On March 25th, my first born celebrated her 13th birthday. We celebrated in a "BIG" way this past Saturday night. She invited her entire 7th grade class to attend the birthday bash. We had invited everyone to help us "Rock" her 13th birthday. With the operative word being "rock". Don't you just love this cake? Melissa from Baby Cakes made it for us. Not only did it look absolutely incredible but it tasted good too. You need a cake for a special occasion, she's your girl

Instead of goody bags for the guests, we copied an idea from a

friends wedding and had a candy bar. Not only did I copy her idea but also borrowed her jars and recycled the chinese food boxes and just covered her labels with one for our party. (Thanks Katey)

Remember I said the operative word was "rock". Here is why: #1W wanted to have the Rock climbing wall for she and her friends
to climb. Most of the guests did attempt to climb and many even

made it to the top. Here is Calli

and Sarah
and Anna

The birthday girl also requested the Gladiator Joust. It may have been the hit of the party. However, jousting was not the preferred us for this large inflatable pit. By the end of the night, this inventive group of tweens had created their own game and were diving, flipping, hurdling and any other creative movement they could muster as a means of getting into the pit. It was quite entertaining!

On her actual birthday, I took an ice cream cake to school for

her to share with her friends during lunch. It was fun.

She was completely mortified when
they sang "Happy Birthday" to her
in the cafeteria.

All in all, I think the 13th birthday celebrations were enjoyed by all and will be remembered by the birthday girl for years to come. After all the guests had left and the cleaning up was finished, she came up behind me and hugged me and said "Thank you, Momma" Those three little words made the hard work, time and money spent all worth it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRISS!!!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Setting Goals.......and Accomplishing Them!

I have always been a goal oriented person. I thrive on setting a goal or having a project and working to see the finished product. When I started running a little over 3 years ago, that's exactly how I got started. I went to the internet and printed a training plan (How to run a 5K when you have never run before.) It gave me daily directions from choosing the race, when and how to register and what types of exercise I needed to do every day so that I would be successful in finishing the race. On Saturday, February, 6, 2010, myself, Cher, Rebecca (from Rebecca's Ramblings) and Cher's husband, Dr. D along with about 1500 others accomplished a serious goal. WE RAN THE CRITZ TYBEE HALF MARATHON!!! That's 13.1 miles my friend!! Rebecca presented me with the idea back in October. Cher and I had been running for a few months, so I asked her about it and she in turn talked with Dr. D. We were a little nervous about such an undertaking but decided to hit the ground running, literally. We took different approaches in reaching the goal yet each of us were successful in completing it. Below is a photo history of our accomplishment......



Dr. D, Cher and I getting ready to head to the starting line. It is so funny to me that we look so happy!! Don't know if you can see the bumps in my pocket, but they are peanut m&m's. Cher read somewhere about runners eating a peanut m&m after each mile they finished in a marathon (a sweet treat to reward yourself with each mile closer to the finish line) I bought some and we put them in our pockets, however, we only ate them through the first 6 miles.




Here are Cher, Me and Rebecca. Check out Rebecca's Bib Number. When she got on the elevator the morning of the race, she had a gentleman say to her, "Wow, your number 5, you must be really fast. Rebecca just laughed and told him the Bib's were numbered by your last name"




Headed to the start line. Cher is really excited. Me, just nervous. I think I must have fixed my hat and pony tail 100 times before the race started.

And we're off!! Me in the red hat, Cher in the blue jacket, Dr. D beside her in the black jacket and Rebecca to his left.

Check out those smiles !!!!!

Here we are coming back by the hotel, we have just finished 7 miles. Our cheering section was able to see us at this point in the race. Cher passed off her jacket and we exchanged a couple high fives. It was a little emotional for me to have my children there cheering for me, but I had looked forward to seeing them at the half way point. I knew just seeing them would inspire me to keep going.

We have run more miles than we have left to run at this point. It seems like that would be a comforting thought and it is but the next 6 will be the toughest.

Here come Dr. D and Rebecca at the halfway point.

Check out Kermit. He ran the whole race riding on this gentleman's back. Never had a chance to speak with him but I wondered what he was trying to accomplish with his green partner.

Here we come toward the finish line.


We have caught sight of our cheering section!

At this point, I was crying so hard. I can't believe we are about to finish!
We have been working to accomplish this goal for the past 12 weeks. We have run in the rain, in the dark, in freezing temperatures and with injuries. We have learned how fragile our bodies are and how important what we eat and how much we drink is to our well being. I have pushed myself beyond anything I ever imagined.

Notice the clock. Our goal was to finish in 2 hours and 30 minutes. We hoped we could do it in 2 hours and 20 minutes. We crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 13 seconds. However, that was the Race Clock Time. Our Chip Time, which is based on the chip we wear on our shoe, and starts your race time the minute you step on the mat at the start and stops when you step on the mat at the finish line, was 2 hours, 9 minutes and 59 seconds.

Triumphant Finishers!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is Rebecca on her way to the finish line!!!

Dr. D experienced a knee injury during the race but finished in spite of it. Here he is with Cher making his way to the finish line

Official finishers of the Critz Tyee Half Marathon, medals and all!

What a Goal.......What an Accomplishment.....

My Favorite Hornet

Here she is, my favorite Hornet. #5 , a guard for the Green and Gold.

We have really enjoyed watching her play basketball this year.

Here she is getting ready to guard a player from Covenant. I wonder if there could have been a taller player for her to guard? :)

Bringing In the Ball! Don't be scared, you go Girl!!!

Oh, yeah, here's one that's taller:). I love that look of sheer concentration. I figure she's thinking, "Your not gonna get that ball girl, not while I'm out here"

The Westfield Hornets 7th Grade team were 6 and 2 in the 2009-2010 regular season play. They made it to the semi-final round and were beat out by a nasty opponent. We were so proud of our Lady Hornets. They played with all their heart and soul.

This last picture is my personal favorite and sent to me by a fellow Lady Hornet mom.

wonder what's on her mind........

Bye Bye 2009

Bye, Bye 2009. It's time to bid you farewell and usher in a new and hopefully prosperous new year. Our 2009 was full of adventure, failure, excitement, sadness, growth, and injury but mostly full of love. Please enjoy our trip down memory lane..........

The beginning of the year brought us a little winter weather. Do you see the look of pure joy on their faces? That is the product of a few mere flurries of the white stuff. The 3W's didn't care how much there was of it, they were just excited to see it. Snow, Snow, Snow!!!!!!!!!



My baby lost his first tooth in February. It was an exciting day for him and a sad day for me. It was our last first tooth :(

January and February was full of basketball games for the #1W and #2 W. Can you believe it, they were both HORNETS!

Here's our Lady Hornet! Don't you love the braids?

#2 is waiting to see if the foul is called on him. He likes to play aggressive. We saw the inside of gymnasiums all over the Middle Georgia Area. #3W was such a trooper. Cheerfully going wherever the game was but always looking for ways to entertain himself as well as the crowd. Check out this crowd pleasing trick!

The weekend after Valentine's Day, Mouse and I hosted DATE NIGHT BUNKO for my Bunko group. It was so much fun. There was lots of good food and drink but mostly good company. We enjoyed rolling the dice and a few of us even left with some special prizes to spice up our date night.

March came with Mouse's 42nd birthday, #1W's 12th birthday and my 41st. Mouse and I quietly passed our days hoping no one would notice but the #1W chose a special way to celebrate her Big Day! She invited 4 of her closest friends to attend a Magic show at our church. His name was Brock Gill and he is a Christian Illusionist. It was impressive!

In March our two dogs, Macy and Cleo were taken from us. And when I say taken, I literally mean taken. Someone came into our yard and took them. First Cleo and 5 weeks later, to the day, someone took Macy. We still mourn the loss of these two great ladies. The were a very special part of our family. We miss you Cleo and Macy.

On a rainy evening in April, while driving down Bluff Road, we spotted this pup. She was about 4 weeks old, covered in mange and fleas. She had no fur to speak of, but we saw something

special in her. We picked her up on the side of that muddy road
and brought her home. After many attempts at a name that had

some meaning to it, we finally gave up and called her Jessie. She is
the most interesting dog I have ever been around. She craves
human affection and she LOVES US!!!!

In the spring, we were base balling it every day. #2W moved up
to B ball and #3W played his last year of T ball. Mouse helped coach the B ball Rangers. Let me just say, it was a nightmare season. I really thought we had lost him to coaching forever. Regardless of the record and even with all the frustration, #2W loved playing. #3W was a T ball Brave this year. He was so serious on the field and in the dugout. He is looking forward to moving up to C ball next year.

Once again, the Fort Valley Arts Alliance presented another children's play this spring. The Wizard of Oz had 2 performances the last weekend in May. Tryouts were held in April and practice began shortly after. Here are The Funky Narrator, The Scarecrow and Munchkin. It was a GREAT SHOW! The Saturday of the final show, #2W and #3W had baseball games. #3's was farely early in the day so there was to be no conflicts and #2's was to start at 4. Theoretically it should have been over by 6, we hop in the car, he change and be at the Theater by 6:30 in plenty of time for the 7:00 show. At 4:00 the 2:00 game was not over and and at 4:15 it went into extra innings. Needless to say, his game got started about 5:00 was over by 6:40 and we pulled into the theater with 5 minutes to spare. In May, the 3W's, my mother and myself made a trip to Oklahoma for my cousin's wedding. #3W had been asked to be the ring bearer.

Doesn't he look handsome in his tux. We enjoyed out time in the tuxedo store and watching him be dressed by the sales lady. He was loving every minute of it

The #3W had a great Kindergarten year with Aunt Marshy and his teacher. Here they are on the last day of school. There were lots of tears. They will miss each other next year but loved every minute of this year together.


Here he is with his three best friends from school. Can you spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e?

The #2W celebrated his double digit birthday with a bash at grandma and grandaddy's house. We brought the Rock Wall and Slip n Slide and let them swim in the pool but I think they had more fun playing baseball in the yard.

Our Family Vacation at Ormond was a GREAT trip again this year. The Bent Palm is our most favorite place on earth

School started back with a bang. #1W a 7th Grader, #2W a 4th Grader and #3W in the 1st Grade. For the first time ever, they were all in school at the same place. Much easier on momma but much harder on the pocketbook. #2W and #3W played in the Little Stinger Football league at school. At a practice after the 1st game, #2W broke his arm. We thought for sure his football season was done for the year but the Dr. E said if he wanted to continue playing he could. (Was he kidding!!!!!) Their 2nd game was the night he got his cast put on. We came home from the doctor, he put on his jersey and we headed to the game. His coaches were great and allowed him to warm up with the team and even serve as a captain for the coin toss. He was at practice in full pads the next week and never missed another game. He even had to wear the cast a couple extra weeks to be able to continue to the end of the season. As a 1st grader, #3w served as a whipping boy to get pulverized and knocked down for the majority of his 1st season as a Hornet. They play had and get hit hard just to make it to the final game where they get to carry the ball. Everyone cleared their schedules to attend and he gave us a good show. He even got to carry the ball twice.

In November, #1W tried out the the school basketball team and made it. She was thrilled as were we. The beginning of 2010 will be full of exciting games to watch. She was also nominated for the Duke TIP Scholarship. This is really exciting. Her grades on the ITBS test were so high that she was chosen by Duke University to participate in this program they have for 7th Graders. She will take the SAT in January and Duke University will follow her throughout the remainder of her school years. It seems to be a pretty big deal! We are very proud of her. She is growing up to be quite a young lady. Thanksgiving was spent with family from out of town. My uncle and aunt from Oklahoma , my aunt and her family from Florida and my cousins were here for several days. Andrew, Kim, Jared and Sarah stayed at our house. We loved every minute they were here.

I started training for a half marathon. That is 13.1 miles. The race will be held on February 6, 2010 on Tybee Island. I know you think I'm crazy. I think I'm crazy but I'm excited at the same time. It will be quite an accomplishment for me. I have made 2 new friends and they are training with me as well as Rebecca from Rebecca's Ramblings. It will be a fun race! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Here is the picture of the 3W's and Jessie from our Christmas card this year. We have had such a blessed year. One that has been spent trying to heal broken hearts and fill voids that were once overflowing with life. God has been so good to send peace and love for our family. Our prayer for 2010 is continued peace and love. We are going to try to live a simpler life in 2010. Spend less and give more is our new moto. For me, I want to be more available to my children and Mouse. Not just taking care of their physical needs but to listen to them and spend time with them when they want me to not when I have time to. I am praying for a successful year with our business and year full of love for our family. Until next time.....

OCTOBER 14, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BABYYYYY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!

My baby turned 7 today! I can't believe it. I have loved every minute of the last 7 years with you and can hardly wait to see what tomorrow holds. I love you, Muffin!!!!