Spring has sprung!

What an absolutely beautiful day it was today! The sun has shone brilliantly and everything looks so green and lush right now -- I love the sights of spring. The temperature is another story but I'm appreciating the beauty and wonderful air-conditioning. It seems the older I get the less I enjoy the hot weather but I do love the pretty sights and sounds of this time of year when everything is beginning to bloom and the birds are singing loudly. It is a great time of year! Joey and I were sitting underneath the back patio one evening last week and he'd been noticing this little bird working hard gathering straw and sticks and taking them ever so carefully when he was still underneath the eave of the patio. Now there's a precious nest built under the corner of the patio that will be neat to watch what happens next...

Yes, spring has sprung. And to those including my family with allergies -- my sympathies to you but hopefully we're seeing the last of the pollen. This time of year is such a busy time and that has been the state of our household -- BUSY! It's a good thing, though. These are a few highlights and thoughts from this past week:

**First, Daddy is feeling better and his foot is much better. He's been suffering with gout in his left foot resulting in lots of pain and elevated blood pressure. I've been really concerned because he's not one to slow down or ever complain but was obviously in much pain. He's doing much better the past few days and I'm so grateful.

**Addison and I are playing softball for the Ridgeway Ward LDS Softball team through the KC Rec. Dept. and looking forward to a fun season. I had so much fun playing last year and thrilled that Addi is playing this year, too. Ginger is also playing and we'll miss Jenny this season but hopefully she'll be back next year after the baby's born! Go Team!!!

Speaking of ball, congrats to Wesley and the LE Varsity Baseball Team who won their Region Championship baseball game on Friday night! :) It was also Senior Night and probably a tough night for his parents, Bubba and Karen. Wesley pitches for the team and is an excellent ball player. He had a big fan club there for the game Friday night! Ginger and Shaun took the boys to watch the game -- Spencer, Andrew, and Carson LOVE Wesley! Way to go, Wes, and best of luck in the playoffs.

**Ethan is going out to visit Erika and Jack on the 6th of May. His 21st birthday is on the 7th and Joey and I gave him a trip to Idaho for his birthday and he'll spend 7 days there. Erika and Jack are really excited, too, and Erika already has plans for Ethan to help Jack put together a shed they've bought. They'll have a great time and who knows -- Ethan just might meet Leighton before I do if Erika goes into labor while he's there!!!

**Speaking of Erika and Jack -- only 3 weeks from today until their due date! I am so excited and hoping she has a smooth delivery. Unless there are complications I'm not going out until the first week of June after graduation...I'm looking so very forward to being a grandmother!

**There's just over a month until Addison's graduation and it's a very exciting time for her. As for me -- I'm having a bit of a hard time since she's my last to graduate...She is such a great daughter and an awesome student. Addi is so compassionate and truly loves her entire family with all her being. I am so proud of her and I know she will make the right decisions about her future and it will be bright one. I love you, Addi!

**Joey is just amazing, too. He is such a wonderful loving husband and is my best friend! I can't imagine life without him. He is so supportive of anything I do and respects my beliefs and believes in all my dreams. (probably more than I do!) He does the neatest surprises and just when I least expect them. Last week we had 4 full days together while we were off work and we went fishing and did all sorts of neat chores together. It seems the more we're together the better and better things get. I am so grateful for him and for second chances... Sometimes we both laugh and Joey will say, "Can you believe it's really me and you again?" and it's almost like all those years didn't pass in between when we were 18 and sweethearts and now. Life is grand!

**As for me, I'm enjoying my work at the hospital but still have this burning desire to do more than I'm doing and to do something that truly makes a difference. I'm excited to begin volunteering for the Guardian ad Litem program through the Governor's Office -- it is an excellent program. I've been working on a couple of other projects and trying to make some decisions regarding which avenue to take...There is much to do and if we want to see changes we have to be willing to step up and speak out. It begins with one voice...

I'm looking forward to a great week this week. We have plans to take the sister missionaries out to San Jose' tomorrow night and then begin my work week on Tuesday. We have ballgames Tuesday and Thursday nights and so by Friday I'll be ready to begin a long weekend! I do love my work schedule -- 3 12-hour days can be really long but I love these 4 day weekends! Have a great week and enjoy this beautiful spring sunshine!

Prom 2009 - LEHS

Addison looked beautiful! She and Wesley had a great time taking photos, then dinner at "California Dreaming" with friends and then on to their Senior Prom.

LEHS 2009

Easter 2009

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day filled with wonderful moments leaving me with great memories of the day. Ethan was able to come home late Saturday night and attend church with us Sunday morning. The Easter Bunny even made it to our house leaving baskets filled with yummy treats and chocolates (and new toothbrushes as he does every Easter!) and then we were off to church. The service at church was so nice and then we were off to grandparents' homes for lunch. Joey, his children, and I went to his parents' house for lunch while Ethan and Addison went to my parents' since Ethan was only home until early afternoon. He had to be back in Florence at work by 4:00 but it was very nice that we were all able to enjoy a great Easter dinner with loved ones. The latter part of the day was spent at my parents' house where we visited with my parents, my sister and my brother and their families. Daddy had not been feeling well and I believe he had a great time watching all the kids play (the young ones and us old ones! Ha!) We rode bikes, had an egg hunt, cruised on the golf cart and then Joey and I enjoyed an evening cruise on Daddy's scooters. That was so fun! The late afternoon cool breeze felt so welcome as we were riding. What a wonderful day. I love the Easter season and recounting the reason for this special day. I am so thankful for Jesus Christ and for the price He has paid for my sins and yours. I am so very grateful for the atonement and the part it plays in my life. My heart aches when I think of the pain He endured and it was for me and each one of us... I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that I may live the life He would have me live and make the choices that will someday lead me back to my heavenly home to live with Him again. I hope everyone had a beaufiful Easter.

I can't believe it's already April!

Wow, I can hardly believe it's April already -- and the 4th day of it -- time sure flies. At our house we're trying to dodge the pollen sneezes and itchy eyes but I guess that's all a part of our wonderful South Carolina weather. Spring is definetely in the air -- and the proof is covering my yellow, which was once and hopefully will be again, silver car.

We've had a fun past couple of weeks. Joey and I enjoyed the day on Lake Wateree fishing back the end of March and we had a blast. Joey caught one tiny fish when we first got there and I thought, YES! This is going to be great! Well, we fished and fished and fished from one end of the lake to the other and nothing else...not one single fish to bring home but that's okay because we had so much fun and it was sooooo relaxing. We'll get 'em next time!

I also spent one day with Ethan in Florence catching up with him and enjoying some one-on-one time with him. He took me out to lunch at Redbone Alley where he works and made me feel really special introducing me to all his co-workers. Then we did a little shopping and talking which was way overdue...another story for another day...Then he came home the following day to spend a night and brought Amsterdam who has gotten so big! He's so cute and is so attached to Ethan. He does some neat tricks and is so hyper! It was nice having Ethan and the grand-puppy home for the night and I'm hoping Ethan will make some great choices in the near future...Kids, no matter how old they get they still pull at your heartstrings...I'm praying really hard for you, Ethan. I love you, son, always remember that...

Addison and I have had a good time lately, too, just visiting between activities. She stays so busy that it's hard to spend much time at one instance with her but I guess at this age you take what you can get and make the most of it. She made excellent grades this past report period and is still debating between colleges, working, attending seminary, and just enjoying her senior year. She's also been attending Wesley's baseball games (he's doing an awesome job pitching! Yay, Wesley!) and keeping busy all the time!

Last weekend was really awesome! It was Joey and my "dating anniversary" and he has always made a big deal of it which means alot to me. He was so sweet and was determined we were getting away for a mini-vacation to celebrate. I worked last week Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (12-hour shifts) and when I got off work Thursday he'd packed and was ready to go! We spent 2 nights in Charlotte (thanks, Tiawanna, for staying with Addison--you're the best!) and we had a great time. We spent Friday at Concord Mills and enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the best Chinese restaurant ever just off exit #2 in Charlotte. Saturday on the way home we found a flea market close to Carowinds and found some cool bargains including a great pair of golf shoes for Joey that he says just may have improved his game this past Wednesday! Ha! He's a great golfer and enjoys the game -- I don't think it was the shoes that helped him! Ha! We had such a great time just getting away for a couple days. Thanks, Joey, for your enthusiasm and your wonderful sense of adventure -- I love you so much!

Work has been good this week and then yesterday on my day off I went to school with Addison for 2nd Block (English) to see her class present "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and guess who participated in the play along with Addison's class -- CHLOE!!!! She and Addison did such a great job and I enjoyed it so much. Awesome job, Addison, and thanks for the invite!

Today I had a neat morning yard-saling after Joseph left for work and then grocery shopping (kinda depressing at how expensive everything is) and now just catching up on some chores at home. I found some really pretty outfits for the baby who is due in only 43 DAYS!!!!! Yippee!!!! I'm so excited! I'm looking forward to catching up on the General Conference sessions I missed today and going to Mom's tomorrow to watch conference with them and spend some time with our family. The Crawford's from Canada are visiting Mom and Dad and it will be nice to see them tomorrow, too. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and if you're in beautiful South Carolina I wish you luck dodging the pollen! Ah-choo!

Even through the storms -- life is good...it really is...

This is my favorite recent photo of Chloe -- she looked like she was actually posing in her new pajamas and smiling...she is our little sweetheart. It also makes me smile and brings me to the purpose of this post -- Life is good, it really is so good. We've been doing well lately and staying busy just like everyone else it seems. Last week was a great week - we enjoyed the ward dance (I will post photos of that later on...they are great!), I enjoyed a Saturday with Addison shopping for a Boston Terrier puppy for her boyfriend (found one and Wesley has named him "Dudley" and he's precious!), had some on-call time off from work due to low census at work which was actually kinda nice, had a breakfast date with Spencer one morning before taking him to preschool and it was so neat, and had some very nice evenings with my dear husband including a night out with the missionaries and Derek & Haley Swails (missed you, Michelle!) to San Jose' which was fun. It was a wonderful week and I'm getting more and more excited about the grandbaby which is due in 55 days!!!! There is so much good in our lives we have to be thankful for. Well, at the end of the week we received terrible news on Friday morning that a dear friend, a well-loved member of our community, Ronnie Humphries, had been killed in a hit-and-run collision on I-20 Thursday night just a mile from the exit he'd take to get home. What a tragedy. Ronnie was one of the kindest and sweetest people you could ever meet. He was a friend to everyone and never met a stranger. When you saw him it was as though you were the only person around -- he was never in a hurry and you walked away with a smile. He will be missed so very much. His family has had really tough time as Ronnie just lost another brother and his brother-in-law suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. As we were at the funeral home last night I was so humbled at the people there and those who are affected by this tragedy. There is a plan - I have faith in that and there is a reason for everything - I do not doubt this - but my heart ached for my dear friends there and seeing their pain. As we left and drove back home I could not take my eyes off my dear husband. I love him so much and don't know how I could make it through if one day he did not make it home...Life is so precious and I don't want to waste a single second of it. I want to laugh and love and spend time with those who are so dear to my heart and leave a legacy when it's my turn. I know that Ronnie is in a much better place and I am grateful for the impression he left with Joey and me. He and Joey have had so many fun times together and we've enjoyed remembering the fun times. Today Joey and I are taking the boat out and going fishing, something he and Ronnie used to do together when they worked together and something we enjoy so much together. Just like Joey said last night before we fell asleep, "You have to go through the rain to have a rainbow." So true, Joseph... I hope everyone has a wonderful day today and a wonderful week. Yes, life is good.

Home Teacher Appreciation Night!

We have the absolute most awesome home teachers in the universe! They are so devoted and so dedicated to their callings and are the greatest! Joey and I wanted to do something for them because they are always so good to our family so we had them over together with their wives for dinner. We had a delicious pot of vegetable soup (if I do say so myself - yum!), corn bread and Joey and I each prepared a dessert. Joey made his famous coconut pie dessert and I made a mandarine orange / pineapple cake. I think they were both a hit!

Thanks again Brother Adams and Uncle Buddy for all that you mean to our family -- especially Joey and me! We love ya'll bunches!

The past few months my mind and heart have been very heavy about certain situations going on around us every day. It's been hard to concentrate at times on other things because these worries keep surfacing. The toughest part of it is that these "circumstances" or "situations" are so much beyond my control so I'm wondering if it bothers others as much as it does me...

The situations I'm concerned about is the crisis of babies having babies nowadays -- the circumstances that surround so many teenage pregnancies and the system that supports this and more times than not it's over and over and over. How many children must be born into single parent homes or into homes where there is little or no supervision, minumum education concerning rearing children or childcare in general, and most importantly lack of love? I feel that there are two main factors in the crisis. First the lack of education -- not necessarily formal education but lack of more common-sense education. This ultimately leads to the lack of morals, character, and care of oneself. So many fall into the cycle which continues. Now don't get me wrong - anyone can make a mistake, we are all human. If that happens there are resources available including counseling, adoption if one chooses, and the opportunity to get your life back right on track. I am not faulting those who may have been in the position. My concern is not here. It goes much further...

The second factor I see being an issue is the way the government and our welfare system treat these instances. Many young girls who find themselves in "the family way" are counseled by officials about what may be available to them making it appear more appealing to have more children without marrying in order to get more from the government. This is so wrong! Who is being rewarded here? Are the babies and children being rewarded or is our system rewarding the youth of today for their bad choices? There are resources available that are not being taken advantage of when they maybe should... What are our young people today being taught? It is something that I feel everyone needs to think about. It is you and me, the working class, who is being responsible for caring so many not willing to work and to provide for their families.

Just this past week I was devastated by the news of the 10-year old little boy shot by his brother. As I read the articles in the local papers of the history of this family my heart ached. How did these children fall through the cracks time and time again. They'd been temporarily removed from their home several times before only to be returned once again and the ending was a real tragedy. Then there was the story about the twin who was starved to death -- how does this happen? This doesn't happen in our country does it or at least not in our state -- this was my first thought. How sad my heart was when I heard this on the news. What about all the other children in this household, namely the other twin.

In my opinion it's really, really sad. In our country you have to have a hunting license to hunt and if you get caught hunting without one you can go to jail. With fishing it is likewise. I love, love, love to fish and yet with this beautiful weather we're having I cannot get in our boat and go to my brother's place at the lake and fish unless I first buy a fishing license. Then, I have to actually renew it each year I want to fish. Otherwise, the same penalty applies as hunting without a license. Yet, a person can have a child and assume full responsibility of a precious human life with no training whatsoever. I love children as much as anyone ever could and it's hard to see this over and over...

Well, as I've been trying to make some decisions about returning to school or what things I may want to do professionally (with 2 kids in college next year I need more income!) I've been debating over several things and the thing that keeps coming to mind is "do something to fix what's wrong." Well, how do I do that I keep asking myself. Everyone wants to make a difference in one way or another but I just continue having this overwhelming desire to do something to make a difference, somehow, someway. This brings me to my last thought for this blog post...

I went visiting teaching with Kerri this past Friday and what do you know -- the visiting teaching message for this month is on just what's been weighing on my mind so heavily the past few months -- "Uphold, Nourish, and Protect the Family." What an inspired message to women today. The quotes could have not been more perfect to give me the peace and courage I needed to begin some endeavors to make a difference. I feel somewhat like the story of the person on the beach tossing sandollars back into the ocean. The beach was covered with hundreds of sandollars that had washed up and someone commented to the young lad about there being so many and the impossiblility of getting them all back into the water. The lad commented as his tossed one single sandollar into the ocean water, "But I saved that one." Who knows what one thing can do -- what difference just one thing or one comment may make. The quotes from this months message are incredible. It encourages us as women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to defend the doctine of the family unit. Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General President said, "Women have distinct assignments given to them from before the foundation of the world...you know that raising your voice in defense of the doctrine of the family is critical to the strength of families the world over." Another quote by Elder Robert S. Wood states, "For too many, responsibility seems to end with hand-wringing and exclamations of dismay. Yet talk without action accomplishes little. We need to be vigorously engaged in the world. If our schools are inadequate or destructive of moral values, we must work with fellow members of the community to bring about change. If our neighborhoods are unsafe or unhealthy, we must join with the civic-minded to devise solutions. If our cities and towns are polluted, not only with noxoious gases but soul-destroying addictions and smut, we must labor to find legitimate ways to eliminate such filth...We have the responsibility to be a blessing to others, to our nation, to the world."

There was my answer found in the March Visiting Teaching lesson. There is much to be done, just like the sandollars that had washed up on shore and one by one, a difference can be made. I'm going to begin by eagerly volunteering and filling this need I have to help. I'd be anxious to hear other opinions and ideas about what can be done. In the end it truly will not matter how much money we made, what kind of car we drove, or what kind of house we lived in. What will matter is whether or not we made a difference in someone else's life. Together we CAN make a difference.