A Pre-Spring Day

We've been having beautiful weather here in NC. Brayden & some friends all got together to play some last weekend. If you've been having snow lately.....sorry. Spring will be there eventually.








take care,
duchess

Cheerleading Extravaganza

Last Saturday was the big event they've been practicing for weeks on end. Finally the Moore Co. Cheerleading Extravaganza. These girls had a great time & Gracie was thrilled to get her medal. Great job everyone!
Rah! Rah! Go West End!







Emmie, Lorin & Gracie
take care,
duchess

A new look coming soon.......

Stay tuned.....this blah blog will soon be made over by Jennisa. She does awesome work & I can't wait to see her work her magic here.
You should check her site out for yourself......

http://jennisajoy.blogspot.com

Enjoy - she's really great.

later,
duchess

Presidential Race

I've really been paying attention to the political scene lately (as I hope you have also) and I must say that I was a little saddened yesterday when Mike Huckabee had to withdraw from the race. The primaries haven't even made it to NC yet! He would have had our votes for sure. Now we must focus on the only nominee that remains in the race that has a strong moral foundation and family values. Let's all consider how important this election is and rally behind John McCain to help prevent our country from heading down the socialist path to government control.

If you're not sure who to vote for yet please give it lots of consideration and do your own research - don't just listen to the blurbs that the media wants you to hear. Don't let the liberal media choose the next President. This is still America and we can still make a difference.

Ok - I'm off my soap box,
till later,
duchess

One of my favorites.

I was browsing around in cyberspace today and somehow stumbled upon this wonderful blog. It is by a woman who has four children and is into photography. Not quite sure where she lives but she uses a lot of English (as in England) expressions, such as: nappie and Mummy. She sounds pretty ordinary so far but the thing that makes this blog so special is that a little over a year ago she lost one of her daughters. Her oldest daughter, Ava, died at four years old. I'm not sure of the circumstances - I haven't been able to read that far back yet but she documents her struggles with daily life and struggling to go on while living with a broken heart.

One of her quotes from the blog touched me so I wrote it down to share with you. It is so true. Please take it to heart and never take one day for granted.

"Live each day, every single day, with the understanding that one does not necessarily lead into the other. Hug you family. Tight. Put aside What Does Not Matter. Tomorrow could be a completely new kind of normal." -Sheye Rosemeyer

Take some time to check out her blog. Be sure to do it when you have plenty of time to sit & read. Grab a cup of coffee and a box of kleenex and enjoy getting to know her family and looking at the beautiful photos she has included.

www.sheyerosemeyer.blogspot.com

take care,
duchess

Signs of spring....

I was out in the yard today and got so excited that I had to run back in and grab my camera.
It lifts my spirits to know that Spring is just around the corner.
Enjoy.....






take care,
duchess

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything new. Truth is, I've been extremely busy lately. We still have basketball games going on (I know, no pictures yet - I'll try to get some tonight). Gracie has gymnastics & cheerleading. They've got the year-end celebration coming up on Mar. 1st. Rah! Rah! There are routines & cheers to be learned by all. Should be fun (I'll try to get pics of that too.)

We just had a visit from MiMi & Grandaddy (my parents). They came down for a couple of days to see all of the extracurricular activities. I think they enjoyed their visit even though Bray's team lost. I also think they went away with a greater appreciation for what this "stay at home" mom does in a routine school day. They normally just get to experience the care-free weekend days with the children - not so much this time.

Rob is getting a case of spring fever & looking for new fishing holes. The warmer weather we had a couple of weeks ago didn't help any. It made me want to get outside & start planting things. Speaking of getting outside - anyone who wants to come & help pick up pine cones please feel free. Just give me a call & I'll give you directions.

That's all I've got time to update you on right now. Hope everyone is doing well - send me some updates on your families as well.
Take care,
duchess

Winter is finally here.....

Brrrrrr....it's cold outside. Well, it took a while but winter temps have finally hit the sandhills. We woke to snowy treetops and a thin white blanket on the ground. It was just enough to make everything really pretty but didn't affect the roads. The kids were so excited......until we got the automated phone call from the schools that said they were on their regular schedule. Ugh! The disappointment. We don't see much wintery weather and when we do - they still have to go to school on time. Oh well - maybe we'll get a good snow sometime soon.

That's about all the excitement that we've had from here. Bray's basketball team is 2-1 and Gracie's working hard at gymnastics & cheering.
More stuff later,
duchess

January's off to a busy start.

Brayden's got braces......

So far we've spent the first week of 2008 touring various doctor's offices. Don't worry - no one is sick. It was time for Brayden to get his teeth fixed (which he was thrilled about for some reason) and we had to get Gracie's eyes checked. In a routine evaluation at school the nurse noticed that she may have some vision problems. We went yesterday to the eye doctor (against Gracie's wishes mind you) and she was evaluated. The verdict was that she does have an astigmatism in her left eye but he didn't think it was bad enough right now to warrant freaking her out completely by putting her in glasses. We do need to keep a check on it and will probably have to correct it in the future (with contacts according to her).

Well, that's what we've been up to this week. Three cheers for the fact that school is back in session. The kids were really getting bored (with me & with each other). Basketball games start next week and Gracie's cheerleading gets underway (photos to follow).
Better run - lots of cleaning to do & clothes to wash,
Take care everyone,
duchess

So long 2007.....

Another year has come & gone and here are a few of our favorite pics from 2007......

(To see the year in order you'll have to start from the bottom & work back up - I forgot that as I was loading. Sorry.)

























Happy New Year !!
May you all have a blessed 2008.