Way to go, Addison and Abby!

Congratulations to Addison and Abby for excellent grades this nine weeks! Abby made the A/B Honor Roll (9th Grade) and Addison had all A's (Senior)! Way to go, girls! Joey and I were so proud of them and the great job they've been doing in school this year. Joey treated Abby to a daddy/daughter date to Columbia and out to dinner - her choice. It was a fun time for them both. Yesterday I treated Addison to a mommy/daughter date for lunch and a heavenly pedicure -- it was so relaxing! We had a fun time.

Keep up the good work, girls -- you're doing a fantastic job!

Playing catch up through pictures...

February seemed to have passed so quickly and I, too, have been behind on the blogging scene. It seems easier to catch up with photos so that's what I've done. The first photo is Chloe in her lovely red frilly dress that I loved and she detested...As soon as I put it on she ran to the sofa and hid from me and pouted until I took it off. She generally loves clothes, especially her pajamas, but for some reason she did not like this dress at all and let us know it real fast. It was sooo funny! Guess I'll have to sell it on eBay, Chloe! These were my roses for Valentine's from my sweet Valentine! Thanks, Joseph, you're the best!

Darla gave me a great recipe for a Mountain Dew cake which turned out great! I made it last weekend and Wesley along with the missionaries loved it. (By the look on Wesley's face here it's kinda questionable though, huh?)
OK, so yesterday we were supposed to have snow....what happened and what genius cancelled school way too early to forecast??? Well, we made the best of it since I was off yesterday and Addi and I enjoyed a late lunch at Fatz's before meeting Ethan. We had some stuff to deliver to him and it was great seeing him -- even if it was at a remote gas station in Lamar (? I think?) and visited in my little car because it was so cold! I miss Ethan and wish he got home more often to visit but he does work a lot of hours besides attending school. I love you bunches, Eeskee, and I loved spending the day with you, Addi. Lunch was really good! I just hope next time they cancel school for snow we get to go tubing as we planned!

Alex turned the big "13" mid-February and he had a party at the house with a group of his buddies. They enjoyed playing some football and then having cake, cupcakes, and ice cream. I believe Joey enjoyed it as much as the younger guys! Happy Birthday, Alex!

Alex got a set of drums for his birthday and he is really doing well with them already! He plays percussion in the middle school band and he and Joey have enjoyed playing together. They sound really good!

Ethan did make it home on Valentine's Day for Kevyn's funeral service. It was cool to see Amsterdam and watch him and Chloe playing. He is so cute and sticks to Ethan like glue -- it's neat to see how well he cares for that puppy.

Addison, Abby, and I enjoyed a girls' night out to Sandhills to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and it was a great movie!

Idaho Trip!

Addison and I had such a wonderful time traveling to Idaho to spend some time with Jack and Erika. We left Columbia at 6 AM and connected through Chicago (and was it ever cold there!) and then on to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where we were greeted by Erika, Jack, and Jack's parents, Bob and Joanne. It was absolutely breathtaking landing in Jackson Hole and was such a beautiful day. We stopped in town for lunch at the Silver Dollar Diner in Jackson Hole where we were greeted by a hostess from Rock Hill, SC! What a small world it is. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and then began driving on to Rexburg. The coldest I was the entire trip was when we stopped for a "photo op" along the pass and it was so extremely cold -- BURRRRR! Beautiful, though, just gorgeous!

On Friday, Addison had her tour of BYU-Idaho, which she loved and since I wasn't feeling well Jack (bless his heart) escorted Addi for the tour. I got some rest and prepared for the baby shower which was so fun! Jenive and Joanne hosted the shower at Joanne's and it was great. They got some really neat gifts for the baby -- Leighton will be one sharp dressed little baby girl!

On Saturday morning (1/31/09) we arrived at the Rexburg Temple at 6:45 AM and this was such an incredible experience to be in the temple with my daughter and her husband as they were sealed for time and all eternity. What joy I felt...I don't know how to describe it but it was and is truly one of the happiest days of my entire life. I am so grateful for this experience and I am so thankful for my beautiful daughter and son-in-law and the wonderful choices they are making in their lives.

After leaving the temple we picked Addi up and headed to Applebee's for a wonderful lunch and enjoyed the company of friends who'd accompanied us to the temple. We had a great time and then Jack, Erika, and I headed to Idaho Falls for some shopping while Addi spent the evening with Deborah and some friends playing in the snow and going to a movie. Sunday morning we got up early and Erika and I made a homemade caramel cake to take to the Maxfield's after church and for their "chip dip" night and to watch the Super Bowl. We attended church and enjoyed a heartfelt testimony meeting. The evening at Jack's parents' home was so fun -- they made Addison and me feel so welcome in their home and I will be forever grateful to them for this wonderful experience. We enjoyed a feast of shrimp, meatballs, oysters, a veggie tray, sweets of all sorts, and just a wonderful "smorgasbord" (I know that's not spelled right! Ha!) It was wonderful. I just wished Joey could have been there with us -- this is his kind of refreshments and fun! We had such an awesome time!

All too quickly Monday morning arrived and it was time to leave and head back home. Our flight was cancelled from Jackson Hole but we were re-routed through Idaho Falls (which was much closer so a blessing in disguise!) and we headed out to the airport. It is never easy to bid farewell for a time and as my heart got really heavy I got a little excited knowing that I'd be returning in just a few months to welcome the new baby! Thank you, Erika and Jack for everything -- it was a most perfect vacation! Jack, thanks for all the driving you did for us -- you just don't know what a luxury that was, even though it was probably for your own safety because I have no idea how to drive in the snow! Ha! Thanks for driving us everywhere and taking Addi on the tour the day I was feeling really yucky coughing and sniffling. Thank you, Erika, for all you did for us --you are amazing. I truly hope Addi enjoyed this trip as much as I did - it was perfect!

Joey's Birthday

Joey's 40-something birthday (44 but don't tell anyone) was the 27th of January and it was a very fun one for both of us. I surprised him with a night away at the Hyatt and then a full day the next day at the zoo which was a blast, some shopping at Sportsman's Warehouse, and a birthday dinner at his favorite, The Olive Garden. It was all so much fun! The zoo was so neat because Joey had not been in a very long time and so much had changed. We especially enjoyed watching the baboons and the show they put on for us -- we laughed so hard! We also loved the big screen HD TV at the Hyatt and watched "Fireproof" on pay-per-view after dinner. We had a great time and I believe Joey enjoyed his surprise get-a-way! Then the night of his actual birthday we had a party for him at home and were pleasantly surprised to have most of our family show for the party. How awesome to have so many loved ones for the celebration. Even our home teachers came by to wish him a happy birthday and brought along some neat gifts -- a some little reminders of getting older! Ha! Our home teachers have such a great sense of humor -- we love ya'll! Ha! Happy Birthday, honey, I hope this will be your best year yet!

Only 6 more days!!!

This was the text I received from Erika today and it made my day! Only 6 more days until Addi and I will visiting Erika and Jack in Idaho and I can hardly wait to attend the temple with them one week from tomorrow! I'm looking so forward to spending time with them and traveling with Addison -- it will be awesome!

This week has been a busy one. I've been working Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this past schedule and it's nice to get them done all together and have a really nice long weekend. However, 12-hour shifts can be tough doing 3 in a row. Then yesterday turned into a 17 hour day because we had several deliveries and the floor was extremely busy. We have such a great group on our floor and it's nice sometimes to get to help when needed when everything gets kinda hectic...I'm just glad it's Friday and the weekend is here! We've got a great weekend planned -- Joey's off and we have the kids this weekend. Ward Conference is this Sunday and Addison has been asked to give a talk for conference so she's pretty excited about it. Then since it's Joey's birthday Tuesday and I'll be working I have a surprise for him. We're going out of town Sunday evening and coming back Monday night. I hope he'll like the plans I've made! I hope everyone has a happy and safe weekend and enjoys this beautiful weather we've been having today--I know we did -- we took the 4-wheeler to the hunting club and rode all over enjoying the sunshine and this 60-something degree weather. Have a great one!

It's a busy but happy time...

Where oh where does time go and oh how quickly it passes...There's been so much going but it is a happy time with all the "going-ons" in our family right now. It seems like only a blink since Christmas and it's been almost a month, can you believe it???

The last big occurence was Addison's 18th birthday and was that an awakening for Mom here...it's so hard for me to accept that the baby girl is growing up. She's such a great young girl and I so enjoy her company. She was sick this year again, though, for her birthday and I felt so sorry for her...Last year we spent nearly her entire 17th birthday in the Urgent Care at Moncrief (Fort Jackson) so she was a little bummed about being sick another year on her birthday. Late in the day on her birthday she started feeling a little better and went to work that night. I'd planned a "surprise" party the following evening for her which she found out about but still enjoyed a fun time with family and friends at the house for a birthday celebration! Ethan came into town for the day for her party and brought along his puppy, Amsterdam, who was the other center of attention for the party. He's such a cute puppy!

Addison was not the only one sick lately. Joey actually began our round of sickness and was so generous to pass it to the other two full-time residents in our household. We've coughed and hacked and coughed for about three weeks and it's the absolute pits! Poor Joey, though, to have to put up with my cough -- the most annoying of all and you know how it hits at night the worse...Well, we've tried all sorts of remedies -- the last couple consisting of coating the bottoms of our feet with Vick's vapor rub and sleeping with socks on (an old timey remedy that actually works -- told to me by a nurse co-worker, Connie!) and the last was a good dose of Buckley's Cough Formula medicine. Has anyone else ever tried this stuff? Trust me - if you ever try it you won't forget it! My boss, Phyllis, has also had the same bug we've had and someone at work told us about this medicine. Phyllis went straight to Hawthorne Pharmacy to get this "wonderful medicine". (You have to get it at specialty drug stores, ordinary ones like Walgreens or Walmart doesn't carry it.) Well, on the box it reads, "Tastes awful but it works." Warning right there in plain English but skeptical me takes it anyway -- it tastes exactly and looks exactly like melted Vicks vapor rub!!! Ewwwww-weeeeeeee!!!!! Yuck! You may as well swallow a Christmas tree because it's loaded with pine tree oil and cyprus something else...But yes, it did work at least for the rest of that work day or maybe my body was just afraid of coughing for fear of having to take more medicine again! Ha! Thank you, Phyllis, for the purchase and thank goodness that we're finally feeing somewhat better.

Another neat happening lately was taking Joey's parents out to Red Bowl to celebrate both their anniversary and Mrs. Hornsby's birthday. They are so sweet and we had a great time with them. I just felt bad that I was coughing the whole time and we rode in our little car so I know that I drove them nuts with my cough. They are such a dear couple and I wish them a very happy anniversary!

Joey's birthday is coming up on the 27th and I'm having fun planning a few surprises for his birthday. He is so amazing and always doing such neat things for me which makes it a little bit of a challenge to get one up on him as far as surprises. I'm hoping it will be his best birthday yet!

The other highlight of my life right now is the upcoming trip Addison and I are taking on the 29th. Erika and Jack are going to the temple on the 31st of this month and I am so happy for them and I'm so thankful I'll be able to be there with them for this special time. They are doing so well and I am so proud of them. They have so much going for them and we are all so excited about the baby due mid-May. Addison and I are going to fly into Jackson Hole and spend about 5 days with them. I'm excited for Addison to have a tour of BYU-Idaho, too, while we're there and I'm excited about seeing Jack's family, too, and spending time with them. He has such a wonderful family. His sister and mom are hosting a baby shower for Erika on Friday night while we're there and then we'll spend Saturday morning at the new Rexburg temple. It is so beautiful and I can hardly wait to see how it all looks there in the wintertime! We are looking so forward to this trip!!!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe week and enjoys a nice day off tomorrow if that's the case...I'm looking forward to spending the day with Addison tomorrow and finishing up college applications and essays and checking on scholarships...this in itself is a full-time job right now. If you have or have had a high school senior you know what I'm talking about....fun, fun, fun...It's a bit stressful trying to figure out where's she going but she does know what she wants to study, sort of...She knows it will be in the medical field and has narrowed it down to probably dental hygiene (about 90% sure) or nursing (maybe about 10%). We'll see what the future holds. As for now if I had only one wish it would be for time to slow down just a little and let the rest of her senior year creep very slowly...........

Addison's 18th Birthday

Addison's 18th Birthday got off to a rocky beginning because she was not feeling well, much like her birthday last year which was spent at the Urgent Care at Moncrief...sorry, Addison. Joey made her a wonderful birthday breakfast just the same and she perked up some. The following evening, on the 10th we surprised her with a birthday party with family and some of her closest friends. It was a good birthday after all and we were happy she was feeling much better for the celebration! Her big gift was the trip to Idaho she and I will be taking on the 29th of January!