99 Things

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it would be fun to do. If you'd like to play along, just copy and paste these 99 things onto your blog and bold the things you HAVE done...

here are mine:

1. Started your own blog



2. Slept under the stars



3. Played in a band



4. Visited Hawaii



5. Watched a meteor shower



6. Given more than you can afford to charity



7. Been to DisneyWorld



8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis 



10. Sang a solo



11. Bungee jumped
(well, it was one of those bungee slingshot things!)


12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm



14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child



16. Had food poisoning



17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables



19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France



20. Slept on an overnight train



21. Had a pillow fight



22. Hitch hiked



23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill


24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping



27. Run a Marathon



28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice




29. Seen a total eclipse



30. Watched a sunrise or sunset



31. Hit a home run


32. Been on a cruise
(does a dinner cruise count? :))

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person



34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community



36. Taught yourself a new language



37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person


40. Seen Michelangelo’s David


41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt



43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant



44. Visited Africa



45. Walked on a beach by moonlight



46. Been transported in an ambulance



47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing



50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris



51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling



52. Kissed in the rain



53. Played in the mud


54. Gone to a drive-in theatre 


55. Been in a movie



56. Visited the Great Wall of China



57. Started a business (my etsy shop)

58. Taken a martial arts class



59. Visited Russia



60. Served at a soup kitchen



61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies



62. Gone whale watching


63. Got flowers for no reason


64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma


65. Gone sky diving



66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp



67. Bounced a check


68. Flown in a helicopter



69. Saved a favorite childhood toy


70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial



71. Eaten caviar



72. Pieced a quilt



73. Stood in Times Square



74. Toured the Everglades



75. Been fired from a job



76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London



77. Broken a bone



78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle



79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person



80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican


82. Bought a brand new car



83. Walked in Jerusalem



84. Had your picture in the newspaper


85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve



86. Visited the White House (the outside, not the inside)



87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating



88. Had chickenpox



89. Saved someone’s life



90. Sat on a jury



91. Met someone famous (met Hulk Hogan at the airport)



92. Joined a book club



93. Got a tattoo


94. Had a baby - 2 of them



95. Seen the Alamo in person



96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake



97. Been involved in a law suit


98. Owned a cell phone



99. Been stung by a bee


How many have you done out of the 99? Care to play along? - be sure to let me know so I can check out your list.

Happy St. Patrick's Day...or as close as we're gonna get!

It's been one of those days people... It's probably a good thing that I've been trying to be "festive" over the past few days, because no one's feeling it today. The kids were both wearing green this morning, so I took their picture, but you can see they weren't enjoying our impromptu photo session!

William got to school, Jonathan got off to work, and hopefully their days are going well, but can't say the same for Abbey and myself. I've finally come down with "the crud" that everyone has had and despite, loading up on a few different drugs, I can't get my head to stop throbbing. I could feel this coming on last night. :( And poor Abbey was in a right state this morning. She's never been so upset before and I could tell she was in pain. She's had some tummy trouble recently and we've tried a few less invasive methods of making her feel better, but this morning, I had to pull out the big guns. So as you can imagine, she had her first experience with a product that starts with an "s" and ends with "ory." (Sorry, a word like that just doesn't belong in any post!) So, we managed to make it through that without too much trauma, and thankfully, my poor baby finally fell asleep. She has been down for about an hour & 1/2, so we'll see how she's feeling when she awakes.

So we may have some green milk and mashed potatoes with our ham tonight, but that is probably going to be the extent of our St. Patrick's Day festivities. Hope you are having a more festive, enjoyable day! :)

Some of my favorite 'Irish' things

If you know me (pretty much at all) then you will know that I love all things British! So, in celebration of St. Patty's Day, I thought I might do a Top 10 list of my favorite Irish things.

Since I can't really say that I love one thing more than another, I'm just putting up 10 things, in no particular order.

My dear friend Stephen
ok, so technically, he's at the top, but from here on down, they are in no particular order :)

Yes, this is not Stephen, but he brought it from Ireland for me.

Riverdance
I've been three times and it is defnitely my favorite show!

Celtic Women
Don't have pictures yet, but I'm going to a show in a few weeks!

My bodhran drum
(a special gift brought home to me by my sweet friend, Nancy)

My belleek pottery

My Donegal candy dish

(I don't know why, but I can't get this picture to turn around...)

My Thomas Joseph prints

U2
This is my t-shirt and program from the Elevation concert my brother and I went to, with Stephen, as well as a program he gave me from the Vertigo tour!

4 small, special plates from Nancy

My Celtic Knot/heart necklace

It was a bridesmaid gift from my sister

And here's an extra one, for good measure - Oxalis

(otherwise known as 3-leafed clovers)

And don't forget to join in the St. Patrick's day fun at JanMary's blogging carnival. You're bound to have fun and you might even win a beautiful Irish prize or make a new friend!

Lots of catching up to do!

We just arrived home last night from a weekend spent with Jonathan's family in central Florida. We had a great time, and I have many pictures and some stories to share from our trip. But it's back to the old grind this morning, as well as many new things this starting this week. One fun thing that's coming up is the blogging carnival that I'm going to be a part of on St. Patrick's Day. I've never done this before, so I'm really looking forward to it! Not to mention that it's being hosted by a sweet lady in Northern Ireland, so you can't get any more authentic then that! :)

You might also have noticed that I took the time to put the blog back together after I almost chucked it last week. It was infuriating re-doing everything, but I should know by now not to try to renovate it (or anything else) on the nights when Jonathan's out of town. Once a week, things seem to fall apart and it usually happens the night he's gone! So, after this post, you shouldn't hear from me again today since he's on the road again! Anyhow, I was thankful that I got the blog into 3 columns, which gives room for a few other fun things, since I'm still working on a whole label section. But don't think I'll work on that tonight! ;-)

So, on with the stories and the pictures, which is probably why you're here in the first place, right?! Well, we started out our trip with a visit to the newest park in Lakeland. We had seen it being built the last times we were there and we knew it was going to be pretty awesome! We went with Jonathan's dad at a time when we thought it wouldn't be too crowded. It was busy, for sure, but not overwhelming, can't find a parking space crowded, so that was good!

I love this picture! It's not too often that both kids are enjoying something together!

These collage pictures should give you a feel for what it was like that morning - busy! The kids didn't stop for a second!






William was very brave on the slides. He got so that's all he wanted to do, and only the big ones, of course!

There's padded astro turf everywhere, so it's nice if the kids take a spill, but the static build up will get you! You can see the static in Abbey's hair up there!





I love William's face on the one below!

It was a gorgeous day, perfect for being outside! We had a great time at Common Ground Park and look forward to going back next time we're in town! If only we can get the kids to leave without whining...we'll have to work on that! :)

Driving me crazy!

After the hassle I've had with the blog today it may very well be coming down for good! I'm tired of the time and energy I put into this thing, when so many people can keep up with us by other means. I've lost some of my "gadgets" now, even though they were backed up and it's a lot of work getting things back. I just don't have the patience or the time for this...

This is my disclaimer for the missing things, in case you noticed that they were missing! I'm off to give the kids a bath before I just delete this whole thing!

Photo Meme

I've met some really great ladies through their blogs lately and one of them was doing a photo meme. I told her I'd play along and see what I could come up with. I know I did one of these not too long ago, but well, time has passed and I've taken a lot of pictures since then! And that was the 4th folder, 4th picture and this isn't! :) So here we go...

Here are the rules:

1. Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.

2. Go to the 6th Folder and then pick the 6th Picture.

3. Post it on your blog and tell the story that goes with the picture.

4. Tag 5 other people to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog telling them about it.

Here's my picture:

This is one of William's masterpieces he painted at school. The first semester, I hung every picture that he brought home, on the walls in his bedroom. We ran out of room by Christmas and it was about that time that I heard a great idea for keeping and organizing your kids' artwork. It was actually from the Oprah show, although I didn't watch it; I heard about it from my sister-in-law since they were doing a free photobook giveaway, which I ended up using for William's birthday pictures. Anyhow, instead of hanging onto every picture that the kids bring home, take a picture of it and then at the end of the year, make the pictures into a photobook! Like I totally should have thought of that on my own, but apparently someone else did and is probably making bookoo bucks because of it. Oh well.

The pictures that William finger paints are especially special to me because he has some sensory issues and does not enjoy having his hands "dirty." The fact that he's overcoming it and has actually made some pretty pictures is so amazing! We are so thankful and proud of the strides he's made this year! So, even though this isn't one of his prettiest pieces, it's still very special!

So, that being said, I know I can always count on Angela to come up with a cute picture and Katie too. And I'm going to tag Annie, Alison, and JanMary, just in case they come across this and want to dig up a cute picture to share!

Background

In celebration of the upcoming St. Patrick's Day and because this background reminds me of my favorite Belleek pottery, I changed the blog again. Just in case some of you were wondering. :)

A Purse Meme!

I found this on a friend's blog and thought this is right up my alley! If you know me well enough, you know I'm a purse FANATIC! I can't help it, I've always been one. Even when I was little, I had to carry, as I called it, "a puhse!"

So here are the RULES:

1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of right now. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you have. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left your house. No Cheating!

2. I want to know how much it cost. And this is not to judge. it is for entertainment purposes only. So, spill it. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it

3. Tag some ladies. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you're showing everyone your bag.

Here's the purse I am currently carrying:

So this is a "Daisy Daisy" Libby purse by Vera Bradley. Daisy Daisy is probably my favorite print, although I really like their new "Hope Garden"...a lot! This particular style is a little small for all of the stuff I carry, but thankfully, I'm able to fit everything I need in here easily! I had never even heard of Vera Bradley until my parents moved to Tally and I got one for my birthday from them. When I moved here too, I realized how popular they were and for good reason!

Normally, since this purse was a Christmas present, I would be able to honestly say that I don't know how much it cost. But since this purse was kind of special, I can tell you that it was acquired for the awesome price of $35! Gotta love a great deal! :)

So I don't think that many of my friends with blogs are big purse girls, so I'm not tagging anyone. However, I do know that some readers are fellow purse lovers. So, leave a comment if you'd like and tell us about your purse! Send me a picture and I'll stick up here too!

Moms, You've Gotta Read This!

(Click on it to bring it up to full size. It's worth it!)

In case you were thinking I forgot the blog was really about the kids...

Here is a cute video:

Just so you know, we are not in the habit of giving our 18 month-old long, pointy objects to play with. Also, this was a one-time thing, with both of them "playing" and it was too cute not to get on video.

I also moved the daily thanks to the sidebar. So if you're following me in a reader, just remember it's not a post, so it's not going to show up there.

Today I'm thankful for...

The conversation I had last night with a dear friend from college. She and I were in the same tennis & speech classes at Pensacola and became good friends immediately. She is the sweetest, smartest, most beautiful lady you could ever meet! We stayed in touch for a while after school, but then after marriage and moving a few times, we lost touch. Thankfully, I just recently found her on facebook and we were able to catch up. She told me she has sent me so many letters, but they never reached me and we both laughed how we never thought about FB sooner. We talked on the phone last night and it was so good to hear her voice again, because really, it's been like 5 years since we've talked! She's now also married and has a beautiful 3-month old daughter. God has done amazing things in her life and I'm so thankful and privileged to call her my friend!

Today I'm thankful for...

A better organized kids' room. There are really multiple blessings here, because one, is that the kids' room doesn't feel so small and disorganized now, which is a big thing for me since I'm well, claustrophobic. Second, I got Jonathan to help me without complaining! Thirdly, the kids aren't sleeping with their heads up against the window, which has been bad since it's so cold and their window lets in a lot of cold air. And if you're wondering about the mattress up against the wall, well that would be the one that Abbey will sleep on, when she's ready. We tried her on it before, but we knew she still needed to be contained! We don't want to send it back to Mom & Dad's, since it will eventually end up back here, so we just made the best of having an extra mattress in a small house! I'm also washing all of their bedding, in case you were wondering about that too! :)

Something New

I'm introducing something new on the blog, which doesn't have much to do with either William or Abbey directly I suppose, but since I'm the author of this blog, I can do it anyway! :) So, I know a lot of bloggers have a kind of format they follow, where they talk about certain things on certain days. It's a great idea and works well. Others take part in a daily thing, like a daily photo. Following a bit in those footsteps, but also putting my own twist on it, I'm going to implement a daily blessing. Not that I'm handing out blessings to our readers, but that I'm going to share a personal blessing (sometimes with a picture, maybe some days not) everyday. I'd like to give it a special title, which I haven't come up with yet, so if you have any ideas please feel free to share them with me - you might come up with something that would stick! Anyhow, it's something that's important to me, since I think that we all have so many things to be thankful for, yet when we pray, we usually end up asking the Lord for more. And I'm not guaranteeing that it's going to be something deep and profound everyday; it might just be a little thing.

Psalm 100:3-5 (New King James Version)

Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

My Christmas Cactus

I have this Christmas cactus that's a bit of a late bloomer. It's more like well, an end of January cactus, but I have one single bloom on this small shoot that came from my mom and it finally opened up. I was so excited to see the gorgeous color of it, a sort of coral/red. I used to have a huge cactus that was bright pink, but I totally prefer this red one to the other. Anyhow, I know the bloom won't last long, so I wanted to get some pictures of it, and they were so pretty that I had to share. At least I know my mom will enjoy them! :)