VBS

We are winding down VBS this week. Part of me is happy because it is very tiring. But the inner hula girl in me is kind of sad. It is a lot of fun. Sandy and I are in charge of the music. We have to teach the children the motions and words of a new song every night. Some of the motions were made up by the guy that writes the songs, but sometimes(and there was a lot this year) we add our own signs.

It is amazing how quickly the kids pick them up and how well they participate. I have been very proud of each of the classes from 3's and Pre-K to the teenagers. Yes the teenagers, (Middle school through High school). It is 2 hours and 40 minutes of aerobic workout. That is the part of me that is a little happy to see it end. But as you will see in the video that I have attached. I should be doing this 24/7.

Bryce and Sara Kate were an absolute joy to have. Their teachers Holli and Jamie loved them and were so sad to see them go. Holli is a student at UGA and Jamie is going to be a freshman at Shorter this fall. They are both a wonderful example to my girls. I adore them both. Their class was very full every night so far. But they handled it with an endless energy that I would love to bottle. And I can not forget, Ryan, Holli's boyfriend was along for the ride too. He is a major help and one of our best Hula Dancers. :)

The Hair!!!!

Life in Lizella has been changed forever. Bryce and Sara Kate are here for a visit. We are having lots of fun and are staying very busy. Although, Manasseh only weighs 5 pounds, he is a source of quite a lot of pandemonium. Bryce and Sara Kate are not accustomed to a dog that exerts a lot of energy. Their beloved Gigi is quite a bit calmer than Manasseh. Sara Kate has also brought out a little bit of Manasseh's inner freak. I was getting ready to work on my VBS songs and she was standing beside me and she said (and I quote) "Manasseh stop humping my leg". Those are words that make dog owner so proud. Not to mention the pride it brings to the aunt of a 3 yr old. Oh well, Sorry Shana.

Back to the reason for this blog. I adore my sister. She is all the things I'm not like organized, disciplined, loving, helpful and the list goes on. There is one thing however, that I do have over her. In case you don't know, it is the ability, no the neurotic need, to be so particular with the way my girls look. Others call it vain, I choose to call it paying attention to detail. From birth, my children have been burdened with bows and ribbons on anything and everything they wear. Sara Kate, not so much. It it probably because she is so darn cute. But my argument is, if she is naturally that adorable, imagine how adorable she would be with a bow or even a simple ribbon. The sky is the limit.

So.... without further adieu please see pictures below of the limitless beauty which I call Sara Kate.

Here she is looking good watching T.V. (television)

And to the right, the look is complete with a ribbon. (To think it only took 30 sec. to tie that ribbon)

SUMMER TIME WITH THE FAM!!

It is officially summertime. Although, I am more than certain that it is no where near as hot here as it is in Macon however, it is all the same very, very, HOT. Thank goodness that Granda and G Daddy have a pool. So... right before we completely melted away to a liquid form of ourselves, the kids decided that they would go swimming. After a helping (or two) of Granda's home made Lasagna, we took off to the pool.

When we were young, we had an old tractor tire inner tube that we played on in the pool. Two of us would get on either side of the tube and would rock back and forth to try and see if we could make our partner fall off. It made for a great work out and provided hours of entertainment. Well, we found a inner tube float and watched as Maci, Bayley, and Bryce tried to all get on it. Mom and I enjoyed watching them get on. I think they laughed as hard as we did. Sara Kate was waiting patiently on the side of the pool to get on when things were stable, but that never happened. She finally gave up and started playing on her own.

I tried to capture some of them playing and falling off. I posted some pictures for your enjoyment. However, I am using Mom and Dad's computer and it is a MAC, that is all I have to say. I would put captions under each picture, but I can't figure out how to do that either.

Happy Summertime.

Free At Last!! Free At Last!!

Thank God Almighty we are free at last!!!
Well we made it. School is out for summer. Although we had to go 2 extra days because of the tornadoes (yes I said tornadoessss) we finally made it to the last week of school.
Bayley was suppose to get out on Tuesday, May 20th. Due to the damage, their last day was Thursday, May 22. Maci's last day was not until Friday, May 23, however she is in 6th grade and their graduation was held Thursday, May 22nd. Does that make sense? I had to put a post it note on my forehead every day to make sure that I was where I needed to be when I needed to be there.
As if my schedule wasn't hectic enough, on the morning that Maci was going to graduate, I went into work a little early to get a jump on some of the end of the year stuff that needed to be done and I came in to glass everywhere. Someone had broken into the kitchen and smashed the window going in and then the window in the door to my office. I guess they were looking for money. They even tried to break the lock that was on our walk in cooler. What in the world is that all about?
Anyway, needless to say I was a little out of kilter the rest of the day. I was able to go to Maci's graduation anyway. They did one of those heart wrenching videos. You know the ones that you have to send one of their baby pictures, and they put them in there to make you realize how time has passed, and you feel as if you missed way too much of their precious lives. Yeah one of those. Then she gets her awards and comes over to me. When she stands next to me, I take note of how tall she has gotten. Then, as if that isn't bad enough, here comes Bayley. She is almost as tall as her sister and she is leaving the 3rd grade. My baby is going into the 4th grade!?!?!?!
I'm going to post some pictures for you to see of Bayley and Maci's last awards and graduation day as a 3rd and 6th grader. Oh my goodness. Maci is going into the 7th grade!!!!! I would say I don't feel any older.... but I do.

Until next time.

Whew, that was too close!!!

Talk about praising Him in the storm. I never thought I would have to be literal in that translation. But at 5:30 Sunday morning, as we were crammed in the hall closet, I had to put that into practice. Don't give me too much credit, I think it was more pleading in the storm than it was praising in the storm. As everyone know, Bayley is petrified of bad weather. I hated to even wake her up, but we had to get to a safe place. I mean really, how do you calmly wake your children up and tell them the sirens are going off, get in the hall closet!
I have two children that couldn't be more different. We woke them up and I think Bayley dove from her bed to the closet, and Maci sauntered from her bed to the close. In fact, I had to raise my voice at Maci to get her to hurry and save her own life. By the time Maci got in the closet, Bayley was already receiving her mail there.
I have to say, that was one of the scariest times in my life. I am trying to keep (I would say the children, but we all know I'm talking about Bayley, because Maci is trying her best to go back to sleep.) calm when I can see a glimmer of fear in Paul's eyes as well. It looked as if there was a disco gong on outside. The lightening was so constant. You could hear this rumbling, moaning sound as well. It lasted for a while and then calmed down. We checked things out and realized that the immediate danger was over and we plucked the girls from there safe haven. We all decided to wait the rest of the storm out in our bed. I was to wired to just lay there, so I got up and came to the living room and watched outside.
The sun was beginning to come up by this time. Then it happened. Even with the sirens still blasting in the background, I heard them. What you ask? BIRDS!! I knew it was officially over because the birds were singing. I believe, next the first cry and the laughter of my children, that was the sweetest sound I have ever heard.
We were very fortunate that nothing was damaged. There are thousands that weren't so fortunate. Paul and some other men from the church grabbed there chain saws and set out to help anywhere they could.
So even though it wasn't the normal Mother's Day, it was a good one all the same because everyone was safe and unharmed. Thank you God for sheltering us from the storm.

I'm just getting to post because our power has been off so Happy Belated Mother's Day!!

Ode to Granda!!!!

I know it has been a long time. I have been cheating on the infamous blogger. Maci came home one day asking if she could get a shoutlife. This is a Christian alternative to My Space. I finally gave in and let her have one under the stipulation that I would check it on a daily basis and I had to approve the friends she accepted. Well, I kept up my end of the bargain and have somehow got sucked into it myself. There are a lot of people here that have shoutlife pages. So, I have been posting blogs on that page almost daily.

But since it is Mother's Day, I thought I would grant my sweet Mother's request and update my blog. So, here goes. I am writing this blog to honor her. I mean after all, as I have been so often reminded, she did suffer death to bring me into this world. Its the least I can do to take a few minutes of my time to reflect on the greatness that is called my MOM. (How was that mom?)

Seriously, I could have never in my wildest dreams have picked a better mother than the one I have. Bayley handed me a note that she had written for me the other day that said "God must have been thinking of me when He made you." I'm more than certain she didn't come up with that on her own. In fact, I think I have seen that somewhere before. But, it still rings true. No other mother would have sat and held this blubbering idiot all day when I started my menstrual cycle. How many mothers would crawl into your room in the middle of the night and bark (you heard me right) bark at you in your friend right in the middle of an intense conversation about boys. How many mothers do you know that would send you congratulation cards when my friend and I made the color guard at school. How many Mom's would paint countless pieces of furniture for their grand kids, plan annual leaf jumping events, marshmallow roasts, and hayrides every single year. I could fill pages upon pages with wonderful things she has done to make my life and the life of my children memorable.

But its not just about the things she has planned and done for our entertainment. It's about the countless times I've seen her praying and reading her Bible. The times that she has reminded me that God is in control and that he will be faithful. The times I have seen Daddy have to carry her down the stairs int he middle of the night. Take her to Atlanta to the hospital, call her the next morning and never hear her complain about her situation. She always showed us that she trusted God to bring her through whatever situation she was in. I never detected bitterness, complacency or contention. Only joy, peace, patience and faithfulness.

So yes, this blog is an Ode to Granda. She is truly a legacy. I would love to be 1/3 of who she is.

Thank you Mom.
I love you,
Shelley