And a Good Rainy Morning To You!

Sorry I haven't been posting this week. We've had a lot going on here at The Doublewide!
When Big Daddy and I went out to eat last Saturday night on my lottery winnings, we were talking about church the following day. It was Baptist Men's Sunday and I knew there were going to be two of our men speaking. In conversation I said to Big Daddy, "I wonder who's speaking in the morning?" He looked at me and said, "I'm one of the men speaking!"
I instantly went into panic mode and asked him if his notes were ready. He said he didn't need any notes.
So after we got home, he sat down and wrote a little outline of the things he wanted to say. (he he)
His dad and step-mom came and so did his mama. We all piled in on one row and we didn't take Lil R to the nursery--he stayed in "big church" with us. I have not been so proud of Big Daddy in a long time. He really did a great job and I'm proud of him too for allowing God to use him to speak to others.
After church, we all headed to McDonald's for Lil R's 3rd Birthday Party! Whew--the sun was shining and it was SO HOT in the Playplace, but it was a great time!
Monday me and Big Daddy didn't go to work because we had to drop off the minivan for it's repairs. After two times of not being satisfied with their work, we finally got it back Thursday.
Wednesday night after church we went to eat with my little sister, her husband, and little sister's mother-in-law at Texas Roadhouse. It was great! She gets car sick and I was driving crazy in our church parking lot when we dropped them off., just to see if she still gets sick and if I still have that touch!
Well---BINGO! It worked. I was laughing so hard that I had to get out of the rental van and pee pee--yup! In my britches. It was classic and she took a picture, but I ain't gonna gross y'all out!
It's raining hard here at The Doublewide today and I'm planning on staying around here today.
The mountain of laundry that I conquered last week is back again today!
Also, I'm planning on making some good chicken and dumplings tonight for supper! YUMMY!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Lucky Girl

Hey y'all!

I just thought I'd tell you I have the best husband in the world! When I got done with school I picked up Lil R from daycare and headed home. When I pulled in the yard, Big Daddy was waiting on us in his truck. Him and Lil R headed off to get hair cuts and I headed to the couch. I got me a good nap all tucked in on the couch with my quilt and the dog! At about 5:30, Big Daddy called and said we were going to dinner with his daddy and step mom.

So we went out to eat in Lincolnton to a really good little greasy spoon called, "Zippers". It's so tasty and we love eating there.
After supper, we had to get some gas. I had a twenty dollar bill so while Big Daddy was pumping my gas I went in to get me a coffee. My total was $1.06 so my change was $18.94. I told the lady to keep the $18.00 because I was gonna buy me some lottery scratch off cards. After picking out my cards, I went to the minivan to scratch them off. Ended up winning $72.00 on the ones I bought! WOOHOO!
Now I can pay for Lil R's birthday cake, for his party tomorrow without having to drive to town to go to the teller machine, since I forgot yesterday afternoon!
And...since Lil R is spending the night with his Pop Pop and MiMi, I think me and Big Daddy will take the rest and head to Shogun's in Gastonia! It's a sit down Japanese restaurant and they do a little "show" while they cook your food! It's my favorite, but it's a little expensive so I'm glad to have the extra cash to go!
And...since I have contributed to our educational system, maybe I can get me a good and juicy dry erase marker on Monday instead of trying to write with one that's about dry as a bone! tee hee hee!
Now--I have to get off this computer and get busy with the laundry. It's going to take over this Doublewide if I don't get it under control today! Also, this house looks like an elephant just ran through it, so I'd better get busy!

Have a wonderful day!

Part V--The Final Adoption Story Post

Ahh...and now we come to the end of the beginning of our story!

As you read yesterday, our lawyer's call really shook us! We were so frightened. How could we be made to give him back? We had already fallen head over heels in love with him. How could this mother be so cruel? How would we survive this?
On our way to the lawyer's office, I called our Pastor Matt. He prayed with me and I just remember begging him to keep praying for us. I asked other friends that I called to get a prayer chain going. Everyone prayed while we worried and trusted Him.
When we arrived, the little receptionist was standing on the front porch waiting on us. It was pouring down rain, and bless her heart, she was out there with an umbrella---just waiting.
She ran to the car and told us not to come in just yet. She said that our lawyer and the birth mom were meeting and that we should go ride around until they called. We drove all over Gastonia...I was sick; was numb; was in shock; was so deeply scared.
In my "human" mind, I couldn't understand what was going on. Why would we be allowed to go this far and have him snatched away from us? So we began to pray and pray really hard.
Finally, we got the call from our lawyer and we drove back to his office.
The birth mom had left and we took the baby in to speak with the lawyer. I remember walking in---trying to will my legs to work just to walk! When we walked in the lobby, our lawyer was there waiting on us and said, "It's ok...everything's ok." Right then Big Daddy and I cried and held each other while Robbie was in his car carrier at our feet. There wasn't a dry eye in the lobby that day.
So...there you go. He's been ours ever since.
We had him dedicated to God's service on Father's Day 2006, which by the way, was the next Sunday at church.
Afterwards, there was a LONG paperwork process, many things to do, but if you have kids, you've probably done most of those things anyway too.
I will say this as I close, when we finally got the Final Decree of Adoption it was a Saturday. I just stood in the kitchen with Big Daddy and we cried. Lil R entered our hearts and our home on June 7, 2006 and on May 10, 2007, the adoption paperwork was complete. Here's the best part; the extra special kiss on the cheek from Heaven....The day I held the papers in my hand that said he was ours was the day before Mother's Day. It was and is official; through God's work I am a mama and Big Daddy is a daddy and we are the GIDDY parents to a wonderfully and amazingly spectacular boy!
And this Sunday, when we go to McDonald's for his 3rd Birthday Party, we'll be sure to give God all the thanks, praise, and glory for everything He has blessed us with!

Adoption Journey PART IV

So, after I left you hanging yesterday, I'll get right to the "rest of the story."
I spoke to the mom on a Wednesday morning, who said she, in fact, did place the baby for adoption with an agency. This agency placed him in a "safe home" for the next seven days until her "waiting" period expired.
And...she told me that if Ronnie and I wanted the baby, she would call and tell them that she had changed her mind and wanted him back. This was my reply...."Call who you've gotta call!" I told her I would sign out her daughter and we'd be there to pick her up soon.
I called Big Daddy and said, "Guess what? You're gonna be a daddy TODAY!!" Silence...complete and utter silence was all I heard. He works for the NC Department of Transportation and he was out on a paving job. Part of his job is to take inmates out for "work release" during the day. He had a full crew of guys that day. After I explained to him what had just happened during the last 30 minutes and that no, I was not playing a cruel joke, I asked him to meet me at home in about an hour.
Then I called my parents. I couldn't even talk without sobbing! Mama was home, but since daddy owns a grading company, he was out working. She said she would get in touch with him and for us not to leave them. They wanted to go too!
So I signed out "Annie" after talking to my principal and making sure it was ok with him for me to leave. He is a preacher part-time, and all he could do was tear up and tell me to go and that he'd be praying for me! He was yelling, "Hallelujah and Praise God" as we were going to get in the car. As I was walking through the parking lot, Big Daddy rode past the school in his big giant dump truck. He stopped in the middle of the road, and I ran to meet him. The inmates started cheering and clapping as I got to the truck and planted the biggest and bestest kiss he's ever gotten from me, right smack on his mouth! They had tears in their eyes too! This I'll never forget....these were prisoners and their hearts were softened and their spirits were lifted at God's WORK in our lives!
I drove through the Wendy's drive-thru and bought "Annie" some lunch and we headed off to get her mom. Then, I drove home to meet Big Daddy who had already showered and was waiting on the back steps of The Doublewide on me. After picking him up, we all headed to my parents house. "Annie" and her mom rode with me, and Big Daddy rode with my parents. We had us a little caravan for the 2.5 hour drive to go pick up our son. On the way up there, I had the opportunity to talk to the mom and the sister about the whole process. It was exciting and I was such in a state of shock.
When we did arrive at the adoption agency, I had to act like I was just a friend of hers. I couldn't be "excited" and cry all over this precious little miracle gift from God in front of the employees of the agency. She handed him over to me, in his carrier, while she went in and did the paperwork tha she had to do.
After she finished all of that, we drove to Bojangles and ate lunch. This was the first time I got to grab him up and squish him to my chest and love him. It is truly amazing how God gives us adoptive mamas the same kind of love that a mama who gave birth to a child gets. There is no way to describe it. He was sooo tiny and our hearts were sooo full!
On the way up there and on the way home, my cell phone was NON-STOP! As my middle school students say, "It was off the chain!"
I dropped "Annie" and her mom off. They were piling my car up with stuff! A bassinet, clothes, diapers, a new crib matress, formula from the hospital, etc. I had no idea what to do with everything. Please remember that we didn't have a STITCH of clothing, not one diaper, not one toy, not ANYTHING in preparation for a baby as we only found out that morning.
When pulled in my driveway, there was a "It's a Boy!" balloon tied to a post in my front yard. IT was a Wednesday night, so as soon as church was over, we had MORE visitors. There were so many people in and out of the house, we lost count. By the end of the night my dining room table was full, my kitchen table was full, and we were still pinching ourselves over and over.
Here's another thing: My two cousins came over and straightened up our bedroom. They put the bassinett together and had it all ready. As we laid our heads on our pillow, they had taken two sheets of paper off of a notepad and put one on Big Daddy's pillow that said, "Robbie's Daddy" and one on my pillow that said, "Robbie's Mama." We both cried and thanked God once more for answering our prayers.
The next day, we went with the birthmom to our lawyer. She had to sign over custody to us, and a new 7 day "waiting time" began on Thursday. Now, we had to go through waiting to make sure she couldn't "change her mind" on giving him to us.
You didn't think it was going to be that easy did you?
The following Sunday we took him to church. We were so proud to show him off and brag on what God had done for us. We were totally on Cloud 9!
Then Tuesday afternoon, we got a phone call. The Caller ID said it was our lawyer's office.
The birthmom was there, and she had told them that she had changed her mind. Her 7 days was over on Wednesday, technically, so we thought we were almost done. As we loaded Robbie into his car carrier, I could barely see through my tears to put him in the car and drive to the lawyer's office.
I'll be back tomorrow for the conclusion!
Ain't it funny how God gives me these places to stop typing so that I can stretch the story out for 5 days?
Have a great afternoon!
Leave me some love via comments!

Part III of Our Adoption Journey

Hey Y'all! Before I get into Part III, I just want to thank all of you for your comments and prayers and encouragment! Where were y'all when we were going through all of that? (Joking)
So, I believe I left you with the last adoption possibility that fell through--the one where the 17 year old girl thought she was pregnant, but actually wasn't.
Well....since I had told EVERYONE, including my students, I had a lot of people to tell that it didn't go through. This happened during the early spring of 2006.
Before I took this position teaching Home Ec, I taught 7th grade math and science. In one of my classes was a really sweet student named, "Annie". (Name has obviously been changed).
Annie was in the "smart class" and was really quiet. She came from a single parent home and her mom worked all of the time just to provide and make ends meet. In the fall, at the end of the first 9 week grading period, our school system has "Parent Conference Days." This day is for parents of your students to sign up for a 15 minute slot to meet with the core (main subject area) teachers and discuss the report card and any other concerns the teachers or parents may have. At Annie's parent conference, her mom came in and looked irritated and worn out. I just chalked it up to her having a long day at work and being ill because we were behind schedule with our conferences. At that time I taught with a man. He had stepped out for some reason, and she began to confide in me that she just found out she was pregnant. The daughter didn't know yet, neither did the boyfriend. As she teared up, my heart went out to her. She was 37, a single mom, and was getting ready to have to start all over again.
I told her that I would pray for her and that if there was anything else I could do, not to hesitate to call me or let me know.
A few weeks later, my cousin who also taught Annie in another class saw Annie and her mom in Wal-Mart. They were looking at wedding bands and were excited.
Next thing I know, the baby arrived. He was 4 months early only weighing 1 pound and 14 ounces. He was born here but had to be airlifted to a larger hospital. He was placed in the NICU and was holding on for his life. His mom and sister appeared to be doing ok, but they were stressed with worry.
Fast forward about 3-4 months later. It's the last week of school for the students. I'm with my class in our computer lab at school, doing some type of test required by our school system on the computer.
My cousin, one of "Annie's" other teachers, came into the lab and told me she needed to talk to me.
After the conversation, here's what I knew. The baby came home from the hospital on Monday. He was almost 4 months old. Mom was too sick to watch him, so he spent the night with one of her friends. The next day, Tuesday, she spoke with her case worker from DSS and decided that she would put him up for adoption. They contacted an agency, and he was delivered to them on Tuesday. That night was the band concert and "Annie" didn't show up. She wasn't at the concert to play because after school she disc0vered her mom had put her baby brother up for adoption and he was gone. As you can imagine, she was distraught and was unable to play her instrument in the concert.
So, when my cousin was on the phone with the mom, she said to her..."I wish I would have known you were going to put him up for adoption. Michelle and Ronnie would have loved to have adopted him." Her reply was, "Well...I thought of them, but I also thought they were adopting soon since that 17 year old girl was pregnant." After telling her that the girl wasn't pregnant, and that everything had fallen through with us again, the mom told my cousin to have me call her ASAP.
I couldn't run fast enough to the phone. DO YOU HEAR ME???? I was so excited and don't even remember how I got to the phone. My cousin stayed with my students in the computer lab, and I made the call.
She said that indeed she had put him up for adoption. That he was about 2 hours away in a "safe house" with an adoption agency. These homes are where they keep children and infants until the "waiting period" expires. I'm not sure if waiting period is what it's called, but basically mom has seven days to change her mind. They will not place a child in a home without those days expiring because that's the law....
So I called her. Basically she said that she had 7 days to change her mind and that if Ronnie and I wanted to adopt him, she would call and tell them that she's changed her mind, and we could go get him right then....
I hate to leave you here, but school is out and I have to get to the bandroom to teach two piano lessons back to back.

Bad to the Bone

HAHA!
I just had to get online to tell this...
I am sitting here in the office and Lil R came in. Here's how it all went down:
Me: Robbie...Do you need to pottie?
Lil R: NO!
Me: Why not? Don't you want to pee in the pottie?
Lil R: NO! I DON'T wanna pee in the pottie!
Me: You sure? Why?
Lil R: Cause I'm Bad!

HAHAHAHA
Never a dull moment around The Doublewide!

I can't wait to share part 3 tomorrow!
I hope you're enjoying our story!

Part II of our Adoption Journey

Part II

Let's see...where did I leave off?
Oh...about the Gatlinburg Rebellion? Yea...that's right!
Big Daddy and I went for a little vacation to Gatlinburg, TN because I seriously could NOT take another Mother's Day Sunday at church again. The pain was still so raw from having to sit through the last one.
While we were out seeing the sights one day, we passed a tattoo shop and I knew right then what I had to do.
I walked in and told the greasy man that I wanted to get a crown tattoo. He drew a couple crowns and after picking the one I liked, he began his work. If you've never gotten a tattoo, let me tell you this; DON'T! I usually have a high tolerance for pain, but this time, I could barely sit still. It's on my right hip, at the bottom of my back, and it's gonna be there forever. I didn't care that they were trashy--that's what I'd been taught. I didn't care that even though I was married, my parents would kill me as soon as they found out. I didn't care that my sister would have a fit. I just didn't care---this was my Un-Mother's Day gift to myself.
So, we came on home and got back into reality.
We threw around the idea of going to Foster Parenting classes with DSS in our county. I have a cousin that was a foster parent and she was helping teach the class. She told us that we would be wonderful foster parents; that this might be God's way of letting us be "parents" without the birthing process, she shared with us that foster parents have a higher chance of adopting than normal couples, etc.
So--we went. After sitting through the first class, and crying all the way home, I told Big Daddy that there was absolutely NO WAY that I could keep a child in my home for weeks, months, or even in some cases, years and then have to send that child back into a bad situation. I cannot do that, because when I love you, I love you with everything I have. Nothing held back--ever. Just ask my family!
I did call my cousin and tell her that we wouldn't be attending the classes and that we were dropping out.
We began to talk about the idea of adoption. This seemed more real to me because I wanted a child of my own that I could love and nurture and raise like Christ would want me to. We knew of a young girl's family who had been telling everyone that she was pregnant and would be putting the child up for adoption. How do you go tell somebody that you want to adopt their child? That was really weird and hard for me, so we "sent word" through some friends. The birth mom was into drugs and we didn't have a lot of opportunity to talk to her. I didn't want to push her away, and it was really awkward. After a few months, we had heard through some of her family members that she gave the baby girl to a family in trade for drugs. I know that's not legal, but that was totally what happened.
So there I was--thinking...."How can she do this? We sooo wanted this baby?!" We were totally devastated.
Then an older lady at church had a grandson that had gotten a young lady pregnant. She was putting the baby up. She wanted to talk to me and Big Daddy and sent us her telephone number for us to call her.
We prayed together before we called. I was so nervous--didn't want to sound like a weird lady, who was desperate for a baby, but that's exactly how I felt. I was calm and tried to be as normal as I could while we talked and when I finally hung the phone up, I felt good about the conversation. We ended the conversation with plans for her to call us back in a few days. We even talked about going out to eat together and getting to know her more.
A few days went by, she never called. I did end up trying to call her but she didn't answer. I finally spoke with the grandmother at church and she told me the couple had decided to keep the baby and try to make things work between the two of them.
Hmmm....I was beginning to wonder just how much more I could take?!
Then--we hear of a girl in a town nearby, who knows Big Daddy's parents. She had a child already; little girl that was 18 months old. Mom was on drugs and would just leave the baby with anyone who would keep her. She was getting in the way of mom's partying, and she wouldn't be slowed down, so to speak. One day, this guy, "PEANUT" (yea, seriously) calls us and we discuss the adoption possibilities. Long story short, Peanut ended up keeping this precious little girl.
Then--a guy I went to school with was married and they had a child. They are both alcoholics and were in trouble with DSS because of it. He wanted me to take custody of his little girl, Hannah. We were so happy! He met with Big Daddy and myself at Subway and cried and was so happy that we would take her. He sent us home with a picture of her, and we couldn't show it off enough. Three days later, we found out that she had already been "taken" by DSS workers and any possibilities of adoption would literally take longer due to red tape and paperwork. So...again we prayed.
Finally, the janitor at my school had a niece who thought she was pregnant. The niece knew me already from being at school off and on with her aunt, our janitor. She was 17 years old and thought she had slipped up. She told me that there was no way she could keep a baby and that she was not going to have an abortion. I told her that if she wanted us to adopt it, we would. She hugged me and we both cried. We loved her and thought she was so pretty and she was so much fun to hang around. This was the most positive news and we just had the best feeling about this. I began telling everyone I knew, including my students at the time, that I thought we were going to get to be parents! They were excited and my friends and church family began praying again.
About 3 weeks later, she called and said she was NOT pregnant.
Again---devastation, heartache, misery, disappointment, sadness, etc.
Can you imagine how bad this hurt again? How many times would God put us through this? Just how strong did He think we were? I don't know how I'm going to make it through anything else....

Now; Part III tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Lil R

Today is my baby's birthday! He's the BIG 3!
I took cupcakes and Kool-Aid to daycare this morning when I dropped him off.
He was so sweet because he was soo cuddly this morning. As I got up to go hop in the shower, he said, "Mama...could you please just stay here with me?"
It's so hard getting up out of the bed as it is, but when he looks at me with those big ole baby blue eyes, I could very easily stay in that bed! But, I hauled it out of the bed, got ready, and got both of us to school.
I've been debating this, but I thought some of you may be interested in our adoption journey. So, in honor of Lil R's birthday this week, I'm going to post how he became ours throughout the next few days.
Part I
It's 1996--May 18th to be exact.
I just buried my Pappaw Fred yesterday. I am devistated and he was my best friend. We were very very close and we did so much together.
I told Big Daddy that I am going off the pill today. I want to start our family since we've been married for a year and a half. I need something to fill the void of Pappaw not being here. I'm miserable without him.

It's now December 1996. We've been "trying" for the past six months or so with no luck. I make an appointment at an OB/GYN Dr. to get checked out. This is exactly what the dr. said: "You're too fat and you need to stop smoking or you're never going to be pregnant." My reply to the dr.: "Let's go right now to Wal-Mart down the road. I can find you about 3-5 women who are fatter than me and who smoke, who have kids. Please don't tell me that's all that's wrong with me."
That evening Big Daddy and I decided to make another appointment to see a different OB/GYN.

Fast forward a few months....
New Dr. says I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Which means, I have multiple cysts on both ovaries that keeps me from ovulating.
Over the next few years I had many many tests, took lots of fertility drugs, had sugar tested, had dye injected into my tubes to check for blockages, had lots of uncomfortable pelvic ultrasound tests to check for ovulation, counted days, had shots, blah blah blah.

Nothing--and I mean NOTHING worked. If you know what an IUI is, we spent $900.00 on one of those only to find out that it was unsuccessful on Christmas Morning when my red-headed aunt flo showed up. ON CHRISTMAS MORNING? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
After this, I became very bitter and very angry with God. I knew He was in control and I knew "everything in His time" but I was tired of waiting and tired of praying the same prayer over and over again. All we wanted was to be blessed with a child--just one--we didn't feel that we were asking for too much?!
Mother's Day was PURE MISERY for me. On one in particular--I'm thinking around 2003, at church, they asked for all of the mothers to stand. I was sitting at the piano bench...just sitting. I felt such sorrow, such embarrassment, such shame. They passed out bookmarks or something--I can't remember. But I do remember that the people handing out the little "treats", just walked right by me like I wasn't even there....like I was invisible. I was so sad and I felt so sorry for myself.
Right after that, the regular service continued. After the choir sang, a really good friend of mine stood to sing a beautiful song for all of the mothers. I don't remember what the name of the song was, but I remember the lyrics saying something about, "All I ever wanted to do was be your mommy---tying your hair up in pretty pink ribbons," or something like that. I could not sit in that sanctuary for another second. I was crying so hard I was snorting and snotting, you know that kind, right? I had to leave and the whole church could hear me lose it. As I was outside, trying to get everything together, my mama came out too. She told me that if she could take it away, she would. We cried and slung snot, but I still didn't feel any better.

The following Mother's Day, Big Daddy and I went to Gatlinburg, TN for a mini-vacation. I got a tattoo on my right hip...I was mad at God...didn't want to be anywhere near His house on Mother's Day--couldn't think of it. I was so deeply hurting and I was convinced that things I had done in my past were so bad, that God was punishing me; that I had a big price to pay and that I'd never ever ever get to hear, "Mama, I love You".

--That's all for today. I'll be back tomorrow for Part II. Please leave some comments on your feelings about my post, if you'd like.
See you tomorrow!
Be Blessed!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hey y'all!
I just wanted to share something funny with you. As me, my little sister, and Lil R were driving home from the mountains Monday evening, my cell phone rang.
It was Big Daddy just checking on us. During the conversation, this ends up coming out of his mouth:
Big Daddy: Hey...I know what you can get me for Valentine's Day?

Me: Really? What?
Big Daddy: A new battery for my truck. I was cleaning it off and was putting it back in and I broke one of the knobs off of it. It's done and the new one was $67.00.
Me: You're so stupid (while laughing)
Big Daddy: Yea, well...I HAVE to have a battery!

So there....Happy Valentine's Day Big Daddy. Enjoy your ride, all powered by the new battery!
HAHA
Lil R and I had fun filling out his Valentine's for daycare last night. He had 2 suckers left over, so I took advantage of the opportunity to get some pictures.
Got my haircut yesterday....

I'm looking forward to making Valentine's Day cookies with Lil R tonight and being in my jammies just hanging out at The Doublewide!
However you choose to spend your Valentine's Day, I truly hope you LYVE it!

Oh How I Wish....

Don't you just hate Thursdays? Especially ones that take F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get over with?
I so do! Monday's get a bad rap, right? Thursdays are more evil because even though we know tomorrow is Friday, we still have to endure Thursdays!
I know...I know...I should be glad to even see another Thursday, and trust me, I am....but dang. I sure am ready for Friday!
So...since I'm wishing today was Friday instead of Thursday, let me show you more things that I wish. Let's go digging through some of my old pictures. Grab a cup of coffee and we'll chat and laugh while I scan all of these pictures! I may even tell you a little story about a particular picture while we wait...Take your shoes off....sit a spell....
Here Goes! Let's play...
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I WISH"
1. You have no idea how much I wishthat I was at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN smelling those onions and peppers grilling up and hearing the whistle of the "choo choo" train, and seeing all of the cute little shops inside, and enjoying spending time in God's Country!

2. You have no idea how much I enjoy spending time with my best friend, Sharon. We go WAY back. We were in kindergarten together and have had some good times over last 32 or so years! This picture was taken at my "suprise" 32nd birthday party in the backyard at The Doublewide!

3. You have no idea how much I would love to be in The Great Smoky Mountains, on my way to Cade's Cove with my husband in the fall! Cade's Cove is spectacular! If you're ever near Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, go there--it's FREE and I love it more than cornbread....Well...that may be stretching it a little, but I DO love it! This picture was taken a few years ago on our way to one of my favorite spots!4. You have NO idea how much I wish I could go back in time with Mammaw. She was such a sweetheart and would do anything for us. With her memory in and out, it's so sad to see her fade away. She still knows who we all are, but never knows what day it is or anything short term. Her bedsore is doing so much better and I thank God for every single day that He keeps her here with us. This picture was taken awhile back on Mother's Day.
5. You have no idea how much I wish that I was somewhere with just my sister. We always get along and have so much fun together. Even though I'm six years older than her, and we didn't get along growing up, I'm so thankful for her everyday! She's my bestest friend and I could not BREATHE without her! Her name is Amanda, but Lil R lovingly named her "Doodah" because he couldn't say, "Manda" like we do here in the south!
6. You have no idea how much I wish I was on the banks of this little creek with my old quilt, a cup of coffee, and a great book. My soul needs to be rekindled every now and then and this is a great way to do it for me! I took this picture when we were in Gatlinburg during a Mother's Day weekend--way before Lil R entered our lives.

7. You have no idea how much I wish I was just sitting on the front porch of this little mountain cabin looking at the autumn leaves and drinking coffee. I don't want to "live" in the mountains, but I sure do love going and visiting as much as I can.
8. You have no idea how much I wish that I was anywhere but working and that I was spending time with my two boys. This picture was taken on St. Patrick's Day, 2007. It's amazing how quickly he's turning into a little man. I'm glad he's growing, but I treasured those moments as a BABY too!
9. You have no idea how much I wish I could run through these rooms and halls just one more time. This is my mammaw and pappaw's home that I grew up playing in and around with my brother and sister. This house was bulldozed down by my daddy about 11 years ago. I was so sad to see it go, but the termites had taken it over. Man how I would have LOVED to have been able to fix her up and live there now.10. You have no idea how much I wish I wasn't planning his 3rd birthday party already! Lil R will be 3 on Monday and I can't get over how quickly time flies! This was one of his First Birthday Pictures we had taken. He just gets cuter and cuter!

Now...leave me a comment letting me know where you would like to be or what you would like to be doing right now.
Have a wonderful afternoon!!

Loonnnggg Weekend

Wow, what a weekend!
After learning that my step-grandfather passed away Friday evening, it's all been a blur.
The Valentine's Supper went GREAT! We had around 60 to attend. There was lots to eat and great great fun but I'm so glad it's over! Lil R spent the night with Big Daddy's mama Saturday night, so we went to church Sunday morning without him. It was really strange and we missed him!
After church we went with my sister and brother-in-law to Texas Roadhouse to eat lunch. Man alive, I'm telling you that was the B.E.S.T. Ribeye I've eaten in a LONG time! I savored every bite of that steak too! While eating, I ended up seeing a few of my former students. Funny how when you've been teaching in the same county for the past 16 years, you're always guaranteed to run into a student everytime you go anywhere!

So now, here I am at school and wore SLAP OUT!
I left my camera at home, because it was in the stuff from the Valentine's Day supper, but my little sister did take a few. I'll try and post here later on tonight or more tomorrow sometime!

WOOP WOOP!

I am so thankful that today is FRIDAY!
Don't you just love our picture? We had about 5 minutes of class left, and I was working on stuff for next week when I found these cute big ole googly eyes! We taped them onto our glasses and made the whole class laugh!
I just love being able to cut up with my students every now and then.
The weather outside is absolutely gorgeous today here near The Doublewide. The air just smells fresh and clean and it makes you want to go "Yard Sale Hoppin'" tomorrow. Wonder if there will be any around here? If so, I'm GOING!
Now.... take some green, red or white pipe cleaners and make you some cute little heart pokes out of them! Our principal asked me to be in charge of decorating the tables for our students' Honor Roll breakfast next week.
My students helped make these, with my instruction, of course:
Also, I was in the mood to do some polymer clay jewelry earlier this week, and this is what I came up with: (PS I've not made the earrings yet, but they're coming soon!)
I really wish you could see everything up close, but they're really really cute pendants!
Also, here's a picture of my door frame of my classroom. I made these cute little hearts with my Cricut, and then one of my classes decorated the hearts with those little foam stickers. I think it turned out pretty cute. Even though this is middle school, the kids still love seeing seasonal stuff every now and then.

Now, please say a prayer for me! I am "in charge" of The Valentine's Supper at church tomorrow night. I hope everything goes ok. Also, Lil R's birthday is coming up and if I don't decide what we're gonna do, he'll be 18 before I get these invitations done!!
Have a great weekend!!

Dern Dern Dern!!!!

Well---I wasn't so lucky after all! It did snow last night, but there was not enough of it to keep us out of school today. The county to the west of us is out today! The county to the east of us is out today! But us--no! Right smack-dab in between Lincoln County and Char/Meck and we're here today.
We did get a two hour delay, which was really really nice. I didn't sleep late, but I did enjoy some coffee before work.
Enjoy the pictures from last night where I was at mammaw's last night with my camera.
Have a great day today!

The steps at "The Doublewide"

Across Mammaw's Backyard

Mammaw's little bush by the carport.

My favorite picture of the week! No flash---what's that little blue blurb?

On the way to work this morning at the top of "The Big Hill"

Another shot of the top of the hill.

Fixing to get in the car this morning to go to school.

SNOW! BRRRR!

Hey y'all! I hope you all had a wonderful day today!
I went out to eat with my sister and Cat tonight. We planned the "entertainment" for our Valentine's Dinner at our church that will be held this Saturday night and we're gonna have some more fun, I tell ya!
Afterwards, I came home and spent some time with Big Daddy and Lil R. His fever finally broke today. His pillow was SOAKED and he seems to be feeling a little better this afternoon. I truly appreciate all the prayers that went up for him. It's great to know you have friends that you've never laid eyes on that will pray for you if you ask, so THANKS!
At 9:45 I went over to help Mammaw get in her hospital bed and to give her medications to her. It was starting to dust a little bit. At 10:40 ground was covered.
Ooooh! I'm hoping it stays tonight and I can stay home in my pajamas and spend some time here at The Doublewide with Lil R tomorrow!
I know not to get my hopes up, but I'm gonna dream!
I took some pictures off of Mammaw's back porch, but left my SD Card Reader in the new minivan and I ain't draggin all this back outside to get it.
Hopefully I can sweet talk Big Daddy into bringing it in tomorrow morning. Please say a prayer that he doesn't get called into work tonight. He works for the NC Dept. of Transportation and must be ready to go in if the roads get bad.
Y'all have a great night---I've gotta go get my evaporated milk, sugar, and vanilla back out of the pantry and onto the countertop just in case I'll need it for my SNOW CREAM in the morning!

Monday Monday

Well, Lil R ran a low grade fever last night. He was coughing and just wasn't himself. This came on him all of a sudden!
Big Daddy stayed out of work today and took him to the doctor. Dr. says Lil R has a bad headcold and a beginning ear infection. He's on two medications and Big Daddy's mama is coming to spend the day with him tomorrow. She's off work and is excited about coming to The Doublewide to spend some time with him.
Big Daddy's little brother (whew--that was a mouthful) is a Secret Service Agent. Check out the picture he emailed me earlier!
Since we don't get a lot of action in these parts, he's a celebrity! We're all very proud of him and of his accomplishments in his career. He's even been spotted in a few videos on You Tube during the innaguration festivities!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzZ7akkMGs8
Have a great day today!