Fullard Family Blog

Getting back into a hobby of mine!

2010-07-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that it has been a couple of months since I blogged! I have been super busy with Freelance work, and some things had to be put to the side. I am going to try to get back into blogging on a regular basis.

I have decided to get back into drawing/painting! I think it has been about 13 years since since I last painted. I was in college ... can't believe it has been that long! I decided that I need to get back into a hobby instead of trying to work all the time. Money is not everything.

I have started an oil painting that is going to be of a sunflower when it is finished.

Boy, have I missed drawing/painting!

Scooter, Zhu Zhu pets and Beth Moore

2010-02-17T05:33:00.000-08:00

A got a scooter for her birthday from her grandparents. She loves to ride it around the downstairs. Her little snow white costume is a hand-me-down from her cousin.

A recently discovered Zhu Zhu pets when she got one as a birthday gift from a friend from church. She loved it so much that we got her a pink and white one with some birthday money. I searched all over and could not find "Jilly", so I ended up ordering it off of Amazon.com.

I also ordered "So Long, Insecurity—you have been a bad friend to us" by Beth Moore. It is being shipped separately, and I hope to get it in a week—can't wait to read it!

A putting her Zhu Zhu pets to bed!

A lot of Snow for Atlanta!

2010-02-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

We finally got a bunch of snow! It was so beautiful.

I got home an hour before Bob today and called to tell him that I had a hard time turning left onto our street. Well, he did too because he ended up going through a neighbors yard—barely missing two trees!

It was the perfect kind of snow to make a snowman with—so I was a little sad that Amanda was at her grandparents this weekend. She had a lot of fun though sledding with Grandpa and building a snowman at their house.

A winter wonderland!

dusk was beautiful!

Night time was beautiful too!

Snow Day

2010-01-08T20:07:00.000-08:00

Amanda did not have preschool today due to the icy weather.

We had fun playing, baking, coloring—and then doing those same things all over again.

We also had a fire going all day!

We all stayed warm in this freezing cold weather!

Baby it's cold outside!

2010-01-07T06:01:00.000-08:00

The sky was beautiful this morning at 7:30 a.m., but it sure was cold outside!

Bundling Amanda up for school.

Even Sammy was cold! He likes to be outside, but not the last couple of days!

He is taking this unwanted change out on Buddy. Look at poor Buddy's face all wrinkled up!

Photographing a Wedding!

2009-12-22T20:29:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, a girl that I met through church asked me if I would help her take photos at a wedding on Saturday. Of course I said yes! I have a lot to learn about photography, but it was definitely fun to get some experience. I have a new appreciation for wedding photographers—I think I was sweating bullets! Below are few photos that I took of the beautiful bride and groom.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-18T20:16:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to see a larger view.

It has been a long time!

2009-11-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not updating my blog with any photos for the past month. I have been so busy with freelance work. Also, I am participating in a research study at Georgia Reproductive Specialists, and it has taken up a lot of my time. I have been driving to the Meridian Mark building near Northside Hospital twice a week for the past 6 weeks.

I lack a hormone called GnRH which is produced and secreted by the hupothalamus (a region of the brain). The reason that I am participating in this study is that I need this hormone in order to get pregnant.

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and effectiveness of GnRH delivered from an iontophorectic (low voltage electrical current) patch into my bloodstream. GnRH has been approved by the FDA to be given by injection but not through a patch. It goes off every 90 minutes 24 hours a day. I have to change the patch every 12 hours. I have been doing this for almost 3 weeks. I am in one of 5 study groups and one is a placebo group. This is a double blind study so I will never know what group I was in, unless I get pregnant that is—then I will know I was not in the placebo group. I am trying not to get my hopes up—we will just have to wait and see. Participating in this study has brought back a flood of emotions that I had when Bob and I were trying to get pregnant with Amanda. But God knows the desires of our hearts!

My Sweety and A New Blog

2009-10-02T15:22:00.000-07:00

I started a new blog showing my coupon savings. I have been saving a lot of money at Kroger and CVS, but Publix is my new favorite store! I get all of my match-ups at SouthernSavers where all of the homework has been done for me.

Check out my coupon blog here.

Playing around with my new camera

2009-09-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

Amanda is a good model when I bribe her with surprises!

A few more from Nana and Papa's House

2009-09-18T05:06:00.001-07:00

Picking some beautiful flowers across the street.

Coloring with Nana!

Being silly with Papa.

Papa was about to replace a toilet seat!

Fun at the farm across the street from Nana and Papa's house.

Halloween Costume Preview

2009-09-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

Here is one of Amanda's choices this year.

Train Tracks near Nana and Papa's House

2009-09-09T06:10:00.000-07:00

My Little Princess

2009-09-09T06:09:00.000-07:00

Rainy Sunday/Monday

2009-08-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo taken from our back deck on Sunday. I got sick this weekend while Bob was out-of-town and was laid up most of Sunday. Amanda was a little sick but seems to be doing better today. She probably picked something up at school and passed it along to me. Hopefully this week will be better than our weekend!

After School Fun!

2009-08-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

Ready for School!

2009-08-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here we are at 7:30 a.m. this morning waiting for Ms. Ruby and Charlene to pick Amanda up for school.

Amanda and Charlene leaving for school.

After Amanda left, I took Buddy for a walk and then met up with my neighbor Christine and her son Conner. I walked with them for another hour—so I got my exercise in for today!

Then I came home and started playing with my new camera. I upgraded from a Canon Rebel XT to a Canon 50D. It is so cool! I know this is going to sound strange, but I love the "click" sound this new camera makes when I take a photo. I would like to start shooting manual instead of having the camera on auto all the time. I would LOVE to find a good photography class to take!

Now I am going to do a little graphic design work for my neighbor John before lunch rolls around. And not before too long, I will be on my way to pick up the kiddos (Amanda and her friend Charlene) from school.

A Tea Party in Memory of Ava

2009-08-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I had a little tea party in memory of sweet Ava.

I found this blog for photography advice and tips but have gotten so much more than that!

What a beautiful blog!

The tea party started inside but quickly moved outside since it was such a beautiful day! We had tea and cinnamon rolls.

Amanda enjoyed getting dressed up in a new outfit.

She had fun riding around and around on our back deck.

Cutie Pie!

PlayTown Suwanee

2009-08-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

Charlene and Amanda had fun at Playtown Suwanee after school!

Airplane Ride

2009-08-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

We went to the Parade of Planes show at Gwinnett County Airport on Saturday.

We flew this new Beechcraft Bonanza back to Fulton County airport and made a few detours along the way.

Amanda loved looking at all of the neat planes.

Daddy was there to represent Hawker Beechcraft Company.

Amanda sure was excited! Asked what she like the best about the plane ride when it was over—the headset!

Bob piloting the plane.

Beautiful rainbow!

Lake Lanier Islands

Our subdivision—River Run

Our house is the one with the deck in the upper left hand corner.

Checkers in the tub

2009-08-14T07:51:00.001-07:00

Playing princess checkers with Amanda.

Sims Lake Park

2009-08-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

After Amanda's second day of Pre-K, we went to Sims Lake Park to feed the ducks.

It was so hot today, but I promised Amanda that we would go after school. She had a great time!

There were a lot of ducks. Amanda saw several off in the distance that were coming towards us. They knew we had food for them!

Amanda was surprised at how close the ducks came to her. She wants to go back tomorrow …

Pre-K Open House

2009-08-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

Amanda riding her tricycle on our back deck.

Amanda met her new teacher today. Her name is Ms. Michaela, and she was very nice! I think Amanda is really going to like it!

Horses

2009-08-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

There are two horses on a farm right next to Grandma and Grandpa's church. We got to visit them tonight!

Color Wonder

2009-08-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

Amanda loves those Color Wonder drawing sheets where the color magically appears. I got her a princess set that sparkles!

Outside at Sunset

2009-07-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

Hangin upside down!

Lip gloss

2009-07-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

Amanda is organizing her lip gloss collection!

Bedtime

2009-07-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

I got a new lense! It is a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8

Grasshoppers!

2009-07-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

Amanda loves to catch grasshoppers!

Dance Recital with 3 Costume Changes!

2009-07-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a long time since I blogged and I am so behind! I have a bunch of photos to post but for now I am going to show you some photos of Amanda dancing and changing costumes 3 times!

Dressing buddy up with her girly headband!

Taking a break.

So elegant!

On her tippy toes!

Pittsburgh Penguins

2009-06-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken at the Pittsburgh zoo a few weeks ago. I love how it shows the reflection of Amanda in the glass reaching for the penguin in the enclosed tank.

You would not believe all of the penguins that were coming right up to Amanda. It was amazing!

First Trip to the Dentist

2009-06-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

Amanda did great at her first dental appointment. The practice did such a great job at making Amanda feel comfortable and now she cannot wait to go back!

Dr. Rhonda Hogan with Amanda.

Amanda was fascinated with her bag of goodies!

Planting Garden and Slip 'n Slide

2009-04-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

Buddy relaxing

Amanda and I planted the garden last weekend.

She did a great job helping me!

We also got out the Slip 'n Slide.

Amanda loved it!

Annie

2009-04-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

Excited to see "Annie"

Lauren Dawidowicz did a wonderful job playing Annie. Amanda really wished that the cast would have come out into the lobby wearing their costumes. Besides Annie, Amanda wanted to meet Daddy Warbucks, Miss Hannigan, and all of the orphans. She did not recognize Annie in the lobby because she was looking for a girl wearing a red dress with red curly hair!

MOPS and Flip Flop Craft

2009-04-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

At our last MOPS meeting I was asked to present a simple craft to the group. After two girls gave presentations on travel and photography, we made these easy and cute flip flops.

Michelle and her guest

Jessica had fun!

A few people modeled their flip flops for me.

Dressed up for Church

2009-04-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken last Sunday after church.

Easter weekend in the mountains

2009-04-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend at a condo in Helen, Georgia with my parents. A huge storm came through right when we got there—hail and everything. We heard later that it was a lot worse in Suwanee, GA than in Helen.

I took an Easter basket filled with all kinds of arts and crafts and gave it to Amanda Friday night. She was occupied each night with something different while my parents and Bob and I played cards. Friday night she made sand art bottles.

My dad and I went hiking in Unicoi State Park on Saturday.

It was so pretty!

This is the Nacoochee Indian Mound. It was the center of the ancient Cherokee town of Gauxule, visited by DeSoto in 1540 in his search for gold. On this ceremonial mound stood the Town House where a sacred fire burned unceasingly. Ceremonial dances were performed in and around the Town House. Residents of the town lived on the flat land surrounding the mound.

Bob and Amanda

Amanda loved the swimming pool the best!

She had fun with Papa and also made several friends.

Amanda taking a picture of Nana and Papa while getting her toes painted.

Amanda got an eye patch in one of her easter eggs!

Cutie Pie

2009-04-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

my cutie pie worn this dress to church last week. I love toile patterns and had to get this dress when I saw it at Kid to Kid Consignments in Duluth. I found some really cute baby clothes at a Kid to Kid store (Glen Allen) when I was pregnant and traveled to Richmond for work. I hoped they would open some in Altanta and they have!

Gymnastics

2009-04-05T14:18:00.001-07:00

Amanda started taking gymnastics a couple of weeks ago and loves it!

Our next door neighbors own the gym called Metro Gymnastics.

There have been about 2 other girls in her class, so the teacher to student ration is great since there are two teachers—Lisa (owner) and her daughter Nicole.

Wii Fit

2009-04-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

Bob got me a Wii for my birthday back in February. I haven't had much time to use it, but now I am going to make some time since I just got Wii Fit. Amanda is really enjoying it!

She says, "Mommy, it is time to do exercises on the Wii!"

Her favorite game is skiing, and she has gotten really good!

Class Egghunt

2009-04-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Amanda's class had an egghunt and party last Wednesday morning. It was indoors due to the rainy weather that we had all of last week.

Amanda had 15 eggs to find–all with her name on them. I thought that this was a great idea because it made the hunt challenging. The children in the class are learning how to spell their names!

Amanda also had to bring in a decorated hat for the Easter parade. We had fun decorating the hat with flowers and pink and purple eggs.

Yummy lunch!

Amanda with her friend Valerie.

Neighborhood Egg Hunt

2009-04-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I decorated a hat last Saturday for the Easter parade at preschool. She had fun picking out the pink and purple eggs to use on the hat.

Here is a "before" picture of the hat while Amanda was enjoying a Throat Cooler. They are just like push-ups but have natural ingredients like honey.

We also went to the neighborhood egg hunt last Saturday. It was indoors at a local arts center due to the rainy weather.

Amanda with her best friend who lives right behind our house. They spent a lot of time together!

Amanda with the Easter bunny. She gave Mr. Bunny a tulip that she picked especially for him.

Amanda enjoying two chocolate chip cookies with pure sugar in between! And the sugar is about to take effect!

Some snow last weekend and 75 today!

2009-03-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

Amanda loved the snow last weekend! But can you believe it has been 75 degrees this weekend? Amanda and I went to Peachtree Ridge park yesterday and had a blast!

Amanda and her neigborhood friend Leila.

Amanda likes our new deck!

This was the sunset from last Sunday—the same day that it snowed!

View from Amanda's bedroom.

Fun Saturday

2009-02-28T20:25:00.000-08:00

We tried out one of Amanda's birthday gifts today. She got a princess cool system oven and it worked well. Amanda loved picking out which sprinkles she was going to use on the cookies. This kept her busy for a while while I made homemade lasagna and chocolate chip cookies.

I let her blow out some candles for fun—like it was her birthday all over again!

My 36th Birthday

2009-02-28T20:12:00.000-08:00

I turned 36 years old on Feb. 26th! Amanda was sick with a cold and fever so I took her to the doctor in the afternoon. Bob's parents and brother came over for dinner. We had chinese food and Mary made me this lovely cake.

Amanda wanted to change her outfit when we got home from the doctor, so I let her pick out and wear what she wanted for my birthday party. You would have never known by looking at these photos that she had a fever!

Bob surprised me with a Wii as an early birthday gift on Valentine's Day! I have not had a chance to play with it much, but I look forward to soon. I would like to get WiiFit!

Amanda had fun playing golf with her grandpa. And Bob wrote in my birthday card that he was really enjoying my birthday gift this year!

Look at Amanda go!

Amanda's 4th Birthday Party

2009-02-17T08:55:00.000-08:00

Amanda turned 4 years old on Feb. 10, 2009!

We had her princess themed birthday on Feb. 7.

Her grandmother made a beautiful princess cake.

All of the girls had fun making princess crowns and purses. The crafts were a big hit!

I made little princess wands by gluing wooden crown cut-outs to dowel rods. I spray painted them pink and added pearl stands and ribbon. I also added sparkles and a special sparkle-glitter glue to the wands.

Megan is showing us her purse.

Angela loved her purse and crown. She wore her crown to school the next Monday morning!

Kaylan had fun gluing the sparkles on her crown.

Brielle was dressed as tinkerbell. She loved her crown.

Three little princesses—so cute!

Amanda loved the balloons and decorations!

I started buying favor items on sale last November. The little princess buckets are actually Halloween candy pails that I got for 75% off after Halloween at Walmart. I also found princess tattoos, wallets, bubble bath, sponges, and bath books on sale at Target and Walmart.

We served little finger foods for the princesses.

The adults liked the food too!

Here are all but one of the princesses. I could not get Charlene to be in the photo.

Grabbing for candy after it came out of the princess piñata.

The piñata was original an island barbie themed piñata that I got on clearance at Party City for $5.00. I covered up Island Barbie with the Disney Princesses and saved $15.00. This was a party with a budget after all!

Amanda blowing out the candles with a little help from her friends.

The cake was yummy!

Everyone had a good time!

Amanda and grandma took the princess oven and mixer out of the box after everyone left. Amanda loved it! We also opened up the presents from both sets of grandparents that night.

Fun Playing Dress Up

2009-02-03T11:02:00.000-08:00

Amanda loves to play "dress up".
Here is what she put on today when she got home from preschool. So funny!

Here is the beautiful sunset from last night from our back deck.

Fun at Monkey Joes

2009-01-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

Amanda had a great time at her friend KK's birthday party. It was at Monkey Joe's last weekend.

Amanda was scared of the slides at first, and I went down one of them with her. Then she gradually got braver and braver as the night went on. By the time we were ready to leave, she had been down all of them and did not want to go home!

So funny to watch!

Yummy pizza and cake!

Amanda with her best preschool bud.

Lots of Bubbles

2009-01-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

Here is what happens when you don't realize that your daughter has gotten a hold of the shampoo bottle!

Travis Cottrell concert

2009-01-28T08:49:00.000-08:00

Angie and I went to the Travis Cottrell concert at FBCW Sunday night. We were ADPi sorority sisters at Samford University and just recently reconnected through facebook.

The concert was awesome! It was a live recording. Beth Moore also spoke several times throughout the concert

Travis was the interim minister of music at Two Rivers Baptist Church when I first joined the church back in the 90s. I particularly remember this really neat song that he would play on the piano that involved him singing the many names of Jesus. I remember that Travis had these bangs (neat haircut) that would move around when he sang. Ha! The things that we remember!

To the left of Travis is Angela Cruz. She was at TRBC until just two months ago when her husband Alexis was hired on the music staff of a church in Brentwood.

I ran into Johnny Hunt—and being the gubber that I am—just had to get my picture taken with him. The governor of Georgia, Sonny Purdue, was standing right there too! I had him take the photo of us—ha! just kidding. He was there, but I didn't get a photo of him.

Woodstock is a really neat church! I like to listen to FBCW over the internet while I am working.
Check it their services at: http://www.fbcw.org/media/mediacenter/ondemand.html

Mommy, you forgot my shoes!

2009-01-20T16:45:00.001-08:00

As we were approaching preschool this morning, Amanda informed me that I had forgotten to put her shoes on her! I decided to pop into the Dollar General near her school instead of driving all the way home and then back to the school again. Time is money when you are working (and when your time is short)! I thought maybe I could find something that would work for one day. I ended up finding a really cute pair of brown shoes with pink flowers on them. I was really surprised, and we were only a few minutes late for school!

Not bad for Dollar General! Ha!

Matching Dresses

2009-01-18T21:21:00.000-08:00

I found this cute little brown and pink dress a couple of months ago at TJ Maxx. When I pulled it off of the rack to take a look at it, there was another identical dress attached to it—only it was a lot smaller. What a neat idea— a dress for a little girl and her doll! Amanda wore the dress for the first time today.

This afternoon Amanda and I met Bob's parents at their church in Cumming, GA. Amanda will be staying with them overnight since she does not have preschool tomorrow (MLK Day). This will allow me to get a lot of work done on my big freelance project.

I will also be going to the dentist tomorrow to get a crown and a filling put over two root canals. I cannot believe that I had to have TWO root canals! I also can't believe that I still have pain in the teeth where I had the root canals done back in July and August and that my dentist and a specialist cannot figure out where the pain in coming from. I am way too young to be having root canals! My dentist is referring me to an oral surgeon and thinks that I may have neuralgia. I am going to have to google that one!

I am also working on some fun things for Amanda's 4th Birthday Party. She will be four years old on February 10th. I cannot believe it—seems like she was just born yesterday and now 4 years have passed! Amanda is going to have a princess themed birthday party. She is really excited about dressing up as a princess and having a princess cake and decorations!

Harper Brown Stamps

2009-01-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

I have been following this blog for quite a while now, and this family could really use your prayers.

Fun with Christmas presents

2009-01-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

Amanda got some neat paintbrushes with the paint already in the brush for Christmas. She had fun painting tonight. She has her own "paint" shirt and pants for craft time!

One of Amanda's favorite Christmas presents was one that cost the cheapest. Everything that she got was brand new except for this barbie doll house. I was thrilled when I saw it at a local thrift store for $7.00. It looked brand new! I cannot believe that I saw this same barbie house on ebay for $99.00 used. Bob wanted me to sell it and make a profit. I said no way!

Watching TV with Papa

2008-12-31T21:53:00.000-08:00

Asleep

2008-12-31T21:48:00.000-08:00

I took this sweet picture of Amanda sleeping when we were in Nashville visiting my parents.

Reindeer Puppet

2008-12-20T13:19:00.000-08:00

Amanda and I made this cute little reindeer puppet yesterday. It looks just like I feel "Aah!"

Lots going on during the holidays!

A Cute Show

2008-12-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

Last night after dinner, Amanda wanted to do a show for us. She said that mommy and daddy could be the audience. She had me play music on the keyboard while she danced. It was so cute!

Gingerbread House

2008-12-17T21:00:00.001-08:00

Amanda and Bob did a super job decorating the gingerbread house!

The finished product!

2008 Christmas Newsletter

2008-12-17T20:01:00.000-08:00

Click on the photo above to read our 2008 Christmas newsletter.

2008 Tour of Homes

2008-12-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

I am participating in BooMama's 2008 Tour of Homes
I am a little late because I have a sick child at home, but I figured, "better late than never!" Check out all of the homes decorated for Christmas here.

Front of our house all lit up for Christmas.

This is the wreath on our front door. I got it from my favorite store Touchstone Outlet.

Past Christmas photos of Amanda in dining room.

Christmas swag above doors leading into dining room.

swag attached to clock near kitchen.

Our Christmas tree!

mantle with Nutcrackers and garland

side of fireplace

center of mantle above fireplace

close-up of mantle

other side of mantle

Nativity scene—the manager is the one from my childhood that my mother gave to me. The nativity set is a bigger one so that Amanda's hands can touch it.

The set above including the reindeer came from Touchstone Outlet for $12.00! I added the acorns and nuts, pinecones and cinnamon sticks.

Christmas potpourri on kitchen table

Candy canes hot glued around a candle and Yankee Balsam and Cedar candle

dress-me-up plate in foyer

And finally a cookie recipe. These are not your ordinary chocolate chip cookies!
Merry Christmas!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

In a mixing bowl add:
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup melted butter

Beat together until fully incorporated and fluffy.

Add 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk. Beat well.

Add 2 oz milk and 1 1/4 tsp. vanilla. Beat well.

Mix together in a separate bowl:
2 1/4 cup bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt

Slowly add on low to the wet ingredients until fully incorporated. Scrape the bowl a couple times.

Add 2 cups of chocolate chips or whatever you want to put in them.*

Cover the bowl and refrigerate until firm.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, drop 1 ounce balls on the ungreased baking sheet. Leave room for them to spread and bake evenly. Take the sheet out of the oven when the edges of the cookie are browned and the tops are golden. Watch to see if the cookies are baking unevenly and you have to rotate the pan half way through. Keep the dough cold throughout the process of baking. Put only one pan in the oven at a time. Each batch will take about 9 - 11 minutes to bake. Remove cookies off the pan to a wire rack immediately after removing from the oven. Store the cookies in sealed zip lock bags for 3 or 4 days. Freeze for up to a month in double freezer zip locks.

*I added M&M’s and chocolate chips.

Christmas Fun!

2008-12-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Playgroup Christmas Party

2008-12-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

Amanda and Maggie at the Fusion Playgroup Christmas party.

Amanda loved the sparkly pink necklaces and bracelets from Maggie.

Cooper, Maggie and Amanda

Craft time!

All dressed up to see "The Nutcracker"

2008-12-11T18:26:00.000-08:00

Amanda decorating the tree

2008-12-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

Here she is with the tree skirt wrapped around her!

She did a great job. She was very specific as to where she wanted the ornaments placed!

So fun!

All finished!

Thanksgiving 08

2008-12-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Bob's parents house in Dahlonega. My parents who were visiting from Nashville were also there.

Bob Turned 40 Nov. 24th

2008-12-11T17:51:00.000-08:00

Amanda and I surprised Bob at work with a little party. He was very surprised!!!

We took him a whole bunch of balloons. Amanda LOVED the balloons and wanted to pass them out to everyone!

We also had a party when Bob got home from work.

40 candles!

Blowing out the candles

My cutie pie!

2008-12-11T17:47:00.000-08:00

I got this cute monogrammed blue corduroy dress on ebay for $13.00. I love ebay!

New England Baptist Conference

2008-12-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

It was great to see Randy Sprinkle. I worked with him when he was at the IMB.

Conference dinner with my parents and sister.

IMB Missionary Roger Hesch

Old photo of dad—bottom left in the middle.

Jimmy and Carol Ann Draper. Dr. Draper is the former president of LifeWay Christian Resources.

Boston Trip

2008-12-06T15:38:00.000-08:00

I met my parents and sister in Boston back in November. We were there to attend a 50 year celebration of Southern Baptist ministry in New England. Here we are at the No Name Restaurant in Boston.

Watching the fisherman sort the fish from our table.

The sauteed shrimp and vegetables were really good!

We had fun shopping at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.

Ben Frankln and my mom kissing (not really!)

Our old house in Northborough, Mass. It used to be a golden yellow color.

My sister and I went to Proctor Elementary School.

We had a great time visiting the Hayward family! They live two doors down from our old house in Northboro.

Here we are in from of Rice Memorial Baptist Church.

Mrs. Hasting was my Sunday School teacher when I was about 9 or 10 years old. I memorized the books of the Bible and scripture verses under her.

The pulpit furniture at Rice Memorial Baptist Church was given in memory of my sister Nicole in 1979.

MOPS Christmas Craft

2008-11-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago was craft night at MOPS. I put together the Christmas craft, but unfortunately had to miss the meeting because I flew to Boston the morning of the meeting. Thank you so much Michelle for taking over for me and presenting the craft to out MOPS group! You are the best! The group decoupaged scrapbook paper onto wooden ornaments. I spray painted the wooden ornaments ahead of time.

Here are 3 door prize giveaways with finished ornaments attached to bath salt jars. We made bath salt jars back in February at our Spa Night, and I had a few supplies left over.

The jars contained the Honey Almond scented bath salts. There were so fun to make! I might try to make some more and give them out as teacher gifts at Amanda's school for Christmas.

Julia's Baby Shower

2008-11-22T18:30:00.000-08:00

Julia is a neighbor and blogger friend of mine. Her blog is one of the first blogs that I found when I started blogging ... Ah, I mean posting pictures of Amanda on my blog—I wish I had the time to actually blog and write stuff :)

She is a really neat girl, and we have a lot in common. Here she is 7 months pregnant! I am so happy for her. She looks great!

Here she is opening the monkey themed baby basket that I made for her. Her nursery has a monkey theme and the bedding "Spunky Monkey" is so cute!

Here is an ornament that I made. One section has a scripture verse that is very special to her. The baby's name is on the other side.

Here is McKenzie with her baby. The shower was at her house, and she did a great job as a hostess.

And of course I have to throw in a picture of my little diva with her purple earrings!

Thanksgiving Program and Feast

2008-11-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

Amanda and her best preschool friend Kaylan.

The program was great, and they all looked so cute up on stage!

The feast!

Amanda and Evan

Kelly's Baby Shower

2008-11-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

I have been invited to a wonderful Baby Shower for Kelly!
I am a little late, but better late than never.
Thank you Jenna, Faith and Heather for planning this shower!

Kelly,

I am so glad that I found your blog through Julia's blog. You have been such a blessing and an inspiration as you waited on the Lord to bless you with a child. My heart went out to you as you struggled through many of the same things that I went through when I was trying to get pregnant. I could not believe the day that I found out that I was pregnant. God truly performed a miracle, and now he has performed one for you! I am so happy for you and Scott!

I have a few words of wisdom:

You may have already heard this, but someone told me that I should not try to be "the perfect mother" just because I struggled with infertility and wanted to have a baby so badly. I have tried to be the best mother that I can be, but I am far from perfect!

Remember to reposition Harper in her crib so that she is not laying on the same side of her head every night to prevent plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome). My daughter was referred to a specialist by her pediatrician because she had a slightly flat head. The specialist wanted Amanda to wear one of those baby helmets. My husband and I decided against the helmet and started repositioning Amanda. It worked and Amanda turned out fine.

While I was on maternity leave, I took naps during the day when Amanda was napping. Don't feel like you need to do chores and things while Harper is asleep — you need as much rest as possible too!

Congratulations Scott and Kelly!!!

Craft Time!

2008-11-10T20:54:00.000-08:00

I finished my big magazine project about a week and a half ago and, instead of some retail therapy, I had some craft therapy. I love to do crafts!

About two years ago I came up with a Christmas ornament craft for my MOPS group. The MOPS coordinator wanted the ornament to be personalized somehow with the MOPS logo. I remember as a child seeing an ornament where different swatches of fabric were pushed into a styrofoam ball with a knife. I decided to take the MOPS logo, put the date under it, and then print it out on t-shirt transfer paper. I ironed the logo onto white fabric and then bought patterned and solid Christmas fabrics to make the ornament pictured above. I also bought pearl strands to hot glue in between the fabrics. It was a fun and easy craft.

About a week ago I was working on a baby gift basket for my favorite blogger Kelly, and I thought of some different things that I could make by hand. She already has a lot of really cute baby clothes so I wanted to come up with something different. One thing could be my MOPS ornament idea except that I could personalize it with her soon-to-be-born baby's name and some of Kelly's favorite colors. Check out her beautiful baby bedding here. Now that I have experimented around with this ornament idea, I want to make some more personalized ones as Christmas gifts for friends and family.

Here is Amanda watching me while she eats some of her Halloween candy. That reminds me that I need to make her a dental appointment! Ha Ha!

I put a scripture verse on the pink fabric on the back of the ornament. The same scripture verse is on the inside of the notecards below.

I also made Kelly some Thank You notecards and return address labels on my computer. She has two baby showers coming up soon, so I thought that these would come in handy. I had the notcards printed at VistaPrint and printed out the labels myself. VistaPrint did an O.K. job, but I would love to be able to print out the notecards on my own printer. I did a wedding invitation once, but it was a lot of work because the invitation was actually a little booklet. I will have to play around with that when I have some time.

I made a basket and bow using stiffener. My first attempt at this did not work out well at all.

I wanted the basket to have a zebra print bow. I could not find brown and pint zebra fabric anywhere. I finally found a brown and tan zebra pattern at JoAnne Fabrics. My mother suggested that I dye the fabric with some red food coloring and then the brown would turn pink. That part turned out great. The disaster happened when the fabric stiffener turned the pink color a bright pink when the bow dried. It looked terrible and I did not take a picture of it! I should have just ordered a yard of the fabric from the website that made the custom bedding! Also, the fabric from JoAnne's was a soft fur fabric--it just was not the right kind of fabric to turn into a stiffy bow! I have learned my lesson. At least I was able to use some of the fabric on the ornaments.

Here is the finished basket with a paisley brown and pink print. Oh, and in the way way back (you can barely see it) is a cute little dress that has the brown and pink zebra pattern on it. I found it on the summer clearance rack last week at Macy's and could not pass it up.

Amanda loves to do crafts too! She has her own painted clothes and everything! Here she is painting with sponge stamps after making a beaded necklace. Crafts are so fun, I wish I had more time to do them!

Mayfield Dairy Farm

2008-11-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

We went on a tour of Mayfield Dairy in Braselton, GA last Friday morning with the Fusion playgroup. Above are Cooper and Amanda with the milk plant in the background.

We had to wear hairnets during the tour. Even Michelle's 7 month old baby Trinity had to wear one!

Amanda, Natasha and Cooper with their yellow hairnets!

Playground Fun and Duck Feeding

2008-11-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

Look at Amanda striking a pose for this shot! So Funny...

Ahh!!! The ducks are after me!!!

Mommy Voted Today

2008-11-04T13:01:00.000-08:00

We went to vote and then off for ice cream!

Beautiful sunset!

Playing Dress Up

2008-11-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2008

2008-10-31T13:05:00.000-07:00

My neigborhood Hayden carved this LOST themed pumpkin. He did a great job!

Jack and Sawyer from LOST.

I love to Bead Necklaces!

2008-10-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

Thrifty shopping for Amanda

2008-10-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

I have seen so many cute monogrammed things on other blogsites and decided that I wanted to get Amanda some monogrammed clothes. My first stop was Ebay. I was the highest bidder (2nd bid) and got this cute dress for $9.99! I typed in "Amanda monogram" into the search engine and up came this dress!

Amanda loved it! It came with a matching bow with an "A" monogrammed on it.

Here is an adorable dress that my mother-in-law made for Amanda for next summer.

Here is another great Ebay find. Again, I typed in "Amanda monogram" and up came this dress. The reason it came up is because it was made by a children's clothing company named "Amanda Remembered". I did some research on the etiquette of monogramming. When you use one letter, it came be the first letter of someone's first or last name. The "F" was perfect. I was the only bidder and got the dress for $12.99!

This will look nice on Amanda at Christmastime.

I also love to go to Children's consignment sales. My favorite website to find sales in Atlanta is http://thebargainwatcher.com One day when I was going to meet and pick up Amanda from her grandparents in Cumming, I stopped at a sale and found this cute Christmas dress for $7.00! It is by "Rare Editions" and still has the price tags on it for $34.99. I got a great deal!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

2008-10-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I went to a Birthday Party for Rachel today!

The party was at a new McDonald's near Amanda's preschool. They had a huge indoor playground!

Everyone loved the Happy Meals, especially the Wizard of Oz toys that came with the meals.

Amanda helped Rachel open her present.

Poor Buddy!

2008-10-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I usually don't post these kind of things, but Buddy got attacked by a dog that lives behind us this summer. Amanda, Buddy and I were playing in the backyard when it happened. When I saw the dog making a mad dash into our yard, I immediately scooped Amanda up and ran into the house with her. She is my first concern whenever I see this dog running into our yard. Buddy has been attacked by this same dog at least six times. Once Buddy was attacked by this dog while we were out on a walk, and I got caught in the middle! It was terrible! His wounds from this last attack got infected even though I did everything I could think of to keep the wounds clean. I had to take him to the vet so that he could get an antibiotic prescription.

I have approached the homeowner several times and he has alway told me that it would not happen again. This last attack was the last straw. I would be devasted if something happened to Amanda. I drove all the way to Winder to file a complaint with Animal Control. The owner was cited for 3 violations because of my complaint. He appeared in court and plead "not guilty" saying that he was not home when the attack happened. I found out from Gwinnett County courts that this dog has a long history of problems and that he has even attacked a women.

Then last week I received a subpoena requiring that I appear in court as a witness On October 2. We will see what happens ...

UPDATE: I got a called late Wednesday from the attorney handling the case. She told me that I no longer needed to appear in court because the owner of the dog was going to make a plea to the judge. I said, "A plea of guilty?" She said it would be a plea of "no contest". So to make a long story short, I called on Friday to find out what happened. The owner must have been found guilty because he has to surrender his dog within 10 days. That means the dog will be put to sleep! I feel terrible about that. But because this dog has a long history of problems, I would be devastated if he were to attack Amanda.

October is Here!

2008-10-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

What will Amanda dress up as for Halloween this year? Last year she was a cute little witch. I was thinking about getting her a Ragedy Ann costume this year ... we will see!

Papa and Nana were visiting us last year on Halloween. Papa got to take Amanda trick or treating. I remember trick or treating when I was a child in Northborough, Mass. It was always so much fun to go with the neighbors. One year I even made a map of what I thought the best route would be to get the most amount of candy!

Buddy was a little freaked out by all the door bell ringing!

Jenny and The Varsity!

2008-09-28T13:40:00.001-07:00

I met my friend Jenny at The Varsity last night. She lives in Brazil with her husband Athos and was in the states for a wedding. We started working at the International Mission Board at the same time back in 1998. She is a very talented writer and has a huge heart for missions. I have told her in the past that I hope she is keeping all of the prayer letters that she has written - she should write them into a book! Wow, I cannot believe it has been 10 years. I am so glad that I got to see her! Her host family brought her all the way downtown from Williamson, GA.

Fall Tour of our Home Part 1

2008-09-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

I love to decorate for fall and Christmas, so I am doing a fall tour of my home via my blogsite. Here it goes ... above is a wreath that I made for the front door.

Here is the whole front porch decked out for fall with my sweet pumpkin right in the center!

Here is my Southern Living at Home Dress-Me-Up Plate. I changed out the ribbon for fall. I painted the topiary and stone motif directly onto the wall a few years ago when I was playing around with faux finishing the living room.

This is what is in the hallway.

Here is our fireplace and mantle.

I just put up these little birdie iron things a few weeks ago that I got at Touchsone. I couldn't decide what to fill the glass vases with — but I knew grapevine balls and little pumpkins would be perfect for fall! For Christmas I will put berries and pinecones. I don't know what I will do for spring and summer?

Here is the one on the other side.

Here is a candle mantle piece that I got at Touchstone Catalog Outlet for next to nothing.

Here are a few decorative things that I put next to the fireplace. Amanda has already claimed the pumpkin basket and has been carrying it around like a purse.

I love the pumpkin spice candle that my former supervisor's wife gave to me a while back. I cannot believe it has lasted this long! I also have a metal candle ring and oil called "Harvest" from Crabtee & Evelyn that I have on a light bulb. It makes the whole downstairs smell so good! Last year I experimented with hot glueing cinnamon sticks around a candle, and it came out pretty good!

Here is a table in the dining room with more candles and picture frames. I got the Halloween candles for 50 cents each and the handpainted runner for $1.00 at Touchstone Catalog Outlet.

What a bargain! Can you tell the Touchstone is my favorite store? I have been going there for years.

Here is my little helper with her stash of smarties!

I decide to rearrange about our hutch since we moved it to another spot in our living room.

Here is one of Amanda's paintings that reminded me of fall.

I have a couple of more photos of the dining room and kitchen tables that I would like to post when I have a chance. Be on the lookout for Part 2!

Fusion and Friends Playgroup

2008-09-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Michelle invited Amanda and I to be a part of her playgroup on Fridays. We had so much fun at Playtown Suwanee! I did not take very many pictures because I got to hold Michelle's precious Trinity! It felt so good to hold a little baby!

Amanda loves the painted cows!

Beautiful sunset!

Fun at Suwanee Day

2008-09-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

We had fun at the Suwanee Day festival!

Amanda loves to get her face painted!

The ring toss was fun! Too bad the little ball that Amanda won went down the water drain on the way home!

Amanda had the best time at the playground across the street! The kids area at the festival was for older kids. Maybe next year!

We came home and made cupcake pops. Yum!

Amanda had a cupcake pop in her mouth and said, "This is really good!"

Cabbage Patch Celebrates 25 years

2008-09-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

Cabbage Patch Kids turn 25 this week! I remember getting a Cabbage Patch doll (pictured above with Amanda) in 1984 and wishing that one day I would have a "real" baby — so I just had to take a picture of Amanda with my doll. This picture was taken in August 2005.

Here is a photo of Amanda at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia back in June. She blends right in!

Fun Hairdo!

2008-09-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Look how cute Amanda's hair looks! Grandma did this after seeing it done at the Yellow Daisy Festival last week. Amanda loved it!

Fun with the Bubble Gun!

2008-09-15T12:42:00.001-07:00

Sarah and Amanda had fun with the bubble gun machine!

Amanda's first day of Preschool

2008-09-03T16:08:00.001-07:00

Hilton Head Day 2

2008-09-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Just Beautiful!

Amanda told me that she was surfing in this photo!

Papa, Amanda and Nana

Amanda and Mommy

Papa and Amanda playing

Going home to Georgia

Hilton Head

2008-09-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

Driving from Daytona Beach to Hilton Head

2008-09-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

Beautiful cloads!

DVD player comes to the rescue again.

Driving past Jacksonville, Florida

Daytona Beach Day 5

2008-09-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

I didn't take very many pictures on our last day because Bob, my mom and I went shopping.

You have to set aside at least one day for shopping!

Daytona Beach Day 4

2008-09-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

Amanda and Bob on the Lazy River.

Ocean Walk Resort

Exploring under the pier

Thursday night we went to dinner at Scott and Rita. They are family friends and former neighbors from when we lived in Germantown, TN. We always have a great time with them!

Beautiful bar area!

Daughter Shannon and her family. My sister and Shannon were in the same class at GHS.

Daytona Beach Day 3

2008-09-03T10:58:00.001-07:00

Amanda had fun at the kiddie pool! My mom got her this swim suit with the floaties built into it.

Ready to go out to dinner with friends Lynda and Gary.

We went over to Lynda and Gary's house after dinner. They live in a fly-in community in Port Orange called Spruce Creek. The hanger that houses their plane is built right into their house – just like a garage.

Spruce Creek was John Travolta's former fly-in home but apparently his Boeing 747 was a little too big and noisy for the neighbors.

The airstrip is right behind Lynda and Gary's house. How neat to taxi your plane right out of your garage to the airstrip and take off!

Here is a plane fixing to take off.

Bob, Lynda, Gary and Amanda

Daytona Beach Day 2

2008-09-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I had fun on the Lazy River!

We stayed at Ocean Walk Resort right on the beach. There were all kinds of fun things to do without leaving the resort.

Papa and Amanda

From our balcony