Serious Business

Here's my first 12x12 page I've done in like forever! I'm so excited to share it with you today! This page is all about Forrest and his curiosity of Dad's skills in the auto-mechanics world. George bought him a 1981 camaro last summer and they have been gradually restoring it. What I captured in these photos was a serious conversation about what motor Forrest wants to put in his car and is asking Dad about all his options. This conversation went on for about an hour! I love the bond that this camaro has brought about with George and Forrest but I'm so not loving the fact that sometime in the future they will be building a faster motor for his car!

Title: Talks between Father and Son
Journal: "Forrest is a cut-up most of the time, but when it comes to conversations with his Dad about auto-mechanics and his camaro, it's serious business! "

Do your Duty

Today is a critical day in our time and I do hope everyone is planning on voting today. I just came home from voting and suprisingly, I walked right in and right out without having to stand in a line. (That wasn't the case two years ago...the line wrapped around the parking lot and it took me 45 minutes to just get inside!) As you can see in my pictures, there are definately last minute efforts to sway your vote. Turning into the parking lot, I was hit with massive amounts of signs of both sides along with huge amounts of flyers that came through the mail in the past two days. We live in a country where voting is a right and a privledge. Let's make sure we all take advantage of this great blessing and turn this country back to it's origin of the founding fathers and so that we can maintain the status of "the land of the free!" Do your duty and vote!

ps-I was very happy to vote but was very discouraged at how difficult it was to take a picture of myself with my new iphone! Can't you tell? lol)

Officially a Teenager!

Sadie is officially a teenager. The big 13 came back in June but we didnt' have her party until recently. We all met at Bridgestreet for pizza and then had a scavenger hunt. Everyone had a blast! I do have to admit, I love who she hangs out with. She has the best circle of friends. They are all band nerds, have strong values and love life!

ps-check out her invites...I stamped on paint cards from Lowes! I absolutely love being resourceful! The brown bag contained an intialized (is that a word?) glass tile pendant ribbon necklace I made for everyone who attended as a party gift. they were awesome!

Time-Out for the Weather

Check out this huge storm front that came through during one of Sadie's swim meets last month! They called time-out during the middle of the meet to allow this storm front to pass. Thirty minutes later and Sadie was swiming in her freestyle and it never rained a drop! If you look closely, you can actually see the front moving through in the pictures. Weather is so weird but so facinating at the same time!

Pants On The Ground

Pants on the ground, pants on the ground,

looking like a fool with your pants on the ground!

Finger-Lickin GOOD!

Our Memorial Day was finger-lickin' good! We went to Mom and Dad's (aka-Granny and Grampie) house and brought charcoal, country-style ribs, coleslaw, baked beans and brownies with us. Oh what a feast this was! But the "finger-lickin' didn't start until Granny picked up her rib with her hands and began eating it. Forrest and Sadie immediately looked at her, turned to look at me, and then dropped their fork and knife and started eating with their hands too. This table etique and conversation was definitely worth documenting! Grampie and I were the only civilized ones in the house using a knife and fork to cut up the ribs. We're also the only ones who hate getting our hands dirty! After we controlled our laughter, we did get serious as Granny had a discussion on why we have a Memorial Day.

After clean up, it was relaxin' time. Sadie went on the computer and Forrest, George and Grampie turned on River Monsters. Mom brought out her sewing machine to help me sew a couple of quilting blocks for my quilt guild. (wow, that makes sound like I'm an awesome quilter! haha! I can hardly sew, much less quilt, but more to come on another blog...) After several hours of relaxation, we headed back home.

As Forrest was driving us home, I was able to reflectre on the day and my feelings for my family. I am always so grateful for the time spent with my family and for the rejuvenation it gives to our souls and the strengthening of our family bonds that occur when we're together. Family is what life is all about. Always and forever.

Happy Memorial Day!

Sadie's Recital

(Mrs. Pat smiled the whole time while Sadie played!)

Sadie's first recital with the Hawthorne Conservatory was last night. She did a fantastic job and we are so proud of her.! She has been taking flute lessons at the Hawthorne Conservatory in downtown Huntsville since the beginning of January. She was awarded a scholarship to the Conservatory and studies with Mrs. Pat Dreger Hinrichs. Mrs. Pat is the best and has a resume that is out of this world. (A couple of her qaulifications include studying at the New England Conservatory of Music and playing lead flute with the Huntsville Orchestra for many years.) The scholarship is good until Sadie graduates from high school and also includes summer instruction. This recital marks the end of the spring sememster and after a well deserved two-week break, summer instruction will begin. We feel so blessed to have this amazing opportunity for Sadie to learn and develop her talents in music.

Ready. Set. GIVE!

Forrest's Eagle Project was a huge success this past Sunday. It was pouring down rain when we arrived at 7:30am for set-up, but that didn't stop Forrest or the donors from making this project successful. The Red Cross bus pulled into the parking lot at 8am and I have to say, the sight of the bus gave me chills. It made this project real. I have been dreaming of this day since Fo was a toddler and here it was...it was so surreal...By 9am, the first of the 33 donors arrived. Forrest put on his game face and took on his role as leader and project manager of his blood drive. He was "in the zone". He instructed, delegated and directed his volunteers and donors as to what they should do for the full seven hours of this blood drive. To be continued......

Time to Shine

Forrest will be having a blood drive for his Eagle project today. He's worked really hard at getting everything prepared and now it's time to shine! It's his time to show his leadership skills and run his blood drive. Good luck Forrest!

Another Successfull Activity

The Young Women decorated cakes as a Personal Progress activity a few weeks ago and they really enjoyed themselves. Tina Wimberly was our instructor (a professional cake decorator) and guided the girls through this expeience. Each girl brought their own pre-baked cakes and I brought the ingredients for the frosting minus the milk. I totally forgot to buy milk, so the frosting was really thick and didn't want to cooperate, but with a little patience, the frosting managed to spread over the cake. One of my girls lost her patience and used her hand to spread the frosting on her cake! Whatever works, right? After much labor,
the girls were successful in decorating their cakes and after an hour of clean up, the leaders were successful in cleaning up all the mess! lol

WANTED: Manuel or Electric!

Spring Concert

Sadie's band spring concert was Thursday night and what a night it was! She plays in the Sym 1 band (top band) and they nailed every piece they played. There were a couple of songs where I had chills because they were playing so well! I'm so proud Sadie. She has worked really hard this year in her music and it has paid off for her. I have really enjoyed getting to know her circle of friends along with all of the band students while I was up at the school couple of days a week this year doing treasurer work. Even though the treasurer job was time consuming, the time I was able to spend with Sadie and the band kids was worth it.

Never Say Never!

Growing up, my mom and dad would listen to "talk radio" 24/7. Now, to a teenager, that was torture! Even after I moved out and had a family of my own, talk radio continued to be a staple in my parents home. I have always listened to rock with a little bit of country on the side until we moved to Hazel Green five years ago. Not wanting to listen to my normal music for the thirty minute drive to school, I began flipping channels and discovered a Birmingham talk radio station 101.1 and a local station 92.5 that talked about local politics. I instantly fell in love with these two channels. I couldn't believe I actually enjoyed listening to local and national politics! Today, I can't drive in my car without having one of these two stations on. Trust me, it drives Forrest and Sadie crazy!!!! In he past several years, I have become great friends with Dale Jackson, Dave Ramsey, Rush, Luara Engram, Hannity and Mark LaVinn, to name a few! And I especially love the national and local news that come on every hour and every half hour. Looking back, I should've known better than to tell my parents I would "NEVER" listen to talk radio, because everytime I say "NEVER" , it always backfires on me!

Cross Over of Myth

Sadie noticed her bird on the bottom of the cage and that he was limping. She picked him up and recoginized his feet were curled up and white as a ghost. She instantly begn to cry, because she realized he was dying. We had a small memorial for Myth as he was
"crossing over". More tears came from Sadie. I told her this was the hardest part of having animals as a pet. Myth has lived a good life (four years with us) and now has joined Buster in heaven.