Dear Liz~

Ok Ok I know I need to start writing again. So much has gone on but the idea of catching up on here is too overwhelming so instead I think I will just start a new. Um and in that I think it will look a lot different. I promise to keep some of it as an update to my wild adventures for you and maybe the two other people who care and read this but honestly I think I will start to share what I am learning. You know like little glimpses into what God is teaching me or the things He is using to encourage me. So bear with me as I journey back into the world of putting my thoughts out there to be read. I promise I will do my best but I don't promise what you will get. :) But hey what else is new I am random and see no need to change now. 

True ID 09'

Here is a slideshow from the girls weekend we hosted. The weekend was put on by a Liberty University group and it was called True ID. It was a lot of fun and neat to watch the girls learn about their worth in Christ, modesty and more.

Easter

The rest of the time at the lake was of course chaotic. We played games, stayed up till all hours of the night, went out on the boat, drove the golf cart around, laid out in the sun, had two injuries on the dock, mom shot a snake, Lexi caught a turtle, built sand castles so Ryne could destroy them, went fishing, dyed eggs and the Easter Bunny came a left lots of goodies. It was a blast and there are way to many stories to even attempt to tell them. But here are some pics. Sorry I don't have one of my mom shooting the snake, it really was classic.

You've never seen a gator??

After picking Mandie up from the airport we go over a lake and see like 5 gators. Mandie then says wow my first gator not in a cage. This Florida girl was shocked. haha. So I was extremely excited to show her Walt's stuffed 9 foot gator and then take her out on the airboat to chase some gators in the water. When I showed her the one in the house she kept saying no no no it's not real is it!?!? I was laughing. Then on the airboat we were able to see some swim under the water and then saw some just laying out and then at the end we saw 2 huge gators, both probably around 12 footers. Here are some pics.

3 Buggies Full

I flew in to Orlando yesterday, mom picked me up from the airprt and then we had lunch with my cousin Josh. After lunch we went back to the airport to pick Mandie up. On the way to the lake mom, Mandie and I stopped at Publix before meeting up with some more family for dinner. Ahh it was so great to just catch up with Mandie and get to be dumb in a town where you know no one. So the entertainment started by my mom making Mandie and I also push a cart and asking us to find eye drops. I proceeded to ride my cart around the store and then Mandie and I danced in the produce section to a Hannah Montanna balloon that sang. The funny part is that my mom brought coolers in the car to keep the cold stuff cold during dinner and then during the drive to the lake. CLASSIC!!!

Day Trip To ATL

I drove down to ATL last Thursday night to spend the night with my parents then spend the day with the nephies and Stephan and Tawnya. Trey had a neurologist appointment to check on his head. Thankfully everything came back well. He has some extra fluid pockets but nothing that they are worried about. Friday after the appointment we went to lunch and then walked around some shops. Ryne and I had some good fun with these random statues and with the sunglass rack in American Eagle. We both tried on a bunch of glasses and danced around in the store. He is so entertaining and I am sooo excited they have decided to come see us this weekend.

Plane Tickets & a GREAT friend

I bought my plane ticket last night to go home for Easter break. I leave Thursday morning and will be in Florida until the 18th. My mom wanted me there for a week plus my friends Sarah and Patrick are getting married so it all worked out. The most exciting part besides getting to see my family is that Mandie is also coming down. She will fly in on Thursday and stay with me for almost three weeks! I am so excited! I promise to take pics Tina and keep you updated with all the family craziness!

Spring???

Sunday was a gorgeous day. I went to lunch with David and Dana to celebrate their move this week and then went over to the Werners. Kinsley and I went to the playground in shorts and t-shirts and had so much fun. However yesterday it turned cold and by the afternoon it was snowing and has still been snowing on and off all day today. So Kinsley and I put on our ski pants and jackets and went sledding then built a little snow man! I know he's a little scary but it was fun. We made him on the field picnic table then I drove with him to the office so we could finish him and show everyone. Kinsley is so much fun!!

Locks Of Love

Kinsley and I have been talking about going and getting our hair cut for Locks of Love for like a month if not more. Well this past week reality hit me that I am blessed to have hair that can grow back and decided I was ready whenever Cassi was ready for
Kinsley to get hers cut. We made appointments for both of us and decided to not tell Kinsley till we got to the salon. It was priceless to see Kinsleys grin when we pulled in and then to see her jump up and down with excitement. Cassi and I both had been telling her it wouldn't be till spring break at the earliest. I would say we both had 11 inches cut off and now today we are sending it in. Locks of love is such a neat organization and it was really cool to share that moment with Kinsley. She is so much fun to be with and truly has a heart to help others.I think this is the shortest my hair has ever been. Sorry dad I promise to let it grow out! :)

Drivers Ed

Friday night after we had a spaghetti dinner at the church Rachel comes up and ask me if my car is automatic and when I said yes she just goes ok I'll be right back and we will go driving. She is working on getting her permit and had to drive for 6 hours Saturday yet had only driven a manual. So Katie, Rachel and I head out to the High School parking lot and drag Alex along with us. We get there and Alex and Rachel switch seats and we have our own little drivers ed course. It was pretty entertaining. Rachel actually did really well. I only wondered if I had lost my mind by letting her drive once, that was when she came really close to a fence. haha. Alex was such a sweet brother and really did a phenomenal job helping her. It was all quite entertaining!

Youth Update

Over the past 6 months we have had a couple different youth events at First Baptist. In September they had an overnighter and I came over from Charlotte to help. It was a ton of fun we played games, hooked the wii up to the projector in the sanctuary played hide and seek in the dark and all sorts of other craziness. All together we had like 13 youth show up. Then in the end of January we had another overnighter and this time had like 28 youth show up. It was so neat to see the growth and the excitement the youth had for it. This time we did all the things from before only we added a trip to the fun factory in Franklin. We played arcade games and each got two games of laser tag. I am proud to say that I made it through both overnighters without sleeping, unfortunately one of our leaders can't say the same. haha

Then on March 7th we took about 30 to go skiing at Catalochee. The day was a lot of fun. Only two of the youth had ever been skiing or snowboarding before so we took lessons and a lot of them were brave and just went straight for snowboarding. I opted to try snowboarding as well and actually didn't do to bad. However Rachel and I managed to take each other out three times that day. haha what are friends for?!?! Also Matty and Sara came up for the weekend so they got to go. It was so much fun to have them here.

The last youth happening I will share with for now is our changing youth room. David decided that we would paint the youth room and he let the youth pick colors and come up with whatever. So they did and while Sara was still here her and I started to paint one of the walls because it has the most detail. We also had some help from Rachel and Steph. Now we just have to pick a day to let the youth come in and paint the other three walls. One wall is going to be blue, one green and one orange. It's going to be bright and great!!

Catching You Up

Yes I realize that I have not blogged in over a month. Lou and Mandie I am sorry that you have not had any reading material. Tina I'm sorry you haven't seen new pics and random daily events. Mom and Dad you've seen me a lot in the blogging break so you can't complain. Mrs. Vickie you aren't doing much better then me so haha. I don't know anyone else that reads this but sorry if you've been checking with nothing to read. I don't really even know where to start so I'm just going to do lots of random posts. Some may be the happenings of this week and some maybe a month old. Enjoy!!

5 Kids, 3 Days

Last weekend I traveled to Charlotte to keep the Burchards and the Rouses. Which for those of you that don't know means a 1 1/2 yr old, 4 yr old, a just turned 8 yr old, a 9 yr old, and a 13 yr old. It was really great to be able to go over and help out both the families and just spend time with the kids. However it wasn't all birthday cake and ice cream. The first night Grey woke up every hour and all of the other 3 younger kids came in to the room to sleep with us throughout the night. I also had to take a trip to the Apple store to get my computer fixed. I did manage to bring the wii so that brought some good fun plus we broke out Abby's Easy Bake Oven and made cookies. Also Sunday I was able to go to Ridge and just be a part of that community. It is neat to see how it has grown and the steps they are taking to reach out to the students now. Plus Saturday night I was able to just sit with Tina for a little bit and that was a special blessing. I love you lady you are such a mentor in my life and I wouldn't trade you for the world.

Girls Night In

A couple Fridays ago a couple of the girls from the youth group came up to my house to have dinner and hang out. We played cards, the wii and made brownies. It was a lot of fun and gave me a chance to get to know them a little bit more. I know I have said it before but the youth here are really great. Here is a picture of our night. Somehow we managed to end up in some lovely outfits. Simple entertainment. :)

Small Noodle Casserole

The thursday before last I picked Kinsley and Selah up from school and took then back to my house for the afternoon. We had a snack then played the wii and colored. Then I made Tina's small noodle casserole for dinner and Marty, Patti, Cassi, Shaun and Tegan joined us. I was a bit nervous even though Tina tried to tell me I couldn't ruin it. Luckily I didn't ruin it and it tasted oh so yummy. It was nice to have everyone up to the house. It was Marty, Patti and Cassi's first time there. Tina here is a pic of it before. I am pretty sure yours looks prettier. haha

Broken Apple

Ok so I had great plans about being more consistent with my blog however a few days after my last post my computer screen went out. So I didn't have it for like a week and a half. However after going to the Apple store on Thursday they sent it away, fixed it and already got it back to me. So this week I will be updated you on all the things from the past two weeks. Here are some of the things you can look forward to (haha)... pictures of the dinning hall progress, small noodle casserole, girls night in, five kids for three days, and maybe some other randomness!! 

The 12 Days Of Vacation

A little over due I know but here is my Christmas Vacation post. From leaving Robbinsville to returning I had twelve days of Vacation. This is what took place...Tuesday Katie, Jess and I left Robbinsville and headed to Florida. I met their parents in Bartow and then headed home. All in all I think it was a 13 hour trip. We enjoyed it though. Well Jess and I enjoyed it, Katie slept most of it. :)On Christmas Eve I did some last minute shopping with my mom and then that night we had a wonderful dinner with Andrew, Marie, my moms cousin David, Uncle Walt, Aunt Lisa, one of their friends and Lexi and Sofi. We had a standing rib roast which was phenomenal!! It was nice to get to see the girls they are growing up so fast and I miss being a part of that.Christmas morning we got up and all got matching PJs to wear for the morning, and surprisingly it was my dads idea. At least that's what my mom swears by. David also came down to open presents with us and Andrew and Marie had spent the night. Of course before presents we had to have the traditional french toast breakfast. Well my favorite present of the day would have to be a George Foreman 360 Grill. The most random present would be a jewelry armorer that almost comes up to my shoulders. My mom got it for me because a while back we had looked at little jewelry boxes. Needless to say it was a good laugh and brought out many jokes for like five minutes. I asked my mom which daughter she was thinking of when she bought it and my dad just kept laughing. then Andrew or Matt were telling me I could put my socks and underwear in it. Priceless. Then that night we had a game night at my house with some of my friends. Always a GREAT thing when that can take place. I miss them a lot.
We decided that we would just go to the lake for family vacation and just hang out there and go to Disney one day. So Friday I loaded up my car and left Ft. Myers. The above picture is from our dinner Friday night. Jess ordered this brownie dessert and when it came out it was MASSIVE and loaded down with Chocolate Syrup. Four of us ate it and we didn't even finish it.Friday at dinner Jess and I joked about going to Vero to kidnap Katie and surprisingly we got a hold of her really late Friday night and Saturday morning we went and picked her up. Saturday we went into Frostproof to go to the thrift store. While we were in the car Jess popped Katies bubble and her gum got in her hair. Randomness I know but it was funny. Especially when she cut it out.
We spent Saturday and Sunday just hanging out on the boat and laying out on the dock. Some of us even got in the lake. Yes I know the above picture has an alligator in it, but it's Florida what do you expect. None of us were eaten so its ok.
Also my dad had borrowed his friends mule so we did a lot of driving around and exploring. With the occasional orange stealing also. Sara came up for Saturday and Sunday since I only had like 48 hours in the Fort and never got to see her.
Monday we went to Disney. We got the park hopper pass so we went to both MGM and The Magic Kingdom. There were a TON of people there but it was still fun. This was in the Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground area. It was really pretty at night with all the lights.
Katie left Tuesday and Jess left early Wednesday morning. Walt, Lisa and the girls came up on Tuesday so I finished out the week just hanging with the family. Plus Uncle John and Aunt Shannon and Jonathan and Allie were there. Of course in tradition Walt lit fireworks and we watched wondering if something would go wrong. haha.
Friday night Jonathan and I left and went to Ocala. We stayed the night with Josh and then I headed to Atlanta to see the new nephie. He is so cute and tiny. However most of my time was spent with Ryne but it was GREAT. He is such a funny, good kid. We read and played with almost every toy in his room. Then we watched a movie and lined up all the toys so they could watch too. Then Saturday evening I headed back to Robbinsville. The trip was a lot FUN.
Woo Who I know that was a lot but there it is, now you know.

*Lou I hope that was enough reading material for you!