I've been a VERY bad blogger over the summer. Please forgive me for not updating but it's been a little crazy. Some good things and some not so good things, but, in everything, God is in Control! What I have realized though is I have 3 major things that I like to write about,
1 - my family, 2 -my creativity (painting, clay, etc.) & 3 - my faith. What I have determined is, I feel guilty about posting my creative projects if I haven't updated on my family or some amazing inspiration if I promised, with good intentions that I would post some painting or clay work. So,
I'm going to start 2 more blogs, one for my creating and another for my inspiration. I hope to do this very soon but at the latest the end of the year. So, keep checking. I managed to make a couple of updates during the last 5 months like Ashley's graduation with her Associates Degree & my birthday. However, so much more has been going on that I'll have to fill in the blanks. This is the first installment, May & June 2008.
May 2008 - First Plane Ride & Graduation in Ohio
Bryant and I flew to Ohio for a friend's high school graduation. This was Bryant's first plane ride and it was a real joy to be able to share that with him.
Me, Bryant & Tiffany. Tiff is so special. She is sweet, smart, funny and loves the Lord.
This is a wooden box from HL that I painted for her. I also wrote her a note and glued it with a picture of the two of us on the inside cover. Of course no graduation gift is complete without a little money! :o)
I just had to take the picture on the 'moving sidewalk' at the airport. Bryant thought this was so cool. Luckily there weren't too many people on it. He had so much fun just being a kid and I enjoyed watching him. Thanks again, Jessica, for allowing me to have him for a few days!
June 2008 - Male Creativity, Mother Nature, Anniversary, UGA, Surgery, Swimming Pool Make-over & Family Challenges
Okay, so, I left the house for a while and when I came home, I had a checker-board lawn! My husband was so proud! He'd always wanted to try this. A couple of days after he did this he had to go on travel for work. I typically help him mow the grass and was so afraid he wanted me to try to keep this checkerboad thing going. However, he did not. What a relief!
While Wayne was gone, our neighbors dead tree fell during the bad storm we had. My husband had been asking them to take care of the tree because he was afraid someone was going to get hurt or it was going to cause some major damage when it finally fell. We were very lucky that it just damaged the fence. I think it scared them to death because I don't think they realized how much damage these things can cause. Now they know and no real harm was done. Thank you Lord!
A bird nest built in one of my plants on our porch every year. This year our little feathered friends chose a plant that was just starting to come back so I could stand on a stool, without touching anything and get some really good shots. Here is a quick look at the first few weeks of their new little lives...
There were about 4 eggs but only 2 on them hatched and grew. They were so cute. The picture on the right is the 2nd bird getting ready to fly. I just happened to be near and grabbed my camera.
Empty Nesters Argument...
Our 30th wedding anniversary was June 24th. We went to the new Italian Restaurant in town, Santinas, and it was absolutely delicious. The walls had the most beautiful murals on them and the atmosphere and food were wonderful. I highly recommend it! We looked so-o-o-o-o young! What am I saying, we were young! He was 20 & I was 19.
We made a couple of trips to Athens in June to sign Ashley's apartment lease and UGA Transfer Student Orientation. Here is Ashley in front of her apartment at lease signing. She was going to room with 3 other girls then met someone who wanted just one roommate, which worked better for Ashley as well, but is more expensive.
I took these pictures at the UGA College of Education.
In January we had an extremely heavy rainstorm. Due to a ground-water problem, our pool liner was just about destroyed. We brought someone in to fix it but it was beyond repair. We decided to put off replacing the liner until the weather got warmer. So, to try to divert some of the water, it was suggested that we dig a ditch on the high side of our property to divert some of the water during a heavy storm. So, $450 later, we have a "lovely" ditch. So far so good.
This is what the pool looked like before the new liner...
This is work in progress...
...a close up of the new liner pattern and finally...
...the new liner. I'll show more pool pics later in this post.
One of the reasons I have not updated in so long is that we've had many family trials over the last few months. I guess it all started the day Ashley and I went to her UGA orientation in June. Some of you know the details but I won't go into it in a public forum, at least not right now. The immediate result was, our daughter that got married in March, Stephanie, separated from her husband. It has been a very difficult situation and many prayers have been lifted with their names.
I told her from day # 1 to pray for God's will and not her own. I have done the same. God has been working overtime in all of our lives and Stephanie and Brian are no exception. Please pray for God's direction and His will in this situation. I'll probably share more later.
Fortunately, I don't have any pictures to share for this event, but I did have some "female" surgery in June. After a blood test in May showed I was VERY anemic, I was sent on the journey to find out why, which included many tests, biopsies, & doctor visits. I'll spare you the details but I ended up having to have an endometrial ablation. I am due to have more blood work to make sure this fixed the problem.
I'll start working on the second installment soon. Please leave a comment and let me know you were here!
A bird nest built in one of my plants on our porch every year. This year our little feathered friends chose a plant that was just starting to come back so I could stand on a stool, without touching anything and get some really good shots. Here is a quick look at the first few weeks of their new little lives... 
Empty Nesters Argument... 
Our 30th wedding anniversary was June 24th. We went to the new Italian Restaurant in town, Santinas, and it was absolutely delicious. The walls had the most beautiful murals on them and the atmosphere and food were wonderful. I highly recommend it! We looked so-o-o-o-o young! What am I saying, we were young! He was 20 & I was 19.
This is work in progress...
...a close up of the new liner pattern and finally...
