Just Singin' in the Rain.....

The other evening there came up one of those cool spring rain showers....you know the kind....where the sun is still kind of shining & it's just a nice easy rain. Well, I looked out front & there was Michael & Alli running around out in the field just laughing & playing & enjoying the rain. Next thing I know Ashley is out there with them & so I thought 'what the heck...' it's times like this that make memories....so I ran & grabbed my camera & joined them!

'I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me & the earth.'

Genesis 9:13

Memorial Day cook-out at Maw's house.

The kids decided it would be fun to play a game of 'Chubby Bunny'. So we had the big guys play....Chris, Jon & Michael....couldn't get Dillon to join them. Anyways.....it was a hoot to say the least!! Chris had been eliminated at this point. Jon won by stuffing a whopping 6 large marshmallows into his mouth! GAG!! Then we did the girls....Cori, Alli & Anna played......I think Alli won, if I remember correctly. But they didn't get near the number of marshmallows in their mouths that the boys did.

We are so blessed with family & friends! We had a total blast that night!!

Things got a little crazy when they started doing the Chicken Dance....

Then Sarah joined them for the Macarena.....

Throw in a little 'Storm Trooper' dance.....

And end it all with a 'Hoedown Throwdown'

Love this pic of Jon with Taylor sitting in his lap. All the little kids just love him to death & hang all over him & want to play with him. I see here the makings of a good Daddy!

Ashley has been wanting a Willow tree forever & it just so happens that while Clay & the boys were in Lowes about a week ago, that they happened to find out that all their trees were on sale....something like 75% off! So, he was able to get Ashley her willow tree for about $6. He's planted out in the corner of our yard near the garden & his name is 'Willoughby'. We also got several other fruit tress....apples, pears, peaches, etc. Clay wants to bush hog the area right out from our yard where the huge old pine tree used to be & make that into our little orchard.

Back Online Again..........FINALLY!

After about two weeks of being disconnected from the outside world......I'm finally able to get back online again. Our computer got zapped during a thunderstorm & we've been round & round trying to get back online again. And let's just say that it's been a tad bit of a pain to keep running out to the library every few days just to check email. That being said....I figured since I'm on the 'New' computer, that I'd just upload a pile of pics & fill you in on what's been happening here over the past several weeks.

Back up to April 17......Chris, Ashley, Jon & I went to see Caleb, Tenth Avenue North & Casting Crowns in concert at TRBC. What an awesome night it was!!

The boys have been doing a ton of fishing over the past month or so. They are big time into Striper fishing at Smith Mountain Lake now. Here's just a few of the big ones they've caught.

This one that Clay caught was about 13 lbs.

Michael caught this 10 pounder!

More Striper!! Talk about some gooooood eating!!

Mother's Day at Maw's house. We all got together after church & grilled out. It was a really nice afternoon.

May 13th.......finals are over, things are in the process of getting packed up & Chris is cleaning the windows getting ready for his 'White Glove'

Ashley & Jon had a blast helping Chris move home. You would just never imagine how we could possibly have our van loaded down & Chris' car too. How does one person accumulate so much stuff in one year?? And multiply that times two other guys sharing a room.....how DO they fit all that stuff on one small dorm room? LOL

Junior year is finished! Wow...they will be SENIORS next year!

Chris, Matt, Jon & Ashley. I have GOT to get a picture of Damian sometime before these guys graduate....he seems to never be around when I'm there with my camera.

My oldest son.....the Alien! LOL.....there's a story behind that too. ;-)

Chris & Ashley.....her BD is actually today. Happy Birthday, Ashley C.! But some of her friends decided to throw her a surprise party right before school was out so they could all help her celebrate.

Was getting ready to leave for town last Fri. when I turned around & noticed that Charlie was in the sink! Don't ask.....I don't know.....I just grabbed my camera & took some pics. LOL

Ashley afghan that I finally finished last week. She had picked out the pattern & colors that she wanted before Christmas....but with all the Christmas projects that needed to get done, I told her I'd start on it the first of the year. That didn't take me too long, I don't think.

MaLady's newest batch of kitties....well, two of them at least. The top one is Abby & the bottom one is Fletcher. ;-)

It's that time of year again.....Skippy's raking the hay! Love it when they cut/bale the hay.....smells SO good!

More Creations

I made this cool book mark yesterday. I LOVE how it turned out & I can't wait to make some more!! I got the idea from my friend, Suzanne. You can find her tutorial HERE.We are in the midst of a month of 'Flower Challenges' at Cookin' Up Creations. You can find all the challenges here under May Flowers.
This crazy LO of my boys was done for Jen's Ad challenge. This is what I find on my camera after the boys take it with them when go fishing striper fishing late at night! LOL Just have to point out more of my favorite layered, crumpled flowers....but this time they have a layer of denim in them. Saved from some of the kids recently cut-off jean shorts. ;-)

This layout was done for Angela's color challenge. She posted a beautiful pic of multi-colored tulips.....red, yellow, pink, white, black. We had to use at least TWO of those colors.....but I really loved how they all looked together so I used ALL the colors on my LO.

It's hard to really see in the photos......but I looked out my window one day & saw all THREE of my dogs sprawled out under the Dogwood Tree alseep. It just suddenly dawned on me that this would make the perfect LO.........could this be why they call it a DOGwood tree?? LOL

KI Memories

For this month's DT assignments at Cookin' Up Creations I was sent the KI Memories Posh line of goodies to work with. You can check all their cool stuff here at KI Memories. The kit I received was slam-packed with all kinds of stuff......lots of yummy, double-sided papers, glitter border stickers, alpha stickers, 3D stickers, epoxy brads & so much more!!I lifted the idea for this card from the KI site......I LOVED all the butterflies & just had to make one of these cards myself.
Sarah's Mother's Day card

I LOVE making these flowers....so much fun. Some were cut directly from the pp, some were punched, all were crumpled, layered & distressed!

I think this is my personal favorite layout from this month! Some of the girl's many self portraits they take.

I love how this brown striped paper mimics the rows in the garden. Not to mention the green background paper with the leaves on it.

Just a few fun pics of Charlie & Gibbs. I got the idea for those flowers at the bottom from the cover of a scrappin' mag.

Charlie sprawled out across our school books on the table one morning. Guess he thought he could 'absorb' some knowledge. ;-)

Alli's 11th birthday party at Maw's house.

As you can see....this line of papers is VERY versatile!! I used the pinks & flowers for my girly pages & then I was able to use the flip-sides with the greens/browns, etc. for boy pages & outdoor/nature type layouts. Loved, loved, loved working with these papers this month. And I still have scraps left that can be used for a few more layouts and/or cards!

Worship at TRBC

The LU worship Dept. did the whole service last night at TRBC & it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G to say the least!! Full choir, ensemble, orchestra, hand bells, guitar ensemble, testimonies.....
I don't think anyone wanted to leave. We went on for a good 30 mins. or more singing, dancing, worshipping AFTER the service supposedly ended.
In the words of Ashley C.......
'WE'RE HAVING SOME CHURCH'
Getting a little Pentecostal in a Baptist church...LOL!




P.S....thanks to Ashley for the pics.....I snagged them from her. ;-)

Hooked up the old scanner.....

.....so now I can at least scan my LOs until we get back online with the good computer.Just a simple little card I whipped up using the fan-fold flower technique I found in one of the latest magazines.
Pictures of Ma-Lady's newest kitties down in the hay barn. All the papers & punch-outs are DCWV Once Upon a Time collection. I crumpled/frumpled & layered the flowers & painted the tips with some texture/crackle paint. Those alphas are from my stash.......who knows where they came from?!

Pics from Daniel's first Tball game. This one came together in hurry thanks to the adorable page kit that Jules had made for me. I've had it tucked away forever.....she made it for me back when MY boys were playing ball & it just so happened that the orange elements worked out perfectly for Daniel's pics. Thanks Jules!!

I've always loved these pics of Ashley enjoying the afternoon with a good book & her Bunny cat snoozing on her feet. This was just a totally random/whimsical layout. Got the little flower idea from a magazine & used ribbon for the stem. I really like the 'Homespun' feel of the whole thing.

KI Memories

Live chat with Shannon Tidwell from KI Memories has now been confirmed for May the 3rd at 9:00 pm EST over at Cookin' Up Creations. We'd love to have you join us!

Love is Kind

*excerpted from 'The Love Dare'
(I'm reading it aGAIN!)


Kindness is love in action. If patience is how love reacts in order to minimize a negative circumstance, kindness is how love acts to maximize a positive circumstance. Patience avoids a problem; kindness creates a blessing. One is preventive, the other proactive. These two sides of love are the cornerstones on which many of the other attributes we will discuss are built.


Kindness is broken down into 4 basic core ingredients:

1. Gentleness- never being unnecessarily harsh.

2. Helpfulness- Kindness graces a wife with the ability to serve her husband without worrying about her rights.

3. Willingness- Kindness inspires you to be agreeable. Instead of being obstinate, reluctant, or stubborn, you cooperate, you stay flexible. Rather than complaining & making excuses, you look for reasons to compromise & accomodate.

4.Initiative- The kind wife will be the one who greets first, smiles first, serves first & forgives first. When acting from kindness, you see the need, then make your move. FIRST!

Playing Catch-Up Seems to be What I Do...

Tuesday 4/13~ Ashley & I had been wanting to go antique shopping again like we did last spring, so we just up & decided to go today. Sarah & them were in NC visiting for a few days, so Maw decided she would ride down & meet us & go too. We only got in one place...The Rockfish Country Store.....it's our favorite anyway. The other one we really like was closed (only open Thurs.-Sun) so we'll have to hit that one another time. After our shopping, we stopped in to visit Aunt Linda real quick & she had to serve us pound cake, coffee & tea. We finished off our afternoon with a mocha frappe from McDs & then later for supper we fried up some fresh crappie. Mmm-mmm!



Thurs. 4/15~Happy Birthday to BIL, David! The boys headed out today to do some fishing at Smith Mountain Lake. The Bass Master's Tourney is there this weekend so that adds to the excitement.


Sat. 4/17~ Casting Crowns concert tonight at TRBC! Ashley, Jon & I picked Chris up at his dorm about 4:30pm & ran over to Chickfila to grab a quick supper. Boy, the place was PACKED! Big chartered buses & church vans everywhere. But with their usual flair, the CFA staff kept things moving right along...serving folks with their smiles, kind words & super efficiency! The concert was SUPER....gotta love Casting Crowns....they're awesome! Chatted with Clay a few times during the evening....while waiting in line & during intermission, etc. He's such a cool dad! He took Michael & Alli to Pizza Hut for supper & then they went to PAW (the pet store) & looked around for a good while & finally back to good ole Walmart. Everyone had a fun evening!


Sun. 4/18~ Ashley & I had our turn in the preschool Sunday School class this morning. We only had one little girl, but we had so much fun. She had run across a 'Daddy Long-Leg' when she first got there & was VERY into him. Took me back to one Sunday when Jon was about 2-3 yrs. old........he was big into collecting Lady Bugs & grass-hoppers, etc. at the time. Anyway, he found one in Sunday School & wanted to save it, but the teacher was going 'Eeeeeewwwwww.....gross! No Way! Gotta get rid of the critter!' Poor Jon was so upset about that. So, with that memory in mind.......I let D enjoy her Daddy Long-Leg. We even found a container that he could sit in & he listened to the Bible story with us. ;-) Kids are just so darn cute!! Gotta love 'em!!!!!!

A Plug for my friend, Krista!

I’m very excited to announce Melodramommy’s first giveaway and we’re just in time for Mother’s day. Thank you, Krista, from Thirty-one-gifts. Krista is a work at home mom as a consultant with Thirty-One Gifts, which sells personalized purses, totes, handbags and accessories for any lifestyle! Most products can be embroidered and make a great gift for any occasion. In addition, she offers home parties, online parties, fundraisers and more! Are you interested in making some extra money? Contact Krista to learn about joining her team and reach your dreams together!

The Prize: The winner will be awarded this 31-zipper pouch, which is perfect for storing make-up, nail polish, jewelry, diapers, wipes etc. The winner will get to choose from 8 different patterns and have it monogrammed! What a great gift for Mother’s Day! You can embroider her initials or a saying like #1 Mom.

Check out Melodramommy's blog for all the details on how to win this adorable little tote!!

An Acronym for FEAR:

F-false
E-evidence
A-appearing
R-real



II Cor. 19:5-
We demolish arguments & every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, & we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.



Four Simple Steps for Taking Every Thought Captive~


1. Realize the enemy's true identity
*the enemy ALWAYS attacks when we least expect it!*

2. Recognize Satan's Lies
*I am loved & chosen by God. That is the truth!*

3. Reject the lie
* every spiritual battle is won or lost at the threshold of the mind.*

4. Replace the lies with the truth
* each time Satan put an evil thought before Him, Jesus said, "It is written....."*



Taken from the Girlfriends in God devotions by Sharon Jaynes

Happy 15th Birthday, Jon!

We had a nice relaxing Girly Day this past Thursday. The guys were up & out EARLY that morning going to Bugg's Island to fish for the first time this season. So, the girls did their school work & then watched a movie upstairs together while I did some laundry & sat outside reading for a while. Then after their movie, we ran out to the library for a bit, picked up some mocha frappes from McDs & then went on one of our country 'explores'. Alli had never been down to see where Ridgley lived & she wanted to see her goats & also see John Ed's house, so that's where we headed. Such a gorgeous spring afternoon. The goats were so cute & even came up close to the fence to 'chat' with us when we stopped. The girls loved it! We took a picture (will have to post this when I get back on the GOOD computer) of this adorable ramshackle little cottage on the way. It was totally dilapidated & run down....painted Green & Yellow....with an outhouse out back....but you could just tell it had such potential. Ashley & I both loved it. She said she could just see it sitting out in our field all fixed up......the perfect place for Sandee to come visit & then wehn Wanda retires, it could be her little 'retirement cottage'. It was so fun dreaming up the possibilities!! Just LOVE days like this!



Saturday morning the guys got up EARLY again....this time for turkey hunting. Michael was hunting & Jon was videoing. It was three very excited guys that woke me up about 7:30 to take pictures of Michael's very first turkey! 17 + pounds!! And of course Jon captured the whole thing on video for us. I can't tell you how many times Clay has watched it back......he just keeps saying this is the stuff memories are made of. The look on Michael's face at one point in the video was priceless.....you could see the excitement & pride.....it just said it all! Not just proud of Michael & his first turkey, but I'm also really proud of Jon! To me, it says alot when big brother will get up at 5:30am....not to hunt himself, but to go along just to video his brother shooting his first turkey. I'm so glad they have each other!!



The rest of the day was spent napping & resting up for the big concert that night. Clay took Jon & Ashley to meet up with Chris & his room-mates AND the youth group from church.......Skillet & Toby Mac....Awake & Alive concert at LU. They all had such an amazing time! Clay & Jon had third row floor seats with Chris & his room-mates.....Ashley sat up in the stands with her friends from church. They came home with Tshirts & a couple of cds & Clay's favorite souvenir.........a drumstick thrown to him from Toby Mac's drummer! How cool is that?!



Yesterday we celebrated Jon's 15th birthday with a cook-out at Maw's house. Granny & Papaw even drove up from NC to celebrate with us. Ella & her kids were there too & Sarah, Anna & Daniel even stopped by for presents & cake....they were headed to NC to visit with David's folks for a few days, but wanted to get in on the celebration too.....even if just for a short time. Again, it was the perfect spring day....about 76 degrees.....just perfect for a cook-out on the patio & the kids had a blast playing hide & seek & basketball in Maw's back yard. More memories to tuck away. ;-) Happy Birthday, GEORGE!

Take Three

Just finished reading this the other day & OMG! I swear each new book I read by Karen Kingsbury I rave on a little bit more than previous ones. She is such a gifted author with the ability of just sucking you into the story & completely transporting you to another place & time. I finish her books feeling like I KNOW the characters.....like they might be REAL people. I cry with them & rejoice with them......it's crazy, I know.....but I think it's because she's just THAT good at using the gift God has given her!

Stinkin' Internet Service

First off I have to point out that because we live out here in the boonies we have been having fits with them trying to get all the kinks worked out of our high speed internet service! For example....last weekend we had been without service all weekend until after church Sunday afternoon. So, we were good to go & I was playing 'catch-up' on a bunch of computer stuff. Then that evening we had a bad storm that zapped the internet service to our whole area....and we are still without service over a week later!! Thank goodness Clay was able to hook up our OLD computer over here in a corner of the living room.....so at least I have the old Dinosaur to play with. All that said because that is why my blog has been sorely neglected. No way to scan/post scrappy stuff or upload pics.....so I finally decided that I will update here on all the fun stuff that's been going on & will just have to share the pics later when I can get back on the new computer.



First of all....our Girly Sleepover at Maw's house. The girls & I left last Tuesday afternoon to do a bit of shopping & then we headed on over to watch Daniel play his first Tball game. So cute watching all those little bitty guys out there playing ball. Took me back a few years ago when our boys were playing ball. Fun times!! After the game we headed back to Maw's house where we fixed homemade pizzas for supper. ( I cheated....had the crusts already made up ahead of time) After supper, the kids put their jammies on & set up camp downstairs in the bedroom....painting each other's nails, eating popcorn & watching movies...'Enchanted' & some Brady Bunch episodes. While they did that.....us more 'mature' girls claimed the living room....where we sipped coffee & watched 'Thoroughly Modern Millie'. Finally got everyone settled down around midnight, I think. Then we were up & at 'em early Wednesday morning.....about 7:30am. While I was in the shower, Ashley & Sarah went for a walk.....up to her house to get her clippers & hair-cutting scissors so Sarah could cut Ashley's hair. After the hair cut we all went to Subway for lunch & then downtown to check out the Community Market & just stroll the streets & see the sights. We walked from the market down several blocks to where you can see Monument Terrace & then down toward the river & Amazement Square. That was quite a nice little walk we got in there....especially coming back UP the hill when we were tired & hot. Sure was nice to sleep in our own beds that night, but we had a super fun time & all agreed we should do it again before too long. ;-)




Woke up yesterday morning with the words to an old hymn running through my head........'Up from the grave He arose...with a mighty triumph o'er his foes'. Now Maw is probably the only one who will understand where that is coming from. Let's just say that it takes me back to my childhood days of spending Easter down here at Memaw's house & going to church on Easter Sunday at Shipman Baptist Church. I'm thinking that I need to incorporate this into a scrapbook page somehow. Anyway, it was a GORGEOUS Easter Sunday....about 80 degrees. What a day to celebrate our risen saviour!! Chris met us at church since they don't do Campus Church on Easter Sunday & after church we all headed over to Maw's house for lunch & a fun afternoon of Easter egg hunting. To any of you Karen Kingsbury fans out there, you will understand this. I am in love with the Baxter Family & just pray that one day Clay & I can be like John & Elizabeth Baxter.....with all our grown kids around us & a houseful of grandchildren! That's what I was thinking yesterday as the house went from being total happy loud chaos to totally quiet as everyone gathered around the kitchen & Maw prayed before lunch. I couldn't help but sneak a peek around the room at my mom & sister & all our kids......what precious sight! It totally overwhelmed me. We are SO truely blessed! After lunch, Jon & Michael hid the eggs & then the younger 3 hunted for them. Just picture this.......a sunny hot afternoon, Easter eggs, chocolate candies, girls in pretty Easter dresses running barefoot through the yard, a long flower planter full of water on the patio (to cool your feet off in) & in the end.....some soppy, wet, very happy kiddos! Then to top the whole day off, I spent the evening sitting under my Dogwood tree reading while Michael went off down to the pond fishing (that boy has MAJOR fishing fever right now), Ashley & Jon took a walk together & Alli watered all her garden plants. Aaaahhhhh.....life is good!

Garden Planting

Well, today was finally the day......got the tiller running & everyone headed out to the garden to get to work. Michael raked......

Jon tilled.....

Everyone planted........Jon & Michael planted potatoes....a couple different kinds, I think. And the girls did the onions, broccoli, lettuce & brussel sprouts. Got everything down that we can for now......until about May.

Once Upon A Time......

There Lived 2 Beautiful Princesses....I had had a couple pieces from this paper line, 'Once Upon A Time' from DCWV, a while back & really liked it. So, when I ran across this stack of paper at Target the other day fro $4, I snatched it up. The above photos are of Ashley holding Ma-Lady....our 'Grandma Cat' who just had kittens & Alli is holding Bootsie-Bob.....back in 2002.

Another quick LO using these papers.....from my student teaching time in Mrs. Hammer's kindergarten class at Tomahwak Elementary School back in 1986. The journaling reads: Once Upon A Time......there was a young girl who loved children & had a dream of teaching one day. Little did she know then that God had a different type of classroom in mind for her. The classroom of life...centered in her very own home where she would teach 5 of the most awesome students ever....her own kids!