Little Nana

Isn't this sweet?! And doesn't it look like Mary Grace?

From Santa

Santa on the Beach

There's a Frog Under My Washing Machine and Other Anecdotes of Life in South Georgia

There's just way more wildlife down here than what we were used to in the red-clay towns. For example, tonight I went out to our garage to switch some laundry and almost stepped on a little frog. I was barefooted -- because it's 80 degrees out (another difference) so that would have been gross. But I'm sure I scared him more than he scared me. Anyway, off he hopped right under our washing machine. Now the question is, do I leave the garage door open so that he can hop on out, or do I close it so more frogs don't get in? I closed it.
It's not really the frogs that worry me. It's mainly those scary spiders. Like the scorpion I found in our den a couple of days ago. It's been about six months since the last time we found one in the house but twice in one year is too much for me!

Santa Message

http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/1fe8bcc7be3af57d2f3f085ad430591b

In the Christmas Spirit

With Thanksgiving gone and December here, we are in the full swing of Christmas. Last night, we attended the white lighting ceremony in St. Marys. Tonight, the girls and I attended a craft party at the home of a friend. Many of the girls' little friends were there. They enjoyed dressing up like princesses, eating all sorts of goodies, decorating gingerbread men, making Christmas ornaments, and making treats for Santa's reindeer.
Christmas cards are almost finalized and I'll be ordering them tonight. On Saturday, we'll attend the Christmas in the Park festival at the waterfront. And each night, we are enjoying opening another door on our Advent calendar that we picked up at Trinity last Sunday.
Now, if I could only get the house decorated.............

A Great Thanksgiving

We had a truly wonderful time with friends and family in Raleigh for Thanksgiving. Lisa, Alison, Rob, Stephen, Momo, and I all ran the Ridgewood Turkey Trot 8K and Mary Grace ran the kids dash. We were pretty speedy, too! My official time was 42:65 but my time on my watch was 42:10. Apparently, they only clocked us at the finish line, which we didn't know when we lined up so we lost a little time being at the back of the crowd. Still a great time for me, though! Lisa and Rob did the best. Both ran it in under 40 minutes! Whew!
Mary Grace ran as fast as her little legs would take her for 100 yards and received a medal at the end! I'm thankful that she had a positive experience for her very first road race. I hope that she'll have many more to come!
After the run, we went back to the house and joined the rest of the family for breakfast. Then, in true Thanksgiving tradition, we just ate, cooked, and washed dishes for the rest of the day.
Stephen and I went shopping with Mary Grace and Haley (our cousin) on Friday afternoon. Chatham and Johnathan had a small housewarming party to celebrate their purchase of their new townhouse later in the afternoon. After that, we returned to Mom and Mike's for more turkey! The Martins left late on Friday night to drive back to Maryland.
On Saturday, Stephen and I took advantage of the free babysitting services being offered by Nana and Dr. Danks to take care of much of our Christmas shopping. We were able to knock a lot of that out.
We enjoyed a beautiful first Sunday of Advent at Trinity. There's nothing quite like singing along with almost 1,000 other voices! After church, we went to the cafeteria for lunch. That evening, we celebrated Nana's birthday by having dinner at the house with Monahans and Momo.
We left around lunchtime on Monday and arrived back home to warm weather around 7:30. The trip was comfortable because we still have Nana's van!

Superstar!

Be sure to check out the front page of the Tribune & Georgian today. Mary Grace and her fellow Green Apples are on the front page and their recipes for turkey are on page 12A.

Here's the website, although, I'm not sure how long they will leave this edition up:



http://tribune-georgian.com/edition/edition/?haspdf=1

Getting Ready for Turkey Day

It's been a fun two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving here in South Georgia. We've had two Happy Apple parties, a party at Ms. Julie's, the Wild Game Dinner for church, a picnic by the waterfront, and a birthday party for our little friend, William.

Elsie was a turkey for her Happy Apple party. She wasn't really into singing with her class but certainly enjoyed the eating afterwards! Mary Grace was a pilgrim for her party and did a great job singing at both her party and Elsie's.

On Wednesday night, I enjoyed a girls night with a new Bunco group in town. Stephen was shocked when I told him that we didn't actually play the game! Yes, women can enjoy hours and hours of conversation with no real purpose other than getting to know each other better. This was a nice treat for me because I rarely do anything just by myself or with other women, no kids, no husbands!

Last Thursday night, the UM Men put on their annual fundraiser, the Wild Game dinner. It's held at a hunting plantation just north of town. The men cook all sorts of wild game in all sorts of ways and everyone gathers to sample it. It was a fun evening and Mary Grace especially loved the "wild turkey and hot dogs", as she put it.

I had a great birthday on Sunday. We went to the early service at church then had a picnic by the waterfront for lunch. Afterwards, we went to a birthday party for William NeSmith, who celebrated his first birthday with a farm party. His parents had brought in a goat, a pig, and a bunny for the occasion. What a fun time! My slideshow doesn't have photos from that because I forgot my camera but William's family took PLENTY of photos with their fancy professional camera, so hopefully I can get my hands on some of those.

Miss Julie treated all her kids and their families to a home-cooked Thanksgiving lunch today at the daycare house. It was a special time with all our friends there. Afterwards, Stephen too Elsie back to work with him, where he thought she would take a nap. He has already returned her to Miss Julie's! And Mary Grace has gone to her friend, Mary Margaret's house to play for the afternoon.

Tonight, we'll be packing and tomorrow we'll be heading out to Raleigh around noon to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Fralix clan. We'll return to St. Marys on Monday and we'll be in full Christmas swing by then. What a wonderful time of year!

We have so much to be thankful for and the past couple of weeks has really made me remember that. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Just Like Nana

I felt like my mom today when I recruited Mary Grace to polish silver for me. Oh, how many times have I done this for my mom? Countless!
Now, Mary Grace is getting big enough to help. She did a great job! The photo just doesn't do it justice!

From Veterans' Day

From Veterans' Day

From Veterans' Day

Mary Grace's Recipe for Cooking Turkey

In honor Thanksgiving, I thought I would pass along Mary Grace's recipe for cooking turkey. This is her response to "how do you cook a turkey?":

You need milk, then orange juice, then carrots and then chicken. You get a turkey from the farm. Mix it all in a big bowl. I stir it with my big spoon. Put it in a pan and then put it in the microwave for 10 minutes. We let it cool down, then we eat it with Elsie and Mommy and Daddy.

This recipe came home in a book from Happy Apple with several others, one of my favorites is from Mikayla:

Feed the turkey Dr Pepper. Put it in the oven for three minutes. Spin it in the pot for three minutes. It is warm and it is ready. Eat it with a spoon and fork. Have pizza with it with Mommy and Daddy.

Such sweet children!

Lindsey's Birthday Party

Mary Grace and Elsie's friend, Lindsey, turned 6 today and had her birthday party at the skating rink. It was a great time. Mary Grace especially enjoyed skating and was really pretty good at it, even though it was her first time. I had fun, too. I think I had my 6th or 7th birthday party at a skating rink. Funny how some things don't change. Even some of the music played today probably would have been played at my birthday party, too.

Lindsey's Birthday Party

Halloween and Tweetsie

Our Trip to the NC Mountains

We traveled to Raleigh last weekend so that I could run the half marathon there on Sunday morning. The weather and my asthma kept me from running, so we decided to head over to Blowing Rock for the afternoon instead. Mom, Mike, Chatham, and Johnathan all went with us. Stephen was so excited for the girls to see Tweetsie Railroad, which he enjoyed as a child. It was VERY cold, especially for two little South Georgia girls but I don't think they even noticed they had so much fun!
We rode the Mouse Train and the big Tweetsie train, which is a true, old steam engine that's coal powered. We say a Cowboys and Indians battle, rode the ferris wheel (which made Mary Grace squeal with delight, "I never done this before!"), drank hot chocolate, watched a show (Mary Grace even got on stage and sang), and had a day full of fun! After Tweetsie, we went to see Mom and Mike's condo at Chetola, which is so nice! We're already planning a trip back there for next summer!
I'll add more photos later.

Collage of Our Fall Activities

We're having a busy Fall! Scarecrow decorating, birthday parties, trip to the zoo, a Fall festival in the country: it's all keeping us very busy!

Carpool Line

One of the great things about my job is its flexibility. I have had the pleasure of taking the girls to school at least twice a week for several weeks now. This week, I managed to take them on Tuesday and again today. I love going through the carpool line and dropping them off! It's so sweet to see them hop out of the car with the teacher and walk over to their designated waiting spots. They are always so excited to get there and obviously feel very big!
I wish that I could pick them up but I haven't done that yet. Maybe I can do that next Wednesday when I have the afternoon off and Nana comes to visit. But today, as usual, they will walk with the Ms. Julie crowd back to Ms. Julie's house for lunch then naptime.
Tonight, we are going to dinner at friends' house. This is a young couple who moved here with their little girl almost a year ago from Atlanta. Their little girl, Anne, goes to Ms. Julie's and also to Happy Apple, although she's 3 so she's between Mary Grace and Elsie. We are all looking forward to a fun time!

Busy Back to School

It's been a busy few weeks for us with the start of school, sports, and church activities. We are settling into our schedule, finally. Mondays, Mary Grace has ballet from 5-6. On Tuesdays, Mary Grace has soccer from 5-6. Wednesday, we have church, and Saturdays, we have soccer games in the mornings.
Mary Grace had her first soccer game last weekend. All of the kids did a great job and had fun. They were actually much better than I expected. No one sat on the field or cried. They all were enthusiastic!
Both girls are doing well in school. They both love Happy Apple and are especially excited on the days that they get to go together.

Legacy

Don't know why, but for some reason legacies have been on my mind a lot this week. Maybe it's the start of school, maybe it's the start of football season. But something's got me thinking.......
Merriam-Webster defines "legacy" as something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. Legacies can come in all sorts of forms. In the South, it's often the family land or grandmother's silver.
This photo shows two fourth-generation Georgia Bulldogs. That's quite a tradition and definitely something to be proud of and to hold onto. The photo also shows two Phi Mu legacies. Not as much of a feat but something special, nonetheless. These girls also inherited the legacy of their names. "Mary" goes several generations back in Stephen's mother's family. Stephen's sister is a Mary; Stephen's mother's sister is a Mary; and Stephen's grandmother is a Mary. My mother's sweet grandmother was "Grace". Even when I was a little girl, I knew that my first daughter would be "Grace". Elsie carries on Big Steve's mother's (Elsie McNeal Kinney) name. Clearly, legacies are special to us. They give us a sense of belonging and importance. We know that no matter where we go or what we do, we belong to something and come from something important: our family.
Infinitely more important, though, is our legacy of being part of Christ's family. I couldn't even guess at how far back this legacy extends. My earliest memories are centered around church, Bible lessons, and the unconditional love that only comes from a personal relationship with Jesus. I picture my ancestors in some little white church in the mountains of Alabama. Mabye that's a romanticized notion but it may not be that far off. Stephen and I both were blessed with Christian homes and families. We are carrying that tradition on in our own home. It's woven in the fabric of our family history and is the greatest legacy we can pass down to our own children and grandchildren. We don't live near our blood family but we have our own church family right here with us. We are thankful for all of you, near and far, still in this life or passed on, who are carrying on the tradition.

Whew, What a Week!

In the last week, we have celebrated with Elsie and Mary Grace on their first days of preschool, nursed Elsie through what we were told was likely H1N1, thought we were illness free so celebrated with Jack Roberts on his 3rd birthday, served our church in two separate services on Sunday morning, watched as our wonderful painter transformed our drab kitchen and living/dining/loft into a bright, freshly-painted area, moved countless pieces of furniture to prepare for said painting, and tried to keep our heads above water at work. Oh, and I fit in a hot 8-mile run with Adrienne.
Just when we thought we were back to normal with a typical Monday morning routine, Mrs. Lentz called from Happy Apple to tell me that Mary Grace was running a fever and not feeling well. Here we go again! Stephen picked her up as she was walking back to Miss Julie's with the gang and stayed with her until early afternoon. I then took her to the doctor's office where we waited for almost 2 hours to see her doctor.
Thankfully, she tested negative for flu but the doc thought her throat looked a little red. Armed with prescriptions for an antibiotic, cough medicine, and a steroid, we headed for Publix. While we were waiting for the pharmacist to fill her scripts, Mary Grace threw up. Bless her heart, though, we made it to the bathroom just in time! We got the medicine and came home, where she fell fast asleep on the sofa watching Dora.
She and Elsie have been in bed for an hour. Hopefully, she'll be feeling much better tomorrow.
I have taken pictures of Elsie's first day, our sick days at home on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and Jack's party on Saturday. I'll post those when I get a chance to upload them.
Pray for Mary Grace to get well soon and for this beginning of school sickness to leave our home!

Ps. 116:1-2

"I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live."

This is the Bible verse that popped up on my widget for today. What a wonderful verse!

Mary Grace's First Day of School

Today was Mary Grace's first day of school. She is in the 4-year-old class at our church preschool, Happy Apple Academy. ("Happy Apple" because the children are the apples of God's eye.)
She's in Mrs. Lentz's green apple class. For the first week of school, the kids will be getting acquainted. Today, she learned how to properly set a table. Next week, they will start learning their letters using the Zoophonics program.
The report from the central office was that Mary Grace was leading and directing all of the activities in her classroom today. In particular, she was telling the other children what they would play and deciding what would be for sale in their pretend store. I don't know where she gets that take charge attitude!
Ms. Natalie said that she crashed when she got home to Ms. Julie's house after school at lunch time. She was exhausted from the day and it was only 3 hours!
She'll be back at it tomorrow since she's going 5 days per week. Elsie will join her tomorrow for her first day of preschool. Her classroom is right across the hall from Mary Grace's and is also the same room that she's in for church every Sunday.
What a great day!

Happy Apple Open House

We had a wonderful time at the Happy Apple Open House last night. We saw many, many friends and I'm reminded how blessed we are to live in this special little community. I'm excited for the new school year and are so happy that Mary Grace and Elsie will be in school together. We planned well when we had them so close together! I knew that I wanted them to be in high school for a couple of years together, so that's why we had them within 2 years of each other. I didn't even think about how sweet it would be for them to be in preschool together. So sweet!
It was a very exciting afternoon. When Stephen and I went to Ms. Julie's to pick them up, several of the other parents were there getting their kids all dolled (and hair-bowed!) up to go to the open house, too. It's fun for the girls to have so many friends who will go from daycare to preschool to elementary school together.

Painters are coming tomorrow!

The paint crew is coming tomorrow to paint the den, upstairs, dining room, and kitchen. I'm so excited! There's nothing better than a fresh coat of paint, especially when someone else does it!

Ready for Fall

Can you tell I'm ready for Fall? It's my favorite season but we don't get to enjoy much of it here. It'll be hot until at least mid-October, then it will get more pleasant around the end of October. We don't get changing leaves though, just falling pine needles. Funny, in Douglasville, we paid for pine straw. Now, we'd probably pay to have someone come and haul ours away!

Where Did the Summer Go?

It's been a great summer in the marsh. We've been to the beach and the pool countless times, spent lots of quality time with family and friends, and have enjoyed having nothing to do on the weeknights except stay right at home.
Public school is back in session already, so activities are gearing up. Wednesday night supper at Church is back on.
Mary Grace started Ballet I and Cumberland Dance Conservatory last Monday. We are excited that she is in class with a couple of sweet girls who she already knows and are looking forward to a positive experience this year. She's in class with Kindergardeners but seems to be keeping up with them. She'll start soccer practice on this coming Tuesday. I guess I should say that we all will be starting soccer practice on Tuesday, since Stephen and I are coaching her team. Games start after Labor Day weekend and continue through mid-November. We are looking forward to a fun time with this team of 6 U-6 (under six years) players. One little girl, Jilli, is also in Mary Grace's class at Happy Apple.
Speaking of Happy Apple, we have orientation this Thursday and school starts for Mary Grace on Monday, the 24th. She'll be going 5 mornings per week from 9-noon. She is a green apple and her teacher is Mrs. Lentz, who we know from church. I think Mary Grace will do wonderfully in Mrs. Lentz's class!
Elsie starts at Happy Apple on Tuesday, the 25th. She'll go two days per week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) from 9 to noon. She is a yellow apple and will have two teachers, Mrs. Kolgaklis and Mrs. Galluccio, who was Mary Grace's teacher last year. Elsie already knows several of the kids in her class: Maddie, her BFF; Reece, our friends, the Bakers', son; and Anne and Matthew, who she knows from Ms. Julie's and church. It's a great group of kids!
Other big news on the Elsie front: We're close to declaring victory over diapers! Since Tuesday, she's only worn pullups for naps and overnight. She's pretty consistently going potty both at home and at Ms. Julie's. Yeah, Elsie!
Stephen has been very busy at work and took advantage of being at home by himself all last week while the girls and I were in Raleigh. I think he got caught up on a lot of stuff while we were gone.
I'm getting into the swing of things at the courthouse. I'm on the bench at least four times per week, either doing bond hearings or hearing civil cases. I'm going to start doing bad check bench trials in the Fall. It's turned out to be a great job. Low stress, easy hours for a full-time job, and great benefits. And the Saturday morning bondings don't bother me nearly as much as I thought they would. It's nice to have an afternoon off during the week on those weeks that I have to go in on Saturdays. I'll trade an early hour on a Saturday for 5 hours during the week almost anyday!
I'll be back later to post some pictures from our summer adventures.

Hey, Momo!

This update is just for you!

I'll be back soon with more photos and stories from the summer. It's been so busy lately that I haven't posted in a while. My other excuse is that Nana has a lot of pictures that I need.

A Fantastico Weekend!

We had a fantastico weekend at the Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando with Nana and Dr. Danks. We were all prepared to get our own room at this beautiful hotel then Nana called earlier this week and said, no need! They had a suite with two bathrooms and two pull-out sofas for us. What a treat. It's definitely in the top three hotels I've stayed at. It had a wonderful pool that had sand like the beach. There were several restaurants and stores on the property. Our suite was beautiful. It had nice moulding and heavy doors and just was really first class.
We arrived around 6:30 on Friday evening. We changed into our swimsuits and headed to the pool to enjoy the "dive-in" movie, Jimmy Neutron. Mary Grace, Stephen, and I all enjoyed the big water slide there, too. Saturday morning, we had a wonderful breakfast at the Trattoria then rode the boat to Universal and back. The girls and Nana then took a ride in a rickshaw around the property.
Then we went back to the pool and got in a few more slides before the thunderstorm started. That was just in time for the girls to get a nap and me to get in a run. Just when it was time to get to Disney, the rain stopped but the clouds remained. The weather was perfect! We could not have asked for a better afternoon and evening at Magic Kingdom. It never rained again and, since it was cloudy, didn't get hot.
This was the girls' third trip to Disney. Mary Grace was tall enough this time to enjoy some of the big kid rides. She rode Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. She loved them both. We also rode the jungle cruise and went through the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. We saw Mickey's Philharmagic 3-D show, rode Peter Pan and the teacups, and saw Ariel, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Tinkerbell and her friends. We also stayed to watch the wonderful fireworks show. It was truly a perfect day.
On our way home this afternoon, we stopped by the mall in Jacksonville and went to Build a Bear. Momo had given the girls gift certificates for their birthdays. They really enjoyed making their own little stuffed animals. Elsie made a teddy bear that she named "Bear" and Mary Grace made a bunny that she named "Sara". Elsie got a little 4th of July outfit for her bear and Mary Grace got an Ariel costume, complete with a wig, for her bunny. What a sweet, fun place! They even kissed little hearts and put them inside their animals before they were sewn up.

A Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend

I think we had a nearly perfect Memorial Day weekend. We cooked out with friends, went to the pool, rented movies and watched them in the dark together, enjoyed a beautiful day on the beach, cooked out again, ate out at a fun restaurant, went to church, and relaxed. And we didn't have to go farther than an hour away from home. We even got some important errands taken care of and managed to stay on top of the laundry and made it to ballet rehearsal this afternoon after spending a wonderful day at the beach with the Roberts family. We're all rested and ready for the week. And, wonder of wonders, I even got to sit on the sofa and read a book this afternoon while Elsie took a nap and Mary Grace and Stephen went to buy beds for the girls. It really felt like a vacation -- except for the times when I was signing warrants or going to the jail for bonding. But even being on call didn't seem so bad because the rest of the weekend was so wonderful. Sunday morning bonding went by very quickly and the policemen were flexible with me. I even had several of them meet me at the pool yesterday evening.
It only could have been better if we had had family in town. That's it! That's all we were missing! But we spent such wonderful time with our friends that it was okay! Now, the girls are asleep and I am going to turn in early. What a great holiday weekend!

Elsie's Prayer

This is what Elsie said when it was her turn to say her bedtime prayer tonight:

"Dear Lord, thank you for me. Thank you for Daddy. Thank you for my bedroom. Thank you for for for for for for for for ......... for Bake. Thank you for Bunky. Thank you for Gace. Amen.

You Know What They Say About Rainy Days and Mondays

They always get me down, especially when the rain continues into Tuesday and is forecasted to continue til Friday. I think it's some sort of tropical system, but it's not my idea of tropical, the temperature only got up to 60 yesterday and not much warmer today. The rain has been constant, literally, it has rained all day everyday since Sunday evening and it has been very windy. In that way, it is much like a tropical storm. I feel bad for all the vacationers who picked this week to come to Florida or Coastal Georgia. So for now, we're stuck inside playing board games and watching Okie Noodling on PBS (so long as the satellite doesn't go out).
Things are looking up for Memorial Day weekend, though!

Happy Apple Graduation Slide Show

Happy Apple Graduation

We had a big weekend this past weekend. We enjoyed the nice weather, which is good because now it's cold and rainy. We may even have a tropical storm come through mid-week. But, back to the weekend, it was great! On Friday night, we attended the Happy Appple graduation celebration. We were so proud of our little Mary Grace, who was awarded the "Tenderheart" award from her teacher. She did a great job standing up on the stage and waiting her turn to get her award and medal. She was the last one to go and, as one teacher told us, you know you're child's well-behaved when she's chosen to be the last one; that means the teacher trusts her to be patient and not afraid to be up there by herself! Her little class sang "The Lord's Army", which is one of our favorite songs at home. It was such a sweet celebration and we are so blessed to have such a loving, warm place for her to attend preschool. It's a little bittersweet, since this is the end of her first year at preschool, but we are excited to go back next year and for both girls to be in school together!
At first, I was a little sad and felt kind of sorry for our little family because, I thought, it was just us there for Mary Grace: no grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. But then I looked around the sanctuary and realized that we were not the only ones there for Mary Grace. Miss Julie was there and Blake even came and sat with us. He came just to see Mary Grace! I also realized that there we were in our home church sanctuary surrounded by people who love us and our children, even if they are not "family" in the truest sense of the word. And after awhile, it felt like home.

Elsie's New Room

We're working on putting Elsie's room together. We've decided to stick with the yellow that's in there. When we got enough coats on it to cover the brown, it actually is very pretty, not so flourescent anymore! The other colors we're going to put in there are a sort of berry pink and a green (of course!).
Here's the palette:



Eventually, we're going to put twin beds in there and I'm planning to have some bedskirts and window treatments made with all three of these colors, if I can find a cute fabric.

A Silver Anniversary

This past weekend, we celebrated 25 years of Patti and Mike. It was also a celebration of 25 years of Patti, Mike, Tara, and Chatham. Family and friends gathered at Caswell Beach from all accross the US: from Wisconsin, to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia. They traveled near and far to gather for the celebration at Oak Island Golf Club on Caswell. Even the cake traveled for the occasion: Momo brought it from Edible Art in Raleigh.
It was a wonderful weekend for catching up with family and friends, some of whom we hadn't seen in years. It reminded me of how great God has been to our family; how he blesses us through relationships with other believers and how he reaches out to us, often in our most needful times, with people who care for us. For my mom, two of those people were Marshall and Jean Jackson. My mom had a very difficult childhood and was pretty much passed around from home to home to live with grandmothers, aunts and uncles, and others. She was smart enough and hard-working enough (and, truth be told, stubborn enough) to get herself into a first class college. When she was at the University of Virginia, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, who have no blood relation to our family, would drive from Virginia Beach to Charlottesville to pick Mom up for holidays. This was where she went "home" to from college.
Mr. and Mrs. Jackson had a profound influence on my mom. God used them in her life to show her unconditional love and to comfort her in what was a difficult time. It was so sweet to have them at the party to celebrate with us.
Also there were Coke Man Davis and Pam and Butch Richardson. They are part of the family, outside my own, who has had the most influence on my life. Our dear Shir-shee passed away two years ago this past April 29th but her spirit lives on. She was a living Proverbs 31 and she had an impact on my spiritual life that no one else, outside of God, has had.
There are so many others who were there, including the wonderful family that mom and I "married into", the Fralixes and the Martins, our adopted "Momo", the Monahans, the Bolts, Uncle Barry and Alexis, and others who have meant so much to our little "step"family. What a blessing you all are!

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to the completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6.

Growing Up

This person...




is a very big girl!

Elsie pottied for the very first time tonight. In true Elsie fashion, she overcame the more difficult obstacle first: she POOPED in the potty! She's been wanting to sit on the potty and wear panties (which we've been putting over her diaper) for the last several weeks. Up to now, she's just been taking off her own diapers, putting them in the trash, sitting on the potty for a couple of seconds, the getting up and flushing the toilet; nothing's been coming out.
Tonight, she told me that she had to go to the bathroom. As usual, I just said, "Okay". Off she went. I went in to check on her a few minutes later and she made me leave and "cose de doh-ah". I did and when I went back a few minutes later, she had pooped in the potty. She had already wiped herself and was standing beside the toilet.
She was very proud of herself so we had to call the grandparents and make a big deal out of the whole thing. I don't know how soon we'll be out of diapers but I'm just so proud of her right now!

Ballet v. Gymnastics v. Soccer

Mary Grace and I had a conversation this afternoon about the activities in which she may want to participate this summer and fall. Right now, she's in ballet but I don't think she's enjoying it so much. Stephen and I thought we may let her try gymnastics over the summer then soccer in the fall. I asked her what she thought about ballet. She said that she doesn't really like it because "you have to get stickers and do stuff and that's a lot of hard work." I hate to tell her that compared with ballet, gymnastics is going to see like a WHOLE lot of work! But she's asked to try "bymnastics" so I guess that's what we'll do over the summer. Then she can play soccer in the fall.

Good Times in South Georgia...

It's all about good friends, a cabin by a pond off a dirt road, a 4-wheeler, a boat, and some fishing poles.

Here are some photos from our weekend at the Roberts's cabin in Blackshear:

A Mother's Prayer

Just had to share this song. This will be the background music for our end of the year slide show at Happy Apple. Talk about a tear-jerker!

First Day at the New House

It seems like the girls had a great first day at Ms. Julie's new house! Stephen dropped them off this morning around 8:15 and then I went over about a half hour later to make the first walk to Happy Apple with the Apples. We had a group of 6 (Mary Grace, A.J., Arianna, Haylee Marie, Ella Morgan, and Lainee). Ms. Julie and I walked with them. We all held hands, looked both ways before we crossed the street, and made it safely to Happy Apple. Mary Grace had to tell everyone we saw that she walked there! She was so excited.
I picked them up this evening and we went straight to church for supper. It was nice to just pull over on the way to church to pick them up. It's on the way so it's much quicker than going to the old house to get them.
Everyday on the way home, I ask Elsie what she did at Ms. Julie's that day. She always says, "I color". Today she said "I wing (swing)". It was the first time that she had a different answer! I know she did more than just color at Ms. Julie's old house but I think she's just so excited to have a swingset to play on now. Ms. Julie had toys to climb on before but the swing is a new toy!
Such an exciting day for the girls!

Ms. Julie's House

It's official! Ms. Julie's new house will be open for business tomorrow. We are so excited for all the kids and Ms. Julie. She and her family have worked so hard on the new house. I cried when I went over there last night to drop some stuff off. It's so cheerful and so sweet and so full of love!
The licensing department from the state came by today to do the inspection. It's an exhaustive 28-page inspection checklist. The state rep was very complimentary and said that she couldn't believe how nice it is! She said she wished all the daycares that she inspects were as nice as Ms. Julie's.
We celebrated with a cook-out at the new house tonight. Most of the families were there as were the teachers and Ms. Julie's family. It was a great time for all. The kids are so excited. They love their new playground and new toys.
Tomorrow will be the kids' first day at the new house. I'm going to go over there with the girls in the morning to make the first walk to Happy Apple with Mary Grace. It's going to be wonderful for the girls to be able to walk to Happy Apple and then to the elementary school when they go there!

I Finally Found That Cord

So here are the photos of our girls' weekend. They are from the zoo and from our church picnic this afternoon.

"I Get Up There by Myself"

Mary Grace is a great big sister. For the last six months or so, everytime we go to Chick-fil-A (which is often!), she helps Elsie climb up the jungle gym. It's hard work for her. She actually picks Elsie up by her little legs and lifts her up to the next level. There are probably 6 levels to climb like that before you reach the slide, so this is no small feat. But she started doing this herself and never complains. I have let them stay in there for an hour before and Mary Grace just keeps lifting and lifting Elsie so that she can go down the slide. Up, up, up, and then down the slide. They go again and again and again, countless times. What a wonderful, loving big sister!
Yesterday, Elsie decided that she could climb up the gym by herself. She said, "I get up there by myself." She's still not tall enough to climb up there without something to hold onto on the next level up. But yesterday, she figured out that if she stays to the side, she can pull up by hanging onto the other side of each ledge. I thought she was pretty smart to figure that out on her own.
I pray that these two sweet girls will always love each other just as much as they do now and that they'll always be there for each other. A sister is surely a special thing.

Wild Weekend!

The girls and I had a great time today at the Jacksonville Zoo. Stephen traveled up to Jefferson for John Morgan (Kinney) and Bradlee's birthday party this morning. Mary Grace had her pictures for her first ballet recital this morning so we were not able to go. Jay and Laura called just as we were heading to the ballet pictures and asked if we wanted to take a spur-of-the-moment trip to the zoo. Of course, we did! It's only a 1/2 hour from our house so it was a quick trip down there.
The zoo is really beautiful. The only other one I have been to in recent memory is Zoo Atlanta. Jacksonville Zoo beat that by a mile! It's a botanical garden and zoo mixed together. The landscaping is absolutely beautiful. So lush and fragrant! We saw flamingos, crocodiles, whooping cranes (did you know there are only 480 of them left in the world?!), giraffes, rhinos, lots of monkeys, elephants, parrots, snakes, turtles, ducks, zebras, and kangaroos (much smaller than I though they'd be). We also spent about an hour playing in the "splash" park, kind of like Ariel's Grotto at Disney but on a grander scale; luckily, I had brought swim suits and a towel. We also rode the train.
Mary Grace's favorite part was the flamingos. Elsie loved the "shoo shoo shrain". My favorite was the kangaroos.
I'm going to post pictures as soon as I can find the cord to hook the camera up to the computer.

Garden Fairies

Marianne's is a wonderful restaurant in a beautiful old house in St. Marys. We went for their family fish fry tonight. Friday night fish fries are a big thing around here.
The dinner was wonderful and the girls acted like such little ladies. After dinner, we went into Marianne's beautiful garden. She showed the girls where the garden fairies live and what flowers they use to make their dresses. She also showed them the little flowers that they use as their wedding bouquets.
What a fun night!
I can't wait to get our golf cart so we can enjoy the ride to downtown St. Marys for things such as this!

Easter Sunday 2009

Here are some photos from Easter Sunday. Mary Grace is wearing the dress that my mom smocked for me for Easter of 1981. I was 5 when I wore this dress. Mary Grace is much taller than I was, so I'm glad we put her in it this year instead of waiting til next. She'll be too tall next year for it!

It's Already Been Much Too Fast

Trisha Mieli

I had the privilege of hearing Ms. Mieli speak today. I went to a sexual assualt training class at the base (Kings Bay) this morning. Ms. Miele is the Central Park Jogger. For those of you who don't remember her story, she was jogging in Central Park in NYC one evening after work and was attacked. She was beaten, raped, sodomized, and left for dead. She suffered countless severe injuries, including a major brain injury, loss of smell, loss of motor function, and loss of some physical and cognitive abilities. The attack happened in the late 1980s and was world-wide news.
Ms. Miele remained anonymous for years before coming out with a book just a few years ago. To this day, Ms. Miele has no recollection of the attack or approximately 6 weeks following the attack. She still suffers some cognitive disabilities and still has no sense of smell. Her face is disfigured from the beating.
Six young men were tried an convicted of the beating and rape. However, several years later their convictions were overturned because a man in prison for serial rape and murder admitted to the crime and said he had acted alone. His DNA matched DNA found on Ms. Miele so the convictions of the other men were vacated.
Anyway, her story is truly amazing. It is a story of perserverence, determination, and victory. Just recently, Ms. Miele completed the New York Marathon, which finishes in Central Park, in under 4 1/2 hours. That's a pretty good time, especially considering that she had to learn to walk all over again after the attack.
What was most amazing to me about her story is her lack of bitterness and anger. I wouldn't call it forgiveness, that's not the right word. But she harbors no anger, resentment, or bitterness at the men who so viciously attacked or at the legal system, which seemingly failed her. She said that she learned many important lessons during her recovery, the most important of which was living in the present. She gave the example of learning to use her hands again. Her occupational therapist gave her a board with holes and nails in it. She had to use tweezers to move the nails from one hole to another. If you have a preschooler, you know that this is similar to what they do in school at around 2-3 years old. Ms. Miele said that she was asked why she didn't get bored with the task or angry at having to start from scratch again. She said that she learned to just focus on what she could do at that moment and to do the best she could with what she had. Baby steps, I guess.
She also said that she learned that getting angry or bitter about her attack served no useful purpose. She said that it didn't matter which person out of the whole world of people did this to her; someone did, she didn't know who, and it wouldn't change things if she did. Bitterness and anger would only hurt her and she had too many other things on which to focus her energy.
Hers is a truly inspiring story and I'm looking forward to reading her book.

Ouch!

I went to the dentist today for the first time in I'm embarrassed to say how long -- at least TWO YEARS! It's been one of those things that I've just let slide with little kids, major moves, house purchasing, job loss, job gain, shall I go on? Man, do my gums hurt! Not to mention that I hate to go to the dentist. My teeth are so sensitive and I gag when they take x-rays. She used some tool that was a cross between a drill and a pick to clean my teeth. Then she used the traditional pick, then she used that "polish" scrub stuff that is so gross. Then I had to swish some floride rinse, yuck! When all was said and done, the report was great: no cavities and no problems, she said I just needed a good cleaning and maybe should start whitening again. Good thing I paid for that customized whitening tray when I was a young DINK (double income no kids) lawyer at the big firm in Atlanta. With my wonderful county insurance, I paid $10 for some whitening gell and off I went. No charge for the cleaning or x-rays. And, for those of you who haven't been to the dentist in a while, don't let those awful bite wing x-rays scare you off anymore; with the new x-ray machines, there's no more big cardboard trays to bite down on!

He Lives!

I am rejoicing today with all of you, friends and family. The tomb is empty and our sweet Jesus lives! Thank you, God!

John Morgan's Wedding

What a beautiful and sweet wedding! Here are just a few photos from John Morgan and Lauren's wedding. The wedding was at Gardendale Baptist and the reception was at The Club in Birmingham.

The photos at the end of the slideshow are from a quick visit to Gadsden that we made on Sunday. We enjoyed going to Sunday School and worship at Crosspoint with our old friends. We also visited Coke Man, who was in the hospital recovering from a heart attack. He says he's better than ever now!

Easter Parties

We had two Easter parties on Friday, one at Happy Apple and one at Ms. Julie's house. What a beautiful day!
Ms. Julie had an Easter egg hunt at her new house. The new playground is so big and has some beautiful live oaks that give a lot of nice shade.

Here are some photos:

I'm Back

It's been a long time since I've posted! We've had so much going on: the girls' birthday party, John Morgan's wedding, and Easter, not to mention, work, school, and school parties!
We had a wonderful Easter weekend with Nana and Dr. Danks. They arrived on Friday night. Saturday, we just "puttered" around, as Nana would say. We colored Easter eggs, worked in the yard, and grilled out for supper. The weather could not have been better!
Today, we went to Sunday school and church. It was a great weekend!

A Milestone for Elsie

Elsie reached a big milestone tonight. She is officially out of her crib and the crib is now a toddler bed.
Stephen was in the playroom with Mary Grace just before bedtime tonight and I had gone downstairs to search for Bunky. When I came back up, Stephen and Mary Grace were still in the playroom. I went to Elsie's room to give Bunky to her and there she was, in her bed. I asked Stephen if he had put her in there and he said that, no, he had been in the room with Mary Grace the whole time. So we took Elsie back out of the bed and told her to show us how she had gotten into the crib. She showed us alright! She just put one little foot on the mattress and swung the other leg over the railing and plopped right into the bed. I am just thankful we realized her dexterity in this matter while she was getting into the bed rather than out of it!
Stephen quickly took off one side of the crib and now it's just a toddler bed. Same crib, but without one of the sides. She's very proud of herself in her new bed!

In Like a Lion...

They say March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Well, the first part of that saying has proven to be true for Saint Marys in 2009. When we woke up today the temperature was in the mid-60s. By the time we got to church, it was pouring down rain. When we came out of the santuary to walk to Sunday School an hour later, the rain had gone and the cold weather was blowing in. It's been sunny and very windy the rest of the day and the temperatures have now dropped into the low 50s. They are calling for mid-30s tonight. We'll be back in the 70s by the weekend.
I guess we've been spoiled by the warm weather here. When we went out around lunch time, Stephen was shivering. I pointed out to him that it was 55 degrees, not too cold. He said, "Yeah but who knows what the wind chill is!" The wind chill? It was not THAT cold!

Our Beautiful Weather

I wish you could see this weather! Today and tomorrow, we have temps in the 70s and sunshine! Tomorrow will be a perfect beach day. We've got a lot going on this weekend: a Chamber event tonight then decorating the church tomorrow morning for a party tomorrow night. I also have made an appointment to have the girls' portraits done in Jacksonville tomorrow afternoon. Maybe we can squeeze in some time in the sun before the party and after the portrait session. No wonder we can never make any progress on the house, there's alway too much fun stuff to do!

Happy Mardi Gras!

The Saint Marys Mardi Gras parade was this past weekend. We all participated with Ms. Julie's crowd. We walked along with strollers and wagons and threw beads and candy and the onlookers. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect. We had worried that it would be cold but it was nice, probably in the upper 50s at the parade start time. Elsie rode in the stroller and Mary Grace walked with Ms. Julie and "throwed" beads. She was so excited that she walked all that way and "throwed a bead" at her Happy Apple teacher, Mrs. Galluccio.
I had to do weekend bond hearings at the jail on Saturday morning so I had to meet Stephen and the girls at the parade. That meant that Stephen had to dress the girls. I wish I had taken a picture of poor little Elsie. She had on pink and green striped tights, green crocs, blue bloomers, and her favorite blue and pink Mickey Mouse shirt. It also looked like her hair hadn't been brushed. He said he "tried"! and that they were supposed to look like clowns anyway. Apparently, the theme of the parade and festival this year was clowns. I think everyone in town saw us! I heard several "Hey, Stephens" and one "Hey, Judge".
It was a fun festival, too. They had a Cars bounce house, which was complete with a slide! We didn't stay too long, though because it was just about nap time when the parade was over.
Later that afternoon, we drove up to Saint Simons and had dinner with one of Stephen's former clients from Carrollton and his wife. He and Stephen got to be pretty good friends before we moved down here and he and his wife were on SSI for vacation. It was a fun evening. We even took the girls along because we weren't able to find a babysitter. I guess when you get all your babysitters from your church, you run the risk that you'll need them on a night of a youth retreat, which is what happened to us last night. But it worked out fine. We had an early dinner and the girls were so well-behaved at the restaurant. I'm glad it turned out that way because we've got parties on both Friday and Saturday nights next weekend so that will be a double-babysitter weekend. It was nice to spend this entire weekend with the girls.
I haven't decided what I'm going to do for Lent yet but I'm praying on it.

Things We Love

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share a few things that make the Salt Marsh Kinneys swoon!

1. Mickey Mouse and Disney Princesses

2. The beach (particularly Amelia)

3. Horizon milk (2% please)

4. adventures, especially ones that involve going to a park

5. The view from our front porch

6. Ms. Julie and all our friends at Ms. Julie's house

7. Our church, which includes Happy Apple Academy

8. Two jobs, thank you, Lord!

9. Our family.

10. Each other!

Valentine's at Disney and Sea World!

We had a great Valentine's weekend in Orlando. On Saturday, we went to Magic Kingdom. There, we met Mickey Mouse and Ariel. Those two meetings were definitely the highlights of the day for Mary Grace and Elsie. We also rode Snow White's ride and the train around Magic Kingdom. We saw a new parade and met Pluto, too. After all that, we got back on the Monorail and headed over to Epcot. The girls fell asleep in the stroller on the way over there. While they slept, Stephen, Gina, and I rode Spaceship Earth. Then Stephen rode Mission to Mars (I chickened out!). We spent the rest of the day walking through the countries. Just before the park closed, we rode the Nemo ride. We tried to get to Journey Through Imagination but it closed early.
On Sunday, Stephen and the girls and I went to Sea World. We saw the dolphin show and the Shamu show. We also saw polar bears, beluga whales, walruses, aligators, ducks, and sharks. It was so much fun! The girls especially loved the dolphin show. We bought a year pass so we can go back again and again.
We came back to the condo early that evening and mom and Gina kept the girls while Stephen and I went out to dinner.
This morning, we went back over to Disney to walk around Downtown Disney. We visited the new T-Rex Restaurant. It was pretty cool but too crowded so we decided to wait to eat there another day.
It was a fun, relaxing weekend with the girls and mom and Gina. We're looking forward to going back in June and maybe checking out Animal Kingdom and visiting Sea World again.

The Two Olivias

As most of you know, Mary Grace has a sweet little friend, Olivia. A few weeks ago just out of the blue, Mary Grace said, "Olivia's mommy said that Olivia really wears her out." I thought about this for a minute. I'm sure that Olivia may wear her mommy out from time to time, as any 4-year-old will, but I couldn't imagine Olivia's sweet mommy saying that to Olivia, especially with Mary Grace in ear shot. Well, a few days ago she said the same thing again. I really didn't know how to respond. Was this a statement that I was supposed to respond to or a question I was supposed to answer? I thought about it for a few minutes then it hit me. She's talking about Olivia the little pig from the Olivia books, not sweet Olivia Rogowski! Sure enough, in one of our Olivia books, Olivia's mommy says to Olivia, "You really wear me out but I love you anyway!"

Elsie's 2-year checkup

I took Elsie to the doctor today for her 24-month checkup. She's just fine, thank you!
She weighs about 24 1/2 pounds and is 32 1/4 inches tall. That puts her in just below the 50% for height and between 10% and 25% for weight. So it looks like she's going to take after her Aunt Gin and be a petite little thing.
She does have diastasis recti, which is why her little stomach muscles look so funny. Apparently, they don't meet in the middle like they're supposed to. The doctor said that she may grow out of that, but even if she doesn't, it's not a big deal and shouldn't really have any adverse effect on her.

My Dear Little Elsie

My Dear Elsie,

Just after 5 am two years ago today, your Daddy and I packed our stuff in the car and headed to the hospital where you would be born. You were supposed to be born on February 6th but you had different plans! We made it to the hospital and were in our own room by 8:30. Grandmomma and Paw Paw soon followed. Then came Nana, Dr. Danks, and Aunt Chatham. We waited. We watched Devil Wears Prada. We waited. We talked. We waited. In what would become your typical fashion, you were in no hurry. Finally, just after 5 pm, you first graced this world with your little presence. You were perfect. Perfectly healthy, perfectly sized, and perfectly beautiful.
Your name was a secret to everyone but your Daddy and me. We named you after your Daddy's beloved grandmother, Elsie McNeal Kinney. I never got to meet her but I think her spirit, humor, and love live on in you. I'm sure you give her great joy when she looks down on you from her seat in Heaven.
When you were one day old, you met your big sister. It was love at first sight! She loved you from the start and still would give you anything in her power to give just to make you happy.
Speaking of making you happy, you love Mickey Mouse. I don't know what brought this about or why it has lasted so long but you just can't get enough of Mickey Mouse. I have to fight with you many mornings to get you to wear something other than your Mickey Mouse pjs to Ms. Julie's house. Anytime you see three circles together, you say "Micka Mout"!
You also love your pappi. Ms. Julie doesn't let you have it during the day but, first thing when I pick you up in the afternoons, you want that pappi and it doesn't leave your mouth until you get to Ms. Julie's the next morning. I guess I'll have to start getting firm about that soon.
You love applesauce and raisins but not green beans. You especially love "Nana Bread".
You are still sleeping in your crib and loving it! Two nights ago when I put you to bed, you rubbed your little face across your sheets and said, "My bed, my bed!" over and over.
You love to go to the park and climb up the slide. You are getting pretty good at climbing the ladder that goes up the middle of the jungle gym. You also love the beach, especially digging in the sand and pouring water everywhere. You love coloring. In fact, when I ask you what you did at Ms. Julie's today, your answer is always, "Color" (but it sounds like "Cala").
Your best friend at Ms. Julie's house is Maddee. Today, you told us over and over again that it's "Elsie birthday, not Maddee". You also love Stella, Benjamin and Reece. But your best friend of all is Mary Grace. You two love to play together. You hide in Mary Grace's tent, put on pretend makeup at the "Cinderella on a counter" vanity, love your baby dolls, play dress up, read books, and color together.
You are a sweet child most of the time, although you can throw a two-year-old tantrum with the best of them. You love to sleep and have been known to take a four hour nap in the afternoon and still go to bed like clockwork at 8 pm and sleep til 7.
What more could a mommy want than two perfect, sweet, smart, and happy little girls? My prayer for you is that you will grow up knowing the comfort of God's love, a happy home, a loving family, and a Christ-centered life.
I love you, my baby girl!

Love,
Mommy

Getting Ready for Elsie's Birthday

We spent this weekend getting ready for Elsie's birthday and Valentine's. Stephen painted the girls' bathroom yesterday and I made cookies for dinner with friends last night. Today after church, I made cupcakes for Elsie to take to Ms. Julie's tomorrow to celebrate her birthday with her friends.
Some photos are below. Yes, the cupcakes are frosted with the Secret Chickamauga Chocolate Cake frosting. Yum! I just put a little on each cupcake because I didn't want to get the kids too hyped up on sugar!

We're Going Back to Disney!

We're going back to Disney next weekend for Mary Grace and Elsie's birthday. I'm so excited! The girls had a blast when we went last summer. It should be even better this time because it will be cooler and Elsie's a little older. Mickey Mouse, here we come!

What a Wonderful World!

We spent the afternoon on Amelia and Talbot islands in Florida. In the words of the great Louis Armstrong, I think to myself, what a wonderful world! Stephen and I are in a bible study on Wednesday nights in which we're studying and reading Genesis. Mary Grace is also learning about the world's creation at Happy Apple. It's wonderful to be able to go back and read those old stories that we remember from childhood and look at them through adult eyes. But, you can't help but have a child-like joy when you sit on a white sand beach on the edge of this great land and stare out over beautiful dark blue waves and know that our God created it all. Amazing!
We started out on Amelia, where the girls and I played on the beach while Stephen met with some people about a case. After he was finished, we drove over to Talbot Island, which is the island south of Amelia. For the most part, it is uninhabited, by humans at least. As you can see from the pictures, it is absolutely beautiful. The beaches are so long and the sand is like white powder. We had this beach all to ourselves; no one else was in sight!
Talbot is a lot like Cumberland but you can get there in a car and there are no wild horses (at least, none that we saw). There's so much to see there. There are huge dunes, dark blue water, beautiful sand, and "boneyard beach", where old fossilized trees look like huge bones on the beach. You can see a small example in the last picture. Unfortunately, our camera battery died before we got to the beach that has so many old tree trunks. We're planning to go back for a day when the weather gets warmer, though.
It was a fun day but we're looking forward to warmer weather. We had our first 2008 beach swim in March of last year, so we should only have about 5 or 6 more weeks til it's warm again!
Enjoy the slideshow!

My Baby Isn't a Baby Anymore

I guess I can no longer call Elsie "the baby". By the time Mary Grace was the age Elsie is now, Elsie had been around for about a month and I was certainly not babying her anymore! Over Christmas, we watched some video of Mary Grace's 2nd birthday. It's amazing how alike they are and hard to believe that that was just two years ago. So, here's some evidence that my baby isn't a baby anymore:

1. I gave her crayons and paper today to color while I changed clothes after work (Mary Grace was at ballet). I sat down in front of her and she drew a perfect circle on the paper with a purple crayon, pointed to it, and said, "Circle. Purple."

2. On the way home from dropping Mary Grace off at ballet, she held up her hand and said, "Boo boo." I asked her what happened. She said, "AJ push me." (AJ is a friend at Ms. Julie's)

3. I told her no about something tonight, I can't even remember what now, but it really made her mad! She pushed over a big wooden kitchen chair and ran over to me and swiped her little hand at me! Terrible Twos anyone?

4. She can tell you that her best friend is Maddie and that Maddie's sister is Lainee.

5. She can dress herself, socks and velcro shoes included. She's been able to do this for awhile.

6. She likes to sing, especially Happy Birthday. It's ususally Happy Birthday Maddie. Mary Grace sat down last night and tried to teach her Jesus Loves Me.

7. When she wants milk, she opens the refridgerator, takes the carton out (we keep it on the low door shelf), unscrews the top, and hands the carton to me and says, "Milk, Mommy."

8. Ms. Brittney (one of her caretakers at Ms. Julie's and our occassional babysitter) doesn't let her have her paci while she's at Ms. Julies and puts it away in a drawer. If you ask her what Ms. Brittney says about her "pappy", she says, "No! Drawer!" If you ask her why, she'll say "Cutz" ("Cause").

9. She insists on getting herself out of her carseat now and walking up to the front door. She also has to be the one to open the front door after I unlock it.

10. Like her big sister, she likes to sit and "read" her own books. She can remember many of the words and does a pretty good job of telling you what's on the page.

11. She can tell us what she wants now and we can ususally understand what she's asking for.

12. She can tell you who gave her what doll for Christmas. She says, for example, "Nana gave it me." She also knows that Nana gave us our new placemats that we use all the time now. "Nana gave it me," she told me tonight.

But she's still my baby and she's still sleeping in her crib. Although, her little friend Maddie broke her leg trying to jump out of her crib over Christmas. Maddie is a month younger than Elsie but a little bigger so I'm still not too worried about Elsie trying the same trick. I think she loves her bed too much!

It's hard to believe that she'll be two in less than two weeks!

The Last Day of Duck Season!

Yes, the last day of duck season is upon us! As we speak, Stephen is in Pierce County with his friends getting in one last day for the year. He left last night and they spent the night at Jay's new cabin. There was duck hunting early this morning and quail hunting this afternoon. We're looking forward to having Stephen home tonight.
The girls and I had a lazy morning. We went to the park then to the grocery store. Speaking of which, I can't go to the grocery store anymore without spending around $150 each time. And I go every week! What are we eating?! I had stocked up on meat a few weeks ago when Publix had a sale so I didn't have to buy much of that, just a little seafood for one night. But, in exchange I guess, I had to buy diapers, shampoo, lotion, toothbrushes, wipes, all that good stuff. And, of course, there were the two Tinkerbell tumblers that I picked up just to keep the girls quiet in the cart. You do what you have to sometimes!
Anyway, after the grocery store, we came home for lunch. The girls went down for a nap, I went for a run on the treadmill, and now I'm just waiting for the girls to wake up.
I thought it was going to be warmer today but it's still in the 60s. I guess that's better than the 40s we had earlier this week!

Nana's Visit

We are enjoying having Nana in St. Marys again! We had planned to drive up to Oak Island for this long weekend but chickened out at the last minute because of the cold weather up there. Nana decided to drive down here to see us instead so she's been here since Sunday afternoon. She'll be heading back to Raleigh tomorrow. At least that's the plan. The weather is not looking so promising, though. The forecast is calling for snow in NC tonight and tomorrow.
Last night, Nana babysat while Stephen and I had a nice dinner out by ourselves. Today, Nana and I took the girls to Chick fil A for lunch. They love playing on the indoor playground there. Then we went shopping at some of the little stores around St. Marys. This afternoon, we went into Florida and took some of the girls clothes to Once Upon a Child to sell. Stephen went with us and we also stopped at Gander Mountain so he could get a quail hunting cap. Quail hunting seems to be his new favorite sport. Apparently, you have to wear a bright orange hat so you don't get shot in the head. Maybe this is where Dick Cheney's hunting buddy went wrong.
We had dinner at Ops tonight and are back home. Nana has marinated a pork tenderloin for us to cook for dinner tomorrow night. She's also done the dishes! Did I mention that we're enjoying having Nana to visit?!

IT IS COLD IN SOUTH GEORGIA!

I know that those of you who live north of the gnat line are not going to have too much sympathy for us but, let me tell you, IT IS COLD IN SOUTH GEORGIA! They say that you get used to the climate you live in. Well, I guess we've already adapted to the warmer climate down here because we are not happy about upper 20s in the morning and low 50s in the afternoons! Stephen is even complaining about having to wear a jacket! You know it's bad when Stephen gripes about it.
This is the coldest weather we've had down here since 2000 or 2002, according to the weatherman. The water in the dogs' bowl was frozen this morning, I had frost on the window when I left to go to the gym last week, and we've dug out our coats that haven't seen the light of day since they were stuffed into a box in Douglasville. Even our poor dogs can't take it. They run out to go to the bathroom then run straight back inside, and if you're not waiting to open the door for them right away, they start whimpering.
Okay, God, we've had enough of Winter! Bring on our Spring! But can you keep the gnats away for a little while longer?

Dancing in the Catholic Mission Exhibit at the MOSH

Fun at the MOSH!

We decided that this cold day was the perfect time to visit the Jacksonville Museum of Science and History, also known as the "MOSH".
It was lots of fun. They even have a planetarium, so we watched a presentation on the night sky over Jacksonville. Very interesting. Much of the science portion of the museum deals with marine life so we also saw alligators, turtles, and fish. I think Stephen and I enjoyed the history part much more than the girls did. Their favorite part of that display was the Catholic mission exhibit. I would have thought that the monk would have scared them but they thought it was lots of fun to dance around that for some reason.
We had lunch at the River City Grill overlooking the St. Johns. What a beautiful setting! The St. Johns is such a pretty river.

New Day

I started back to work on Friday and we are all adjusting to the new schedule pretty well. The girls are glad to be back at Ms. Julie's with their friends and Stephen and I are both very thankful for the great and cheap health insurance I get from the county. It's just $104 per month for the entire family for health, vision, and dental. And the deductibles are very low. Nice, huh? The county is self-insured so that probably has something to do with it. On the flip side, Ms. Julie has gone up $30 per week so that was a bit of a surprise. I can't blame her, though, with the cost of everthing else going up, too.
I've already signed three warrants and will be hearing two civil cases tomorrow. I imagine I will be doing bond hearings some this week, too. It's nice to be back in the legal field. It feels familiar and I understand what I am doing, which is a big change from my time at the bank. It's also nice to only have a 20-minute drive instead of a 55-minute one!
We relaxing weekend. Rosa did all the cleaning work so we got to enjoy our two days off work! On Saturday, we went to the park. The girls played on the jungle gym and then we ate our picnic I had packed for dinner. There are some pictures of that below. The slideshow also shows Stephen and the girls "geotracking". This is a new hobby they have picked up using Stephen's new GPS device. The girls think it is very fun to hunt "treasure" this way!

Swearing In