Sappy story about Skip

Skip and I celebrated our 14 year anniversary last Tuesday. When I say celebrated, I mean the day came and went as we drove 3 whiny children home from the beach. We usually choose to go to dinner or something nice for our anniversary but timing wasn't on our side this year. Anyway.. what has the last 14 years meant.. Everything!!! Yes, I would do it all over again.

Things I love about Skip:
* Whistling.. he always whistles.
* He ties is cough drop wrappers in a neat little knot.
* He can talk in almost any accent. It always makes me laugh.
* Skip juggles
* He makes yummy noises when he eats wasabi.
* He brings me a large sweet tea (1/2 and 1/2) from Mickey's D's most every day.
* He brings my coffee upstairs for me in the morning.
* He takes really long cold showers. How in the world can he take cold showers?
* He let us get a dog even though he didn't really want one.
* Skip is so darn incredibly smart. He reads history books all the time. I do make fun of him because I don't understand the need to know about the wars I have never heard of. But, I admire his desire to learn more and more. He has has photographic memory which is amazing! He graduated from college 1 month after turning 20 because he clept so many courses.
* Skip sings and plays drums in the car all the time. Caught a good rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody in from a 'butt' call one time.
* He loves British humor. Frankly, I can't understand what they are saying. Maybe it is my southern upbringing.
* He is handy around the house. He has built a sun room, installed hard wood floors, built shelving, you name it.. he can do it.
* Skip loves his children more than anything. He is an absolutely amazing father. He is more consistent with discipline and boundaries.
* He reads to the kids every night.
* He is 43 and his iPod is full of hard rock, alternative and classic rock.
* Skip will ride his bike with the kids to Publix. He will take a back pack for the groceries he buys.
* Skip's closet is insanely organized.. Collars, colors, you name it.. they are in order. I used to find humor in hanging things up backwards.
* Skip gets embarrassed when other people make mistakes. Example: He will blush if an ice skater falls in a competition.
* He loves chapstick. I mean he is addicted to the stuff. He calls it Chappy. He even keeps tube in his jammie pants pocket.
* Skip loves the Lord. He has a very clear and pointed relationship with Jesus. I am in awe.
* Skip is one sexy dude! That's all I will say about that~
* Skip takes care of me and the kids. He would do anything (anything!) to keep us safe and make us happy. We are always #1 to him.
* Skip calls me several times through the day to chat or check in.
The list could go on and on....... He is more than I deserve!
I love you Skip!

Catch up....

My purpose in blogging was to document me our family activities for prosperity sakes. I am not a scrap booker. It is not that I have anything about scrap booking but I can't bear to cut photographs. I guess it is the photographer in me. As you can see, I have been rather slack in updating the blog. So.. here is an update of things going on in our crazy house in 2009.

February: It was a crazy month. We went to Disney for a long weekend. We only had 3 days of fun but it was a nice break. We went to Magic Kingdom, Epcot and then downtown Disney one day. We had a great time. I think it was the first time I have been to Disney without a stroller or bag of some sort. I just went with my purse. I have to admit that I missed having a stroller as a 'carry-all' for stuff.

My friends, Angela and Tandy, came over for a wonderful day of cooking.. We cooked weeks worth of food for all 3 families. It was so fun! We gathered recipes that are great to freeze. We all purchased items for the big cooking day. Not only did this save time, it saved money. PLUS.. the food was fabulous.


Waverly has been growing her hair long for quite some time. She decided she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. So.. when her hair was long enough, we went to Tru at the Avenues and had her hair cut. They have to cut at least 10" to send to Locks of Love. This was a neat experience. Here is the before and after...



A Fresh Hope partnered with Cedarcrest Church to host an Easter Celebration in April. It was such a wonderful community outreach event. Skip even dressed up as the bunny.. Kendall was so embarrassed....




We had some friends over for an Easter Cookout and the bunny showed up again...


My sister-in-law, nieces, nephews and friends came for a visit. It is always wonderful to visit with the Doug/Steph Gilcrease family. If our kids grow up with 1/2 the manners and love of God as these kids, I will be one happy momma!

Genesis.... In the beginning...

Waverly and Kendall are participating in a Tech Fair tomorrow. We were really sweating on what to do for this project. Waverly and Kendall then came up with the idea to do it on Genesis, the first 7 days. So, they put photos we took and some photos (without copyright) and made a slide show. They then put Amazing Grace music in the back ground. The girls then took turns reading Genesis. I don't know if we did the project correct but it turned out to be a sweet project anyway. There is something so sweet about a child reading scripture. Enjoy....

2 degree changes...

The pastor at our church gave a message on making 2 degree changes. If you make small changes, then you are more likely to stick to your goal. Example, if you do not drink water but your goal is to drink 10 glasses a day, start with just 2 a day until you have accomplished that goal, add 2 more glasses, etc.

I want our kids to be goal oriented. I want them to think about their goals and ways to accomplish goals. Being reasonably goal oriented can help in your schooling, personal life, work life, family life, personal growth, walk in faith, etc. I gave everyone a piece of paper at dinner. The paper had the following:

2 Degree changes:
Home:
1.
2.
Health:
1.
2.
Heart:
1.
2.
What would you like to do in 2009?
What are 2 of your goals for the year?
1.
2.

I gave everyone 4 days to complete their sheet in privacy after much thought. We then all brought the papers back to the table and shared our goals, 2 degree changes and ways to accomplish our goals. It was interesting to see everyone's thoughts. I won't tell you Skip's goals or the kids' goals as that would invade their privacy. But.. I will tell you my goals to keep with my desire to be transparent on this blog. By the way, any suggestions on meeting the goals are welcome.

2 Degree changes:
Home:
1. Better bedtime routine- smoother, structured, nurturing
2. Plan meals ahead of time to cook more nutritious meals, more family meals, save money, healthier meals...
Health:
1. Cut back on Diet Coke- 2 or less a day
2. Lose 5 lbs.
Heart:
1. More dates with Skip
2. More prayerful family

What would you like to do in 2009?
Go to the Laser Show at Stone Mountain, Rent a boat on Allatoona (annual tradition)

What are 2 of your goals for the year?
1. ~Successfully make tuition payments~
2. Fix up the Laundry Room

So far... I am doing pretty good with my 2 degree changes except for the 5 lbs. change. I haven't put forth any effort on that change so it will remain. I am down to 2 or less Diet Cokes a day. We will bring out our sheets in a month or two for a goal check. For goals reached, we will replace it with a new 2 degree change. I'll post an update in a month or two on my goals. Wish us luck!

Waverly and Kendall were Grand Marshalls

Friday was Mt. Paran Christian School's Homecoming Parade. Waverly and Kendall had the privilege of being the Student Grand Marshalls in the parade. A wonderful mom from Mt. Paran (and our church) won the position in an auction. She turned the opportunity over to Waverly and Kendall for their service with A Fresh Hope. It was so neat that Kendall was recognized. She does so much of the grunt work for A Fresh Hope but is very behind scenes. She stuffed back packs for hours and hours this summer. Waverly and Kendall got to ride on the back of a car and wave at everyone on the parade route. They seemed to be okay until they reached their own classes. They were then embarrassed a little but still smiling from ear to ear. It is neat to be in a school with graes K-12 where the younger students get to participate in the spirit type of activities. All high school grades created the neatest floats. Fun day!

be still....

As all momma's do, I love my kids. I love my kids more than I ever knew possible. I love their individuality, their spirits, their hearts, their little faces, their cute fingers and toes, and their presence. I don't always take the time to stop and be still. Time is flying by and we all need to be still and soak in the moment. Life is so busy and I find myself multi-tasking to get things done. I am undoing back packs, repacking back packs, signing agendas, checking homework, packing snacks, finding sports uniforms, and forget to stop, look in my child's eye and say "tell me about your day". I am working on stopping the multi-tasking and sit down to watch a movie with them, cook with them, shoot hockey goals, and pray with them.

I very clearly remember a moment in Grant's life. He was 6 weeks old and EXTREMELY critical. He was on a respirator and his stats were horrible. He was in the Cardiac ICU at Egleston after crashing and having a Code Blue called at Scottish Rite. I remember the surgeon walking in on Thursday night at 7:00 on 8/11/01 and say "if he is still here tomorrow, we will do surgery." At that very moment, my heart sank. I was incredibly nauseous and felt like I was having an outer body experience. I remember laying in bed that night. I cried harder than I have ever cried in my life. I prayed so hard and so long. I was trapped in a hotel room unable to sleep and panicing. I had to be still and be with God. I asked God to give me one more smile. I told him I would be okay with a trachetomy, trachea reconstruction, severe disabilities, medical issues but I just wanted my little boy to give me one more smile. I can honestly say that I felt God speak to me. God gave me a sense of peace that he would make it through the the night and through the heart surgery the next morning. That was good enough for me.. after that, God was faithful. Grant stayed on a vent for quite some time after the surgery as he was having a tough time. I remember walking into CICU 1 week later and seeing Skip leaning over the crib. I saw Grant look up at Skip and smile. I was warm all over. God had his hand on me. I have no doubt that God sent that smile to me. Grant was a medical miracle but more than that, he was God's miracle.

Why am I telling this story? I am telling this story because those very specific moments are so special to me. They were me and God. A moment that I was able to feel and understand because I was still. We need to be still. We need to be still in the moment with God and be still with our children. Time keeps ticking.. our children are growing up. Cherish the little things.

Gilcreases go Green

The Gilcreases go green.. say that 4 times fast. Well, let's just say we are making 2degree changes in our lives to start living a more environmentally friendly way. Our trash company doesn't put much effort or availability on recycling so we took the easy way out. We are now recycling plastic and cans. We take them to a local school for drop off. We took our tree to Home Depot to be chopped into mulch. We took it one step further and had a truck full of the mulch dropped off here. We are going to have to put it through chipper one more time but it will be great mulch for the natural areas in our back yard.

My hubby is the most studied human that I have ever met. Come over to our house and you will find a library FULL of history and science books, a downstairs office full of books, bedroom bookshelves full of books and a stack from the library at any time. Skip reads several books at one time. None of them are at all appealing to me. His last book was 1300 pages of Lincoln and his cabinet. My point with this is that he is very educated, very! I go to him with questions all the time. My latest was concerning global warning. How in the world can people say Global Warning does not exist? That blows my mind. How do people think we are not effecting the environment? If you have ever flown into Atlanta on a hot humid day in the summer and have seen the thick yellowish/grayish layer of smog, you will see we do have an impact on our environment. You almost wonder if the plane will be yellow when we get through the blanket of yuck. Yes, the earth has warmed and cooled over time but NEVER as fast as it is now.

I think we need to teach our children to respect the environment. My children were actually proud of us for starting the recycling. I think they are taught recycling at school and it should be enforced at home. I am looking for ways to do better. If you have any ideas, please comment. I would love some 2% Green ideas... Thanks Jim for the ideas.. will change the light bulbs on the next trip to Home Depot.