Category Archives: Haley

Lots of Thoughts

Posted on by
Reply

Zach is going through a rough time at night..he has begun to wake up at night, several times a night and is currently screaming because I will not open his door!

Zach is asking to go potty at least once a day, he still does not EVER poop in the potty but this is an improvement.

Ruger is still peeing in the house, this is the only complaint I have with him. Otherwise he is so well behaved and lovable, I would have 3

With the unseasonable warm weather we are having, I need to make an effort to store all winter coats and go through all of Kendall’s clothes. We have already been through Zach’s clothes but I am noticing how small most things are looking on Kendall.

I have been work 4 days a week at the hospital so it feels like I never see the kids especially if Matt has a meeting! Please pray that I have more time with the kids….

I actually planted Broccoli in the square foot garden on Sunday. My plan is to plant cucumber and squash this weekend.  This is one of the earliest springs on record for NC.

At the book sale today, I purchased 2 separate book on financial stuff and budgeting. I am hope to get some inspiration! We actually are on track for the month but I want and had planned for some bigger results.

My weight loss is at a stand still, I am going to continue to exercise 4 nights a week and see what happens. I am hoping with it warmer outside I can eat lighter as well.

Haley’s Birthday is Friday, we also have church pictures on Saturday. She has agree to go out and celebrate on Saturday after the pictures as a whole family.

On Friday night, Haley and Matt will be going to see the Hunger Games. Matt hopes to finish the third book in the series prior to that.

Harris Teeter is having triples this week. I am planning a trip tomorrow and hope to spend less than $20 but really have no clue what I will spend. I will only be purchasing items that I have coupons for but still don’t have a clue.

Haley’s Award

Posted on by
1

This past week we have all been really busy preparing for the final Bible Quiz of the Regular Season. Haley has been working at memorizing Hebrews, I and II Peter, while Matt and I have been working on getting the question ready for competition. I also was keeping a huge secret…Haley earned the biggest/highest award in quizzing. It is an award that is voted on by the adults. I had known she was receiving the award for about a month and managed not to let her find out!  The award is called the Elizabeth Wall Spirit of Quizzing.  I usually present the award but knew I would cry so ask someone else to present it. Haley also placed 6th out of 29 this year and will be competing at the next level the end of April. I am copying below the description of the Award and a copy of pictures. I am so proud of Haley!!!!

 

The Elizabeth Wall Spirit of Quizzing Award
This award is subjective and based on majority vote (one per church and one collective from the officials).  The award should primarily be given to someone who is an encourager to all quizzers and really captures the true intent of quizzing.  While this award does not require any sort of minimum score it should be someone who has not neglected their quizzing studies.
In 2004 the Spirit of Quizzing Award was renamed The Elizabeth Wall Spirit of Quizzing Award in honor of that years recipient.  Elizabeth, who was born with the genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis (CF), suffered continuous lung infections causing her to be physically frail.  Yet in her spirit Elizabeth triumphed over her disease with grace and strength.
Her golden red hair always drew people’s attention, but it was Elizabeth’s beaming grin and gentle, caring ways that made everyone she met her friend.  Some people thought she might be spoiled by all the attention CF brought her, but it didn’t work that way.  The more Elizabeth was loved, the more she loved back.  She had every reason to want people to take care of her, but her delight was in caring for others.  Her joy was found in simple things:  reading books aloud and playing games as a family, making homemade gifts and cards for friends, singing at every opportunity.  Elizabeth was grateful for each blessing in her life. 
One of those blessings was participating in Western Piedmont Bible Quizzing for three years.  It wasn’t easy.   Visitors found Elizabeth on several occasions making her special pictograph cards and memorizing her verses between treatments in the hospital.  She wasn’t ever a top quizzer, but she faithfully did her best.   Jumping was a challenge and it was a thrill for her to get a couple of questions per quiz day.   Even when she had to quiz with oxygen and IV antibiotics dripping she had a blast.  (Incredibly, Elizabeth had no self-consciousness about her.)  It was her desire to quiz that kept her team going through the early building years.
All this and more was true not because Elizabeth was different from the rest of us.  It was the result of God’s grace at work in her willing heart.  He truly means it when He says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”  This was Elizabeth’s testimony.
Elizabeth was ready for Heaven.  Through her suffering she had learned to trust her Savior.  Two weeks after her fifteenth birthday, the days that God ordained for Elizabeth before she was even born were complete and she was carried by her Good Shepherd into the throne room of her Heavenly Father.

Tuesday Thoughts

Posted on by
Reply

I have spent some time search for a Beach house for us this summer….. just not sure what to do?

For dinner this evening, I tried something new! I made up a recipe using what I could easily unthaw and use out of the refrigerator. It turned out ok, eatable but not a repeat. I am just proud that I tried something new without a recipe.

Haley is tanning on a daily basis now for the prom.

I hope to plant our broccoli outside this weekend in the square foot garden but I need alot of dirt before that will happen.

My work is starting to pick up and I need to learn to manage my schedule a little bit better. This week I am going to stay at home Thursday (my normal day off) even with a meeting. I really need a whole day off because it has been several weeks since I have had one.

I won’t be able to upload cheerleading pictures until the first of April.

My weight loss has hit a stand still. I know part of the problem is what I am eating and not drinking enough water but I am struggling.

I am trying a new method of organizing my coupons, it is from this blog. Basically I use 10 minutes a day and so far it has been going well. In two days, I have sorted through 2 months of expired coupons. My plan is to finish this task this week.

This is still the kids favorite indoor activity….

Andrea’s Wild West Sweet Sixteen

Posted on by
Reply

Our friend Andrea turned sixteen yesterday. So on Saturday, we enjoyed  her wild west themed birthday party.  Haley was present as well and line danced for almost an hour but I don’t have any pictures of her because she has not uploaded them yet!  There are also rumored to be pictures of me dancing but I will not confirm or deny that!

Matt built the jail for this event..doesn’t it look real?

Partners in Crime

Sushi the Horse was a great guest but by the end of the night she was tired.

Izzy and Andrea

What We Have Been Up To!

Posted on by
Reply

Things got really busy (read crazy) around here this week. Lily’s cheer leading squad is FINALLY going to try some competitions. The first one will be at the end of the month. They decided to add an additional night of practice so now we have somewhere to go every night of the week. In addition, I ended up working last 3 nights this week and on Thursday, I was at the doctor’s office and pharmacy til 6:15pm.  So here is a quick update on what things are going on around here:
-Our tax refund came in, so we had gutters installed on the house. This finally finishes the addition and is also a nice addition to the rest of the house with matching colors.
– We have re-furbished wood from our previous deck for another square foot garden box and our broccoli plants have started to grown. We only have a success rate of 50% with the seed so hopefully when transplanted they will survive.
-Lily has two new pair of glass from Vision Works and we are extremely happy with them. Kendall will also be receiving two pair later in the week.
-Haley has strep throat and a sinus infection. She has been sick for about 2 weeks  not and has already missed 3 days of school this semester.  I was really surprised by the strep throat because she has not ran a fever. Hopefully by Monday, she will be back at school, healthy and happy.
– I have schedule my surgery for March 5th.  Trust me you don’t want the details but I will be out of work of a week. So this should get interesting.
-At church tomorrow, both the little girls will be playing bells and Matt is taking part in a skit. I am teaching the Beginner’s Childrens Church. Matt and I spent about 2 hours today, cleaning out a room that we have now been moved to. I have lots of ideas to make this a fun, educational experience for this age group and just need to find the time to implement most of them!

Productive Free Weekend

Posted on by
Reply

We once again had a weekend with no major things to accomplish or events to attend. Haley left on Friday for Winter Retreat with her youth group, Amanda was at school and work and Lily did have a skating party on Saturday afternoon. Lily loved trying to skate and actually got around the rink a couple of times.

On Saturday, I was able to get FREE toilet bowl cleaners at Walmart. I had read about this deal on several website, and decided to try it. I asked to “price match” a sale at Family Dollar for $4 and then had a $4 off coupon. We actually got 2 of these and they are really working great. I was disappointed to find that they were out of the 3 other free items on my list. Also on Saturday,I cooked the 10lbs of chicken I purchased earlier in the week. I was able to freeze 10 cups of shredded chicken as well as 22 bags of chicken broth.

Sunday in North Carolina was rainy and COLD. The temperature was around 35 all day. So to get things warm, I decided to start planning for my “Square Foot Garden.”  We have been debating on how big or small to make it this year. I also wanted to stick to items I know we will use. I had purchased several packs of seeds 2 years ago and want to try to start from starch again this year. The good news is that I actually got myself organized enough that this should be possible and if not then I can always purchased at the right time for growing. I did order broccoli seeds to start right away as well as some green chili seeds to try my hand at. I will also be raising some tomatoes this year as well. Otherwise, I hope to purchase enough corn to freeze as well as we will be participating in the Food Coop again. I am excited that I actually am ahead of the game this year instead of waiting to the last minute to start. I also hope this means it works and produces enough for freezing.

Finally on Sunday, Matt and I got all the tax papers together. I am currently waiting on 1 more W-2 then I can spend 3-4 hours filing online.

Sounds relaxing right?

A “Drama” Free Christmas

Posted on by
Reply

To be honest up front, on Friday (23rd), I was thinking that this year,it really felt like Christmas was getting shorten. With December 25th occurring on a Sunday, there was no extra days off and it just didn’t seem like it was so close to Christmas. However, as of today (26th) I have really enjoyed my holiday. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I am already planning by BIG decorating for next year! I really wanted to share the highlights. 

Christmas Eve, of course the kids woke up early but I managed to relax in bed till after 7am.  I sent the kids outside to play for an hour followed by cookie making, naps and then it was off to Pawpaw’s and Granny’s. We really enjoyed spending time with everyone and stay until after 8pm, playing cards and laughing.

Christmas Day we were up bright and early of course. The little ones played with gifts from Santa Claus, we ate an awesome Breakfast casserole and then the kids played with the one unwrapped gift from us till Amanda made it home from work around 7:30am. Everyone got lots of cool toys and electronics. Haley really likes her class ring. Zach will spend hours playing his “drum kit” and the little girls changed their doll clothes at least 3 times prior to church. Church was nice and I even got to hear all the sermon. Last minute plans with the Pierce made the day complete and lots of fun! One surprising fact is that the kids did not watch any television at all on Christmas Day. They played with new toys and friends! I didn’t even realize it  until today.

Today, we have slept in again. Matt, myself and the little ones went to Belk’s, Ollie’s and Walmart. We decided to splurge on new bath towels, wash clothes and a complete new bedding set for our bed. I LOVE it. I will be posting pictures of it this week. Our room is starting to look like adults live in it and it finally feels complete!

No family fights, no sick kids, and no car emergencies make this a really peaceful and relaxing Christmas!

Lily’s Birthday Celebrated

Posted on by
Reply
 
Birthday’s are a big deal around here even if we get to celebrate one at least every other month! This year instead of a big or small party we decided to take Lily, the whole family and her best friend to see Disney on Ice. Our biggest tradition is that the celebrator gets to pick the dinner restaurant. So Lily chose Olive Garden. We were meet at the restaurant by our friends the Pierces. Then of course the plans changed and Nancy, the mom, went to Disney on Ice  with us while Haley went home with Andrea and of course to youth group. The pictures above are from the restaurant and I will post more from Disney on Ice     Just for the record, I was able to get awesome seats at a discounted rate simply by ordering in a group of 8!

Thankful-November 4th

Posted on by
Reply

Once again this year I am going to try an post an item each day I am thankful for but I will only be posting these once a week so that I can keep up and all that stuff.
November 1st- I am thankful for my husband, who supports me and loves me even when I know I am not being loveable
November 2nd- My church family.
November 3rd- My children, I know I could cheat and list each one for a day but I love each one the same. They teach me patience and more about love than even imaginable.
November 4th- A job that I am secure in..

Next week will be a bit longer and harder to come up with but at least I can add to my posting!