"Dynamite comes in small packages!"

Last Saturday we celebrated my father-in-law's 70th birthday.  

Seventy.  

On some people 70 both looks and feels, ... well..., old.   But on Jim, 70 takes on a whole new meaning.  On him, seventy means character, integrity, love expressed, love received, gritty-dirt-under-your-fingernails-hard-work.  Seventy years of being dependable, courageous, generous, silly.   On Jim, 70 equals a life well-lived, an example to be followed and more good times ahead.   There aren't many men like him.  Not nearly enough, in fact.  I'm proud to be his even if it's just by marriage.  Because with my father-in-law, there is no "mine" and "yours".  It has always been "ours". 

 In front of the old Sears building downtown where Jim worked for several decades.

 At The Varsity.  #46 waited on he and Dixie often.

 In front of Turner Field, standing not far from where several of Hank's homeruns would have landed.

In front of the hospital where Brian was born.

Happy Birthday, Doddy!  I love you so so much.

Bloggy Strangers No Longer!

 
OH!  This child!  Was  h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e  today!  I went to meet a bloggy friend who is in town for the weekend.  I had to take Anna and Landon with me but she may virtually disown me after having to spend an hour around this little monster.  Joyce is much too sweet to do something like that... I hope.

I was so excited to get to meet her!  I've been reading her blog for almost a year.  She mentioned that she would be in the Atlanta area this weekend and so we decided that this was a perfect opportunity to get together.  It was so nice to be able to see her face to face and to have a live conversation.  Anna was a sweetheart and I could have handled her and both Cameron and Parker better than one Landon but I didn't want to send the most rambunctious one with Brian to work.

We met at Starbuck's because bloggers can't do anything without coffee.  I didn't get any coffee but it's a good thing I didn't because I'm sure it would have ended up all down the front of me with the sheer amount of motion generated by this child.  He did spill his juice all over the floor by swinging his arms or bouncing around in his chair or some nonsense.  He threw something away in the trash can no less than a dozen times.   He talked VERY loudly and interrupted every other sentence.   I told him, "No!" or "Stop." at least 40 times.  I guess I just didn't bring enough for him to do.  A small rubber snake, a Matchbox car, a lollipop and a cup of juice were not enough to keep him occupied.  Starbuck's is no place for a 3 year old.
  ; )

It's on days like this that I need a list of the things I love about him at this age.  Things like:
- He always obliges when I say, "Give me a kiss."
- He is still squishy.
- When he isn't yelling, screaming or crying he has the sweetest little voice.
- He can be so funny.
- He says, "Thank you" quite a bit for a three year old.
- He may disobey often but at least he does it blatantly and he's not sneaky or manipulative. (Is that a positive?)
- Because he is so loud, I almost always know where he is.
- He likes to snuggle.
- His uncontrollable laughter when you tickle him and that when you're done he asks you to do it again.

This list will come in quite handy in a minute after I finish breaking up the fight occurring in my bedroom.

Joyce, can we do it again sometime?  Like when my kids are all grown up? 

Krispy Kreme

My husband and sister-in-law threw a surprise birthday party for my father-in-law on Saturday to celebrate his 70th birthday!  Part of the surprise was taking a limo to several significant locations from his life around Atlanta.  The original Krispy Kreme location is just down the street from the old Sears building where Jim worked for several decades.  Naturally, we had to stop there and get a couple dozen doughnuts!  Especially since the Hot Now sign was lit!

I was playing around with editing options with this photo and now I can't decide which is my favorite. When you don't have to think about skin tone the options are endless.

 original

 vintage

 vivid

 sepia

 soft glow

*This is how angels see Krispy Kreme!  ; )

lithograph

More to come on the birthday party later!

I don't know how those moms do it.

I'm at a breaking point.  I told Brian when he came home for lunch today that I could never homeschool my children.  He asked why.  My reply was, "Because being around them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week would MAKE   ME   COMPLETELY  INSANE!"  And, yes, I did then break out in tears.  I'd like to be that kind of woman.  The one that thinks it's vitally important to guard their children's education.  The kind of woman that makes sure to pour The Word into them all day.  To be that selfless.  

But I'm not.  Not yet, anyhow.  And, at least this year, I don't have to be...because school starts a week from today.  

We've had a wonderful summer.  They've gotten along reasonably well over the last 2 months.  But Landon's constant whining and the ever-increasing demands from he and Anna are more than I can handle. 

I'm not having a good day and it's not all their fault but it's largely in part because I'm dealing with other issues within myself and that only adds stress to my relationship with them.  I love them dearly.  Honest and True.

Aliens and Amicalola Falls

I sat with fingers perched at  ASDF/JKL: for 5 minutes not knowing how to begin this post.   I feel like I need to write something instead of just posting pictures but my brain hurts.  The Red Dress Club started putting out a writing challenge for Fridays.  Today you were supposed to pick 4 numbers from 1 to 10 and each number was assigned a particular character, setting, situation and time (write your numbers down before you scroll down to see what you might end up with).  Then you are supposed to write a short story or poem or something that includes those 4 elements.

HaHa!  My 4 elements ended up being "alien", "a seminar", "spring" and "someone is falling in love"!  I haven't sat down to write it yet but already I'm interested in what could be spawned from those 4 things!

In the meantime, I think I'll rest my brain and just post these pictures from our Thursday Adventure to Amicalola Falls yesterday.

 God's attention to detail never ceases to amaze me.  He is never in a "creative slump".

 

The kids did much better hiking this time than they did in the fall.  

We like taking the East Ridge trail to go up to the top of the falls and then taking the stairs down.  

I think this is a much easier route on the gluteous maximus.

 

 

 

 

There are only a few pictures of the kids because they never stopped moving.  Cameron was our self-proclaimed leader which, naturally, meant that it became a race to the finish - "The Mommy team vs. The Daddy Team".  He, Parker and I were "The Mommy Team" and Brian, Anna and Landon were on "The Daddy Team".  I need to teach that child how to stop and smell the roses.  Especially since I wasn't wearing proper hiking attire (i.e. socks) and now I am a limping mess with a huge ugly blister on the back of my right heel.   *slapping own forehead*  Brian told me last night, "I'm the one getting old but you're the one falling apart."

Between my crooked neck and blistered feet I can't do much in the way of housework.  Perhaps I'll go write that alien love story.  Stay tuned.

FORTY - Part 2

Do you ever get bored with your own pictures?  I think I'm bored.  It seems like they all start to look the same after awhile; except the part where the people in the pictures look older.  Especially beach pictures tend to look like the same thing over and over again.   To me.   I suppose this just means that we need to go to different vacation destinations each time.  ; D   That would work to get me out of a creative slump, right?  

 

Anyhow, hope these won't bore you ...  unless you've already seen them on facebook.  And, in that case,... well, I can't help you there.

 

 

 

 

As much as I love those beautiful faces up there, this might be my favorite from the weekend.  

We certainly weren't bored making these pictures.  Creating these memories.  Celebrating a certain wonderful someone's big 4-0!  Enjoying each other's company.  Eating shrimp and crab and scallops.   Chasing sea birds and catching frisbees.  Resting, relaxing and getting away from our usual scenery and usual routines. 

FORTY! - Part 1

My sweetheart is now 40 years young!   He is even more amazing now than when we met 14 years ago!  

When I asked him if he would rather have a party or go out of town to celebrate, he didn't hesitate to say he'd rather go out of town.  The plan was for just the two of us to go to Tybee Island for a few days but about a week ago he decided to surprise the kids and take them with us.  We had such a good time!  I'm so glad he changed our plans because we won't get a big family vacation in the fall since I will be on the equator that week and Mom will be taking Anna to Disney World.

This is how our weekend started:  The usual traffic jam at the 75 South/675 merge.  Warning to anyone coming through Atlanta:  you will most assuredly sit in traffic on this 2 mile stretch of highway.  It does not matter what day or what time.  If there is an accident that is actually blocking one or more lanes you can increase your trip time by at least 45 minutes.  If there is no accident, no stall or nothing whatsoever to explain why traffic might be slowed you just need to add an extra 10 or 15 minutes to your ETA.  I found it highly entertaining and ironic that the car in front of us had the word "Remember" on the back window.  I do not miss this aspect of living in Henry County AT  ALL.

The Shell House is a mandatory stop.  Unless you're allergic to fish.  Then, by all means, keep driving.  Otherwise, don't eat before you go and plan on smelling of crab legs for the next 24 hours!  Mmmmm...

 

 We got to Tybee late Friday evening but we had to get in some quick beach time before bed. 

 

 

Bed Time Song

I hate to do this to you.  I really do.  The cuteness is off the charts, folks!

Every night, before bed, we pray and then we ask him, "One song.  Which one do you want to sing?"  His answer is always the same, "Thomas".   So, every night we sing the Thomas and Friends theme song and every night I fall in love even more.

My favorite part is the very end when he sings, "Thooomas and hims fwems!" His mouth is so ... wet.  He talks just like Sylvester the cat sometimes.  One of these days I'll get a good recording of him sayin', "Slsufferin' Sllssuccotashph!"  

Oh!  And in case you're wondering... Yes!  His face is always dirty.

IHF My Story in Photos - I Heart My Country

I love where I live. 

This room.  The color of these four walls soothes and calms my spirit.

This house.  It's just enough room for us.  Not too big.  Not too small.  We each have our space for privacy but we're not so far apart that it takes long to find one another.

This neighborhood.  From my front porch I get to know our neighbors and their children and they know us and our children.

This town. The activity and buzz of Atlanta is only a short drive from us but you'd never know that when you have to pass 5 horse farms, 3 goat pastures, 2 cow pastures and a yard full of roosters to get home.

This beautiful southern state. The weather. The mountains. The beach.  The history. The people.  The culture.
We have it all here.

This country.  Here I have the right to: 

• Choose my religion 
• Freedom of Expression
• Trial by jury
• Choose our President and Representatives, etc., etc.

And the opportunities and potential and privileges afforded to me simply because I am a citizen of these United States is not something I will ever take for granted.  (Especially after reading a post like this.)