Before…
and after!
She did great, and gets to enjoy this “brace face†for the next 18 or so months. We’re doling out the Motrin on schedule and she’s eating just soft foods today. The next few days could be interesting!
** no word on Lainey yet. We’re doing what we do best. Waiting.
I’ve got three of them…Randy (off camera) throws a poker chip up in the air. Boys compete to see who can catch it. Not sure anyone really did any “catchingâ€, but it looks like they had fun.
The kids in their assigned yellow tees for Cousins Day
Here is our “Cousins Day†weekend trip to NC in the form of our own TOP 10…in no certain order.
1. Spending time with Donna’s mom and dad…and watching Ethan wipe out on his Heelies in their driveway. Ethan says thanks for the first aid.
We know how this turned out…
2. A fantastic “triple-date†with Tony, Dee Dee, John, and Kim. A wonderful dinner with a movie on each side! (go see the Bourne Ultimatum…it’s gooood)
3. Speaking of our dinner…Drinking a yummy “Blue Violet†and watching Randy eat his “Tuna Pokeâ€. This was NOT McDonalds.
4. Cousins Day. 16 kids. Ages 2 to 16. 3 adults, 1 house, 24 hours. Nana and Paw Paw, have you recovered yet?
Hugging cousins
5. Randy beats his brother Tony in basketball…again. Randy’s punishment? Five minutes in the dreaded wet sauna!
6. Getting lost while hiking and exploring at Kim and John’s new house. Once we found our way out, we checked out the backyard. Most of you won’t get that one ;)
7. Seeing my sweet grandmom, who still seems as young as she did when I spent nights with her as a child.
4 Generations…Grandmom, Dad, Me, kiddos
8. Finding out that Randy’s Uncle Terry’s TERMINAL cancer is…gone. Really gone. Praise God!
9. Hanging out with Randy’s Mom at her house and at the mall (you should see my cute new belt…). Ann, your new furniture and house look great!!
10. Having an amazing Sunday morning, re-connecting with our great friends at Grace Church.
**11. I know, it’s only supposed to be 10. But, we came home to a VERY stinky house. We finally realized that a breaker had flipped, turning off the freezer in our garage. We had meat in there…and fish. Not the welcome home I wanted! But, we now have a very empty and clean freezer. Now, to get rid of the smell…
It’s our anniversary today! 15 years…wow. We actually met and began dating in 1985. Our wedding day was wonderful. Well, except for the fact that everyone said it was hot (I didn’t notice) and one of Randy’s groomsmen fainted during the ceremony. Randy’s aunt ran down the aisle, one shoe off, to try and catch him. My dad helped her. We were good, and didn’t turn around and look!
Happy Anniversary, Randy!
You’ll never know how many tries it took to get THIS picture.
We begin school on Monday, so today was our last totally free summer day. It was great …they played, rode bikes, we went to TCBY for frozen yogurt (yum!!), and then they had fun swimming in our really WARM pool (bath water, at this point in the summer!). We homeschool, so we have the luxury of choosing to begin school gradually. We’ll start math on Monday, with language arts added on Thursday, and all the other subjects added in on the following Monday.
Marley gets the royal treatment, with 2 human floaties!
In case you were wondering, here’s Ethan. He had already been swimming once today, and sat this one out. Yes, it’s hot here, but the boy likes long pants. Notice the big scrape on his chin? That’s the result of Tuesday’s “let’s dive in the pool head first†trick. With no hands to break his descent, he scraped his shoulder and chin. Lesson learned.
It’s been a nice, relaxing week. A little harder than usual, though, because Randy has been in Las Vegas since early Tuesday morning. His flight gets in late tonight, and we’re all excited to have him home.
Abbey took another step into the life of a pre-teen when she joined the Jr. High group (6th, 7th, and 8th graders) for a weekend “bible study, teaching, swimming, tubing, etc.†retreat called “Extreme Excursionâ€. The group went about an hour and a half away, to a campground at Lake Swan. Abbey tells us she had a ball, and has a major sunburn to prove it :) Prior to leaving for the trip, she wasn’t so gung-ho on going…maybe 1/2 excited and 1/2 scared to death. This is the first big trip she’s ever made on her own, and we did lots of praying for her to feel comfortable. We were fortunate that she already knew the adult leaders in her cabin, and they helped her so much! God certainly had His hand on her, and we are very thankful! Welcome home, Abs!
Ruth at http://imagineannalynn.blogspot.com/ had this “tag†on her site, and it looked like fun. So, Randy and I split it up, and each did 4.
Donna –
1. I decided when I was 9 that I wanted to work with hearing impaired children. I ended up being a Speech Pathologist and several of my patients were indeed, hearing impaired. I learned basic sign language and cued speech…and still remember a little of both :)
2. I was a little league baseball queen at age 9 (it was a good year).
3. I hate coffee. Smells great, but tastes awful. I’m a hot tea drinker!
4. I went to college at UNC at Chapel Hill. During my last year, I decided on a whim to try out for the dance team. I ended up making the High Kicking Heels team, and it absolutely made my Senior year.
Randy –
1. I love to play basketball and once had to guard a guy that was 7’6″. I was not effective.
2. A favorite childhood past time with my brother was shooting bottle rockets at each other, using trashcan lids as shields. Remember, the lids back then were metal!
3. I got pulled by the police for driving to school with my friend on the roof of my car…and the cop was mad at me!
4. I love taking nature pictures, especially pictures of palm trees. Being in Florida, I’ve got plenty of subjects.
Feel free to call yourself “tagged!†and let me know if you add this to our blog or website!
