Okay...just when I'm getting used to my son's deep voice, his calling me shorty because he decided to grow taller than me, and seeing hair on his upper lip, my daughter decides it is her time for a "rite of passage"!! Kaleigh is going into 5th grade this year. She has been concerned about hair on her legs (do you see where this is going?). Of course, at the pediatrician's office, this came up. He suggested that we use Nair instead of shaving (he couldn't just say "you're too young"?). He said a lot of girls wait until they are older but at her age if she is too self conscious, go ahead. She has brought it up several times in the past month (since the doctor okayed it). I guess I didn't realize how much it bothered her. Soooo, we now have a tube of Nair and she has no more hair on her legs!! She was amazed to see all the hair come off (so was I...I think I will try Nair). Okay... I know this sounds like a petty thing to be emotional over but for me it is the "beginning of the end" of my "little" girl. She will always be my baby, but now, she is my maturing baby.

I took a picture of her arm because I forgot to take a "before" photo of her leg with all the hair. Picture her leg with all this hair plus a little more and a LOT longer.

Now, the "after". She has smooth legs. Her first comment was "They don't itch any more." I guess that makes it worth it.

Today marks a special day for a memory and an new memory was created.

Memory remembered...
Three years ago today, the kids and I were baptized together. Our church picnic was at Camp Coleman. Sometime during the picnic, the pastor performs baptisms for those who so desire. The kids had already approached us about being baptized. Of course, many conversations and prayers later, Keith and I decided they were ready. I had been baptized but had never been "dunked" as our preacher calls it. So, I thought this would be a great day for me to be baptized (again) as well. So, we were all baptized. What made it so great is that the kids and I got to go into the river together with the pastor (not just one at a time) and Keith was able to get in with us as well (he was "dunked" -baptized-as a child). So, we were baptized as a family...like the family of Jesus. It was just way cool. -----On a side note...I found the biggest rock in the river, hit my toe on it, and broke my toe! God wanted to make sure I remembered THAT day! AAAND...it's ALL on video!!

A memory made...
As I stated in an earlier post, Donovan has started high school football (his first time to play EVER!). Well, today he had his first practice scrimmage. It was a "touch" practice with no Pads and such but it was still a practice. It was weird seeing my own child on the field. I'm used to watching everyone else's children! Of course I was the only mom out there with a camera! But, hey, the newness will wear off soon enough!!

Donovan is the one in the red shirt facing the camera.

In this picture Donovan is the one in the red

shirt bent over (I'm sure there is a term for this stance!) next to the guy in the white shirt.

A great day for remembering a baptism and a memory made with a pracitce game.

Which Disney Princess are you?


You Are Pocahantas!


Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

It has been a while since I updated my blog. We've been busy but not with anything that warranted pictures. I feel I should include pictures (my personal issue). But, I will update anyway. Donovan is busy with football practice. He will be a freshman this year (in high school...I'm not old enough for one in college yet..yeah right!). This will be his first year playing organized football...do the backyard games count as organized? So, this type of practicing is new to him. He has wrestled for the school team for the past 2 years so maybe football practice won't kill him. Kaleigh is away at church camp. She was very excited about going.."all my friends are going!!"

(Found pictures to include! :))

Before she left she showed us what she wants to be when she grows up...

She wants to be a nerdy teacher like her mother!! :D

She cracked us up with this one!! Actually, I think she was just making fun of me :)!

Off to the local swimming pool which has become a favorite pastime for the kids and me this summer...as Kaleigh would say..."all our friends are going to be there!".

We had the opportunity to attend my cousin's daughter's graduation in Las Vegas this summer. Of course, from Alabama, it was a 30 hour drive. Much to my kids' disgruntleness(word?), we decided to DRIVE!! What an experience! Oh, the sites you can see as you travel across country and back for 10 days.


This picture cannot do justice to what you actually see as you approach the rim of the Grand Canyon. It is absolutely spectacular!!




The Hoover Dam is an awesome sight!!



We drove along Historic Route 66 in Arizona. It was nice to get away from all the traffic and trucks. My stepdad and mom were traveling in a 2 car convoy with us.



We found the Route 66 Museum in Oklahoma. Whoever designed the items inside did a fabulous job. We learned lots about Route 66.


This is the largest Cross I have ever seen. I believe it was in Texas. Don't they say everything is bigger in Texas!


This is the view from our hotel in Vegas. Spectacular!!!


This is my cousin's daughter after receiving her diploma! Oh Happy Day!!


Finally.....SERVICE!!! Nothing like text messaging on vacation!

I would not miss the family time, the sights we saw, or the experience of driving across the country. However, if we go that way again, we will fly!!

I am new to the world of blogging, kind of. I have a blog on my school website for my students to write about books we are reading together or books they have read on their own. So, I guess I should say that I am new to personal blogging. I love taking pictures of my kids and all the things they do. So, I decided it was time for family and friends to be able to share in their lives as much as possible ( a little late since they are 9 and 14!!). But, as they say, better late than never! I will post as often as possible. With the beginning of a new school year only a few weeks away, it will not be as often as I would like. Life gets crazy around here during the school year!