Abbey ~ 18

Author: donna  //  Category: Abbey, birthday  //  Comments (2)  //  Add Comment

The birthday girl…

Those 18th birthday pics I promised?  Here ya go…

Everyone arrived, and Abbey gave them a “How Well Do You Know Abbey” quiz.  Her friend Chandler won and box of candy for getting the highest number right.

Then, it was time for everyone to get all dressed up…they had somewhere to go.

Which meant, of course, I pulled the camera out for a photo shoot.

Ladies first…

Marley, Eva Joy, Kayla, Christine, and Abbey

And, the guys

Nathan, Daniel, Aaron, and Chandler

The Marilyn pose!

Abbey and Daniel :)

And then, the limo arrived…

For the record, I’ve never been in a limo.  No fair!

The limo took them to PF Changs for dinner.  Randy arranged it ahead of time, and was told by the management later that the kids were great…very polite and a fun group to serve.  Nice to hear!

No pics of dinner…I assumed they’d take some with their phones!

Afterwards, the plan was to stop at a donut shop in Charlotte, but it was closed.  Drat.  Oddly enough, a highlight of the ride home was being stopped by the police.  The driver forgot to turn off his parking lights!  They scrambled to find the seat belts, and one kid broke out his phone to video.  Ha…

Once home, they changed into their comfy clothes and bashed Sponge Bob till he gave up his candy.

All the teens stayed the night, and we took them to church the next morning.

After church and Testify practice, it was time for her family birthday dinner.  Yes, the party continued, despite them being exhausted from staying up ALL night the night before.

Daniel came along with us…

A fight ensued…

And, she says she’s an adult now.  Sheesh.  :)

Once home, I made her pose for two more pictures.  Before she crashed on the couch and fell asleep.

Still can’t believe you’re 18.  I’ll get used to it.

So glad you had a fabulous birthday :)

 

 

In a blink

Author: donna  //  Category: Abbey, birthday  //  Comments (3)  //  Add Comment

They say time seems to go by faster as you grow older.

In my case, I’d say that’s right on the money.

Otherwise, how could my daughter…the one who blessed me with the title of Mom…how could she possibly be 18 already?

But, here we are and she’s 18 and I’m no longer that 30 year old “brand new, have no clue what I’m doing” mom.

Well, sometimes the no clue part still fits.

But, Abbey is growing into a young woman right before our eyes.  She’s a girl version of her dad.  Strong willed, , fun-loving, competitive, a true night-owl, loves the spotlight, prone to hyperactivity, fearless…

18 is a milestone year.  One that brings with it changes…something she’s NEVER liked.  But, I see her growing and embracing the future.  Just a bit.

I can’t wait to see where God brings her.

I hope to add some pictures of her amazing birthday party soon…the site I use to upload pics is having tech issues.  In the meantime, here are a few hints:  a few friends, semi-formal, hummer limo, dinner out, party all night.

I asked her today how it rated…0-10.  Without blinking, she said a 10.  :)

We’re headed out tonight for our traditional family birthday dinner.  At her fav steakhouse, like always.  I mentioned she’s not into change, right?

Happy Birthday, Abbey-girl.  We love you always…

Snow

Author: donna  //  Category: Family  //  Comment (1)  //  Add Comment

Last week, it happened.

We got snow.  As you can see, we weren’t exactly buried in it.  But, it was enough that the kids could play and I could enjoy watching it fall and collect (a little) on the ground.

Jumping on a trampoline with snow on it.  Extra fun.

As you can see, the big girls had fun with the littles during our “snow storm”.  The boys had just returned the night before from an all-day snowboarding trip in the mountains.  They were snowed-out.

I can’t help it.  I’m still holding out hope for a deep-snow for us.  With only 40 or so days till spring, time is running out!

Year of the Horse

Author: donna  //  Category: Holidays  //  Comments (2)  //  Add Comment

Last night, we had the pleasure of attending a Chinese New Year event at nearby Davidson College.  The Asian student community within the college puts this on every year, and it’s so fun.  Chinese food, dancers, singers, dragon and lion dances, face painting, and….a fantastic fireworks display right on the quad.

I only had my phone, so there are only a few pics.  I’ve got to get back in the camera habit.

We were THIS close to the fireworks…ash was falling in our hair and in our eyes.  lol…

Chinese New Year is officially on the 31st.  I see us finding a new Chinese restaurant to celebrate again :)

 

Do ya wanna build a snowman?

Author: donna  //  Category: Home  //  Comments (2)  //  Add Comment

Untouched photo Lainey took with my phone, of our backyard sky.  Cotton candy, anyone?

Back to the title of this post.  Know what I want??

Snow.  Just enough to cover the ground nicely, and let the kids play for a day or two.  I’m not greedy, people.

A few times recently, there’s been snow in the forecast.  And then…poof…it’s gone.  Nothing.

That’s just plain mean.

I also realize that those of you buried under mounds of snow aren’t feeling so sympathetic towards me.  I get it.  I’m not sure I’d want to be in your snow shoes either.  Ahem.

I’m still holding out hope that we’ll get a decent snowstorm this year.  My family isn’t feeling it so much.

But, I can be patient.

Days without Facebook

Author: donna  //  Category: Home  //  Comments (3)  //  Add Comment

I’m in the middle of a 21 day break from Facebook.  It’s funny…I miss it, but at the same time don’t.  I’ve replaced it with more devotional, bible,  and intentional reading.  Right now, I’m reading The Reason for God.  It’s not  an easy read for me.  I get confused more times than I care to admit, but it’s been good to dig deep.

I do realize how often I must have posted on FB.  Something happens and I automatically think “hey, I should put that on FB…oh, wait”.

Like when we realized this week that Dylan has his first loose tooth.

When I felt like whining about the week-long winter cold I had last week.

Last night, when we had who-knows-how-many teens over for a double-feature movie night.

And, when the boys and their friend Trevor slept out in the field in a tent…and swore they heard coyotes circling their tent.

I think, even when I’m back on FB, I’ll make some changes.  Like only cruise the site during non-school hours.  I like that idea.  FB can easily be put ahead of more inportant things, and I want to guard against that.

My thoughts on a lazy Saturday morning.  Happy weekend, ya’ll.

 

Get’r done

Author: donna  //  Category: Home  //  Comments (2)  //  Add Comment

That project I mentioned in my last post?

Guess what…we did it!  And, in two days no less.

This doesn’t happen around here.  Starting and finishing a project in only TWO days?  Unheard of.

But, we had a deadline.  Randy left today to go to NY for a few days for work.  If we’d not finished before he left, we would have been without a guest bathroom.  Not the end of the world, but it did give us the motivation to just.get.it.done.

Here’s a before…

This was actually taken before we bought the house, when Randy was taking pics of each of the rooms to show me.

It’s hard to tell, but the wall color (as are ALL of the walls in this house, other than the ones we’ve already painted) is a decent khaki color.  But, the paint is FLAT.  No sheen whatsoever, and it’s impossible to clean.  To say I’d like to re-paint the whole house is a total understatement.  But, most of our walls are angled, and the open doorways are curved…so if you start painting one wall, it melds into the next one.  There’s no “well, we’ll JUST paint the family room”.

Painting the whole house is gonna have to wait.

But, there are a few rooms that aren’t affected by the curves and angles…like the guest bath.

This was taken yesterday, after Randy took the back off of the toilet.  That was a job.  But, it made painting the wall behind it much easier.

We already had the paint (toasted honey), and decided to replace the light fixture and mirror while we were at it.  They were never my style, a little too traditional.  If I had the moolah, I’d make major changes to turn this house into a homey, farmhouse.  For now, I’m doing it in small batches.

After :)

We found the mirror at a local furniture consignment store.  Love the simplicity, and how it’s squared at the bottom and curved at the top.  The light fixture finally matches the existing brushed nickel fixtures.  I like the shape of the globes, kinda old fashioned.

I did some “shopping” around my house, and accessorized to match the new color scheme.  I love it.  Might replace the rug at some point.

I’m wondering which room is next.  Bedroom maybe?  Hopefully, my husband didn’t read that.