Third College Down...

And so many more to go...

We really should have been more on the ball about all this.  But we have a couple more tours to go on.  One is already scheduled, the other in the works.  And after that...  decisions, decisions...

This past week Christen was at FSU for soccer camp.  For the longest time, she's admired FSU.  Not sure why.  I know I've admired FSU football for a long time.  Most of my "people" love UGA, but when I was little, UGA didn't do a lot of winning.  So I jumped on the FSU bandwagon.  I love Bobby Bowden and even though I knew it was time he retired, it still makes me sad. 

Anyways...

Christen learned that FSU is NOT the school for her.  Too big, for one.  That's my girl!

But she had fun, and made new friends and of course, learned more about her job as Goal Keeper. 

We'll be headed to Alabama in a few weeks for a college tour and then to North Georgia not long before or after that. 

I'm hoping by then, Christen will have made a decision and we'll get the finances worked out. 

Christen turns 17 this week. 

Lord, help me please. 

I just know this year is going to fly by and soon enough we'll be packing her up for college and telling her "see ya later".  I can't do it without God's help. 

So, I'm praying, praying, praying. 

Now, some fun facts:

Fun Fact# 1: I love riding through Coolidge, GA just to see this cow on the building.  It's been there as long as I can remember and I just love it. 

Fun Fact #2: FSU has a circus!!  I had no clue, but they do. 

Fun Fact #3: This is an old tree.  I love stuff like this.  History is pretty cool. 

Fun Fact #4: This site doesn't come along often enough in the south these days.  Hated that it didn't rain where we were, but there was enough lightning to put a stop to Keeper Wars. 

And finally, Fun Fact #5:  This kid found a great way to keep himself occupied while his sister played in the keeper wars.  I believe his goal was to see how many pine cones it took to make it all the way down the bleacher.  I don't think he ever found out though.  Poor kid!

MIA and a College Tryout

I don't do well while traveling.  I get all out of sorts, especially if it's a long ride.  Also, when I got back home, we had no internet or cable for a few days.  So, not a great combo for blogging.  So sorry to be MIA. 

Also, I'm finding it hard to comment on some of my fav bloggers.  So if you haven't heard from me...  it's not me, it's my computer. 

I mentioned in my last post that we took Christen to SC for a tryout.  (She was at a soccer camp in NC last week)

The tryout is so far producing some fruit, but there's still a lot of praying to do. A lot.

Christen loved the campus.

 

And we all loved: how they put academics first... the student to teacher ratio... their philosophy on mandatory study hours for freshman... their stand on community living during their freshman year and steadily giving more independence as they move up in class rank.... the coach's willingness to be accesible to his players... how they combined their history and traditions with the campus social scene.... I could go on and on and on.






I'm a little at odds about it all though.  It's a struggle within myself.  So many factors to consider. 

I'm praying, praying, praying about it all...

oh my...  my baby's going to college... 

10 on 10 for July ~ A.K.A. Lazy Sunday

ten on ten :: the idea

Take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. Document a day of your life and find beauty among the ordinary moments. Then share your beauty with us!

I'm linking with ten on ten for July HERE.  Hope you'll join in too!!

This time, the 10th rolled around on a Sunday.  The day before we were in SC (about 6hrs away from home) with Christen while she tried out for a college soccer team.  The ride home was not pleasant for me at all.  We got in late and I had a migraine.  Thankfully I held off getting "sick" until we made it home.  Sunday, I was still recovering just a bit from the migraine and sickness, so that made for a very lazy 10 on 10.  But that's a-okay w/ me!  :o)  Enjoy!

Brandi and Beckham joined in on the laziness..

This was such a great game!

I just heard about the Redemption Series last week via KLove.  Now I'm hooked. 

Christen joined in on the laziness too.  She's getting rested for soccer camp this week. 

Beckham is a great reading buddy.  He curled up with me for the longest time. 

Left over wonton soup & dried noodles for lunch.  YUM!

Abby Wombach making the goal to tie the game. 

( and in case you didn't know. USA won over Brazil!!!  It came down to penalty kicks.  WOW so exciting!!)

Our youth reported on their time at MFUGE camp. 

Here they were singing the camp song, "Happy Day" by Fee. 

We have such an awesome youth group.  The Lord is working in each of them and it's so exciting all the things they want to do for our community. 

And here's Christen w/ Mrs. Carol. 

Christen talked about her track time and a special little boy she grew to love.   

I'm so proud of her and the woman she is becoming. 

I'm so excited to see what God has in store for her!!



The day ended with me finishing up my book.  I'm so ready to read the next one in the series. 

July 4th Weekend *EDIT - Snake Story Too"

The weekend started out great and ended the same.  Friday, after work, I got in the pool as soon as I could and chilled until I was joined by the family.  Christen and Jessica spent the day at an amusement park about an hour away with my mom and brother. 

Saturday, we had my Dad and his wife over for a belated Mother's/Father's Day lunch.  Jon cooked/grilled ribs and hot dogs and I roasted potatoes and attempted to make blueberry pie.  "attempted" being the word to pay attention to.  I failed at that attempt, but I think I know what I did wrong, so I will try again.  One day. 

After they went home, we spent more time in the pool.  Who needs to ever pay for entertainment when you have Beckham.  He loves to play "volleyball".  He'll do this all day long if you let him. 

After we were more than water logged, we headed up town to watch fireworks.  And if you ask me, the best place to watch fireworks is from the back of your pickup truck. 

 Christen was excited to get this picture of me.  "DON'T delete it!!!" She told me.  I didn't...  and to be fair, I'm even posting it here.  ha!

 Jon telling some kind of joke or story or something to help pass the time until the fireworks.  He gets so animated. 

 Christen sporting her "grocery store" feet. 

 Jon REALLY wishing his little glow stick were a light saber instead. 

 I love all things that glow.  I'm very easy to please. 

 

Gotta love him!

Sunday was church of course.  Jon and I also went to see The Green Lantern.  Such a good movie!!

Monday, more of the pool and just relaxing. 

Such a great weekend!!

Now to work for the next three days and heading to SC on Friday for Christen's 1st college try out. 

So excited and nervous about that.  Please keep her in your prayers!

*EDIT*

Sorry!  I can't believe I totally forgot about my "snake encounter". 

Okay... 

here's the deal: 

It was time to leave for church Sunday morning.  We were running a little bit late, so I was rushing and not paying attention to my surroundings apparently.  I had opened the garage door by pushing the button just outside the kitchen door.  Jessica was in front of me and Christen was behind me.  I had my purse, my coffee and a cup of cereal in my hands.  I wasn't looking at the ground.  I was paying attention to Jessica because something had just floated into her hair and I was wondering what in the world it was! 

By that time, I had walked out from under the garage and onto the driveway and all of a sudden, Jessica and Christen both yelled:

"You're gonna step on it!!"  -  "You STEPPED on it!!!" -  "You stepped on the SNAKE!!!!!!"  

I looked down, didn't see anything, turned just a bit and looked down and saw the tail end of a snake slither into a box that holds Jessica's basketball goal.  I FREAKED!!!  I threw my purse down (IN the snake's direction, why I have no clue, I would have freaked out even MORE if that sucker would have gone into my purse) and jumped about 5 feet, AND screamed.  Like a scared little girl.  I convinced Christen (who had by now, jumped from the floor of the garage back to the steps that lead to the kitchen) to walk through the garage and get in the car.  She called Jon and before Sunday School started, he sent me a text letting me know he had killed it.  Wow...  such excitement for a Sunday morning!  I kept feeling something crawling on me the whole morning.  It was freaky-deaky for sure.  I wish Jon hadn't thrown the dead snake into the limb pile, I really wanted to see it.  But apparently, it was a garter snake, it was really little.  Like baby-little.  Here's what a garter snake looks like:

I feel pretty blessed though.  I've lived in South Georgia for the majority of my life and this is the first time I've ever stepped on a snake.  Even when I lived in the "country", I never stepped on one or came close to stepping on one.  Even this time, I wouldn't have known if Jessica and Christen weren't there to tell me. 

I LOVE VBS 2011

Our Church is having our VBS this week (Vacation Bible School).  We started Sunday and today is the last night. 

Lots of changes this year.  We have a new youth minister, so I expected changes.  But I'm not good with changes.  Thankfully, I don't have to be.  :o)   Things ran smoother than I expected.  Let go and let God! 

The motto for VBS this year is: Hear it! Believe it! Connect it!

And of course, we learn our ABC's: Admit, Believe, Confess. 

This year's VBS Music is by far my favorite!  All the songs are catchy and fun. 

They combined our 2nd grade class with 1st grade.  First change I wasn't so sure about.  I've been there where the first grade class alone had an average of 15 per night.  And our 2nd graders have never been shy about showing up either.  I wanted an influx of kids, so many we would need extra help, but the most we had was last night, 17 kids.  Which is a-okay. 

The first three nights went without a hitch.  ALL the children were eager to learn about Jesus.  ALL the children were excited about the Missions track, the Music track and Crafts track.  They were even excited for Bible Study!!  Which surprised me a little because it can be tough for 1st and 2nd graders to sit still and listen at the same time.  It was like they were all little sponges just ready to learn as much as they could!  We even had one little boy accept Jesus into his heart on Wednesday night.  So amazing!!  The Spirit is truly working on those children. 

Last night was a challenge though.  One child, who is well known if you're a teacher in our area or go to our church.  He totally broke his mold Sunday and Monday.  He behaved, he listened and he was truly a joy to be around.  He missed Tuesday.  I'm assuming because of the storm we had.  He came back last night and was bound and determined to misbehave and treat others badly.  He did things that broke my heart and he acted unreachable.  We had to call in the youth minister to talk to him.  He finally calmed down enough to join us for Bible Study, which is our last track.  Unfortunately, he didn't listen, he made it difficult for the children next to him to listen.  I just can't imagine what he went through that day for him to act the way he did.  So I've been praying for him since last night to have a change in attitude for the better.  I've been praying for him to be able to feel God's tug on his heart and submit to it. 

All is forgiven, the slate wiped clean.  I'm coming to VBS tonight totally expecting him to be there and to be the awesome kid I know he is. 

Tonight is the last night, and once again, I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not.  I really do love VBS and I love the kids.  I thank God I have this opportunity every year to help teach.  It's a blessing. 

Our Night At Liam's

ALL photos are from Liam's Facebook Page

Click on any picture and you'll be taken to Liam's website. 

If you're ever near Thomasville, GA, I HIGHLY recommend you stop by or make reservations for one of their up coming classes. 

Next classes are for a Taste of Spain!

My Mom and I had such a great time at Liam's Tuesday night.  We got to taste foods we've never tried before and we were able to taste foods we're familar with, but prepared in a different way.  That's the menu above.  It's all in Italian.  Which added to the anticipation and excitment I was already feeling prior to arriving. 

This salad and bread were AH-mazing...   I really wish I could better explain what everything is, but the menu was explained so quickly.  All I know is that bread had the most delicious cheese baked ontop.  It was kind of like parmesean, but with a bigger kick.  I could have eaten their whole stock of it. 

This soup was made with many ingredients, the main being cabbage.  It was cooked for 6 hours!  Of course the cabbage was basically just turned into a flavor.  It was so delicous and creamy and oh.so.good. 

Lamb on a bed of polenta.  I've never had lamb or polenta before.  You didn't need a knife to cut that lamb, it literally fell off the bone.  It was so good!

This is our table.  You can't really see me, b/c I strategically hid behind my Mom.  ha!

The thought of sitting "Family Style" was a bit off-putting, but once we got there and met our table mates, I wouldn't have had it any other way.  We met some wonderful and interesting people!  My Mom and I are wanting to go back for one of their Taste of Spain classes. 

Liam's is fine dining at its best without the pretentiousness you may find at other "fine dining" restaurants.  I believe it was Rhonda Foster, co-proprietor, who introduced each course.  She was super loud and I grew to love it!  I knew that each time she yelled out the explanation of the next course, we would be eating again soon.   ha!

I must say, it felt adventurous to not know what I was about to eat.  To try things I’ve never tried before and if offered as a choice on a menu, I wouldn’t normally order it on my own.  This experience, yes I do believe it was an experience, has made me want to try new things.  I thought I was adventurous with my foods before, but apparently, I wasn’t.  

It was really nice for just me and my Mom to go and have fun together.  She's such a special person to me and I love hanging out with her.  This was a great way to make some wonderful memories.