mmm....chocolate....

how do you like my goatee?

These pictures are taken on 2 different days (notice the length of hair)...but they looked as if they told a story: before.....and after.

up cruds creek...

michael's dad helped out a ton!

michael and his farmhand...

blaine after getting pulled off of the tractor...

sitting on the tractor all by his big self!

It was one doozy of a week, ladies and gentlemen. But.....we pulled through! Wanted to post some of the funnier moments for you~

as time goes by....

Which is the title of a beloved British comedy that I watch. I was browsing through some family photos and decided to share some of my favorites~

blaine loves this picture!

when we weren't fighting, we were pretty cute lol

jared in his uniform, handsome no?

true love...

The following is a letter from Sullivan Ballou to his wife Sarah during the Civil War. I thought it was a very sweet and poignant letter, seeing as we've just celebrated our Independence Day. Enjoy~


My very dear Sarah:
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more . . .

I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt . . .

Sarah my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistibly on with all these chains to the battle field.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them for so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood, around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar, that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness . . .

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights . . . always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again . . .

Sullivan Ballou was killed a week later at the first Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861.

so long jacksonville...

jacksonville's skyline...

blaine's multitasking...

with the wind in our hair....

the jaguars stadium...

Well, with the move coming up...or should I say sneaking up....we thought it would be nice to say hello and goodbye to our favorite hangouts. These are pictures taken along the boardwalk~

take me out to the ballgame....

cheesiest grin ever...

or is it this one?

Are my men cute or what??

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

it's quiet.....a little too quiet....

Need I say more?

if i couldn't...

If I were denied a cottage, I'd take on a farmhouse in its stead. I love those wrap-around porches and narrow staircases. And they always make me think of Anne of Green Gables....haha!

a father-son business....

advice taken...

this pics for you mom, haha!

bye bye long haired hippie...

See, I do listen to my parents. Blaine got a haircut yesterday and is loving it!

Easter fun....

on your mark, get set.....

new additions to our family, cousin madison and zoe...

blaines belated basket

Well, I committed an Easter gaffe by not having Blaine's basket ready for him that morning. The basket itself was ready, but I did not put it out because I had to be at church early for choir. Big mistake! All of his teachers and friends kept asking him what he got for Easter and he looked at me as if to say..."What basket? What are they talking about?" He got it eventually, after church.......and a nap lol. We also went to an Egg Hunt that afternoon at his great-grandma's (Mema) house. He was more interested in the old fashioned water pump than the eggs with candy in them and even then, he had a great time!

some random designs...

Every now and then I get the bug....the fashion bug, that is. I don't find a lot of petite apparel out there that I like, so I design my own. Sure wish I knew how to sew...haha! Maybe some day I'll take a class (curse me for not taking home ec in high school!).

cottage charm....

Oh glorious, glorious!!! If I had an endless pile of money....I'd build my very own cottage and fill it with antique shop and garage sale finds~

in daddies shoes....

It started out with Blaine wanted to wear his dad's shirt. When I looked up again, he had put on his daddies shoes too. So cute!

helicopter mania....

lil helicopter

balloon helicopter...he was fascinated...

Blaine's been obsessed with helicopters lately, he even sleeps with one! Truth be told, I kind of encourage it :).

Can you believe that I have just finished reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Me, who loves everything science-fiction and fantasy, not having read it until now?!? Shocking. The Hobbit I'd read some years ago and loved. Having seen the movies first, I was afraid that I would walk away from this experience either hating the movies for not being more like the books or vice versa. You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!!! I'm sorry....I've just always wanted to say that, haha! Truthfully, I don't like one better than the other. The books are amazing in detail...the language is so rich, the characters are fascinating the storyline is imaginative. There is no, and I mean NO, way that everything in the book good be turned into a screenplay. The writers included what they could (without it being 40 hours long) in the motion picture and the result is awesome. I think JRR Tolkien would have been impressed. The costumes were great, the actors you believed and you know I loved the music. So what I'm really trying to say is that both the movie trilogy and the book trilogy are mind-boggling and inspired pieces of work that could stand on their own for the rest of all time!

(Do you think this was a little over the top? No? I didn't either!) :)

sophia....

blaine's curious...

mother and daughter

trying to wake up...

Michael's sister, Rebekah, had her baby last week. This weekend we drove up to see the family and they are all doing well....congratulations!

"gotta get every last kernel..."

"do you like sea food? see, food....get it? hahahaha"

love this face!

blaine turns 2!

totally unenthusiastic, not knowing it was cake!

he gets it now, lol....

m-ma (what he calls grandma), papa and blaine chilling out....

My baby boy turned into a toddler last week, how frightening......and wonderful......and sad. That was rather incoherent, but you know what I mean! But what made it really special was having mom and dad there. I didn't plan the party thinking they would be able to make it...but they did and what a nice surprise!! He got some pretty cool and crazy gifts including a Beta fish we named Gill. lol. Thank you all for the presents and warm wishes, Blaine is one lucky boy!!