in their favor to get things moving as quickly as they would like. I do believe now though things are moving along a little better. Julie is a Mary Kay consultant so if you need anything or want to have a party let me know and I will put you in touch with her.
I have been dealing with some personal issues the last little while. Actually for more than a year I have been struggling with where I was attending church. Different reasons had caused me to become very uncomfortable and lacking in what I was or was not getting. So we have visited a few places. The impasse I am at now is however is that Henry doesn't wanna change and I am uncomfortable in what was our church home for 4 years. So please pray. I feel like if I go back it would be very fake and going through the motions. And as Forest Gump says "that is all I have to say about that" I just don't feel I need to air any dirty laundry I have. It is between me, God and my husband. God will put me where He wants me.
That pretty much gets me up to Christmas. Which was a good one. We did actually have snow on Christmas. It had snowed a foot and a half a couple of days before. So it was nice to have snow on Christmas. The week after Henry's mawmaw had a spell and passed out in the home where she lives in NC. She is suffering from Alzheimer's, which my Nannie also had. It is not pleasant. On New Years Eves my father in law was put into the hospital. He had a brain stem stroke a few years ago and we were afraid that had happened again. Luckily that was not the case. He is however in rehab, his vertigo is out of whack and his thyroid was also messing him up. He is on some different meds so hopefully this will get him straight.
On 1/17 Zack turned 16... yes 16. I cannot believe it. He is not driving off on his own yet. He is turning into such a wonderful young man and I am so proud of him. Despite the fact that at times he seems like he cannot stand to be near me, he is my wonderful son, and I am blessed that God gave him to me to raise. Lord knows I don't know how I deserve either of them. Zack is running indoor track for the first time. He did really well in his first meet a couple of weeks ago. He has a meet at Heritage this coming weekend running the 500m and the 4x400m.
Dylan plans to help with CMS baseball team. Henry and I are chugging along. Both of us are feeling in for our bosses at our jobs. Henry's boss had a quadruple bypass and my manager has pneumonia.
I am trying to get back to my blog I have missed you all.......

Thoughts....

2009-07-20T19:26:00.002-04:00

I found out today my life will change once school starts back again in the 2009-10 school year. I have been at Christiansburg high school for nearly 4 years now. I love it there (excpet for some drama time to time). I love the kids and all the great friends I have made. Today I got a phone call that I will be transfered to Christiansburg elementary school. I have mixed feelings about it. I will miss everyone there terribly but I am excited about some of the changes that this will bring with it. So pray for me, that this is a part of Gods plan.
Football is starting up, WOO HOO. Dylan is goin out for the 8th grade football team. Zack is goin into his final year of JV. I cannot believe my kids are as old as they are. My emotions in lots of way are getting the best of me. I am crying on minute upset the next and happy for them right after. I think it is fear and being just nervous about all the big moves.
We went last week for Zacks learners permit. He unfortunately failed by one question. He will be able to take it again on August 3rd. I really had to bite my lip in the DMV to not cry and finally broke down once we got home. My oldest is breaking away a little at a time. UGH..... We also have been looking go a job for him and I think that just makes me proud of the young man he is becoming but again the whole growing up thing. Lord help when he graduates.
Henry and I have hit a bit of a slump lately in alot of the different parts of our lives. We have been just snippy with one another. We have fallen away from being in church. We have fallen away from spending the quality time. It also seems as though we have just fell into the slump too that we just do what needs to be done in life and that is about it and no more. We haven't been very socail not that much has been there to do. We just are plain ole blah.... pray for us.
The boys will be goin to Gatlinburg next week for youth confrence and Henry will be gone the first couple of day for a football clinic with the varsity, what are me and the dog gonna do???
Anyway those are just a few things goin on these days....

4th of July with family and friends

2009-07-05T19:27:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone had a blessed 4th of July with family and friends. I know we did. We went to what has become the annual cookout/pool party with the Blaines. Which we always love doing and have so much fun. They are great friends and we love the time of fellowship we have with them. The Kings are also there and we love them dearly too.

The guys start the afternoon playing cornhole ( I guess that is how you spell it) They tend to get just a bit competative whether they admitt it or not. Terena and I later in the day tried our hand at it and have decided while Henry and Wayne work we will get together to practice. Although I have to admitt she got progresively better than I did!!! Above Eric and Henry are going at it. The trash talk was going strong too.Zack and Dylan love playing this game as well and have gotten their share of jabs in with the older guys!!!!

The guys then proceeded on to play crouqet. Which Cameron called the old people game and he wasn't joking. In this photo the guys said they couldn't see the RED gates on the GREEN grass so Wayne paints them WHITE. If you ask me they weren't any brighter but hey, whatever works for them.

I really have to say I never thought this would be a conversation I would hear between my husband and son. Henry was trying to teach Zack how to play well. Poor Zack get being behind. He later determined Camerom must be right it is an old mans game that is why he couldn't win!!
My dear husband tends to be a bit competative in all he does. Zack looks like he is scared and running away.

This was so funny after the games they played they had to do their "english poses" you have Zack, Wayne, Henry and Eric.... they are too funny.

Ms. Anna got herself a new glider swing and she had that thing rocking with our without help.

Terena got on and helped her too. Terena told her to turn around and look at me and she was giggling saying I am trying!!!!

This is me and my little Anna. One of my many that I love as my own.

Later that evening we went to CHS and hung out with family and friends. This is Julie and myself before it got dark enough to start.

Henry and the boys watching the fireworks. Of course the boys were tryingn to duck out of the picture.

These are just a few of the many good ones we had this year. We were thankful that Cburg still did fireworks this year. I heard on the news because of the economy many places weren't having them.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T08:55:00.002-04:00

Henry, myself, Zachary and Dylan would like to wish you all a Happy 4th of July. I pray you remember the soilders that have fought and are fighting for freedom and protection. All gave some but some gave all.....

May God bless you and your family and be thankful that we live in a country that allows us the freedom to say what we like when we like without the fear of death, or punishment. Do not take for granted what our fore fathers did for us and the wonderful gift that was given us in this country. Remember that the signers of our Decleration put God first and I pray you will as well

Be happy and safe this holiday

Happy Fathers day honey

2009-06-20T08:24:00.002-04:00

Well here we are at another Fathers Day. I do have to say as far as dads go I picked a man for a husband that is a good father. He makes sure that the boys are have a great moral fiber and most importantly he is a man of God. I have seen that growth alot in the last few years. For that I am very thankful because alot of my girlfriends don't have that.

I married this man 14 years ago and we had 2 sons (one came before the marriage) Zack is 15 and Dylan is 12. So I went from a house full of women to all guys (even the dogs) The boys at times think that their dad is just harping on them all the time but he wants better for them and cares a great deal about their future. He surely doesn't want them to struggle the way we have.

The man in this picture is right up there with my daddy as dads go. He is such a great foundation in that family. He is the center of them all and has done a wonderful job at making God and family the most important things in life. Thank you Tommy for what you gave to me I love ya and Happy Fathers Day

This is our wonderful family with our growing children I could not have asked for a better blend...

Happy Fathers Day Henry I love you thank you for our children our marriage and our life....

Happy Fathers Day Daddy

2009-06-20T08:08:00.002-04:00

So Sunday is Fathers Day and I have been blessed to have one of the best there is. My dad was blessed with 2 daughters 12 years apart. Was he a glutten for punishment!!!! Well, anyway I love him dearly despite my actions have not always shown that. I have put my daddy through so much with stupid decisions but he always has loved me and gave me the best advice he can. I love you daddy

This is my sister Julie, my daddy Rusty and me. My Dad had 2 daughters as you can see but out of that he got 2 great son in laws and 2 grandsons that love their Pawpaw dearly

My mom and dad have been married nearly 37 years (in September) that seems to be unheard of with alot of my friends. Despite the hard times they went through over all those years I believe they love each other more now than they ever did before. I am so lucky to have parents who have overcome alot of obstacles and love us and tell us the way it really it is.

I love you daddy.... Happy Fathers Day

Fallen off the wagon

2009-06-19T21:10:00.002-04:00

Ok so I have fallen off the blogging wagon lately... geez been awhile. Let's see, probably no pics this time but i will do my best to get back on track. Since the 1sot of June not a whole heck of alot has been goin on. We got out of school on June 11th. Zack will be a sophmore and Dylan is goin into the 7th grade. Dylan also scored perfect on his math SOL. For those not in VA that is a standard of learing test the kids have to take here VERY IMPORTANT, or so they say.
We went to my nephew Daniels 5th grade graduation. My mother in law cannot believe he is gonna be in the middle school and she has no more grandbabies in elementary school.
We went to Asheboro Zoo with Dylan and his class had so much fun. Henry loves the zoo. I think we will go back before the summer is over. I hope we do so that we won't have 15 kids to keep up with. We stayed with Henrys cousin Thresa and her family that weekend and went to an extended Scott dinner. Like all of Henry's granddads siblings and their families. It was the first one and we all hope there are more.
Dylan just got back from his 4th year of 4H camp today. He loves it. He plans to go as a CIT (counselor in training) next year. He actually got to do a little of that this year and was the CIT in his lodge. They go to Smith Mountain Lake, very nice. He is tired tonight though and hit the bed before 9pm.
Zack has started his summer lifting and we just found out yesterday that he is old enough now to play softball with our church so he is very excited to do that. We are in the process of trying to find him a job. He gets his learners next month so money will have to start coming in a little to do the whole car thing. So if you know of anyone who employee a 15 year old for a few days a week (not on Sunday) let me know.
Henry is working and football is kicking back in early this year. We go to Galax (my hometown) on the 24th for a 7 on 7 tournament. That is where they play without alot of hitting and the coaches can be on the field.
We are heared to Henrys grandmothers 80th bday party next week too, we are looking forward to that. Also this fathers day weekend we will be on the lake with mom and dad and my sister and brother in law. I cannot wait.
My most favorite thing right now is that I am down 21 pounds. WOO HOO...

Update on our family

2009-05-17T15:34:00.004-04:00

*Long blog lots of updates....

I have fallen off the wagon lately on my blogging so I need to get caught back up. We have had a lot going on lately the biggest thing starting with my sisters wedding. First of all I cannot believe how the time has flown by and she is a grown woman now. If you don't know us I should tell you we are 12 years apart in age.
She has found her soul mate and as I type they should be on their way home from what I am sure is a wonderful honeymoon for the last week in Jamacia. Don't you feel sorry for them!!!!

I have to say she made a beautiful bride to no surprise. I am so proud of her. She married a Grayson boy and they both seem to be very happy. I know they will have struggles as done any married couple. I pray that God will lead them on the most blessed journey far about anything they could imagine.

The colors she picked were great and so different from what you see in other weddings. She picked palm beach coral and a chocolate color. I love the dress I got the privelage with my mom of helping her pick out. IT all meshed so well together. Her flower was a calla lily. Everything seem to come off without a hitch. Mom said she picked up the wedding pictures yesterday and I cannot wait to see them. I love you sis have a blessed and loving marriage.I thought too I would update you on the murder that took place a few weeks ago on our street. All we hear is not to worry. I am sure the police are doing a great job. I was told that the husband was brought in for a lie detector test. Other than that and lots of rumors and speculation I don't know anymore as of yet. I will say however Henry and I noticed that alot more company is around than there ever was before. I guess that could be a good thing. Who knows... I will let you know when I hear more.

On Friday morning we had a bit of excitement here at home. Dylan was outside just before 7am waiting on his bus. He looked over and walking out of our driveway was a full grown black bear. He came running back into the house yelling for me, which that in itself scared me. He told me what happened and I say the bear across the road. Poor Zack couldn't see him no contacts in yet. I went on Saturday and told the neighbors about him so they could be aware. They told me he has been around before and glad YES GLAD he is back. So now when we walk Radley we are on alert!!!!

I have missed my last couple of blessings post. The biggest things that have been blessings for me have been the marriage of my sister, my husband saying last night that he has a good life he has no idea what that meant to me. All the prayers for the broken toes. Oh yeah I forgot to mention that on Mothers Day I broke two toes. WOO HOO

I am thankful for sons that have been aware that i am not able to do as much as I ususally am. I am thankful for co workers that have been very helpful. I am thankful for teh 14 pounds I have lost. I am thankful for the friends that I have old and new. I am thankful for parents that I love very much.

I am thankful for a wonderful loving church family. Getting past all the things that keep us busy and we are there for one another and love each other dearly.

Have a blessed week all

Update on prayer request

2009-04-28T19:58:00.001-04:00

I thought that I would post the latest on the situation on our street. Please not only continue to pray for this family but also all of us who live here in this area. It is a bit anerving

Christiansburg death ruled a homicide
A medical examiner has determined that a Christiansburg woman's death the past weekend was the result of asphyxiation and ruled the case a homicide, town police said this afternoon.
No one has been charged, and the investigation is ongoing.
After getting a 911 call just after 7 a.m. Sunday, police found Ann G. King, 50, unresponsive at her home on Cumberland Drive.
According to a search warrant affidavit filed Monday in Montgomery County Circuit Court, King’s husband, Charles Patrick King, 51, called 911 to report a problem with his wife. Officers arrived to find a woman face down in the floor with no pulse. Large red stains that appeared to be blood were on the floor, according to the affidavit.

Ask you to pray

2009-04-26T14:14:00.002-04:00

This morning on our street one of our neighbors Ann King was murdered in her home while her husband left to deliver papers. When he returned home he came in to find his wife. No other details have been given at this time. They are however keeping a tight lock on who is allowed to come onto our street which is a dead end. Please keep this family in your prayers also all of us who live on this street. This is a scary situation and one I hope is an isolated occurance.

This weeks blessings

2009-04-25T17:08:00.002-04:00

So this week has had my sinuses flarred all to pieces. I have felt pretty rough for the last couple of weeks. Oh the joy of spring.

This week however I have many blessings.

*The beautiful weather this weekend God has given to us.

*Celebrating my hubbies birthday on Thursday.

*The wonderful spa day we had today for my sisters bachlorette party.

*Just seeing the way my boys have loved this puppy (Radley) we got. They have really stepped up and taken care of him

*Spending time with my guys and being able to just sit and laugh.

Oh Thank you God for all your blessings

Spa day

2009-04-25T16:39:00.004-04:00

Today I was able to have a wonderful spa day. My sister is getting married in 2 weeks, 2 weeks from today to be exact. As a matter of fact as I type this I think she will be married at this time in 2 weeks. Anyway, today as part of her bachlorette party she planned a spa day. OH MY GOSH!!!! I got a facial and a deep tissue. That was heaven. I totally understand why women (with money) go on a regular basis. I was not expecting the facial to be all that it was. I was a bit nervous because I have never had any of this done before. I walked in the room and the girl put me at ease. She began talking with me about what would take place. She asked me about my skin and what issues I have. She asked me about what I use. I laid down on the table nervous.... Oh my goodness, she began with the treatment, which lasted an hour. I was not expecting to get my shoulders massaged, my arms. Then she moved down during all this and massaged my legs and feet. I have not been so relaxed in so long if ever.

We went to Azario spa, they were great by the way and if you are ever in Roanoke and want to pamper yourself I highly recommend this spa. I have nothing to compare it to but I loved this one. The ladies had put out fruit, vegis and cookies for us to snack on. By the time we left all the fruit was gone.

I later went on and got a deep tissue massage. My shoulders were very relaxed she massaged me head to toe front and back. My sister got a hot stone massage. She enjoyed it but I will say that we all enjoyed the facial... I will be doin it again.

Weekly blessings...

2009-04-18T22:43:00.002-04:00

Well this week has been a little rough for me I have been very under the weather. And I know the Lord is seeing me through. I have had some stressful moments and I am trying extremly hard to do what an old dear friend suggested. Rather than letting the stress get me down and cause me to react, I am gonna "Praise Him in the Storm"
While at times I have been having some anxiety issues I have had many blessings.

* On Thursday evening we brought a new member in to our family. Radley (after voting of 40 names we each chose 10 each and narrowed it down) he is a full blood yellow lab. He is the puppy of a lab that was rescued. He is great, we have all fallen so in love with him. We began training IMMEDIATELY. Potty training is going great and he listens so well. He is right now about 8 weeks old well probably closer to 9 and healthy.

*Having a husband and sons who look after me when I am ill. They just let me be. They let me rest, they don't ask anything of me. I love them dearly and so thankful for the family I have. God has truely let my cup runneth over.

*Friends that send wishes and that pray in times of need whether it be a stress situation I am dealing with or sickness.

*Getting together tonight with old but good friends. Some of these ladies I haven't seen in 10 years. The sad thing is a few of us only live within 15 miles of one another.

*Sitting there with all my friends tonight and all of us joiining hands to pray. That was awesome.

*Also hubby got to go out tonight with the football coaches. They are having a time of fellowship. Knowing that they are all Godly men is wonderful too.

I hope the Lord fills you with little things this week to be thankful for....

Meet Radley

2009-04-17T19:20:00.004-04:00

Well We have a new member of our family. Meet Radley, he is an 8 week old yellow lab. We have been on the search for a dog for a couple of months now. We sat down as a family after our hound ran off as to whether we wanted another dog. Also about where the dog would live. We have always had outdoor dogs but decided that if we wanted to have a pet that animal should be a part of our everyday life. He came to us on Thursday evening from a liter of dogs that were born from a rescued lab. He is full blood just no papers so we got him free. Which the paper thing is no big deal to us. We don't plan to breed or anything. Actually by summers end he will be fixed. We did research on several types of dogs and as a family this is the one breed we could agree on. I had a black lab as my first pet. Also we had a black lab/dalmation mix. They were both really good dogs.

He had his first puppy visit to the vet today. He is gonna be a big guy. He weighed in at 9lbs at 8 weeks. I know he will be big but we live in a home where he will have plenty of room. Besides we all agreed that we really would prefer a larger breed of dog. I know we are up for a big challenge as far as his chewing and such. We are all determined though to really work with him and be good puppy parents.

I think after talking with the vet and all we know about labs we made a good choice for our family. We love him to death already and cannot wait to see him grow and the blessing he will be to us all.

Easter 09

2009-04-13T18:10:00.005-04:00

Well Easter 09 has come and gone. First and foremost I hope we all remember that Christ is risen not only on Easter but year round. We had a nice Easter weekend. Spent it all with family and friends.

This is my baby boy Dylan in his new clothes he got shoes too but can't see them. He is such a cutie. I never was able to get one of Zack in his new clothes before he changed TEENAGERS!!!! This is at 6am we were getting ready to go to Sunrise Service, where afterwards we had breakfast. Came home and all the guys crashed for about an hour. Then we headed back to Sunday School and 11a m service

So here is myself in my new easter top. I didn't do a whole outfit this year. I wanted a top I could do with different stuff. Anyway....

So Jerome, Henrys best friend came to visit. I got em to pose for a picture for me. The fun never stops when they are all together

So some of the Sunday school classes had an Easter Egg hunt. These next few kids are some of my beautiful kids that I get to teach.

She didn't want me to take her picture

Isn't she adorable

He is so handsome such a little man. The tie didn't make it all day.

This is from a 5 year olds perspective.... not very flattering for me.....

And the hunt begins

Go girl.....

There is more to have... all that candy

He was happy with what he found

She just walked back and forth.. so pretty

All my kids love to pose he is so handsome too....

checking out the eggs.

This is Henry and his brother. Not a clear picture but they were sporting their new hats they got for their bday. 1971 and 1972 models. They both have April bdays

Daniel, Tommy and Dylan we had just got done eatting at the inlaws and now listening to Jerome try to con Daniel out of his money.... Daniel kept saying his dad is a cop.

Who knows what this coversation is all about with theses three. We had a good day. I didn't get any pictures from my moms everyone seemed to be running around in 100 directions. Julie was trying to get some things done for her wedding which is now less than a month away. Dad took Grandma home. Mom was all over the place.

Hope you al lhad a great Easter

Fridays Favorite Five

2009-04-10T18:15:00.003-04:00

I am nearing the last half of my spring break. I cannot believe that it is already Friday. That means it is time for Fridays favorite five list.

* My break for the last week and not having to go back to work til Tuesday. It has been a much needed break for me.

*I started donating plasma this week and it has been really rewarding. I even got to meet one of the patients that benefits from the medicine plasma is used for.

*A dear friend helping me get real direction and a real plan for me to help drop this horrible weight I have put on.

*Watching Zack learn to drive my van. While it was a blessing at the same time it is a little sad my oldest is growing up.

* Easter.... my Lord and Savior gave His life so that we may all have life everlasting through the blood of the Lamb

Happy Easter all

Thanks for the prayers

2009-04-07T21:11:00.002-04:00

Henry went from hardly being able to move on Sunday and now he is fine. Thank you for praying for him. The power of prayer is a wonderful thing.

Please pray

2009-04-06T21:02:00.002-04:00

Please pray for my better half Henry. He went Saturday and cut wood. When he and the boys got home they contunued working til dark busting what they needed to. Yesterday after church he beagn complaining with his back. We aren't sure what he has done but I know from experience back pain is a bear. Thank you ....

Donating plasma

2009-04-06T20:13:00.002-04:00

Today I did something new. I went and donated plasma. I have donated blood many times over the years as has Henry. I had saw a commercial a couple of weeks ago about donating plasma. It intrested me. Not to mention they pay you. I know that sounded a little sleezy to me at first. So I prayed alot about it and did research about the process. I was not to put off by any of it.

I went up this morning to Roanoke Plasma Center and donated for the first time. They put you through a physical and lots of questions. That was fine with me, better to be safe then sorry.

I was very relaxed and the lady that put my needle in was really good at it. I have had some over the years that have jabbed me to death. She wasn't however very friendly. That is not neither here nor there. It was actually very intresting to watch the plasma seperate from my blood. It actually looked like apple juice!!!

They say you can go up to twice a week as long as you leave one full day between donation days. I am not so sure my body can handle that much. But hey going here and there and donating and make a little money to boot I can handle that

Fridays Favorite Five

2009-04-04T09:18:00.003-04:00

Ok here is my first favorite five of April. This seems to be the only thing I post these days. Really so much more has been goin on in my life. Here we go....

* Having our monthly fellowship with my sisters in Christ. We had our monthly night out and it is so nice to have that time to just sit and talk about whatever.

*Zack brought home a grade that he pulled up and he had been working very hard and it all paid off.

*Thankful beyond belief that I am off til the 14th....

* Seeing the flowers and things bloom. Knowing I can get outside and be much more active

* Watching Dylan just nail all his hits in the batting cage. Seeing how happy he was about it in the end

I hope you all have a blessed week....

Fridays Fav Five

2009-03-28T07:45:00.002-04:00

I just cannot believe that we are on the final weekend of March '09. Where is this year going so fast. Maybe it is just because my family is getting older. I always heard the older you get the faster it goes. Who knows.... I miss the days when my kids were small but I love watching the new challenges and changes they are making in their lives.
Ok now on to my favorite blessings for this past week.....

*I am thankful Henry got to go to Wake Forest with some of the other coaches from the CHS football team for a coaches clinic with the college coaches and players. I have heard it in his voice how excited he has been to be there. Also that the Lord has been working some things out for him and answering some of his prayers and mine.

*I am thankful for a peaceful (for the most part) week at work. I am finding I am not getting wrapped in the middle of everything as much as I used to.

*I am thankful that my marriage seems to be growing in such a positive way. Henry and I laugh more and have enjoyed one anothers company much more.

* I am thankful for sons that are willing to be so very helpful to their parents and adults outside the home. I relish in seeing the strong character they are developing.

*I am thankful for the nice dinner the boys and I had last night and got to spend time together.

I have an extra one this week.....

*As much as people have been complaining about it. I am thankful for the rain we have been getting lately. So many people have lost so much over the last years with the drought, now the economy. We need this rain and much more (but not excessive) This will let more people plant their own food this summer and have more with out worrying as much how to get by and put food on the table. Thank God for rain and sunshine and the balance from each......

Fridays Favorite Fives

2009-03-21T08:55:00.003-04:00

Ok so another week come and gone.. I like doing this on Saturday morning gives me time make sure I get all of Friday in!!!

*A supportive husband in stressful situations

*Prayer, prayer, and answer to prayer.

*Best friends of old and reconnecting again and becoming new again

*Laughing with the kids so much I cry

*The love I feel in my life from family and friends and them allowing me to be the strong person I am

Have a blessed weekend all

Fridays Favorite Five...

2009-03-14T15:26:00.002-04:00

So my dear friend over at The Punkin Patch has been doin this really cool thing. She has been posting her favorite five things at the end of the week. I like this idea because it lets you look back over the week and remember what your blessings have been. I do think we need to look back at the little things God puts in our lives.
So here goes.

*Watching my 12 year old outside doing exercises to get himself in shape for baseball season. He is pushing himself more than I ever could

*Having a husband that took very good care of me while I suffered from that horrible stomach flu.

*Seeing Zack wanna do all he can to do his best in school and watching him become a wonderful young man.

*Hearing the ladies at work talk about how they wish they had their parents here on earth and being thankful to know that not only do I have my parents but my in laws.

*Having good friends that call to just say they love me and hope I am getting well.

I am thankful for all that God has seen fit to give me. I am in His hands.

To Janet over at The Punkin Patch

2009-03-07T12:54:00.000-05:00

Hey Ms. Janet... lately I have been unable to read your blog. It tells me I am not invited, so if you are wondering why I haven's stopped by well that is why.... :)

New Favorite cookbook for the weekday

2009-03-07T07:15:00.002-05:00

Many people know we have a crazy life. At least for half the year we are on the go constantly. Also working in a kitchen the last thing I wanna do when I come home is cook some big ole meal. Well, I have found something to help me out with this problem. It is a cookbook I got from Pamprered Chef called 29 minutes to dinner.

I have to tell you most everything I have cooked thus far has held true to the name. It will also give you the time it takes to prepare or at least there abouts. Cause you know none of us have any distractions goin on while we cook!!!! I have made probably about a half a dozen things from here and so far the guys have liked all of them. The last thing I made was an Italian meatball soup with homemade croutons. Oh and one more thing I like abou it, is it gives you all the dietary information for each recipe. That is great if you are following the point system with Weight Watchers or just trying to be aware of your calorie intake. So if you are looking for a cookbook to help you with quick but good meals, this is it.

New Book.. for me

2009-03-03T21:09:00.002-05:00

So I love to read. I typically read true crime or biography. Maybe a little history from time to time. So I got this particular book I am reading now at the Weekend to Remember that hubby and I attended last year. We have bought several christian "self-help" books the last couple of years we have gone. Well most unfortunately have come home and collected death on my book shelf while I scan over them and read all my other favorites.
Not too long ago Henry and I went through a rough patch where I didn't even wanna be in the same room he was in. Sorry honey, but honesty is the best policy. I decided I had to do something. I know all the answers I need in my life are Gods word that He sent for you and me. Well sometimes I have trouble knowing where to turn, so I need a little added help.
I picked up this book off my shelf and wiped the dust off. WOW.. it has so made me wake up and realize for one the idols I am putting ahead of other things in my life. Also the type of person I am when it comes to dealing with conflict. It has opened my eyes to know that I need to learn other ways of dealing with things. While I still let my temper get the best of me at times sad to say. I am learning to deal with conflict better.
I am not done with the book, this is however what I love about the book. As you read page to page it will give you scripture that you can look on or is already in the book. It lets me see how what the author is saying is tied directly in to what God has for me, and you. It doesn't feel like I have some holier than though author telling me their view on what is best for what my life should be. It lets me know what the ultimate author has for me. The way He wants my life, marriage and being a parent to be.
I know so many people have taught me things throughout my christian walk but sometimes I need to read it, write it all those things. I need to be able to study on it and apply it...
So anyway... the book is called "Peacemaking For Families" If you are struggling in your life with the way you deal with conflict in your family I highly recommend read this book...

I will let you know how it goes.....

The weight game....

2009-03-01T19:08:00.002-05:00

So lately I have to admit that I have been doing SOME better. I am not exercising like I should. Although to me that can tend to be a dirty word. I have asked hubby for an elliptical. We shall see. I love those things. Not to mention the doc said it was the best thing for this bad hip and knee I have. So I have been doing things like big salads for lunch with fat free dressing. Whole wheat muffins with a scrambled egg white. Lots of water and milk. I have really really cut back on my sweet tea. I do still get it when we go out but hey...
My biggest hurdle seems to be the nighttime snacking. I can go all day long and only eat when I am hungry. I hear the suggestions of read a book, do something constructive. The problem with that is I can eat while I read. So do you see my dilemma?? Do you have any suggestions? I am bound and determined to not be the fat friend in the group. I have become that in some circles even if those ladies don't think so. Thank you for your support and prayers. Talking about it here on my blog has helped me a great deal. I fee accountable to someone. I really don't have the extra money to go to WW meetings or do the Weigh Station. So again thanks....

Sunday Snow

2009-03-01T17:57:00.003-05:00

These are just from different views in the house. So I just thought I would share the beauty God gave us today...

Enjoy....

Sharing my faves.

2009-02-27T22:02:00.005-05:00

So my dear friend over at The Busy Blaines shared what her faves were head to toe and I though I would do the same. Although I have to say I take alot of advice from my dear friend there :)

So following her start I thought I would share some of my favorite things I use. Now keep in my mind I am pretty simple with alot it but hey less is more right?

So I start my regiment with an old faithful. Noxema has been something I have loved and used since I was a teenager. I have to admit. I have tried other cleansers. I always seem to end up back with good ole Noxema. I tend to breakout more now as an adult than I ever did as a teen. This has always seemed to help to keep my skin clean. Not to mention I love the way it makes my skin feel.

So again I like another ole faithful, Oil of Olay. My grandmother had always told me that it is never too early to start fighting what will eventually march all over your face. Well the crows are now marching on my face so I am gonna have to add a little more help.

I am expecting to receive soon the Philosophy starter kit so hopeful I will find something from that I will love that will help.

So while I tried to get a picture on here it wouldn't let me snag one. So I wanted to say that since I have my hands and arms and alot of times being the goofball I am the rest of me in bleach water my skin stays really dry. I love using Suave cocoa and shea butter body wash and lotion. They do wonders with my dry skin. Plus much to many who think I shouldn't I do lay in the tanning bed and it tends to help keep my color.

I am a Tresemme girl ... OH LA LA LA... I have found that with naturally curly hair it can be so hard to find things that will keep my curls under control. Well I tried Tresemme and I love it. The entire line of their curl locking products are great. From the shower to hairspray that is all I use.

So as I said before I tend to have problems with adult acne. Well my dear friend over at The Busy Blaines turned me on to mineral foundation. I will never ever again use liquid. This is the best...

I also love in my make up routine Cover Girl Lash Blast. This is one of the best mascares I have ever used. I love the length it gives me.

My favorite lip glosses are by Wet and Wild. They are 2 very neutral shades which I love.Finally my absolute favorite perfume is Far Away from AVON. This is such a clean scent that isn't too overpowering.

So now I have bored you with what I love to use. As was asked where I read this blog to begin with what do you like to use????

Not a successful weekend

2009-02-22T20:18:00.003-05:00

So while I am happy with husband and kids don't let my title fool you. I slipped this weekend. My eating was up to what I have been holding myself too lately. I didn't do very well with my portion control and to be honest the kind of food I ate. So pray for me ladies. I have been doing less sweet tea, my favorite, and more water. Doing the empty calories of salad for lunch and not eating late. So there has been some victory. I will not though beat myself up over this weekend, but I am gonna be accountable.

Henry and I did look at an elliptical today that I expressed to him I would love to have. HINT HINT honey.... Keep praying for me, and thanks for all the encouragement.

Trailer for sale

2009-02-22T20:11:00.001-05:00

I wanted to send something simple that I hope you will pass along if you know of anyone that is intrested. My sister and her fiancee are putting their 2007 trailer on the market so that they may buy a home to start their new life. It is located between Radford and Christiansburg.

http://www.benbrewer.blogspot.com

2 days and doin ok

2009-02-17T18:57:00.002-05:00

So I posted a blog on my weight and how it is out of control. Well since then for 2 days I have done ok. Yesterday I watched how much I ate and when. Today I have done pretty well. I haven't eatten any junk food. I have to admitt the late night is my down fall. I tend to wanna eat then lay right down and go to sleep. That is so not good and is staying on every part of my body. I have watched the sugar in take and trying to make sure I drink more water even if it is Sobe or Propel. So I haven't weighed and I won't for a bit because those numbers depress me. Don't get me wrong I will eventually, but not now. So 2 days in and what I will not call a diet or weight loss mission or whatever. So keep prayinig thanks for the encouragement ladies.... Keep you posted

Valentines Day

2009-02-15T20:07:00.003-05:00

So yesterday was Valentines day. It was a good weekend. Henry started by sending me these beautiful roses that just made my day.

So I had the guys gifts on the table waiting on them to be opened we don't do too much for the boys but we do something. We gave Dylan a movie "The Express" and Zack got a new basketball. We gave them both candy.
Men are hard to shop for I gave Henry a weight tree for all the weights laying on the floor. The boys gave him "Saw V" We love those movies last year we got steaks from the Roadhouse and watched #4

So my dear sweety told me I couldn't wear jeans out on our V-Day dinner. We had to dress nice I was so excited. We attempted the Farmhouse which was horrible. Even with reservations most were waiting almost 2 hours. If you walked up no telling how long you would wait. So we decided to go somewhere else and ended up at our safe-net Red Lobster. It was nice and still ended up being a late dinner. Henry gave me a pair of diamond earring studs and the boys gave me a new Willow Tree Angel "Quietly"

It was a really good weekend. I love my husband very very much and i am blessed to have him as my husband.

Over it

2009-02-15T18:31:00.002-05:00

So as I look at some of the pictures over the past year that have been taken of me I am disgusted. I am mad at myself. I have let my weight so out of control that now I want to cry when i look at myself. This is the roundest I have been from head to toe since I was pregnant with Dylan. I have been complaining about my weight for a long long time now and have been making my poor girlfriends listen to it. I am sorry girls.
I have come to that place where I am sick of being this way. So with a realistic goal in site I am gonna drop this weight one way or another and in a way I hope I can keep it off. I am not perfect and I know that I will mess up sometimes. But hey show me one person on that journey who hasn't had a bad day, week or month. I know that I will never ever be the size I was pre-kids but when I am getting out of breath walking up and down our stairs in our house that is enough.
So maybe if I am accountable here or to someone that wants to help me I can finally get down to a healthy weight because I am far from it now.
So I am asking please pray for me, I have got to get healthy again I don't want to be a stick but I don't wanna be ashamed of my pics.

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T08:32:00.003-05:00

So while I know many people don't bother celebrating Valentines Day, hubby and I do. We have always tried to take time out for one another and show each other how much we do love each other. While I know we should do that everyday with kids, work and just life in general you sometimes forget to stop and just remember the good mushy stuff that caused you to fall in love to begin with.
So I hope you will all take the time to be a little mushy with your sweetheart today. Let them know you love them. Let them know you appreciate them.

I love you Henry......

Old friends...

2009-01-31T18:19:00.002-05:00

I have to say I have been enjoying moreso than ever being online. Right around Christmas I began being able to keep up with alot of old friends I haven't seen some in almost 20 years or more. I have a page on http://www.facebook.com I never really used it much but then all of a sudden I got a few friend request from some of my old best girlfriends in the world. I have missed them all bunches. I cannot believe sometimes we have grown up having kids have jobs, mortgages, all that fun stuff. There are even a few of us that have high school kids. I have made some wonderful memories with these ladies and I hope we can see each other more and not wait til another reunion......

Zack is turning 15

2009-01-15T20:13:00.002-05:00

Well my oldest is turning 15 on Saturday. Oh my where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday that mom and dad where take me to Twin County Community Hospital in an ice storm. My Nannie, friend Beth Cruise, and my mom were there with me. My mom was in the room with me and I am so glad she got to be there with her first grandson. When my dad called at lunch time (Zack was born at 11:57am) he asked what I had i told him a son.... he said "hot damn i gotta a grandson". When I talked with my sister Julie, who was 8 at the time, she told me to send him back because we had been expecting a girl.

Well the years passed and Zack has shown himself as an athlete, comedian, and really good guy. I don't really know too many people who have meet Zack who don't love him. He is such a good hearted young man.

I am very proud of my son. I am proud of the young man he is turning out to be, and the direction he is taking in his life. He has always talked about being an architect, and possibly flying planes in the military. He is a christian and gave his life to the Lord a year and a half ago. He loves playing sports, and loves being with his family.

I love you Zachary. I want you to know that you are truly a blessing and you have the best parts of me and your dad. I am so excited to see where you go in your life and so blessed that I get to be here to watch. Happy 15th birthday.....

New Recipes from a newcookbook

2009-01-02T13:30:00.003-05:00

So mom got myself Julie and her a new cookbook from Taste of Home. It is a 3 in 1 cookbook with slow cooker recipes, casseroles, and soups. It has like 500+ in it. So I thought I would share the first two I have done from it. They were yummy....

Nutrition Facts
One serving:
Calories:
265
Fat:
9 g
Saturated Fat:
4 g
Cholesterol:
57 mg
Sodium:
306 mg
Carbohydrate:
27 g
Fiber:
2 g
Protein:
19 g
Related Recipes
Related Meals

Four-Pasta Beef Bake
Taste of Home - try a FREE ISSUE today!
This hearty casserole looks and tastes a lot like lasagna, but it's quicker to prepare since you don't have to layer it. It disappears fast when I share it at a gathering. Served with rolls and a salad, it makes an easy and satisfying supper. -Harriet Stichter, Milford, Indiana
SERVINGS: 16-20
CATEGORY: Lower Fat
METHOD: Baked
TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 25 min.
Ingredients:
8 cups uncooked pasta (four assorted pasta shapes of your choice)
2 pounds ground beef
2 medium green peppers, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
4 jars (26 ounces each) meatless spaghetti sauce
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, peppers, onions and mushrooms over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl; stir in the beef mixture, two jars of spaghetti sauce and eggs. Transfer to two greased 3-qt. baking dishes. Top with remaining sauce; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Yield: 2 casseroles (8-10 servings each).

Nutrition Facts
One serving:
(1 cup)
Calories:
456
Fat:
21 g
Saturated Fat:
8 g
Cholesterol:
94 mg
Sodium:
1323 mg
Carbohydrate:
29 g
Fiber:
2 g
Protein:
33 g

Chicken Tortilla Casserole
Casserole Cookbook Try a FREE ISSUE of Taste of Home!
I started making this delicious dish about 15 years ago, after my husband and I were married.— Pamela Hoekstra, Hudsonville, Michigan
SERVINGS: 4-6
CATEGORY: Main Dish
METHOD: Baked
TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 30 min.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
10 flour tortillas (6 inches), torn into bite-size pieces
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup salsa
Directions: In a saucepan, bring the broth, onion and celery to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Place in a large bowl; add chicken, tortillas, soup, chilies, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese and pepper. Transfer to a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish. Top with salsa and remaining cheeses. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 4-6 servings.

I hope you enjoy them... maybe I will share more that I do from it

My life and the people in it.

2008-12-31T20:38:00.006-05:00

So 2008 is winding down to a close and I still cannot believe it. As I sit here and look at the clock there is just like a little over 3 hours left. You know I remember a time when I would have been worried about being out half the night. Now I am wondering if I will make it to midnight to give Henry a kiss.

So anyway I though I would tell all those closest to me that I love you dearly thank you for all you have done for me this year. Whether it was emotional support, a laugh or listening to me complain thank you I love you all

Henry we are approaching 14 years of marriage. I don't know what I would do without you sometimes. You keep me so grounded and still try to spoil me without giving yourself a stroke. I know you think you need to give better to us. You are home you work hard and you are a good dad. You have been a very supportive husband and I am blessed most of all to have a christian husband. You are stuck with me for an eternity. I love you and cannot wait to see what this new year has for us.

My two darling little angels Zack and Dylan. I cannot believe how you have grown. I cannot believe what wonderful young men you are becoming. I am so proud of the young men you are turning out to be. You have both given your life to God and that above all else is enough to make me cry every time I think of it. You are wonderful loving people and I pray you never stray from what you know you should be doing. Keep growing and becoming the unique young men you are on your to becoming. I know 2009 will be successful for both of you. I love you.Dad and Mom I love you so much. I know I have defiantly been your challenging child. I have always done anything I can to be independent and sometimes that hasn't always been the best choice. I want you to know I love you. Thank you for always loving me unconditionally. Thank you for your sense of humor and your advice and the bond we have developed as a family as a whole. Thank you for all the sacrifices and things you have done for me. I love you so much....

To my little sister Julie. We are 12 years apart and it used to always suck. But here we are 2 grown women. You are about to embark on a great journey with someone you love dearly and I am so happy for you. Part of me wants to cry every time I think about it. We have just gotten to a point we can be friends and sometimes I think the age gap is still hard. I love you very much. I will always be here for you no matter what. I will protect you no matter how long you and Benny are together. Police standing there or not.... LOL.... I hope we can grow in this year to be better friends than we ever thought possible. I love ya sis
To my wonderful Grandma.... What you have been through in your life makes me in awe of you. You are the kind of woman I want to be. You have the spirit I can only hope to have one day. I love you so much and I am so thankful you are my Grandma. I have lost one grandmother that I loved dearly and miss very much. I am thankful for everyday God has given you to us. I love you

Ok Eric you get to be in this group but I am talking to my "guineas".....

So I began ODBC 3 years ago tomorrow. 1/1... I never dreamed I would walk in and find the friends that I did. Sarah, Julie and Terena you guys are the best. I know we all have best friends elsewhere but I am thankful that you three have grown to be ladies that I can turn to for anything. You are a treasure in my life and I thank you for all you do for me and my family. Our lives have crossed for reasons that God is seeing through. Thank you for being my friends and thank you for your love.....

Tommy and Judy. I love you guys so much. I couldn't ask for better in laws. Thank you for your son thank you for your love and support. Thank you for the guidance you give Henry and I even when you think you aren't doing anything. I love you

So Ben you are about to become a member of our family. I am happy that she has you because I know you will take care of my sister. I know you make her happy and I know she loves you. As brother in laws go I think you I am thankful she found you....

So these are my out of town sisters, Jennifer, Nadya and Aleece. I love you guys and I miss you so much. You have touched my life and held a special place in my heart that no one else will ever replace.

So these are my ladies at work Dorothy, Deborah, Nancy and Cookie. They keep me straight or try to. What a horrible job.... I love you guys and as stressful as our workplace is I am thankful I have you four to muddle through the day with everyday.

God bless all of you this 2009....

Happy New Year

2008-12-29T20:53:00.002-05:00

So here we are at the end of 2008. Can you believe it? I know we all say every year how fast the year went and each one goes faster. But really where is time going? Anyway, this has been a year of ups and downs for my family. We have dealt with loss of loved ones. We have had highs and lows in our home goin through different everyday things. I had a son start high school and my baby is in middle school. Henry and I are still working steady which in of itself is a blessing this day and age. Zack and I went on a mission trip to Montana that was amazing. We were able to take some vacation time this year to the beach, Bush Gardens and DC. Even short weekends are vacations here.

Anyway this year instead of resolutions we have decided to do something a little different. We each are picking one thing that we want to do more of as a family. We are picking things we want to work on together. It could be doing devotions together, eating more meals at the table, game night etc.. We thought rather than doing things that only focus on ourselves and do something that focuses on us growing as a family.

As far as New Years Eve we just do whatever if it is staying at home or going somewhere last minute. So I pray you all have a blessed 2009 and that God guides you in each thing you do. We love you all and look forward to the new year.

Santa aka hubby

2008-12-27T20:11:00.003-05:00

So Henry started out the Christmas season doing a great deed. He became Santa..... at least for a little while. Anyone who knows Henry and I know that pretty much everything Henry and I do revolves around kids of all ages. He said he got dressed at the house and rode to the church where our preschool is in his red dodge. So as you can imagine Santa in a RED truck turned heades even in the short drive to our church.
I stole these pics from a friends website. Thanks T......

I don't know all the kids but I know this little girl just rattled all kinds of stuff off he said he couldn't have remembered if he had to.

Mr. C here would NOT sit on Santas lap. But Santa got his attention by mentioning the Polar Express that he rode during Thanksgiving. I find it odd that he and "A" wouldn't sit on his lap because once he left C told his mom that Santa sounded and looked like Dylans dad!!! "A" revealed when she got home and just giggles now if I mention it.

This is little boy is very unsure....

He isn't a bad guy.....

Little "J" here is such a sweety and I hear she giggled the whole time. Which she always does. We had her in Bible School and "C" and "A" are in our Sunday School class..... HO HO HO

Happy Birthday Daddy

2008-12-26T10:16:00.004-05:00

So today is the day after Christmas. Today is also my daddy's birthday. My dad is such a good wonderful loving man. He is the one (ecspecailly my sister and I) go to on advice on how to do almost everything. He is smart and I have always wondered what he would have done if he could have went on to college. No matter God had another path for him. I love my daddy very much and despite all the mistakes i make he always loves me. Thank you Daddy for all you have done for me and our family. Let me share some of Dads important people in his life....

This is my dad and mom. They have been married for 36 years now. Which is very unusual with most my friends I grew up with. They have been together I think since Mom was 15. Long time and despite a lot of hard times they have survived and love each other very much.....

This is me, dad and my sister Julie. He and mom only had 2 daughters and they spaced us 12 years apart and none in between. We really don't know what we would do without him. Because I am sure much to Henry and Bens dismay we ask advice of Daddy more than we do them.... Sorry we are daddies girls.

Thisis Grandma and Dad. Daddy is her first born. She had at least one miscarriage before dad I think that I know of. My grandparents were such a big part of my dads life. My PaWillard has been gone since '88. Long time and I miss very much and I am sure my dad does too.

This is grandma with her surviving boys. My Uncle Terry died in '93. Also not in this picture with them is my Aunt Pam. She has a terrible bone disease and she doesn't get around too well.

This is from left to right. My uncle Greg aka Crobar, Uncle Chris the baby aka Bubba, and my daddy.....

This is them misbehaving as usual and Grandma trying to get em to behave. How she grew to be such a sweet lady with all those boys.....

I don't really have a picture with both the boys and dad. But believe you me these two are my dads pride and joy. He had two daughters then got 2 grandsons. Zack the oldest is always attached to my dad and is so much like him. They both have that same sense of humor. Dylan is the more serious one and loves dad so much. These boys are the world to my parents .

So here is my dad and his Christmas self portriat. He is such a jokster and we love that. He keeps us all laughing and level at the same time. I love you daddy ... happy birthday.

Christmas Decoration

2008-12-23T22:19:00.003-05:00

Well I cannot believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve. How in the world did this year fly by so fast? Although I always say that. Well anyway I thought I would share some of my Christmas decorations with you. I would love to see yours. So if you post it let me know so I can check it all out.

This is a photo of the outside of my house. Just real simple icicle lights candles with my frosty blowup (that I fought Clark for in the White elephant game a couple of years ago) YOu cannot see it in this picture but I have a snowman flag and a penguin flag too

This is a lighted gift box that my aunt made for me a few years ago. It has become one of my favorite decorations. My mom made me a new bow and I just haven't gotten around to putting it on. Sorry mom....

This is my manger scene. I think every single house should have one or a version of one. After all that is what we are celebrating this season for. Not presents, food and all that stuff.

This is one of my MANY snowmen. I love snowmen and I have them all over the house. This one along with several others hold tealight candles and look so pretty at night when I light them up. Look there is my mother in law Judy in a picture HEY JUDY...

So here is some more of my snowmen. These were given to me by the same wonderful lady at work. She drew my name two years in a row at work. But I am glad she did. She is a wonderful christian sister. The tall guy lights up and the little guy is part of a collectible set that I would love to have them all. The little cabin next to them is a tissue box that another lady at work had her hubby made for me....

So this is the tree upstairs. This is my tree where all the kids stuff goes on. All of our family ornaments, and all of my ornaments from when I was a kid that mom has given me. I don't have any of Henrys hmmmm.... This tree was given to me by mom. Some friends of hers and dads were moved to Hawaii to start up a new Gatorade plant. They didn't take alot of stuff with them. So mom was given this tree and she had nowhere to put it. I did so I took it. It is 71/2 feet and looks really beautiful in my front window. Sorry I cut the angels head off in this photo.

This is our man cave tree. This was the tree we used to use upstairs. It is prelit and has white lights. I decorated it in blue and gold to go with all of our CHS and GCHS stuff downstairs. Luckily where the boys go to school and where I went had the same colors. This was the only Christmas thing I put downstairs. Dont want to over do it with Henry.

So this poor little guy is in my kitchen. This is the tree Henry and the boys used while we were seperated. I have to use it. THe boys love it and I think it is cute.

So last but not least this is an arrangement Dylan made at school. Didn't he do a good job.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Pictures from Christmas program

2008-12-22T19:56:00.005-05:00

So I wanted to share some of the photos of our Christmas program and some of the wonderful people we love. I won't share the names of the names of the kids for respect of the families.

Merry Christmas.... remember Jesus Christ is the reason we have this season......

Lord gives comfort

2008-12-22T19:47:00.003-05:00

Ok so I have to share something that may have seemed like a small thing but meant alot to me. We went to a family dinner on Saturday. This family is huge and growing constantly. Just from Henrys grandparents there is 112 of us and will be 113 in January when a new baby arrives. Well I had a pity party. They were announcing all the bdays of December and mine was overlooked. It is this Saturday. I was trying real hard to not cry and feel sorry for myself. Then the Lord moved in a big way for me. I was sitting there and one of Henrys aunts brought me something that let me know that He is always with me and just when you think you are alone, He shows you that you are important.

These were given to me by a very specail lady, one of Henrys aunts. She let me know that just something as simple as emails touched her. I had no idea. I was so moved of course I cried. This was so specail to me and I don't know if she has any idea how much it meant to me.

I love this family dearly and they are very loving. I have made some horrible mistakes in my life and they took me back and love me. I hope they all know I love them and I am blessed so greatly to be in this family. You can truely see the Lord in this family and He is working doing great things. I love you all

Thanksgivinng and shopping

2008-11-29T00:25:00.003-05:00

So another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Which to me is hard to believe. The years seem to go by faster and faster. My kids seem to be growing up too fast too. My uncle was shocked that Zack will be driving this time next year. Anyway. I have much to be thankful for and many people to be thankful for as well. The above picture is of my hubby Henry and I on the deck of my Grandmas house. In the background is the dam which used to power the old mill that used to be there that was the heart of the town. You can also see the old Washington Hotel that was built in the 1700's.

This pretty lady is my Grandma. I absolutely love her dearly. She is such a wonderful christian woman. She is loving and kind and full of life. Besides my mom she is the best cook I know too. We had Thanksgiving at her house.

This is the old Washington Hotel built in the 1700's. I don't know the story of this hotel exactly but I do know it is very historic and that I love the way it looks. This is the view off Grandmas deck. This hotel sits across the road from Grandma's house.

This is my sister Julie and her fiancee Ben. They will be wed in May. I have a link to her blog and her wedding blog if you would like to keep up with them see pictures... etc. Behind them is the New River. The oddest river in the US. It flows north.

This is Julie and I in the same spot she and Ben were in....
Thisis mom and dad. This is the house my dad grew up in. This place has seen many changes over the years. The train used to run through below where they are standing but that ended years ago. In the park down the street is a caboose we used to play on when we were kids.

This is my oldest Zack. i just think this is a nice picture.

here are my boys. They love goin to Grandmas....

This is just a picture of the dam, New River and part of the hotel..

So Henry and I went shopping at 4:30AM. I haven't done this in years. Goin in Wal-Mart reminded me why. Although when we left there all was calm. We had a nice morning together but once we got home at 11:30 we were dragging. We did get the outside Christmas lights up then crashed for awhile. Although I didn't sleep too sound. Got up cooked dinner finished decorating for Christmas. So, Christmas is less than a month away and I am done with the boys. WOO HOO... not too much more to buy. I think though people have forgotten what Christmas is really about. It is about Christ and what he did for us. It is about those people in the photos above and my inlaws. Just remember what the season is truely about as you go about this busy time. Remember "Is' ok to say Merry Christmas"

Thanksgiving tradition....

2008-11-22T13:39:00.003-05:00

So here we are if you can believe it today only 32 days from Christmas and counting. But as we come upon Thanksgiving this week I was curious. What are your families traditions? Ours have evolved so to speak with the changes in our lives. When we lived in Hampton we came home when Henry got off from the shipyard and spent time with both families. So we stuffed ourselves to misery sometimes beyond misery and running back and forth up the interstate. Sounds fun huh!!!??? Since we have moved back home we still really have done that. Only now the difference is Henry and I tend to get aggrevated with one another because we both want to be with our families and we are rushing each other.
So this year we are trying something different. We will go to only ONE home. Yes one.... Although whichever one we don't go see on Thursday we will see the other during the rest of the holiday. Whichever one we go to on Thanksgiving we will go to the other on Christmas day and be with the other on Christmas Eve. Then the following year we will flip flop. I am so tired of being aggrevated with my husband by the end of the day. I do love him and that is not the way to spend a holiday you are supposed to be thankful for your loved ones.

I knew a family years ago that really just flew me for a loop. They would all gather together for Thanksgiving. Most all the family was upper middle class and didn't mind showing it. They did a tradition that I thought put the women beneath them in my opinion. The women would spend all day cooking and in the kitchen never getting a break. When dinner was finally ready the women would fix all of the men their plates and seat them at the dinning room table. The women and kids would wait until all the men were done before they could touch any food then they ate. Can you believe that? I don't mind helping my husband and my sons but I will not sit by like a good girl til they are done and eat what is left... But I guess all families are different.
I did ask why they did this and I was told that the men spend all their time working hard and they deserve to be treated that way. So what do the women see what they do as???? I work even when you are a SAHM you still work your butt off... oh well I guess I shouldn't think so much of it just be thankful for my family huh

So I was just curios what is your tradition? Do you still do what you did as a kid? Did you blend what your spouse does with your tradition? Did you start a new one?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.....

Rags by M wedbsite

2008-11-16T20:33:00.004-05:00

So some of you have seen my ragbag as Melissa calls them. I wanted to share the website she has put up if you are intrested in getting one for yourself or others. I do want to let you know they are very well made and make great gifts. I mean what girl doesn't love a cute purse!!!!

http://ragsbym.tripod.com/index.html

Considering

2008-11-15T15:41:00.004-05:00

So I have been giving some thought lately to trying something new. Most all people know what Pampered Chef is and most anyone who buys it loves it and most of the time wants more.
I have been giving some thought lately to becoming a represenative of Pampered Chef. I love their products and pretty much everyone in my life loves it too.

I am wondering however if I could develop a good customer list. I want to ask you all a favor. I ask that you all pray for me for God to give me the guidance that I need to do this.

As with anything it will take me away from my guys for a few hours each time. But my prayer is that it will give my family some extra income to help with bills or for entertainment in our lives.

So again pray if you think you will be intrested in becoming a host for me let me know. I won't start if I do til after the first of the year. But my main purpose here is asking for your prayers.

Friend is making purses

2008-11-15T12:00:00.005-05:00

So a friend of mine is venturing in on something I wish I could do. She has began making quilted purses. They are great and I have fell in love with them. So I though I would share some of them with you.

So this one is mine. Of course I am gonna show this one first. Believe you me none of the photos do justice on how nice and well made this purse are. I am hard on my purses so....

So these two are a couple of her Christmas purses she has done. She is in the process of making me one with snowmen and snowflakes. Remember Christmas is coming if you are looking for a Christmas present.

So thise two are two of my favorites. I ecspecailly like the polkadots.

She also is offering wallets, checkbook covers and makeup cases to match. I have a wallet but for whatever reason have not taken a photo.

This is a pretty baby blue one. Tarheel blue....

Well if you can believe it I even posted the Tech ones!!! They are very good.

So if you are looking for gifts or want one for yourself let me know and I will let you know who to contact. IF you purchase the materials yourself the cost is $15. If Melissa does the cost is $25. i will put you in contact to find out what you need to get if you to buy it yourself.

ENJOY!!

VENTING

2008-11-13T19:46:00.002-05:00

So as any of you that read my blog know we recently had a death in the family. Well Monday as we traveled from Radford to Dublin to lay Mark to rest I was so upset with people. I remember when I began to drive despite the fact around here it is one of those little known laws but a matter of respect to pull off to the side when you see a funeral procession. Well evidentally people are to focused on what they are doing for that few minutes to give some respect.

I was riding with Henry and my brother in law was with us. We began to notice how people just zoomed right by. One guy as we go to the speedway made a point to speed right past us. We did not have that long of a line and he couldn't hold off for a minute. It got to the point that we would watch and see how many cars would actually stop. Believe you me there were more people that zoomed on by than stopped. I was so upset by this.

I hope to goodness my boys know that they should pull off when someone has passed. It will take only a moment of their time to show some respect to the family and the passed.

I am sorry this has nothing more than letting me get this off my chest. I hope if you read this when you see that a family has a death take just a few minutes to show respect.

Thanks for reading.

Prayer for the Turpin family and ours

2008-11-06T18:36:00.002-05:00

Well you know it is funny how you can get down in your own self pity and worry. I was hurt this week at work and have been upset all day over some of the ways I have been treated recently by people in my life. You worry about money, kids, making sure everything is just so. Even as christians we take for granted that we will be here tomorrow to do the things we wanna do; to go see your Grandma. We just assume we can go see Mom and Dad this weekend and then it is a maybe depending on how tired we are. God wakes you up real quick....

Henry and I have gone through our normal day today with bumps as usuall and dealing with life as best as we know how. Then you get that phone call that you don't want. Henry's b rother called this evening and let us know only moments before he called Henry's cousin passed away.

Mark Turpin was as sweet as could be. He had however always had health problems and was a worry to many in his family out of concern. Mark was single but loved many. He was in his very early 30's .

This death comes to a family that has already had to lay to rest another family memeber this year. Henry and Marks uncle Larry passed away earlier this year. When we got the call Henry stood stunned at the news. Being the age he is and even Larry's you know that God is in control.

Love all those around you as much as you have in you to give. Love God and honor Him in all you do. If you don't know the Lord I pray you will get your life in order with Him before it is too late. Because as things like this shows us you are never too young for it to be too late.

Please keep his mom dad brothers and neice and nephew in your prayers as well as our extended family... God bless you all

THINK PINK

2008-10-30T21:25:00.004-04:00

So today at CHS was THINK PINK day. This month as pretty much everyone that doesn't live in a cave knows is Breast Cancer Awarness month. At school today to make even our wonderful teens aware was THINK PINK day. We all tried to sport some kind of pink. We have a teacher that is a breast cancer survivor. As most of us have been touched in someway by breast cancer. The ladies and I in the kitchen bought these tshirts that one of our groups were selling to show our support.

This is Dorothy, me, Deborah, Nancy and Cookie. This is part of the bunch that tries to keep me straight BOY WHAT A JOB.... I love em

Remember ladies do a self test every month and get mamograms......

BOYS WENT UNDEFEATED

2008-10-30T21:02:00.002-04:00

So the boys both just finished their football seasons. I cannot believe it went by so fast. They both worked hard and their teams showed it.

So Zack played JV this year. It is his freshman year. This is only his second year playing football in his life. People find that hard to believe since his dad is a football junkie. He played wide out and safety. He did really well and I am very proud of the young man he is turning out to be. They finished with a 9-0 record WOO HOO GO BLUE DEMONS....

Dylan is in heavyweights/senior league. He played center mostly, at times. He has played football since he was 7 years old. This would be his 6th year playing. He is so his fathers son. They went 8-0 . WOO HOO AGAIN GO BLUE DEMONS.

I am such a football widow with my sons and my husband. Thankyou for all your support and help this season. For all the prayers, the helping in fundraisers and the church family for feeding the varsity. We love ya all

2008-10-26T20:13:00.002-04:00

So I have to brag a bit... This is from http://www.nrvsports.com/ I was so proud when I read this.... Make sure you read the last paragraph.

Christiansburg Navy Extends Winning Streak

Written by Randy Thompson
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Christiansburg's Navy Senior League football team beat Pearisburg by a score of 29-0 on Tuesday night at Giles High School .
The Demons scored on the second play of the game on a 50 yard run by fullback Gabe Quesenberry. The point after was good on a pass from McKenzie Muldoon to Ryan Saunders and the Demons led 7-0.
Pearisburg ground out three first downs on their first possession. The Demons defense stiffened forcing Pearisburg to turn the ball over on downs at the Demon 15 yard line.
In the second quarter, Quesenberry scored again on a 65 yard run and his two point conversion kick would put the Demons on top at the half 15-0.
Early in the third quarter, Jake Hamley scored for the Demons on a 30 yard run around the right end to make the score 21-0.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, Simeon Brown would take the ball around the right end and tallied on a 25 yard run/ Jake Hamley would then add the two point conversion kick to make the score 29-0.
Outstanding blocking up front by guards Seth Wills, Logan Adkins, center Dylan Scott, tackles Logan Howell and Haze Profitt would provide the Demon backfield with plenty of room to run throughout the contest The shutout was the fifth of the season for Christiansburg's defense. Seth Wills paced the team in tackles. Supporting the defense with strong games were Kyle Delaney, Cantley Krafft and Tanner Reed. Christiansburg, which saw its record improve to 8-0 will host Pembroke at Christiansburg on Saturday.

Dylan and his health

2008-10-20T20:45:00.003-04:00

So this is my youngest of my wonderful two sons. As most people know that know him Dylan is a loving young man. He has a heart of gold and very smart. He loves his family and friends. He fights for them to the death. He loves football CHS, the Mountaineers, and the Eagle. He loves the Boston Red Sox. He is a straight A student that is already planning college only being in the sixth grade. He is forgiving and forgiven. He is our youngest son and a child of God.
I tell you all this because I have been asking lots of you to keep him in your prayers. Dylan was 10lb 1 ounce at birth and never slowed down on his size. Everyone just said oh he will grow out of it. Well this summer we discovered that he hasn't really grown out of it but it is causing some health problems for my baby.
We have been seeing Dr. Fariss in Dublin who has been running some test. Dylan has had to have blood drawn more lately than he would ever like to he hates needles. We went today for the follow up appointment to find out his results. His kidneys and liver and all organs are good. He is however anemic (I think that is how you spell that) and his iron is very low. His c pep tide level was very high. That means that his natural insulin is not doing it's job and is building up. They have put him on a medication that should take care of this before he becomes a diabetic like his Papa. It also should help him get rid of some of that extra weight.
I hope it does it is not an issue for our family but for some reason other people have issues. I know Dyl says it doesn't bother him but he is human and I know it has to hurt sometimes. Although in this world people find something to not like you for. It is amazing to me however the range of friends that love my son. From little kids to the high school. I love having adults tell me how polite both my boys are. AMEN.... we are doing something the right way. We are truly blessed
So please keep Dylan and Zack too in your prayers....

Dylan's birthday

2008-10-04T20:41:00.003-04:00

So Dylan had his 12th birthday party today. He will actually be 12 on Tuesday. See the big "stud" in the hot tub with some of his buddies. I am so proud of Dylan, as I am both of my boys. Dylan first of all is his dad made over, from the way his toes are shaped to the way his ears are shaped. They have the same ways about themselves. Dylan has always been a strong willed boy since birth. He came exactly on the due date. I mean I went into labor at midnight. Henry bless his heart went right back to sleep when I told him it was time to go the hospital. We got a speeding ticket on the way as well as no seat belt tickets. It was 1 in the morning and we had other things on our minds. Go figure.... I was in labor for about 14 hours and pushed for over 2. At 1:28pm Dylan arrived with some breathing problems. He was 10lbs and 1 ounce and took in fluid. We almost lost him.... God knew that great things are in store for him and wasn't gonna take him. He finally balanced out and we took him home. His brother was pushing his buttons from day one. Zack would go in and yell at Dyl at the top of his lungs to wake him up and Dyl loved it.

Dylan gave up the bottle by 10 months, walked earlier, everything was early for Dylan. He missed starting school with kids his age by a week so he was in a week later. As he started school he excelled in all subjects. I cannot remember a time when Dylan wasn't in the top of his class. He has always played football, and baseball. He loves all those around him and those he loves he protects with all he has, that includes friends, family and anyone he feels is being mistreated. Everyone that meets Dylan tells his dad and I how sweet Dyl is and how polite he is. He always says yes mam yes sir. Dylan now can show himself here at home he is a kid.

Now my baby boy is 12 years old and in the middle school. He is still doing well in school and becoming a person his dad and I are becoming very proud of. The group of friends he has are a good group of boys and girls. They all look after at each other. They help each other. They support and encourage each other. He became a child of the King when he was 7. He loves being in church. He loves dogs. He wants to go to WVU. He wants to play football while he is there. He is already planning to take college credit classes when he enters high school....

I am blessed .....

So this is Dyl with his friends at the Blacksburg Aquatic Center for his party. We have Tanner, Mackenzie, Jamie, Dylan, Mike, Brodyn and Seth.

This previous 2 photos are just a couple I took

We couldn't really get any while they swimmed because we had to take out street shoe off blah blah blah

In this photo is Jamie, Mikem Macy, Grant, Will and Brodyn.

Here we have Jane, Brittany, Daniel, Jake, Mack, Tanner, Andrew and Seth.

So here is the entire group (short of grandparents and aunts and uncles sitting to the side)

Thank you Lord for all the gifts you have given to us....

Update.....

2008-09-27T14:30:00.003-04:00

Well, it has been a bit since I have been able to blog. As anyone who knows us realizes we are now almost halfway through our "busy season" in the Scott household. The guys are wrapped up tight in football season and I am just running in circles. Right now I am playing those parts of taxi, laundry, organizer, cheerleader etc.. So I thought I would take a few minutes to update you on the guys.

So this is Dylan #77 (dad in front of him) Dylan is once again playing senior league football. He is doing such a good job. That kid has so much heart and drive. These are a great bunch of boys he is playing with. They are kind, and ecouraging. So far this season they have played Dublin Cardinals at CHS winning 28-0. Their next game was at Auburn high school where this picture was taken. Auburn has always been a tough game but once again they won 25-12. The most recent game they played was at Randolph Park where they played the Dublin Chiefs. There is a boy on that team Dylan has played against since mite league and this boy makes Dyl look small. Dylan laid him out. They won that game 20-6. They are doin great and look to keep growing as athletes. Dylan has been on an undefeated team for at least 3 years now...... His next game is Tuesday against East Mont..

So Zack is in his 2nd year of ever playing football. There is my nearly 15 year old son #15. He enjoys it and does well. He gets frustrated to not be playing more than he does, but he is working hard to get that starting position. This JV team he is playing on (that his dad is also a coach) is crazy good. They started in preseason a little shaky and everyone was a little scared that they wouldn't come together as a team. They have really done well. They did well in preseason beating Carroll County, Franklin County and Radford. Their first regular season game was against Blacksburg winning 13-7. They actually were supposed to play Radford first and it was postponed due to rain. That was their next game and my boy missed that one due to the stupid stomach bug. They shut Radford down 26-0. Last week they played Bassett at home shutting them out 40-0. This past Thursday they won again shutting down Patrick Henry 31-0. Notice a trend? JV hasn't allowed an opponent to score in 15 quarters of football, and only 7 points the one time they did allow points on the board. They play this week at home against Giles. GO CHS JV....

So Henry Lee is still coaching our other boys on the line. This photo is of him talking to his Varsity lineman. We tend to get attached to these boys from the little guys up to these big guys. Alot of them call me Mama Scott and some call Henry Papa Scott when they leave school. We joke we have about 60 or so other sons. Henry has loved football I think since he was old enough to know what football was. They started out very strong in in preseason and everyone is watching with much anticipation. The home opener was against Graham they won 34-29. A bye week followed thereafter. The next week we traveled to Giles on the nite they dedicated the field to their dear ole coach who retired in the off season. They beat Giles that nite wining 35-14 in the rain. Once again we had another bye week. So we are on track now with no more time off. Last week we traveled to Bassett which promised to be a great game and it was. We watched our boys come on very strong and never let the Bengals come ahead til the end. Unfortuanetly they lost 21-14. This weekend we finally got back home playing Patrick Henry. It was homecoming and one of our lineman #50 Brent Bostwick was crowned homecoming king he is the one facing Henry in the photo. It rained and the wind blew and we won that game 37-6. Next week we are at home once again playing Radford. This will be the last time we play Radford. They won't be on our next schedule.

So far Dylan's team is 3-0. Zack and the JV are undefeated at 4-0. The varsity are holding strong at 3-1.
GO CHS BLUE DEMONS.....

Nick's goin into the army

2008-09-07T20:31:00.003-04:00

So in your life you meet some wonderful young people that you treasure having them in your life. Well a couple of years ago one of those young men came across my life and Henrys. He played footbal for CHS. We love and treasure this young man dearly. Well this young man is leaving Tuesday for the army. As it breaks our hearts to see him go and know the danger he may face someday we are also very proud of him

So Nick call us Mama Scott and Papa Scott he was actually the first one to call us that. We think the world of this young man and are so proud of him. I hope you will all pray for him He has signed on for 6 years and 30 weeks in the army.

This is all of the young people that were there. These are some good kids....

So this is Ethan, Nick and Malorie. Can you tell they are siblings?! :)

So Grandpa and Nick trying to be angels. Grandma knows better this picture is so cute.

The Thompson family. You want to meet a wonderful family well here ya go. They are honest no holds bar people and we love it. They are very kind. Please pray for them all as they deal with this new step in many different ways.......

Life...

2008-09-07T16:12:00.002-04:00

So this blog really has no pictures to go along with it just some thought. I have been thinking alot about my life lately and the ups and downs I have had some by my own doings and some by circumstances I may have found myself in. Henry and I have really been stressed over many things in our household. It was putting a terrible strain on us and the kids. Most of it was and usually is becuase of pride that we don't confide in people. I realize as I have watched God work things out WITH us that I am humbled greatly by all those who love us. I almost destroyed all of us at one point and even still have a husband who took me in with open arms. Although he is still shy about things sometims. I have been very blessed to have Henry in my life. I have taken him for granted even now. The Lord has used this valley we have found ourselves in to show me that He can take EVERYTHING away from us. In the same token He has used this to draw me closer to my husband. I have some wonderful sons even though at times they drive me nuts and I get that nice teenage attitude. I wonder why i ever gave them up to begin with. Then I think about the road we may have walked If I had not made the mistakes and choices I did. I have some wonderful friends who have been absolutely AMAZING. They are some of the best christian women i know. I don't know at times what I would do without them. To be honest I really don't want to try to find out. My parents and sister are always there to give me that shoulder I need. I am blessed with in-laws close and extended who are great. I love all these people along with my church family to death. I don't always show them in the way I should. But I truelly hope they know how much they ALL mean to mean to me. I am blessed, and i thank you all for what you mean to me in my life.......

Coach David Cooper and family

2008-08-27T19:17:00.003-04:00

After a long illness Dylan's football coach of 2 years has lost his mother. She has had a lengthy sickness and fought for sometime. She resided in New Jersey where Coach Coop (as we all call him) and his family are. Please keep this family in your prayers in their time of grief and also as they have to travel.... We love this coach and he has done wonderful things for Dylan.

Zack and football

2008-08-23T18:52:00.003-04:00

So as everyone who has been there in my line of fire I have told them about Zack starting high school. I am freaking out because my oldest son is in HIGH SCHOOL. I know everyone who has kids goes through every first that freaks them out and I still have LOTS more to go. This one though is depressing me more than any before. I have realized that he will be gone in 4 years. I was talking to him today and we looked at as the lifetime of friends of ours who have 4 year olds. Anyway, he is playiing JV football. He has grown so much and is looking like a young man to me and not a little boy. There are so many things I could say about him but we will save that one for when he graduates.
This blog is about his scrimmage in Franklin County. He did really well. He isn't first string YET but he is working on it. By the way they won the scrimmage by like 7 TD's to their one. :) I have yelled so much this week during football that my throat is soar and last night I lost my voice. Dylan hasn't even had his first game. ALthough varsity opened last night and beat Graham 34-29.

This is Zack and Cody warming up before. You can see in the background and shorts Henry's godson and my van!
I like this picture it has Henry and Zack.
Look at him blocking that guy. He went up against one guy that wasn't much smaller than my dear husband and I got a little scared. He was on one play that put him in place to carry the ball and the other team kept getting off-sides and they finally went to something else.....
Zack getting ready.... He needs to let a little of his mom come out in him.
Cody, Deanco and Zack

My boy has at some point grown up on me..... UGH

Family reunion pictures from the first of the month

2008-08-23T18:39:00.005-04:00

Well as I read Thresa's blog I realized that I am not sure if I posted pics of the Scott dinner. So if I am repeating I am sorry, but enjoy the pics anyway... love ya all

Family pictures

2008-08-16T19:35:00.004-04:00

So not too much to say here I just wanted to share our new family photos. Henry says thank goodness I only make him do this every 5 years.....

Football season

2008-08-12T21:26:00.005-04:00

So I am wondering how football season got around so fast. I feel as though we just finished. So I guess time to break out the crock pots and blue and gold. While I love football season I do have to admitt it does stress me out. nevertheless it is here and my guys love it..

So this picture of of the coaches during the spring camp. This is when they try to be "nice".

Two-a-days began and Coach Hunter is attempting to get the JV goin.

Some the varstiy running pass drills.

Trying to get those JV boys to hit.

They are really looking pretty good.

Dobbins throws pretty good for a Duke fan... hehehe

So this is Henry at the scrimmage in WVa last Friday night. I have to say I get a kick out of hearing him yell at the boys cause he doesn't get loud at home. I do that enough for both of us....

Some of our coaches and boys looking on as a play is being ran against Bassett.

Some of our line we have some size on some of them. From a fan/mom standpoint they looked pretty good. We have alot of young guys this year first year varsity we are all (the fans) excited about the season.

There they go make them eat that turf.

Mission luncheon

2008-08-02T07:15:00.003-04:00

So recently one of our wonderful young men in our church who has done great things with our youth and will grow to be an amazing pastor had one of his professors come up from Piedmont College to speak on missions. Our church as most of you know just got gome home from a short term mission trip. This man was wonderful to listen to him speak. He could really make you stop and look at yourself. He was telling us about when he takes teams on mission trips he requires them to research where they are going and do a ten page paper. Really that makes sense how can you go and try to talk to people when you know nothing about where you are going. He made me stop and think about how much scripture I truely know right off my tounge rather than having to flip through the Bible all the time. He also shared with us how Americans go to other countries and we make ourselves too known because we are so very loud. I believe it. I think I discovered that fact recently when we went to Montana. But we kept wondering why in resturants we were treated in not so nice ways but after I think about it maybe we were a bit much. Even though in our mind we really weren't doing anything abnormal.
We had lunch that day at Ryan's and there was about a handful of us that showed up which I was disappointed with that but God moves where He knows he needs to. I do believe tht this professor made a huge impression many of our teens. Which is a group I am seeing lots of growth in this summer including my own son. I pray that

not only do the teens take heed of what was said but also that the adults that were there do as well including myself. So I just wanted to share some of the photos from that day. One of the ladies slipped off before I could get the photo. She too has been on short term missions.....

I guess for me it all boils down to I need to make sure that I am much more prepared next time I go on a mission trip and try to make sure I am what God expects out of me. I fall short so often of what God means for women to be. I could take a lesson from a couple of wonderful ladies in my church on being submissive.

Yard Sale Lamps

2008-08-02T07:06:00.002-04:00

So Dyl and I were out and about yesterday and we happened across this loaded yard sale. Now to be honest I don't stop at yard sales as often as I should or would like. I know I can find some really cute stuff. Anyway, I stopped yesterday. My room (for now) is in palm tree decor. I found a set of lamps that were dirty dusty and in need of just a little tlc. I picked them up for $8 for the set. I brought them home cleaned them up. The shade needed the trim to be reglued. So out came the ole hot glue gun along with the polish. I got to work. Which really didn't take me that long. These things are heavy too... I think they are cute....

The Kitchen and my mistreatments

2008-08-02T06:20:00.004-04:00

Well I am finally getting some pictures up of my kitchen. I am pretty happy with it. The only thing I have seen some painting mistakes but that is easily fixed when I get a chance. Anyway this is a picture of the walls and cabinets before I took on painting them.

This is the after result. I am very pleased. The walls are painted with ponytail and the cabinets are called bone. I decided to take advice of a dear family member and leave the existing hardware and I am glad I did I love it.

So here is the new valance I hung over the kitchen window. I found it by accident really at Lowes with my sister. It really goes well with all the black appliances and the walls.

This is one of 2 panels that were 7' long as you can see too much. So I decided with a knot in my stomach to get somewhat creative and make smaller curtians. I was scared I would cut too much

Here is the final result I am so tickled. I used the existing bottom hem of one of the panels (cut in half) to make the tie backs. I am pretty happy.

I used hemming tape to redo the hem I love that stuff and always have it in my sewing case.....

Bush Gardens and Virginia Beach

2008-07-27T09:29:00.008-04:00

So we finally got to go on vacation even if it was only for a few days it was worth it. We decided to go to Bush Gardens in Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. As most know Henry and I lived in Hampton for sometime while Henry went through the Apprentice school.

We left out at 3am Thursday morning and the kids and Henry crashed while I drove ( I had slept a few hours after VBS) Speaking of VBS I was bummed I had to miss the last 2 nights. I had a group of GREAT kids. They were so loving and well behaved.

Anyway we arrived in Williamsburg around 7:30 and stopped off at Golden Corral for breakfast and to stretch for a bit. We had a nice breakfast and as usual Zack kept us entertained even that early. Speaking of Zack I hadn't heard a word out of him and when we got on the other sided of Richmond he pops up and said when are we getting food. That is my dear teenage son.....

So after we left breakfast we went to pick up the 2 FREE tickets we got for the park and went on to Bush Gardens. We actually got there at 9:30 right around when they opened. We figured we would make the most out of the day. As we enter into the park we saw one of the displays where you can stick your head through. Well I would like for you to notice what each one says the boys are in. Dylans says,"The cost of an untidy chamber" and Zacks "for the want of a quiet tounge" They didn't read what they said before they got in. But funny how they fit perfect!!! Their dad and I got a big kick out of it.

Well Henry and I have always loved the Clysedale horses. We have pictures with them every time we go there. When we would have went before in our drinking days we would have bought all kinds of shirts and junk..... But here are a few shots of the horses.

We rode a couple of rides that are in 4D and they were very cool. They both were fun and there were things we liked bettter about each of them. There was one in Ireland which is were the picture is taken. The other ride is in Germany and a castle.

So we rode every roller coaster in the park. My favorite besides the Loch Ness (which will always rank at the top) is the new one called Griffon. We finally got Dylan on it at the end of the day. Dylan rode Loch Ness, Griffon and Big Bad Wolf.

Speaking of Wolves these two are wolves they have there they rescued. One is a white wolf and the other grey. Dylan got the biggest kick seeing them sitting there howling (which I wasn't able to get a picture of) Also they had several eagles they had saved from death.

There is a picture of all of us on the Loch Ness I will post when Henry scans it in for me tomorrow. It is a good picture....

This fountain cracked the boys up they saw it only as a naked lady on top and not art so I had to get a picture..... Those are my boys!!!!

So the next day we went to Virginia Beach and spent sometime there. I have missed the beach. We lived near Buckroe beach. I miss it. Henry and I took the boys around Hampton on our last day there and showd them where they would have gone to school our old house. We stopped to see one of our old neighbors. He was amazed at how the boys had grown Dyl wasn't even a year old when we left. We took them over the James River Bridge so they could get a good look at the shipyard and teh boats where their dad worked. We talked about how different our lives might have been. I worked for Cannon and we would have had our house halfway paid for at a little over $400 a month. Kind of depressing when you think about it..... But we do know God had other things planned for us.

I do have to say I was amazed at how things have changed. Things have grown and some of our favorite spots are gone.

Here are a few pictures of our time at the beach. We had alot of fun and wished we could've stayed longer. I am so looking forward to our trip next year with my whole family.

Late post on 4th of July

2008-07-21T21:22:00.007-04:00

So I am way late with my 4th of July post but oh well better late than never. And besides that it is still July....

So we had a good day with friends that began at some of our friends home. They are a great family and we so enjoy being with them. These first few photos are of myself and T. Also another wonderful couple who are also a great example of what God intended a family to be. Lord knows Henry and I need all the help we can get.

So here are some of the wonderful kids that I absolutely adore. They mean the world to me and I love being a part of their lives.

So have you ever heard of the game cornwhole (I think that is how you say it) Well it is a new thing with my family but they have taken to it. Also alot of trash talk seems to go along with it. In these two photos it shows my guys and T's hubby playing. You play teams like you do in horseshoes.

So this guy is Jerome. He is one of Henry's VERY BEST FRIENDS from high school. Henry tends to hold on to those that he trust and can feel close to. Jerome was in visting family from northern Virginia and we just happened to find him again the week before the 4th. We had lost touch with him for a few years but were happy to find him again. Next time we hope it won't be so long. He tells us he will be moving back to this area in a year or so to be close to his mom.

So finally these are some of Christiansburg fireworks and they always do a good job.

So with all that little bit of whatever I pray you are all having a blessed summer.

Montana Mission trip

2008-07-20T22:00:00.006-04:00

So I haven't blogged in awhile. I actually got very busy after my last blog which I thought was bit mundane. I don't see any end in site either to the running since we are going into football season.

Anyway on July 7th our mission team from ODBC flew out of Charlotte at 8am bound for Montana Browining to be exact. I was a bundle of emotions from excitement to being absolutely scared to death. I never expected what would happen and how God would work things out once we got there. I had heard all the stories from the previous 2 years of how He always did but WOW!!!

I have to first say I have never seen such beautiful scenery as these few pictures show. I know I come from a beautiful area but every turn we made I just said WOW again and again. I know that sounds so corny but hey it is true. We traveled though Glacier Park on a road called Going To the Sun road. Believe you me that is what it feels like. You keep going up and up.... As my computer is unbelievably slow I don't know how many photos I will post now but I will share as many as I can and I encourage you to go to my My Space page and check them out http://www.myspace.com/lisamomwife I am posting them in one of my albums.

Zack got to go on this trip with which was such a blessing. Anyway we traveled on through God's beautiful creation and we finally got to Browning. That area has some amazing people. I don't think they truely know it.

This picture is of a little girl I met a Black Feet Youth Days she was a joy. Her name is La'Rae. She came up to me and asked if I knew where Chris was. Now I have to say out of all the Black Feet people there she picked the big hipped curly blonde lady, go figure. As we walked because I can never tell a cute kid no we chatted and she wasn't real sure who Chris was so I asked her if she knew who Jesus is. She said yes he died for us and lives up there (pointing to the sky) I asked her if she knew how she could be with always here and live with him in heaven when she died. She said she didn't so in my way of being a kid I told her. We sat at the picnic table and talked and I began to notice some of the teens ecspecailly Zack following behind. We prayed and she said she wanted to live with Jesus always. She gave me a GREAT BIG hug and just melted my heart. I would have brought her home if I could. I called Henry right after and told him I was in tears. She would have been worth the whole trip but God had so much more in store.

We had a booth set up at the Pow Wow where the Indian people gather to celebrate their heritage. We were on the corner near the carnival and had lots of traffic. We had purchased a tv and basketball goal to give away. The young men and women are great basketball players. I think there is alot of raw talent there.

Anyway we found it funny how the devil was fighting us. Set up next to us was Planned Parenthood next to them was the Lutherans and down from them were the Scientologist. The Scientologist had a sign saying "Something Can Be Done" so one of the memebers of Glacier View Baptist Chapel made the sign shown in the following picture....

The scientology people broke their necks to see what we had to say. We were there hoping to only double what God had done last year. The first year 7 were saved last year it was 14 well God was gonna use our small team in great ways. By the second day we were up to 29. Can you believe it?! By the last day at the booth we had been privelaged enough to lead 44 souls to the Lord. AMAZING.... I say that normally anyway but we really paddling up stream so to speak. Our first day at the campground we got a call that a wonderful man in our church passed of a heart attack at the age of 53. He was a hard worker but we know we will see him again someday. On the second day one of our deacons had a very severe heart attack. Also that same day one of our little widow ladies who has NEVER been in the hospital and she is in her 90's broke her hip. Then on to the next day one of our members had a pancreas attack. We were at war but didn't stop.

I have to share this story but I have no picture of her. On Sunday after a wonderful Montana potluck we went to the jail. I was ok at first and once they took us into the "tv room" (which by the way had no tv) I began to get very nervous. Maybe I have watched too much tv. I got sick to my stomach and began to cry. Todd, Eric, Debbie, Phillip and Jordan made sure I was ok. Then the door opened and the guard said there was one girl who wanted to talk. Her name was Charonda. She is 22 and has a 6 month old baby. She had been picked up on Friday for drinking. She told me when she left she knew she should have stayed at home with that beautiful little girl Winter. She had gotten pregnant just before going off to school on a scholarship and lost it all at one night of being careless. The father left her and she had no one but her mother, all her family were either drug addicts or alcoholics. She was broken I sat and read the Bible with her and showed her ways that she can get her life under control. I shared my testimony with her and told her it will not always be easy she will be tempted but that is the moment she can shine for Christ. She accepted Christ that day she told me she could feel that things would be different for her. The real thing about this story that really broke me was this. She told me her mom couldn't afford her bond. I asked her how much it was and she said $75. I was shocked and I know how I take things for granted. If noone could come up with that money when she went to court the next morning she would have to sit in jail until someone paid it......

This is a shot of where we camped.... we actually found out there was a bear nearby one night.

We did enjoy fellowship as well and here a couple of goofy moments

Oh yeah one more thing Mr. Todd.... told us if we hit 50 being saved he would shave his head.... HEHEHE

Check out the Mama Moose we saw and the beaver that my son hit with a rock trying to get its attention.... It was an accident. The moose had 2 babies with it.... very cool

Tour of the man cave....

2008-06-21T17:44:00.005-04:00

Well I have talked about it a few times but never really shown this room. So I thought I would give you a little tour of the "Man Cave" so here goes.....

So these first few pictures are different angels of the area where we have a living room set up. You can see Henry's big screen that my sister gave us when they bought a newer model. You also can see the rug we got him for fathers day. The navy pillows on the couch I found at Ross they are huge and I only paid $4 each for them. I love that store.

This is a picture looking at the office area which is a cubby of piles really. On the wall is mine and Henry's awards from high school and before and also Zack's. Unlike his brother Zack doesn't want his all over his room.

This wall is above the couch. It has Henry's coaches plaques. Some are from years ago and some are recent. The pictures are from the last several years with CHS.

So this is Henry's weight bench that I got him for Christmas. If you could see it daily you would see all the dust from lack of use. Also the cast iron wood stove with the wonderful brick hearth that made me fall in love with this space. This is also our only source of heat downstairs.

This is the boys trophy case from the time Zack was 5 to the present. I am very proud of them....

This is our make shift library. I really need to find a bigger bookshelf. If you will notice the carrier on top of the shelf Henry used to work at NNS. He was a shipfitter. He loves carriers and anything to do with them.

So these are pics of the man cave bathroom still being updated. If any of you come across anything in our area that will go with the nautical theme I am building let me know.....

So this picture is the little hallway outside the bathroom goin back into our storage area that really has the potential to be another bedroom it also goes into my laundry room. The reason for this picture I would like you to notice the picture of the Duke on the wall.....

While we love having this space for Henry we want to replace the dark paneling with sheetrock and fresh paint and eventually replace the carpet and tiled floor... I will add that to my dream list for my house which is getting very long....

God bless....

Family gathering...

2008-06-21T16:34:00.004-04:00

So today someof Henry's family gathered at my mother and father in laws home for a cookout. At this point there is something like 106 or so of us. I think today there was around 30 or so of us there. It was nice. ... Henry's grandmother was diagnosed a little over a year or so ago with Alzhiemers. The big dinners that we have twice a year have become a bit much at times so we do smaller gatherings so I thought I would share a few of the pictures from our day and these great people.

Henry's man cave addition

2008-06-16T21:10:00.003-04:00

So father's day has come and gone. When we bought our home last year we had a finished basement. I along with dear hubby made an agreement. Living with all guys you don't get much girly stuff. So Henry and I agreed that he would take the downstairs living area which consists of an office, a full bath and closet and covert it into a "Man Cave". I would take the upstairs living room and make it as girly as I wanted. Works for me.... So being that Henry is a football fanatic It is decorated with all football stuff. It has sports stuff from Henry and I when he and I were in high school and things that boys have accumelated since playing sports. Also it has a wall dedicated to his current coaching position. Also we recently got him a 52" tv that my sister gave us.

However this blog is dedicated to his recent cave update. My sister helped me get this. My hubby has loved the VOLS since he was a kid. He remembers this was his first baseball hat he had as a kid. He got to go with a good friend of ours to the Kentucky vs. TN game last fall that went into like 4 or 5 overtimes with the VOLS winning. So when my sister called me to tell me about this TN addition I was excited. His face made it all worth it. So here it is..... If you knew hubby you would understand. I am the football widow......

Redecorating another bathroom

2008-06-12T20:13:00.004-04:00

Well today I did some more painting on bathroom number 2, Henry's bathroom, the man cave bathroom. Believe me after those guys there awhile its name fits.

Anyway when we bought the house we knew that the downstairs would mainly be Henry's space. The wallpaper was a bit girly with flowers all over it. But we knew we have to deal with it for awhile.

So on Tuesday I began tearing down wallpaper and I have decided that next time I will save money and hire someone to take it down. Because I do have another bathroom (mine) that has wall paper that I like. Also our front living room has wallpaper. But I like it too. Finally this mornng I got done cleaning the walls and primed them and began to paint. When I started I got scared. I was so worried I had made a mistake with the color. If you will remember I said before I am doing his bathroom nautical. The color I chose can also tie into other intrest in Henry's life. So this (with paint still wet) is the finished product.

I have some minor touchups to do. But I have to pick up a small brush.

So yesterday Zack and I painted his room. Before it was all white and Zack wanted Carolina blue. So here it is.

I also wanted to show you a picture of the sink without all the tape.

There are still 2 more rooms to do. My kitchen and Dylan's room. So check back I will post pictures of those project too. I hope to start on the kitchen Saturday. Dylan's room will probably be last. We are doing a Boston Red Sox thing in his room.....

Tearing down wallpaper

2008-06-10T19:15:00.001-04:00

Alright I have done borders galor when we moved into this house. I am ready to smack somebody today. I have been attempting to tear down vinyl wallpaper in Henry's bathroom this evening. OMG!!! it comes off in peices. I have been using the liquid today. I am goin to the gel I have left from the last border tear down I did. Pray for me.....

Redecorating the bathroom

2008-06-09T19:53:00.003-04:00

So today I began making the house more ours.... I started with the bathroom. I found the coolest stuff at Lowe's. It is paint to redo your tub, sink and toilet. It is really neat. It actually was really easy to use. The longest part was the prep. They have it in a can you can use brush or roller. I picked the spray cans. Much easier and much faster. I think it made it smoother without having any brish strokes.

So the sink was baby blue as well as the toilet and the tub and tile in the tub. We replaced the toilet last weekend only now it is leaking and I don't know why. Hopefully Henry will get that corrected.

So this is the sink pre paint. I was a little on the iffy side if this was gonna work. So with gloves and mask on I proceeded to paint.

With the bathroom still taped up this is the after product. I WAS SO PLEASED...... I will post more pictures later this week to show the whole bathroom I am stillsearching for somethings to decorate such as towels that I like. I don't want to do too much because I have flowered wall paper.

I am off tomorrow to buy paint for the rest of the house...... I will keep you posted.

Montana

2008-06-08T18:58:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share a webpage where if you would like you can find out a little more about where our mission team will be going in a few weeks. I am so looking forward to what we will do there and interacting with these people. I have heard all wonderful things about them. We still need to raise some funds so if you would like to help please let me know.... Enjoy the pictures and website and keep this mission trip, our team and the peopleof Browning in your prayers.

http://www.browningmontana.com/index.html

God bless you all.....

Redecorating

2008-06-07T20:38:00.003-04:00

Well starting this week I am in the process of redecorating and trying to make this home more us. By fault we just got a new toilet in the upstairs bathroom. My bathroom..... I won't go into it but a simple project became replacing the whole thing. That is ok though it needed to be. I found this really cool refinishing kit and Monday I plan to paint the sink. That is right I said paint. This is specailly designed for tile, tubs and sinks. I plan to post pics next week. I will do before and after as soon as I can. I also finally got all my appliances black, however I am still waiting after a year to get my dishwasher (that is downstairs) installed. That is a whole other blog on its own. Anyway on the advice of Henry's cousin Crystal combined with another friend I am leaving the handles on my kitchen drawers and cabinets. I am going with a deep darker cream called Ponytail on the walls. I then am gonna do the cabinets in a lighter color that I have not 100% decided on. Zacks room we are doing Carolina blue GO TARHEELS... Dyl has decided to do a wide red stripe around the top of his room trimmed in navy and I am gonna paint the Red Sox B on the wall I hope. Lastly I plan to remove the wall paper from the bottom half of Henrys bath downstairs and paint it navy I then plan to decorate in nautical theme. I have started picking up peices here and there. Ross has been great to find things. So hopefully I will have pics up soon.... wish me lcuk

Dylan...

2008-06-05T21:24:00.001-04:00

Well unfortunately I don't have pics for this blog but I gotta brag. Dylan had a baseball game tonight and he got the most awesome bunt. Then not only did he bunt be he stole 2nd and 3rd then he scored. THAT'S MY BOY!!!! He also got 2 RBI's

My name

2008-06-03T20:48:00.000-04:00

What Lisa Means
You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

I Believe

2008-05-26T21:39:00.000-04:00

I thought this was nice so I wanted to share it enjoy....

I Believe
A birth certificate shows that we were born; a death certificate shows that we died; pictures show that we lived! Have a seat . . . Relax. And read this slowly.
I believe - That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I believe - That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I believe - That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I believe - That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
I believe - That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I believe - That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
I believe - That you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I believe - That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I believe - That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I believe - That money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I believe - That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I believe - That no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I believe - That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I believe - Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
I believe - That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
I believe - That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I believe - That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.
I believe - That you should send this to all of the people that you believe in. I just did. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

Sowers family dinner

2008-05-25T20:13:00.006-04:00

So today was absolutely beautiful I think the last time I looked at the tempature it was 83. LOVED IT!!!!! Anyway.... my mother in law Judy shown here with her sister Margret wanted to have a dinner with her family beyond just her kids. Their baby brother is the man who passed in a prior blog that I asked for you to pray for the family. Well my mother in laws kitchen is upside down right now because she is remodling. None of my in laws really have the room and parking except for maybe my oldest sister in law who by the way left before I got the camera out. So I volunteered our house.

The "cousins" began to act like kids again with their kids which was fun to watch. There was one girl in the mix and I do believe she gave them a run for their money. ALthough she plays football in Auburn and i think she will be playing 8th grade this year.

This is my brother in laws girlfriend Karen. She brought her mom to join us today and I was pleased to meet her. Could these two look anymore alike?

Well this is Karen and Brian and they were picking at each other and I love that I caught them at this moment.

Just a swinging aroung here is my father in law Tommy and my mother in law Judy.

All in all it has been a good Memorial Day weekend. Yesterday we cooked out with my parents at my sisters house and I forgot my camera. Tomorrow is my 13 wedding anniversary. I pray you all have a blessed summer

The Drive in

2008-05-25T18:31:00.003-04:00

Well summer time is offically here, at least with what "functions" are starting up. This weekend our drive in opened up. WOO-HOO... In Virginia I think I heard somewhere that there are still more functioning drive- ins than anywhere else in the US. I do know we have 5 within an hour any direction of us that includes the one here in our town. We absolutely love goin and this has become a family tradition in the summer time. We go to this really cool inexpensive burger place that has the best food and take it in, we eat, play ball, goof off just have lots of fun.

This is my sister and her boyfriend my soon to be brother in law. That also is my son (the oldest) sittining in the back of the truck. The back 2 rows are for trucks and SUV's we take it load up and eat and have a blast.

This is my pretty little sister. Although she is not so little anymore and she is taller than I am.She will be married next May I cannot believe that and I cry alot of times when I think about it. We now are more like friends than ever before. We are 12 years apart and we both think it stinks that we were so far apart but hey what could we have done.

Henry sometimes will get out and play ball with the boys. They have alot of fun and you can feel the family atmosphere with the expception of the few who just come to raise cane.

So we saw "Iron Man" it was okay not a favorite for me but not terrible. I would however like to watch it again because it took me forever to get our speaker to work which I think was installed in 1953 when the place opened and I don't think much has been done to them since then!!! ;)

Anyway the same couple that opened the place still works there. The man still runs the gate and you never fail to get a $2.00 bill and his wife still works in the concession stand making those wonderful hot dogs and fries. YUMMY..... So maybe next weekend if my thick skull remembers I will take some pictures of the drive in next weekend which by the way is called the Starlight....

Snow White

2008-05-18T20:04:00.000-04:00

So my baby boy Dylan recently had his theatrical debut. He played the Huntsman in the play Snow White. He as did all the kids did an outstanding job. He seemed to really get into what he was doing. So many ladies i work with have complimented him on his performance. I thought I would share a couple of pictures of him. The bunny with him is one of his best friends Simmon Brown. AKA Buck the Bunny one of the forest animals that protected Snow White.

8th Grade Dance

2008-05-18T19:25:00.000-04:00

So my oldest Zack attended his 8th grade dance last night Saturday May 17th 2008. The theme was midnight in Paris. They (the PTA) did a wonderful job decorating for the kids. I just wanted to share how handsome my guy looked. I tried really hard not to be a big baby but a few tears slipped down my face.

Prayer

2008-04-24T15:13:00.000-04:00

Hi all
I come to you today to ask for prayer for Henry's family.On Wednesday April 23rd (Henry's bday) his uncle passed away from a massive heartattack. He was my mother in laws baby brother. We have a rough couple of days ahead of the family. Please keep them in your prayers. Thanks you

Casting Crowns concert and wedding dresses...

2008-04-19T19:18:00.000-04:00

Well unfortunately I haven't gotten back to my blog as soon as I would've liked. But anyway.....

So we (being the youth group and a few adults) went to the Casting Crowns concert last weekend and it was great. Unfortunatly the guy that sang first his name has escaped me. The second group was "Leeland". They were great I bought their cd and I have really enjoyed it. But of course the reason we were there was for CC. They were wonderful and at the end of their concert they sat on stools and each memeber of the group prayed over the audience and prayed for many different subjects. They also had said that before hand they went out into the bleachers and sat and prayed for the people that would be sitting in their seats. I thought that was awesome. They were just so real and not full of anything except God. That was great. I had alot of fun being with the teens. They are so full of life and make you remember what it was to be young. Corny I know.....

So that Sunday I went with mom and Julie, my sister and we helped Julie try on wedding dresses for her. She is getting married on May 9th 2009. She looked so beautiful and the one she picked made mom cry we knew that was the one. I am not gonna post pics because she wants tokeep it an absolute secret so I will respect her wishes.

So the top pic is some of our teens and the only one that wasn't in the picture was Aaron. He had college weekend at Liberty which is where we were. He met up with us a little later. If you will notice Zack (the one in the white jacket is the only one at that time without a girlfriend til Aaron got there) Anyway we have Brittany, James, Phillip, Kirsten, Drews girlfriend whose name has escaped me, Drew, Zack, Jordan and then Holly. In the next photo is the old folks. I realized I was the senior member of the group, you have me, Julie, (not my sister Julie) Eric, julies hubby and Kevin.

This lady is part of CC she has an amazing voice.....

This is the lead singer of CC he is so down to earth and personable and you know God is with him.So this was the coolest thing and the first picture is hard to see, but during one of their songs this guy cam out wrting words on a chalk board. He then began painting in this amazing picture.

This was the coolest drummer. He wore a tie and collared shirt under a tshirt. He had peircings and looked like a wrestler. He could play amazingly. Very cool....

By the way this was Zacks first concert and I am so glad that I took him to a christian concert as his first one. I pray God will do wonderful things with him ......

Casting Crowns

2008-04-12T11:06:00.000-04:00

So I am going tonight with my son and our youth group at church to see these guys and gals at Liberty. I am so excited because they are one of my favorite christian groups. I love the message they send and the sound of their music. I have never been to Liberty so I am excited to see the campus (what I may see of it) because i hear it is beautiful. One of my dear sisters is sending her son there this fall to go to school. So I will post pictures later hopefully I will get some good ones.

Pay It Forward

2008-04-11T21:23:00.001-04:00

So my dear friend Terena had a pay it forward. So my turn. As most of you know I sale AVON. We have a line of "pink braclet" line that supports breast cancer research. For every comment I recieve on this blog I will send you a gift pack of the following products and also I will draw a name out and make a $30.00 donation to the Susan G. Koman foundation. Remember for each product I purchase from AVON that too is a donation to research.....

DC Trip LOTS OF PICTURES

2008-04-07T19:31:00.000-04:00

So we went with Zack on his 8th grade field trip to Washington DC. We decided to make it a family weekend. Henry and I took off work and took Dylan out of school and off we went. This first photo is Henry and Dylan standing outside of the Smithsonian and the statue of a man named Jacob Henry....

This of course if our capitol. I have to say I was there when I was 11 but I must say as I get older it is very surreal standing in areas where you know the March on Washington took place, and things of that nature took place

This is the Washington Monument. I found out the hard way that you must at least get tickets to go up in it 2 weeks ahead. You can arrive that morining at 6am.. That being if anyone cancels and you could be lucky enough to get that ticket. WHATEVER.... When we go next spring or whenever I will go online as the woman said I could and get tickets.
So did anyone see the movie "Night at the Museum"? Well do you remember the part where the statue says "Hey dumb dumb give me gum gum..." Well here he is....

Henry loves poofer fish and here is one. We tried to get him to blow up but no luck. He was cute in a strange way all but the hook for a tooth in the front....

So this parona kept trying to attack Henry's finger. IT was rather funny watching it attack the glass and try to eat him.....

So Henry is here posing next to this old airplane engine. So does he look like Vanna and the letters or what??So here is me and my guy in front of the capitol. It was very windy. that afternoon but a nice dayThis is Zack's 8th grade class. What a bunch of goofy kids OH our future. Not all where there......So there is Zack next to his friends. He had something in his eye. .......

So this was so funny as the wind wipped through I had the boys stand in front of this waterfall outside the American Indian Museum. The wind blew water all over them. Their faces were priceless.....This is the Enterprise CVN 65 my sweetie worked on this boat when he worked at the shipyard in the Air and Space museum there was an exhibit of a mock boat, that we walked on. He got a big kick out of that.So I thought these 2 pictures of the monument were very cool.........So this is the one thing I wanted to see. I am a history buff and this just sent a chill through me. I don't really know why. .On one wall is the Gettysburg address and the other another speech he did but I wasn't sure which one. I took over 500 photos so I just picked some. There were some from the zoo that I am gonna post a blog about.

So these are from the Vietnam War Memorial. Enough said........................

My kitchen

2008-03-30T18:01:00.000-04:00

So I have just over 40 + days left of school. Then I am out for the summer. I am wanting to do some work around my house. We just bought this home last spring. Actually will be a year May 18th. Anyway, this summer I am wanting to do some things to update some parts of my home and make it more mine, and my husbands.

So these cabinets in my kitchen I believe have been in the house since it was built in 1974. I cannot afford to replace the cabinets but want to do something to make them more "me". I would like to keep them "consevative". Do you have any suggestions as to what I can do? My kitchen is in black with a hint of blue. I am planning on getting a new stove this summer possibly early fall to finish off the black appliances. Here are some pics let me know what you think....

Easter

2008-03-28T21:58:00.000-04:00

Well Easter weekend and spring break came and went very fast. Dylan has told me on many occasions that sunrise service is his favorite one of the year. I just feel like we are so busy all day but we do make a point in our home to remember the true meaning of Easter by doing the resurrection eggs.

We began on Friday by decorating "egg" shaped cookies my boys didn't want to do eggs this year. Here are a few of them putting such pretty icing on them,

Look at the good job Henry is doing with his colors....

So they seem to have fun. Dylan ate his as soon as he decorated them!!! zack and I have yet to finish ours. I was cooking dinner while they did this.

So after we decorated the cookies we had some dinner and later did the story of Easter. I had more cooking to do for the next day because we were going to North Carolina to Henry's aunt Elaines house for a dinner for his Maw Maw. She is a wonderful woman and the only grandparent Henry has left. So we made the trek to Greensboro

This is Henrys wonderful grandmother Mary Scott. She has been blessed with a wonderful Christian family. I think all but maybe a couple of her children know the Lord and most of their kids and grandkids are coming into that family as well. They sing and love and laugh together alway there for one another. I have been very blessed to be a part of this family.

So this is one of Henry's cousin Kevin holding one of the newest memebers of the family Gracie. She if beautiful.

There are to be lots of babies born this year, one actually this past week. His name is Carson Littreal and there are 3 more on the way one due in April and the other 2 in October. No I am not joining that club Tinie!!!!

So anyway we ended that day by going to the mall in Winston and looking at all the TARHEEL STUFF because you know we live in Hokie country. Then we made our way to Mt. Airy to eat at Goobers.

Easter morning rolled around very early and the boys got up to see what the Easter Bunny had brought them.

Dylan's reaction to his gift was COOL.... He got a new study Bible with tthe cover. And Zack being the teenager he is wasn't as awake and was still happy.

So of course being a mom I made us all pose for pictures in our new Easter clothes don't all my guys look handsome in their clothes!!!!

That day was also specail because my neice Brooke was baptised after having been saved a few weeks ago. God is good......

Newbie....

2008-03-24T21:30:00.000-04:00

Hi all

Well I am new to all this but I have truely enjoyed reading my friends blog. She seems to be having so much fun with it that i thought I would try it. So let me start by telling you a little about myself. My name is Lisa. I live in Christiansburg with my wonderful husband and two "creative" sons. They keep my life very full and very busy. I love them dearly and have been through it with them.

This is my and hubby Henry. This picture was taken this past Christmas at my moms. We met a little over 15 years ago. Boy we never dreamed what we would go through when we met. We lived very far apart I was in my hometown of Galax and he was in Newport News. He orignally is from Christiansburg but was working at the shipyard. We met through a mutual friend. When I was introduced to him we really only intended to go out when he was home or I was there visiting friends. Well that didn't last we actually talked on the phone for 3 months before we met face to face. Every night at 9pm he called me like clockwork and as corny as it sounds I fell for him on the phone. He was and is a wonderful man. He makes me laugh and makes me feel so safe. I could go on about him for awhile but will do that later. So much to tell.

So this is my baby boy Dylan. He is 11 years old and I am watching him become a wonderful young man before my eyes and it is amazing. He is in his last year in elementary school which is depressing because my oldest is going into high school next year. Lord help me when they graduate and maybe someday get married UGH... Anyway Dylan is a HUGE WVA fan and wants to play football for them. Right now though we are goin into baseball season. He loves the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Eagles. He is a straight A student and is such a caring helpful tenderhearted person. I love those qualities in him. I pray in todays world as he grows he will never loose those wonderful things to have.

This is my oldest Zack. Short for Zachary. He is 14 years old. I am watching myself in him everyday. He pushes me in everyway. He makes me laugh and he lets me know how to enjoy things and be stupid. He and his dad can find humor in EVERYTHING and sometimes I want them to mind their p's and q's but I love to see them laugh together. Zack is a football, basketball and soccer player. I am dieing that he is goin into high school next year. WHEN DID I GET OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE A TEENAGER. Zack loves to entertain people. He is such an outgoing loving person. He loves little kids and lots of the little kids at church love him. They just are drawn to hanging out with him and he just rolls right along with it. I guess he gets that from his dad and I we are the same. Everything we do revolves areound kids. I hope he always has that. He is also like his and dad and I in being a TARHEEL fan. living in Tech country.

I love my family and I will tell you our story as we go along. I hope to be able to do this often and post pictures oftern. God bless you all.......

and