Is it Christmas time already??

I have never been so busy in my life. Did I say it would take a couple of weekends to move? HA! We are still not done moving in! Very close but it took alot longer than I thought it would. Now, it is time to get the Christmas decorations out, the ones we just put away in the attic. I am trying to decide if I want to go all out and put all the trees up or just put up one tree.

I am very pleased with my doll room. Everyone thinks I am weird for collecting dolls but I do love my doll collection. I have a curio cabinet and Bill bought me 2 really pretty shelves. I also have some displayed on the floor. I have a love seat/sleeper and a recliner and a floor lamp. I also have a television/computer inside of a cabinet. I think it is so relaxing to sit in there and just enjoy my surroundings. I did not get all of my dolls unpacked but did leave a few packed up. I bought one of those Swiffer dusters to keep the dust off of the dolls. I have a pink Christmas tree to put up to hang all of my Barbie ornaments on and I would also like to get my Christmas dolls out.

Andrew is doing great in middle school. I am so proud of him and he is growing up too fast! Bryanna is doing well also and keeps me on the road hauling her to one thing or another.

Not much of an update but I will try to add pictures soon.

We are moving!

The closing on our house was last Wednesday. We are going to start moving in this weekend but it will probably take a couple of weekends to get everything in and ready for us to move. We are all really excited! We had 2 yard sales, 2 weekends in a row and it was very tiring but very lucrative. We got rid of alot of stuff! I also posted quite a few things online for sale and sold alot that way too, less stuff to move.

My co-worker, Mike, left today. He is moving to Kansas. It was very sad to see him go. We have a new guy named Ryan. I am old enough (almost) to be his mother. We'll see how this works out. Work has been very busy. I even had to bring home work to complete. I am glad we are keeping busy, but it is a bit overwhelming at times.

Plans are being made for my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary Dinner. I wanted to have a big party with a Sock Hop theme but my mom nipped that idea right in the bud!! Oh well.... The date is set for June 20, 2010. The place is Phillip's Seafood in Myrtle Beach and it will start at 4:00. I have some secret stuff I am planning to do and have but it will be low-keyed like the folks want it!

Bryanna is enjoying high school and is in the JROTC which is sponsored by the U.S. Navy. She really likes it and is going to her first drill competition tomorrow and will get to carry the State flag. Andrew is doing really well (Knock wood) in Middle School. He seems to really be enjoying his classes and he is learning to play the saxaphone.

Well, that is all for now. My next blog will be from the new house I hope!!!!

Have a great weekend!

Long time no hear.....

It is hard to believe that on Monday I will have a child in high school and a child in middle school. We finished up the school shopping today. We had a nice summer, it was busy but it was nice. We started out the summer having Caroline stay with us for awhile to keep an eye on Andrew while Bryanna went to Orchestra camp. Then both kids stayed with Chris in Elgin and then all of us went to Indiana for the Kindig Family Reunion. The drive is much much longer than I remembered but everything went well. Chris and Caroline sat in the very back with the kids in the Captain's chairs and Bill and I took turns driving. We stayed in Elkhart, IN at a hotel and got to visit with just about all of our cousins and my aunt and uncles. Got to meet some "new" cousins, cousin-in-laws, and all the "new" kids. It made me feel a little old to see the babies that I remember holding when they were babies who now have babies of their own.

We did lose a very special friend of my mom's this summer. Unfortunately, I did not get to visit Sharon while I was in Indiana but had spent some time with her recently while she was in Myrtle Beach. I will remember her as she was that night and as she always was when I saw her, happy and laughing. We also had "2" accidents in our family this summer and were very blessed by "2" miracles. While both family members continue to recover emotionally and physically, we are blessed that both are still with us. We also have one brand new baby in the family, Anna Pearl. She is my cousin Jeff's first granddaughter. I cannot forget that my niece, Brittany, graduated with honors from Columbia College in May. My other niece, Samantha, is learning to drive and Caroline has returned to Newberry College for her third year.

We put an offer on a house and it was accepted. The closing is suppose to be October 5th. We are very excited. We will still be in Myrtle Beach but we will be across the waterway instead of blocks from the ocean. The house is much bigger than what we have now which will be great for the kids. I will post pictures as soon as it is "OURS".

The above picture was taken at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, IN. Bill, Andrew, my dad and my cousin's husband and son, all went there on the Saturday we were in Indiana. I did not go but I wish I would have after I saw the pictures Bill took. Oh well, maybe next time if they are still open.

I know everyone is wondering about the light of my life, Chewy. Well, he is still a brat and even more spoiled than ever. Caroline has waged war against him because he chewed up her Rainbow shoe. Chewy has a new "baby" that is a piggy with rope arms and legs. Chewy has a habit of dismembering his "babies" but the rope seems to be holding up better than the regular cloth.

I will try to post more often. I start back to school on Tuesday!!! I gave up the Education classes because I did student teacher training and I found out, I really do not want to be a teacher. Maybe if I had started younger but at 44, I don't have the patience that I would need.
I still do not really know what I want to be when I grow up!

Take care!

Thrills, Chills and SNOW!

That's right, South Carolina has had 2 snowfalls this year and cold cold weather. Of course, it did not last, in fact it is 70 degrees today. That is a picture of Andrew in Elgin where they got much more snow than we did.

As usual, we have been very busy. The past 2 weeks, Bryanna had a concert either on Friday night or Saturday night for her All County orchestra and choir. Both the concerts were really good. The choir concert was very crowded and we did not get to sit together but we enjoyed it. Bill's parent's attended both concerts with us and then we had dinner with them.

We have all been sick as well. Bill started us out with his brochitis and sinus infection. Then, the day of the choir concert, I woke up feeling sick and still not over whatever it is that I have. Bryanna woke up this morning all stuffed up. So far, Andrew has steered clear.

Andrew signed up for baseball yesterday so that will be starting soon! We have alot coming up in the next few weeks so we are enjoying this weekend of not much going on.

I am thinking about doing a scrapbook of my dolls so I can journal when I got them and if someone gave them to me and what occassion it was for. I have not got past the "thinking about it" part though. I have a paper due tomorrow night which I have not started on and it is a research paper so it will take me a while. I did get a 98 in my last class.

My mom and dad were here about a week ago with their friends, Lynn and Sharon Dodson. They rented an oceanfront penthouse and stayed for a few days. They had a really good time. The dolphins gave them a good show one morning and they just sat around and talked mostly. The kids and I went up there one night (Bill was sick) First we went to the wrong hotel and Andrew was banging on the door yelling Housekeeping! Noone would come to the door so I had him call my mom and tell her to come to door. Oops...when we finally got to the right room, I was very impressed with it! Both bedrooms had king size beds and it was just so nice with the balconies. We all went out to a German restaurant/pub. The kids played at the game tables, I can't remember how to spell the name of it...fuzz ball? Anyway, the food was delicious and Sharon filled me on the happenings in Mishawaka. We were in that restaurant for 2 hours because they cook everything from scratch. The saurkraut was to die for...and the red cabbage! The only thing was they were out of pickled herring so Dad and I had to do without. We got a portabella mushroom instead. We had to get home after dinner but the next day my mom called and told me to watch the 6 PM news, my dad got interviewed at the gas station about a new interstate that may go in.

Anyway, I better get going. We have to go to 5 PM Mass on Sundays now because Bryanna has to be an usher or take the gifts up to earn service time. I am not as sleepy at this Mass but they play contempary music with guitars and I like the hymns with organ music better.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

So far...everything's fine in 2009!

Happy New Year! The days just seem to be flying by! As usual, we have been a busy bunch! Bill and I celebrated our First Wedding Anniversary December 29th. We went out to dinner at a new shopping place called "The Market Commons". They have upscale (a.k.a expensive) stores and restaurants there so we don't go there very much! It was a real treat to go out for a nice romantic dinner. We split a slice of carrot cake for dessert to commemorate our anniversary since the bottom layer of our wedding cake was carrot cake. It was a very nice time for us both.

I only worked half days the week after Christmas so the kids and I got alot done that week. We took the tree down and put the house back in order. I went ahead and put up my Valentine's decorations so we will be looking at them for awhile! Andrew finally got his final trophy for All-Star football. It is really nice. We have it sitting on the mantle for now. Andrew has also been "practicing" his guitar much to our delight. Kind of goes like this....TWANG!!...pause......TWANG!...pause....etc....and then "Hey Mom! did you recognize that song?" Umm...nooooo.....actually though Bryanna has talk him how to read some music and I thought I heard a tune that sounded a bit like Jingle Bells. The guitar teacher comes starting next week so I am sure we will hear an improvement soon...I hope.

We did go to my parent's for New Year's Eve. We did not get there until about 8:00 PM and Chris and Mom had put out quite a spread. I actually fell asleep about 10:30 but woke up around 11:50 so I got to ring in the New Year with sparkling grape juice. None of us lasted too much longer than about 12:10...we are a bunch of party animals aren't we? Of course Mom jumped up New Year's Day to get her dinner cooked so she could watch football all day and that she did. We had to make sure the Gamecocks went home defeated! Chris and I went up to the Dollar General store and I got myself some sweatpants and a t-shirt but that is all we did. We did not leave until about 7:30 but we had a really nice relaxing day. Except for Bill who was finishing the tile in the pantry for Dad. I had to work January 2 which was no fun.

The kids started back to school this past Monday and I started back this past Tuesday. Call me crazy but I signed up for the Master's degree program. There is alot more involved it looks like and I do not know how I will get it done but my goal is to have my Master's by June, 2010. So here we go again....

Speaking of which, I need to get started on my homework. I think I have 3 chapters to read, I still need to cook supper, AND the Orange Bowl is on tonight GO GATORS!!!