Vacation at last....

Boy oh boy do we need one! Tomorrow we are heading out. We are spending an entire week at the beach and I can't wait. I just downloaded several new songs on my Ipod, bought two new books to read, and am finishing up packing! I am looking forward to the laid back atmosphere that comes with condos on the beach! My absolute favorite thing to do is sit on the balcony overlooking that gorgeous water and READ!!! I would not be able to do that if not for the fact that Greg's favorite thing is taking the kids to the actual beach! So, I hope to take lots of pics and hopefully I will have some great stories to share! Have a fabulous week all and Happy 4th a little early. If I have internet connection I may try to pop on!

I would rather do anything else....

Then shop for bras!!! Yes, it is true and all you people that are reading this in bewilderment, well I don't really like you!!! JUST KIDDING! In all seriousness, if I want to put myself in a depressed state of mind, all I have to do is go try on bras at V. Secret! I will literally wear and wash the same bras over and over. Even when a certain friend tells me that I need a little "lift", I will just try to ignore her! Of course, this is the same friend that has about 50 beautiful bras and does not have the problem that I do. Last Sunday, I was told that the previously mentioned store was having a sale and I should go look there first. BIG MISTAKE and why didn't I just laugh and head for the Loft. I have no problem finding clothes, afterall! Let's just talk about the V. Secret sale. They put all the sale panties and bras in these little bins with big signs as to which size they are. Everything is picked over and people put things in the wrong place. My other big complaint is the amount of men that are dragged in there. They stand there not knowing where to look and totally looking out of place. I would NEVER drag Greg in that store and make him stand around while I shopped for panties and bras. Good grief, can't these girls find a time to go when boyfriend isn't in tow? Is anything "private" anymore? Plus, it doesn't make my shopping experience any better to have a man standing there staring at me while I pick through underwear! I digress, the actual trying on part is what kills me. I think I tried on at least 8 bras in various sizes. Not one fit me. I was about to cry not to mention that my shoulders started to hurt from trying to clasp and unclasp and tighten straps,etc! I went to another store and tried on about 6 more....again nothing. Finally, the Lord had mercy on me and I found some bras at Belks dept store. Of course, during the process I took off a bracelet that Greg had recently bought me and left it in the fitting room, but that is another story! ;) I am going to try to take excellent care of these bras, because I don't want to have to look again for a long long time! Before kids, I had no problem going into V. Secret and buying all of those pretty ones. Now, there is nothing to my poor chest! They will not stay put! Therefore, there is really no point in me even trying on a single thing in "THAT" store. I will stick to buying my pj's,etc from them but nothing else! So, I am writing the brand down that I bought and praying that they are
not discontinued. I figure I have another six months....at least...until I have to look again!!! ;)

A Recap...

So after the debit card debacle, my week didn't get better until Thursday! Wednesday included another franic cleaning and a no-show by a realtor ( we are pulling the house VERY soon)! Thursday was a nice day with a refreshing trip to the pool. My weekend included date night with my husband, and a girls night out last night with a friend. We went out to eat and then to see 'Waitress'. It was a quirky, cute movie. I definitely left the theatre with a smile on my face! Today, I am planning to run some errands later and take the twins to see 'Nancy Drew'. I am as excited as they are although I know that it is not "from the books"!!! I have some other posts planned so be sure to check back. I have lots of thoughts regarding how very frustrating it is to shop for bras. In fact, I had just about decided to wear the same ones FOREVER when I did have some luck! I know everyone is waiting breathless for that post! I hope you all have a FABULOUS start to your week! :)

My looney tune episode of the day....

I am posting this so that Christy feels better about yesterday! I am letting go of all sense of dignity by posting this! ;)

Yesterday started off fine. I took the girls to sports camp and dropped Noah off at his summer program ( 9-12). I went to the bank, put gas in my car, and got a coffee from my favorite place. I came home, emptied the dishwasher, and sat down to watch an episode of 'The Closer' on my DVR ( Love my DVR and LOVE that show)!!! It was very nice and very quiet. When I picked everyone up, the girls begged to have a friend come play and I agreed. They wanted Backyard Burger so that is where we went. They got a table, and I got in line. After I ordered, I took my wallet out of my purse and surprise, my debit card was not in its usual place. Let me just add that losing my debit card is one of my biggest fears in life. I pray constantly that God will protect my checking acct. I am just really paranoid. Anyway, I digress, it WASN'T there and panic began to set in. Thank the Lord I had some cash and I paid for the food and tried to walk to the table without keeling over. I sat down and began to go through my entire purse and wallet. At this point, I am sure that anyone sitting near us could tell by my WHITE face, that something was not right. I quietly told the kids to sit at the table and wait on the food as I ran out to the car thinking I certainly must have dropped it or put it in the front seat holder! I looked and looked, but it was no where. At this point, I am paranoid and I feel like I am going to hyperventilate. I come back inside and the food is there, kids are eating, and I am really at panic mode! I look through my purse and wallet TWO more times and then grab my cell phone and try to call and get a number of my bank. All I can think is two things.....all my vacation money is in my acct, & my husband is never going to let me live this down since I am always ragging him about keeping up with his card. I try the 1-800 number that the operator gives me but it just rings and rings. FULL BLOWN TERROR HAS HIT!!!! I *calmly* tell the kids to grab their food and we are taking it in the car. The poor little friend is staring at me like I have lost my mind. They are all saying "what is wrong, why, etc etc"?? I grab Noah and his food and for some unknown reason I grab my untouched hamburger meal and THROW it away. My girls and their friend are bewildered at this point. We head for the car where I practically throw Noah in and off we go. The whole time I am driving towards the bank, I am trying to breathe because I feel like I am going to pass out. It was that horrible. Now, one would think that as a Christian, I would be able to stop and pray and just have a little bit of FAITH! Yeah, one would think that!!!! I screech the car into the bank parking lot and run inside. The teller looks at me like I have lost my mind. I ramble on about everything. She looks up my acct and shows me that the only two purchases made that day were mine. We call the gas station to see if I dropped the card there...NO. She asks if I want to cancel it and I am trying to make some sense come into my foggy brain!!! Then, out of nowhere, I have a thought. It had to have been from God but I have to race home to make sure that I am right. I tell her that I will call her back in 10 mins if I need to cancel the card. We head home. I run into my house ( before the kids can see what I am doing), and run to my laundry room, open my dryer, sort through clothes, and there in all its glory is my card!!!!!! What was it doing in there you may ask? Well, for some unknown reason, my cropped pants were too loose for my liking, so I stuck them in the dryer for 5 mins when I had been home earlier. Obviously, I had stuck my debit card in my pants while I was pumping gas!!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Now, as you are laughing, let us ask a few impt questions.
1. Why put a debit card in your pants pocket?
2. Why didn't you remember that you had put said card in pocket?
3. And most impt. why did you throw that perfectly delicious Bkyd Burger and Fries away??? The lean cuisine meal I ate just didn't do it for me!!!!

If only....

I could get my act together and do the OAMC thing! About a month ago, my neighbor and I got together and cooked freezer meals for my friend that is having the chemo treatments. We tripled everything so that we could enjoy some of the meals too. Oh my goodness, it has been GREAT. When my mom brought the twins home, I was able to pull out my spinach lasagna and just make a salad and bread. Last night, I popped in my meatloaf that I had defrosted earlier in the day. All I had to do was warm up leftover mashed potatoes ( that I turned into cheesy ones), make greenbeans and some bread. Seriously, if I could just motivate myself to come up with some healthy choices and then cook for the freezer once in awhile, then we might eat a little better around here. If only........ !

TWO GREAT MEN!

Today being Father's Day, I have to post about two exceptional men.

First of all, I was blessed with an incredible dad. Growing up, I think ( no I know) that I took for granted the fact that I had a Godly man training me and guiding my life in the right direction. Sure there were times when I thought he was way too strict, especially when giving me tv tickets and asking me daily if I had done my devotions! Being a pastor, is one of the most stressful jobs on this earth, but I never once doubted my dad's love for me and my siblings, or for my mom. He put up with all of my feminine drama and sat through who knows how many ballet performances, and was always there to lend a supportive and encouraging voice. I think he might often wonder if he did a good job raising his children. He didn't! He did a GREAT job. I hope he realizes how much he is loved and appreciated and that one day he truly will stand before his heavenly father and hear those words..."well done my good and faithful servant"! I LOVE YOU DAD!!!

I wasn't just blessed with a good dad, I was also blessed with a wonderful husband and father to my own children. Greg is one of those men that everyone likes. He is friendly and kind and positive at almost any given time. When we first met, he told me that he wanted to have five children. He was always rolling around with the kids from church and they affectionately labeled him the "big kid". Thankfully, he reconsidered the number of children after watching his wife go through pregnancy twice. However, he is the very best dad to the three he was gifted with. They absolutely love their father. In fact, I think he is known as the "fun" one around our house. Since Greg travels, his spare time at home is often spent with our offspring. Some men choose to hunt, fish, or golf in their free moments. Not my husband, no he spends almost all of his free time taking them here and there. He is forever pointing them to Christ and he sets an amazing example of a man who puts the Lord first in everything. I know that they will grow up with a confidence that their father loves them with all his heart! I LOVE YOU GREG!!!

Great Weekend!

I had a wonderful weekend and it was just what my spirits needed!!! Friday night....my friend and I went and had dinner at a great place. We also split dessert ( which we always do). It was some sort of apple and caramel thing with ice cream....DIVINE!!! The concert was FABULOUS! Martina is awesome. She also knows how to perfectly blend her brand new stuff with all of her older hits. She came up from under the stage to start it off with 'Anyway'! We were screaming. She was wearing like 4 inch heels and I wondered how she ran around and up and down those ramps without tripping. She is absolutely a gorgeous person! The crowd went WILD when she sang 'Where would you be'! I mean....she can SING!!!! I had read on my cd cover how she said that the song was incredibly hard to sing so it made me respect her that much more. She doesn't miss a beat! Anyway, enough rambling on that, but if you ever get the chance, go see her! You won't regret the money spent!

Saturday, the girls came home. It was so good to see them. It was obvious from their freckles, that they had been at the beach. They had a great time. So, I am up to my ears in laundry and getting my house back in order. They started VBS this morning and Noah starts his KDO tomorrow so I will have a few hours of alone time this week! ;)

Yesterday, I convinced Greg to watch some of 'North and South' with me! Yes, I could watch it over and over. We made it through the first two parts, but he did doze off at one point. MEN! I found a trailer on You Tube for it so I may try to post it. IT IS THAT GOOD PEOPLE!!!!

As you can see, it was a busy but fun weekend. The summer is off to a great start! 3 more weeks until our BEACH trip! I can't wait!

Random Ramblings....

I have been neglecting my blog...well not intentionally, but just because I don't have anything exciting or funny to post about. Noah and I have been quite lazy this week and that has been both good and bad. I have had lots of time to think and reflect and sometimes my brain goes into overdrive and then I am just completely exhausted. On the flip side, it has been nice not getting up at 5:45 and not worrying about a particular naptime,etc. The twins will be coming home on Sat but before then I get to have a little fun. Tomorrow night is the big concert. I am very excited about it and looking forward to a lovely evening. The next few weeks will be a little busier. The twins have VBS next week and Noah will start his two day a week kid's day out program. That means I can go to Target by myself!!! The following week the girls have sports camp and then 3 weeks from now, we are leaving for our beach vacation. I absolutely cannot wait to have a week long vacation and I hope the weather cooperates!!! As soon as we get home from that, the girls will be leaving for a week long camp experience. This will be their first time to go to an overnight camp, but they are so excited!

So now you know a little of my summer schedule. I know it will be over soon, but I am desperately trying to enjoy it! Before I realize, we will be heading to back to school night and my little boy will be starting pre-school..........STOP ANDREA!!! See what I mean when I say that my brain won't relax? ;)

Friends Forever.....

Noah and I got to go to Christy (mommy brains) new home today! It is absolutely beautiful and I am totally impressed that I only saw about 3 boxes! I know that they are going to love their new place and make many happy memories there. Noah had a blast playing with Laura Grace and thankfully, I remembered to bring my camera. They ran around in the sprinkler for a bit and then played really well together in her new room! Here are a just a few pics and click on them to get a full view!

Best buddies ( and future husband and wife ;) )



Lovely Laura Grace



Who can resist that adorable face (oreo's and all)?



My wet little fella!