Pumpkin with Emma Rose's class

Today, I went in to Rosie's class to help them with a pumpkin. I found this awesome idea on Martha Stewart's web site and made it match Mrs. Scharich's class theme: Scharich's Stampede.

We made a Funkin Carousel with horses! (A funkin is a fake pumpkin. I just learned this term this week.) The students helped with painting, a little with hot gluing, and stuffing the bottom of the carousel. A tiny electric light will be placed in the middle of the horses. There is a competition at the Fall Festival this weekend for best pumpkin, and the pumpkins will also be auctioned off. I'm keeping my competitive fingers crossed!

Emma Rose has the cutest class this year, and I am so happy that I get to go in to help with projects!

Praying Mantis

We spyed this little guy on our walk!

Anabelle Opening a Birthday Gift from Grammy

Anabelle loved her gift from Grammy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ATM03bKwcE&feature=plcp

Thank you, Auntie Carla!

My sister sent Anabelle a Perfect Petzzz for her birthday. It was an orange tabby. The great part about these pets is they appear to be real. This one purrs and its belly goes up and down as if it is breathing. When Anabelle woke up this morning, her orange tabby was waiting on her. She wouldn't touch it! It was so fuuny. She asked, "Mommy, is it real?" I told her she had to touch it. After a couple of rounds of that, she decided to wake up her sister.

On the way upstairs, she came across Jasper and said in a whisper, "Jasper, you have a new kitty." When she went into her sister's room, she said, "Emma Rose, we have a new kitty, and IT'S MINE!" What's so funny about that is that Anabelle has a love/hate relationship with our cat, Jasper. She finally figured out that the orange tabby was not real. She looked at me and said, "I wanted her to be real." She got over that pretty quickly and named her kitty Jasmine Fluffly Rainbow Carpenter. This is the thank you video we made for Auntie Carla this morning. The guest appearance is by Emma Rose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Yr8UHt24E&feature=plcp

Emma Rose Jumping in the Pool

This video is of Emma Rose jumping in the pool during our mini-vacation at Brasston Valley Resort. We had such a great time! There were lots of child-friendly activities, and it was very relaxing for the adults. We even hiked up to Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia. It was absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to go back! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can go back in the Fall when the changing leaves are at their peaks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NnOE2Lf5n8

Anabelle's Class

The girls' elementary school had Penny Wars for a little over a week. They took in pennies and silver and filled jars each morning for each grade. (This is really great because it is part of the fundraising effort instead of selling wrapping paper and popcorn!) The winning grade earned an ice cream party. Pennies were positive, and silver was negative. Kindergarten won this year! I was able to help with the ice cream party and grabbed a picture of Anabelle's class.

The LCM

My sister helped me with a little surprise for John, Chris, and Dewayne. They each have matching shirts embroidered with their names! I haven't been able to get a picture of all three of them in the shirts together, but I did get a couple of pictures of John and Dewayne together!

Pickled Okra

We bought this okra at the local farmers market. I love picked okra!

Painting!

I have gotten on a painting kick lately. First, I painted what was my mom's room when she was here. It turned out pretty good, & I still have a few more things I want to get for the walls. I also have a quilt rack my mom gave to me about 18 months ago that is in need of a blanket or two. My next project was Anabelle's room, & I am so proud of it! I'm working on a few things to put on the walls in there, too. So far, Anabelle loves it! The next room will be Emma Rose's room!

A Winged Find

I found this on the way to the gym last week. Not sure what variety he is, but he was big!

First Day of School!

Today is Anabelle's first day of kindergarten and Emma Rose's first day of second grade. They had a great morning and were so excited to go to school!

My Mamaw

I went up to Murphy last week & made sure to get a picture of me with my Mamaw. Emma Rose let me take a picture I'd her with Mamaw, but Anabelle wouldn't do it.

Green Beans

My uncles have awesome gardens in Murphy. My Uncle David picked a huge 5 gallon bucket of white half runners for me last weekend. The girls helped me with the "shellies," and we got the beans all ready to be canned by Sunday night. These are by far my favorite beans, mostly because where they are grown & how they remind me of my Mamaw.

This is the picture of the first seven quarts I canned. It's also a visible representation that I conquered my fear of the pressure canner! I canned the next seven quarts Tuesday night, and I'm ready for more!

We planted some Kentucky Wonders here at our house, & I might have enough for a good canning run by mid week.

Rainy Day Fun

The girls & I made  tie-dyed shirts yesterday. It was a stormy day outside, but we had fun inside with this project. The girls loved it, & we might just do it again on another rainy day. Relatives may be in for a treat when it comes time for birthday gifts! ;-)

Butterfly number 2!

What a great way to start the summer!

Our First Black Swallowtail!

We looked over & guess what we saw! All of us were very exited, especially when or little baby flew off into the clouds. We have two more to go, & two more caterpillars. It's going  to be a butterfly summer!

Homemade Slip and Slide

Our neighbor, Hannah, made a homemade slip and slide for the girls the weekend! They had a great time!

Cutting the Grass

Over the weekend, John went to Mom's house to cut grass. He loves going there, and I think a lot of it is because he gets some good alone time. In the past, he's really liked going there because he loved being able to help my mom. The past few times he's been, it's been sad for him because Mom isn't there any more. She loved her house and her yard, especially her yard.

Well, this weekend, the push mower fell apart. The handle disconnected from the body. John reported it could not be fixed, so he had to buy a new one. We've had that lawn mower since we've been married, and it was a hand-me-down. We've gotten great use out of. I've even gotten use of it. I decided a couple of summers ago that I really like to mow the grass in the back yard. I've never been able to cut the grass in the front yard because of the steep hills going down to the back unless I pushed opposite the slope of the hill. Like, I would go back and forth "against the grain" of the hill. That was pretty rough, too. I could only make it through one of the hills before I was worn out.

The new mower is a self propelled mower! Holy Moses!! I can cut the grass for the entire yard all by myself now! the mower pulls me right along behind it. In fact, it went so fast at one point that I had to run to keep up with it. Now that I have the speed figured out and I don't have to chase it, I'm totally hooked. I'm ready for the grass to grow again so that I can get back out there! The only thing I still have to conquer is the edging, and I'm scared I'll edge my toes if I'm not careful.

Emma Rose & Anabelle: Dance!

Today is the girls' dance recital. They had rehearsal this past Tuesday, and I was able to video each of them practicing their tap and ballet routines. I am so grateful that they are able to have so much fun with this! Both girls love going to dance, and they adore their teachers. They are healthy, happy little girls, and I am one proud mommy!!

Emma Rose's vidoes: ballet and tap

Anabelle's videos: ballet and tap

Anabelle's Preschool Graduation

Yesterday, Anabelle graduated from preschool! During the ceremony, I couldn't help but think in too few years, I would be watching her take her high school diploma. That's mostly thanks to all of the sappy commercials on the radio for high school graduates!

I can't believe my Princess Baby has achieved yet another milestone in her life. Although she is growing up beautifully, she is growing up way too fast.

I took a few pictures of the graduation and the after party in her classroom. She had to have a picture by the classroom kitchen, her favorite area!

My Mom

In January, Mom found out that the melanoma she had in her finger came back. It came back with a vengence. There were 6 lesions in her brain and more than a dozen melanoma lumps all over her body. Everything seemed to materialize in about a six month period before January.

We began radiation treatments for her brain in January. In February, the largest lesion was irritated by the radiation, and it bled out. The bleeding and swelling caused her to lose most of the mobility in the right side of her body. She appeared to be recovering for several weeks but had a focal seizure on the first Saturday in March. After a hospital stay at Emory, she again appeared to be getting stronger, and we were planning to begin treatment for the melanoma in her body. We celebrated her 64th birthday on March 31st, and the last time she was able to get out of bed was April 1st.

From April 2nd until April 20th, she continued to get weaker and weaker. We had no idea how strong she really was and how much she wanted to stay with us. My sister, her family, my brother, and my family were here with her. I know she could hear her children, our spouses, and her grandbabies throughout the house. I'm sure it made her that much more determined to hang on as long as she could.

On April 20th at 8:21 am, she went to Heaven. We cried for her during her illness. Now we are crying for us because we miss her so much.

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