Update, read all about it :)

OK Jonatha this update is for you.. ha ha... just read your blog so felt inclined to give a quick update myself just for you :)
Thanks for the Celebration idea- Bill and I were trying to think of something "cheap" we could do while in Florida this weekend with the kids and that might just be a good idea- although they see the "real stuff" here usually every year- quite a bit last year. Anyway.. thanks!

Today I am planning on going to 2 class Christmas parties. I have to pick up all the goodies for one of them (pizza, cups, etc) before hand so I have to leave here pretty soon. Also I am going to pick up Breakfast items for all the teachers tomorrow so we (PTA) can treat them before the holidays! My day is pretty busy today but it's also exciting being out and about in the rush of things.

Friday we are suppose to be leaving for Florida for a few days. It might get put off till Saturday though- depends on if Bill can get his work completed on time. We shall see. I'm invited to my first ever "ornament exchange" party tomorrow night- never been to one, but sounds fun. Now I need to go find a cool ornament to share... any ideas??

Only one more gift to buy for my youngest sweetie and I'm all done shopping! YEAH! I have stuck to my "budget" this year when it comes to shopping and spending- didn't over do it, like I always do. So I'm proud about that!

That's all the boring news from this part of town today. Hope everyone is getting in the Christmas spirit and hope everyone (all my 2 fans- ha ha) has a marvelous Christmas with your families!

Christmas thoughts

Well today we are getting ready to start getting decorations out and going to pick up the tree tomorrow afternoon. I just can't seem to get in the spirit of it all right now.. usually the day after Thanksgiving I'm up and running and ready to pull everything out of the attic. I'm thinking it must be because it's so hard to spend money these days. After years and years of not really worrying "too much" about spending, now with the economy the way it is and people's jobs on the line and millions going hungry and loosing jobs, etc...it just all seems sad and not reason to celebrate. I know we celebrate Christmas because of Jesuss' birth, it's just hard for me in the "buying gifts department" of it all to NOT buy for everyone everything on their list. I know you might say well then "make some gifts"... well if you know me at all you know I am not crafty and never have been. So that option is out. So what to do... that is the question of the day? Also as you know time is limited so homemade stuff is really not an option for me. I've already told my kids that this year will be slimmer, but I'm pretty sure they've heard that before and it's never been slim! I worry they won't be happy, I don't want to disappoint them on such a big day. Am I selfish in wanting to buy them all on their lists and what do you do when you can't. I guess they are just too far past the "spoiled" stage and that's where my concerns are now coming into play. Am I making too much of this, do you understand where I'm coming from? Tell me your thoughts and ideas.. brainstorm with me!!

Still here :)

Hey all- yes I'm still here if anyone is still reading! Just not into blogging that much lately. Quick boring update for my 2 fans.. ha ha hee hee. Working lots and lots- this is like my 5th straight week of subbing at school. Now I remember why I love a day off now and then. I'm very glad for the days though- it always helps around Christmas! My parents got to visit for Thanksgiving and it was a great time- Mom and I shopped for 8 1/2 hours- well ok we hit Olive Garden in the middle of that, but ya know you have to get energized to do a couple more hours of shopping :} Thanks Bill for watching our little pumpkins and allowing me some "mom and I" time!
Our Santa Shop starts at school next week and I'm the coordinator- LOTS and LOTS to do. So far I've been to 4 Dollar Stores, Target, Michaels, and a few others to shop. it's always fun spending other people's money at those places. It's all for the kids though- they love this event at school!
I've joined "Facebook"= spend more time on there now than i do on here- check it out and sign up.. I wasn't sure about it at first, but have come to really enjoy it and seems much "quicker" of a way to keep up with everyone.
Family is all doing good. Rachel is busy busy with All District and All State Chorus practices this month. All District conference is in Jan, All State in February. Samantha is wanting to play Soccer- I told her they do that in the spring, so just a few more months to wait. She's never played so not sure if she'll like it or not. Trying to convince her to stay in Softball, but guess she needs to try something different to see what she enjoys or is good at the most. katelynn is Katelynn- just growing up way to quickly, she's loves to walk like a fashion model and play on the computer. She is also great in school.
Well so much for the "quick update" but now you know what we've been up to. hope you haven't fallen asleep at your keyboard!
Love to all and goodnight for now.

Can you say OH YEAH!!!!

(This picture was taken the day of the audition)
To follow up on my blog of 3 weeks ago- my daughter Rachel got the news today that she passed the audition for All state Chorus with flying colors! 10 was the absolute perfect score you could get, she got a 12 and a 14 or higher had not a chance. So I'd say she did well. There is one more small audition right here in our town before the performance in Savannah, but the teacher said it would be crazy for anyone to not make that one. She said if they pass the 1st one then they are pretty much in. I'm not counting my chickens- but the chorus teacher has been straight up and on track for everything she has ever told me! Each school participates and not every school always has someone make it. She was the only girl in her school to make it and there was one boy who also made it.
As you can tell I am very, very proud of her! God answered all our (and your) prayers that day and I can say nothing more but thanks!!

More North Carolina photos

So many pictures I had to do 2 posts... these are more of the scenery and of us apple picking... we had a blast and got lots of yummy apples- unfortunately they are still sitting on my counter, but now that fall festival is over I should be able to find time to make some apple crisp, apple pies, apple cider,,, ha ha ha... oh I forgot- I don't cook... no really I will make the apple crisp because we all enjoy it so.
Anyway.. enjoy the photos. Love, Tammy

Fall Fun in N.C.

We were very fortunate to be able to go visit with my parents last weekend. The fall colors were just amazing and we had a wonderful visit! Daddy stayed home to work and do a little hunting so he wasn't with us this trip.

Sweating is.......

NOT FOR ME- ha ha! Just got done doing The Biggest Loser DVD for 30 minutes... that's an accomplishment for me! My middle sweetness (Samantha) talked me into joining her. She did an hour yesterday while I watched (I was not feeling good then), but today she got me up there with her- thanks Sammy :) I hope we can continue this- it's especially fun when the kids want to join in too. Seeing a 5 year old do jumping jacks at warp speed is nothing but hilarious. Maybe I'll try to video it next time and put on here for you to see. Happy Columbus Day!

Prayer request

Hi everyone- I know I haven't been on here in a while and I'm only on for a few minutes right now because I'm so tired, BUT my daughter(12 year old) asked me today if I could post a blog asking everyone to pray for her and her Allstate tryouts next week in Cordele, GA. I said, "why of course"!- anything for my first born :)
Anyway... she has been in Allstate for the last 2 years and done solo's at the state level both years, but this year it's an actual competition instead of just being chosen and allowed to attend the state event. She was still chosen this year, but this year she must "compete" (I don't like that word) against other 7th and 8th graders across the whole state. The teacher has warned us that it is extremely difficult, but that she does have a lot of confidence in Rachel and doesn't usually tell many parents that... Rachel is nervous but she is also excited. She has a beautiful voice and I wish all of you could hear it- maybe I can figure out how to put her song on here for ya... we shall see... I don't know what is involved in that. So, back to the subject of this- please pray for her during this next week. The actual date is next Saturday, the 11th and her audition time is 11:10 a.m. We will drive her the 2 hours to get there and 2 hours back for her to audtion for I think she said 2-3 minutes, but it's well worth it to put the effort into doing anything and everything we can do to help her achieve her goals and encourage her to do what she loves most and that is sing.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and we'll let you know the outcome- they say they usually won't know for 2-3 weeks after the audition.

Music/download questions?

Ok 2 things I need help with..
1 - does anyone know a good trusted site for downloading music onto MP3 players? We were using limewire, but our computer got a bad virus and the guy said it was probably from that site..
2 - How do I download a song off of a music cd and put it on my computer and/or my blog? My daughter has sang an amazing version of "somewhere over the rainbow" and I'd love to share it with others.
THANKS!!

SAVINGS- DO YOU HAVE IT??

Well I feel like taking a poll! Do you have a savings and how do you go about it? What's your motivation? How do you stick to it? Is there any bible verses that reference this? I am feeling the need lately to motivate ourselves to get busy with saving for our future, yet it's so hard to do these days. I just feel like someone out there has the right words that will knock some sense (cents... no pun intended ha ha) into my head about this. How do make yourself put away money that you know could be put to better use right now? Maybe I'm not asking the right questions, or maybe I am, I'm just looking for the right answer... give it some thought and let me know what you think :) Thanks!

First day of school 8-6-08

Ok as previously promised here are some photos of the 1st day of school. It was a great day for everyone. No one had any breakdowns, so in my opinion that constitutes a great day!! And as a special treat this year even Daddy got to go with the little girls to class and so that was exciting for them as well.

Missing hubby

Well he's not actually missing (as it sounds in the title), it's meant to mean that I'm missing him! He's about 14 hours North picking up a tractor and then will head south again tomorrow and hopefully be home by Wednesday a.m. I've got so much catching up to do on this blog but can't find the time. With him not being here and me doing PTA stuff and subbing at school and watching the 3 little princesses all by myself well you can see why I just don't have the motivation to post all those first day school pictures and visit with family a week or so ago... I promise though I'll get to them soon. I have some really cute ones of the girls their first day of school last week. Right now I'm really tired and I'm going to settle on the couch a bit and veg in front of the tv with a book- but will I watch tv or read the book, or fall asleep??.. this is the "days of my life" question of the moment- ha ha ha..
Pictures to come soon... everyone sleep tight :) P.S. Pray hubby has a safe trip home- he's hauling 2 very large tractors back by himself and driving 14 hours today, probably another 10 tomorrow and then the remaining 4-5 on Wednesday a.m. P.S.S. I'm subbing in Katelynn's class tomorrow (Kindergarten) please pray that she will act like a student and behave for me and not be attached to my leg the whole day.. Thanks!!

On TV, shopping & ice cream

Ok, so it's the last week before school starts. A lot happened today- it's TAX FREE shopping day in Georgia and so what a great reason (I mean excuse) to go out on the town.. ha ha... No DAD, we did NOT go to Walmart this time.. (was there 2 days ago :)
Anyway the girls and I get to the mall, head to the food court for lunch and as we were deciding on what to get at Chick-Fil-A a camera man and his crew from WTVM (the local news station) stop and start asking if they could interview me... yes me... oh and did I mention I'm so glad I had my shower last night- ha ha ha... anyway, I answered their questions (what we were going to buy today, why were we taking advantage of this tax free shopping time and if we had any concerns)... I answered most questions thoughtfully but I felt he was wanting more.. I wish I was clever and had great quotes like my other blogging friend (dreamsofacountrygirl.blogspot.com) but I don't so I just answered well we need sneakers, shorts, skirts and school supplies... HOW BORING IS THAT!!! Anyway then I said, "no we have no worries, we love crowds it's fun to fit in".... NOOOOTTTTTTTT!!!!!.. what was I thinking? I asked my eldest at lunch, why did I say that, we don't like crowds- i despise crowds... I guess my point is, when a camera is stuck in your face at the spur of the moment- do you speak your mind or try to come up with the right words that might sound good on camera? I did the latter and I just don't know why... oh well.. we'll be on at 6pm if you are in the area and want to check out the interview... oh and after our "hard" day of shopping we had to stop for Dairy Queen on the way home to celebrate narrowing down our shopping needs and being on tv... until next time... stay tuned :)

More pics of family

Here are a couple more pictures I couldn't fit on the last post... My handsome brother with his youngest boy (my cute nephew!!) is in one photo, the other is my sweet sis-in-law with her youngest girl (my cute niece!!) and then the other of my middle child and her cousin giving eskimo kisses (notice how she is trying to look at the camera and make sure she gets "the kiss" done correctly - very adorable :)

A Birthday and family

Katelynn had her 5th birthday on Friday. I know I'm a few days behind in posting pics but we've had a house full. My parents came to visit us this weekend from North Carolina and we had a great time as always. I love their visits so much. I wish they lived next door! Mom and I hit a 150 table yard sale and besides the 90 degree heat we had a nice time rummaging around and found a few bargains :)
Here is some pictures of Katelynn's birthday and of my family gathered at my house this weekend. My brother and his whole crew came for a visit since they live so close now (YEAH!) and all the cousins just had a great time with each other.

Try and try again....

Well today marked the 2nd time this year I have begun a change in my eating habits and exercise. So far so good, cereal for breakfast, soup for lunch and I just put in my new "Biggest Loser" DVD that I got off ebay. My daughters and I worked out with good ole "Bob" for almost 20 minutes and I just couldn't do it anymore. I can already feel the muscles in my arms and legs tightened up from that little workout. Anyway again we shall see how good I can do this time. January 1st I started a "diet" and I did loose 16 lbs, but I gained 10 of it back in the last 2 months since school has been out. Now school begins in 2 weeks, so I'm hoping that once again I can get back on track and make myself healthier and slimmer and happier all the way around. Wish me luck and offer up any bits of advice you wish! Thanks!!

Then & Now

My "BABY" is turning FIVE this coming Friday. It's kind of hitting me hard that she is my baby who is no longer a baby- I know you parents know what I'm saying here! Where does the time go... It started in the hospital when they said she was 8 lbs 15 1/2 oz... I said "are you sure????!!! my babies aren't that big"... but lo and behold, I guess she was taking after her daddy- ha ha! I'm not a great writer so I can't come up with a lot of "neat" things to say, other than I LOVE HER tremendously and I'm so glad GOD decided to bless us with that little surpise! Let me do that little spelling of the name thing and try to come up with ways to describe her for ya- K for kind, A for adorable, T for testy, E for elegant, L for loving- (She LOVES to give me hugs & kisses!), Y for young (sorry that one is boring), N for nice and the last N for nibbly- ha ha... Katelynn we love you and couldn't stand a day without you!!

PTA Pals

This past weekend I got to do something I never get to do ..a girls only weekend! The annual PTA convention was in Atlanta and I got to attend and took a couple of the new officers for this year.. which also happen to be 2 very good friends of mine. It was a great time and they are just the sweetest. It's so nice to have friends who love ya even after they see you in a swimsuit-- ha ha!

We are back!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We are back from vacation and I'm feeling a little settled again. However tomorrow I'm off to Atlanta for 2 days to go to the annual PTA convention. I wanted to share a few pictures of our trip and actually there are a few more than a few, so I'm going to put it into a slide for ya :) We had a fantastic time, too bad vacations are so short- I could live at the beach in a second! And the girls are growing fins as we speak :)

Oh..DEER

Ok, if you read my last blog you know I was suppose to not be on here right now and I'm suppose to be cleaning and getting ready for our trip BUT... Samantha called to me and said "Mom a deer in the yard" and so I came running with my camera. It's not odd to see them around here but we haven't seen one in the yard in a couple years. Bill will be sooo happy :)

Then again, maybe they are eating our corn out back...oh no!

Anyway, here's the photo (click on it to enlarge it for closer inspection :) ....

Excitement in the air!!!!

This house is a buzz with excitement as we count down the minutes, hours and milliseconds (is that a word?) until we leave for vacation tomorrow!!
We are headed to NC first to see my oh so wonderful parents and here a wonderful singer on Sunday night (Squire Parsons- he will be there for the Nazarene Camp Meeting), from there we will go to the sunny state of Florida to visit our very favorite hotel/suites and spend 3 days there, from there we travel upstate just a bit to visit with mom-in-law for 2 days and have her home-made country fried steak and gravy! That alone is worth the whole trip to most of my family!
If I can ever get off this blog today my agenda is to: get the laundry done so we can stay clothed for our trip, buy extra dog and cat food so the neighbors can keep them alive for us while we are away, pack 5 suitcases for 9 days of travel, fill the gas tank up (that is the scariest part of the day!!!) and clean this house so we don't have to come back to any messes! The best part is I have 3 little girl helpers, so we're planning to turn off the tv, shut off the computer and turn up the stereo and jam out while we get after all these dustbunnies and such.
OK, that's our plans for today- I know not so fun, but the trip will make it all worthwhile.. I'll make sure I get LOTS of photos to share when we get back.

Blueberry photos

Just beginning ...
Katelynn said "look at this whopper mom"
Aren't they pretty?
I peeked in on these little ones...
Aren't they just little helpless things?..I'm sure momma was close by

It was a fun day out with family.

BLUEBERRIES

Blueberry picking is a great family activity to do. We have friends here who have a huge orchard of them and we go once a year and pick as much as we want and can use. We went last weekend and since then I've eaten blueberries every day, in pancakes, in ice cream, on cheesecake... oh it's great to have an excuse to have to eat cheesecake and ice cream :)... you know... "we've got to have something to put blueberries on, so they don't go bad"....


Anyway, we went and also took one of Rachel's friends who was spending the night with us. Here are some fun photos of our trip- also we heard a bunch of ruckus by some bushes and went to check it out and found 4 little baby birds in a nest- of course me with my camera, had to impose on them for just a moment while I took a couple pictures. I don't think they minded but they did look awfully hungry, but oh soooo cute!!

OK IT WON'T LET ME POST THE PHOTOS. HAS ANYONE HAD THIS PROBLEM? WHEN I HIT THE ADD IMAGE ICON ON TOP IT GIVES ME AN ERROR CODE THAT SAYS THIS:

When reporting this error to Blogger Support or on the Blogger Help Group, please:
Describe what you were doing when you got this error.
Provide the following error code and additional information.
bX-lp9vv
Additional information
blogID: 1329613153552816636host: www.blogger.comuri: /upload-image.g

THAT'S ALL I GET. I TRIED TO REPORT TO BLOGGER HELP PEOPLE, BUT CAN FIND NO WAY TO SEND THEM A MESSAGE... BLOGGING BUDDIES- PLEASE HELP....

Eeenie, Meenie, Minie, Mo....

Katelynn loves to sit in my lap (THANK GOD- because it won't last!), anyway during our lap time last week we were talking about our toes and thought it would be a cute photo to have all our tootsies on camera as a reminder of that special time. Here's "toe" a fun time in your family!!

Hard day at work??

My little sweet pea came to me this morning and said she was going to work! She had her fire helmet on and her police badge on her shirt. She said she was going to her morning job at the fire station and then her night job at the police station. She proceeded to go around the house arresting her sisters and then even her mom... can you believe it? Arrest me? For what? Feeding and bathing and nurturing this beautiful little soul ?!! Ha ha! Anyway..just thought I'd share with ya.

Honors for my sweeties!

Samantha was honored with the school "Purchase Award", what this is, is her artwork was chosen as 1 of only 2 in the whole school (642 students) to be purchased by the school and put up in the main hallway for all time. We all were very excited about this one. They even gave her a check for it, so she was excited about the money! Samantha also got the Citizenship Award in her class, the Top Honors in Math, and the Principal's Award for all A's all Year. Samantha we are extremely proud of you and know that you will continue to be a beautiful, bright, sweet, helpful girl to your family, friends and teachers in the years to come.

Rachel received a handful of honors as well. Rachel received 9 awards, they were: Top Honors in Math, Social Studies, Language/English, Science, Art, Health, Chorus, All A's all Year and Student of the Year! We were so proud as you can imagine. She has always been smart and won honors, but to get the top honors in every class she had, in her first year of the "dreaded/hard" middle school....well let's just say I had the bigget smile in that auditorium on Honor's day!! Rachel you are a beautiful, smart, outstanding young lady and I look forward to spending the rest of my life honoring you like you honor us!

Ok- here is the party/socialite girl... wonder where she got that from... if you know me, you know it's not from my side of the family :) This is the end of the year pre-K party/luau and Katelynn was like the "leader of the pack" when it came to the hawaain dancing and music. I guess she follows her sisters leads in performing. That's my little blond in the front of the photo with her hips twisted out and her juice box in hand... so hilarious! We love you little bug!! Congrats on graduating pre-K!


Last week was the end of school for the summer. That's ALWAYS a good thing for everyone teachers, students, parents, PTA presidents :) YIPPEE! But I wanted to share with you what my 2 eldest girls (the 3rd was just in pre-K) earned this year while in school. (I TRIED TO GET THIS PARAGRAPH AT THE TOP OF THE BLOG, BUT FOR SOME REASON, WHEN I ADD PICTURES IT MOVES MY WRITING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BLOG- DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS?? IF SO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW) THANKS!!!

Mother's Day

I wanted to share my photos from the Mother/Daughter banquet that my girls and I attended this past weekend in North Carolina with my mom. I'm so lucky to be just 5 hours away from my parents that a quick trip is so worth it to get to spend time with them.

Mom you are the best mom ever and I love you and thank you for a fun and busy weekend filled with some of my most favorite things: You, my girls and garage sales :) HA HA!!