by george, i think she's got it!

it's funny but when the girls were little i always seemed to write ever milestone down they seemed to hit. from eating their first vegetable, first smiles, first waves and, of course when they took their first steps. now that they are bigger those milestones don't seem as exciting, but they are no less important than those early ones. lacey it seems to have finally hit a new milestone in her little life...she is actually writing her name. we are all so proud of her. it wasn't to long ago that she was writing everything upside down and backwards. thoughts of dyslexia definitely entered my mind, but needless to say she is just fine...good job, lace!

will it every end?

will i ever see a light at the end of the tunnel? how much longer do i have? these are questions you ask yourself when you are the yearbook chairperson. for the past week i've been in throws of trying to get this book together. my due date is fast approaching and crunch time is here. wow! i almost feel like a football player getting ready for the big game. if i'm not posting as much as i was you understand. my time on the computer is pretty precious and i've got some much left to do.

here is a little sneak peek at the cover:

a great big thanks goes out to all who participated.

lela's first spend-the-night party...oh my

yes, tonight lela is going to her very first spend-the-night party. she is so excited! she keeps telling me she is gonna stay up all night. hum, we'll see about that? here is a picture of the girls with their scarves they made. don't they so cute?

learning to say "no!"

and talk about empowering, well it is! yesterday we signed lacey up for...drum roll, please...soccer. yes, soccer! she is so excited and just grins from ear to ear at the mention of it. i've decided its because this is something she gets to do and her sister isn't. you know her "own thing" and not following in sister's footsteps so to speak.

but i'm so proud of myself because on the registration form there was a space that you could check if you wanted to help out, like being team mom, coach, or even assistant coach. for a brief moment i thought i should check that i would help out in the capacity as team mom. then something strange happened...i actually checked "no, i can't help." can you believe it? saying "no" is something i have an extremely hard time doing because i feel as if i'm letting so many people down. it's funny because no else cares just me and honestly no one else thinks a thing about it.

help i'm stuck and i can't get up!

kevin and i along with a great group of confirmation counselors survived the lock-in. we had a blast despite the lack of sleep that was experienced. our group of kids are amazing! each one of them are so different and special and i feel truly blessed to know them and grow with them on this incredible journey we are on. one highlight of the evening is duck taping people to the floor, chairs, even the wall. i got the pleasure of being taped to the floor...what can i say lucky me.

we're getting "locked-in"

yep, you heard me right. locked-in...with a bunch of 6th graders at church. please pray for kevin and i, i'm sure we are going to have a LONG night ahead of us. yikes!

smile ;)

yes, that's what i'm doing right now! why! because there was a big box sitting on the porch with my name on it, that's why. it's my late christmas present that i bought myself. sometimes a girl has got to treat herself. after much thought not mention all the rain we have had and then the snow on top of it all, i decided that i needed a pair of rainboots. in fact i've never owned any and i'm always on the lookout for new shoes. (yes, just call me imelda marcos.) so, the other day i jumped online and did a masive search for just the right pair. talk about a hard decision. there were all kinds to choose from hello kitty to polka dots to pink ones, dark blue ones with fat green little birds covering them you name it you could find it.

well here are the ones that really talked to me. they were so fun and happy looking not mention had all these wonderful colors - lime green, hot pink, brown and aqua blue - which were perfect for a gloomy rainy day...now where is the rain when you need it.

look how tall i am...

it's my high heels! this is lacey's new thing to say. you can find her wearing these shoes everywhere and i mean everywhere!

finally we're starting to dethaw

after weeks it seems we are finally getting out the fridged freezing temperatures and actually looking at a high near 40 today. talk about heat wave, but i guess anything above 20 degrees would feel like it, uh? it appears that we are actually gonna get into the 50s by the weekend...yeah! can you tell that i'm over the cold weather? well i am.

i feel as if we actually haven't returned to school since christmas break due to the school closeings because of ice and snow. well, i'm ready for some normalacy around here i tell ya. i have started cleaning out and reorganizing. lacey's room is done, but lela's is a totally different story. in fact that has been my goal for at least a week now, but with the girls being home it seems that changes everything. i'm hopeful that i can make some progress this week anyways. (gotta look on the bright side of things anyways.)

the girls got a trampoline from santa, they have had only one day to acutally get out there and jump on it. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that maybe it will get warm enough for them to get outside and have some fun. they are definitely getting cabin fever in my opinion and driving me crazy. if they are not fighting with one another then they are either doing gymnastics or playing chase. will warm weather be here anytime soon?

bummed out

yep, that would be how i feel at the moment. you see this morning i woke up about midnight or so with a horrible throbbing headache. one so bad that it made me just sick to my stomach. i've spent the entire day in my "jammies" just wishing i felt 100%. the reason for feeling a little bummed out is the fact i'm missing confirmation tonight. i was really looking forward to our field trip this evening. despite the fact we would spending the entire time in the freezing cold, we would be going to one of my favorite places on earth to visit...a cemetery.

yes, i like cemeteries...a lot in fact. for you see i don't view them as a place of death but a place of life. new life. new beginnings. as far as i can remember i've always thought of them as something alive and beautiful. in college i enjoyed going down to oakland cemetery quite a bit and taking pictures of the beautiful statues, mausoleums and markers. you do stuff like this when you're an art major. (boy, do i miss those days.)

the point of the field trip tonight, though, is to teach that is doesn't matter when you're born or even when you die, but what matters most is what is in between. what you do during the dash. i learned this at an early age due to the fact that my dad died at 39 of a massive heartache when i was just eighteen years old. it honestly doesn't matter what type of car you drive, what name brand of jeans you wear or even the size of your house. what matters is how you love and live and the people in your life! make it count!

a new season...

yesterday, we packed the car and ventured out in the freezing cold amongst the snow covered ground heading toward athens. school ended up being cancelled due to the weather. so, that helped in getting ready to leave. we were on our way to a reception for the gymdogs. the girls couldn't contain themselves because they were so excited to be staying in a hotel not to mention meeting the gymdogs, themselves. the drive up was extremely beautiful with no problems encountered on the roadways. yeah!

the reception last night was held at the athens country club and it was very nice. we met the team, got autographs and lela and lacey even had their pictures made with the girls. it was so fun watching our girls interact with the gymdogs. they got very quiet and shy as they were standing in front of their "role-models." it is so funny because lela and lacey love watching the meets on tv while they pretend to be "hillary" or "courtney." it cracks me up...

the meet will be against stanford. georgia is ranked #1 while stanford is ranked #7. despite the rankings, you can expect a close competition. it's funny, but the coach said something which i never thought about in regards to gymnastics. it is the originator of the extreme sport (x-games). it never even occurred to me with all the flipping and flying through the air that what these gymnasts do is definitely considered extreme and dangerous. instead of using a snowboard or skateboard they are using their own bodies to fight against gravity. talk about wow!

but i think the one thing that really surprises and shocks me is that lela wants and really likes doing it? for her to do a cartwheel off the beam doesn't bother her at all. it scares me to death especially when i think about what she is doing, but to her its fun and she loves it! and to think that it hasn't even been a year and here she is walking and flipping off the beam. where in the world did she get this courage? definitely not from me!

lela and lacey with 1994 silver olympian and gymdog senior - courtney mccool (courtney is one of their favorites!)

senior gymdog - marcia newby (her fiance is from newnan).

sophomore gymdog - kat ding. her story about how she made the team is very inspiring.

newbie and freshman gymdog - noel couch.

another of the girls' favorite, senior gymdog hillary mauro

waiting...

yes, that's what we are doing? patiently, because we have to! why? snow. you know the arrival of that white, beautiful frozen stuff that causes schools close and the mad dash of people running to the grocery store to buy up all the bread and milk they can find. yep, our forecast is calling for a dusting of the stuff. so basically all we can do is just wait and see what happens....

so much fun at the zany zoo

wednesday night supper at church seems to have something for everyone and tonight was no exception. lee bryan "that puppet guy" was the entertainment for the evening. the kids absolutely loved it! this year's program was entitled the zany zoo. this zoo had a slew of entertaining and hilarious characters from miss carmen - the belly dancing bunny rabbit to the bouncing bones bunny. the girls even had their picture made with beelinda, the bumblebee ballerina. thanks, puppet guy!!!

shock to the system

this morning we officially started back to school after being off for two and a half weeks. how wonderful it was to sleep in and hang out all day in our "jammies" - talk about WHAT A LIFE!!! well, reality definitely hit in when the alarm went off for me at 5:30 am not to mention the fact that it was a mere 18 degrees outside...brrrrr! the girls got off to school with no problems whatsoever! that always makes for a great day!

we celebrated our "last day of christmas break" with a bit of a shopping spree and lunch yesterday. the girls got some gift cards for christmas and were dying to go spend them. i promised them that i would take them shopping and to lunch at anywhere of their choosing; which ending up being steak 'n shake. (yeah!) lacey, of course ended up spending her gift card on a play phone that looks like blackberry and disney princess press on nails. i just have laugh because honestly i wonder sometime where in the world did we get this girl.....she is just so funny!

bring it on!!!

yesterday, we had a fabulous first day of the new year. 2010 seems to be starting off on the right foot, that's for sure. our wonderful and dear friends wendy and craig had us over along with other friends for a traditional new year's day lunch of ham, collard greens and black eyed peas. it was delish!!! i feel so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends in our life and to be living in such a great place. i truly see how god has worked and continues to work in our life. thank you, lord!

we are starting a new decade and i have to wonder what the next 10 years of my life hold. as i look back over the past 10 years, there have been highs and lows but in all i honestly can't believe all the blessings that have been bestowed to our family. the exciting journey we've taken to get where we are at. i only hope the next 10 are just as exciting if not more so...here's just a portion of the past decade:

• married the love of my life
• had two beautiful daughters
• moved to newnan
• travel to chicago and attended the oprah winfrey show with a great group of girlfriends and even made it on tv (talk about fun!)
• lela started first grade
• became a stay at home mom
• attend the walk to emmaus - definitely changed my life in ways i never would have imagined!
• traveled 12+ hours in a car to texas with the girls
• lela lost her first tooth (followed by many more...)
• lela learned to ride a bike
• lela and lacey both got their ears pierced (at different times, of course!)
• lela started dancing and continues
• lacey started dancing and decided to try something else
• lela started gymnastics and continues to excel (just amazes me!)
• kevin began working for ngb
• kev and i along with a group friends traveled to chicago to see georgia tech play notre dame (what a beautiful campus!) - this was probably our last trip minus little girls
• had lunch with our girls at american girl bistro
• meeting vern yip from hgtv's design star and tlc's trading spaces (talk about a nice and humble guy)
• lela and lacey were baptised
• seeing madonna in concert at the phillips arena
• watching lela and lacey as flower girls in my cousin's wedding
• riding the "polar express" to the north pole with the girls

as i said this is just a portion of the many blessings we have experienced. i look forward to the new decade knowing that there will be highs and lows, but no matter what it's a journey that i look forward to taking...bring it on!!!