My Babies are not Babies Anymore

So, it's been a few months since I've been on this blog.

I haven't had time to sit down to type .

I haven't even had time to think about a topic worthy of writing.

This morning, I'm sitting in the quiet kitchen with my warm cup of coffee.

It is so quiet that I can hear the lights clicking as they warm up.
The sun is coming up, and there's a nice little breeze outside.
What a beautiful morning!!
So, here I sit, in the quiet by myself.

Ahhh...time to think!  Time to reflect!  Time for God, and time for me.

I thought I'd post about our January - July activities. 

If I don't do it now, I'll forget!
Grab some coffee, tea, or a slurpy...whatever floats your boat, and enjoy a few memories with me.

January and February were full of volleyball tournaments.

Courtney's team played each weekend in different towns,

learning a little bit and gaining skills with each set. 

There were really terrific moments and a few disappointing ones, too.

It's so great to see her learning more about the game.

It's even better to see her gaining confidence through her accomplishments.

She has overcome some big things since she started playing ball.

We've noticed that since she started running track she has a new confidence. 

She has a new love, and it. is. TRACK. 

She loves sprinting.

She has good running form, and we are amazed and surprised every time we watch her race.

We love that she has finally found something to love in addition to volleyball.

During track season Corbin pole vaulted this spring.

We were really excited when he vaulted at his first meet and cleared his personal record. 

It's tough to get your body flying high into the air after seasons away  from it.

He worked hard at practice, went out of town several times to an indoor facility to vault,

and qualified to go to the District meet with his team. 

He finished the season with improvement and consistent vaults.

His coach and parents were super proud!!!

This summer he vaulted at an AAU meet,

and he qualified to participate in the Jr. Olypics at Virginia Beach. 

He won't compete in it due to the start of soccer season beginning,

but he was really happy to have qualified!

The month of May came and the kids concentrated on studying for finals

and finishing the school year.
They finished with flying colors.
Both worked really hard and finished with Make-Your-Momma-Proud Grades.
Corbin spent June and July taking eight hours of college classes. 
The kid was always doing homework.
It paid off. 
He is now that much closer to an associate's degree,
and he doesn't have those two classes to worry about during the regular school year.
One less thing!
Courtney spent June running between helping me in my classroom and working out for volleyball.
She was a busy and TIRED girl.
July was a whirlwind.  It always is.
We were able to spend the 4th of July with family. 
The kids participated in races and competitions throughout the day.
Both kids have also had sports camps this month.


Today is the last day of July, and in a week and a half, we will begin school.
Corbin is going to be a SENIOR!
Courtney is going to be a FRESHMAN!
Oh.  My.  Goodness.
WHERE has the time gone?


We began the Sr. Picture adventure this week. 
He is enrolled in several Dual Credit classes for the fall and spring semesters.
He's been taking them for the past year.
We visited two colleges this summer.
He enjoyed the tours.
I enjoyed going with him.
There's a lot to consider, and I'm sure he was overwhelmed.
(His mother certainly was!!!)


I want to freeze time.
I want to savor every minute.
I know that this year will go so fast.
His graduation will come and go, and we will move on.
In the meantime, I plan to be in the present, enjoying every day.
There are so many delicious moments.
My eyes are open.
My calendar is ready.
My  heart is bursting with pride.
The anticipation of the coming school year and all that comes with it is delicious.


Hoping to post more frequently so I'll remember the details. 
Happy last days of summer vacation, friends!!
Enjoy!



My Favorite Things

This post is a long time coming.
I started it, but then we got busy, and I didn't finish it.
Well, today's the day even though it's nearly the end of January.


I love Christmas.  It's no secret.  This fact surprises nobody.
I love the sincerity of the season.
I love the reason for the season.
I love the beauty of the decorations, the lights, and the beautiful colors.
Bonus if there is snow!!

These are a few of my favorite things:

1.  Christmas Music!

I could listen to it all year long.

I try my hardest to wait until Thanksgiving, but it's hard for me to wait.

My favorite is Oh Holy Night.

It reminds me of the real meaning of Christmas.

It keeps me grounded.

I'm reminded of the love of the season each and every time I hear it.

2.  Gift Giving.
I love making the list and checking it twice!
I enjoy finding "Just the right thing"
or making a special thing for each person on the list.


3.  Wrapping Gifts!
I love the details of tags, ribbon, and add-ons.
I think that coordinating gift wrap is a gift from God.


3.  Baking!
Baking cookies, cakes, and candies makes the house smell delicious.
I enjoy sharing recipes from my mom and grandmas with my kids.
I love spending time with our family in the kitchen.
Cory always comes in when a batch of cookies is fresh from the oven.


4.  Advent Studies are Incredible!
There's nothing better than studying the Bible and sharing the Word with the kids.
Discussing the love of the season with our family is cherished time.


6.  I love the Christmas tree, the lights, and the meaningful decorations.
There's nothing more soothing at the end of the day
 than sitting in my big comfy chair by the glow of the tree lights.
Swoon!


7.  Christmas movies!!!!
Oh my.
We make a list around Thanksgiving,
 and we try to watch as many as we can throughout the season!
We watch all kinds...everything from It's a Wonderful Life to Elf.


8.  Christmas Light Shows
I have always loved driving around
looking at the lights in neighborhoods and on town squares.
The kids don't love it as much as we do,
but we drag them and promise ice cream at the end of the evening.


This list is full of the things that make holidays bright at our house.
We've finally finished putting everything holiday-related away,
and I already miss it.
Sigh.
Only 331 days until Christmas 2015!!


Christmas is Delicious!!
Have a great day friends.

Christmas Time Is Here

The calendar presented a shorter amount of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

(Well, in my mind it did...even if it really wasn't shorter, please play along.  Thank you.)

In those short weeks, I spent most of my school days assessing kids for report cards.

The other part of the days were spent entertaining said kids and peeling them from the ceiling because Christmas is almost here!  SANTA is almost here!

It's a fabulous time of the year to be a teacher.

Exhausting, but still fabulous!

Our time in the evenings was spent with volleyball practice

 and watching the kids do

 a.  LOT.  of.  HOMEWORK.

And I DO mean a lot.

We decorated the tree and mantel the weekend before Thanksgiving. 

It's what we do.  I simply can't wait any longer.

We got out of school for the Christmas vacation on Friday!

Friday afternoon was a whirlwind of shopping with Courtney.

Friday evening we took the kids to the movies.

Saturday Cory and I shopped

 while the kids went to Grandma and Papa's house to enjoy lunch out with them.

Last night we piled Grandma and Papa into the car with us,

 and we drove through the "Way of Salvation" light display in Carthage. 

As our tradition goes, we followed the lights with an ice cream treat.

Today is the day for making Christmas cookies, candy and treats!

I've made one batch of Chex party mix and another is ready for the oven. 

These are the days that I love most about Christmas.

My shopping is nearly finished.

The kids have NO HOMEWORK!

I am excited to just see their faces and do some fun things together.

Tis the Season to be Jolly!!!

I'm on it!

Christmas is so delicious!



Traditions Old and New

Every Halloween for the past 13 years, we've had the same tradition.

We go to Grandma's house.

We eat dinner.

The kids pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters.

We trick or treat in their neighborhood.

The kids did not really want to trick-or-treat this year.

I convinced Courtney to dress up anyway.

We partially followed our annual tradition with only one kid going door to door.

...and truthfully, she didn't go door to door.

She only went to about a dozen houses
 before she said she was ready to go back to Grandma's house.

It was cold.

There weren't as many people out.

There weren't as many houses with their porch lights on.

When we returned to Grandma's house,
we certainly didn't find our kids on the floor in the living room

 with their piles of loot all spread out around them. 
They helped themselves to more pizza and disappeared to the basement.
Sigh.
It might be the start of a new tradition.

Despite the fact that we didn't go all out on costumes and trick-or-treating,
it was fun. 
It was fun to hear the kids laughing.
It was fun to talk about scary Halloweens past. 
It was fun walking through leaf piles on the edge of the road.
It was just nice to start the holiday season with our tradition.


I will have to get creative next year.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to get my family to participate in the neighborhood walk again.


In my defense...it's the kickoff to the holidays. 
It's family time.
It's memory making at its' finest.


I'm the mom.
It's my job to hold on to these things, right?
I'm supposed to keep trying to pull us together before they grow up and move out, right?
It feels right.
It feels like the right thing to do.
Just one more Halloween before Corbin graduates from high school.
Just.  One.  More.
Yes.
I think I'll just keep trying with the traditions.


Seven Years Later

My most recent post was in August. 

It is Crazy how fast time goes. 

Seven years ago today, I sat by my daddy's bedside as his body shut down

 and he took his last breaths on earth. 

We knew it was coming. 

We'd spent the 2 weeks before watching his body shut down.

We planned Hospice visits. 

We cooked meals and made a LOT of coffee.

We entertained visitors.

We deep cleaned momma's kitchen,

and we cried in my sister's camper.

We tried our best to mentally prepare for what was coming.

  As much as it hurt to lose him, we knew that he was suffering,

and by letting go of his battle, he would be healed in Heaven.

Much of what I know about how to live, I learned from him. 

He was a quiet, kind hearted man. 

He liked to laugh.

He played prank jokes on others.

(I was a common target.)

He worked hard.

No.  Really. 

He WORKED HARD.

Every. Single. Day.

He gave his best to everything he did.

He loved us girls as if we were his own.

When I was 5 years old, my momma met that ornery guy. 

Mom was working in the tavern which was owned by my grandparents.

One night, he walked in, and my Granny said,

 "Larry Jo, are you looking for a mother in law?"

His response was classic....  "Why?  Are you available?" 

 I just think that is hilarious.

He met momma on that night in November, and they were married in February. 

At the time of their meeting, he was engaged to be married to another lady.

Her name was Trudy,

and my sister and I thought it was fantastic

that he was choosing all three of us over Trudy,

a woman we'd never met or seen before. 

Any how...back to the real story....

The four of us become a family instantly. 

They took us on their honeymoon with them.

We went on vacation after vacation together. 

They never went anywhere without us. 

We were his girls.

Tonight, I celebrate the life of my sweet daddy.

I've looked at old pictures.

I've laughed at him for having an opossum for a pet.

(yes, it's true)

I've looked at pictures of him holding our babies at their baptism ceremonies.

I've been reminded of how much time he spent with all of us.

We've watched the video that was played at his funeral. 

More than anything, today I have mourned our loss.

I mourn the fact that my kids are missing out on making new memories with him.

I mourn the empty place at the dinner table at family meals.

I mourn because I don't see him walking in my front door for a visit.

I miss his ornery giggle, the twinkle in his eyes.

I miss his deep belly laugh

and seeing him lay in the middle of the floor to watch tv.

I miss telling him all about the kids' activities and school stuff.

I miss his crispy edged pancakes...fried perfectly in oil.

I miss his empty Dt. Coke cans sitting everywhere after his visits.

I miss many, many things about him, but

Most of all, I miss his smile, his comforting hugs, and his friendship.

He was an incredible man, full of integrity and goodness. 

Heaven is a better place because he is there.

Tonight, I am eternally grateful for the thirty years which I spent getting to learn from him.

I am a better person because he was, and continues to be, part of my life.

Being his daughter certainly has made life delicious!

I saw it on Pinterest first, but...

Because someone we love is in heaven, we have a little bit of Heaven in our home!



1st Day of School!

Summer has come to an end for us.
We all know that when one thing ends another begins!
What a beginning!!!

These are pictures of our babies on the first day of school!
Courtney is starting 8th grade.
Corbin is starting his Junior year of high school.

And they are standing in front of
"Fernando"
a.k.a.
"Alfalfa"

As of Thursday I am semi-retired from my Taxi Service. 
Corbin drives them to school and brings them home from practices.
Sigh.
Sniff.
Tears.

 

This is a picture of the sweet treats my

Fabulous First Graders brought to me

for the 1st Day of school.

I'm in love with these little people. 

(even before they brought sweet treats)

I can't believe the year has begun!

 

Firsts.

First day of school

First day of riding to school by myself in 12 years.

(Seriously, that's CRAZY!!!)

First graders.

 

Firsts are delicious.

Enjoy all things new this season, my friends!!

Our 1st Grade Classroom 2014-2015

These are some pictures of our classroom.

 

We spend so much time within these 4 walls.

I love to use coordinating colors throughout.

 

This year's building theme is

"CJ Bulldogs Arrrr a Treasure!"

I kept some of my sock monkeys.

There are a few here and there. 

I simply added pirate hats and eye patches.