Ear Piercing Time!

Brooke has been going back and forth for a while about getting her ears pierced. She was finally ready, so we stopped by the jewelry store I used to work at. She was so excited, but quite nervous too.

Unfortunately they were only able to do them one at a time today, so in hindsight we probably should have come back another day.

She was not happy when the first one was done.  We almost had to just take it out and try again in a few years because I wasn't sure she would let them do the 2nd one.

After about 30 minutes she decided to get it done.

But in the end, she was glad she went through with it.  She is already trying to decide which earrings to change them out to in a few weeks.

Wrapping Up January

Someone has a new found love for assembling furniture.

That's my llama lovin' Macy!

Brooke was spending the night with a friend, so we took these two to an escape room.  It was geared toward kids, and it was a little too easy for them.  We let them solve everything on their own, and they had a lot of fun.  Girls are like that. Easy doesn't always mean boring. :) They made it out with plenty of time to spare.

Celebrating Brooke

Brooke decided that she wanted to have her party at a local painting/art shop, and I'm always up for an easily planned party!

She wanted to have a galaxy themed party, so the owner at the store came up with a few ideas, sent me some pictures, and Brooke picked the one she liked best.  They turned out so cute!

Such sweet friends Brooke has from school!

They also made these cute jars that hold an electronic tea light candle.

We had a super fun time celebrating this girl!

Happy 9th Birthday, Brooke!

This girl was so excited to finally be celebrating her birthday! She basically starts talking about her next birthday on January 6th. ha! It's hard to believe this sweet girl is entering her last year in single digits!

Gifts are definitely one of her love languages. Right behind sugar. :) She gets so excited, and her facial expressions show it.

This year she asked to go to Build a Bear for her birthday.  I'm happy to squeeze in all of the little girl things I can, because I know these days are numbered.

And of course, no birthday for Brooke would be complete without a stop at Sweet Tomato for her favorite "salad." Noodles, raisins, carrots, and cheese.  I just don't understand, but she gobbles this up every time.

She was so patient waiting for this fit bit from Nini. Her sisters received one for their birthdays last spring, and she has been wanting one ever since. I know she is going to enjoy wearing this.  Competitions are her thing - as long as she is winning that is.  So I foresee some steps challenges in our future.

A few of your favorites:

food - pizza and pasta

movie - The Greatest Showman

TV show - Jesse

sweet treat - rocky road

subject in school - history

Brooke, 

You are full of life, and always on the go. You wake up excited for the day, and you are non-stop until your head hits the pillow at night. You are full of life and live in the extremes. :) You are a smart girl, and you have enjoyed reading more this year. It has been my JOY to have you in my class at school this year.  To watch you with your friends, to see how you interact with with other teachers, and to hear your ideas as we are learning has been such a privilege to me. Being your mom is one of my greatest joys in life. Love you always and forever. 

~Mama

Things I Learned (or relearned) in 2018 - by Marc

1. My wife is so smart.

2. An Irish carpenter named Sam is always going to say “It’s alright, that’ll be no problem” no matter how big my mess-up is.

3. Measure twice, order a front door once. (and see thing I learned directly above)

4. A totaled minivan in the woods apparently falls into the category of being another man’s treasure.

5. When you live in the woods and a neighbor’s dog runs up to you with a stick in its mouth, don’t assume it’s a stick. It could be a deer leg.

6. A 1000-gallon green propane tank can be used to convince a certain 8-yr-old that World War 2 submarine relics can somehow wash ashore in Georgia.

7. The absolute best time to talk to kids is right before their bedtime, because they will share all sorts of stuff to avoid bedtime.

8. Driveway and asphalt contractors have to be the most interesting people group.

9. It sure was bittersweet selling our house that we built six years ago. It was certainly not our plan, but now we see God’s hand in all of it.

10. Monsoon season is not the best time to start building a house (unless it’s a houseboat).

11. When you pray for a mid-June contract on your existing house, it is best to make sure that your new house is farther along than just drywall in mid-June.

12. My wife sure can make a house a home.

13. Multiple color temperatures for LEDs were invented to annoy me. They are quite effective at that.

14. Our kids are remarkably patient and understanding. I can learn a lot from them.

15. Anything that I’ve accomplished in life is the result of nothing more than God’s direction and provision.

16. We live near senior citizen roosters. We know that because they take a nap every afternoon, and then they crow at 3pm every day.

17. My wife gives everything she’s got during the school year. So, when school breaks come along, she’s gonna be sick.

18. People who live in the woods are some of the nicest people! (and no HOA required)

19. If you are painting your house exterior white, for instance, don’t do it until all of the red mud on the ground is covered.

20. When you ask your happy go-lucky but sick daughter how she’s feeling on a scale of 1 to 10, subtracting at least 2 from her assessment is appropriate.

21. If I need something organized, I should ask Kayla to help. If I need to laugh, I should ask Macy to help. If I need something squished, I should ask Brooke to help.

22. All these years later, frogs in the woods are still really loud at night in the summer.

23. Ain’t nobody got an immediate use for an extra seven cubic yards of concrete that were over-ordered.

Look Who's Forty!

Marc turned 40 this past week! That is so crazy to me! How are we this old?? He came in to a decorated office that morning.

And he said there were over a dozen of these signs posted around the building.

Big birthdays deserve big gifts! He knew I decided to get this for his birthday, but he was still super excited.  Now if it will just quit raining so he can try it out!

He decided he wanted to spend his birthday weekend in Knoxville at the Homecoming game for UT. The girls worked super hard to get all of their school work done by Thursday night. None of them like to take work on road trips. I was dozing off a bit around lunchtime, and the next thing I knew Marc had pulled off of the interstate to grab lunch. He opted for Fazolis. There really isn't anything on the Fazolis menu that is good for eating in the car, but what's the fun in that. 

 

Especially if you can relive your driving and eating a meatball sub moment. I'm not sure which experience was messier, but after 17 years of marriage I let him attempt this one mostly on his own while I ate my own lunch. 😂

We made it to Dollywood early afternoon.  The weather was looking a little gloomy, but we were there so we took our chances.  We were sprinkled on one time, and the park was so empty.  We basically walked on every single ride the whole day.  We couldn't have asked for a better afternoon. 

 

There was even time to do a little clogging to the music that was playing.  One gentleman even stopped us and asked if they had competed at Dollywood earlier this year. He and his family watched their mini-performance.

Brooke driving is a scary thought!

Saturday we had a lazy morning at the hotel. The girls spent some time swimming at the hotel pool.  We completely forgot to pack swimsuits, but lucky for them, Walmart still had a decent selection. 

After we checked out we headed to campus to enjoy the homecoming festivities.  It was an amazingly beautiful day, and it was such a great afternoon. 

 

 

 The Vols won, so that's always a good thing. The sunset was beautiful, and then we drove home after the game. We had such a great family weekend!

And on Sunday it was finally dry and Marc could try out his new toy. 

He even got a little help. Believe it or not, there is some grass out there where we seeded.  This is the area that will more than likely get torn up in the spring, so we haven't given it as much TLC. Actually we haven't given any of the yard much TLC except for the trees and shrubs we recently planted.