End of 2008 and HELLO 2009

Well another year has come and gone. It has been a really busy year here at the Gibson house. Luke started a new job the last part of April, I started my transition program in May. The transition program, if you all remember, had me and the kids in Chattanooga from Monday night to Friday mornings. We survived. Then school started for the kids in August and for me in the actual nursing program. I was Chattanooga bound 2 nights a week (Monday and Wednesday) and sometimes 3 nights a week if we had a test. WOO HOO!!! Well I finished my semester the first week of December and made a "B" and the kids had school until the 19th of December. We had parties, teachers gifts, and horses to feed. Yes horses to feed. As you all know we have 6 horses on 56 acres in LaFayette, Ga. My mother in law usually takes care of giving them grain and hay, but for a week she was unable to do so. That week also happened to be a week that our youngest needed a leg doctored. Well , those tasks fell to me the last week of school for the kids. Like I didn't have enough to do. Well apparently my body didn't like the fact that I was soooooo busy because on Friday night (the 19th) my heart had an electrical issue and decided to beat somewhere between 185-210 beats per minute in rhythm called atrial fibrillation. Well that caused my husband to take me to the hospital and there I sat for the next 20 hours or so. LOVED IT!!!!

Well I am fine and I have to follow up with an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of your heart) and a cardiologist. Again, like I have time for that. But I do have great friends who will make sure that I do what I am supposed to and follow directions to the best of my ability.

Christmas as GREAT!! The kids got most everything they asked for and I got more than I asked for. We were busy, but it was great to see most of my family.

On the 29th I became an aunt again. My brother and his wife had their first baby at 8:24 p.m. Eli James McCarter was born and weighed 8 pounds even and was 20 inches long. I wasn't able to be at the hospital as they live about 4 hrs away and the kids aren't allowed to go to the room unless they are over 12. I have seen pictures of him and he is the cutest thing ever. As soon as I can figure out how to get the pictures from my phone to the blog I will post. They should be going home today and hopefully I will be seeing them the first of next week.

2009 brings BIG things for our family and our plans. I will be updating a lot more frequently as I want to keep you aprised of what we are doing. There are going to be great things from us this year I hope. I still have school and the kids do too, and of course Luke has work, but our family life is going to center around the horses a lot. The kids are getting better every weekend with their riding and now they have helmets (mom is very happy) and they have lariats (ropes with lassos used for roping).

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!!!

Finally Finals

Hi All!! I have finally joined the blog world again...or at least there should be regular updates for the next 6 weeks. I have finished finals and am officially moving on to next semester. There have been so many things going on this semester I am just glad that it is OVER!!! I have been spending my weeks studying and not cleaning so my house looks like....well there aren't words for how NASTY my house is right now. I don't even think I could pay someone to clean it up. The kids are excited because it means that they will finally have socks in their drawers instead of me fishing them out of a basket every morning. Well...at least they are clean...right? Anyway I will be spending the next couple days cleaning/picking up and doing/catching up on laundry. Last weekend we went and took pictures for our Christmas card. Below are some of the pictures and hopefully a video of my crazy husband. Hope you like the pictures.

Another Update--Go me!!

Hello All...it is me again and I have another update for you. It is kind of lengthy, but there is a lot of humor.

This weekend was very eventful for our family. Staring with Friday night. Well Friday night I was able to find some medicine for Jacob's hamster Baby. She had gotten sick Wednesday. I think it was a cold, but I am definitely not a vet for little critters. Anyway, we gave her the medicine and left her in the small bathroom to stay warm (in her cage). Saturday morning we got up and went to the farm to hang out for a while. We had a GREAT time. We got Thunder out to handle him because that is what you are supposed to do with a colt. I am told the more you put hands on them the better they are when they are older. So...into the round pin we went with Luke. He wasn't on the same page as us though as he thought playing tag was fun (he was the taggee and Luke the tagger). That was really funny for a little while. Well, being the "cowboy" of the family Luke got a lariat (a rope with a lasso on the end) to "catch" Thunder and allow us to put a halter on him and let him get used to being walked around. Well, in the manner of a stallion (stud) colt he acted like an idiot and managed to cut his leg and I mean bad. So fun was over for the time being and medical attention started. Remember now that this colt has still not been caught. We still have to catch him and manage to now banage his wound. Thank goodness I had decided to buy treats when we stopped for propane. Horses apparently like peppermints and I learned today that they can have actual peppermints from the store. HALLELUJAH!!! Less money for those and it is Christmas. Looks like all of our babies are getting candy canes for Christmas. Back to the ding dong colt...Well we did catch him and manage to banage his leg. It took 3 of us and a stall to do it though. Thank goodness he had been vaccinated in the spring for tetnus. No vet needed. Another big HALLELUJAH!!

Well after that fiasco Luke told me to go catch my horse, Pilgram! I got him into the pin and managed to get him caught. We hung out for a while and I talked to him. He loved on me and I on him. I love that horse. He is absolutely the sweetest thing. So Luke comes out to the pin to inform me that we will start breaking my horse and he won't be doing the riding...I will.... HA HA HA HA HA I laughed at him. I consider myself a good rider, but breaking a horse is something that I have never done, didn't think I would ever do, didn't really have a desire to do. How wrong I was. Luke was right...he wasn't riding, I was. We got to the middle of the ring and got set. Luke started to give me a leg up on the horse (no saddle, no bridle, just shipping halter and bareback). Needless to say Pilgram wasn't real wild about it and moved. Try #2 wasn't successful either. So you know the saying...third time is a charm. Well apparently Pilgram hasn't heard that one. Third time wasn't any better than the first 2. Luke decided that it would work better if Pilgram layed down. Rodeo move 1. He loops a lead rope around his front foot and around his neck pulling it up and causing him to lay down (it wasn't as easy as that, but that is it in a nutshell). Luke then tells me to come and talk to Pilgram and pet him..I do so..and then he says get on him and he will stand him up. HA HA HA...Well I did it because he said it would be OK. We stood up and he did GREAT!!! I loved it. We rode for about 20 minutes and I was in hog heaven. He did so good. I think he was happy too. Thanks to my hubby for making that happen.

We left and came home Saturday evening. Baby seemed to be getting better so I gave her another dose of the medication. If she had an infection she needed it for probably 3-5 days...right? Well, apparently not for hamsters...Baby got worse throughout the night and died around 11:15 or 11:30 on Saturday night. I buried her. Jacob knew before he went to bed that there was the possibility that she would die before he got up. Luke and I had also told him that if she did die we would let him go get another one. I guess that makes me mom of the year for him.

Sunday morning, we got up and went to early service for the 4th week in a row (that makes me so excited). The kids get there and literally run to Sunday School. I have never seen them that excited to go anywhere. Well when we returned home from church I had missed a call from my mom-in-law. Go figure I leave my phone at home and chaos ensues. The bandage on the wound was too tight and Thunder couldn't put any weight on his leg. We had to change clothes in less than 5 minutes and back out the door. We got to the farm in record time. We managed to wash the wound and rebandage the thing and restall the colt. Then I got to ride again. I thought it was going to be a repeat of the day before. Not so. Pilgram was easier to catch than the day before and he seemed a little more lovey. Well...he should have been...he must have had a plan and worked on it all night long for when I returned. We managed to mount without laying down and we did have a bridle with a bit this time. He did manage to at some point, because this is new to him, to break part of the headstall and then manage to jerk away from Luke. Yea...I am now running toward a fence with no control what so ever. I have mane in hand with half the reins. I was not the most optimistic at this point. Well he did manage to slow down and hang a hard left at the fence line...I almost stayed on...but regrettably I did not. I hit the ground. The good news is that I am not hurt..the horse stopped and backed up so that was good. I did get back on for about 15 minutes and then I was done.
I had a good time minus the falling off part. I have figured out that hitting the ground isn't so bad, but the falling part (the air in the middle) is just the worst part. I will repeat the whole riding thing later this week and will update then, but for now that was my weekend. Have a great day

Finally!!!!

Well it has been 12 days since I posted last. Sorry!!! My life to date has been so busy I don't know which way is up anymore. To catch up....the diet I started on Halloween....I have lost 14 pounds now. I am so excited. I am walking almost everyday and I am really following what the diet (Food) is.

Nursing school is still hard, but clinicals are over. I have one more care plan to submit by Monday. I have a paper due Saturday the 29th, a test on December the 4th and the final on December the 8th. So if you don't hear from me it is because I am covered up in books and papers.

The reason I titled the entry today Finally is because we went to the farm today and I got to actually get on my horse Pilgram. For those of you who don't know, I sort of inherited this horse. My husband's family has always had horses and when I got married I got my dream....HORSES!!!...I love them and everything to do with them. Oh yeah, back to my day today and how I got this horse....About 3 1/2 to 4 years ago my brother-in-law's mare Rosie had a colt and he was named Pilgram. Well, not too long after Pilgram was born Rosie got sick and died. Matthew lost interest in the colt and he became sort of an orphan. I loved him. He was, to me, just a baby and needed love. I continued to spend time with him and love him and just try to put hands on him. It was hard because he was skiddish and just all around weary of people. Well it came time that he really needed to be fed more than just hay. When I started noticing that he wasn't being fed I questioned my mother-in-law and she said that Matthew wasn't going to feed him grain because he didn't have an interest in the colt and honestly he could just care less. I think one reason was because he had found his current wife and he was just love smitten. Anyway, they got married in May 2007 and when they did Luke (my husband) spoke with Matthew asked him about the colt and then I had papers that said he was mine.

I was so excited. He was too young at that point for me to ride. All I could do was put a halter on him, get him used to a lead rope, and maybe used to one of the kids on his back (with the help of Luke of course). I have never broken a horse before, but that is Luke's thing. He is so good at it.

Well..Now he is old enough for me to get on and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT. It wasn't a long time that I rode and getting up on his back was a little tricky, but we did it and I rode for about 20 minutes...bareback...with Luke holding the halter and lead. For me to get on took a little time. We tried just holding him in the paddock and Luke giving me a leg up, but Pilgram was not real interested in that so after a couple tries Luke made him lay on the ground and I was able to get on and then let him get up. It worked pretty well and I think it sort of put him in his place. Well, we walked around a little and then I got off. We then tried again and were able to get on with him standing up in the paddock. I was so proud.

I have waited 1 1/2 years to get on my Baby and now I have FINALLY done it. Luke told me on the way home that we would go back Thursday morning before we go to mom's for Thanksgiving Lunch and then again on Saturday. The more I get on him the easier it will be for both of us.

This is the best and I am so excited that I have started riding and working with my horse.

Hope you all have a great night.

Updates

Yes finally an update from me. Well, things are going well with me and my family. Nursing school is hard, but I am passing. The kids are finally finished with football and cheer. They had a great season and have made some great friends in the process. Luke is working hard at Pangean and is being given more responsibilities (I guess that is a good thing, but he is out of town for the week). We spent last Friday and Satuday in Savannah with the Johnson/Flanders family for a reunion. It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone. I miss all of them. My cousin Lauren is pregnant and due in April. Her little boy John Patrick is absolutely the cutest thing I have ever seen. I have pictures, but I don't have time to upload them right now. I will hopefully by the weekend. My Aunt Margie turned 80 and Uncle John turns 90 this year. WOW!! And they look GREAT. I hope at their age I look that good.

Well, sorry to be so short and sweet, but I have a clinical at Parkridge tonight and I have to go get ready. So Adios Amigos.

P.S. I started a diet on Halloween (yes, I know a really bad day to start) and I have lost 9 pounds to date. I am working on a bikini for summer !!!! YEAH ME!!

One McMuffin coming up with Prayer!!!

I don't have a lot of time usually to catch up on blog reading right now, but I have been keeping tabs on one. If you look at my blog follow list there is one called My Charming Kids. You can click on the name to go there. The lady writing this blog is due to have a baby boy named Stellan tomorrow morning at 9:30 and there were some complications during the pregnancy with the baby. She and her family have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby Stellan. They have asked for prayer for their family for the the next 24 hours for the healthy delivery of the baby. I will be praying for her and her family and I hope you will join me.

Jacob at the School Board

Jacob had the chance to speak with a group of students in front of the Bartow County School Board this past week. We were able to video it from our phones and here it is. I am so very proud that my son was one of 7 chosen from his school to do this. I think it was a great honor for him. He was John Walsh from America's Most Wanted. We tried to make him look the part. I hope you enjoy watching it.

P.S. you will have to go to the bottom and pause the music so you can hear the kids. THANKS

Welcome Nibbles

Ok, I don't usually post more than once a day, but since I have been out of touch I felt I could. HA HA

We have a new family member in our house and there is a little back story with this.

Cassidy had a teacher last year that introduced her class to all kinds of critters. They had rats (yes rats..you can buy them at PetSmart), a bearded dragon, a snake, and I can't remember what else in the room last year. She absolutely loved playing with all of these critters. For those of you who know me I am not a critter person. I like big dogs, big horses, and babies that I can return to parents (HA HA HA). Anyway, this year her teacher Ms. Harmon has a dwarf Hamster. It's name is Baby. Well, Cassie asked to bring it home and I agreed. We brought it home for 2 weekends. Cassie then asked if she could have one and I promptly said no. Baby was more than welcome to come visit, but I wasn't ready to have a critter in the house permanently. Well, what do all little girls do when mommy says NO? They go ask daddy. Well daddy said no at first and then when he got to play with the critter told Cassie that if she got 100 on 2 consecutive spelling tests he would let her have one. So of course she makes the 100 on 2 consecutive spelling tests and we now have Nibbles.



Cassie is loving her new critter. Jacob is having fun with it too. I have come to think it is pretty cool too. They are so funny. Our boxer thinks it is something she has to protect. She lets them crawl on her and they aren't afraid of her. It is pretty cool. Cassie wants to know when she can get it toys and I am using school goals to motivate her. If she does this.....she gets 1 toy. Probably not the best way, but I am hoping the goals get met. I will keep you updated.

Tag you are IT!!!!

Here are the rules.....
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you are tagged, just do it, and pass the tag along!!

Here are 6 random things about me.....

1) I used to compete running barrels and poles on horseback.

2) I love to go camping. (There does need to be a bathhouse in the remote vicinity)

3) I spent one month in Rome, Italy when I was 14 as an exchange student. LOVED IT and want to go back BAD.

4) Luke and I planned our wedding around the Tennessee Football schedule. My father told me that there was a game on the first date I picked (Sept 24) and then when I asked let me know what 3 weekends in the fall there weren't any ballgames.

5)I love farming.

6)I can drive a big tractor with a bushhog, hay baler, hay cutter, hay rake, or one of many other attachments.

I am now tagging...Jeannette, Jennifer, Ashley, Barbara, Canela, and Heidi.

Blog Giveway

Cinnamon Sticks Boutique is giving this away.




Go to Cinnamon Sticks Boutique and check it out.

I won a necklace from here and I love it. Check it out.

Sorry for Neglecting you...but...

Well, It has been a while since I posted, but in my defense I have been working on school work, running to the football field 4 days out of 7, and trying to keep my house from looking like it is just a dumping ground. I will have to give credit to my husband who has started doing dishes and laundry.

Let me clarify...when I say laundry I mean wash and dry and put in a basket in the kitchen. At least it is clean. It now means that I have to iron though. Have I mentioned before I HATE TO IRON!!!! Now I know some people like it and find it relaxing...I do not...this is where my ADD and OCD come out. I cannot stand to not have it done perfect. Some can give just a "lick and a promise"....I am not one of those people. I have to put creases in pants, sleeves, and whatever else. I now hate cargo pants due to the funky pockets on them. My son hates it now that I am ironing. He questioned why his T-shirt had to feel "stiff". I don't use starch so I don't know why....Anyway Mom, if you are reading this I have the ironing board in the living room and it is being used. You would be so proud. HA HA HA

On a more funny note as to where my brain is not....Most of you know that I am finishing my nursing degree, but it requires me to travel to Chattanooga two nights a week. I leave around 1:30 or 2 to be there early and then I get home about midnight. Needless to say on Tuesday and Thursday mornings I am not all together with only 5 1/2 to 6 hours of sleep. This morning I had only about 4 hours as my husband had to leave for a business trip. I remembered that I had left my lunch box in the car and needed to take some things out and put them in the fridge so I got up and grabbed my keys to unlock the car. I unpacked my lunchbox and went back to bed for a very short hour. After getting up and stumbling to the kids rooms to say get up and trying to pry my eyelids open to see enough to get some breakfast out I start packing lunches. This is a fairly normal routine. Well as the morning progressed I realized I couldn't find my car keys. I don't have a spare as they cost like $90 since I apparently have a complicated car that wants a computerized chip in the key. GEEZ...Anyway, I spent 20 minutes looking through my house. I am supposed to take the neighbor kids this morning as their mom is without a car. I start flipping out and crying (I could have passed for pregnant hormonal/crazy woman at this point). Well I called my friend Stacie who is the absolute best. She dropped her boys at school and then came to let me use her car until I could find my keys. She has a spare Miata to drive. I got the kids to school 20 minutes late (I had to sign them in wearing my PJ's which were scrubs with old paint on them, an oversized GA t-shirt, no bra, and no shower)(Heidi you can feel my pain), but at least they were there...They were planning play dates with each other for the day....I kept hearing ...."Wow, we can play school....No, why play school if we are at home....How about house?...Well, maybe, but you can be my mom she is crazy this morning." I wasn't sure whether I should laugh or cry some more.

Well, I worked on my school work, I cleaned the house. I started in the kitchen, moved to the living room, and so on. I couldn't find my keys anywhere. So my last resort at this point....point of desperation....I called my mother-in-law. I swear she can find anything. Well she drove from her house to mine and helped me look. We started looking in everyroom, picking up things I missed earlier. She then asked if I had looked in Cassie's room. I said yes, but not real well because I really thought Jacob had my keys hidden somewhere (he is my key hog). As I walked in her room I saw my keys, the ones I had been looking for all day in a tizzy, on her dresser. Can I tell you how foolish I feel that the whole time they were out in the open, not under anything, but just laying there on the dresser.

Now I know that this has been long winded, but I thought I should share my "senior moment" or for those of you who know CRS syndrome. HA HA HA I hope you all have better days

Pictures from Thursday's Game

A Few Pictures of Football

I am so proud of my son and his abilities on the football field. The following are a few pictures of him and his teammates practicing last weekend. Due to school I haven't had a chance to update the pictures as often as I would like. Jacob is the boy in the red socks.









Are these 8 year olds cute or what?

Vent Session....

Does anyone ever wonder why you volunteer to do things when there is someone else who tries to tell you what they want done? Well, I am supposed to be the "team mom" for Jacob's team and there is this one mom who says she is too busy, but yet wants to tell me where to have the party. I swear....like I have the time to negotiate with someone. This weekend has been very off for me and I am in a sort of foul mood. I guess I should be a little more....understanding. WHATEVER
I have tried to be nice and smile and only complain to ...well...now everyone. HA HA HA Forgive me for using this as a vent session, but if I can't share it with my friends who can I share with?

Sunday Randomness

Well, there isn't a whole lot to report on right now. Yesterday we had football and cheer practice. Cassie's cheer team is learning their cheers great. Most of them are 5 so I don't expect perfection (although I must admit it is hard). They have also decided to do the Cha Cha Slide as their halftime "dance". They were so cute practicing.

Jacob did great on the field. The whole team did great. They have a young team and I don't know that they will win every game, but I hope they win some. I will try to behave either way. I am really bad about being the "LOUD MOUTH" mom that everyone talks about and glances sideways at.

Jacob has been playing Left Tackle on offense and Linebacker for defense, but after practice yesteday Luke and the head coach were talking and they are going to move Jacob to center so he can snap the ball and make the block. He has the speed and the ability to block. I am sooooooo excited. I also overheard the coach saying that if Jacob really wanted it and worked at it he could be the backup quarterback. Apparently he thinks Jacob could play that position. I always pictured him as the linebacker type or the center. I guess we will see how it goes.

I have been spending time playing on the computer with my husband....and BEATING HIM....HA HA HA HA. I don't beat him at much. He has started playing on myspace again and has found some game called Mafia Wars. It is more waiting than not, but I have more money than him and have more property too. I am not sure what the point is, but we are doing it together. I guess that is good.


HOW 'BOUT THEM DAWGS???? They played a good game yesterday. I heard part of it on the radio and saw part of it on the news.

Now for those of you who know that I bleed ORANGE AND WHITE they don't play until tomorrow night and there will be a BIG posting after that game. I just don't have a whole lot to say since there wasn't a game to comment on. (Dad, don't think that I have switched to the dark side/I swear I haven't done that)

Oh Yeah, if you haven't tried out Twitter.com check it out. It is really cool and you can update it from your cell phone. Thanks Jeannette for the information.

Well, for now I have to return to fighting people and earning more money.



fr

Thursday Thirteen...

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

1.I hate busy work
2. I passed my skill checkoff at school
3. I love my friends
4. I hate to do laundry
5. I love to cook
6. I hate to do dishes
7. I love to keep in touch with friends
8. My husband works too hard
9. I miss spending time with my family
10. I want to go camping
11. SEC Football starts Saturday
12. I can't wait for Jacob's football to start
13. I LOVE TO BLOG

Cassidy's Cheetah Party

For those who read regularly you know that Cassie's birthday was on August 7. Well that was the first day of school and to get everyone settled we decided that we would have a sleep over the same night as the Cheetah Girls One World movie. There were 8 girls including Cassie at the party. They ate pizza, ice cream and cake, and had a great time. Well, at least I think they did. They ran up and down my hall in my house, watched the movie and then 3 of them crashed about 10:15. Most of the girls went home because they had other parties to go to on Saturday. Here are a couple of pictures of the party. It was fun.

Thursday Thirteen

In an effort to do something 2 weeks in a row...

1. Cassie is having 7 girls over for a birthday party Friday night
2. Luke is finally going to be home for a football practice.
3. I actually cheered with my daughter tonight.(Talk about America's Funniest Videos)
4. The new Cheetah Girls Movie is on Disney Friday at 8
5. School started last night and I went to bed at midnight
6. I substituted in third grade today
7. Third graders think they know everything
8. My happy place in my head is the beach.
9. I am excited about school.
10. I can't wait to get me necklace from Cinnamon Sticks Boutique.
11. I am blessed to have such great friends.
12. I love my kids and the fact that they work hard at school
13. Ate lunch at school today...school food hasn't gotten any better. YUCK!!!

Football and Cheerleading

Well "the season" is in full swing. We have had 2 football practices so far and 1 cheer practice. So far so good. Jacob is LOVING football and Cassie is of course LOVING cheering. Their team is the Bears. I don't have any good pictures yet because I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Hopefully I will have some good ones next week.

For now school starts tomorrow night for me and Luke has the kids for the night.

There are several things going on this weekend and I will update later. For now just keep my family in your prayers.

How Cool is this????

Six months of free babysitting? How awesome is that? Thanks Heidi for the update on this giveaway.

There are 5,075 sitters in my area (within 50 miles) and 8 within 10 miles of my zip code. You can interview the sitter and read comments from other people who have used them. This is AWESOME!!!!

Go here for the sitter website or to Chefdruck Musings for the information.

This is awesome

Family Day Saturday...

In an effort to spend more time together as a family Luke and I bought bikes and helmets yesterday. I was all excited about hanging out with my children and husband. We got home and rode around the neighborhood. It was fun and the kids had a great time. I don't think I have had that much exercise in a while. It felt good. Well....I thought it felt good.

I didn't realize how unpadded the seat was until round 2 later in the evening. My back end was sooooooo sore. Now, I have been sore from riding horses too long, but this was a different kind of hurt. I went on the second ride, but I am telling you I don't think there will be any riding for me today. HA HA HA HA

In fact, Cassie informed me this morning that she, Jacob, and Luke were going later and I was allowed to go with them, but I could stay here. Staying here sounds like a good idea. I have laundry and dishes to do. It is the first time that I think doing laundry and dishes out ranks going outside. Maybe Monday I can make it out to go around the block.

Fingerprint Friday...

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
Youre a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?



Here is how to join in: Find where you see God's fingerprints today, post a picture and go here and link your post with others who are participating.

Olympic Opening Ceremonies....

Well, Sort of....The school where my children go had their own Academic Olympic Opening Ceremonies. They were really cute. Jacob got to release balloons with a few other students to show that they scored over 900 on the reading section of the CRCT. Cassie got to "run" the torch with 8 other students because they exemplified the character education word for the first 6 days of school. I was so proud of them. It wasn't announced prior to the event and I only have pictures because I happened to be at the school helping in Cassie's class.



Obviously Cassie wasn't dressed appropriately to be running a torch, but as you can see she made the most of it.

Thursday Thirteen

1. I was a substitute today for first grade.
2. I had a great day
3. I have to go to a cheerleading meeting this afternoon
4. Football and cheerleading are expensive
5. Can't wait for sports to start
6. I am fixing to make my husband a late birthday dinner
7. My children cleaned the living room for their father.
8. School starts for me next Wednesday
9. Why do our children think that when you tell them to do something they have an option to do it or not.
10. I love flip flops
11. I love Friday's
12. I love my family
13. The Olympics are GREAT!!!

Happy Birthday Luke...

Yes, today is my hubby's birthday and he had to go out of town. I told him Happy Birthday this morning and he will be home tomorrow. I was going to cook his favorite dinner, but I guess I can do that tomorrow night.

Anyway, I was at the kids school today and was helping out in the classroom. It was fun. I also got hit up to sub tomorrow. I guess I better do it now that I don't have my school to worry about. I love to spend time with the kids, but I don't think I could do it for a whole school year. Every now and then is great and it gives me a little extra cash.

Football and cheerleading start next week. Can I tell you that what you pay the rec. department is never the final amount. There are so many "extras" that they say are optional, but you have to get. Oh Well, such is life.

One more week until I go back to school. I am excited, but nervous at the same time. I hope it is a little more organized in sections. This past summer all of the information was thrown at us and it was hard to keep up at times.

I was supposed to have 15 days off to get my house in order, but I have yet to finish that project. Why is it when one room gets clean and you go to the next your family insists on dirtying up the room you just cleaned? I swear...cleaning up after my husband and kids is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing. HA HA HA

Well, I think that is all for now. I have a couple photos from last weekend to post. Cassie and Luke played Barber shop.

SURPRISE!!!!!

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday and we had a surprise party for her today in Knoxville. She has never had a surprise party and we pulled it off!!!! This has been planned for over 2 weeks. My children knew and they didn't blow it. I am so proud of everyone. It was great. My whole family was in on it. It was really good to see everyone. I don't get to see that side of my family a lot since I live like 3 hours away. Well, Here are some pictures of the occasion.