My Mirror

My Aunt gave me a secretary (desk/table) and it is so beautiful. It's at my mom's house right now. I wanted a mirror to hang over it and this one is perfect.

Bruce made this one. He saved us lots of money on it too. Let me tell ya how, 'cause you know how I LOVE to pinch my pennies. The mirror, itself, had no frame around it and was hanging in the children's bathroom. Bruce made the frame using the chair railing we pulled off the wall when we were painting before Christmas. I think the only thing we bought to make the mirror was paint. It's so heavy I can't lift it and he had to make a brace to hang it on the wall. It was really brilliant how he did it, I must say. He's quite creative when it comes to things like this. Anyway, pricing these mirrors, one this size and this heavy would go for around $300. I'm happy at how pretty it turned out and I'm proud of my hubby for doing such a great job!

Love you, hon!

His next project is working on my windows. See the curtains in the mirror? He's making me a wooden box (valance) to go around the top. I'm very excited about it. I'll tell you why I'm excited about it when he gets it finished.

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I think I told you our youth choir was singing at a revival next weekend. Click here to hear them singing Redeemed. Hope it's a blessing.

Reese's Cups, Captain America, and Valentine Vases

Bruce has always loved comic book heroes so when I found this shirt at Wal Mart a few weeks ago I bought it for him for his birthday. He was so happy.
He is also a great lover of Reese's cups. So when Justin found this GIANT pack of 1/2 pound Reese's cups he got them for his dad. Again...he was so happy.

When he took the first bite he said, "They finally made it the way I always knew they should." LOL By the way, this picture was taken before we joined the gym, just in case you were wondering.

Speaking of the gym, we met with the personal trainer today to set up a routine for us. I'm excited about getting started on that Monday. I do best when I have a plan and I think this will work out great.
So we're sitting at the table with the trainer and three other gym members when the trainer asks us what our goals are. He makes his way around the table and gets to Bruce who answers, "Well, I've always believed that underneath this exterior is a Captain America. And THAT is my goal."
He's so crazy. I don't know what I'm going to do with him sometimes.
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Now that New Year's is over and we're beginning our flight into 2012, I'm ready for the next holiday. VALENTINE'S DAY! I love that day. I guess because I have the sweetest Valentine, EVER.
After some encouraging prods from a couple of friends I decided to go ahead and put out a few Valentine decorations. I have a heart wreath I'll hang on the door this weekend. I found a cute foam "I LOVE YOU" at a store tonight that I'll go back and get later. I'm going to place it in the middle of the wreath. I think it'll be cute.
And I found this candy heart vase at a thrift store this week. I thought it was so cute. I didn't buy it when I saw it and then decided to go back for it the next day. I'm glad I did because I really like it. :)

And One More Busy Weekend...

I've been spending some time at my mom's house, helping her do some things, which I was able to complete today. I primed and painted her hearth for her. That was a JOB, let me tell ya!! But it's finished and it looks so much better.

I also painted a mirror and sconce set she already had. I think the black looks so much prettier. I like it a lot better than when it was white.

I had a lot of fun doing these projects. I have some touch up work I need to get to for her on her walls. Lord willing, I can get to those before next week.
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Of course yesterday was Father's Day. We had two wonderful services at church. One young man was saved Sunday night and then Pastor baptized a lady Sunday night also. Praise the Lord!
We celebrated with Bruce by having one of his favorite meals for dinner. Justin had to go back to the camp and wasn't going to be able to come home with us after church so he opened his gifts before the morning service. He just died laughing at the card from the kids. They bought him a parental translator of what kids say to what they mean. It was really funny and I just loved how he got cracked up.


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Saturday was Justin's 19th birthday. He got home from the camp around 5:00 and we celebrated with his grandmothers.

He wanted pizza, so of course Pizza Hut was on the menu.

And since we're a Tar Heel family, he got the white and Carolina Blue with banners birthday cake! :P

We got into a little icing fight. I would have won, but he overtook me in the end. Oh well... maybe next time.

His cake and ice cream.... ugh, I get sick just looking at it.

He wanted a video camera to take to camp so this is the one we got him, only the one we got him is red. It's really nice. I think he'll get some good stuff on it.

We had a good evening with him.

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Friday night, Brother Johnathan, Mrs. Jennifer, and myself, took the youth group bowling. It was so much fun. This bowling alley is pretty far away, but it is very family oriented and had a good atmosphere. Great place to take the youth. It was so fun bowling with them and watching them bowl was hilarious.

Brother Johnathan being his nutty, turkey-self. lol

And this was the final score. Brother Johnathan had 46 pts, I was in second with 64, and Mrs. Jennifer was in first place with 150. Great job, Mrs. Jennifer!!!!

After bowling we took the youth to McDonald's. They really know how to eat!

Some of the crazy girls on the van! lol

You can't go through Gastonia without stopping at Krispy Kreme! And when the red light is on...well...you know what THAT means!

Poor Mrs. Jennifer never gets out of Shelby. Needless to say she was really excited about getting to go to Krispy Kreme. :P

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It was a terrific last few days. Looking forward to some much needed time this weekend with my family our two extra daughters that stay with us from time to time. Celine and Carissa will be with us. Love those girls!

A Tuesday Funny

The house was quiet last night when we heard Bruce speak up and say, "Hannah, the city of Oz called. They want their socks back."

He Passed and How 'Bout Some Music?

I went to a birthday lunch for a friend of mine today. We ate at the Olive Garden, then back to the church for some cake. But this cake wasn't it! When I got home from the birthday lunch, Hannah told me Chip called and said Justin told him to call and tell us to have the cake ready, he passed his EMT state exam. He is now certified as emergency medical technician. So after church tonight mom and Hannah stopped for cake and ice cream and we had a little celebration for him. I think he'll probably go for the next level when he gets out of the fire academy. I'm not sure, but I have a feeling he's thinking about it. Anyway, the cake was so good. There was German chocolate, coconut, red velvet, and yellow with chocolate icing.


He had received a certificate in the mail yesterday but we were confused because they said the results wouldn't even be posted until Tuesday or later. But it was confirmed today. So he was on cloud nine when he got home.


While I was cutting the cake for everyone, Bruce was being a dork. LOL I love my goofy hubster.


He bought a classical guitar last night and played a little something for us. It has a beautiful sound!

I told Hannah last week that he was exhibiting all the signs of wanting a new guitar. So when he asked me last night if I'd be ok if he brought one home, Hannah and I just looked at each other and laughed.

So yay for Bruce's new guitar. And yay for Justin passing his exam.

James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

Big Boy's Toybox

Several weeks ago Bruce was asked to make a toybox for a baby in our church for Christmas. We delivered it last night.

It was really cold in Bruce's workshop and when it's cold, the stain won't dry. So we brought the toybox in and let it dry in the house.


The inside....he even put spring loaded hinges on the lid that will keep the lid up so it won't slam on his little fingers.


He put a lot of hard work into this little toybox. And I can guarantee it will be around for a very long time!! That thing is S-O-L-I-D!


Bruce, Big boy, and Big boy's daddy, sittin' on the toybox. Like I said, it is S-O-L-I-D!
haha


Doesn't big boy look thrilled? LOL

Big boy's mommy couldn't be there when we delivered it and that's always Bruce's favorite part...but she said she absolutely loved it, and Bruce was thrilled. :)

Great job, Hon! I love you!!

Happy Birthday and Peanut M&M's

My sweet man had a birthday Friday. I won't tell how old he turned. That wouldn't be nice.

Anyway, I had my mom and mom-in-law over. He wanted breakfast for his birthday dinner so I did scrambled eggs, bacon and livermush, biscuits and gravy, and grits. All his favorites. His mom made his birthday cake. He wanted white cake with her homemade frosting. Mmm...good stuff there. Love your cakes, Marie!!
Mom made the scrambled eggs. My back is still in bad shape and I was glad she showed up when she did.
Thank you, mom, for helping with the eggs. :)

I was just going to post the picture above, but this one tickles me every time I see it. When I picked out his birthday card in the store I literally laughed out loud and there was no point in even looking for another card. It was a little story book card and he was reading it aloud, but when he got to this one page he just died laughing, like I did. He was squirting tears. I love to see him smile and laugh and this really had him cracking up.

I hope you had a wonderful birthday, sweetheart. I am so blessed to have you for my husband. I love you.
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Hannah went with me this week to help clean the house I do every other Tuesday. She was such a great help for me, just picking up all the rugs off the floor so I didn't have to bend over. She also cleaned the upstairs so I wouldn't have to go up and down the stairs. I appreciated her willingness to go and help. It took a lot off my mind and back!!
Thank you, Hannah. You're such a sweet daughter. :)

The lady I clean for is really nice. She usually leaves a note with my check telling me to help myself to a snack and a soda. I don't normally have a snack, but I do take my cup and enjoy a soda with crushed ice. However, when I cleaned Tuesday she had peanut M&Ms in her snack basket. Oh, I do love those things. I broke down and had a handful of them. They were so good. I thought about them the rest of the week, wishing I had just one more handful.

Today when I went grocery shopping, guess what was on sale BOGO! M&M's!! I got me a bag of peanut and Bruce a bag of regular. We're going to see who can take the longest to empty their bag. I'm pretty sure mine will still be half full come Christmas. His bag won't make it through Sunday. If I was a bettin' woman, I'd lay money on it! hahaha

Camp, Old Friends, and Knobby, the Sasquatch!

So we're into our third day of camp. I just found out that there is Family Night up there but have no idea when. I'm guessing it is Thursday. Which is my birthday. Which is already booked with a family thing here. But it's ok...I'll survive. I heard from a friend of ours that works there and he said Harrison was having a great time. So unless something changes, I'll see him again Friday morning. I know he and Matt are having a good time and I found out there were several other children we know up there.

I was sitting on the couch yesterday watching FOX news (so depressing sometimes) and I heard a knock on the door. I thought, at first, it was one of the little neighbor boys coming to play with Harry, but the knock was too strong. When I stood up I noticed a car in the driveway. And when I went to the door, there stood an old neighbor friend from Justin's childhood.

I couldn't believe it. I opened the door and gave him a big hug and he visited for a few hours with us. It was so good seeing him. I'm hoping he'll come to church with us since he's moved back into the area. He's looking for good friends and I know he'd get along great with our growing college and career class.

I'm thinking there are about thirty + in there come September since we just lost eleven that graduated from high school. That's a nice crop of college and career kids.

We've recently had a sighting of Knobby the sasquatch in our parts. If you haven't seen it on the national news you've really missed it, let me tell ya. This mountain man claims he came face to face with one. Legend has it, that "Knobby" the sasquatch was spotted several times in these parts back in the '70s and is now making his appearance again.

Here's a link to the news report:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T0R4l7Iyp8&feature=related

And here's a link to see a video Brother Ted took of Bruce telling about his sighting of Knobby:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fybri3QOlzc

It's going to be a busy weekend. See you all later!

A Happy Father's Day

Last week was a lot of fun as we celebrated a week long of Father's Day with Bruce. He's such a wonderful husband and dad. He deserves a Happy Father's Day every day!

Bruce, I'm thankful the Lord saw fit for us to be together and that He has blessed us with a wonderful life. I love you.

We had a terrific Sunday. After a great sermon on God Needs A Man, we headed back to our house with mom and daddy for a Father's Day lunch.

I don't normally cook on Sunday but since Bruce loves my lasagna, I got up a little earlier than usual today and began preparing two pans, along with sides. Hannah made dessert and mom brought dessert too. The food was delish, but having my husband at one end of the table and my daddy at the other, made the day for me!

I was thinking of some special memories of when I was a child. I have always been a daddy's girl. It's a good thing I was the only girl because there would have been some serious rivalry going on.

But I have special memories of my dad. As a matter of fact, I began to list them and it just kept going and going. Where do I begin? Where do I stop? God has blessed me so much, giving me a Christian dad. A loving dad. There's not much he doesn't know about me. We've shared many talks through the years. Many opportunities of time spent one on one together. Trips, just the two of us. I have great memories that will last a life time.


I love you, daddy!

Thank you, Lord for the men in my life that you have blessed me with.

Proverbs 23:24 "The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him."

Happy Father's Day To You...V

And now back to our regularly scheduled blogging....

Today (Saturday) was day six of our Happy Father's Day week for Bruce. As with every morning this week, the kids and I greeted Bruce with a song and a gift. Here you see him with, I THINK, a piece of his candy bar in his mouth and he was dancing as we sang to him. LOL It was so hilarious.


Today we gave him a $10 gift card to Burger King because he's the king of his castle.


Reading his card. :)

Yesterday, we gave him a DVD about a dad that wants to control life...which is something Bruce works pretty hard at. LOL

Happy Father's Day, Bruce!! You're soft and cuddly, you can fix anything, you're a great pop, you're sweet, you're in control, and you're the king of your castle!

Happy Father's Day To You...IV

Before I tell you about Bruce, I wanted to ask you to pray for a little cousin in our family. His name is Austin Heffner. He was bitten by a tick a couple of weeks ago and last night they rushed the little guy to the children's hospital with a fever of 107. Last I heard he was holding steady between 99 and 101. The doctor's are pretty positive it is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I'm sure Austin and his parents would appreciate all of your prayers!!

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Today is the fourth day of Bruce's Happy Father's Day to You week. I made a video of him coming in the house this morning and us singing to him, but for some reason, that one minute and few second clip wants to take forty minutes to an hour to upload. So I'll load it tonight and you can see it tomorrow. For now, we have pictures.

He had already received his gift and was reading his card. He LOVED his gift today. Although, he has no self control with it and predicts a massive headache from it.


Yep...FOUR GIANT SIZE HERSHEY MILK CHOCOLATE BARS. One from each of us! Why? Because he's sweet.


I hope you enjoy your candy bars, babe. I love you! And remember...they come in little blocks for rationing.....or sharing. *wink* *wink*

Happy Father's Day to you, honey. You're soft and cuddly, you can fix anything, you're a great pop, and you're sweet.

Happy Father's Day To You...III

We're on day three of Bruce's Father's Day week. He came in the door this morning with a look on his face as though he were wondering if we would be there. We were.


Today he received two cases of his two favorite flavors of soda...grape and orange. He's drinking one now. lol Why soda you ask?


Because he's a great "pop" of course! :D ha ha ha ha


Opening his card...

He got tickled because the word beer was used in the card, but we marked it out and wrote grape and orange soda. It was funny. I knew it would crack him up.

Happy Father's Day, Hon! We love you. You're soft and cuddly, you can fix anything, and you're a great pop!

Happy Father's Day To You II

This morning we greeted Bruce again when he came home from work. And once again we lined up against the wall so we were in direct view of when he opened the door. When he saw us there he started laughing and we began singing Happy Father's Day To You, ending it with "Because YOU can fix anything!"


Justin handed him his gift for today.

Reading his card...

Because he's DAD, and dad can fix anything, we gave him things that he could put up in his shop for those times when he might need them. Fuel injection cleaner, super glue, stainable wood filler, caulk for windows and doors, some kind of ruler with a moveable level on it...no rhyme or reason, just stuff that'll come in handy one day. lol

Love you, honey!!! You're soft and cuddly and you can fix anything!