Changing Normal

Hey!! Long time, no see, eh?!?! LOL

I don't really have time for a full recap, so I thought a little pictoral post of the past month or so would be fun to catch you all up :)

Okay, so this was actually the beginning of March...but aren't they cute?!?! They have the same outfit on!! LOL And, both in pigtails!! :) SO CUTE!! :)


They are the Isaacs, and they tour with the Gaither Homecoming concerts...THEY ARE AWESOME!! If you're ever in the mood for some good/different bluegrass, they're VERY cutting edge. I really love them. They're not nasally bluegrass, either, if you know what I mean. Their music is AWESOME, too. We also have ties to them...Grandpa used to play bluegrass with Joe Isaacs, and after Joe got saved, he would invite Grandpa to come and hear his family...I thank the Lord for bringing people into my family's lives to help witness in ways that I'm not able to...sometimes we're just too close to the situation, ya know? Sorry for the deep thought on a pictoral post!! LOL



Katie Lynne turned ONE!! :) This is the cutie at her party gettin' ready to dig into the cake!! :)
Abbey got a bike right before all the cold weather hit before Easter!! She LOVES her "Cinderella" bike!! :)


These are all on Easter!! :) Abbey got to wave a flag & sing with all the other kids at the beginning of the service!! It was so stinkin' sweet!! :) Then, afterwards, we got a ton of pics of the girls both in their dresses...then after lunch, and a quick snooze in the car, we went to Great-Grandma's for an Easter Egg hunt!

****INSTERT IMAGE**** Okay, so I don't really have a picture of me doing anything between Easter & Women of Faith, but let it be known that I was coordinating a Mother's Day thing for church...those pics to follow...


THIS is Women of Faith...that first picture is Dr. Henry Cloud, the co-speaker for the pre-conference (I will not ever miss a pre-conference after this experience!! It was just AWESOME!!) That is a picture of how comfortable we were, too, on Friday morning/afternoon compared to sitting on each other's laps on Friday night & Saturday!! LOL Then, that's Jodi & Jeanna at Cracker Barrell on the way home from the conference...I have to tell you, I had some real breakthroughs...especially Friday morning & afternoon...


The Sunday after WoF we had a Potluck & Praise Sunday night...and we had a cook out!! It was very good, and Pastor Paul really spoke to my heart, and it was just an extension of the great speaking & talks I'd heard all weekend...a very "real" ending, if you know what I mean...After conferences, I always experience a high for a couple of days...I was definately still on one, and trying to contain myself a bit so I didn't freak anyone out or just chatter about everything that happened over the weekend (which I did, btw...)...Well, Pastor gave an object lesson...He had all the kids pick as many dandylions as they possibly could & hand them out to the adults...then he asked us all what kind of lessons we could take from these little dandylions, as sort of a devotional topic...It was funny he would bring up dandylions, because just that past week, I was looking at them in my yard...we have millions of them!! Well, I would notice that as the sun went down, they would close up...Well, I spoke up & said that they're their fullest when the light hits them...I think my "deepness" shocked Pastor a little bit!! LOL If you don't know me very well, I think I come off as flakey, so whenever I start sharing all these crazy wierd deep thoughts with people, I get a startled, "Wow, you really thought of that?!?!" look on people's faces!! LOL Anyways, it was just a great lesson to bring some extra closure for me.

This was Thursday night after WoF, and before the Mother's Day thing. We went out for ice cream (Abbey had her 1st Banana Split with Mommy!!), and we saw lights for that junky kinda carnival place just down the road...So, we drove by it, and of course, Abbey says, "Can I ride the merry-g0-round, Mommy?!" So, there were only fifteen minutes left until they closed, and there wasn't anyone there, so we bought her enough tickets to ride 2 rides. She rode the merry-g0-round twice!! LOL She LOVES merry-go-rounds...

Here's a picture of the Mother/Daughter "Tea," and believe me, we used the word "tea" loosely!! I've never been to a "real" tea, and was in charge of this one...I only drink Iced Tea, and SWEETENED, please!! LOL Luckily, there were only a couple of ladies who actually knew how to do a real tea, and they understood that this was more about fellowship than anything else. I did have a few problems, though. My friend Dawn was having a really sick spell (long story...she's got a lot of health issues that are very uncommon), anyways, she couldn't even come, let alone help me with anything. I did have people to do food, but other than that & our speaker (who was great, btw...she's a former member who is actually a pastor of her own church now...she's a certified lay pastor...I had never even heard of this before she completed her training & such). Anyways, it was really nice to have her come & share with us. She & her husband were one of the first couples who really welcomed Steve & I to COTC, and Doug, her husband, was our first SS teacher there. Oh, he also fixed our central air last year!! LOL :) Just great to see her & have her there!! :)

Now, there's trouble x2!! LOL Right after the Mother/Daughter thing, we headed to Wilmington to Brenden's 6th Birthday party!! I cannot believe those boys are turning 6 already!! Time flies...We had a great time there, and it was nice to be at a party I wasn't in charge of!! LOL Abbey had a blast & didn't want to leave!! Of course!! :) Oh, funny thing...after we left the party, we went to McD's...we just felt like we hadn't really eaten all day, so we got dinner (nothing against Darrel & Mandie's food!! LOL It was definately NOT their fault!! LOL We just felt like we nibbled all day...) Anyways, Abbey really hadn't eaten anything but fruit & cake all day, so she had nuggets & apples at McD's...She had 3 apples left, and Steve asked her how many were there, and she counted them...well, then he asks her, "How many's left?" Without even LOOKING at the other apples, she says, "Two." Like, DUH!! LOL Both our jaws dropped to the ground & I said, "That's it, I can't teach her math!! She's already at my level!!" LOL It was just so funny!!

This was just yesterday!! YAY!! Now you're all caught up!! LOL Mom, Chelle & I went to Kohl's for makeovers (for a Mother's Day treat), and afterwards, Mom took us to Red Lobster for linner (not quite lunch, not quite dinner...) Anyways, we had fun!! :)

This is what's living in our attic...Steve found it in our shed today. It's just a baby, and we think it fell down & might be injured. It's cute in a pathetic sort of way, but if it weren't injured, I would NOT think it was cute. It didn't try to run away from us, and it moved really slow, seeming to favor it's little back leg. We have no idea how to get rid of them, and if there's more up there...***just got a shiver*** Besides calling an exterminator and paying at LEAST $150, we don't know what to do...and trust me, we really don't want to waste $150, ya know?!?!

And, ssssssssshhhhhhhh, don't tell them, but this is what I made for Mom, Chelle, and my Aunt Ollie for Mother's Day. That's a recipe, in my Granny's handwriting, for her carrot cake & cream cheese icing. That's also a small picture of her. I made 3 different versions!! The official name for this is "altered clipboard." If you google that, you'll see so many cool ideas!! Think paint can & cigar boxes. I don't know which of the 3 I like best. The one in the middle was the 1st one I made, and then the white daisy one, then the block one. I'm really happy with how they turned out. Although, I owe a lot to the rub ons I got today. Those are one of my FAVORITE things!! :)

Well, I'd better go...I hope you've had an enjoyable time catching up with me!! :) I didn't mean for it to take so long, but you know how it goes...I haven't had time!! :) Hence, the pictures!! LOL

Talk to ya'll later!! :)