My Brother...A Convict?

Have you been keeping up with the news about the bank robber that police have been searching for? This dude doesn't wear any disguise.

This is a picture I swiped from the WSPA News website of the bank robber.

Do you think this could be the guy? Do you see a resemblance?

Friday Frenzy

Today has been so busy. Tomorrow is Gavin's birthday party so we've been trying to get last minute stuff finished. Jason actually took the day off to help get things ready. He worked his little hiney off cleaning the house up while I was at work (with the help of Kelly). Jason kept Gavin with him today and went to get a hair cut. Gavin's hair hasn't been cut since Easter, so it was getting a little shaggy and hard to tame. He was actually starting to earn the name "Kramer". I knew the cut would probably make Gavin look completely different, so Jason took before and after pictures.

Before the Haircut After the Haircut

Ray's birthday was actually Wednesday, but we celebrated it tonight at Mom's house. Mom always cooks for us for our birthday and she let's the birthday baby choose the menu. Of course, Ray chooses a feast - New Year's Day feast, to be exact. The boy knows how to do some eatin'!

Birthday Boy

This is a picture of the food we had tonight. It was lip-smackin', slap-yo-mama delicious! chicken & dumplins, dressing, collard greens, fried okra, fried squash, and cranberry sauce

I hate that you missed it.

When I Grow Up

I know this is totally random, but it's one of those crazy things that run through this brain of mine: We have all heard the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" all too many times. When I was little, I always remember hearing my friends say astronaut, teacher, nurse, doctor, movie actor, model, ...you know what I'm talking about. I was thinking back to my answer, and I can't ever remember saying anything other than teacher - that I recall. How odd that I followed that path from a little girl till now. It hasn't changed. (Of course, there are other things now that I wish I could be when I "grow up" again in my second life; I'd like to be an entrepreneur: a meat and three restaurant owner, or a girlie sandwich shop owner, a children's bookstore owner, a full time mommy, and a couple other things.) Anyway, what did you want to be as a child, or even a teenager, when you grew up? Did you follow your path? Or did it change? Is there still something that you'd like to be or would like to do?

Today's To Do List & This Week's Menu

Today's To Do List

1. Unload and reload the dishwasher, and straighten the kitchen up AGAIN
2. Turn in Gavin's summer reading log to the Westside Library and return an overdue book that I thought I had already turned in
3. Drop off some information to the doctor's office
4. Go to Hobby Lobby to check for those little chinese take-out boxes for Gavin's party
5. Meet Jason for lunch on his lunch break
6. Go to the grocery store for this week's dinner menu
7. Dust off Mama Pye's old sewing machine to see if it still works so that Mom and I can make curtains for my room at school

*Let's see if I can accomplish all of this.

This Week's Dinner Menu

Tonight - breakfast casserole, grits, fruit

Tuesday - hot dog with chilli (Oscar Myer fat free weenies), french fries

Wednesday - spaghetti, salad, garlic bread

Thursday - take-out (because I have a late dentist appt)

Friday - Mom's house for Ray's birthday dinner

Weekend Stuff

My daisies FINALLY bloomed! I've waited all summer long and they decide to bloom at the end of the season! But that's ok, I can enjoy them while they last.

We went to a wedding shower yesterday for my brother's fiancee, Katie, in Hendsonville. She got to meet a lot of her dad's side of the family.

This is where the shower was held - at Katie's aunt's mansion...uh, I mean home.

I wish you could have seen this house - it was sooo nice. It sat up on top of a hill with 2 driveways (one for each level of the house) and a beautifully landscaped yard. The front of the house was nothing but big windows, and when you look out you see the tops of the trees and the tops of the mountains. It was heavenly. There was a library there with sliding wooden doors and a gas log fireplace beside the reading chair. The downstairs was a huge game room, equipped with a kitchenette, pool table, big screen TV, and a hot tub on the outside porch. Of course, the laundry room was my personal favorite. It was the size of 2 bathrooms put together. The door on it was vintage-looking - it was glass (the blurry glass - I don't know the name of it), with soap bubbles and the title "Laundry Room" etched on it. It had the double washer and dryer and also a steamer; a utility sink, and lots of cabinets. It was a woman's paradise.

Even though this house was immaculate and is my new dream house, I started wondering about having to clean all the windows and all the hardwood floors in it. And all of a sudden I was reminded about how thankful I am for my little love shack.

My Thrills for Thursday

The other night I tried to make Tomato Pie. I got the recipe from Meredith. It tasted absolutely delicious! I don't think I dried off enough of the liquid from the tomotoes, though, because it was kind of runny. It didn't matter - it was the hit of the night. Thanks Meredith for the recipe. I'll definitely make it again! I was watching Gavin as he was scribbling with the pen. I noticed his fingers were holding the pen like normal people do - he didn't have his whole hand and fingers clasped around it.

Gavin's birthday is coming up and the theme is going to be puppy dogs. I twisted the art teacher's arm into making the party favor bags for me. She drew the dog's face, then made the ears out of black felt, and then put wiggly eyes on him. The child's name will be written on the bone. Pretty cool, huh?

10 on Tuesday

Ten things I’m thankful for today:

1. I have a job to go to. Although I have thoroughly enjoyed every second of being home this summer, and I really don’t want to be back at school, I’m thankful that I have a job waiting on me. So many recent graduates and others are searching for teaching positions and can’t find one because no one is hiring. I am thankful I don’t have to worry about that.
2. I love our family feasts. When we all get together at Mom’s house, it’s a complete circus. When all 12 of us are there sitting around one table, it gets loud and crowded, and the chaos drives me nuts. (Sometimes I think I need medication, seriously.) But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Being with my family and laughing with each other is the one of the best memories I get to relive often.
3. I thank God for giving me a new day each day to live. He could very easily decide my time is up, but He gives me breath and allows me to hear that dreaded alarm clock each morning.
4. I’m thankful for good fitting blue jeans, especially my Lee jeans that say “instantly slims you”. Anything that says that has my vote immediately!
5. I’m thankful for the evenings when Jason comes home in time for dinner. I love to cook dinner and sit together as a family as we eat. It doesn’t happen as often as I would like, but when it does, I love that time.
6. I’m thankful I have the memories of my great grandmother, Mama Pye. She died when she was 95 and was very wise. She made all of my Sunday dresses when I was little, and made my security blanket that I used all the way into high school, and I even took it with me to North Greenville. It has such great sentimental value.
7. I’m thankful that we have enough money to pay for our bills each month. I hear and read about people all the time struggling to make ends meet. I thank God that he has provided Jason and me with enough money to take care of our finances.
8. I’m thankful I married a husband who is such a hard worker. Jason is a perfectionist and takes his job seriously. He won’t leave until his work is done. I know I can count on him to provide for our family.
9. I’m thankful for friends who set an example for the way Christian women should act. They don’t know it, but they challenge me to be better than I am now, just through their actions and words. I’m thankful God placed them in my path.
10. And of course, I’m thankful for my Gavin. He may have hit the Terrible Twos and be absolutely wild, but I love that boy more than I thought I ever had room in my heart for. God gave me a healthy and easy pregnancy with him, and he was born perfect. I thank God for His protection from the very beginning and His continued protection around Gavin each day.