The "411"....

Here's a glimpse of our past few weeks.

We had A LOT of these........

Then we did this........

And now we are here........

In the mean time, Sam graduated from the 5th grade, Lily is moving on to the 2nd grade, Sam's chorus sang the National Anthem at a Braves game and we've journeyed up to the lake for a little R&R.


The CCES chorus was selected to sing the National Anthem at the June 5th Braves game.  This is such an honor and even more special, because this is the second year in a row that they have been able to do this!  Being a noon game, John wasn't able to attend, so we took Nana with us!

And we were able to enjoy some pretty incredible seats, thanks to a sweet friend!

Well, what are the chances that Sam is singing the National Anthem and Uncle Ron is enjoying the same game in a private suite?!?!?  So, we were also able to go up in the "sweet" seats and watch some of the game!

Here's a view from the jumbo-tron of the performance.  Excuse my shaky hands -- YIKES!  All I can say is that I had a camera in one hand and my phone in the other, trying to record with both.  (Sam can be seen before the fade out at 18 secs.) 

And because the house looks like a bomb exploded, I CANNOT share any inside pictures!  I will when we are completed, but right now I feel like I'll be sharing prom and wedding pictures before I get everything unpacked! Ha!

So here are a couple of pics of our neighbors at the end of our driveway....

The kids have nicknamed this guy "Curly" because of the curly locks.  He comes to the fence when we walk up to it and lets us pet his head.  The kiddos are amazed at how soft his nose is!

This picture was taken after one of those crazy storms rolled through.  The yellow sky doesn't show up in the picture, but I liked the view of the road.  (And yes, this was after we had rubbed on Curly for a while!)

The kids have also named the chickens.  This little hen named Nemo (after their cousins chicken who lost a match with a raccoon) is the rebel of the group.  She always sneaks out of the gated area and either roams the yard or perches herself on a fence post.  I have to admit it is kinda funny pulling in and having a chicken greet me at eye level on the fence post! 

As we unpack and organize and John works from home and travels...we're just muddling along trying to throw in some summer fun.  Sam and Lily Clare are participating in some camps and we've been to the lake for some tubing. And in the midst of it all, we're feeling blessed for everything and soaking it all in!!!

Hidden amongst the boxes~

Laurie

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes....

My oh my, how things change!!!  In the blink of an eye, things can do a 180 and go in a totally different direction!  I looked at my last post (sadly, written over a month ago), but I looked at the date... March 23, then I looked through my emails to see when our changes began....March 24.  What changes do I refer to?  Well, we entered into the real estate game. Out of nowhere, we fell in love with a house, put our house on the market and voila--we're moving!

Here we were on Monday, March 25th.... (that's not really our house, put you get the gist)

And here we were on Wednesday, March 27th....yep, SOLD -- in less than 48 hours!

We were kinda in shock!  We've lived in our house for 10 years, the longest we've ever lived in the same house since we've been married, and if I remember correctly, when we moved here, we swore that we would NEVER move again.  Somehow, we forgot that.  But after a couple of neighborhood homes sold in just days of being listed and after a dream of a property came on the market, something told us to go for it and see what happens.  Well, I've been waiting for a sign to tell us this is not meant to be and we haven't seen it yet.

So, it looks like at the end of May, we will be living (a small-scale) "farm" life in the middle of metro-Atlanta. We'll only be moving about 3 miles down the road, but seriously, it seems like a different world.

Here's a glimpse:

Yes, our house looks like a barn.  No, it was never a barn, but we love it!  So unique!

Yes, the house comes with chickens!  Well, we actually wrote that into the contract, and we got them!  All nine of them!  And the current owners say that we can expect about one egg per chicken per day! (It looks like our AL relatives are going to be getting some calls on how to's!!!)

This little guy is our neighbor's and has been hanging out in the same place every time we've visited; which is outside the kitchen window, always at the fence within perfect reach!  I sure hope our new neighbors will be o.k. with the kids loving on him a lot!!!!

So, that is a summary of our past month+!  School is winding down and I'm crazy busy with planning for the Fifth Grade Graduation Week, then throw in the sports, scouts, cleaning and feeding, cuddles and kisses - we've been BUSY!  We are scheduled to be in the new house by May 31st...fingers crossed that everything goes as planned.

So, as we go through this last month with so many emotions, we focus on the new life ahead of us.  As silly as it sounds, these three miles down the road will be a change of pace and will give the kids a great experience, while slowing us down a bit!  I really don't think we could ask for more!

Packing boxes~

Laurie

P.S.  Hmmmm - really, nine of these a day?!?!  You may see me at the curb selling Fresh Eggs or Build your own Omelets!

Enjoying my Ordinary Days

I am the first to confess that our family is way tooo busy!  The kids are involved in so many activities; it seems that I am on a constant circular track that begins and ends in my driveway.  Between school, volunteering, after school activities, sports and scouts, we are slowly losing our quiet, lazy afternoons.  But the kids enjoy it and I really want them to try all of the things they are interested in. I figure, slowly we can drop the ones that they decide aren't for them.

In the meantime, I putter along through the daily routine of 6:00 a.m. alarm clocks, making lunches, the early morning trudge to the bus stop, my various errands throughout the day, while counting down to the afternoon bus and the collection of activities that will be coming up for the afternoon.  I do all of this through kind of a mindless fog.  I'm quite positive that I could drive to the grocery store, shop, pay, come home and unload my groceries all with my eyes closed!  (Did I mention that I would even manage to find the "managers specials" and double coupon items, too?!?!?) And believe me, at 6:00 a.m. I really am in a semi-sleep state making PB&J's and writing notes on napkins...

Then, I happen upon a video like this, and realize that my eyes need to open to all of those "ordinary" things. That they aren't going to be here forever.  I feel that we are good about "seizing the moment" and enjoying the slow times, but this makes me see that I need to appreciate that daily monotony.  Soon, I won't be making PB&J's... I won't be tying shoes..... sooner than I know...it will all be gone!  And that makes my heart HURT!!!

So sit back, get some tissues and watch:

Promising to enjoy the ordinary~
Laurie

This marks Sam's last year as a Cub Scout and he is now journeying on into the Boy Scouts.  He has been active in the scouts since kindergarten and loves all of the adventures it has taken him on...from sleeping on the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier to caving into the depths of Raccoon Mountain. 

He had his "Crossing Over" ceremony last week which officially declared him as a Boy Scout!

**Cesar has been his leader for all five years of scouting.  What a great leader and role model for Sam to work with!

Sam crossing the bridge!  (Thank you Lily Clare for taking these pictures!)

Sam also received the "Arrow of Light" award.  This is the highest ranking award given to a Cub Scout.  To receive this, the scout must meet all Cub and Webelos requirements, earn all achievement badges and learn the Scout Law and Scout Promise.  Way to go, big guy!!

Sam will have his first Scout troop meeting later this month.  He's looking forward to meeting the new guys and embarking on new adventures!

The sport in Scouting is to find the good in every boy and develop it.
~Robert Powell 

Proud mama~
Laurie

Oh, the love of a dad!

John and Lily attended their second Father - Daughter dance a couple of weeks ago!  It was touch and go for a while, because Lily got sick earlier in the week, but luckily, by the time the dance came around, she was feeling better!

Lily certainly was one of the "best dressed"!

And her date was definitely the "most handsome"! 

Lily's friend, Molly and her dad joined them.  This is the two girls in the backseat of their "chariot", as they headed to the dance.

Then they cut loose on the dance floor!

The evening included dancing, a dessert and candy buffet and a long stemmed rose.  Sounds like a perfect date night to me!

“Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express.” ~ Joseph Addison

Precious~

Laurie

They grow up so fast....

Look at this little old lady:

Doesn't she seem to have aged a wee bit?!?  Well, luckily this was only temporary.  Lily Clare's class celebrated the 100th day of school by dressing up like 100 year olds.

Here are the senior citizens after they got off of the bus in the afternoon!

Pass the Metamucil~

Laurie

Blessed are the peacekeepers....

for they will be called sons of God.  Matthew 5:9

OK, I know that is not the scripture, but I think this story plays a little twist on it!  Meet our resident "peacekeeper"!    Sam!

Sam and Lily Clare's school started a program called "Peace Keepers".  This group acts as a student branch of the school's counseling office and help with smaller student "riffs" that may be able to be worked out with some input from an "upperclassman".    Students have to apply to be selected as a peace keeper and must have recommendations from teachers.  Last Spring, Sam decided that he would like to be a part of this program, so he put in an application.  Being one of 80+ students was a little daunting, but guess what?!?!

Sam was one of the seven who were chosen!!!!  

He has a folder in the counselor's office that he needs to check to see if there are any cases that he needs to mediate.  He has had a few situations where he has had to lend his "knowledge", but we are not privy to the details.  (Which he loves!)

But, you know what? Who cares!!!  We are so proud that he wanted to be a part of the program and even more so, that he was chosen!  I feel that he should be blessed .... whether a peace maker or "peacekeeper"! He's doing a great job!

Peace~

Laurie