Clouds...

You may or may not know this about Brent but he loves to take pictures of the sky and clouds. Here are some that he took tonight -

More work in the Garden!

Today Nolan and Elijah helped us gather cucumbers and squash from the garden. We are getting lots of cucumbers...if Brandon is lucky maybe I will can some pickles for him this summer! We may not get too many yellow squash...the plants are looking so great. That's disappointing because that's one of my favorite vegetables from the garden. We did get several zucchini squash tonight and I made some oven-fried breaded zucchini and they were great!

More Beach Pictures

So, we are now back from the beach and trying to get back into a routine. Here are some additional photos from our trip -

Ocean Lakes 2008

So, we are at the beach and having a great time. We have played in the ocean, built sandcastles, played putt putt, gone swimming, eaten ice cream and other great food, worked a puzzle, visited the arcade, and much more. We are having a great time and still have a couple more days left. Today we have to switch campsites but we don't have to move very far! Here are some pictures from the trip - (there are a lot more that I will post later...)

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebolt

My friend Jenna loned me a book to read while here at the beach. The book is The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. This was a different kind of book than my usual read, but I did enjoy it. Jenna thought that I could gain something by reading this book and I think that I did. This book is about a girl that was murdered and killed. She is narrating the book from Heaven. It is about the way that her family deals with her death and learning to go on without her. It is about grief, coping, family, and growing. What I got out of it was that no one who knew the girl wanted to move forward from the time in their life when Susie was killed. They didn't want to go on with their lives because then they might forget about Susie. Eventually, life does go on and good things happen and that's okay. Even though life becomes less focused on the person lost, you can still remember the person together. There are several quotes from the book that I want to share but I don't have the book with me right now so I will share them later. I could talk about this book for awhile...so, if you read it, let me know and I would love to discuss it with you. Now, I am reading The Saving Graces and I am halfway through it. I hope to finish it on the beach today.

Haircut!

I took a poll at work this week about how I should get my hair cut - keep it long or cut it short. Here's the final decision (but it's really not fixed):

Here's before and after - which do you prefer??? I like it both ways!

Just a Country Girl

Yesterday my dad taught me how to do some new things - drive a tractor and bail straw! I'm really not very "girly" as far as wearing makeup and fixing my hair, etc, but I'm also not usually too much of a tomboy. My brother always got mad at me because I didn't want to go outside. Actually, I like to be outside, I just don't care for the hot weather. Yesterday my dad needed some help in the field and since my brother is gone and Brent wasn't available, I volunteered! And you know what - it was FUN! I probably went too fast, didn't pick up the straw in the right order (I kind of went everywhere!), and I did break a couple of bails and hit the trailer once, but I did have fun. I wonder if my dad will let me participate again?

Happy Father's Day...better late than never!

This week I have been trying to do 2 weeks worth of work since we are leaving for the beach on Sunday, so I have been TOO tired to blog when I get home. Today I am blogging BEFORE work so that I am sure to get the few posts that I've been wanting to do done.

Happy late Father's day Brent! You are a great father to Nolan and Elijah! They love you so much and think you are awesome!! I look forward to continuing to raise them together in the coming years and then growing old with you myself! I love you!

Happy late Father's day Dad! You are awesome and I love you SO much!!! I have to say that you have taught me so much in the last few years especially!! Thanks for always listening to me even when I know you are so very busy!! I'm looking forward to lots more time with you in the future!!

We had a great day on Sunday...mostly just spending time together! We had a cookout and went swimming with Grandad and Mimi and Chris, Andrea, and Chevy.

Here are a few of the pictures that I took...

This time last week Elijah wouldn't even get in the pool!

On Sunday, Elijah became very brave and even learned how to jump in! Thanks to Andrea's encouragement, we finally let him go under a couple of times!

Thanks Dad, Mimi, Chris, Andrea, and Chevy for spending the afternoon with us!

We had a great time!

Working In the Garden with Papaw Joe

It was potato digging time in our garden this week and Elijah was there to help! He loves being outside, helping, and being in the garden. I think he's going to be a farmer! Elijah and Papaw Joe had a 5 gallon bucket of potatoes when we were finished. Not nearly as many as last year, but still a good amount! I just love the little new potatoes! I can't wait to cook some. Also, my friend taught me last summer having potatoes and cucumbers in the same meal is yummy. He is right! Now, when I cook potatoes, I always have cucumber salad with it. It is very savory especially if you put a little of both on your fork!

Quote

In the book that I am reading, Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult, there was a quote that I noticed last night. I wanted to share it, because it is a quote that I can really appreciate:

"Every working mother has been caught between this Scylla and Charybdis. I can't give a hundred percent at home because of my work; I can't give a hundred percent at work because of my home; and I live in fear of the moments, like these, when the two collide."

I do not know the Scylla and Charybdis reference, but I get what she's saying!

Family Time...

I took these pictures almost 1 month ago but then I forgot to post them. I remembered them the other day and just now had time to add them to my blog. Brent and I have so many different "families" to spend time with but we do try to balance our time with everyone. I would love to spend more time with my dad and "other" mom but we are all so busy that we don't get to be together as much as we would all like. The best time for us to get together is on Sunday evenings for dinner and we usually go out for Mexican...not sure why, but that's where we always end up! Brent actually didn't get to attend this dinner...hence the reason he's not in the photos!

These days going out to eat with Elijah is not much fun...but we keep doing it anyway!! On this night, like most occasions, he lasted through about half the meal. Then, once he's through eating, he's ready to go! Nevermind that I've usually not gotten to take more than a couple bites!! Does anyone have any suggestions for this? I always take entertainment, but that's usually not enough!

This is my dad and "other" mom!
This is me and my sister-in-law (Michael's wife) Jessica
Nolan is always ready for a photo-op!
Elijah LOVES to eat nachos and salsa. The employees at the Mexican restaurants always get a kick out of this!
Jessica and my dad

On Every Side by Karen Kingsbury

I read On Every Side yesterday and this morning...I read for a good bit of the ride to Georgia and then read the rest this morning since we weren't due to the conference center until 1. It was nice to have some uninterrupted reading time! This was a great book...like all of Karen Kingsbury's reads. She continues to be one of my favorite authors and reading her books always draws me closer to God. This one is no different...it reminded me of how much FAITH we should have in God because He will get us through all circumstances in our lives even if they don't make sense to us. This book also reminded me that we should continually pray for the people and situations in our lives...even when it seems like our prayers aren't being answered, they are. Even though things happen to us that we don't understand, God is still with us and will get us through.

I also brought Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult on this trip. I am going to start it tonight. Also, I am going to try to catch up on my Daily Bible Reading. And yes I did check these 2 books out from the library instead of taking books from the stack on the night stand but I just didn't want to read any of those right now!

Veggie Salsa

A friend of mine shared the following recipe with me. I thought I would share it here because it sounds like a great healthy summertime treat.

She says "I usually make it at 4th of July and Christmas. It makes 1 gallon; we recently tried it on salad & it was good; it is great when just eaten with those scoop chips. I mix all the ingredients in a wide mouth gallon jar & shake; let set in refrigerator overnight for flavors to mingle. It will keep several weeks stored in the refrigerator. This is great for large functions/ family dinners, etc. Our family loves it!"

Veggie Salsa

Rinse/drain the following 4 cans of veggies:
1 can black beans
1 can black-eyed peas
1 can white corn
1 can yellow corn

Then add the following:

2 bunches spring onions (cut up & include some of the tops)
2 small cans chopped black olives (I use one larger can from Aldi & chop them myself)
1 bottle Wishbone Italian Dressing (16 oz size)
1 each of red, green, & yellow peppers, chopped (Aldi Grocery is cheapest!)
2 cans of Ro-Tel or similar tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes and cilantro)

Michael's 27th Birthday

My brother and I were 2 years and 10 months apart in age. Today he would have been 27 years old. (Yes, that means that I will be 30 soon...Yikes!) Although, he and I argued and fussed and fought when we were young...we also loved each other dearly. In the last 10 years, we still had a lot of arguments and heated discussions and disagreements, but it is because we loved each other so much. We both always wanted the best for the other one. We were very protective of one another and when one of us was hurting the other one hurt as well.

My brother had a lot of excuses for his problems in life and sometimes the excuse was related to me...truly, though, my brother loved me very much and I loved him very much. I will never forget the bond that we shared. There are so many things that he taught me...I wish that he could be here to continue to share his wisdom with me, but God's will is different. I also need him here to help raise these boys! Nolan is very wise like Michael and Elijah is rambunctious and mischievous like Michael. Also, Elijah looks just like Michael did when he was that age. Michael sometimes told me that he hoped that my boys give me a harder time than he ever gave mom. I know that he really didn't mean that because he always told Nolan that he hoped that Nolan would make better choices than he always had. I know that what Michael would really want is for me to have the wisdom to raise them according to God's plan.

I love you Michael and I will never forget what you taught me!