Ribs, Laundry, and other daily tidbits

Today I went to work for 8 hours which is more than I have been working in one stretch. John of course does great with the kids, they have no problems, he never calls me to ask questions, he even went to the grocery store....he is so wonderful! Anyways, my friend just did a blog post about laundry and how she likes it and well I think she is a sick woman :) I hate laundry...it is the thorn in my side. I will do everything else in the world and still leave dirty laundry. Everyone knows this...my mom, my friends, my husband and children especially. As of yesterday there was one load on the couch needing to be folded, one load on our bed in need of folding and a garage full of stacks that need to be washed. When I got home from work at 6 pm John was grilling BBQ ribs, grilled veggies, new potatoes and corn on the cob....he is such a chef (my own personal Bobby Flay) and well the least I could do was to put away some laundry. The worst thing is we have been getting socks off the couch for a week b/c I haven't sat down to match them....so the deal was I had to match and put away all the socks before I went to bed. I did it and we had a wonderful rib dinner. The kids ate everything on their plate and wanted more.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

This post will mostly be pictures but I thought I'd share a few special moments from our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As I have said previously, Daddy has had to work but we have still had some really special times and made lots of great memories!

* Publix on Christmas Eve....what a terrible idea but we were in and out pretty quickly. After being pushed, stopped millions of times, and glared at by individuals for simply having two kids in there trailing after me...I was sure glad to get out of there. John Daniel said when we returned to the car, "That was rough!" I agree!

* Christmas Eve Church...very nice and included lots of Christmas Eve caroling..the service was led by children. We enjoyed Birthday Cookies for Jesus afterwards, made Birthday Cards for Jesus and laid them in a manger and enjoyed a puppet show.

* Once Daddy came home, we enjoyed a big meal.. Roosh's Meatloaf (my grandmother's recipe), homemade macaroni and cheese, fried okra, veggies, rolls and homemade fudge for dessert (made by the kiddos earlier in the day). One downside, at the end of cooking my meal...the oven decided to no longer work :( It is ancient and came with our house...might be looking for a good deal on an oven at one of those after Christmas sales!

* Emily decided she wanted to read Luke 2:7-14 before dinner for us instead of a praying. I thought it was a grand idea. She read it from her own pink Bible. We love how spiritually aware she is....by the Grace of God and nothing John and I have done...she loves to read and learn scripture. She read it perfectly, only needed help with the word proclaim but succeeded with words like heavenly, trough, Emmanuel, etc.

* We did the box set of "What does God want for Christmas." The kids love it and took turns opening up all the surprise boxes as I read the story. If you haven't heard of it, look it up, it is great!

* We opened some more presents. This is the first year I have let the kids pick out a present for each other. It was very cute. They loved what they received. They were so cute thanking each other for their gifts. It did help that we had a very serious talk about manners during dinner and the appropriate way to open presents, have meaningful responses, and thanking the gift giver!

*Kids were in bed by 9:00 and John and I spent an hour eating fudge and drinking coffee. Nice way to end the evening!

*Christmas morning we woke up and went straight over to my parent's house where my Dad fixed his traditional Christmas breakfast. Emily read her Bible verses again before breakfast. John and his partner Allison got to come to enjoy some waffles, eggs, bradley's sausage, fruit, and coffee.

* We opened up more gifts! One of the strangest being a vacuum cleaner for John Daniel, not a toy vacuum cleaner a real one that he saw at Home Depot. When he opened it words like "awesome, cool, and I love it" came out. He is a strange fella I guess...I think he just loves machines but the boy will vacuum the entire house or car and loves every minute of it! This vacuum is just his size!

*Now we are at home, kids are playing, I'm cooking (and blogging I guess) and we will go to Granny and Granddad's to see all the extended family tonight. Merry Christmas!

Last but not least....Grandpeople

More Grand people to blog about....Grandma and Granddaddy Gay....are John's Grandparents on his Dad's side. They are both in their 80's and also live in Thomasville. Granddaddy Gay is suffering with dementia so he has not been himself but we have lots of memories of him showing us around his yard. They have a big yard, probably over an acre or more. He has lines of grapevines and fruit trees everywhere. He loves to show us and the kids his yard and trees. The kids love to pick and eat Kumquats off the tree. He had a huge garden back in the day. Granddaddy loved taking pictures years ago and has hundreds of albums in their home. He brought that camera EVERYWHERE, even got in front of the paid photographer at our wedding! Granddaddy is a wounded World War II veteran and has some very interesting stories. John loves this b/c he is a history buff. Grandma Gay is so sweet and thinks of birthdays and anniversaries and loves all the Grand kids. Something I know the kids will always remember about her is her love for Easter. It is her favorite holiday and she always has everyone over for lunch and a big Easter egg hunt. All the kids go to the back and the adults hide the hundreds of eggs. I think we learned to count them before we hide them finally b/c Grandma said they would find eggs for months afterwards in years past. Then the kids are let loose to find them. Papa (John's Dad) won't let the big kids get the easy eggs. He hides ones for them in really hard places!!!! That is so John's Dad!!! Grandma always has a prize egg......one that has dollar bills in it or more chocolate than the others. The little kids always seem to get the prize egg...poor Max and Natalie! Grandma is an angel and Granddaddy is definitely one of a kind!

Grand People

More Grand people to talk about......Poppy and Sue...Poppy is John's Grandfather on his mom's side. Poppy and Sue live in Thomasville on a beautiful lake. They have a dock and big beautiful back yard. We don't see them too often but always the weekend before Christmas to celebrate with them. Poppy loves FSU football, he is very handy and has done a lot of work in their home himself. Poppy is a distinguished man and actually John probably reminds me of him out of everyone in their family the most. John and Poppy are both quiet but do share their opinions on subjects. They actually kind of look alike. Poppy likes things neat and orgainized much like John. They both like the finer things in life! John likes to talk to Poppy about our vacations and football and even though John doesn't play Golf, he talks to Poppy about the game. Poppy loves to play Golf! When we go to their house, the kids eat at the kid table in the kitchen..Sue cooks wonderfully! There is a door in their house that leads in and out of the living room to the hallway...it is one of those swinging type doors that is fragile..mostly for decoration...well you know all the kids have to find it and must bang it a million times.. The kids also love to fish on his dock. When John and I were dating, I remember just putting a piece of line in the water with bread on it and catching fish by the dozens. The fish don't come quite as easily anymore, but the kids always either throw in a hole loaf of bread or go fishing. I think my kids both caught their first fish on their lake. They have a nice swing out by the lake at the top of the hill. The hill leads straight into the lake....I'm very surprised that one of the kids has not rolled into the lake....it is bound to happen one day!

Another Grand Person

Back for more Great Grandparents blogging....

Memmy.....is John's Grandmother on his mom's side. She is a cute little sweet soft spoken woman! She has been a big part of John's life...she has been like a second mom to him and done everything in her power to help him become a strong man! John and his sister actually lived beside Memmy when John was in college. She made sure he was fed, had money to get groceries, had gas in his truck etc. She also always checked on Samson, our big yellow lab that lived with John. She would go visit him and take him treats. Memmy's heart is so BIG! Memmy loves her great grandchildren. She really isn't that much taller than them. She always feels for them when they are upset or getting in trouble. She always is on watch for ant beds or danger situations when she is around the little ones. She plays trains with Max, J.D., and luke. She comes to Emily's ballet recitals and enjoys spending time with the kids over at John's mom's house. One thing I know the kids will remember is how she always finds a creative way to give them money for their birthdays or Christmas. She has gotten them beautiful $1 coins and put them in a treasure tin and last year she even went to the bank and got $50 all in ones and gave it to them. The bills were all crisp, clean, and still had the paper wrap around them like the stack of money had come straight out of the bank's vault. John Daniel took his entire stack of money to the Build-a Bear workshop and bought him a new doggy with clothes. He knew he had a lot of money! We know Memmy is always thinking about us and praying for us!

Great Grandparents

I've decided today to write about a big blessing that my kids get to have....Great Grandparents. Not only do my children have all of their Grandparents here in Tallahassee but they have 6 great grandparents no further than Thomasville, GA. This is a blessing that John and I take for granted sometimes. Emma Lou and J.D. have very active grandparents that all still work full-time jobs and are YOUNGER than most of their friends' grandparents. As I said, their Great Grandparents are also mostly here or in Thomasville and get to spend a good amount of time with them. I grew up with my grandparents very close by (even one set across the street) and it was a blessing. John was also very close to his grandparents and spent a lot of time with them growing up. I really realize how special it is to have such GRAND people surrounding us. We do not get to see everyone as often as I wish (it really is quite hard to get by to see everyone when you have grandparents and great grans to see). I thought I might write about some special things that my kids do or remember about their Great Grandparents.

Granny and Granddad Thornton......are very active GRAND people! They are in their mid -80's, my grandfather is actually going on 87! He just retired several years ago. My grandmother is amazing. She looks to be about mid 60's in my opinion. She has fiesty italian blood in her! They have 7 grandchildren and 5 going on 6 great grandchildren. They keep up with everyone very well even the little kids. They seem to know what everyone is doing and going through. They know Emily is girly and loves dolls and ballet. My grandmother does special things like bring her a handmade bouquet to her ballet recitals and she fixes any boo boos that Emily's dolls or stuffed animals have. Emily knows she can sew wonderfully and will bring me things for "Granny to fix". They know J.D. loves trains and trucks and most of all cookies. They have a special kind of cookies that they share at their house with the kids and J.D. always gets his own pack for Birthdays etc. My Grandfather likes to show the kids that he can remove his teeth, yes his teeth I said....he has a denture plate that all the kids think is so funny!!! or maybe just weird. One of the things I remember is camping with them all my life...they have also been camping with my kids which is cool. They love to be outdoors and their yard is beautiful...my Grandmother has a special touch! Emily and J.D. know they like Tallahassee Nurseries. One of the our favorite traditions is picking out a Christmas Tree with them...after John and I got married they decided to buy all the grandchildren that had gotten married or moved out of their parents home their Christmas tree! What an amazing Christmas present especially when those things go for $60 sometimes. This is our family's present from them! When my kids came along the tradition continued and now every year a few days after Thanksgiving they call to set up a day to go Christmas Tree shopping. We all meet at Tallahassee Nurseries and we find the perfect tree. My kids love it and love running all around all the good smelling trees pointing out ones they like to Granny. Granny and Granddad always take us in the greenhouse to look at the big fish in the pond and then Granddad tries to buy us more flowers, poinsettias, or little garden animals....I have to stop him from buying out the place! I know my kids will remember this for forever and it is always such a wonderful present! We get to look at it for 4 weeks and think of them! Always a very special time.....


More stories of Great Grandparents to come...I only have a little time to write each time I sit down so I will have to break it up!

Christmas on the 22nd

Christmas on the 22nd!

Today we woke up and Santa had come to our house....it was so awesome because the kids were so surprised! We had not told them at all and they came busting in our room all out of breath b/c they were so excited! You know in my last post I spoke of how John had to work on Christmas, well we decided several years ago that if John worked we would just do Santa on a different day. We don't make that big of a deal out of Santa. John really doesn't care for it. We really don't talk about it a whole lot but they know about the big guy and know he brings toys. Anyways, this year John's last day off before Christmas was today. This year we decided to not buy a bunch of junk and just buy three things. The wise men brought Baby Jesus three things so we figured it was a good number. Emily got a new bike, Nellie the American Girl, and a salon chair to do her hair. John Daniel got a new bike, a REAL rocket that we are going to shoot off later today, and a leapster learning system. I did get them some art supplies as well b/c I am tired of them taking our computer paper. Santa left a note saying he made a special trip b/c he knew their daddy was working on Christmas Day and would want to enjoy Christmas with them. He also made a HUGE mess in the pantry with the oreos I bought yesterday. Guess he was hungry and we had not put out cookies b/c we didn't know he was coming. We have a fire, Christmas music playing, and Daddy is making a big breakfast......Just PERFECT! You know how I said there were positives to shift work, well this is one of them...while everyone else is hustling about trying to get their last minute shopping done, we are enjoying each other as a family and get to do absolutely NOTHING today except enjoy one another! Later, we are going to wild adventures to see the Festival of Lights there. We thought it would be a great ending to a special day. Then, starting tomorrow when John goes back to work, me and the kids get to enjoy doing things like wrapping their cousins presents, reading the What God wants for Christmas story and interactive box game, listening to more music, playing, making christmas cookies or fudge etc. Christmas Eve, we will go to church. Then on Christmas Day we will enjoy the grandparents and other family members. Daddy will at least be able to stop by for breakfast or lunch. John's parents are waiting until he is off again to do our Christmas with them on Saturday. I think this might end up being one of the most relaxing and fun christmas' ever! God works it out for us every time and I guess b/c I have been pregnant and not up for a lot, I really haven't stressed over the little things. The house is half decorated, presents are minimal, and the house is not the cleanest but it has been nice.....we have worshiped Christ by hearing children sing praises at Emily's school performance and read some advent Bible verses together. It is hit and miss but everything seems to be more calm and less hectic. At first, I kept saying it was b/c I was being BA-HUMBUG b/c John was working but maybe it is actually a blessing. I like the slow pace of it all! Merry EARLY Christmas!

Shift Work

John and I have worked shift work since we were 19 or 20 years old. It is our way of life. To most people, friends and family, it is crazy! They believe we have terrible schedules and hectic lives and confusing days BUT it is our way of life and to us it doesn't seem that bad most of the time. In the past, especially when we were first married, it was kind of crazy. Both of us were working night shift and John did 24 hour shifts in Wakulla County but since having Emily we are in more of a routine. John works 12 hour day shifts which is 7 am-7pm. It is a rotating schedule, 4 days on, 4 days off, 6 days on, 4 days off, 4 days on, 6 days off. I know there are ups and downs to working shift work, one of which would be that John has to work Christmas this year and he has to work 2 out of 3 weekends but there are positives as well. We love and have said many times that it is a blessing that John is able to be such a big part of the kids everyday life. He takes them to school, he volunteers at school, does craft day at school, chaperones field trips, gets to know their teachers, goes to most performances, has six days off for us to go out of town, makes them dinner, lunch, or breakfast, spends extra time with them, takes Emily on dates, etc. It really is a benefit. I also work part time and when John is at home somedays, I go to work between 4 and 6 hours. This works for us and there is always one of us here to do whatever the kids need. It is crazy at times and somedays I wonder if the kids know who is coming or going, but my mom reminded me, it doesn't matter, they always know one of you is going to be there and they don't have to go to afterschool or a babysitter or go home with friends. They also get to go out somedays in the middle of the week with daddy in the middle of the day when most other daddys are working. John and John Daniel like to go to Home Depot together! Today John has an interview for a promotion at work. I am thrilled for him and so proud of my husband. This promotion would put him into a Captains position at work. This a big leap upwards in his career as well as a pay increase...he would actually be on salary and not get paid by the hour. Anyways, one of the captains positions they are trying to fill is a night shift supervisor position. He would be back on nights but still rotate days. The other captains position would put him in the office Mon-Fri 8-5. I am actually worried about this job more than that night time job. I'm not sure what it will be like if we have a daddy that has "normal" hours. Anyways, I know John is qualified for the Job and I know all he wants is to do is do well in the interview. He has really taken a lot of time to prepare including talking to his friend Brian who is in the professional buisiness world and does a lot of interviewing. We've talked about his strengths and weaknesses and gone over his resume. I love John more than anything and I know that a Man's job has a lot of pull on his identity so of course I want him to do well. We prayed together last night that he would do well in the interview, speak clearly and confidently no matter what the outcome. One day there will be another Captain's position available and we know God knows what is best for our family and for John's career. Maybe there are some more lives out there for John to save and more people for him to impact!

John wore nice tan dress pants, white shirt, yellow striped tie, and a blue suit coat to the interview. This morning the kids said to him..."Daddy you look like a real boat captatin" per J.D. and Emily, "No he looks like a pilot!" I say he looked like a sexy frat boy! Whatever he looked like, he was dressed to impress! We love you Daddy!

Busy days

This would be my first official post and it will probably be short and sweet since Hubby is at the grocery store and I am suppose to be getting the kids ready for a Christmas performance this evening. It has been a very busy week. We have had two school christmas parties, J.D.'s pajamas to school day, Christmas Ballet recital, tonight Emily's school Christmas performance, and tomorrow is my hubby's big interview for a promotion at work. We loved watching Emily's ballet performance yesterday. I love seeing her dance for God. Emily, if I do say so myself, is quite good and very precise. She really loves ballet and has never complained about going. She started taking tap this year which after seeing her first performance is more like stomping to some degree! Tonight we go to Community Christian's Christmas performance. She has been so excited! Apparently the songs are not normal elementary school songs...like Jesus loves me etc. They are doing the Hallelujah chorus, Emmanuel, and a song about Fruitcake which sounds really cute! We even had to keep a practice log of how many times she had practiced after we downloaded the songs from a site. One great thing about John's job is that he gets to participate in field trips and school stuff with the kids. He chaperoned a field trip to Bradfordville Baptist today for the classes to have a dress rehearsal. The whole family is going to see it...stay tuned for the outcome!

Merry Christmas From Our Family!!

Blogging...ME????!!!!

Blogging...ME???!!! I can't believe I just subscribed to a blog. I have never been a reader, writer, or journaling type of person. I even find it hard to journal about what I learn in the Bible but my dear friend started to blog and well it has caught my interest. Ann started blogging months ago and I have to admit that I thought she was crazy. I have other friends that are big time readers and writers and I always thought it was a gift or something some people liked or did not like. My friend Rebecca must have a hundred journals about her life! I started reading Ann's posts and I have to admit that they were very cute and funny and sweet. It started making me want to write about my kids, hubby, and daily life. So here I go. I apologize to those that actually go on this site and read my posts, they may be very boring and not so imaginitive but they are are from my heart and about my sweet family of almost five..Ann says it is therapeutic for her...maybe it will be the same for me!