Creekside Festival

Today Jordan, Oreo, and I went to the Creekside Festival at the Princess Preserves. ( If you'd like to check out the preserves go to www.flaglerparks.com/princess/preserve.htm )

We had a very lovely day -- yes, lovely. Jordan, Oreo, and I arrived around 1:30 to find Tshombe (because we knew he hadn't had lunch and wanted to get him something.) And to our surprise, he had already packed up the Belk booth and spent the rest of the afternoon walking around with us.

Yes, we filled-up daddy's tummy!!! ( and his hand? he injured it in a softball game last Tuesday-- has he been to the doctor ??? nope -- "I'm a man!" - ....so does this mean men don't break bones ?? -- some things, I'll never understand !!!!)




Here's our church booth -- they handed out free bottles of water and free face painting to everyone who wanted one or both !!




Here's part of the mid-way for the festival -- all sorts of venders and a "deep-south" atmosphere -- look at the trees!!




Authentic campsites and tee-pees from "back in the day" !!





This year's music was "blue grass" -- I'm not usually a fan -- but they really did it justice !!




Jordan picked out a pumpkin ..... and got to paint it !!






We walked down by the "preserves" and enjoyed the breeze as a banjo and fiddle player did an impromptu rendetion of "Good Ole Rocky Top" on the front porch of the preserves. (Instantly, I thought of Tennessee !!)




Here's Jordi and some of her BFFs being "southern belles". (I've already emailed these pics to their parents and we're "all in favor" of not letting them date until they're 35 !! -- ha ha)

Fun In The Sun

A few photos of Jordi at tennis practice.

Beach Baptism !!

Today was a special day -- Jordan was baptized !! The baptisms were conducted at the beach along with great food, fun, and fellowship !! Jordan was 1 of 26 people who were baptized today. There were over 200 people there cheering everyone on. The weather was great !!! There was a 60% chance of rain but it never did rain -- instead it was slightly cloudy (which kept the sun at a cool distance !) It was nearly perfect !! Pastors Mike and Jeff told the families of those being baptized that this was a family affair and if mom and dad wanted to be in the water with their kids, then go for it !! So, I took the video while Tshombe got to say, "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." He was sooooo proud and even shed a few tears of joy --- as did Jordan ( ...... and me ...... and Nana !!)

(isn't she cute !!)

Here's the video of her being baptized...

Here are all the people who were baptized !

(excep the two guys in the white shirts on the end --

They're the Pastors !!)

Chewy Time !!

Oreo has an internal clock -- every night....EEVVEERRYYY NNNIIIIGGGHHHTT -- at 9:00 pm she hops on our bed and chews on her "chewy" for about 30 minutes to an hour and then goes to sleep. It's like having a bottle -- she has a hard time going to sleep unless she has her "chewy" first -- I'M NOT KIDDING !!!!

Football Fun !!

Jordan's cousin, Chris, plays football and does a great job at it !! She got to go to one of his games this weekend and had a great time !! When she got home, I asked her if she enjoyed the game.... she said "Oh, it was great !!! They all looked sooooo cute in their uniforms !!!"

(And so it begins........)

Best Pizza In The World !!!

I LOVE going to European Villages !! One of the restaurants there serves the BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD !!! We get a table outside and listen to the music of an entertainer who sings oldies but goodies. It also features this great courtyard with many different shops and entertainment.

I Can See !!!!

Nana's eye surgery was a success !! Because of the size and density of the cataract, it was expected that she wouldn't notice any results until 3-4 days from now. But God proved otherwise !!! She immediately began to see light and shadows and colors !!!! Her sight seems to be improving by the minute !!! I love watching God's promises at work !! When He says that His mercies are new each day and that His Grace is sufficient -- He means it !!!

What Little Girls Are Made Of......

What Are Little Girls Made Of ???

Why, Fingernails, Of Course !!!!

Jordi had a couple of friends over after church and what did they do for 3 hours ???!!! Painted, Polished, Buffed and Decorated Their Fingernails !!!! ha ha

Nana's Pre Op

Nana had her pre operation appointment today at the Opthamologist office. She has a servere cataract in her left eye where she is totally blind from it and a "partial" (but still growing) cataract in her right eye. The good news is that cataract is curable with surgery. With that in mind, Nana will have her eye surgery next Thursday, September 18th - please pray for a successful surgery and pain-free recovery !! The prognosis with this kind of surgery is great - she may not have to wear glasses !! I can't imagine my mother not wearing glasses !!!!

Nana getting her blood pressure checked.

Nana getting her cataract and eyes measured.

Nana getting an ultrasound on her eye -- testing the pressure behind her eye.

And then we ended this visit by watching a brief video of what to expect on the day of surgery.

If you'd like to know more about eye cataract, click on the link below.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cataracts/DS00050/DSECTION=symptoms

"Miss Thang"

Today, September 11, 2008, is a "day of remembrance" at Jordi's school. So, she decided to dress in red, white, and blue ...... "with a little bling" (in her words) So, I nicknamed her "Miss Thang" ha ha



When we got outside, we noticed all of these small baby frogs in our driveway. Since all of the rainy days from Hurricane Fay to Hurrican Ike, our front "ditch" has been filled with water. Over the weeks we've been monitoring the tadpoles and I guess today was the day they "dropped" their tails and started hopping about. They are soooooooooo small !!

Study, Study, Study ....

Well, we've certainly had to adjust to 5th grade and the amount of homework this year. Jordan is required to read out loud for 30 minutes each night 6 days per week (yes, Saturdays, too!!) and then write a summary & connection point of what she just read. This usually takes 1 hour total each night. She also for the first time changes classes during the day (only once equalling two teachers but it has still been an adjustment) Her second teacher (math, science) is male. This is the first time she's had a male teacher -- she's adjusting to that too (he apparantly doesn't write the homework assignment on the board -- so, I told her that the minute he "says" the assignment to write it down -- when she did this she was told to put her pencil down??) Which means she has to "memorize" her homework assignments for math and science. This past weekend we had a "study marathon" because this teacher announced they would have a science test on Tuesday. She now knows the definitions to the words... Mitochondria, Cytoplasm, Chloroplasts, Vacuoles, Ribosomes, Lysosomes, Endoplasmic Reticulum, Cell Wall, Cell Membrane, and more. She knows the criteria of the cell theory and the 5 kingdoms of the cell and their criteria (Animal, Protists, Plant, Bacteria, Fungi -- kingdoms) We spend at least 2.5 to 3 hours each night on homework. Is it just me or does this seem like an awful lot !!!!!!

With all that said, she seems to be getting it and for the most part doesn't seem to be overloaded. At night, when she starts getting "burned out" -- we get up early the next morning to finish. This picture of her reading her "30 minutes" was taken this morning at 5:45 am.

It's A Dog's Life.....

Is this what they mean when they say

"it's a dogs life"?

Sure looks good to me !!

A Big But !!!!

Well, my father-in-law didn't waste anytime getting busy for the Lord after his retirement! My mother-in-law mailed me their church newsletter that congratulated PawPaw as the new Care Minister for their church family. Their responsibilities will be to visit and pray for the hurting folks of their church and possibly their community (hospital visits, etc) The newsletter had a great "bio" of him. And many may not know that he was ordained a Baptist minister in 1989. (He married my husband and me !!) Well, on the back of the newsletter was a little "blurb" that my father-in-law wrote. Here it is ................

A BIG BUT

During my recent retirement ceremony, I made a few observations. Not to seem morbid, but it occurred to me that retirement ceremonies are very similar to funerals.

1. There is a gathering of your loved ones, family & friends.
2. There is a program with your picture on it.
3. There is a brief synopsis of your life,(bio).
4. There is listed, a beginning date and ending date.
5. There is a preacher and a prayer.
6. Beautiful songs are rendered.
7. Flowers are presented.
8. Eyes get misty and maybe a few tears are shed.
9. Many kind words are spoken of you, (some of them are true).

BUT........

At your retirement you can rise up and THANK GOD... your family, friends, coworkers, etc. Do that daily!! While you have a chance! While there is life still in you!

For there is an ultimate retirement for all men; where we will face the only true BOSS and we will be rewarded for the work we have done. He has two retirement plans - forever with Him or forever separated from Him. Please choose the former !!

Jordan decided she no longer wanted to play basketball but wanted to give tennis a try !! So on Tuesdays and Thursdays she has tennis lessons with about 8 other kids in her class. So far she really likes it. Tshombe played tennis in highschool and over the Labor Day weekend took her to play for a few hours -- they had a good "daddy/daughter date" !!

Universal Lesson !!

Everyone has learned this lesson the HARD WAY !! Remember sucking all the air out of your milk glass and letting it hang off your mouth??? And when you took it off, you had this HUGE "hickey" ring around your mouth that lasted for days and everyone in the 4th grade laughed at you??? (ok, maybe it was just me !!) Anyway, while mindlessly watching TV -- Jordan decided to suck all the air out of a tiny squirt bottle and let it hang off her upper lip -- and guess what -- it left a "hickey" ring !!! HA HA HA