Last Remnants Of Summer

Talk about refreshing! When I opened the front door this morning to send Abby off to school, the brisk air greeted me.  How I'm loving these cooler temps! I welcome the arrival of fall with arms open wide.

Though I am beyond ready for fall to get here, I will miss the beauty that summertime brings.  In fact, I took a walk in my garden over the weekend to try and soak in the few last days of summer. 

Here's a few pictures I snapped of some of my flowers in bloom...

Before long, they'll all be replaced by hundreds of these...

Well, as much as I hate to bid farewell to summer, I look so forward to the trees changing color and being able to go outside without breaking out in a full sweat!  That's one thing I definitely will not miss!  Happy Tuesday, everyone...and let us never forget all the lives that were lost on this September day 11 years ago.   

Sunday Funday

Thanks to all of you who gave me suggestions on how to "fix" my header. I played around with it for a good portion of the day yesterday and finally decided that I had to delete the customizations on my blog. That's always a scary thing to do because you never know if you can get things back the way you had them.  In fact, what happened with mine is that my profile picture and all of my sidebar pictures shrunk. I figured out how to enlarge my profile picture, but am still working on my sidebar pictures. Hopefully, I can get everything figured out soon without too much added stress.

I simply can't get over how cold it is here this morning...low 40's! It's only supposed to get up to about 62 degrees today. What happened to that warm weather we'd been having where I could run around in shorts and flip flops?  Boy, do I miss it!

Since we had fairly warm weather on Sunday afternoon, Abby and I decided to run to Wal-Mart and pick up a few seed packets to plant.  We bought ourselves a little greenhouse and went to work. I'm growing four o'clock flowers and Abby's growing coneflowers. Should take about 8-10 weeks for them to germinate.

The busy bee herself!

I couldn't resist showing how pretty the blooms are on my butterfly bush.

After we finished our planting, I decided to take Abby over to the parking lot at our church for her first driving lesson. I am happy and relieved to report that she did GREAT! We spent about an hour practicing all of the basics.  She drove from one large lot to another and practiced her parking skills several times, too.  I got so tickled at her because it was incredibly windy and every time she got out of the car, her hair would get sucked straight up.  Thankfully, I had my camera with me to capture it all!
 

As you can see, for Maddie, it was just a "chillin' out" kind of day.  Hmm, now that I think about it, for her, it always is!

   

Sure hope it's warmer in your neck of the woods!  I'm so ready for summer...how about you?

I Love Surprises!

Chris was gone from Monday through Thursday of last week with his new job...I'm still not complaining! He was supposed to fly back late in the evening, but he surprised me by catching an earlier flight, so he was home around 2 PM.  It was so good to see him!  Bless his heart, he stopped by the store on his way home and bought me a beautiful bouquet of red roses!

He, also, bought steaks for the three of us, as well as an apple pie for dessert.  He instructed me that I was not to help him cook dinner because he wanted to do it all.  Isn't that thoughtful? I didn't listen to him, however, and helped with the mushrooms and onions, and made a chipotle sauce for our steaks. I'll have to share that recipe soon! 

On Saturday, Chris went to the office upstairs and I walked past him on my way to put some laundry away.  I asked what he was doing and he said, "I'm taking care of your tickets."  I didn't think too much of it, but later on, I was like, "Wait a minute, what tickets?  I'm a law abiding citizen and I have a clean record when it comes to tickets."  I was completely stumped.  About that time, he came downstairs and  handed me this piece of paper...

Then, I turned the page and saw this mighty fine fella staring back at me and suddenly I knew!

Chris bought tickets for Abby, Brittany, and me to go see Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney in concert on June 3rd at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta! Oh, yeah!!!

To say that I'm "over the moon" ecstatic is an understatement! Many of you know how much I ADORE Tim McGraw! Actually, I'm probably rockin' on the edge of obsessiveness! I think it's going to be so much fun! I've already told my girls that I hope I don't embarrass them too much by singing and dancing in the aisles.  Of course, if I know them, they'll be joining in right along with me.

Yes...I would definitely say that my hubby has earned major brownie points for what he's done for me. So, any time he mentions wanting to play a round of golf, I just might offer to shine his shoes! He's a keeper alright...and I love him so!


P.S.  I could sure use some advice from those of you who are tech savvy. I've created my own blog header using some pictures I've taken over the past several months. However, when I attempt to upload it, my header is way over to the left...not centered.  I've tried all kinds of CSS codes, but nothing seems to fix the problem.  Any thoughts as to how I can get it centered, once and for all? Thank you so much!

Beauty All Around

When the weather's nice outside, I can't seem to resist heading outdoors with my camera in hand to find something to snap a picture of.  Well, my daylilies are in full bloom and this one is my favorite because of it's BRIGHT color....

My verbena, of course, is not to be overlooked.  It's such an easy flower to maintain and adds a splash of color to any flower garden.

As I was trimming my shrubs, I came across this delicate, spindly legged spider.  Just look at the colors on it's torso.  I find them to be fascinating...unless they're a big, hairy tarantula!  BLECH!

We had such a heartwarming Memorial Day service at church today.  It really brought to light how thankful we all should be for the untold sacrifices given by servicemen and women to ensure our freedom.  I don't know about you, but I sure feel BLESSED to live in this great country of ours.  I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all those who've served in the military, both past and present.  GOD BLESS YOU and GOD BLESS AMERICA!  I promise that I will never forget!

The Countdown Is On!

Well...not much longer now!  On Friday, Abby will end her 8th grade year and summer will, officially, BEGIN! I still can't believe she'll be off to HIGH SCHOOL in the fall!  We'll have to tackle that one later...when my poor heart can't handle it.

On Friday last week, they had the much anticipated "8th Grade Event" at her middle school.  In a nutshell, it was their last opportunity to act like kids before the onset of high school.  The school set up all sorts of indoor and outdoor games for the kids to play, as well as photo booths and and even a mechanical bull!  I tried talking Abby into hopping on it, but she couldn't be convinced.  It lasted from noon until 3 PM and they fed them a lunch provided by Chick Fil-A. I know it was a day all the kids will look back on with a smile.

Here's Abby wearing the t-shirt she decorated for the event.

 
Here she is with a group of her friends getting their picture made on a BIG, red inflatable chair!

I do have to share a funny story.  I had to order Abby's yearbook back in the fall.  Well, the other day, she sent me a text message from school saying, "Mom, thanks for giving me your name."  I had no clue what she was talking about.  When she got home from school that afternoon, I asked her to explain what her text meant.  She went on to tell me that when I ordered her yearbook, I put down my name instead of hers for the inscription on the front cover.  So, she's known as 'April', instead of 'Abby'.  Yep...leave it up to me!

Brittany and I have been having a good time hanging out.  She got up the other morning and felt inspired to cook herself some pancakes.  I was stunned that they turned out so well!  Let me just say that she can't boil a pot of water without burning it...if you know what I'm sayin'! 

Just look at her go!

We went for a walk at the park later on and I took this picture of a thistle.  I like how it's shows up against that pretty blue sky.

Chris' interview in Portland last week went very well and they called him before he flew home to tell him they were sending him an offer over the weekend.  He got an e-mail yesterday stating that an internal candidate had popped up on Friday and they were going to interview him today.  Chris should know something by tomorrow.  In a way, I look at it almost as a blessing because neither one of us wanted to move that far away from the South.  Once again, I think God was at work.  Chris left bright and early this morning for PA. where he has another interview.  This position wouldn't require us to move...we would just need to live near a major airport. You can't get more major than Atlanta!  Please continue to keep him in your prayers...I'll keep you posted!

Well, time to hop on the treadmill for a run!  Nothing like hearing the Backstreet Boys sing "Larger Than Life" to get me motivated! Yeah...I'm cool like that! :):)   

More Than Just A Walk In The Park

I simply can't find the words to express my gratitude for your prayers and words of encouragement regarding Chris' recent job loss. Your kindness and concern mean more to me and to my family than you will ever know. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! My mantra right now is, "We might get knocked down, but we won't stay down for long!"  I believe it with all my heart because God WILL make a way...I just know it!

Now, as I mentioned previously, I'm going to share some photos I took on our Mother's Day hike at a local park.  Talk about a picture perfect day!  We saw lots of flowers, which always makes me happy!

We even saw a chameleon sunning himself on a stump and a bumblebee busy at work.

I, especially, love this picture of Chris and Abby.

This little beauty was in my own garden and opened up on the morning of Mother's Day...what a special surprise!

All of this goes to show that even through life's trials and tribulations, beauty is still all around.  I'll try to pay each of you a visit as soon as I can!  Big hugs to you all!

Serenity, Plain And Simple

As I mentioned in my previous post, I promised to share with you some pictures I took of the lake my mother-in-law lives on in South Carolina...pristine Lake Murray. You walk right out her back door and you can almost lose yourself in the peaceful surroundings. It's the ideal spot to just clear your mind and get in touch with nature, which I love.

While I stood on her dock, fog floated just above the surface of the water...it looked so pretty and even a bit eerie.

About 30 minutes later, it began to lift.

My mother-in-law has beautiful gardens in her backyard with a variety of flowers, trees, and shrubs. Here's a bright yellow daffodil...one of my personal favorites.

Of course, her Bradford pear trees are all abloom!

A white and yellow daffodil in all it's glory.

This hot pink bloom on her tulip tree wasn't to be missed!



Wish I could've had a little more time there to just sit and think...and think...and think. There's something to be said for quiet solitude...it does a soul GOOD!

Worth The Wait!

Over the weekend, it definitely felt like spring had arrived! Just check out the temperature we reached here yesterday afternoon...

Yes...it got up to a whopping 78 degrees! I loved every second of it, too! Of course, all of this warmer weather is causing life to burst forth everywhere! The cherry trees here in our neighborhood are in full bloom.

And so are my fringe plants...

Even my day lilies are beginning to make their appearance!

These two fishermen seemed to enjoy their time on the small lake behind our house. Wonder if they caught anything? I think that one guy is wondering why some crazy lady is snapping his picture!

This pretty blue sky needs no introduction.

Of course, the beautiful weather inspired Bella to root around all of our shrubs in search of critters.

I don't want to even think about the rain and cooler temperatures that are due to move into our area this week. No...I choose to live in complete denial! In my mind...spring has SPRUNG! So, how was your weekend weather? Do anything fun and exciting? Do tell!


P.S. There is someone close to me who is in need of your prayers. If you could pray for him, I would greatly appreciate it...THANK YOU!