Lighthouse Trip

Here are a few pictures of our Lighthouse trip:


CURRITUCK LIGHTHOUSE











BODIE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE








CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE











I have tons more pictures that I will post later. We want to get on the road so that we can get home at a decent hour.

Until next time....

God Bless~

Hi, From Kitty Hawk NC

Finally, we get to relax at the hotel after a busy day. I didn't get to post anything about our trip yesterday because we didnt get to the hotel until after 1am. It was a stressful day yesterday. I didn't think we would get to come on our trip. We got the van packed and then it wouldnt start. So after we had it towed and looked at it caused us to have a 4 hour delay. But I am thankful that we are here now. Today, when we left the hotel in Moorseville, NC Big D had a few stops planned. One was to see Dale Jarrett's Motor Complex. Some of you may not know that I am a huge Dale Jarrett fan. I have been for over 6 years. Here are a couple pictures:



Pit crew working on one of D.J.'s cars




Just me ;-)

Then it was off to Jimmie Johnson's Motor Complex. He is Big D's favorite Nascar driver. Here are a couple of pictures:

Big D by Jimmie's car



Big D on the winner's circle.






Then we drove 6 hours to get here at Kitty Hawk NC. Our room has an ocean view. So awesome. Big D and I took a walk along the beach. Let me tell you nothing sounds as wonderful as the ocean! I took off my flip flops and let the water hit my feet. I got so involved in picking up seashells before I knew it I heard this roar and I knew I was in trouble. LOL! I got soaked! But I loved it! Here are some pictures:









Tomorrow is the big day. The day to visit the lighthouses!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

We're Outta Here!

We are leaving in a few minutes for our wonderful 20th Anniversary trip down the Outerbanks of NC to visit the lighthouses! I am so excited! Keep us in your prayers that God will give us traveling mercies. Also keep the boys in your prayers that they will be safe and secure while we are gone! I will try to update with pictures if I can!

**Big D, Thanks for always treating me like a Queen and doing everything you can to make my dreams come true! I love you and I can't wait to spend the week alone with you on the coast! xoxoxo**

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Senior Awards Ceremony

Today was Computer Geek's Senior Awards Ceremony. We are so proud of him! We knew of 3 scholarships that Computer Geek was getting today. But we got a very special surprise. He received the PTO Scholarship Award of his Elementary school. That scholarship means a lot to us because it was voted on by the Elementary Teachers where he attended. Here is the summary of scholarships he was awarded:

TTU Academic Scholarship ~ $12,000 ($3,000 reneweable each year)
Tennessee Hope Scholarship ~ $17,200 ($4,300 renewable each year)
M-tek Inc. Scholarship ~ $4,000 ($1,000 renewable each year)
Hillsboro Elementary PTO Scholarship $500 (1 time cash award)

Now you see why we are so excited and so very proud of Computer Geek!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Computer Geek,

We are so proud of you and your high school accomplishments! You are a great example for your little brother! Good luck at TTU! We love you!

Mom, Dad, Football Star, and Lacey
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Until next time.....

God Bless~

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
From which country(s) are some (or all) your ancestors?

Wow this list could be long! My ancestors is what my Grandma used to call "Heinz 57".
But here is a few:
England
USA (American Indian)
Ireland
Germany (Pennsylvania Dutch)

Soup
How would you describe your sneeze?

Strange. It starts out LOUD and ends up a high pitch soft squeal.

Salad
What is the last thing you cleaned?

Started a load of Laundry.

Main Course
Who made the strongest first impression on you?

First person to come to mind would be my Mom. She made a lasting impression on me. I am sure it was my STRONGEST first impression.

Dessert
Name one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime.

I wanted to find someone to love me the way I am. (Did it!)
I wanted to have healthy wonderful kids. (Did it!)
I am satified with the things I have accomplished already in my life that I really don't have one specific thing. Everything else is just blessings from Heaven!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Announcements and Envelopes and Stamps, oh MY!

I forgot how much time it takes to fill out Graduation Announcements! Computer Geek and I spent over 2 hours last night working on his graduation announcements. It takes so much time putting in the name card, stuffing the inner envelope, putting in a picture and party info inside announcements, putting on the gold initial seal on the inner envelope, personalizing the inner envelope, stuffing the inner envelope into the outer envelope, sticking the address label on the outer envelope, addressing the outer envelope, putting on the gold 2006 seal, and sticking on the stamp! After 2 hours, we had the inner envelopes finished, but we still have to stuff the inner envelopes into the outer envelopes, address them and stamp them!

Computer Geek has ONLY 3 weeks left! He graduates May 26th! I graduated on the same date 21 years ago! 21 years ago?? WOW! All this graduation preparation is making me feel OLD!!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

One Week from Today!

I woke up this morning so excited when I realized that one week from today we will be leaving for the shores of North Carolina. For those of you that might not know, Big D gave me, for our 20th Anniversary, a trip down the Outerbanks of North Carolina to visit 5 lighthouses! In the middle of these 5 lighthouses is my favorite lighthouse of all, Cape Hatteras! We hope to leave about 2pm on Tuesday. Driving as far as we can. Wednesday we will be traveling the rest of the way. It is a 16 hour trip to the coast of North Carolina. Since Wednesday will be a lot of traveling there won't be much time to start the lighthouse tours, so we decided to take a little detour to Dale Jarrett's (my favorite Nascar driver) and Jimmie Johnson's (Big D's favorite Nascar driver)Motor Complexes.

Thursday, we will begin our journey down the Outerbanks. Our first lighthouse to visit will be

Currituck

Then we drive about 1 hour and half to the next lighthouse which is:

Bodie Island

Then we drive about 1 hour and half again to:

Cape Hatteras (My Favorite!)

Big D reserved us a hotel just a mile from Cape Hatteras. So when I wake up Friday morning, it will be the first thing I see. Isn't that wonderful??? Now the rest of our trip is rather tricky. We have to take ferries and boats. So timing is critical. There is a possibility we may not get the last 2 lighthouses in, but Big D assured me he would do the best he could! That I don't doubt. He always does everything he can to please me! One of the many reasons why I love him so!

Friday we hope to travel to the ferry on time and see:

Ocracoke

If time allows, we will go see:

Cape Lookout

After visiting Cape Lookout, we will travel home. We will drive as far as we can. So we don't have such a long drive home on Saturday. Now you have read my itinerary! I can't wait to go. I have dreamed of visiting Cape Hatteras for years! I am so excited about going that I will probably start my packing today!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Senior Prom Pics

As I promised, here are the prom pictures. Matthew and Lacy had a good time. They were disappointed in the music choices not many songs to dance with. They said it was either bad rap music or booty grinding music. They both HATE that kind of music, but they still had a good time just hanging out with friends. And now the pictures!

Don't they look great?? He looks so handsome in his tux and she is goregous in that dress!

He took such care taking the corsage out of the box and putting it on her wrist! He kept saying, "I'm afraid I will mess it up."

Since she wore a pink dress, he refused to wear a pink tie or vest, but he gave in to the pink rose boutiner.

What a gentleman!

This picture really represents them. His little smirky smile and that attitude in her eyes.

Looks like they can't wait to go!

And there OFF!

(Matthew told me that the only way I was allowed to blog about Prom was if I posted this picture of his "baby". He loves his car and is VERY proud of it.)

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Happy Birthday Big D!!!

Today is Big D's birthday. He is 41 today! Last year since it was his 40th, we gave him a HUGE party! This year it was just a nice quiet birthday with his parents and a couple of friends. After church, we went to O'Charley's for his birthday dinner. Of course, we had them sing to him. Which he HATES! But he was a good sport! Big D is a wonderful husband and father. He has been working so hard the past 2 months. So much we don't see much of him. It was good to see him relax on his day off!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Birthday Big D! We love and appreciate you! Thank you for all you do!

Love always,

Me, Computer Geek, Football Star, and Lacey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Because this being Big D's birthday, prom pictures will be posted tomorrow instead of today)

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Senior Prom Night

Ahhh...Tonight is Computer Geek's Senior Prom! We have been busy today! This morning we went and had his car washed, waxed, and detailed. Computer Geek didn't want a limo and I know his date felt the same way. Then we had to go pick up the corsage. He is going with a special girl. They are going just as friends. Which is nice! Not alot of drama to deal with for the moms! Prom is held at the Air Force Base's Officers Club. Which I am sure will be very nice! Will post pictures tomorrow!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how polite are you?

Since I am not perfect, I would have to say an 8 or 9. My mom taught me to be very polite. I try, but I am sure there are times I haven't been.

Soup
What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

Football Star and his dancing! He is our comedian! Always makes us laugh even when we don't feel like laughing. There are times I am not sure what I would do without him!

Salad
Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Garfield will forever be my favorite cartoon character!

Main Course
Tell about the funniest teacher you ever had.

Mr. Maple, he was not only the funniest teacher, but I had a HUGE crush on him. No teenage girl in her right mind would choose to take Entomology (the study of bugs) for any other reason except a cute teacher! LOL!

Dessert
Complete this sentence: I strongly believe that Jesus is the Son of God!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Teen Talent Photo Entry

"The Barn"

I wanted to share a picture that Football Star took for the Church of God of Prophecy's Tennessee Teen Talent. We won't know for 2-4 weeks if his entry will go on to the next level. If it does, it will be entered into the Church of God of Prophecy's General Assembly Teen Talent. For those of you that might not understand, this is like any kind of competition. You have a District Level, State Level, and National Level. I am very proud of his entry! I think it is a great picture! I noticed a couple of times when Football Star took pictures of Computer Geek when they were Geocaching (without me!), that he might have a photographic eye. Here are some of the other pictures he took:


"The Railroad"



"The River"


So you think he might have a photographic eye??

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Back Home from TTU!

We just got back home a few hours ago. We are exhausted. Let me tell you that was an experience! In 2 days, they give you so much information your head spins! We went in thinking we had most all the paperwork filled out. Computer Geek went in thinking he had everything worked out for his schedule. But we found out we were wrong! So Day 1 was kind of stressful, when they were giving us the qualifications for the Honors Program, Class requirements, and Work program. It looked like Computer Geek wouldn't be able to get in everything that was needed. But after a lot of prayer, hours of discussing what would be best for his future, we finally got it all worked out at 12am. Computer Geek decided to go for the Honor's Computer Engineering Degree instead of a Dual Degree in Computer's and Electrical. Better to give more attention to one degree and graduate with an Honor's degree, than to just take the basics in 2 categories and get a Double Major. Today was a great day. We got up this morning satisfied with the decisions Computer Geek made about his future at TTU. He signed up for all his classes. He got all the classes he wanted and even the Honor's classes. Computer Geek was thrilled that none of his classes start earlier than 9:20am. He also decided to join the Computer Committee. After standing in the long lines, Computer Geek preordered his text books, got his Eagle Card (his lifeline for EVERYTHING at TTU), ordered his meal ticket, got his parking permit, etc. We also found out that he qualifies for another $1,000 scholarship! PTL!
Now we wait for August 24th to roll around! Move in day!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Honors S.O.A.R Program

We are leaving this morning for Honors S.O.A.R. Program at Tennessee Tech. Computer Geek was invited to join the Honors Program. S.O.A.R. is Student's Orientation Advising and Registration. It is a 2 day event allows you to find answers to all of your questions while becoming familiar with the campus. We are so excited. I always have such a good time visiting TTU. There are some very caring people that work there that is makes me feel comfortable about Computer Geek living on campus. We won't be back until late Monday night. Have a great weekend!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Zander Ryleigh

Where have I been the past few days??? I have been loving on the most wonderful, cutest, little baby boys I have ever seen!! (Well with the exception of my 2 wonderful boys!) His name is Zander Ryleigh. He came into this world at a little over 7 pounds and 21 inches long. One of my good friends became a Grandma on April 20th. She is a couple years younger than me, so I have enjoyed aggrivating her about being a Grandma. Her daughter is one of the many adopted daughters we love like our own. I have enjoyed helping them out for the past 2 days! Keshia is only 17 and having all the new mommy worries, but is going to make one awesome mom!

Congratulations Keshia and Ryan! May little Zander have a long and blessed life!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

My story on Lint!

Yes, I said Lint! No, I am not out of my "blogging" mind. If you are wondering why I am sharing a story on lint, check out the comment one of my great friends left me yesterday. So YellowRose, this story is dedicated to you!

Several Sundays ago (Scout Sunday to be exact), an older man at our church that is VERY involved in Boy Scouts did a small little program with the Boys Scouts that attend our church. It was a nice little program, but at the end of the program this older man got very choked up when he handed our Pastor a "prayer rock" that the Boy Scouts wanted to present to him. Of course behind me, I heard the teenage boys laughing. I figured they weren't impressed with the "prayer rock". Then one of them (can't remember which,) leaned up and whispered in my ear, "I want to represent you with this "prayer lint". Being the Assistant Youth Leader that I am, I should have not laughed, but it caught me sooooo off guard, that I got so tickled I couldn't stop laughing!

There you have it my story on lint! Thanks YellowRose for giving me something to blog about this morning. I love ya!!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Blogging Woes

Lately it seems I have not been in the blogging mood. I am not sure if I lost my love of blogging or if it is because I have not felt good the last 2 weeks. It's like I have a writers block. Everything I think about posting just seems superficial so I end up deleting it and posting nothing. I am not really into all the blogging days like Monday's Memories, Wordless Wednesdays, etc. The only one I do enjoy doing is Friday's feast and last Friday I wasn't in the mood to do it. I don't want to end my blog, but I need some kind of SOMETHING to keep it going. Ugh! Such a dilemma.

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Happy Easter!

I hope you have a Happy and Blessed Easter! I know most of us will spend the day with family and friends, but take time out to remember what the day is actually about. Without the price Jesus paid on this holiday, we would not be forgiven of our sins. When I think what Jesus did for me, my heart full of love and joy. In my human mind, I can NOT imagine the pain God went thru to see His only son treated so inhumane. Jesus went to that cross because He loved us so much. He didn't do it because we were already perfect and deserved it. No, He did it giving us a way of escape from our sins. He loves you no matter how bad you might think you and your past is. He doesn't expect you to be perfect once you come to know Him either! He understands we have to grow in the knowledge of Him. If you already know Jesus as your savior and friend, I rejoice with you this holiday. But if you do not know Jesus as your savior, please take time to ask Him to forgive you of your sins and ask him to help you become the person He wants you to be. It's that easy!! We as humans make it harder than it has to be! What a gift to give Jesus on Easter by accepting Him as your Savior!!!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Name a trait you share with your parents or your children.

stubbornness from my dad
strong bond of love from my mom

Soup
List 3 qualities of a good leader, in your opinion.

A lot of Wisdom
Great decision making
Charm


Salad
Who is your favorite television chef?

I don't watch tv chefs much, but years ago I got hooked watching "Yan can cook". He was a little chinese chef with alot of energy and very entertaining.

Main Course
Share a story about a gift you received from someone you love.

hmm? Well the last huge gift I received was from my husband for our 20th wedding aniversary. He knows my love of lighthouses so He gave me a trip down the North Carolina Outerbacks to visit 5 lighthouses. We haven't went yet because our anniversary is in March and the lighthouses do not open to the public until after Easter. So we are going the 2nd weekend in May. I can't wait!!!

Dessert
How do you react under pressure?

Just let me say not very well. So I do my best to keep from getting in those situtaions. One example is I hate to be late so I am always 30 mins early for appointments, church, etc.


Until next time.....

God Bless~

Goodbye Mandisa!

Tonight Mandisa Hundley was voted off of American Idol. I am really sad about this. She was my favorite! Her voice was so awesome! She has such a wonderful personality and spirit about her. It's about time that the world look at the inside instead of the outside. When you watch Mandisa sing you don't notice her size at all, I think that is why I liked her so much. I can understand what she went thru being a "big girl", myself. We are easily judged for the outside before anyone takes time to see the inside. No matter if America thought she was good enough, I know God has a plan for Mandisa's life. She was a blessing to me and I can NOT wait to stand in line to buy her CD one day!

*God Bless you Mandisa! We are praying for you!

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Technical Difficulties

That image says it all! I am not sure what happened to my sidebar on my blog, but I got up this morning and it was just GONE! Could it be Hackers?? I didn't even go into the template section yesterday! So it couldn't have been something I did!?!? Please bare with me as I try to get my blog back in order. It's funny after you set your blog up just like you want it, you kind of forget what you had on it. So, if you see something that is missing that I had on before, please leave me a comment.

I know I need to add these things:

Archives
Last Posts

Until next time.....

God Bless~

Weekend Stuff

What a weekend! Here is a little of what went on this weekend:

I received a special surprise in the mail from a wonderful friend of mine. She knows how much I LOVE lighthouses and recently she went to the Bahamas. While she was there she took a picture of the Port Lucaya Lighthouse for me.

Also on her way back home she stopped by Tybee Island and took a picture of that lighthouse also for me!

*Thanks YellowRose! Love ya!



Saturday, Big D and I took one of our youth (and her mom) to the Teen Talent Competition our church has for the State. God had his hand on us while we were traveling. We were almost to our exit when about a quarter of a mile, I could see a yellow maintnenace truck parked on the side of the road and the man get out of his truck. Just as I get a few hundred feet from him, the car in front of me swerves a little and in an instant flips a entire blown semi tire at me. I had a semi to the right of me and this maintenance man and his truck to the right of me. All I could do is hold the steering wheel tight and drive over the tire. Thank the Lord that it didn't cause me to lose control of the van. It did bust the nose of the van and other damage. But I am thankful to my Heavenly Father that it wasn't any worse than it was. We were able to drive to the competition and drive home. The competition was great. Lacy (not to be confused with my Lacey) sang a solo and did a routine with her color guard flag. We won't know if she will perform at the General Assembly until they mail her scores to her. Even tho she sang wonderfully, I believe her drama with the flag will get her the superior rating she needs to go to the Assembly! She used the song Stained Glass Masquerade from Casting Crowns. She did an awesome job!

On Sunday, Computer Geek left for 3 days. He went on a TSA (Technology Students of America)Competition in Chattanooga Tennessee. He is participating in the Tech Bowl. He was so excited about this trip. I hope he has a good time.

So how was your weekend??

Until next time.....

God Bless~

100th Post!!

Woo hoo!! I am celebrating my 100th post!! I can't believe I actually posted 100 times already since joining in July 2005! I have enjoyed every moment! Thanks too all of you for your comments during my first 100 posts.

So when did you hit your 100th mark??

Until next time.....

God Bless~