Happy Birthday Dylan!

Happy Birthday to my oldest, Dylan! Today marks his 14th birthday. It's hard to believe that it's been 14 years since Dylan was born. I remember waiting for him to arrive and planning for our first baby. Now 14 years later my oldest will be starting high school this year. His interests went from Thomas to the Train to riding dirt bikes, playing football, and playing XBox 360.

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday sweet Dylan

Happy Birthday to you!

We love you so much!

Checking in..........

Howdy! Just checking in to say 'howdy'! It's been crazy around here lately. School is out, summer is in full force, and now we are back to school planning. Next thing you know it'll be fall and Christmas and all the planning that goes with the holiday season.

Here's a little of what we have been up to:

• back to school physicals for all the kids
• July 4th weekend-went to the Daytona Coke Zero races (probably our last year as it's getting more and more expensive)
• looking for a teaching position........if you are so inclined, please say a little prayer about that. I'm trying to stay in my town b/c of the kid's transportation.
• Working on the accounting for our business. Actually I'm up to date, just keeping it that way. I've even played with the idea of doing data entry and books for other small businesses? Hmmmm. What do you think??
• Getting our flag cheer program organized for the fall. The kid's start on August 1st.
• Registering Shelby for dance............she's opting not to take gymnastics this year and wants to do dance again.
• Made appointments for the kids to have their dental cleanings.
• Planning for a weekend getaway with some friends over on the west coast of Florida. We are planning on doing some scalloping and relaxing. I've never had a scallop. Have you? Are they good??
• Cleaning out closets
• Back to school supply shopping! Hitting up all the penny sales that I can. Actually I have a good stockpile from last year so I really only need a few items.
• Back to school clothes shopping..........working on this a little at a time. The school district has a uniform policy so it's a bit more expensive then their normal clothing. But luckily with the boys I can do some hand me down things. LOL The good thing is that they don't wear the uniforms to play outside, so they are usually in really good condition for sharing.

Other then all of these items, we are continuing to work our business. It has been very slow and the economy has been hitting us hard. We continue to pray that there is a turn about and soon.

Hope all is going well with you and your families! I promise to upload pics of our scallop trip. I have never been and am very excited to try a new adventure!

Rest in Peace

What a week this has been! A very sad week to be sure. We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the families of these very special people.

Last week started out sad for our family as my husband's Aunt Noreen passed away last week. She lived in California with her daughter Darla and granddaughter Noel.

Also passing away were:

Ed McMahon.........

and Michael Jackson...........wow, was this a shocker! I couldn't believe my ears when I heard about him passing away.

and Farrah Fawcett. So sad indeed!

For many of us these were people of our generation..........who didn't want their hair to flip like Farrah Fawcett. And the dance moves of MJ were out of this world. Even the music stars of today have had influence from MJ and his performances.

Rest in Peace and May God bless your families as they go thru this time.

*pictures from the web

10 on the 10th- third edition

Wow, where does the time go? It seems like we were just celebrating Memorial Day and here it is just about the middle of June! Wow! I've been in a blogging slump lately so this is coming at a good time! I have been reading blogs, commenting on blogs, but just haven't found much to write about. So for today's edition of 10 on the 10th, I thought I'd post about my favorite television shows. I'm not a huge TV person but there are a few shows that I do enjoy. I hope you find some that you like too!

1. Beverly Hills 90210-- old school though........the one with Luke Perry, Jennie Garth, Jason Priestly, Tori Spelling, etc. I love watching this show and still watch it today! It comes on around the time I start dinner so I get a little BH fix each day! My boys like it because they laugh that this show is where I found there first names!

2. Biggest Loser-- What a great inspirational show! My DH and I have watched it for the last two seasons and have enjoyed it a lot. I'm looking forward to the next show!

3. Dancing with the Stars-- Love this! Nothing is more family friendly then watching people dance.........ballroom dance too!

4. Brothers & Sisters- this is such a neat show. It's really funny how I feel like the Walker family lives right next door to me! LOL

5. Clean House- Now if you haven't had a chance to watch this show, you will get a kick out of it. Nicey and crew help people de-clutter their houses AND their lives! It's amazing to see how much people can pack away!

6. House Hunters- I have been watching HH for several years and love learning about the different cities and housing markets. I've fallen in love with several towns in Texas thru this show!

7. Dave Ramsey Show- Love the no nonsense tactics of Dave Ramsey! We have just started on our pursuit. I'm learning a lot from the show! I even have the podcasts on my iPod.

8. Weather Channel-- this is weird I know, it's not a show really but a channel. The goofy thing is that we actually enjoy watching the weather channel.........everything from the weather reports to the special reports! So interesting!!!

9. Bachelorette- I wasn't a fan of this show but I had some interest after the whole Bachelor program last year. I'm not too keen on many of the men but I am hoping that it works out for Jillian!

10. Gilmore Girls- I never watched this show before so it's all new to me. SoapNet has this on their schedule now and it's been fun watching something that is supposed to be a rerun but I'm watching it for the first time!

Time flies............

I've been running ragged lately. We have four, no make that three more days of school for the year. I can't believe it~ I'm looking forward to the break. I made the decision not to do any summer activities for the most part. Not only will it save money but it'll make for a more relaxing summer. I will be working from home in the mornings and then doing things with the kids in the afternoons. I've signed them up for free bowling at http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/ . If you haven't done that, check it out and see if there are lanes near you that are participating! My plan is to take them at least twice a week, although they can bowl two games every single day till the last day of August for FREE! We just don't live that close to the bowling center and I don't want to make it a pain. LOL

The rest of this week has me running in all sorts of directions. Not only am I working but I will be volunteering in Shelby's class on Wednesday. They have a Nature Hike and then a kindergarten picnic. On Thursday Brandon 'graduates' from the fifth grade (wow, that is hard to believe!) in the morning then we are taking him out to lunch. That evening Dylan has a graduation banquet for eighth grade. I can't believe my boys are finishing up milestone years in just days! It seems like yesterday that they were little babies. Time does go by very fast!

Have a great week!!

Giveaway Winner!

Sorry for the delay in posting the winner of the giveaway. We had a massive storm come thru and dumped a ton of rain and we were under a tornado watch, then it went to a warning because there were two tornadoes spotted nearby. Thankfully all is well, I just don't like being online during storms.

So we have a winner! I had my daughter draw a name from the box and the winner is:

..........~eunice (rsmile2u @..........)

Congrats!!! I will email you direct to get your shipping info!

Spoonfuls of Stories Giveaway!

As a former Reading teacher, I've always loved having books for my own children. I love to read and love to take my children to the library often to check out books. So when I saw this giveaway, I had to join in on the fun!

Over the past seven years, Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories has given away more than 35 million children´s books by distributing them free inside cereal boxes and has donated nearly $3 million to First Book, their non-profit partner, which provides books to children from low-income families. In addition to encouraging children to read, Cheerios is looking for anyone interested in writing children´s books. Now in its third year, the Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories New Author Contest is a way to encourage previously unpublished, up-and-coming children´s book authors and to continue to nurture a love of reading. Entries are being accepted March 16 through July 15, 2009 and will be judged on appropriate story and content for children ages 3-8, emotional connection, writing quality, uniqueness, and read-aloud potential. More details on the contest can be found at http://www.spoonfulsofstoriescontest.com/.

Shellie Braeuner, the first year´s winner, won for her book "The Great Dog Wash". This nanny from Nashville won a $5,000 cash prize and the opportunity to have her book reviewed by Simon and Schuster Children´s Publishing. Simon & Schuster offered Shellie a book deal - and will publish her book, illustrated by Robert Neubecker, in hardcover this summer. In addition, Cheerios will be featuring "The Great Dog Wash" free inside 1.5 million boxes of Cheerios. The book has been specially printed in paperback in both English and Spanish and will be available free inside boxes of Cheerios this spring.

I have the opportunity to giveaway a special box with these books included! Simply add a comment to my post sharing your favorite children's book. Pretty easy, huh! I will draw for a winner on Friday, May 22. All enteries must be in before 9 a.m. on the 22nd. I will draw for a winner after noon.