each day...

Each day...
Learn something new
Share it with someone else
Do something nice for someone else
Do something nice for yourself
Think of at least one specific thing to be thankful for
Do something to grow your business/advance your career
Eat three healthy meals
Do some form of exercise for at least 20 minutes
Do something you enjoy
Do a chore
Make sure each of the above were met.

Great Weekend...

Funny, I had such a great weekend last weekend and I was very excited about posting pics but my week has just gotten away from me and now it's Thurs night again!
Well, it all started last Thurs night-Bob built a fire outside in the firepit and Benjamin hung out there with us until he fell asleep. Bob and I stayed up until 3:30 am! Yikes! and of course the baby decided he had to get up at 6:30 am that morning...(he has been sleeping until 8-9).


Friday Harrison and Dave came to visit for the weekend and to go to the Florida Tenn game in Knoxville. Benjamin was thrilled about Harrison visiting!

Sat. we went to BW3"s for the Florida game but I spent most of the time outside with the kids. It was alot of fun!

Sunday, after Dave and Harrison left, we went to Oktoberfest downtown with friends and it was a great time! A few beers, live music, good friends and fun!

The incredible fire Thursday night

Proud Harrison holding his cousin Tommy. He could not wait to hold him...

Dad and son

Bob holding the baby and carrying Benjamin on his leg! ha ha

Climbing around outside


Dancing with friend Cloe

Posing...

the mad "I just drank Hi-C" face...

Cousins

Benjamin did not want to take a nice pic with Harrison, after thinking about it I thing he thought if he didn't take a good picture, they would not leave...he wanted him to stay!

present from Tante Christin and the kids...he was soooooo excited about it hatching...

"I love my turtle"...I have to get a bunch more to make a nest...



OKTOBERFEST '08

yUM yUM, EATING A BRAT

ME IN THE PORT-A-LET...??????????????

Tommy concked out...



Playing in the fountain...


AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH
little tommy chillin'

the end of the day, walking to the car...

Benjamin is wearing

a baby blanket...yeah-it was fun!

Remembering Daddy...

Thinking of

my father as

Sept. 15, 2008

marks 4 years

since he passed away!

Love you daddy!

this is a tough time of the year for me...I don't like to talk about it-my stepmother calls a few days before, my aunts...and we all say we will be thinking of each other...but just can't talk about it all on "the day"... First we have the birth of my , now 2, son(s)...then my fathers birthday, then a few days later, the day he passed away...

It is always so hard...I cry...I think about him more than usual...I feel sad and a deep sense of loss for my children as they will never know what a wonderful man he was.

I do feel his warmth and his smile upon us all...miss his kind face and posotive attitude...his quiet.

Love you, love you, love you daddy.

After IKE...

A lazy Sunday afternoon and all is well...Bob and Benjamin are at a friends house watching football and I am home with the baby doing "stuff"...all of a sudden an intense wind starts up...and does not stop for several hours. We lost electricity at about 2:30 pm and I just sat on the couch looking back and forth between the patio doors of the dining room and the floor to ceiling window in the living room. I had never seen anything like it...70-74 mph winds. No rain.
Fortunetly noone we know was hurt. there were several trees down on our block, but no houses or cars got hit. This is across the street from our house...Bob was over there 15 minutes after it happened, helping them saw the tree up and within a few hours, you never would have known it fell.




Benjamin in the thick of it...
wanting to help, but curious too...














One of the large trees that fell down the street...this was a typical site all over town-












Benjamin climbing the tree..."look at me mom"!



















Walking home from our exploration with treasures...the pot was down 2 blocks and belongs to us! The flower was gone daddy gone...












Later that evening as it began to get dark and it was lighter outside than in, people were all outside, kids were playing, neighbors were talking...and just hanging out. It was strange that it took having no electricity to get everyone out...
Bob went over to friends house and on the way home passed a Domino's pizza- so we had pizza by candlelight for dinner...it reminded me of being at the cabin and was actually kind of nice. No TV, no sounds except crickets and grasshoppers and fireengines and police cars...
We were told 800,000 people were without electricity! and that it would be 3-4 days before we got it back ...but when I woke up at 8:00, (for the second time that morning...) it was already on! We got lucky, not only are we next to a hospital but we are next to the largest Kroger in the world-
An interesting experience, that made me feel closer to people.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today was my father's birthday...

a day for reflection

Happy Birthday Daddy

I love you

I miss you terribly

Hugs and Kisses

xxoo

Benjamin's First Day of 4 Year Old Preschool...

Ben is going to a new Preschool this year...I wasn't really crazy about the one he went to last year. I LOVE this place! and his teacher seems wonderful! He was very excited to go to his "new school". He wanted to wear a "new" hand-me-down Liverpool Soccer Club short outfit that he got from a friend but Bob wanted him to wear a Gator shirt because they won this weekend. His first day Ben got to "be the stapler"...

The Mouse Trap

So, I am in the house cleaning up and Benjamin comes in asking for some cheese that he needs for his mouse trap. He was going to stick it down a hole...I said okay and gave him a cheese stick...I am wondering what "hole" he is putting it in. A few minutes later he comes in and says he needs 2 more cheese sticks because he needs 3 total. Alright,...now I am really curious, and I ask him to show me his "mouse trap". We walk down to the end of the cul-de-sac...and this is what I see...not what I expected! ha ha!

Benjamin being Benjamin...

Mom...is it okay if I draw on myself?

What could I say?

When you look at this, what do you see? I see a tower...oh, how cute...

But, no, it is a gun.

ok. I see it now...

Ben got Duplo Lego's for his birthday. While playing in his room by himself-this is the first thing he made...I thought it was pretty good

Ben's Birthday party

Photos of this day coming soon...I am waiting on some from a friend...

August 27~happy Birthday Ben!

Good Morning! Opening presents from Lilly

Presents from Mom and Dad...

My new costumes...
Benjamin had a full day ending with pizza and ice-cream at our favorite local ice cream place and playing in the park with good friends.

Frog catching...

and kissing???

August 18, 2008

Getting bigger...

Napping with Dad

Took this myself...Baby and me
August 2008