Southern Grits & Tidbits

Words of Wisdom

2012-01-28T09:08:00.002-05:00

(Hubs received this via text from a friend to tell the Buddy)

Chicks dig casts and scars!

Casting

2012-01-26T15:34:00.002-05:00

The very nice doctor at the urgent care Saturday evening, suggested we go to OrthoCarolina Urgent care on Sunday morning for the cast. They are open from 10-2.

We were there right at 10 and he was the first patient. No waiting or anything. Everyone was super nice and joked around with S and made him comfortable.

The doctor was quite impressed with the splint, but not at all impressed with the x-rays. So we had four new ones taken. The removal of the splint allowed me to change his shirt so we didn't have to cut the other one. It is one of his favorites.

After they all made sure he didn't want pink, they gave him a red one. The doctor told him the red ones turn pink after a few days, but he wasn't falling for that.

Because the break is up a ways from the wrist, the cast had to go above his elbow so he can't twist his arm around during the healing. We go back next Monday to see how everything is coming along.

Skating is Dangerous Business

2012-01-25T14:08:00.001-05:00

Saturday, after their basketball game, the buddies were invited to a birthday party at the skating rink. Here everyone is all smiles about thirty minutes before the accident. (I would like to thank our amazing neighbors for driving the other boys home for me, you guys ROCK)

And, as you have probably guessed, here we are in the urgent care after S had a fall on his right arm.

He forced out a brave smile for me as we waited on the x-ray results. The cardboard is a makeshift splint from the skating rink. They filled it with baggies of ice.

The results. Yep, broken. One broken and one bent. Good times.

He was really starving by this point. It was around 4:45 when the fall took place, and around 7:30 by this time. He said the splint made the pain go away, and he was ready for McDonalds.

Jumping Ramps

2012-01-19T07:58:00.002-05:00

Poor fellow made this jump ALL day, until the camera came out. (He is fake crying because Daddy was laughing at his fall. He was fine.)

Being Twelve is Tough

2012-01-17T06:56:00.001-05:00

What are you doing? Taking a picture on the lift? Fine do it, but I'm not going to smile.

Another one? Dad! Stop, put the phone away.

You (haha) can't make me smile, stop (smirk) taking pictures.

I'm turning my head now (laughing) stop....put the phone away. MOM! He's taking pictures again!

Winterplace West Virginia

2012-01-16T09:06:00.001-05:00

Every January we go on a ski trip with all my brothers and sisters that can go. This year we got a house on the side of the ski slope. We all headed out to Winterplace for a few days.

It was so much fun, all the cousins had a blast skiing, and playing. The best part was the buddies are completely on their own now. After we got G to slow down, and then got them to look before they did a jump, everything was great!

Waffle House

2012-01-13T07:01:00.003-05:00

On the last day of Christmas break, the older boys had an orthodontist appointment.

The buddies had a date with Daddy. They texted us these pictures to rub it in. ;)

Newest Member of the Family

2012-01-12T07:12:00.001-05:00

This is a Grain Vac. It sucks the grain from point A to point B without having to move an auger. (P.S. if you have ridden to the beach with Landon you know where this is, he can't go near a Smithfield's without stopping)

It should be called "awesome back saver and time maker".

Convo with the hubs:

Are you glad you finally got it?

Yes.

Are you wondering why you waited so long?

Yeeeeessssssss!

(that is how you want to feel after a purchase....happy.)

Never Too Young

2012-01-11T08:07:00.003-05:00

The buddies "helping" bag the ear corn.

Do Work

2012-01-10T08:46:00.002-05:00

Wyatt harvesting the last of the ear corn a few weeks ago.

Santa Delivers

2012-01-09T07:13:00.001-05:00

Legos are still a favorite of the boys, as they are the best gift ever. Wyatt asked for a Mindstorm this year. You can build things that you program commands for on your computer. Yes, sounds complicated, but he is my engineering genius and it is all a game to him. :)

The buddies wanted different bed sets, as they are really starting to show their individual personalities the older they get. They also got some games, basketball shoes, Legos, and clothes.

Levi's list was super short. He has wanted another bike forever. He loves to ride around four miles a day if he has time after school, wrestling, and bagging corn. I am personally ready to get that punching bag of his going because it is a great workout.

Landon's dad and one of his brothers come over for Christmas breakfast every year. So we break for eggs, grits and bacon, and then they play with the kids stuff. More to come.

Christmas Eve

2012-01-08T15:08:00.002-05:00

Wyatt gets a wig that makes him look like the dude on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives.

Christmas Fun

2012-01-07T15:07:00.000-05:00

Christmas night entertainment compliments of my brothers, 2 mini guitars and a flute from Papua New Guinea.

Christmas Card Outtakes

2011-12-19T09:00:00.001-05:00

We had a different shot selected for our card this year from the beach trip. Wyatt saw his long hair and declared it unusable. Since we had the day off from school, I told everyone to get dressed like it was a school day and we headed off to the other house for an impromptu photo shoot. Here we have Wyatt's eyes closed, G is pouting, and Levi won't get serious.

Next Levi started singing LMFAO I'm Sexy and I know it, and this happened.

Of course everyone joined in on the fun. It was contagious.

A different pose. Levi is now a giant and staring off to the side for some reason. Bad shadowing on G.

I don't even know what happened here. I was losing them.

Almost a home run. Levi's eyes are closed. I finally got the shot on my iPhone of all things and everyone seems to love it. The whole thing took about ten minutes tops and we were back at the house configuring the card so I could place the order the day after Thanksgiving. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Houston? We have a problem.

2011-12-02T10:57:00.001-05:00

I was reading the buddies Christmas lists and came across something puzzling.

Me- Old Candy Land?
G- Yes.
Me- What is "old" Candy Land?
G- It is not the one that is at the store. It is the "old" box and board.
Me- Where did you see this "old" box and board?
G- At Bald Head in the house we stayed in.
Me- That was a very old game.
G- Yep, I know. I like it better than the new one.
Me- Where are we going to find this?
G- Santa will make one.

(Is this a test.....is he on to us?)

Hello?

2011-12-01T07:40:00.001-05:00

Where have we been? Well on Thanksgiving day our internet went on the fritz. Nothing new if you are a Windstream customer. More often than not, we are experiencing technical difficulties. Friday again, no internet. Saturday I finally got through to a human. The man said they would send a box by Fed EX on Tuesday. Yeah, I missed cyber Monday. Compliments of Windstream. Box came Tuesday evening. It worked for five minutes. Another call to Windstream where a "lady" told the hubs he would have to wait 24 hours because he had tried to figure out a secret password three times. Not cool. Finally someone straightened it out...third call. Internet worked for that evening, slowly. Next day, no internet. I call Windstream. I have internet. I get off of the phone and realize I have no emails. No emails since November 23. I also cannot send emails. I call again. Heaven forbid I get the same person. No, a new lady. I wasn't feeling her attitude. She claimed it was MY desktop, laptop and iPhone. Oh yeah. Anywho, somehow she got the email fixed and my computer loaded 238 emails right then. But, I STILL cannot send email on my phone. It tells me that Windstream is denying access.
AHHHHHHHH!
Oh, they took ten dollars off of my bill for this. Hope they didn't strain themselves. Moral? Do NOT get anything with Windstream. Run screaming the other way if you can.

Santa

2011-11-20T06:45:00.001-05:00

Conversation with G at the Mills:
Me: Want to talk to Santa?
G: Nope.
Me: Why? Because you have been bad this week?
G: Nope.
Me: Come on, talk to Santa.
G: You can't fool me.
Me: What?
G: I know there is a man in that suit.
Me: Of course there is a man in that suit.
G: I knew it.
Me: You can't talk to an empty suit.
G: MOM!

Soccer

2011-11-19T16:26:00.001-05:00

It is officially the end of the longest.soccer.season.ever. Our poor team was whittled down to eight players. Which also happens to be the number required on the field at this age, so they have been getting run ragged every Saturday. Just have the party and trophies, and we can say good bye to soccer. :)

Creativity

2011-11-18T06:07:00.001-05:00

It was G's turn to "help Daddy" and S was quite bored all alone. Then I noticed he had been quiet for a while. I peeked out the glass door and he was very busy.

Who needs toys when they have a cart, ladder, pulley, and imagination?

Bible School

2011-11-17T06:06:00.001-05:00

These are off of my very old iPhone, so the camera is horrible. The pics are from Bible school this past summer. We had themed nights. The first one is silly hair. The buddies loved their awesome sideburns and several kids told them how great they were.

The second night was seventies night. I got the shirts at Salvation Army for fifty cents and the necklaces on clearance for a dollar. They already had the sashes from a different Bible school last year.

The last night was eighties night. The best thing I saw was a boy wearing a shirt his mom made that said "Save Ferris". BTW, Ashlyn, I am still waiting on mine. :) The buddies want everyone to know that the boys smoked the girls by dressing up every night, bringing their Bibles, and canned goods for the food pantry.

Afternoon Fun

2011-11-15T06:01:00.001-05:00

The one that came home, did all his homework, gobbled his snack, and got outside to enjoy the weather. (the other one was pouting)

Fall

2011-11-14T08:44:00.001-05:00

I guess a dry summer makes more beautiful leaves. The colors are so vivid this year.

Cotton

2011-11-11T08:43:00.001-05:00

The only thing I can say about this years cotton crop is praise God from whom all blessings flow. It didn't rain this summer when we needed it. It was looking dicey.

We prayed and prayed about whether to even plant cotton at all. It is so hard to remember who is on control of everything around here. The other night we read James 1. Know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Wow. The screen on my iPhone became blurry as I was reading out loud. God knows. Go to Him with all of your problems first.

Halloween

2011-11-09T05:58:00.002-05:00

We went trick or treating again Halloween hight as a Zombie and Harry Potter. The buddies went to our usual five houses, and hit the mother load.

No one goes to the houses out here, they go to a neighborhood in town instead. So the houses just dump their entire candy bowls in the boys bags. We ended the night in a smaller neighborhood where Levi was handing out candy with a friend.

Happy Halloween!!!

Trunk-or-Treat

2011-11-07T11:41:00.000-05:00

The Saturday before Halloween we went to a nearby town to trunk or treat. They block off the street and hand out candy. The kids really love it. Here we have Bakugan Dan.

And a Pirate Captain. They also have hay rides, bouncy houses, and hot dogs. Every thing is free and besides....how often do you get to have a dinner date like this one?

2011-11-05T14:52:00.004-04:00

Phone call from the boy:
L-Mom? I can't practice with the team today.
Me-Why?
L-I failed the urine test.
Me-(How did I miss this! My child is on drugs! What are we going to do!)
L-Mom, are you still there? You aren't saying anything.
Me-I can't breathe. You failed a drug test?
L-WHAT! It was a hydration test. I'm dehydrated. You thought I was on drugs?
Me-LEVI! Start out the phone call with I'm dehydrated. Not, I failed a urine test. Geez, I almost had a heart attack!

Never a dull moment over here.

Happy Birthday

2011-10-31T06:06:00.004-04:00

Party at the Skating Rink

Southpark Cuties

2011-10-28T06:00:00.001-04:00

We had to make a trip out to Southpark Mall to visit the Container Store. The mecca of all things organization. Another one of my favs is beside of it. Urban Outfitters. Aren't they so cute?

Charlotte's Web?

2011-10-27T05:54:00.002-04:00

This is what happens when the boy is bagging feed.

My Turn

2011-10-26T07:56:00.004-04:00

One of the many perks of being Daddy's helper for the day.

Perspective

2011-09-16T09:58:00.005-04:00

Ever have one of those days where you are feeling down about something? Maybe your parents have moved to another country and mornings are kind of sad. Maybe your sister has suffered the loss of a child, has moved across the U.S. and you can't show up at her door to give her a hug; and when you think of it you tear up. Then it happens. Something to pull it all back into perspective. Like God is pointing out all the things you DO have in life and what is a little more important than your pity party for one. That happened to me this morning with one phone call from the middle school.

"Someone ran into the back of Wyatt's bus this morning". When the assistant principal said those words I felt like I couldn't breathe. That one second felt like several minutes and many things were running through my mind. Is she calling me because he was hurt? Is everything okay? Was he scared?

"Wyatt is fine, all the kids are okay, no one was hurt. They even got to school on time on a different bus". Exhale. I thanked her for calling and letting me know. Then I looked up and said, thank you God. I get it now. Thank you for my children and my husband and everything we have. I am more than blessed with family (my own family and my wonderful church family).

Thank you.

MP #2 vs. Bethel

2011-09-13T10:01:00.000-04:00

Saturday we played a Bethel soccer team. The buddies both played extremely well and we were blessed to have Landon's mom, my sister-in-law and her little girl to come and watch. Unfortunately, we lost, but the buddies were on fire, especially G. On the way to warm up, the coach thanked me for spiking G's hair so she could tell them apart. After the game they were so hot they both poured water all over their heads to cool off. You guessed it, G's hair fell down. The coach came up to tell him great job and stopped. "Great job G!", she said to S. "Wait.....who is G.....what happened to your hair? I'll never be able to tell you guys apart!", she said looking at me and laughing.

First Sleepover

2011-09-12T09:51:00.002-04:00

The buddies had a friend over to spend the night over Labor Day weekend. The first hour was a bit hairy as they tried to top each other with things for him to do.
I had to talk with each of them separately, as they were running the poor boy ragged. I think we need to have two friends over next time. Now I know what triplet moms are always talking about. They finally calmed down, and had a great Nerf war followed by a trip to the movies to see the Smurfs.
Cheesing it up for me in front of the corn header. :)

New Combine

2011-09-09T06:48:00.003-04:00

The hubs is in the middle of corn harvest 2011.
New addition to our farm.
I need a sticker for it that says "man magnet". The day I took these pictures there were five men standing off to the side watching it. :)
The buddies like to watch the top fold up. They say it looks like a transformer. What do you think? A new Bumblebee 2.0?

First Soccer Game 2011

2011-09-07T10:46:00.002-04:00

We had our first soccer game of the fall season. The uniforms had not arrived so we were black and white. As was the other team, lol.
Even though we have moved up to the next age level, it appears there will always be a grass picker in every group. :)

Picking Ear Corn

2011-09-03T08:49:00.003-04:00

Some of our customers like their deer corn whole on the cob.
So for them them the hubs pulls out the old equipment and does it old school.
Very quiet and peaceful. And I had fun riding with him for a little while.

First Day

2011-08-31T16:04:00.003-04:00

School started last Thursday and everyone was back on schedule without much trouble. I was actually amazed by how smoothly everything went. Levi is on the bus at 6:25, the Buddies are on at 7:35, and Wyatt brings up the rear at 8:30.
It is actually pretty nice because I get to spend some time with them all before they leave. Above are the second grade supplies minus the 4 extra composition books the teacher asked for after the first day. This year we also had to pay a supply fee to help off set the budget cut backs our schools have been suffering from. So far they are all loving their teachers and classes. I have my fingers crossed that it stays this way all year!

Cookies

2011-08-29T06:26:00.001-04:00

him: Mama....I want some cookies.

Me: Go make some.

him: Really?

Me: Yep.

him: Can I wear an apron?

Me: Yep.

How cute is this? He did it all himself.

Pool Day

2011-08-26T09:06:00.004-04:00

We finally remembered to take the camera to the pool. Aren't these diving board shots cute?
My nephew wins the prize for best form. He said, "Oh man, a diving board! Been wanting to get on one of these all summer!"
The crew during a rare pause. They were nonstop playing for two hours straight.
Levi doing one of his weird dives. :)
And Wyatt making everyone laugh. We had so much fun!

Gold Rush

2011-08-24T07:35:00.003-04:00

The buddies have been wanting to pan for gold for months now. We farm some land near a local gold mine and pass it quite often. I always reply....wait until this summer.
Well, this summer has flown by and I was reminded of my promise, so we finally made it out there. Here is our find after panning for about thirty minutes. Allot of work for a tiny speck of gold, but the boys were happy.
They thought every thing was awesome, especially walking inside of the mines. Wyatt and I enjoyed seeing it through their eyes, as we have been there several times before.
I think we will have to go back to Reed Gold Mine for their haunted mine trail this October. It is just right for 7-9 year olds.
Cross "panning for gold" off of the buddies bucket lists. They were on cloud nine when we left that afternoon!

Beach Trip 2011

2011-08-20T17:46:00.002-04:00

Buddies at Southport fishing pier
Pirate Camp at the Maritime Museum
Riding scooters
Supper at the Provision Company
And allot of this.....relaxing!

30 Hour Famine

2011-07-22T11:21:00.003-04:00

My older boys participated in the 30 hour famine with our youth group this week. One way they raised money was this toilet. To get it removed from your yard, you gave a donation. For a few bucks extra you could send it to another house. They also went to neighborhoods and collected canned goods for our food ministry. That night they slept in cardboard boxes on the church lawn. Both boys have not stopped talking about it yet and Wyatt wanted to know when the next one was, he had so much fun! Thank you to our youth leader Bonnie, and all her helpers, for making it so enjoyable and memorable!

Camping

2011-07-08T11:48:00.002-04:00

Camping in Memphis, Tennessee. When we left the next morning my sister Leigh looked at me and said in a very suprised voice, "I'm so proud of you, I know you don't like camping." To which I replied, "Y'all act like I don't know how to camp, I do, I just prefer not to!" :)
I never could adjust to the time changes on the trip and woke up very early. Sunrise pics in New Mexico for my dad. I had to wake up my sisters and ask them how long they were going to sleep. And let me say they do NOT wake up happy. If we were still little they probably would have brought on the smack down.
Campsite in New Mexico. You can't see them, but the ground is covered in ants. Weird ones that do not seemed interested in people at all. If we would have been at home we would have all been in the ER eaten alive by ant bites. P.S. this park does not have warm water in the showers, but the awesome swimming in the lake makes up for it. Oh, and the campsite host in the camper behind us was ancient and hard of hearing. Use your outside voice when talking to him.
Campsite in Arizona. A special thanks to the camper beside of us that had a party until the wee hours of the morning and let their children run all around us screaming. And how can we forget the other "neighbor" that accused us of unplugging her camper. I so wanted to undo her water but I didn't. She clearly didn't know who she was dealing with. Eddy sisters don't get angry, they get creative, haha.
You have to admit....this is a pretty awesome veiw! And the great thing about the desert is, it gets in the 30's at night. Much better than the temps we slept in outside in Memphis.

Laundry

2011-07-07T11:11:00.002-04:00

Conversation on the way home from the airport.

Hubs: It has been hard finding clean clothes this week.

Me: I thought Wyatt was doing laundry.

Hubs: He has been.

Me: Then what was the problem?

Hubs: No one wanted to fold them, so they are in baskets and piles everywhere. It was getting hard to tell the clean piles from the dirty piles.

(I should have taken a picture, it was ridiculous)

4th of July Parade

2011-06-27T05:53:00.003-04:00

This year our kids program at church walked in the parade to advertise for our VBS. I took a pic of the Sundrop monster truck to remind everyone that we have always known how awesome Sundrop is. It is our claim to fame, as it comes from Cabarrus County.
We lined up at the middle school and went down main street handing out icee pops. Yeah, it is as hot as it looks. I would like to add here that it is not cool for an adult to walk up to one of my kids and ask for a WHOLE bag of icee pops.
Some kids started out in the wagons, but we ended up trading them out for the coolers of icee pops. How cute is she? Couldn't you just eat her up? When I asked her she told me NO, lol.
The line of people at the start of the parade. We had allot of fun, and I saw many people that I haven't seen in a while. Several kids were shouting to the buddies so I made G get out of the truck and walk.....since they were all there to see him, haha.
P.S. I will be taking a week off from blogging to drive out to California with my two sisters. We leave in an hour, so I should probably be loading the car. ;)

Baby Shower

2011-06-26T07:13:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday my sister, Bethany, and I gave Leigh (which is my other sister) a baby shower. It went off great. We planned it at the beach and everyone had a very short notice so we weren'tsure who would come. It turned out great! Peanut is due January 1, and I can't WAIT to meet him or her.

More Beach Shots

2011-06-24T07:46:00.002-04:00

This was a cute one. All the ones without faces were awesome.
Southport. I told them to show me their muscles.
Not sure why he is pouting, but this was funny.
Check out little man patiently waiting his turn to see Old Baldy.

Baseball Party

2011-06-23T09:32:00.004-04:00

End of sesaon baseball party and cook out at the Petrea's. Thanks Brooke and Jeremy for letting us all invade your backyard before the storm came. The boys had fun!

Family Portraits

2011-06-22T08:23:00.002-04:00

My sister in law, Brandy, had an awesome idea when we were down at the beach for Memorial Day. Let's take all the kids to the point, when we return in June, and get a shot of all the grandkids for my parents before they leave for the misson field. Great idea, I said, let's do khaki's and solid polo shirts. Ha! The clothes were the LEAST of our worries. (as you can see one of my kids said I NEVER said "solid")
Posing all these people with everyone else standing behind us was quite comical. No one would listen to us, and the kids all wanted to run around and go swimming. If all are smiling one will be rolling his eyes (Levi). Or as you can see above "stagers" didn't get out of the shot fast enough.
We both decided that if we do it again next year we are paying a photographer to do it. Let them worry about getting the clear shot and staging everyone, and WE will worry about our kids smiling and acting like they are happy. Also they should be taken after a day of playing or with some type of bribery offered....like putt putt and the arcade.
The best shot ended up being one of everyone from the backside. At least then you can't see my 14 year old rolling his eyes, lol.

Mudroom Table

2011-06-20T12:09:00.003-04:00

Y'all know that every so often I get the urge to paint something. I have been eyeballing the mudroom table for a while now. I think this type of table is called a telephone table. Here it is before.
And here it is after. I had some red paint (not sure why it appears pink in this shot) that matches my red Albemarle sign in the mudroom. I am so pleased with it I am now eyeballing an antique TV table that I have in the living room that I use as an end table. I am thinking yellow this time. What do you think? Do you like it old school or new school?

Middle School Awards Day's

2011-06-18T09:47:00.003-04:00

This year Levi won an award for having the highest Math average in his group, the Hurricanes. The eighth grade is divided into three groups: Hurricanes, Beach Bums, and Pirates. You only change classes with your group of 80 or so kids. He also received a Presidents award for having a 90 or above average in all of his classes for all three years of middle school. The 8th grade doesn't give out behavior awards, but he was on Gold Level all year long. Uncle Shaun got to come, as well as my dad. Shaun kept asking me if the other kids were 7th graders. No, all the kids in here are 8th graders. He couldn't understand how big the middle school has gotten since he was there, lol.
Wyatt really rocked it out this year. He won an award for being on gold level all year long, an award for meeting and exceeding his Reading Counts goal all year in ELA, and an award for AB honor roll all year long. They are also divided into three groups called Panthers, Cheetahs, and Jaguars. Wyatt was a Cheetah this year. Our sixth graders had the highest and second highest Math and ELA scores in the county this year in their EOG's. The principal couldn't brag on them enough. Wyatt made it into the end of year slide show many times. I quite enjoyed his silly poses and faces. (if anyone can get me a copy of that I would be forever grateful)

Last Day of First Grade

2011-06-17T17:43:00.003-04:00

Wow, the school year has really flown by. This year the buddies had an awards day. S got an award for the best boy writer in the class. G got an award for the most artistic boy in the class.
They had an ice cream party after the awards were given out, and then signed yearbooks and watched Finding Nemo.
Many thanks to Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Ashworth for being such great teachers and making everything fun!

Banana Pudding

2011-06-08T11:22:00.002-04:00

Conversation with the hubs after he had been digging around in the fridge for several minutes.

Him: Where is it?

Me: Where's what?

Him: The banana pudding.

Me: Banana pudding?

Him: Yeah.

Me: There is no banana pudding.

Him: What? The kids ate a whole banana pudding?

Me: No, I haven't made banana pudding today.

Him: But....there are vanilla wafers out.......

Me: Let me get this straight, you saw vanilla wafers and automatically assumed that there was pudding?

Him: Yes.

Me: The buddies were eating the vanilla wafers for a snack.

Him: That's just wrong.

(Here in the South some of us take our "naner puddin" VERY seriously. )

Memorial Weekend with the fam

2011-06-05T07:39:00.003-04:00

To spice up the last hole, my brother told everyone to hit their ball and beat it to the bottom.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-18T08:38:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Levi!!!!

2011-05-09T08:00:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I am a wee bit behind in blogging. Levi turned 14 on May 3. I really can't believe he is that old. I can still vividly remember calling the hubs and telling him it was time to go to the hospital.
His response was....are ya sure? Yep, my water broke, and the doctor said to go on and he would meet us there, was my response. As you can see, 14 years later, we spent the afternoon and evening at MPHS on the track.
He did very well. As we were leaving, he noticed the huge board on the stadium with all of the track records for the high schoolers. Talk about incentive. He didn't even have to say it outloud, I knew he was thinking how awesome it would be if he was on that board one day.
I am really not sure when the short, chunky boy turned into the tall, lanky boy that he is today. It was a gradual process that seems lightning fast presently. Happy birthday to Levi, my firstborn. I love you!

AMEN in Motion Easter 2011

2011-04-29T16:19:00.001-04:00

Egg Hunt 2011

2011-04-28T09:22:00.002-04:00

Since our new building at church was built on our egg hunt hill, we moved the hunt to the middle school football field. Angie and I aren't sure what the final egg count was. Our goal was 3,000 and we stopped counting after that was reached. The donations of eggs and prizes were such a blessing!
It was great! We had so many volunteers step up to help with the set up and hot dog lunch and supervising the bouncy houses. My kids had a blast. Wyatt followed the buddies around, and Levi was in the obstacle course house to help little people get up the climbing wall.
The best news was we had people register before the hunt so we could see how many people came. We had FOURTY people come that do not go to our church. TWO of those families came to Easter Service on Sunday!
It has been such a blessing to watch the growth of our church since we have been going there the past three years. Sunday morning in our new building I found myself quite emotional. I can't wait to see how the youth and Kids for Christ programs flourish.

Boosterthon

2011-04-22T08:07:00.003-04:00

This year MPES did another Boosterthon Fun Run. The kids are visited by crazy guys with names like Minnesota Mark for two weeks to get them pumped up to raise money for the school.
They have had pep ralleys and seen the guys get pies in their faces, and came home begging for three dollars a lap each for their class. Yesterday was the big day.
Each one of my boys ran the full 35 laps plus some extra ones. Equaling two miles per buddy. The fun run guys played great songs and danced around while the kids ran.
They even did the Cupid Shuffle, and ran around giving parents and kids high fives. I have never had so much fun at a fundraiser for school. Much better than selling wrapping paper!
Here are the first graders and kindergarteners getting a thumbs up for finishing their laps yesterday.

Boys!

2011-04-15T16:38:00.003-04:00

W-My foot hurts.

Me-Why?

W-I don't know but every time I put on my shoes it hurts.

Me-Have you outgrown your shoes?

W-No.

Me-How do your shoes feel inside?

W-Well......my toes hit the ends of them.

Me-Then your shoes are too small.

W-How do you know?

Me-When your toes are touching the ends they are too small for your feet. That's probably why they hurt.

W-Why didn't you say so?

Cooking Project

2011-04-11T10:15:00.004-04:00

One of Levi's elective classes is a cooking class. They had to do a project where they cooked a meal for the family and then made a power point presentation about it to show the class at school.
He had to plan out the menu, help shop for the food, clean up the kitchen afterwards, and none of the dishes could be "simple".
He chose meat loaf, homemade mac and cheese and baked beans. I really enjoyed this project and he did an amazing job. All my boys love to cook.
My favorite part was the kitchen clean up. Everyone enjoyed supper and his little brothers were impressed that none of us were poisoned or got sick afterwards, lol.

Carowinds

2011-04-05T14:49:00.003-04:00

Sunday, after early service, we headed out to Carowinds with my family. Shot of the grandkids and Wyatt's friend.
The buddies were tall enough to ride this, but not the bumper cars. Go figure.
Everything has changed from Nickelodeon, to Planet Snoopy.
The kids had a blast and are ready to go again ASAP!

Super Saturday

2011-04-02T12:46:00.003-04:00

The buddies first baseball game was today. They did great!
They both got hits, and G scored a run.
Despite the strong winds we had it was allot of fun today. Ready for game two Monday night.

Let's go Green Machine!

Getting Closer

2011-03-31T15:41:00.002-04:00

This week the track meet was at Kannapolis Middle School. Here is the boy running the 1600. Several Harris Road boys ran a five minute mile at this meet. It was pretty amazing to watch. Levi is improving every week and has been running a six minute mile. His personal best.
I did get him over a hurdle. Not the shot I was hoping for, but I am getting so close I can taste it.

Track pics

2011-03-29T07:20:00.004-04:00

Trying to get a good shot at a track meet is rather hard. Take one. Let's see......where is Levi? Yep, he isn't in the shot.
Take two. Try to get one of him actually over the hurdles. I got his feet.
Take three. Unless this is an advertisement for the Hickory Ridge track.....this is too far away.
Take four. He is the only blue runner in the leading pack of the 1600. Kind of far away, but I'll take what I can get.

And...yes honey....I was talking. But that wasn't the problem. I promise.

Term Paper

2011-03-23T07:04:00.003-04:00

Levi had to write a five page term paper about a career that he was interested in. Of course in true boy fashion he did it the night before it was due. He chose farming.

L- Mom....I made a 95 on my paper.

Me- Great.

L- Now I have to finish it.

Me- What's left to do?

L- Type it, make a title page and the reference page.

Me- Okay.

L- I asked the teacher about the reference page and she said to put down my three sources.

Me- Hmmmmmmm.

L- I told her I only needed one source.

Me- What?

L- She asked me what the source was.

Me- And?

L- I told her it was my dad.

Me- What did she say?

L- She just laughed.

Game Night

2011-03-17T10:13:00.002-04:00

I got a new Wii game for the kids that the boy has been talking about. Here we have our normal set up in the play room.
Here is the space needed for four people to play the new game. Any guesses?

P.S. I totally got sucked into it. SO fun!

Perspective

2011-03-14T20:59:00.003-04:00

Boy-I had to run an extra lap at track today.

Me-Why?

Boy-I was tapping on the cooler.

Me- You were tapping on the cooler......

Boy-Yeah. I was tapping on the cooler and Mr. Brooks told me to take a step back.

Me- Okay.....

Boy-So I took one step back and kept tapping on the cooler.

Me-You kept tapping on the cooler. (frowning)

Boy-Yeah. And then he got real mad and told me to take a lap.

Me-You KNEW take a step back meant to stop beating on the cooler.

Boy-He never said to stop tapping the cooler....he SAID to take a step back. Which I did.

Me-You directly disrespected his authority.

Boy-But mom.....

Me-What?

Boy-It was a great beat.

Reebok Reezig & Repeat

2011-03-11T08:06:00.002-05:00

After looking at the Reebok website, emailing them and calling them, I found out that I can indeed return defective shoes at the store where I purchased them. I called the store manager and she said bring them on. Without a receipt and without the box. She didn't seem at all surprised that the shoe was falling apart.
Upon arrival at the store, I get two teenagers whom only seem interested in finding out if I am related to a buddy of theirs. They didn't have any of the cool colors the other stores did, and the boy was not happy. The workers wanted the original box and I told them their manager said not to bring it.
These were the only pair on the mens side that weren't white or solid black. At a different store I found out that MANY pairs of Reezigs have been returned. It seems Reebok may have rushed this design before it was tested properly. Notice how everything is thicker now and more reinforced. I think we will go back to a Nike running shoe after this is over and done with. Hopefully this pair will last the six week track season.

ReeBok ReeZig=Reebok ReeRip

2011-03-10T08:45:00.003-05:00

Two weeks ago I purchased these running shoes from Reebok for the boy for track.
They are supposedly some "new" technology that is super light and thin, and the shoe is allowed to breathe as you run.
The boy loves wearing them to run in and says they are really comfortable. Problem? They started getting tiny holes in them last week, that have now started to turn into a rip.
I went back to Foot Locker, but they can't do anything because the shoes have been worn. They did say to contact ReeBok. I have emailed the company and am waiting a reply. Hopefully the shoes won't fall apart completely while we are waiting.

UPDATE: ReeBok told me I can return them to the store for an even exchange. Stay tuned.

Giving Up

2011-03-09T08:47:00.002-05:00

I finally gave in and learned how to use the bowflex. I have to admit I really like it. My first goal is just to tone my body and lose seven pounds. My wake up call was when I stepped on the scale three weeks ago, and I only weighed eight pounds less than I did the day I delivered Levi. Last week I lost two, and so far this week I have lost one. I stopped drinking soft drinks of any kind (my personal weakness) and started making better choices for meals and snacks. So far so good. I also want to start walking two mornings a week. If anyone is interested in joining me, let me know.

Track

2011-03-08T07:54:00.003-05:00

The oldest boy is trying out for track again this year. Seems the coaches have finally realized they actually need to cut a few (i.e. 20 or more) kids. Last year was crazy because they kept everyone and we had around 30 boys and 35 girls. This year they SAY they will keep 20 of each. Every sport at the middle school has a mandatory parent meeting. The main rules for the parents are: don't talk to the coach about playing time as this is not a rec sport, don't schedule doctor and orthodontist appointments during practices, and BE ON TIME for pick-up promptly at 6. Yesterday I was there at 5:58. I don't get in the pick-up line because I will lose my religion in it. I parked under the tree where I waited last year. As kids started running back to the auxiliary gym, I became uncertain as to whether or not the boy would remember this. I got out of the car and started walking toward the gym. I turned around half way there and saw the boy walking toward the car. We had passed each other in the bus parking lot.

Boy- MOM, what are you doing?

Me- (laughing) I didn't know if you would remember where I like to park.

Boy- I remembered.

Me- I can't believe we passed each other.

Boy- I can't believe you got out of the car.

Me- I didn't want to sit here all day.

Boy- Just DON'T get out of the car.

Me- What?

Boy- Do NOT get out of the car. Just wait here tomorrow.

Me- I can feel the love.

Messy

2011-03-04T09:39:00.002-05:00

This is the buddies idea of putting up the baseball stuff neatly.

Mind Games

2011-03-02T09:18:00.002-05:00

I have been making the boys pick a number between one and ten for a few weeks now after supper. The one closest to the number gets first choice of which chore he wants to do that night. They range from unloading the dishwasher, reloading the dishwasher, sweeping the kitchen floor, straightening the living room, you get the picture. So like I said, this has been working great because they pick what they want to do and there has been no complaining about who does what. Last night, S looked at me and said......"Mom? Is the number you pick always four?" All of a sudden I had three sets of startled blue eyes looking at me. S started laughing. Funny that the seven year old caught on and no one else did. The number was always four.

Busy Saturday

2011-03-01T08:24:00.002-05:00

Lately our Saturday's have been super busy. This past Saturday we had basketball pictures made at 9:20. A basketball game at 10. A birthday party for a school friend at 11:45 at the skating rink. At 3 we left to search the county for a glove for S, who is left-handed (easier said than done). At 4 Wyatt had a friend coming over and at 4:20 Levi went to a friends house. I finally got home at 4:30 only to realize that if I would have thought about supper I would have been half way to Pizza Hut from where I took Levi. Ahhhhhh, back out again to get supper. The best part of the day, was watching the buddies gain their confidence on skates. By the time we left they were getting quite good. P.S. It was 81 degrees on Sunday. So sweet!

100th Day

2011-02-19T09:25:00.003-05:00

School has celebrated the 100th day. A little later than the norm since we missed an ENTIRE week of school for the snow that we had. I should be posting pics of each child in the doctors office. This time of year is brutal in the South. The weather is all over the place. Yesterday it was 75 here. We have had a stomach virus, the flu, two cases of strep, a sinus infection, and an asthma attack. Oh well, this too shall pass.

Conversation at the store

2011-02-17T07:57:00.002-05:00

This was with a guy while I was waiting to pay for my gas at the store the other day.....

Guy- How much gas do you put in that thing? (pointing at suburban)

Me- As much as it needs.

Guy- You need a little Honda.

Me- You know I have four kids....right?

Guy- You need a little truck.

Me- FOUR boys. Not gonna fit dude.

Guy- A smaller vehicle.

Me- You gonna buy it for me? That thing is paid for. (pointing at the suburban)

Guy- You know what you need?

Me- A nanny?

At this point the cashier lost it, and she and I burst out laughing. Noisy guy just stood there bewildered.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T14:56:00.000-05:00

Baby Doll Project

2011-02-11T08:18:00.004-05:00

The boy finally received his doll for family living class. These are the ones that cry, and you feed them, and change their diaper, and burp them. You get points taken off for head mismanagement or excessive crying, etc. He did very well with his baby girl. Only complained one time when it wouldn't stop crying.

Amen in Motion @ MPHS

2011-02-08T17:39:00.000-05:00

Amen in Motion perform at the high school with Amen Live

Science talk

2011-02-02T16:39:00.003-05:00

From the 13 year old in the car.

Him- Mom, did you know that matter cannot be created or destroyed?

Me- Hmmmmmm.

Him- The only way you could even THINK about creating matter would be to get a nuclear reactor and put one element into it and blast a proton in it and spin them around and you have a one in a million chance of them hitting one another and creating a new one.

Me- (crickets)

Him- Isn't that awesome!

Me- (silence)

Him- MOM!

Me- You lost me at proton.

Circus

2011-01-31T08:19:00.003-05:00

Friday was field trip day. We went to the circus at the arena where the Bobcats play. I had never been to this arena and it is quite fancy. It is also quite inconvenient to get to and park around, and I am not sure why Charlotte thought we needed another one built in the middle of downtown, but it is very nice inside nonetheless.
The circus has changed the way they do their transitions. When they are working to change an act, they lower a system with neon panels from the ceiling and distract the younger ones with an act on the side or from above. Then the act leaves and "viola" a new one appears seemingly from no where. One time while a motorcycle was riding on a tight-wire literally above our seats, they bought out another act. G looked at me when they raised the panels and exclaimed....WHERE DID THAT COME FROM! It was hilarious.
Their favorites were the dirt-bikes, the trampoline guys and a little person clown that was in almost every act. The music is awesome....Queen, Vanilla Ice, etc.....and they get around on Segways that they steer with their legs. The bars stop at their knees. They also told me that the clowns dance like their big brother does. You know.....moon walking and the running man forwards, sideways and backwards. :)
Oh, and the baby elephant that was born at the Ringling Bros. center was the crowd fav. There was a very loud "awwwwwww" from the crowd when he came out with his mom. He was as cute as a baby elephant can be. They also enjoyed the dog that led the adult elephants around, and then jumped on the backs of horses and llamas. If you haven't been to the circus lately I highly suggest you pack up the kiddies and go. May all your days be circus days!

Conversation with my sister

2011-01-28T08:10:00.005-05:00

I went shopping with my sister, mom, and sister in law before Christmas. This conversation took place....

Her- What are you looking for?

Me- A game called Cuponk.

Her- What is it?

Me- A game with a cup that lights up when you bounce a ball into it.

Her- Ummmmm.......beer pong for kids?

Me- Pretty much.

(We call it like we see it guys, lol.)

Clown Day

2011-01-27T08:49:00.004-05:00

The first grade has been learning about the circus all month. Today they get to have a clown parade and go around the whole school to show off their outfits. Tomorrow the grand finale.....a field trip to the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus at the arena in Charlotte.

Another day....more snow

2011-01-12T17:21:00.002-05:00

Snow angels.
Sledding.
Tomorrow.....day four of no school.

Snow, snow and more snow

2011-01-11T17:12:00.003-05:00

Well, after much speculation it came. The snow that is. Powdery white stuff. No school.
Let the playing began. Snow people, sledding, hiking, riding the 4 wheeler and Gator.
Feeding the squirrels and birds.
Guess what? I think we are all over it. Snow...go away. Back up North. Please. Tomorrow....day three of no school.

Christmas Eve

2011-01-06T18:30:00.004-05:00

The Fisher great grandkids (plus Kyle, Michael and Kristin)

MPMS v. C.C. Griffin (fast pin)

2011-01-05T09:47:00.001-05:00

for my mom

Children's program

2011-01-04T09:45:00.002-05:00

The buddies are in a choir at church called Kidz Praise. They sing and dance and play instruments, and have great fun. The church was packed and several other groups sang. As usual, when all of the kids from Sunday morning came together, the small ones were hysterical. On went "rogue" and found a microphone of his own in the back. It was very entertaining! I look forward to the new building being completed so we can see better. Special thank you to Grandpa Dan for coming out to watch.

Santa

2011-01-03T07:52:00.002-05:00

Santa came to Barrier Store before Christmas. I didn't tell the buddies, I just acted like it was a routine visit.
He drove his John Deere tractor to get there. How cute is that?
"Santa" was at basketball practice that night to watch his grandson. He just knew they would recognize him. No one suspected a thing. :)

Learning to ride

2010-12-31T09:03:00.005-05:00

Getting ready
First crash (going uphill too slowly, lol)
And he's off
Trading places
Off again

Watching these two ride is very scary! G is a daredevil and S goes along like a little old man. The last time they rode the hubs said.....great day for an ER visit.....no kidding. So far, so good.

Funny

2010-12-11T09:22:00.000-05:00

Putting Up Lights

2010-11-30T09:14:00.003-05:00

What is everyone looking at?
Yep, that is David on the tower. Landon has been wanting to light it up for years.
He drew quite the crowd of on-lookers.
Almost there.
It is hard to see, but at night it looks very pretty.

Last Soccer Game

2010-11-26T09:40:00.003-05:00

Saturday was our last soccer games of the 2010 season. Whew, it was way too long. We were all glad it was over, lol.
The kids and the coaches. Frontrow: Leland, Lena, Amber, Knox, Gage, Madison, Xerses, and Stone. Backrow: Colton, Kayla and Dillon.
Showing off their medals.
Cheesing it up. We get this week off and then basketball season starts.

Par For The Course

2010-11-23T06:35:00.002-05:00

We finally agreed on how to finish the living room wall. I know, I know......it has been a year. Yeah, a whole year with a plain, unfinished, white, sheet rocked wall. So I decided to tackle it myself. I sat down at my desk in the kitchen and googled "How to finish drywall". Landon came in to get something and leaned over my shoulder to see what I was doing. He asked me why I was looking it up, and I told him I was tired of the white wall and I was going to mud and tape it myself. He was on the phone with Chris two minutes later. The thought of me doing it was all it took. The wall has been finished now. We (and when I say "we" I mean I got the supplies at Lowes and Chris installed it) put beadboard on it and it has all the trim completed. Just think.....I should have googled that last January and it could have been done! Now.......do I paint the room, poly that wall, or finished the rest of the room in beadboard? Anyone see a pattern here?

Insight

2010-11-22T06:15:00.003-05:00

Levi told me this on the way home from the last soccer games of the season.....

L-I saw a parent tell a lie today.

Me-What?

L-I saw a parent tell their child a lie.

Me-What do you mean?

L-The kid was running up the bleachers with his trophy. When he got to the top he tripped and the trophy fell onto the pavement. It broke in several pieces. The kid started to cry and the mom said, "Don't worry honey, we can fix this." "No you can't!", yelled the kid. The mom hugged him and said a little glue would do the trick and the kid sucked it up and they left.

L-Mom....no amount of glue was going to fix that trophy.....

Me-Probably not.

L-Man.....being a parent is really hard work.

Me-Hardest job on the Earth.

MPMS vs. C.C.Griffin

2010-11-11T09:51:00.000-05:00

Wrestling

2010-11-08T06:07:00.003-05:00

Wrestling season started a few weeks ago, but the matches started last week. Levi made starter in his weight class at Mount. That means he had to wrestle the four other boys from our own school, for the spot for last Thursday. Today he will have to do it all over again.
The top part is my favorite part of their whole warm up. I just love seeing all the boys in the circle together. Maybe I'll get a new camera so I can take pics in the gym that aren't dark and blurry before the season ends. ;) GO TIGERS!!!

Halloween

2010-11-04T08:05:00.002-04:00

Iron Man, The Grim Reaper and Spiderman on a candy run.

Trunk-or-Treat

2010-11-03T09:52:00.003-04:00

Saturday night we went to the trunk-or-treat in Stanfield. They had free candy, games, hayrides, and hotdogs.
The crew. Where else can Bank Robbers hang out with Storm Troopers?
Playing games for candy. Ah, the joy.
The boy who was too old to dress up, but not too old to carry around a candy bag.
The CMC helicopter landed while we were in line for the hayride. It was quite windy. (no one was hurt, it was a scheduled landing :) This was allot of fun. I hope MP takes a lesson from it, and does it one year. The only change I would make, would be to sell the hotdogs and drinks for a dollar each to raise money for the elementary school PTO.