Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

It's a known fact: Grandma loves Cracker Barrel. She loves the food, the country feel and decor, and the cost. Unfortunately, there isn't one located anywhere near her. For her birthday, she wanted to come here to eat with her family at Cracker Barrel. She has had this as her birthday plans for quite awhile now. I love that she is 86 years old and still wants to celebrate her birthday each year with family.

Last Saturday night, we had friends over and I must have been keyed up because I couldn't fall asleep that night. As I layed there trying to fall asleep, my head and throat started to hurt. With Jay being very ill the week prior, I started to panic. If I got sick then I wouldn't be able to see my grandma for her birthday, which was today. I woke up Sunday feeling horrible. Not to mention that I didn't get a good nights sleep with a new puppy. I went to church because the girls were singing that morning and I didn't want to miss it. I wasn't planning on going back Sun. evening but changed my mind after I heard that a singing group from Champion Baptist College was going to be there that evening.

Monday morning, I was crushed. I was completely sick. No questions about it. I love my grandma and was excited to spend her birthday with her. We started school and Emily got through Bible and a math speed drill. She was feeling bad and ended up taking a 3 hour nap.

I was so upset because I knew what that meant. --that I didn't have to super clean the house for a birthday gathering, not that I could have the way I was feeling.

I started to feel better around Wednesday but still not functional until Thursday. Poor little Emily has had a fever off and on Mon-Friday. She has been fever free for 24 hours but still feels really bad.

Due to our sickness, my sister said that the well part of the family could do the gathering over at her house~ after a meal at Cracker Barrel! I was so sad but couldn't risk getting Grandma sick with her low immune system.
I received a phone call nice and early this morning: Grandma somehow got this junk that had us down for almost a week each.

If you would, please pray that she heals quickly from this. Last time she had a cold, it turned into bronchitis, then pneumonia, then a cracked vertebrae due to coughing that needed surgery. She is also depressed. She still lives alone and is over an hour away from me. With the girls carrying germs, I'm always uneasy about bringing them around her. I just ask that you pray for her, please.

Even though we can't be with her, I am thinking, praying and wishing her a happy 86th birthday! (Although I know it's definitely not a happy one for her.) May this next year be full of good health and blessings- most of all that she'll see the need for a Savior.

Our Little Rosie

This one gives you an idea of how small she is.

Being up all night with a puppy is one thing, but Emily and me being sick on top of that... it does not make for a good combination. Rebecca has done an excellent job of taking care of us. She fixed each of us breakfast and has taken Rosie out to potty several times today. She has been a great help. She took Rosie upstairs (we have a pack-n-play set up for her in the school room) and did all of her schooling that she could do on her own. Emily and I just slept on the couch.
Rosie did fantastic her first night home but with us being gone all day Sunday and me feeling bad, she spent most of her day sleeping. This meant that she was awake all night. I don't mind taking her out several times in the middle of the night but the constant crying and yelping because she wants to play has got to stop. With the advice from a friend, we've figured out how to keep her up most of today so she should sleep well tonight. We shall see how that does for tonight. She had some accidents in the kitchen yesterday due to Rebecca and I having to learn Rosie's clues of when she needs to go out. She hasn't had an accident since yesterday afternoon so I'm hoping that this house training business will be a quick process. So far we've contained all the accidents to the kitchen for easy clean up.
I am going to go take some more pain relief medicine and hope that my ear ache will go away. Stay tuned for more pictures of our little Rosie.

A Very Busy Weekend!

This weekend started off with Rebecca's last basketball game of the season. It was a great season for thier team as they were 7-1. That one game they lost was very questionable as the last 2 points (they lost by 1 pt.) was shot as the timer said 00:00. Eitherway, they all did great and it was awesome to see the girls grow in skills by the end of the season.

Rebecca was fouled in the first 6 minutes and had 2 free throws. She made the first but not the other scoring the first point of the game.

They won 20-17.

I lost rack how many points she scored during this game.

Now for the shocker of all who know me! I am a proclaimed non-animal/ pet person.

They are hard work, a burden and all in all, gross. I have enough just getting by with taking care our family, the home, providing education for the girls and shuffling them to each of thier different activities.

But something in me wanted to get a puppy. The girls have been wanting one for quite awhile and Jay and I were on the same page- NO PETS. Something changed and I've been praying over the situation of getting a puppy and all that's involved for a couple months now.

We finally went and found just the perfect one for our family.

She is a whopping 2 and a half pound Yorkie Poo. She will remain small and is estimated to only get to about 8 pounds.

She is sooo cute and a little bundle of fun. As much as she likes to play, she likes to be held. A great combination for our girls, especially Rebecca as she is the mothering kind.
Meet Princess Rosie!

*I picked her out and the girls picked the name. She goes by Rosie although in Emily's book, we are all princesses.

This morning, the jr. choir sang. Here are 2 of the 3 songs they did. This is always a high light of Rebecca's month. She loves to sing. Emily is very excited that she has a solo is a song that the children will be singing next month.

I love to watch this because the little boy in the green on the right cracks me up. This was his first time singing with the jr. choir and he was loving being up there in front of all those people.

Now that I have caught up on the blog, I will post a few pictures on facebook and then crash into bed after one last freezing trip outside to let Rosie go potty. She is so tiny that you have to stay right there with her or she'll get lost. Lord willing, this house training business won't take long. Last night, I only had to get up at 3 and 6:30 a.m. to take her out. No accidents all night or all day today. This is amazing considering we were gone most of the day with church. Unfortunately, when we got home from church tonight, Rebecca disobeyed. She took Rosie out of her crate and started to play with her. If she had obeyed and taken her out as soon as we got home, there wouldn't have been a little bit of tinkles on the floor. Rebecca learned her lesson on that one!

Last Day on Florida

By the end of the week, the weather was typical Florida winter weather. Cold in the morning, beautiful during the day and cool at night. It was warming up so we decided to stay an extra day. We had originally planned to go to Epcot and Hollywood Studios but with a sprained ankle, we felt that we shouldn't waste a ticket if I couldn't hack the walking.

So, I was talked into going to a flea market since I had never been to one.

I wasn't impressed and probably won't go to another one for a very long time.

So, we headed back over to Downtown Disney. Saturday at Downtown Disney means there will be pin traders set up.

I love seeing this!

Don't know what this is but I thought it looked cool. I'll have to look up and see what Team Disney is.

So many, many pins.
We brought approx 230 pins and traded them all for ones we wanted. Now we only have about 20 of those that we are willing to trade in November.
I'll show you the book of pins we have once Jay and I sit down to organize it.

These guys are profession traders and will only trade for certain pins. They can be very rude to not only us but my little girls. Rebecca even witnessed a lady get mad and steal a pin from one of the traders.

making a necklace

putting jewels on a crown

a child's dream store

It's blurry but you get the gist.

I was very sad to see this for the last time of our trip.

Thankfully, Jay has another trip planned for 9 months away.

Disney security
DCL bus

a group from a cruise on the Magic had just been dropped off at the resorts

This day was also Darlene's birthday. Shall I share her age? Nah, but it was a big one!

We went to Friday's for dinner.

After a good meal, good dessert, good fellowship, and an embarrassing song, we went back to the house to pack and prepare to leave in the morning.

Fireworks montage

I realize some of you might find these pictures redundant... so just skip over them. I , however, love fireworks. I love them on the fourth of July especially as I think of this wonderful thing called freedom that we have.

I love seeing them being shot off the cruise ship.

I REALLY love seeing them being shot from behind Cinderella's Castle.

Enjoy them if you like fireworks as I do.

And, hey, I took many more pictures of each firework! Be glad I didn't share each and every one with you on here!

close up of the castle


snuggling up to stay warm

(actually I'm smiling through the pain of a sprained ankle and pretending I'm not ready to cry)

Main Street, USA