New Things...

1. Today I finished painting my dining room table and chairs. They were a pine/orangey color and didn't match my dining room. I painted them black and I love how it looks! Especially with the fall decorations. (yes, I'm jumping the gun on fall just a bit, but I couldn't wait. my house smells like spiced pumpkin and is sooo cozy. fall wreath is even on the front door!)

2. I tried FRIED OKRA for the first time tonight. The incredible chef Tammy Jones had me and the boys over for dinner. I watched her make the fried okra. It was pretty good. Not going to be on my favorite foods list. (I told her that already and she wasn't offended :) However, she made Swiss Steak for dinner and it was YUMMY! Holy tomatoes! What a treat! (this picture was taken before it was finished. it gets brown and crispy)

Back from the beach...back to school

My entire family just spent a week in Hilton Head for my cousin Heidi's wedding. We had a fabulous time. My brother and sister n law and us shared a place. 6 boys under one roof! They loved it. Here's a slideshow of our trip.

This morning Will started school. Last year he went to Kindergarten for only 3 weeks, then I pulled him out to homeschool him. This year he is back at school and in the FIRST GRADE! The whole family went to drop him off this morning. I was so proud of him. He walked right to his class, sat down, and then yelled to the door..."mom, NO MORE PICTURES!".

Happy Birthday Wesley

Today my baby turns 4. I can't believe how fast 4 years have gone.

What I love about John Wesley:

1. He has a gusto, a passion about him that is contagious.

2. He is so expressive. He loves to tell a good story...hmmm, wonder where he gets that from? :)

3. His voice is a raspy, low, little voice and it melts me.

4. He is very brave and will try just about anything.

5. His blonde hair!

6. He runs around the house singing the "Indiana Jones" theme song. That's what he wants to be when he grows up.

7. When he's about to be punished for something, he'll look at me and say..."this is just breaking my heart". It's so hard to discipline him after that.

8. He's a bit of a con artist. But he's good at it. Gotta give him props for that.

9. He loves nature. He would rather be out exploring than watching any movie on tv.

10. I'll never forget when Wesley was born...I had just been coming through one of the hardest times in my life. I never thought I would make it to delivery day, or that he would either. When he was born, I looked at him and said..."we made it! you hung in there with me. we did it together!" It's that FIGHT and strong will about him that kept us going. And he still has it.

Thank you God for my sweet Wesley.

UBOI - (Useless Bits of Information)

1. I realized while shopping at Kroger last night, that I genuinely enjoy the music they play. I always come home with an old song in my head and think...where did I hear that?.. Well, it's KROGER!

2. I LOVE men's razors. I will never go back to using women's razors. I do love the pink packaging and the extra effort Venus, Schick and Daisy, etc., put into making them sensitive and conditioning, but it doesn't work. They still hurt. I think it's a conspiracy. They don't last as long, so you have to buy them more often. And, they aren't as sharp.

3. The name "JASON" (my brother's name) is an acronym of July, August, September, October, November.

4. I keep "Wet N Black" in my car for my tires. After I run it through the car wash, I spray them down. It makes your tires look BRAND SPANKING NEW!

5. I missed seeing Katie Holmes on SYTYCD, but now I'm seeing pictures of her everywhere. Was it any good?

Busy ain't the WORD!

Fasten your seat belts, I'm gonna do a week wrap up as fast as I can. Last week was the Community Makeover at our church. Paul organized 35 churches and over 300 projects. It was AMAZING! These churches were from all different denominations and races. We all worked together for 3 days all over the county, and then came together for one HUGE rally in our Sam's Club parking lot. I'll never forget the sound of 35 churches singing together. There was one song - "How Great Thou Art" sung by Tanya Smith, and for me, time stood still. Here's an example of just one project. Mr. Griffin's house - before...And after... what's amazing about this project is the budget was only $1,000. It's unbelievable how much was accomplished in one weekend. To read more about this story go here.Here's a slideshow of our week...

Yesterday, after sleeping all day Monday, I decided to get back in the kitchen and get to work. I made 5 pints of salsa (homemade, fresh tomatoes picked that morning) and 5 pints of homemade from scratch spaghetti sauce! Whew! My house still smells like garlic this morning.