New Chapter

We are about to enter into a new chapter in our lives, parents of a school aged child. We have open house tonight and we will take Josie to meet her teacher. We got the teacher we requested, Elizabeth Mercer Jackson. Joe and I went to school with her and I played softball with her. I am so happy we got Elizabeth. I took Josie last Monday night school supply shopping and we finished getting everything on her list. Thank you so much to those of you who helped buy school supplies. You do not know how much we appreciate it. We have also taken her to get new school clothes and she is ready. She has been ready. Me, on the other hand, not so much. I can not believe our oldest child is five and a half years old. I remember trying eight long months to have her, watching her due date come and go, being in labor over 27 hours, and then Joe and I instantly being wrapped around that little girl's finger. Josie is so smart, loving, and loves learning so I know she is going to do great at school. Her first day is Tuesday, August 16, and then she won't go again until Thursday, August 18, 2011, and then every day after that. My tears will be tears of sadness of how fast the time has flown and tears of joy that God has blessed us with such an amazing little girl to share our lives with.

I will probably be stressed to my limits that week. I will have to figure out a new morning routine that will include driving to three different places before going into work and figuring out time to do homework in the afternoons amongst dinner, baths, and taking care of Jolie and Joel and sometimes without Joe's help because of his work schedule. I know we will get it all worked out, but I will just have to get used to our new routines. We won't be able to do anything during the week at night because Josie will need to be in bed by 7:00-7:30 so that we can all be up and ready to leave by 6:50 a.m. Again, I know we will get used to it, it will just take some time. These past two weeks I have been getting the girls up earlier and earlier to slowly get them adjusted to our new wake up time.

This will be the first time Jolie will not be at the same facility as Josie. Jolie is quite independent, but I am a little worried how she will react. She likes to do everything Josie does and often will tell you that she is five like Josie. I can't believe in over a month she will be 4. In my mind she is still my baby girl. If you asked Jolie, she mainly goes to preschool for the entertainment, the friends, playing, and that type of stuff. She is not as into the "learning" as Josie is. However, she is doing much better at coloring inside the lines and is working and is improving on writing her name.

Lastly, Joel. I really really can't believe he is almost a year old. He is 10.5 months old and is as sweet as can be. He is on regular milk and only drinks from sippy cups now. He is pulling up on everything and sometimes can let go and stand for a few seconds before falling. It is hard to believe that within the next couple of months he will be walking. Part of me wants to stop them all from growing and part of me is so excited to see the people they will become and all their accomplishments.

The girls start back to Awana this Sunday. This year they will be going to Awana at New Home, their MeMaw and Paw-Paw's church. Mt. Hebron (Quint and Sheila's church) is doing it on Wednesday nights again, and I just knew it would be too much on Josie not getting into bed before 8:30 or 9:00 on a school night. The girls are excited and both of them move up this year.

I'll end with pictures of Josie and her big girl hair cut for school. This is taken right after it was cut so it is not the best picture. She is so excited about it and kept asking me if I loved it, which I do.

Happy Birthday Last Week of July People

My girls have been so excited because Grammy got in Friday. She stayed with Ben Friday night and Saturday night so the girls and I had talked about it several times before she got here because I did not want them to get upset that she would not be with us every day, and they were both very big girls. If you asked Josie (or for some people who didn't ask Josie, ha ha) Grammy was staying with her uncle until Sunday and then she would be at our house. I was so very proud that she handled it well and never got upset that Grammy had to split her time between us and Uncle Ben, Aunt Tiffany, and Tanner. I dread the day when my children get older and possibly move away from us and we have to figure out who we will spend what holiday day with and having to split our time among them and the grandchildren, but luckily I still have a long long time and can enjoy us all being under one roof, chaos, fights, and all.

Friday Joe had planned a very fabulous birthday party for me. This is the first time he has ever planned a party for me. He is not a stickler for details, but the party was great and we had a great time. I am so proud of him and I love love love him for doing it for me. Thank you all so much for those of you who came or helped in some way. It really means a lot to me and I feel so loved.

Saturday Joe worked and the kids and I hung around the house. That night we did our movie night. Sunday the kids and I went to church and then Grammy, Uncle Ben, Aunt Tiffany, Tanner, R & C came over and brought pizza with them. The kids played for several hours and I think all of us adults had a blast just watching them play. And poor Aunt Tiffany, she can never visit our house without getting her hair "done." The girls love to brush her hair and they have even been known to give her the full treatment by trying to washing it.

Speaking of Tiffany, this weekend I bought a super cute wipes case from her:


She has a lot of stuff on sale, if any of you are interested. She has made several things for my kids that I have posted.
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ThePolkaDotGiraffe09

My Aunt Lisa has also created a website if you are in the market for a cute keychain.
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/GoodLucyBadLucy/107947489303216

And lastly with my advertisements, my in-laws are active in the Millbrook Players and are in the play South Pacific showing this week, if anyone would like to go see a play. Tell them Jessica sent you. It wouldn't get you anything, but it will make me look like a good daughter-in-law. Just joking they are reading this, so I just blew my cover.

This week Grammy will spend quality time with the kids. This is the second time she has seen Joel so today and Thursday she will just have him and then Tuesday and Wednesday she will have him and one of the girls. In the evening she will visit with us and with Ben and his family, and then on Friday she leaves to go back to Pennsylvania.

This week is birthday week for Joe and my family so:
Happy Birthday Uncle Quint!!
Happy Birthday Kevin!!
Happy Birthday Mr. Randy/Paw-Paw!!
Happy Birthday Gigi Berdine!!
Happy Birthday to Me!!
Happy Birthday Gigi Green!!

We love all of you so very much and are blessed to have you in our lives.

I'll end with some pictures that Aunt Becca and Aunt Angie took at Easter:

Getting Ready for School

The past couple weekends have been fairly quiet for us so there hasn't been that much to post.

The weekend of Julyl 8-9 was a good one. We spent the afternoon at MeMaw and Paw-Paw visiting with family. Grandma was down from Maplesville and Uncle Charlie and Aunt Bobbie were up from Florida. We had a good visit and the food was great too. That evening we went to Quint and Sheilas and played cards until after 1:00 a.m. (Don't worry we had bathed and put all 5 kids to bed around 8:30 p.m.) Sheila and I were exhuasted at that point and went to sleep while Joe and Quint stayed up until I think 4:00 a.m. playing video games. It had been forever since we had done that and it felt good to do something "young" again. However... the next morning I woke up with a migraine. I spent all day either sleeping or throwing up. Joe took the girls to church and Joel and I stayed home and slept. That was also the day Joe lowered Joel's bed because our little acrobat fell out when he was supposed to be tring to go to sleep.

Monday, July 11, 2011, we had Joel's appointment with the pediatric cardiologist. When we first walked into the waiting room there was a fairly large family waiting for someone who was meeting with the doctor. The mom, before even asking why we were there, said she would pray for Joel. That put me in a really good place before we saw the doctor because both Joe and I were super nervous. They did an EKG on Joel's little heart, we met with the doctor, and then the doctor did the ultrasound of his heart. The ultraound felt like it lasted forever. I think we were in there for 15-20 minutes. He said Joel's heart murmur is an innocent one. It does not affect his quality of life and we do not have to go back. Praise the Lord. Joel had so many people praying for him and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

Josie got to go on our third field trip of the summer. They went to the Rave (a movie theater) to see Narnia. She loved it, and the field trips make her feel like such a big girl.

That night Jolie got to go on a date with her dad. They went to Pet Smart to see all the animals and ate dinner at McDonalds. The night before the date Joe told her that they were going to go on one. She asked what they were doing and Joe said it was suprise (he had no clue what they were doing at that poing) and she asked him if they were going ice-skating. He said "No, Daddy doesn't ice-skate." To which she replied, "That's ok, you can just watch me." The girl cracks me up.

Friday at our house has turned into movie night. We rent movies from Redbox, eat popcorn and usually a very unhealthy dinner, and have a good family night. This week I borrowed movies from the library. The girls' movie was Dumbo. I don't think I have seen that since I was a child.

We were supposed to go to the Lake on Saturday, but with us not knowing if storms were coming, we opted not to. So we did some free fun things instead. We went to Bass Pro Shop and "rode" the four-wheelers, "drove" the boats, walked through the tents, and saw the fish. After that we went to Pet Smart to look at the animals. After that we went to the Mall. I'm working on planning both Jolie and Joel's birthday parties. Jolie's is a cowgirl theme and Joel's is a dinosaur theme. We decided to have Jolie's at the Mall at the carousel so that the kids could ride the horses. We needed to get more information so the girls got to ride the carousel and watch the ice skaters and we found out what we needed to plan Jolie's birthday party. That night we had my early birthday dinner with Other Mama and Pap-Paw. The girls spent the night and Joe and I went home.

On Sunday mornings we have singing at 9:15 and Sunday School starts at 9:45 a.m. We have to leave our house at 9:00 to make it to the 9:15 singing. I also never set the alarm for Sunday mornings, because I have three kids who are usually up no later than 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning I woke up and looked at the clock it was 9:00 a.m. Even Joel had slept until 9:00 a.m. Needless to say we rushed to get ready and somehow only managed to be a minute or two late for Sunday School.

This week is dedicated to cleaning our house. My mom comes this Friday and will stay until Friday the 29th. I know some of you are wondering why it will take all week, but we have three kids. Whatever we do is instantly undone, and not only that but we can't officially start cleaning until all 3 are in bed, which is usually sometime between 7 and 8, depending on moods.

Josie's time as a preschooler is quickly coming to an end. School starts on August 15, 2011, but I am not sure when her first day will be. They stagger the kindergarteners for the first three days and then everyone goes on Thursday. We have an open house on August 9th for us to meet Josie's teacher and get her acclimated with her new school. She is super super excited about starting school. I am a little worried about Lollie will react. For as long as she can remember they have been together or in the same building. So I'm sure it will take some getting used to her not having Josie there. Because her birthday falls after the cutoff date it will be two more years before she starts kindergarten.

I have had some people ask if they can help with school supplies. YES!!!! I had no idea it would be so expensive to start school. Here is the school's list for anyone who would like to get something for Josie:
Steno Book- 3
#2 Pencil- 12 natural and no paint, pre-sharpened if possible
Set of washable Crayola Markers- Wide tip- 1
8ct small Crayola Crayons- 1 pack
24 ct Crayola Crayons- 4 packs
4 oz. Elmer's School Glue- 3
9 X 12 50 Ct. Asst. Construction Paper- 1
Xerographic Paper Ream- 3
Color paper ream- 1
Colored Plastic Pocket & Brad Folders- 2
Blunt 5" Fiskar Scissors- 1
4 ct. color Expo dry erase markers- 2
Glue sticks- 4 large, 4 small
Crayola Watercolor paints
PARENT TO SUPPLY: Nap Towel, No Wheels Book Bag, Plastic Supply Box, a 3 pack of Youth Large (14/16) white T-Shirts, and one of each of the following: Germ-X, paper towels, Lysol wipes, Kleenex, headphones, baby wipes

I have also been told that there will probably be more than her individual teacher will require, but we won't know who her teacher is for two more weeks.

We also have Tanner's birthday coming up soon. I can't believe how fast all of these little ones are growing. It makes me happy and sad at the same time.

Happy 4th of July

Last week was an interesting week for us.

Tuesday Joel starting running fever and we had to take him to the doctor. He had strep. The doctor said he could go back to school on Friday so I kept him with me at work Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday was rough. He whined almost all day and mainly just wanted to be held. Thursday was a little better. Friday he went to school but he had his ninth month check up that afternoon. When I got off work I went and picked him up and took him to his appointment. For the most part everything went well. He weighed a little over 24 pounds and is in the 90-95 percentile for his height, in the 95-100 percentile for his weight and 50 percentile for his head circumfrance. He is on target with all of his learning and physical capabilities. Then they started checking him out. There was a person training so she checked him out first and then the doctor went behind her and checked him again. His belly button went down to normal size from his umbilical hernia so I asked that she check that his hernia had healed. She checked him out and went to his chart and started flipping through it. She didn't say anything she just kept looking through his file. I asked her how his hernia looked and she said, "Oh, I didn't check that." She then looked at me and asked me if anyone had ever told me he had a heart murmur. I said no. I must have turned as white as a ghost because the training nurse kept looking at me concerned. She said that he does have one and that we will have to go see a cardiologist. She said every time they find a heart murmur they have it checked out. She said most of the time they are innocent murmurs and do affect a person's quality of life, but in some cases surgery is required. She told me it is better to have one "pop up" then to be born with it. She kept trying to calm me down, but I looked at her and said you have kids, don't tell me to calm down. I do know a ton of people that have heart murmurs including several in our family, but until we know what kind Joel's is, I am going to worry and be scared. So please everyone pray that Joel's is the innocent murmur.

Friday night we went to Hobby Lobby to get some scrapbook paper. I do scrapbooks as my children's baby books, and Jolie's only had four or five pages done. I told Joe that I could not in good conscience start Joel's until I had finished Jolie's. Yes, she is almost four, but hey it is getting done and that is what is important. When we moved all of my scrapbook stuff was put in the outside storage building because we did not have room in our house, so Joe was kind enough to get it out and so far I have done probably 15 pages.

Saturday Joe worked and the kids and I hung around the house all day. We did take two walks, but other than that it was a lazy day. Sunday the kids and I went to Sunday School, went and visited my grandmother for an hour, and then met my friend from high school and her three children at the Millbrook park. The kids played on the playground and in the creek and then we went home and passed out. Well everyone except Josie. I don't know how she was not tired. After naps I took the girls to Other Mama and Pap-Paws to spend the night. Monday morning I got up and cooked and then we went up to the lake as is our family tradition. We had a great day. We swam for hours and ate a lot of good food. On the way home we picked up some fireworks. The girls had watermelon for dinner and were ready to do fireworks. The girls got to do their sparklers and then we watched our little firework show that Joe put on for us. After that it was bath and bed. No one wanted to get up this morning so tonight will be a very early night for us.









I have picked up the school supply list for Josie to start kindergarten. Good grief, they need a lot of stuff. I guess I will do the shopping slowly. I do not think we required near the stuff they do today. Josie continues to be super excited about school. Although she can not read yet, she is learning to spell more and more words.

Jolie is learning to write her name. Write now if you ask her to write her name she writes "Joe." So all she is missing is 2 letters. She is also getting much better at coloring and is doing better at staying in the lines. I can not believe she will be 4 in just 2.5 months.

I have taught Joel to say "bye-bye." Of course he doesn't always say it when I ask him to, but sometimes he does. Like most kids he says it once he is in his carseat in the van. Sometimes he waves his hand up and down (instead of side to side) when he says bye-bye and sometimes he just says it. The second hardest part of his appointment was making his next appointment--his one year appointment. Where is the time going??

Well I hope everyone had a great 4th of July.

I'll end with some pictures from swimming with Aunt Sheila, Caden, and Ansleigh the weekend before:

Quality Time

I will try to type this post with a lot less grammatical errors, but I am not making any promises :)

Last week we enjoyed Family Bible School at our church. We all had a blast and it warms my heart to hear the girls singing songs they learned at VBS.

The girls and I were so excited about this weekend. It was the first one we had gotten to spend the whole weekend with Joe in about a month and we won't have another one until 3 weeks from now, so we spent almost every second together the entire weekend. Saturday morning we got up and cleaned. We made a deal with the girls that if they keep their room clean until Grammy gets here the last week of July we will do something special. So far they are doing great, and hopefully by then it will become such a habit to keep it clean that will become less of a struggle to keep it straightened up. I am really proud of how well they are doing. They have asked everyone who has come over to see their room because it is clean. I am glad to know they take pride in it.

After cleaning we did a Fathers Day photo shoot outside. I told Joe that we were only doing it for Pap-Paw and Paw-Paw, but I did one for him too. When I had the pictures made I put "We Love Our Daddy/Pap-Paw/Paw-Paw at the top of the tree. Before I left to have them made Joe showed me which one was his favorite so this is the one he got:

Then this is the one Pap-Paw and Paw-Paw got:


And here are two more where I just kept snapping trying to get the perfect picture:



Saturday evening Pap-Paw, Uncle Ben, Aunt Tiffany, Tanner, R & C came over for a fathers day dinner with my dad. (It is our tradition to do something with our parents on another day to celebrate Mothers day and Fathers day so that we can spend quality time with our children on Mothers day and Fathers day.) We had a great time and the kids were pretty well behaved that night.

Sunday morning I got up early, as did Lollie, and she and I made Joe a special breakfast of pigs in a blanket, cinnamon rolls (his favorite), eggs, and coffee. We then set up his tray with his breakfast and his special picture, and took him his breakfast in bed. Jolie was so excited about it that she wanted to eat with him too, so I fixed her a tray (she tried very hard to convince me that her tray also needed a picture), and Josie a plate and the girls ate with Joe and watched a fishing program in bed. The girls also gave Joe the poster cards they had made for him. We made two, one from the girls, and one from Joel. I put a special poem on both of them, pictures of Joe and the kids, and then the kids colored and decorated them.
This is the poem that was in Joel's card:
My Baby Boy and Me
It's three AM, they're all asleep,
and no-one's here to see.
As we rock slowly back and forth,
My baby boy and me.
His little hand is feather light
Tucked up against my chin.
I hold his tiny hand in mine,
and stroke his baby skin.
The house about us creaks and groans,
The clock hands creep around.
He snuggles closer to me still,
And makes his baby sounds.
I love these quiet hours so much,
And cherish every one.
Store memories up inside my heart
For lonely nights to come.
All too soon he'll be grown up,
His need for Daddy gone.
But until then I still have time
For kisses and for song.
Time for quiet hours like this
With him cuddled in my arms,
Where I wish he'd always stay
Protected, safe and warm.
And yet I know the day will come
When his tiny little hand,
will be bigger than my own.
He'll grow to be a man.
But until then he's mine to love
With no one here to see.
As we rock slowly back and forth,
My baby boy and me.
...Author Unknown

And this is the poem that was in the girls' card:

A Daddy and His Daughters
A daddy and his daughters,
Walking hand in hand;
Though he isn't always with them,
They say they understand.
When he's away at work or play,
The memory of him lingers;
The two girls smile because they know,
He's wrapped around their fingers.
A slight tilt of their sweet heads,
A smile, a lowered glance;
A hug and kiss and, "Daddy please?"
He doesn't stand a chance!
In later years he will recall,
With tenderness and love;
Two charming girls, with hands in his,
Two blessings from above.
~unknown

I cried when I read them both and knew they were perfect.

After breakfast we got ready and headed to church. After church we headed home for one of Joe's favorite meals: beef tips and rice and green bean casserole. We ate our yummy home cooked lunch and took naps. After naps we played outside:
















Today Josie is on a field trip. They are going on a riverboat cruise and to the splash pad at Riverwalk. She was so excited about it. Jolie isn't old enough to go so as a trade-off Joe will have to do something special with her either Friday night or Saturday after he gets done working at the church. Tonight we have our Fathers Day dinner with Paw-Paw at Quint and Sheilas. Joe is the only one with plans this weekend. He has a work day at church for Saturday and a session retreat from 2-7 on Sunday, so the kids and I will have to find something to do.

Until next time....

Happy Father's Day

The past two weekends have been quiet for us. Joe was gone for both, but the kids and I just chilled the weekend of the 4th and 5th and last Saturday we went up to Lake Martin wtih Other Mama, Pap-Paw, Pam, Peggy and Bill. We got to swim an hour or two before the storms hit, but we did have a good afternoon.

We have had VBS this week so that has us all tired this week. Our church does VBS at night so that the whole family can enjoy it. We eat dinner together, sing, have lessons, and do crafts. Even Joel is doing crafts! I love it no matter who tiring it is :)

A lot has been going on with Joel lately. The first week of June he developed a horrible cough. I took him to the doctor and it was croup. He is feeling much better. The same day I took him to the doctor, his 3rd tooth broke through. His 4th tooth is very close to breaking through. After he finally started feeling better from the croup it was like he finally came into a personality. He is babbling all the time now and just seems different. Stilly my happy little boy, but just with more personality. The biggest new accomplishment for Joel is that he is now officially a crawler. I dropped him off at Ms. Debbies on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, and while she and I were talking I looked down and there he was crawling for a toy. We then moved another toy to another spot and and he crawled over to it again. I almost cried. He has also added pulling up to his resume, ha ha. His newest trick, and I still can't believe all of this has happened in a 2 week period, is taking steps while standing up and holding on to your fingers. Up until last night every time you would stand him up with him holding onto your hands/fingers, he would just stand there, you could try to make him move or walk and he would not, he would just stand there. Well last night while we were waiting for the girls to get finished in their classes, I had him standing up holding onto my fingers and he started taking steps towards his Daddy. I guess just everything clicked for him. He is starting to eat more solid foods and is loving it. My baby won't be a baby for very much longer. He goes for his 9 month check up on July 1st. When I took him to the doctor for croup he was a little over 24 pounds, but as much as he has been moving around he might have actually lost some by then. We shall see.

Josie gets more and more excited about start kindergarten every day. If only I shared her enthusiasm. One day we were sitting in church and Joe looked at Josie's shoe and said since when does she wear a size 12. I looked at him and said, that's what hits you. Not the fact that she is 5 1/2 or about to start kindgergarten, but that she wears a size 12 shoe.

Jolie, my sweet funny Jolie. She keeps us laughing. You never know what is going to come out of that girls mouth. She has been practicing writing her letters and wrote a perfect "e" for us the other night. I was very proud of her. She isn't as into school as Josie is so to see her practicing her letters was a good thing. For right now we have not gone to the urologist, and we are holding off. She stopped having accidents, so we are going to wait to see if she starts again. As soon as she does, I'll get her in, but for now since she isn't have the problems, I'm going to wait.

This weekend is Fathers Day. I have been so blessed to have so many wonderful "Fathers" in my life. I love each of them so dearly and can't imagine having not known any of them.

1. Joe is an amazing father. As soon as he walks in the door all three kids just light up. He has helped do everything with the children since they were born. He gone up all 3 in the middle of the nigt, he changed diapers, took them to doctors appointments. He now takes the girls on dates and plays with them. He is a great role model by being an active member of church, teaching Sunday School, and an elder. When he isn't at work he is with his family with some exceptions for fishing and hunting. He loves to snuggle with all 3 and always gives lots of hugs and kisses. I could not have asked for a better father for our 3 beautiful children.

2. My Dad. My dad was also and still is an amazing father. He and I had a great realitionship as I grew up and we still to this day have a great relationship. I always knew I could go and talk to him about anything. He was always willing to show us how to do anything and if he couldn't he found someone who could. He introduced us to all types of new experiences and always let us make our own choices. He also was very involved in church, taught Sunday School, and was an elder. He loves my children as if they were his own and would do antyhing for them. He was a God send during my pregnancy with Joel. I had more problems with swelling and was a little more tired with him and Daddy would just let me put my feet up while he helped with the girls. If it weren't for Joe and Daddy Jolie's 3rd birthday party probably wouldn't have happened. He gets down and plays with the kids and helps with all 3 in any way he can. I could not ask for a better dad or grandfather to my children.

3. My Father-in-Law. Joe and I have been together for over 17 years now so I have been a part of the Burdick family for quite some time. I have always felt welcomed into the family and felt like one of theirs. I know that if I ever need anything I can always call on them. He also loves our children as his own and I know would do anything for them. My kids love spending time with him and he gets down and plays with them. He is a blessing to our family.

4. My brother. My brother is another great dad. Not only does he take care of his own son, but he and Tiffany are foster parents. They have had several children come and go through their house, but I think they have all fallen in love with Ben. It is so sweet to watch Ben with Tanner and his foster children and it warms my heart to know that God has blessed him with a beautiful family. My girls love their Uncle Ben and know that they will always have a good time when he is around. Ben is a great role mode by being active in church and being a family man. I am so thankful I have him as a brother and an uncle to my children.

5. My brother-in-law. Quint is another wonderul dad. He has two beautiful children that love and adore him. Quint is also a family man and spends the majority of his time that he isn't working with his family. He is active in his church and his teaching his son how to be a great dad too one day. My kids also love their Uncle Quint and think the world of him. I know I keep repeating myself, but again, I am so blessed to have Quint as a brother and an uncle to my children.

6. My grandfathers. I have limited memories of my Pap-Pap Anderson because he died when I was in the third grade, but his legacy lives on in the family he left behind. He loved his family and was my grandmother's one true love. He loved to work with wood and with his hands. We all have things that he made for us and I always hold those things dear to me. My grandfather was in the military and served our country as did my father. Although I don't remember too much about him, I know that he was a great man.

I also have limited memories of my Pap-pap Berdine because I didn't get to spend that much time with him. He died when I was a Senior in High School but lived in Pennsylvania and south Florida so our visits were few and far between. What memories I do have of him are good ones. He was a stern man that loved his family and did whatever he had to take care of them. He also served his country and I admire him greatly for that.

7. Joe's Grandpa Green. Joe's Grandpa Green died the February before we married in May 2002. He also was a great man that loved his family. I loved going to visit him. There were often times when Joe and his grandmother would go fishing and I would stay with Grandpa and we would just sit on the porch and talk. I loved listening to his stories. He also accepted me as part of the family.

8. I have numerous uncles, cousins, friends, and men from church that are also great fathers and role models. I love each of them and am blessed to know and have known them. I am so thankful that my children are growing up with such a wonderful "village" to help raise them.

Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers out there. Thank you for all you do!!

Our Memorial Day Weekend

We had a fun and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend. Joe worked all weekend since Memorial Day weekend is Greenville's big tournament of the year. The kids actually went from Wednesday night till Saturday evening before they saw him.

Friday I picked up the kids and we went home and ate dinner then had a movie night. The girls love popcorn so this was a special treat for them. We watched Tangled and then we went to bed.

Saturday we had a family get together. The food was good and the family time was even better.







Sunday the kids and I did nothing all day. Going on my 4th day of having the kids by myself, I didn't have the energy to go out in public with them. They had been having some behavioral issues and I just didn't want to go to church just to be a mean old mama, so we stayed home. That evening when Joe got home Jolie and I finally got to go on a picnic that she had given me for Mother's Day. Her teacher had prepared a bag for each kid to do with their mother. It included a coloring sheet and crayons to color a picture together, crackers, juices, and some coupons for a bear hug. She was so excited to finally get to do it and it was really nice one-on-one time.

Yesterday the kids and I headed down to Greenville to see Joe at work. I just didn't want to be by myself on Memorial Day. Once there we decided that since we were halfway to his sister's house that we would go visit her. So, we drove down to Aunt Becca's house and had a great afternoon with her Angie.










Joel's top tooth has finally broke through, but this morning he woke up with a horrible cough. He sounded so pitiful and he broke my heart. I think his teeth bothering him aggrevated his ears which drained down, or he could just have a cold. Either way, he sounds and looks pitiful.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend.