Memorial Day Parade

We had a great time at the Memorial Day Parade. The Burkett family met us in town to watch it. There were lots of Army vehicles (which the guys loved), horses, floats and people dressed in period costumes. There were many veterans in the parade - we were able to show our appreciation for their sacrifices. We only had a one snafu at the parade, the boys were afraid of the guy dressed as the Hokie bird - well it was not a traditional Hokie bird but looked more like a robot. It did not phase Miss Caroline at all. Tommy was fine after we realized that he had hats for a

rumpus.

After the parade we went to the Chatham Hill playground with the Burkett's and the Pugh's. Only two snafu's there - Jack had a gun that everyone wanted and Mason got hit by a swing. Oh, the third snafu was when Brady almost fell off of the merry-go-round after I told him not to drag his feet.

Brady went and stayed with Nay for a few hours. They had a great time together!

April's Birthday Party

April celebrated her **th birthday on Sunday, May 24. The only ones really partying are shown here. Brady, Sam and Ethan had a great time riding tractors and cars, jumping in Sam's big bouncer and brandishing Ethan's weapons. They all are friends and go to day care together. They were allowed to play outside in the sprinkling rain and were soaking by the time it was over. Hopefully everyone slept well - Brady sure did!

It was a great party! We are ready for the next one - Sam's birthday party!

Vacation?

I think the only reason that you go on vacation is to make you appreciate home!

We went to Pigeon Forge this past Sunday through Tuesday. The trip started with Brady throwing up in Cracker Barrel. He has had an ear infection and cough and evidently there was a ton of stuff that he kept SWALLOWING instead of spitting out. He only threw up three times (only once in the dining room). I guess you are thinking - so why didn't your turn around and come home? Well, that is because I have no sense and wanted to go somewhere and have a relaxing time away from home and work. HA!

We stayed at a bargain basement priced hotel and I was a little nervous about it! As you know, Charlie was laid off from his job this past winter and has not been called back. He is mowing now, which is great, but we still need to watch our money carefully. I researched online and found a hotel online that was less than $100 for both nights. (This also included the Farm Bureau members discount - If you would like more information on how to become a member for $40 per year I would be glad to tell you. I need to recruit two new members this year!). It turned out that the hotel was great - nice, clean, spacious room with a balcony overlooking the Parkway.

We went to Wonderworks (a hands on museum type place that is great for kids a little older than Brady - he only wanted to stay in the space program area and play in the space ship). Charlie and I loved it. I would suggest that you stop by and lay on the bed of nails sometime.

We stayed at Dollywood all day Monday. Brady did not feel well and actually slept during the train ride. I got to see the Kingdom Heirs in concert and they were fantastic. Check them out if you are down there.

On the way home Tuesday, Charlie saw the sign for Forbidden Caverns - so off we went. I am always hesitant to go in things like that - all that I can think of is earthquakes, mudslides, bugs, frogs and bats. Charlie was thrilled with the experience. Brady was ok with it for about 10 of the 50 minute tour, then he wanted to be carried. My legs have ached for days from carrying him up and down the steps of that cavern. The guide turned the lights out at one point and Brady said loudly "It is so dark I can't see myself!". I was creeped out when we saw a bat hanging on the rocks right above our head. I left the cavern with mud all over me from carrying Brady around.

Wednesday was supposed to be MY day - a day home alone to catch up on the laundry, nap, clean, nap, plant the garden, nap. Before I took Brady to day care, I decided to call the pediatricians office to ask about his cough. They wanted to see him again. He ended up on another antibiotic and breathing treatments. We ended up napping together that afternoon. (This was the third trip to see a doctor over this illness. He is doing much better now and his attitude is improving slightly. I think that we are going to have to get the tube put back in that ear).

By the time Thursday arrived, I was glad to have a job to go back to. I have delusions of being a stay at home mom, but I know that it would drive me absolutely crazy. Well, if I had a babysitter and got to stay at home too, that would be another story.......I am going to say a prayer and thank God for my job!

BEEP BEEP!

A few weeks ago, we got a new telephone system at work. To say that it has taken a little while to get used to it is an understatement. I can't tell you how many people I have hung up on.

Right after the installation, Lynn began hearing this beeping sound in her office. It was coming from near the telephone. A little later, I went back in her office and it sounded like it was coming from around the filing cabinet. After lunch, the beeping had started in my office near the phone. This would go on for a little while, then it would stop. Everytime we were about to call the IS department for help, it would go away. As you can imagine - we were almost crazy.

This week we found the source of the beeping - a small box that was affixed to our desks, filing cabinets or anything else magnetic that eminated a beeping sound. The people behind this evil plot to drive us crazy: agent Joel and claims adjustor Bob. Bob played this joke on Joel first. Joel, who is (for lack of a better term) anal, took the batteries out of everything battery operated in his office trying to get rid of the noise. Then he gave some of the stuff to Bob (who is a techno geek) because he could not figure out what was beeping and wanted it out of his office. That is when Bob let him in on the joke and Joel decided it would be fun to drive a few more people off of the deep end. Luckily, Lynn and I both have kids and it takes a little more than that to send us up 81 with a one way ticket to St. Albans.

I have already posted this week that my computer crashed over the weekend. Not only did my old one bite the dust, the rebuilt one they sent me has also met it's maker with the motherboard crashing. I have been without a computer all week. Because of this, I have been working at Mr. Lynn's or Vanessa's desks.

When I was setting at Vanessa's desk, agent Neil came out and tryed to sneakily tape a sign on the front of the desk. I walked around and it said:

"HOLD BREATH
HAS SWINE FLU".

I took him a pair of latex gloves to wear around the office...

If you don't work in an environment like this, I feel sorry for you. If you do work with people like this, can you send me a few ideas on how to retiliate?

Have a cruddy Mother's Day!

I hope Mother's Day left you with a warm fuzzy feeling - mine just left me sick at my stomach! One son that would not even have his picture made with me, four rambunctious boys and a sweet girl in children's church and a frustrating lunch with two 3 1/2 year olds and a crying infant!

Brady woke up pretty cranky. We had to rush around to make it to Sunday School. Ms. Willie was running a little late, so I got the 4 boys and 1 sweet girl started coloring their goody bag. Ms. Willie came in with supplies to make Mother's Day cards and Sweet Williams for the kids to give to Mom's (I was fortunate to be the recipient of one!). As soon as the lesson started, all four boys had to go to the restroom. By the time they got settled and the story was read, the bell went off for the end of Sunday School.

Children's church was chaos. Ms. Willie went upstairs to the service, Mom and I stayed downstairs. We started with a snack. Willie had brought grapes and strawberries, I brought cheese balls, apples and juice boxes. Well, the grapes had seeds (luckily I had brought a knife to peel apples), so I had to de-seed all of the grapes before the kids would touch them. One child would only eat cheese balls because he does not eat fruits or vegetables. Two of the other children kept grabbing the fruit so fast no one else could get any. We finally just had to say STOP!!! We started the craft that I had planned - a flower pot with a cut out of their hand as the stems of flowers. Well, it was torture getting the kids to the table to trace their hands!! When I finally got the hands cut out, things settled down a little until child # 3 sat in child #4's chair. Child #4 started pouting, crossed his arms and put his head down toward his chest. I do not know how long he stayed like that, and frankly I was glad to have a small break from 1/4 of the chaos! When the craft finally got to gluing time (every child's favorite - except I pulled a fast one and used glue dots) things had settled again. THEN, class time, snack time and craft time was over - it was free time. Sweet girl decided she wanted to color and draw. The four boys were playing with the 30+ cars that Brady brought from home. What do you expect happened? There were not enough Mater's and McQueen's to satisfy everyone. When the arguing got to be too much to deal with, we made them clean up and wait for their parents. Lucky for them - preaching was almost over.

After the events of church, I would have liked a nap but we were invited to lunch at Jennifer's house. Brady back talked the entire way there, so I did not arrive in the best frame of mind. (Keith did cook a delicious meal of spaghetti, bread and salad. It was very nice. Thank you Keith). We sat down to eat - the first thing Brady said was "Go sit in the other room". I threatened him. Abbie was playing with her spaghetti noodles (some landed in the floor). Hope threatened her. Mollie would not be satisfied being held, eating, in the swing. Jennifer started to lose patience with her. We went outside where Brady refused to have his picture taken with me. It was a long afternoon and we were only there about an hour and a half! The best part of the afternoon? I laid on Jennifer's porch swing with my eyes closed for about half an hour.

Oh, then we came home and got ready to go back to children's church again........

I keep reminding myself that children are a gift from God........

Charlie and Brady did buy a Dolly Parton rose bush for me (I picked it out). I do not want to sound ungrateful!

Then it was Monday and I got to go back to work to get some rest.......but my computer had crashed over the weekend......

Happy Mother's Day!

Mom and I have just gotten back from the Mother/Daughter banquet at church. We had a Mexican Fiesta - tacos, chicken enchiladas, rice, beans, all of the fixins', fruit and a Mexican fruit cake that Mom made. We had a really nice time - everyone received a door prize, then we played Ole'! (or bingo). It is really nice to get together with friends for a couple of hours and forget about all of your troubles!



I hope everyone has a Happy Mother's Day!

He made the lame to walk again......

In Sunday School last week, Ms. Willie's lesson was on the beggar at the temple entrance who was lame. Each of the children dressed up as the lame man with his cloak, basket and cane. When the apostles told him to rise and walk again, he ran around telling of his healing in Jesus name. The kids ran around the room "praising God" for the healing! Ms. Willie is a very good teacher who makes the lessons fun for the kids.

What is a Macho Man?

Brady and I spent our Saturday at home - in our pajamas until 5 pm! Last night, Brady went to Nana's house to play with Abbie while Charlie and I went out to eat. Brady had a bath there - but did not have any pajamas to put on so he wore Abbie's - with Princess Frogs and pink flowers. He was very proud of them, so he kept them on until 5pm today!

Even though he was dressed in Princess Frog pj's, he acted like a Macho Man - playing with Monster Trucks most of the day. We lined up Match Box cars, jumped them, ran over them and wrecked them. Then he played Ninja and tried to tie me up with my robe belt. He watched a very manly show - Handy Manny.

Now we are visiting Nay. He has been dressed like a ninja again, drinking Pop's Mountain Dew and Nay's sweet tea.

Who says that Macho Men can't wear Princess Frog pj's with pink flowers?

Ready for the weekend!!

It is Friday afternoon and I am on my lunch break! It is a down hill slide to 5 pm! I am hesitant to say that I am excited about the weekend, you never know what it is going to bring with a 3 1/2 year old! Last weekend he was an angel - it is hard to tell about this weekend!

Our new house needs a lot of TLC in the gardening area. Charlie has planted six trees and Brady and I have been working in the flower bed. We have planted Columbine, petunias and a couple of other things that I can't name. We have a lot of work left to do! Brady loves to "work" outside. He goes under the front porch and digs in the dirt with his hoe. He also loves to help water the plants - what child would not want to play in the water!

Well, it is time to get back to work. Hopefully everyone will have a lovely weekend!!