Staying Busy

My last post was about the Fair Queen Pageant...

The next night was a Ladie's Night Get Together held at The Holiday in town.  Ladies from our church, Elm Street Christian Church and Antioch Christian church united for an evening of fellowship and food.  We gathered, ate and watched a short video that featured Patsy Clairmont.  I had a good time and I think that everyone else did too.  I spoke to a couple of ladies from our church and hear that another night is being planned for sometime in August.  I hope that I am free to attend.

On Wednesday July 10th, our family went to the Richland County Fair together.  We went through the Community Building and got to see the 4-H exhibits along with fair exhibits from other members of the county.  We followed that with a funnel cake and 4-H lemon shakeups.  Then we went through the livestock barns and saw the animals.  It is really neat to see the animals that are raised and shown by the youth, many of whom we have known for years.

Thursday, as I generally do every Thursday, I attended the weekly Godsippers Bible Study at The Masters Hands.  It is a women's study and we usually watch a video series.  I never fail to come away feeling so blessed to have been with such wonderful women.  We are all at different places in our lives, but the one thing that ties us together is our desire to learn more about being Godly women.

On Friday, I came home from work and promptly fell asleep.  If I remember right, I woke up to a yummy dinner made by my lovely husband.  I love waking up to the smell of his cooking.

I've gotten into the habit of getting up on Saturday's and going out to the Farmers Market.  This time along with some fresh produce, I also got a daylily that is supposed to have phenomenal  blossoms.  It was not blooming so time with tell on that.  Also, if I remember right, a dahlia.  It was blooming but that blossom has shrank.  It has two buds so once it blooms I will take a picture and ask my flower friend, Amy, what it is.

The next week was just work and play, more work than play as I had a 40 hour work week.

Fair Queen Pageant

On Monday night, July 8th, Hallie and I attended our 2nd annual fair queen pageant together.  While this was just our second visit, the pageant has been going on for quite a number of years.  I'm hoping that this becomes a tradition with the two of us and lasts as long as it can.  Last year we went with an old friend from high school that lives here in town.  This year we went with a friend of mine and her cousin.  It's pretty cool that the girls who are competing are girls James' age and he has known forever.  In fact, the girl who won the title, I knew her mom before she was born.  Her mom and dad and Anthony and I were in the same childbirth class together way back in 1995.  It's really neat to see these girls all dressed up and vying on stage for the title of Miss Richland County.  I can tell that a lot of work goes into the preparation for  competition.  They all end up on stage and you can just tell how much confidence they have gained with the many hours of practice they have put in.  It's been a lot of fun watching these girls the past two years.

Graduation Party!

We celebrated James' high school graduation on Sunday July 7th. We had way too much food but had a great time and lots of laughs.  Anthony's mom, my mom, brother, sister, brother in law, two nephews, two of James' friends and a girlfriend to one of the boys came over.  We had grilled chicken, pork burgers, hot dogs, Italian pasta salad, cucumber/onion/tomato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, chips, striped delight, cherry delight and chocolate chip dip along with a variety of sodas.  Between myself and the 3 kids, we cooked/prepared a good portion of the day on Saturday.  However, our work was not in vain, we thoroughly enjoyed the company and the food was amazing if I do say so myself.  I did receive several compliments so I do think it was good.  James was given the option of a graduation cake or desserts and he picked desserts.  He is just not that into cake.  I love how all the cousins get along.  Nathaniel and Coleton who are 15 months apart in ages get along great.  Coleton is the tall one, even taller than his mom.  He and Nathaniel got to ride bikes and go to the elementary school for a bit to shoot some basketball.  Hallie and Tobias get along just as well.  Tobias is 3 1/2 years younger than Hallie.  They played very well together and Tobias loved playing with Charley.  Charley is a pug/terrier mix, completely opposite of his dog, Dega, which is  Great Dane. Even James and Tobias got along well with James holding Tobias and turning him upside down. We missed our niece, Dakota.  Dakota is now working as a hostess in Marion and she had to work Sunday evening.  I knew the time would come when my kids/niece/nephew would have jobs and would miss family gatherings.  I'm still not ready for it though.  All too soon the party ended and it was time for everyone to go home.  We totally enjoyed the day and hope that our guests did too.

Clean Kitchen~ thanks Nathaniel!

Thursday July 4th

This morning I got up and left the house before the kids were up.  Well, not exactly... Hallie caught me as I was just about to walk out the door.  I had my bag and keys in hand, I was thatclose.  I ended up leaving her home with her sleeping brothers.  I then went solo to McDonalds for a sweet tea and hash brown, Wal Mart, Moto Mart and IGA.  Nine times out of ten, I usually wake up at least one of the kids and take them with me.  Well, that is Saturday mornings.  Today has felt like a Saturday all day with me being off work and Anthony working.  I will be really confused come Saturday. 

Nathaniel and I went for his driving lesson today.  No details, but let it suffice to say that "brakes" and "give it some gas" are big into my vocabulary.  I know that one of these days I will look back and laugh at all of this.  He needs to be confident, yet not too confident.  That will come with more experience.

James grilled porkloin and potatoes today for tonight's dinner.  That boy can grill!  We had a yummy dinner and then went to the park for the fireworks.  They always have a wonderful display.  I'm thankful that with all rain, we didn't have to worry much about fire danger like we did last year.  Today turned out to be a beautiful sunny day.  I'm not sure of the temps but they couldn't have been too hot.

Tonight I downloaded Picasa 3.  It appears to be a really cool program.  I can't wait to try some test shots and try it out.  Be warned, you might end up with photo overload again.  :)

Lee Greenwood: God Bless The USA Music Video

It's not the 4th of July without Lee Greenwood!  I can't listen to this song without tearing up.  I do love this land and all the blessings that come with living in the land of the free.  May God bless our nation!

Drivers Ed Troester Style

Nathaniel turned 15 way back on March 22nd.  He took Drivers Ed in June and got his Learners Permit on June 18th.  We've been dragging our feet in getting him behind the wheel.  The biggest reason is he just hasn't reached his growth spurt.  That means he can't see to drive very well.  The first time he drove was the other night.  We took our 1993 Ford Mustang to the Elementary School parking lot.  It was evening and dark, he couldn't see where he was going. However, that is where James began driving so we went to the same spot, same car.  That didn't last long.  So earlier this week, lesson number two took place. Another short stint behind the wheel.  This time Anthony had him drive our 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix.  Nathaniel is apparently not one to press the gas peddle. Tonight I picked Nathaniel and Hallie up from Bible Study. I surprised him by putting him behind the wheel. This time we were in our 2010 Ford Fusion.  What kid can say they have driven 3 times and in 3 different cars?  Anyway, he drove fairly well.  Lots of stuff to work on, but I didn't even come a smidgeon close to losing my patience.  I call that a success!!  He only got to drive home as I had lasagna in the oven baking  for dinner. So that was .25 hours leaving a minimum of 49.75 hours before he can legally get his license when he turns 16 next year.  I'm sure there will be lots more adventures to come.  Stay tuned!