9th anniversary

We bascially had a anniversary week. Steve brought me home flowers and arrived when I had some friends over. He got some extra talley marks for that, since it is always better when you have witnesses. Then he even did the cutting and clipping to make them pretty in a vase.

Then blessings be to the local church who took the kids for the evening of VBS so we could go out for dinner. Since we live in such a progressive community, our choices were KFC, Wendy's or a few others, so we settled on Beef O'Brady's. Larry the Cable guy would have been proud of our patronage for hot wings and beer. We decided to forego the beer, and had a big ol coke.

A package(thanks Tonia and Neal) arrived at my door this past week and opening it, I found a beautifully wrapped box with a lovely card. Inside I found the most amazing, tastey, succulent, candy. It was chocolate caramels. I am not really a sweet kinda girl, so I did not tear right into them, but once I bit into the first one, I was a goner. I made myself share. It was only fair. It was Steve's anniversary too. By the way you can order some at www.avenuesweets.com


With candy stashed in the purse we headed out for the blockbuster hit "Kung Fu Panda" and had us some laughs, but the girls thought the best part was the five airheads they each consumed.

Finally with a car trip south to Steve's parents, we passed on his mother's buffet of sandwiches and Steve took me to my most favorite place to eat Thai food. We have made believers of our girls and a few friends that Osaka's sushi and food in Madeira Beach is incredible. A sunset swim in the Gulf was better than a spa treatment (well, not really, but it was great).

So, finally I want to thank my husband for a wonderful anniversary. Here is an short description of my man and an excerpt of his card. He is the best.

Thank you for being who you are. I love all of you. I accept all of you. I even like all of you. At times I like some parts of you more than others, but all in all you are like the best super big gulp cherry coke a girl could ask for.

When I think of how all this happened it does seem completely crazy to my mind. I also can say with fervor that I would lock any one of the young ladies in our life in the cellar if they had done what I had done with the modern technology world of the Internet. But God has a plan. I'm glad we ran into His.

So I fell in love with a complete nerd. A treky who crossed over into the world of Darth Vader. A Spielberg/Lucas mutated young Frankenstein who secretly wanted to be in the Allen family. An Ebert crossed with Carlin genetically altered humor. And a wannabe Milton Brady tester of games. Mixed in still is the deep rooted talent of Eddie and a little James. I am forever yours...all of you. Even if I have to put up with the Bubba.

summer salad

Today I am posting an easy quick cool inexpensive dinner that a blogger friend asked for.

Chicken Caesar Salad

1 rotisserie chicken pulled off the bone
1 bag of hearts of romaine lettuce chopped into small pieces
1 box of Caesar croutons
1 bottle of Ken's creamy Caesar dressing (must use ken's)
shredded Parmesan cheese (don't use the powder kind)

Stir all together and serve immediately since a soggy wilted salad is never good.

Hope everyone likes it.

Paper dolls

The girls were deep into pioneer world today, bonnets and all. Laura and Mary in my home, helping with the chores. They got out their paper dolls. Yes, I said paper dolls. When was the last time you saw a commercial announcing the new toy of the future, paper dolls.








Well, it made me sad but happy.


Sad for the days of old when something so simple could keep a young ones mind occupied for hours, sad for our discontenment at times of how "easy" life used to be. I bet the Israelites thought that too as they roamed the desert, forgetting the slavery they had lived in. Just as we forget a day had to be set aside for laundry. The crops had to be grown and harvested and stored. The kids grew at the same pace, but a new pair of shoes or a new dress was not quickly acquired down at the local store. Sad for our constantness in this life.









So here my girls sat and dreamed of being Laura and Mary. That is why it made me happy. Sisterly love. Adventure. A home of love and pa's fiddle playing. The adorableness of a bonnet wearing head. The tv off, no thoughts of the modern conveniences. Just the attraction of how life was back then. How arithmetic was probably more fun than math. Precious. Paper dolls.

Soul Sisters

So this is not the theme music for the vacation bible school "Outrigger Island", but I have been waiting to use this song that my girls and I jam out to often. It seemed appropriate since all of us had some special times with our friends this past week.

Olivia met a new friend named Heather. She described the little girl with such passion, I knew Olivia had met a pal. "This little girl has red hair, yellow-green eyes and eternally white skin!" She loved going to class each day and it was her second year with Ms. Anglea.

Stephanie was moved into a class with her friends and she met a few new ones. Her teacher, Ms. Tracey was happy to have her in class, Steph was a good listener and a good sport. Stephanie let us know that she wanted to be baptized. We were pleased to know she is wanting to proclaim her love for the Lord. The lesson "Know the truth, Speak the truth, Live the truth" will be a motto in our lives too.

I had a fabulous time spending it with all of my girlies. We played canasta, talked, lounged, hung out at Samantha's home (thanks sam!) and solved some of the world's problems. It was nice to have some "soul sister" time, sharing our hearts and lives together. A few of us even admitted to being addicted to blogs.

After five days of early rising, eating on the run, going to class and figuring out lunch meals and afternoons of swimming in Ms. Anita's pool, we (mostly me) were happy to wrap up the event of our yearly VBS.

St. Augustine

Back on the homefront after a week at the beach, we are getting settled back into our routine. We all had a great time at the condos and building relationships with the youth group that we are so blessed to be a part of. We saw wings sprout and roots grow deeper, and were in awe of new stages some of those we love entered. Oh the tales we can tell.

Olivia loved it more than any of us, because what could compare to living with five teenage girls. Staying up late, hanging out in the sun with an i-pod and just being silly were the rage. Kay-Kay hung the moon, but Olivia's new cohort, Emily, made her feel special and loved.

Steve is just one of the guys and is quite the cutie with a guitar at his side. He was a favorite to have out in the Atlantic waters, but missed the day of our shark sitings. He missed getting stung by the local jellyfish too. The girls in the condo were reminded of his presence when the a/c cut off and his snoring bellowed through the walls.

Stephanie was the sand-castle builder, the swimmer, the young one that found her place in the crowd. She felt like she should wait in line and make her own plate, even sit and listen to the lectures by Dr. Ham on creationism. She was little miss budget when it came to spending her money, loving the Dollar Tree, but saving some for the craft store.

I was glad to serve in the food and organizing area of five rooms of hungry people. We made countless trips to Publix and Walmart, and there I found a treasure in their sushi bar. Yes, let me repeat that, Walmart had a sushi bar, with a talented lady standing there making it by request and it was just YUMMY! I dropped a few dollars this week on sushi, but all who tasted became believers.

We love our church family and sharing it as a family. What a week.

Tarpon Springs

Our favorite rocky beach in FL. Honeymoon Island


These are some spongey girls! We were able to wind up our school year with our last camping trip to Tarpon Springs, FL. Of course we had a fabulous time. We ate incredible Greek food down at the docks. We explored an island three miles offshore by traveling on a pontoon boat. It was beautiful and sunny. Our campground was the best patch of land 100 yards off of an 8-lane major highway anyone could ask for. We loved the pool and the company too. We were taken by surprise when we went to our favorite State Park to go and explore the rocky shore at Honeymoon Island, only to find a gorgeous white-sandy beach that had been "de-rocked". Stephanie was quite disappointed, for she is our little collector. Not to worry, we came home with treasures only a seven year old could love. Another adventure on the books.

Farm day

Old MacDonald had nothing on us! A friend of ours, Laurien, and her family have a farm. We went to spend the day chasing chickens, milking cows, petting hogs, and holding bunnies. It was a blast. Milking the cows was fun but a little strange, and collecting the eggs was great, but eating them the next day was the best! Farm fresh eggs! Thanks Laurien!