I could have danced all night...I could have danced all night...

Last night was DD's 1st formal and her 1st dance! She attended her school's Homecoming Dance. I was privledged to attend as well and chaperone. It was such a fun night. The kids dance for 3 straight hours.

It was much different from the dances I remember from high school...there were no couples who tried to hang out in the dark corners and there weren't any of the groups gathered that never seemed to dance. That is something I love about DD's school. Everyone enjoyed each other and there were no appearance of cliches and even if you couldn't dance you jumped in and added your 2 goofy cents! I (and the other Moms even got into the act and dance along with some of the 80s tunes...DD even said I was a good dancer -- a good 80s dancer that is -- WHAT does that mean!) DD before in her Jessica McClintok dress. I think I wore a Jessica McClintok dress when I was in high school...or maybe that was Gunne Sax?
DD invited a friend from church to attend the dance as her "date". Don't they look sweet?
We had a gathering at our house before the dance so that everyone could visit and eat. This is a photo of some of the kids. There were no boyfriend/girlfriend combos just a great group of buddies who enjoyed the entire night together...along with a late night visit to IHOP after the dance.

10 years ago

I spent the day in Labor/Delivery at Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville, SC. It was a long, long day. My baby’s due date was not for almost another 3 weeks and I was surprised to find myself there (baby #1 came ON her due date). I think this was just another notification that this baby was going to be a different child all together. At around 4:00 p.m. Baby#2 went into distress and I was rushed into O.R. A few short minutes later I was the Mother of a baby boy.

A boy! A beautiful, little boy.

I didn't get to hold or see him for several hours as he had some breathing issues and that wreaked havoc with my hormonal emotions. I think the fact that we had lost a baby a little over a year before probably increased my panic. 6 hours after he was born I demanded to see my baby. They brought him to me and I was so relieve to see a healthy, rolly-poly little boy. He was OK. I was OK...God had blessed us once again. He came into this world at 9 lbs (the Dr. said if he had gone to full term he would have been 10-1/2 to 11 lbs)! He looked more like a 2 month old baby than a newborn.

Now, 10 years later, I watch this boy growing into a young man and I am so proud of him. He is sensitive, kind and loves God. He is smart and funny; loves sports and his continuous energy inspires me. I can't wait to see what God has in store for him.

He and I often seem to find ourselves and opposite ends of situations but I love this boy more than life itself. God never makes mistakes and he is proof.

Happy Birthday, sweetie!

I am resolved....

Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year with a party here at the house with a few friends. They are good friends, because like us, they aren't big New Year Eve Partiers! They all took off for home before midnight, as they didn't want to be on the roads when all the true party folks loaded up in their cars and headed home from their parties. DH and I both enjoyed the after party glow (and a clean house!) while we watched the ball drop in Times Square. The night was magical, as the house was quiet and all the children were spending the night away...the next morning was even more magical -- as we got to sleep in together! WHOOOHOOO!

In years past I have not made New Year's Resolutions. This year, though, feeling the need to get myself organized and my life running a bit more smoothly, I have. Maybe I will wish I hadn't -- but I did. I am also going a step further and, gulp, putting them out there for all (2 or 3 of you that read this blog) to read! So here goes,

I resolve to:

• Pray more
• Be more consistant and dedicated in my Bible Study and daily prayer/quiet times.
• I HAVE to get my health in order (and yes, as cliche as it sounds, that includes eating healthier, exercising and loosing weight).
• Be more patient with my children and make more memories with them -- other than the memory of Mommy being in a snippy mood .
• Organize and purge my house! In my last house, everything had a place and everything seemed to stay organized and it was much easier to keep clean. We have been here almost 3 years and it still feels chaotic to me.
• Have more friends in and share our home with others frequently.
• Finish redecorating/redoing the upstairs (the paint stops just half way up the stairs -- just high enough that you can't see it from the foyer!).

So, there, I did it. I made New Year's Resolutions. Can you believe? Oh, now to keep them. I did pretty good on January 1st (even with the eating and exercising part!).

2007 promises exciting things...one of the 1st being DD is going back to her previous school! If you have read Southern Somedays for a while you may remember the struggle I had with her desire to attend the local public high school. She was very curious about public school and we decided to step out in faith and let her go (literally and figuratively). She had alot of fun over at the public high school...was very popular and involved -- for which I am very grateful but she approached us a few weeks back and asked if she might go back to her Christian School! To say we were thrilled is an understatement. I am so proud of her making the decision on her own, even after having the ideal "high school experience" at the public school. She told us that everyone at the public school was really nice and since it was so big there were all kinds of cool things to do but it just wasn't her previous school and she missed the quieter, more intimate involvement and friendships. She missed her Bible courses and....get this....she missed uniforms! THAT is amazing, especially after all the years of, "If I didn't have to wear uniforms my life would be great...blah, blah, blah!" On a completely selfish note I will be glad to have her back at the previous school because that is where her younger brother goes and her baby brother will go next year (just think all 3 children at the same place!)...for the begining of this school year I had 3 children at 3 different schools so it meant a day of driving for me! This will really make my life much more simple!

Hope you all had a marvelous start to 2007!

It was a wonderful season.......

We had a wonderful celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior. This year found us with very little stress and a lot of love and enjoyment of the season.

On Friday the children and I (all three of them!) spent the day in the kitchen cooking and baking, and of course, eating! We played Christmas music and had a wonderful time together.

When Dh arrived home, on Friday night, we went to the movies to see Facing the Giants, http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/movies/a0002896.cfm, which was so good! Facing the Giants was a huge score for the media in winning one for the Kingdom! Then we had my extended family in for brunch on Saturday. There was lots of eating and enjoyment of each other and the gift that family is -- and a great pick up basketball game to end the afternoon!

Saturday night we splurged on yet another movie, The Nativity, which was so nice to put us all in the right focus and remind us why we celebrate the season. My 9 year old even commented on the way home, as we listened to some Christmas music, that he hadn't really thought much about the meaning of the songs until then! Yippeeee!!! The media scored another one for the Kingdom - which is, indeed, a Christmas Miracle!!!

DH and I spent a good deal of time discussing how stress free and enjoyable this Christmas Season was and trying to determine how to keep all the future ones as enjoyable. We were busy - actually in some ways busier than usual - but still managed to enjoy the experience. I know that when we began this holiday season I really wanted to be able to focus on the true meaning of the season and make sure my children didn't miss the real Christmas.

On Christmas Eve we attended Sunday Morning church and were delighted to sit in a packed church and feel the Lord's presence fully touching each and everyone there. The music was wonderful and our pastor dressed as Herod and gave the sermon from "Herods' perspective". It was interesting, but really makes me wonder...is that how our culture views Christmas and Christians?

Christmas Eve night we returned to church for the Candlelight Service and were accompanied by DH's parents. The children especially enjoyed having their Grandparents go to church with us. I think it lets them know they have a heritage of faith. We had dinner after church at our house and enjoyed a bit more time sharing the holiday with Dh's parents. They left in just enough time to drive the 1 hour home and make it to their church's 11:00 PM Christmas Eve Service.

Christmas morning was a slow, luxurious morning spent opening gifts and just enjoying each other. We visited my parents for dinner on Christmas night. It was such a great weekend.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

I am ready

I am ready to celebrate the birth of my Lord and Savior...I am ready for Christmas in all its glory. The last couple of days, I have basked in a slower pace and activities that helped me focus on why we celebrate this blessed event.

Here's to hoping you are celebrating with a sense of purpose, thankful hearts and the joy that only comes from Him.

Merry Christmas from the South

I live in a wonderful little town in the South. Some would call it a small city, especially since it is now considered a 'burb of Atlanta, but I prefer to hold on to the idea that we are a little town in the South. There is a street of wonderful, old Southern homes and for about 3 years I have *said/intended* to do a photo essay on the historical area of my town...but, I still haven't managed to do it --- yet. I am blessed to live in the town that I live. We have natural beauty, wonderful architecture, lovely people and community pride. As I was driving home today I did snap a photo of one of the lovely old homes that was decked out for the holidays. Isn't she gorgeous?

FYI, you can click on the photo for a larger view!

Christmas Tour Post 1 of 3

Welcome to my home at Christmas. I had planned to do BooMama's Christmas Tour but it fell on the same day that I was hosting DD's annual Christmas Sleep Over so rather than blogging I was preparing for a house full of teen age girl energy!

Won't you come in? I love to use live magnolia leaves along with twig garland and dried seed pods woven with lighted garland around my front door.

Another place I love to decorate is my mailbox. Again, I used live and artifical greenery to give some interesting texture.