Leaving on a jet plane...

I am off to Florida for 8 wonderful days of the beach and relaxation....of course some Disney thrills will be thrown in there as well. I doubt that I will be updating while I am away, but you never know. Prayers for safe travel, and for me to stay healthy would be great. I am feeling a bit under the weather.

Pedicure....check

Some scenes from around my house as we speak. We have been busy preparing for our Cocoa Beach, Fl/Disney World vacationing and wrapping up school activities and some baseball and softball games. It's been a whirlwind. Luckily, I did get a pedicure so that my toesies are beach ready.
I never realized that my feet were so veiny. Sorry about that. Now, I have been told that I have Flinstone feet. I will not name names, but I do remember .

Here is my suitcase freshly brought out from my closet. Hmmm...those are some Disney stickers left on there from last year. I believe that Graedon did the honors while stuck in standstill traffic for 3 hours driving home from the airport thanks to the horrible flooding we came home to.

I always get a head start on packing for the boys. They require a lot of double and triple checking on my part. This year, we are trying to do carry-ons for them. Good luck, huh?

Well, those are just a few of the areas of my messy, pre-trip house. I am tackling some cleaning and laundry as well. I'm so excited...only 2 more sleeps!!

Congrats to the grad

Yesterday was Gabe's preschool graduation, and it was such a great program! I really enjoyed it, and I know Gabe was a proud little guy. He looked great in his cap and gown, and he was all smiles after it was over. We surprised him with a pizza and bowling after party, and we had a great time! Congratulations Gabriel! You are officially a Kindergartener now!

A couple of layouts

I thought I would share some layouts that I had completed from the Feeling Scrappy Sketchapalooza 3 class that I took in March. If you haven't checked out their classes yet, then I suggest you head on over and do so!

Enough already

I am determined to get out of this funk that I have been in. The sun is shining, everything is green, and I am leaving for vacation in 18 days! I have too much to be grateful for, and I am going to hold on to that!

Thank you all for your kind words and comments. You made me smile and helped brighten my attitude more than you know. You are the best!

On a happy note, I have lost 4lbs since last week! Yay! I have recommitted to taking care of myself and exercising. I have a long journey to reach my goal weight and/or size, but I am going to do it. This is the year that I will finally get "me" back! I could use any encouragement, support and/or recipes if you're willing to share. :-) I know some of you have some great Weight Watcher friendly recipes and tips, and I welcome any of them.

Well, sorry for the short post, but I want you to know that I am back, and I am taking control and making efforts to improve my mindset. I have not liked my attitude towards things at all lately. Thanks for sticking with me!

In a rut...

I've been in a blogging rut lately....between everyone being sick (Chad has been home sick all week), the rainy weather, and just some things that have been weighing on my mind, I just haven't been in the mood to blog or really have anything to blog about. I'm just a little down, and I want to be in a good mood and have happy things to share. Maybe if you send some happy bloggy thoughts my way, that would help. Maybe leave me a comment telling me what you are happy about at the moment. I think that could help. :-)

Take me out to the ballgame!

Gabe started his T-ball season about 2 weeks ago, and I love watching him and the other little ones bat and chase after the ball. It's a great league that he is in, and I love that all of the players get to bat, and the coaches are now pitching to the kids, which is great. It's a lot of fun watching Gabe grow into such a great little boy and doing boy things. :-)

Go, Gabe, Go! One of his may hits from the tee. We need to work with him on his stance.

At one point, I was over at the dug out checking in on how he was doing, and he looked at me and told me that I could go back and sit down. I guess I was cramping his style.

Graedon wants so badly to play too. He's still got a few years, but it doesn't stop him from trying on big brother's helmet!

Grandma Guinn and Sunday's Seven

Sorry I have been so absent from the blogging world lately. We are still battling the sicky bugs, as my boys call them. Chad now has fever and is not feeling very well. I am just so tired of the germs and people not feeling well. The boys are feeling better, as am I, but we're still not 100%.

Six years ago today, we lost my Grandma Guinn to pancreatic cancer. I was 6 months pregnant with Gabe, and one of the things she told the doctors when she was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer was that she had great-grandbabies to see. Oh, I miss her so much, and some days I can even smell her. She would've loved my boys, and they would've loved her. I just wish she could have made it just a little longer to have met them. She was home on hospice care at my mom's, and I can remember that day so vividly still. We knew it was coming. I had stayed the night at my mom's, and Chad had went to our home to shower and was coming back later. My mom and aunt were in the room with Grandma watching a show on tv. My aunt left to go home, and I was walking over by the phone, and something made me watch Grandma. I noticed she wasn't breathing, and as I told mom that I didn't think she was breathing, she breathed a very deep breath, and then she was gone. It happened so fast, that I ran outside to get my aunt, and I saw her car pulling away. Wow...I had just saw my Grandma pass away, and it was very peaceful. I had never had anyone close to me die, and honestly, my first experience was not traumatic. It was peaceful, and I truly know that God was there that day, taking my Grandma home to be with Him. So, I only find it fitting to dedicate this Sunday Seven to my Grandma!

1. We lived with Grandma for a good year when she was first diagnosed with uteran cancer, and she had beat that. It was 4 years later that she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. While living with my Grandma, I worked as a teller at a local bank, and I would come home for lunch. She would always have lunch made for me, and we would watch The Young and the Restless together.
2. She taught me to sew, quilt and crochet. I loved those moments with her, and I feel so lucky to have learned those skills from her!
3. She made the best Black Raspberry jelly and pies! I miss her black raspberry bushes.
4. I loved frilly, twirly dresses when I was little. I would never wear anything other than dresses, and she was the only one that could make them for me. I would always test them by spinning around really fast to see how well they would twirl.
5. She did all the alterations and beading on my wedding dress. I will cherish those fittings with her forever!
6. She had a love for dolls, and she started the tradition of buying me the Happy Holiday Barbies every year. I still have the dolls today.
7. I find it amazing that she knew that I was going to have a boy and that my brother was going to have the girl. My sister-in-law was pregnant at the same time I was, and I wanted a little girl and my brother wanted a boy. I can still remember my Grandma telling me that I would have the boy and Jess would have the girl. August 16th, I had Gabe, and on August 28th my brother became a proud daddy of his little girl, Taylor.

Grandma, I miss you everyday, and I love you very much. I look forward to seeing you again!