Our Soldier is On His Way!

It's a good day today! Josh comes home today! We're not sure exactly when he's supposed to get in, but it could be around 1:30 or so. He should get into Dallas around 12:00 but he just has an open ticket so I think it's just working that he has to wait until they can get him a seat on a plane. He's been calling Heather along the way, and we'll know when he gets into Dallas. So far on his trip home, he has been in Kuwait, Hungary, New Foundland, Ireland, and Canada! How awesome is that???

Bekah drew his banner this morning, she is so artistic. We all signed it and now we just have to put it on the dowelrods for the ends so we can hold it up. Matthew and Bekah used glass chalk to write on the van... I made yellow ribbon pins with U.S. flag stickers for us to wear at the airport. It's going to be so awesome. I can't wait to see him! I'll be sure to post a ton of pictures. Y'all pray that he makes the rest of his trip home safely.

Hurry home Josh! We all miss you and love you and we're SO PROUD of you!!

Some Photos From Today!

Me and my 12 year old Lil' Sis Bekah.

She gets more gorgeous every day!

I'm about to lock her in her room until she's at least 35...

My studly 14 year old brother Matthew. He's such a cutie.

He's waiting on Jesus to bring him a girl at the right time,

so hold your horses, ladies.

I love this picture of Bekah and Miss Kitka.

Such a pretty expression on her face.

Bekah's, not the cat's!

Miss Kitka is a cute kitty but she's too tempermentally unstable for me.

Pregnant me, in my favorite dress, at 17 weeks and 2 days.

My first tummy photo!

I promise I get bigger every day.

I've gotten so much bigger since I've been here!

What do you think Brad?

Sunday!

I got to visit the Mountain View folks Sunday! It's a two hour and ten minute drive and there was no way we were getting everyone out the door at 7:30 so we just went for the morning service. Mama, Matthew, Bekah, and Isaiah went with me. Daddy had to stay home and get some stuff done at the house or else he would have gone with us. Dad always got along really well with Bro. Cartwright (for those who don't know him, his name is really Ben Cartwright! We'd always call their place the Ponderosa).

Anyhow, it was so good to see everyone again! All the kids have grown SO MUCH it's just not right. It makes me feel old. ha ha! Mountain View is where it all began for me and it's so funny to think of all that has happened since then. Brad and I got married in that church and now we're expecting a baby. Bro. Jernigan asked me if I've been eating too many bananas. What on earth is that supposed to mean? I told him it's more like watermelons! :-)

Everyone was so sweet to us. All of those people were so good to us when we were members there, they were like family. Wish we had kept in touch more between now and then. :-( The Jernigans have been transferred to Trumann, so I'm glad I got to see them before they moved! Ashton is getting so big! What a handful she is. :-)

We went out to eat afterwards with the Cartwrights at the Pizza Inn, where Brad & I had our rehearsal dinner. ha ha! We had such a good time visiting with them. And then the boogers paid for all of us... I should have known better with those two but I was not expecting it. They are the most giving people I know and they've been basically our spiritual grandparents. I miss them. I miss all the people at Mountain View so it was SO NICE to be back in church with everyone again. :-)

Friday thoughts.

Hi y'all! Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post who still loves me even though I can be a nut. :-) Although I was EXTREMELY amused that new people chose THAT post to comment on for the first time to tell me that they are praying for me and am I okay???? Oh I'm sure I cracked up for five minutes straight! Thanks Sis. B (aka big sis I'm not used to having)! I will be e-mailing you soon. :-) Other anonymous person, I'm doing well now, thank you! I appreciate your prayers, Brad & I both do. Could you e-mail me and let me know who you are? addicted2jesusgirl@yahoo.com :-)

Heather came out last night and kidnapped Bekah & I! We drove out to Harrison went to the lookout on Gaither Mountain, Heather's special spot. We talked the whole time. It was so awesome. It was the first time that she and I had really got to talk. She's really easy to talk to and it really feels like she's been a part of our family for longer than she has. She really made me feel so much better about some things (you have NO IDEA how much, Heather!! Thanks for the encouragement and insight.). I was surprised that I could talk to her as freely as I did. Plus it was so nice to hear her & Josh's story from her. So sweet!

Then we went into town and visited her friend London. She was so sweet and her 4 1/2 month old baby is adorable. :-)

Brad called Heather's cell phone on the was to London's, so that was good to talk to my honey for a bit. Thanks for putting up with us, Heather!

Keep praying for me over here. I have a lot of things on my mind and other things going on. Keep praying for our troops. There's so much going on over there and we don't even know the half of it. Josh has 6 more days until he's home. It's going to be a long 6 days for Josh & Heather especially.

I had a good talk with Mama and Matthew and Bekah last night. Those two youngsters encourage me so much.

I just want all of my family to be as close-knit as we used to be. No, even better than that. I just want to do my part and then all I can do after that is pray. Pray I have wisdom. I want everyone to know how much I love them. I may not be "cool" but I love my family more than they will ever know.

The Mullet Song

Matthew learned this song at camp this summer and the guys have been singing it all the time. Bekah and Matthew were singing it while doing dishes yesterday. I love this song, it's hilarious, and appropriate considering the state that I'm in right now (physical location, not mental). :-)

The Mullet Song

by KJ-52

Do you got a mullet, a mullet goin' on?

Do you got a mullet?

Is it beautiful, big and long?

Well if you got a mullet, there’s no need to hide

'Cause it’s plain to see

Just so plain to me

That you just need mullet pride

I saw a man a walking just the other day

I saw a man a talking and this is what he say

He said to me he said "Son your hair is real short, but in the back it’s long

Well if it is and it really is then you can sing my mullet song" (then he said to me)

Chorus:

Do you got a mullet, a mullet goin' on?
Do you got a mullet?
Is it beautiful, big and long?
Well if you got a mullet, there’s no need to hide
'Cause it’s plain to see
Just so plain to me
That you just need mullet pride

I said, "Sir I have a question, there’s a question that I must ask

Why is it when I go out in public, why do these people stop and laugh?"

He said, "The answer to your question, sir, it’s just so plain to me

Now the problem is just with these kids, they got mullet jealousy" (then he said to me)

Chorus:

Do you got a mullet, a mullet goin' on?
Do you got a mullet?
Is it beautiful, big and long?
Well if you got a mullet, there’s no need to hide
'Cause it’s plain to see
Just so plain to me
That you just need mullet pride

The moral of the story, it goes a little something like this

If you got a mullet, well it’s a haircut, not a fish

And now when you wear your mullet, just remember this little fact

See a mullet is business in the front, and then a PARTY in the back (now everybody sing)

This doesn't have to be the end...

Heather's Grandma's funeral was yesterday. It was sad but it was a really sweet funeral. You can really tell that she had a lot of people who loved and respected her. I only met her at Josh & Heather's wedding, but just from that time around her she really seemed to love Jesus. The preacher at the funeral (the same Baptist preacher that married Josh & Heather... this grandma was the one that arranged that so they wouldn't have to get married at the court house) said that the hardest thing to do is to preach a funeral that you don't know where that person is headed for sure, but that he knew Judy Leal was going to heaven. And how did he know, he asked? Because the Bible says you will know them by their fruits. It was so sweet.

Something else that really touched me was a story that a friend of hers told. She had cancer and decided to not take the chemo. Well this friend came by to tell her that God had given doctors wisdom to be able to cure us, and he said that she straightened him out real quick. She said that no doctor was going to heal her, if she was going to be healed, then God would be the one doing it. If she only had 6 months left, then God would give her the grace to make those 6 months exactly what He wanted them to be.

The doctors only gave her 6 months but she lived 2 1/2 years.

I came away from there feeling very blessed and encouraged to see a testimony of someone putting their whole trust in Jesus, and to see how that affected everyone around her. I know she's going to be very missed. Keep praying for Heather and her family.

Arrived in Arkansas

I'm in Arkansas now! It was a good trip here. I was late picking Jeff up from the airport because I had so much trouble getting all the last minute stuff together. Grrr! I hate making people wait on me and I felt really bad but Jeff was really nice about it. We braved I-24 to go pick Brad up from work and they let him go as soon as we got there, even though it looked like they had a ton of work left. We dropped our Suzuki off at the Donnafield's, they were nice enough to let us park it there for the week.

And then we were off! We stopped for dinner and a couple rest stops along the way, but it was pretty much uneventful. The guys decided to stop in Carlisle, AR, about 30 minutes from Little Rock. We spent the night in a hotel there and headed out the next morning after stopping at a McDonald's for breakfast. We arrived here in Green Forest about 1:30. It was a fun trip and I had a great time with my guys. I WAS NOT ready to watch Brad drive away. I even had to call him back for one last kiss. I'm going to miss him SOOOO much!

But I have had such a good time so far. It is so nice to be around my family again. I got to talk to Josh on the phone! I can't wait for him to get here. Micah came from work, even though he had a barbeque for a friend who is going to Iraq to go to tonight. Heather was here, I am SO GLAD I'm going to get to hang out with my sis-in-law. She's the coolest. Jon & Jaci came, I'm so glad they did. I do believe I could talk to either of them for hours. Jon took Micah to his barbeque and Jaci stayed here and we got to visit for a bit. That was fun. Jon got back and groaned because we were subjecting everyone to Napoleon Dynamite special features... apparetnly it's too stupid for him. He used to get tickled at stupid stuff, what happened??? :-)

So I'm surrounded by the ones I love and I'm praying for the ones I love that are not here with me.

I miss you honey. I love you with all my heart, and I can't wait to hear about all of your adventures!

Heather's Grandma

Pray for my sister-in-law, Heather. Her grandmother passed away yesterday. She was a sweet woman and Heather is saying it's for the best because she suffered with cancer for a long time. It's gotta be a hard time for the family right now, and with Josh not home she is dealing with this by herself. Pray we will be able to be a comfort to her, we're a part of her family too now and I want to be a help. The viewing is Sunday and the funeral is Monday and we'll be going to both. Pray.

Friday stuff and Baby Update

Hey everyone! Today is my last day in TN for awhile. Next time I blog I will be in Arkansas! Unless I decide to blog again later today that is, but I doubt I will have time.

We got Brad all packed yesterday, so he's good to go. I just have to remember to wash him a sheet and get the rest of his music together for him. He's gotta have all his road trip music. :-) Oh, and I've got to remember to bring the cast iron skillet with me too, so they'll have it for the trip.

I've got almost all of my packing done, I just need to do a couple loads of laundry so I'll be sure to have everything I need. Not a whole lot fits me anymore, so I don't have a whole lot to pack. Though I did get a CUTE denim dress at Goodwill yesterday for CHEAP-O-RAMA. It's a short sleeve dress with a high gathered waist... kinda like a t-shirt dress. But I actually look PREGNANT in it! My other clothes just make me look like "Blimpo! Oink Oink! Too many twinkies!" (We watched Flight of the Navigator last night.)

Anyhow, this actually makes me look pregnant. I'm loving it. I may wear it all the time now.

Had my OB appointment yesterday, the doc had to go deliver a baby so they asked me if I would be OK just seeing the nurse. I didn't have a problem with that considering that I haven't had any more problems since the ER episode and they do what they normally would have done anyway. The nurse lady is like in her 60's and she's SOOOO sweet. I wish she was delivering the baby. Everything checked out fine. My ketones are good, so that means I'm staying hydrated like a good girl (despite Brad's protests that anything besides water won't hydrate me). The baby's heartbeat is good and going strong. :-) My blood pressure is fine as usual and I'm feeling good!

Last visit the doctor had given us brochures on tests for the baby on spina bifida, down's syndrome, and cystic fibrosis, not an amnio, all done through my blood sample. After we looked it over, it really seemed pointless because by their own admission it could say that the baby has a problem, and it doesn't, or say that it does, and it doesn't. I want the baby anyway and if they could say for sure that there was a problem and we could be able to help the baby more knowing that, then that would be one thing, but it's all guess work. They check for things during the ultrasound. That and prayer is good enough for me. The nurse had to ask me if I'd decided to do them or not, and when I told her no, she said, good because she doesn't like them. But the doctors don't like for her to say that. I told her my viewpoint and she agreed with me 100%. She's so nice. :-)

I have my ultrasound appointment Wednesday, August 16th. They will let you bring in a VHS tape and will record the whole thing for you for FREE!!! That totally ROCKS the whole total planet! I'll have to get it put on DVD and find out someway to post a clip or two on here. I HOPE HOPE HOPE they can find out if it's a boy or a girl!

On another note, pray for Brad's job.

Anyhow, I have stuff to do to get ready to leave so I'll sign off for now. Pray for us that our trip will be safe and that I'll have a productive time with my family and that Brad & I will survive our temporary separation (not THAT kind of separation, people!!!).

Maybe slightly overkill...

Ok, and I know I'm posting a lot and people will get bored and won't be able to keep up with it, but I don't really care because this blog is mostly for my benefit anyway, as a way to just get my thoughts out there. So there. :-p

:-)

I Still Know How to Groove

Ok, this is a doofy song but I loved it years ago! I would listen to Dawson McAllister on Sunday nights, and that was in Arkansas where good Christian radio was basically non-existent. I was in heaven when I got to Nashville! So on Sunday nights there was this one station that would play Dawson McAllister and then something like Z-music or something like that. And they would always play this song and I absolutely adored it! It's really cheesy and the music and vocals aren't even that good. But I just liked it at the time. It's goofy and I am goofy.

Anyhow, so I went into C.D. Warehouse in Donelson on Monday, knowing that I couldn't really buy anything, unless they happened to have something I absolutely couldn't find anywhere else. And I had the thought, "I wonder if they hae Everybodyduck? That would be a hoot!" And SURE ENOUGH they did! I haven't ever seen their album ANYWHERE! It was $4 so I had to splurge for memories' sake.

And as a disclaimer, anyone who really knows me that by posting this song I am not advocating "do what you want 'Christianity' " . It's just saying that people tend to think of Christians and think of all the weird psycho extreme religious nuts instead of real Christianity. So it's just saying, this is what I'm not, and yes I'm a Christian and that means I'm alive in Christ! (And you can groove in the privacy of your own home). :-)

Still Know How to Groove
by Everybodyduck

Well I don’t have a Bible that weighs eight hundred pounds
And I never passed out flowers at the mall
I have never talked to spacemen or howled at the full moon
Don’t have a velvet painting of Jesus on my wall

Well I don’t have a brief case or wear a three piece suit
And I never ride my bike wearing a tie
I have never shaved my off or sacrificed a friend
Don’t want my head chopped off and frozen when I die~

CHORUS

Well Jesus doens’t want me for a zombie
And he’s given me free will so I can choose
I’ve escaped this world’s snare but I don’t have to be square
Oh yes, I have become a Christian but I still know how to groove

Well I’ve never played with cobras or walked on red hot coals
And I’ve never even touched a tambourine
I’m not very good at bingo, I don’t worship shiny rocks
No don’t have plans to wed my sister named Irene

Well I don’t pray to statues, not even if they cry
Don’t watch that Jesus station on t.v. all day long
Well I’ve never seen Elvis, don’t have six billion kids
And I don’t sing through my nose on every song

CHORUS

Well Jesus doens’t want me for a zombie
And he’s given me free will so I can choose
I’ve escaped this world’s snare but I don’t have to be square
Oh yes, I have become a Christian but I still know how to groove

Doofy People

Called the realtor guy and the landlord isn't willing to work with us to get anything fixed at all. He says there's burnt places and bleach spots ALL over the floors, and other things he wouldn't mention. Grr people!

Oh well. Guess it's not meant to be. There's other options we need to look into... But I just get my hopes all up. I dream so much. I see what it CAN be, and not what it is. Oh well. Just gotta keep praying for direction!

Rentals in Smyrna

I called the other day about a house in Smyrna that I saw for rent, but they wanted $900 a month and we can't afford that, so the realtor guy asked what we were looking for, and he told me about a little two bedroom house. We drove by it Monday and the outside looks cute, and the neighborhood is nice, neighbors even waved and said hello as we were sitting on the front porch. But I called the realtor back today and apparently he hadn't seen the inside until yesterday, and he said that it wasn't something we'd be interested in. His words were that it was "rough". I thanked him for his honesty. If it's his job to rent it out and he doesn't even want to show it to us, it has to be pretty bad.

But I'm wondering just how bad it is, and if maybe it needs fixing up, they would cut a chunk off the rent for us to fix it ourselves. It depends on exactly what needs fixing. So I'm going to call the realtor back and see what he thinks, and we still might go look at it after Brad gets off of work. We'll see. It's so cute though! Little white house with black shutters, flower beds in the front, and a good sized fenced in back yard. It would be a cute home to start out it with a baby. But I guess if the inside is trashed we can't exactly live in the backyard. :-)

Oh, and if anyone hears about anything for rent in that area, let us know.

A Good Day and Trip Thoughts

Had a fun day yesterday with Becky. We went to get fudge pie from Wendy, and stayed there and visited awhile... That was fun. I kinda felt like maybe we stayed too long but Wendy didn't make us feel that way, she's nice like that. :-)

Then we went to Wally World and got some stuff... Becky is getting ready to go on her trip to Washington for her brother's wedding and needed a new swimsuit for the trip, so we were looking for that and Wal-Mart had NOTHING! So we decided to go to KFC for dinner before looking somewhere else. But on our way into Wal-Mart I saw Megan's car, so I couldn't leave the parking lot without leaving my mark. :-) I'm a goofball but I couldn't resist. She will so roll her eyes at Brad today because of his stupid wife, but I don't care. :-p

We didn't know where KFC was but when we walked out we saw the sign across the road and down a ways... It's a sign! So we got singing Ace of Base... we're such goofballs but it was funny. :-)

Had a yummy meal at KFC and then we went to the mall... No body had anything and even stuff 50% off was outrageously priced. So we went to K-Mart and they didn't have anything, it was all just... not Becky. But then I found one hanging where it wasn't supposed to be, and Becky liked it, and tried it on and it fit! But Cato was next door and closed in four minutes so we had customer service hold it for us while we ran over to Cato to see if they had anything. It was hilarious! We just did a circle and walked through really fast and saw they didn't have anything so we walked right back out. The sales lady looked at us awful funny. I'm sure we just looked like we were using their store on our exercise route. So anyway, we went back over to K-Mart and got Becky's swimsuit, ha ha, the last place we go to FINALLY has something! We stopped at Sonic and got Brownie Blasts! It is yummy but I still like the one with cherries that they had at Valentine's Day better. I still have half of it left in the freezer so I know what I'll be eating later. :-)

Brad is leaving on his trip with his Dad on Friday. We've decided that I'm going to go with them and I'm going to be with my family while they are on their trip, since I was going to be by myself anyway and they are going that way, and stay there while Josh is home on leave from Iraq. I'm really excited about seeing everybody! I haven't seen them since January for Josh & Heather's wedding.

I was going to stay here and then have Brad take me out there for Josh's homecoming, but this will save us one trip. Brad will just have to come and get me instead of taking me out there and coming home and then coming back to get me and take me home. We'll be apart only a week longer this way but all together we will be apart for a month. That is just too long, especially considering it's a whole month of this pregnancy. I was worried about what if I feel the baby move while I'm gone and Brad misses that, but Becky pointed out that Brad won't be able to feel it himself for a while anyway, but still, I want to be together to celebrate all the little things. So I don't know. It really is too long for us to be apart but we've just got to figure out what we're gonna do about it. I'm really excited about seeing my family and I love them all very much and would spend even more time with them if I could... but it's hard to explain. My heart's home is with Brad now and if I was without him I don't know what I'd do. More everyday I see how much I need him, how much we need each other. I love him more everyday and this baby has done so much to draw us closer than ever before.

I'm so thankful for my many blessings.

My adventure the day after the 4th

The day after Independence Day, the 5th, I was feeling EXTREMELY tired all day. And then about 4 in the afternoon I started feeling very weak, and just ill all over. Started feeling tightness in my chest and it hurt to get a deep breath. I was not gasping for oxygen or anything, but I could just tell a difference when I breathed deeply. I talked to my Mama because it kind of scared me. She had me check my pulse... 116 and rising as I sat. I could feel that my heart was definitely beating faster than normal. I hadn't done anything physical all day besides put some clothes in the dryer and take the trash out. Mama said CALL THE DOCTOR. They were gone, but meantime Brad got home and he remembered our insurance has a 24 hr nurse help line. So I called them and talked to a nice RN and told her my symptoms. This was already day 3 of very bad, umm... bowel problems. I had already planned to go the the doc on day 4 but it seemed that dehyration had caught up with me even though I'd been trying very hard to drink a lot. I just couldn't replace what I was losing quickly enough.

The nurse said that it could be a critical situation for the baby especially with the severity of the symptoms I was feeling, and that I should go to the ER. So we headed out for Summit, with all the horror stories about UMC we didn't want to make a bad situation worse, and it's not that much farther down the road to Summit. Boy was I impressed with that hospital! I was in there and checked before I even knew what hit me. Sure enough, they said I was extremely dehydrated and they gave me 2 liters of saline via IV as fast as they could drip it in me, after doing an EKG and checking for the baby's heartbeat. Boy do I love hearing that. It was 130, lower than it has been but they said it was OK.

I started feeling better after about 1 1/2 bags of IV fluid. That was definitely the issue. They sent me home after about two hours after I arrived there feeling much better. Since then I've just been taking it easy pretty much and drinking anything without caffeine like there's no tomorrow!!!

Anyhow. Just wanted to document that before it got too much farther down the road.

Oops!

Oh dear. I accidentally posted my puke story on the RECIPE blog!!!!

How hilarious is that?? Kasey will get a kick out of it. You go to find a Yummy recipe... and aren't you just so appetized by my story? Ha ha!

I can't take it off either... sorry y'all.

And I thought I was out of the woods...

Well, it finally happened. After 14 weeks and almost 4 days of thinking that I could escape it...

I finally puked. For no apparent reason, other than maybe the garlic I was cooking with was too strong. It smelled good to me, but all of a sudden..

Oh well. I feel fine now. This baby had better not start making me puke all the time now.

You hear that, baby? This is my first order as your mother. No making me puke! No more!

I love you. So listen to your mother.

Independence Season, Final Chapter

After we didn't get to sleep until about 4:30 (I really feel for Becky & Rose who still had about a 25 min. drive after they dropped us off) we didn't wake up Tuesday morning until about 11:30. We were supposed to be at Rose's house at 2:30. So we got ready to go, but I was still having, umm, problems. Just when I'd think we were good to go... nothing doing. We finally made it there about 3:30. I was supposed to make a yummy cheesecake tart with strawberries and blueberries in the shape of the US flag on it, but I just couldn't. Oh well.

We had a good time! We had grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, potato salad, baked beans, and chips. It was soooo good. I think that when man came up with the oven God kinda sighed. We had lost all the good flavor of cooking over hot coals. At least maybe now we appreciate it more when we do "grill out".

Rose made YUMMY banana pudding! It had been TOO long since I'd had real banana pudding.

Becky, Chris, Brad & I went to see the fireworks at the fairgrounds in Lebanon, after stopping at an ATM to get cash for funnel cakes.

We got there just in time. The fireworks started after we'd been there about 10 minutes. Becky, Chris & I stood in line for funnel cakes, and it was such a long line. But we were afraid if we waited, we'd lose our chance and we REALLY wanted funnel cakes. Besides, we could see the fireworks from where we stood, and we couldn't have to wait THAT long... could we?

I stood there for a while but then I just had to go sit down. So Becky & Chris were gonna get one for me. I brought Brad a drink and a corn dog (from the stand with the nonexistent line) and sat down to watch the fireworks with Brad. It was a really pretty show! They had several shaped like hearts but my favorite was the purple one shaped like a butterfly. It rocked!

The fireworks ended and Becky & Chris were STILL in line for the funnel cakes, but they were nearing the end. We just decided to stay put anyway and let the crowd thin out instead of fighting traffic. So as everyone else was frantic to leave, we sat in our lawn chairs and, once we got the funnel cakes, leisurely enjoyed our treat. Yumm. It was worth the wait, but I'M not the one who stood in line through all of the fireworks! We finished and began to walk towards the car, just in time because it started raining pretty good just about then! Any sooner and our funnel cakes would have gotten soggy, and we all know that the funnel cakes are what the whole evening was about!

It was a happy Independence Day.

Independence Season Part 3

Monday I was felt poorly and pretty much laid in bed all day. I had serious, umm, bowel problems all day. :-\ Not fun. But I got to feeling better later that evening.

My family has this thing that we love to do. We would drive up to Denny's in Branson, 30 min. drive away, at 3 a.m., just because we could. It was soooo much fun! I have so many good memories of that.

Upon relating this to Rose and Becky months ago, they informed us that they have made a late night trip to the closest Denny's too! The only thing, is that the closest Denny's is in Bowling Green, Kentucky! There used to be one in Nashville but it closed down before we ever got here.

So because Brad was off Tuesday, we all decided to go up there Monday night. We left here about 10 pm. It's supposed to take about an hour, hour and a half to get up there, and we had to leave late enough to have the whole "Denny's late at night" effect, but it's just too far away to get there at 3 am. :-)

We stopped to pick up Becky's husband Chris along the way... he is a hoot and a half.

Anyway, we ended up missing a turn and ended up in Glasgow, KY... ha ha! That was funny. But after we got back on track it was only a 1/2 hr down the parkway and we found it easy.

It was yummy! I love IHOP (sorry people who don't) but Denny's is way better. The food was AWESOME and the waitress had an amusing sense of humor (to Chris:"Here's your coffee!" Chris: "Cool beans." Waitress:" Actually, they're quite hot.").

Everyone slept most of the way home... except I don't think Chris did. And Rose, of course, 'cause she was driving. Although, I think she came close to it before Brad woke up and then I woke up and we started talking. :-)

We didn't get home until about 3:30 am. All in all it was a fun evening... or morning, however you look at it!

Independence Season Part 2 (plus a soapbox deviation)

Sunday night we celebrated David Torrence graduating from high school... It was cute. Emily gave him advice, and Megan's mama gave him advice, and then his Mama and then his Daddy. It was so sweet. It's always nice to see parents who are proud of their kids, not just because they are their kids, but because of who they've become as a person. David even shared some words of wisdom himself. He is a very wise young man and it's so nice to get to know him better. I hope he keeps talking. :-)

We had ice cream sundaes afterwards and that was fun to sit around and visit... except for when Tim brought his yucky cruel cat video.

I know that it wasn't a REAL cat getting killed, but still. I think that America has been desensitized to a lot of things because they watch movies, etc., and know that it isn't "real," so they don't let it bother them. But it is made to LOOK like a real animal getting killed, LOOK like real people getting murdered. I honestly don't know how anyone can feel okay watching something like that. What happens when they are faced with real life images and find they don't feel the same depth of emotion about it as before? Get back in touch with humanity, people!

Ok, that's my soapbox speech for today.

Our Independence Holiday Season, Part 1

Wow, I am so far behind in blogging it's not even funny. But I have good excuses, I mean reasons, really!

I didn't do the yard sale... It's just not enought time to think of it on Thursday and have everything ready by Friday or even Saturday. I'll save that for another weekend.

Saturday Brad was itchin' to drive somewhere and I was SOOO ready to get out of this house so off we went. One of our favorite past times is just wandering. No particular destination in mind, just driving until we decide we want to stop, usually when we find something interesting or a cute little restaurant someplace. Those are the best.

This time we ended up in Livingston, Tennessee, I presume, after we stopped and looked around a little junk shop along the way. We went to Standing Stone State Park and explored a bit there. There was a pretty swinging bridge by the dam, but I didn't feel like exploring the trail so I stayed put while Brad hiked up to the top of the dam. It didn't take him long and then we headed back out to Livingston (I presume) to find something to eat. We didn't see anything worthwhile really so we wandered a bit more and our wandering took us into Cookeville.

We drove along trying to figure out where we wanted to eat, when Lo and behold, what should appear but a Goodwill SUPERSTORE! I have NEVER seen one before, so you KNOW we had to stop! It was 7:55 and they close at 8, but there was still a lot of people in there, and Brad said, Well, you have 5 minutes... My hubby is so sweet. But you know I think he realized that I could only spend so much money in 5 minutes. :-) So I ran in, just to see if there was any baby stuff that would catch my eye that I couldn't live without. That place was HUGE! About the size of a regular Wal-Mart. I heard angels singing.... ha ha! Well in my run of the perimeter of the store, I found a Theatre II stove top popcorn maker!

These things are expensive new! My parents have one that the Gomers gave us years ago, and I have MISSED it so much. The one I found looks brand spankin' new and it was only $5! I was SOOO happy!

And then I found an awesome black button up maternity shirt that laces up the back for cheap. And there was sooooo many books I about cried to not have time to look through them all but just sitting on the shelf, away from the other books, just where it would catch my eye, was the most awesomest book on babies ever for ninety-nine cents!!! "Three in the Bed", a controversial topic at best, and one I'll probably regret even mentioning on here, but one that I'm passionate about and this is a very modern informative book, very focused on safety and natural mothering. So if anyone has any opinions, please, do not make them concrete until you at least give this book a chance.

Thank you. I'll be opening the library doors shortly... :-)

So I was a very happy camper. I could spend all day in there, and I will for sure be making a trip over there just for that purpose. Anyone want to join me?

We ended up going to Taco Bell and I had a yummy chicken quesadilla.

And so ended a wonderful Saturday. :-)