Happy Birthday Mom!

We celebrated Mom's birthday on the 14th with a little cake and ice cream. Grayson was more concerned about 'eating'. HA!

New House

We still need to fill in the area around the house with some dirt but for the most part the house is finished.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a good Thanksgiving with the Martins on Thanksgiving Day. We all left that evening with full belly's! Hope everyone else had a great day as well.

Guys head to Arkansas for hunting trip

LEON, TAYLOR, BRIAN, AND MY STEPDAD, KENNY HEADED TO ARKANSAS ABOUT THREE O'CLOCK THIS MORNING FOR A BIG HUNTING TRIP. KENNY GOES EVERY YEAR BUT DECIDED TO INVITE THE REST OF THE FAMILY THIS YEAR. THE GUYS AT MY HOME WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT GOING AND JUST ABOUT DROVE ME CRAZY WITH TALK ABOUT IT. I AM GLAD TO SEE THEM GO AND HAVE FUN. I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM THEM THIS EVENING. THEY HAVE HUNTED ALREADY AND ARE NOW READY TO HIT THE HAY. THEY WILL BE RETURNING ON WEDNESDAY EVENING.
DON'T ASK ME WHAT THEY ARE HUNTING??!! BIRDS OF SOME SORT! HA!

Tamra

Here's Tamra waiting to play.

Tamra made the Elk Knob Hornets 4th and 5th grade basketball team. She is number 4 and the smallest on the team. The whole team consists of 5th graders who played last year. She is the only 4th grader who made the team. She really loves it. This is our first year of actually traveling to other schools to play. This game with Stickleyville was our first game. I don't remember the score but we beat them. We also played Dryden on saturday but I forgot my camera. Tamra got to play that game as well and we won but I don't remember the score of that one either. HA! I'm too busy watching the game, I suppose. We have another game on monday I will try to remember the score! HA! We play at Rose Hill so I'm dreading the drive!

Jared

Here's Jared standing to the far left of this picture. He was the quaterback for Thomas Walker's JV team.
Jared turning back to hand off to a receiver.
Here's Jared getting his team together for a quick huddle. Can you see the difference in the size of his teammates? He looks quite small!
Football season is now over but we did manage to make it to a couple of Jared's games. It was hard since he traveled so much. We did try to make it to as many games as we could. Now Jared is practicing for Thomas Walkers JV basketball team. He just goes from one sport to another! Shoo!!

PARTY LIKE A ROCK STAR
I MADE IT INTO A PICTURE SO I HAD TO POST IT. TAKE A LOOK AT MY SOCKS! THAT'S AS CLOSE AS I CAME TO DRESSING UP FOR HALLOWEEN.
THE CHURCH AT FIRST BAPTIST IN JONESVILLE HAD A TRUNK OR TREAT FOR THE KIDS WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THIS IS A PICTURE OF MY UNCLE KENDALL TALKING TO GRAYSON AS WELL AS KENDALLS WIFE, SHELLEY, BENT DOWN TALKING TO GRAYSON. ANYWAY, KENDALL WAS QUITE FUNNY LOOKING! HE EVEN MADE THE FRONT PAGE OF THE POWELL VALLEY WEEKENDER! HA! TOO FUNNY! OH YEAH, THAT IS MY COUSIN, LAKEN STANDING BESIDE HER DADDY, THE FAT ONE! HA!

Halloween

TAMRA WAS A PIRATE THIS YEAR FOR HALLOWEEN.
AFTER WE HIT THE TOWN OF JONESVILLE EVERYONE MET BACK UP AT MY SISTERS TO HANG OUT AND HAND OUT CANDY. AMBER USUALLY HAS AT LEAST TWO HUNDRED KIDS TRICK OR TREATING AT HER HOUSE.
IN THIS PICTURE AMBER IS HOLDING GRAYSON'S LITTLE FRIEND, EMMA.
GRAYSON WASN'T TOO WILLING TO DRESS UP THIS YEAR SO AMBER HAD TO TRICK HIM INTO DRESSING UP. SHE MADE HIS SHIRT AND HE HAS ON REGULAR BLACK PANTS. SHE ADDED SOME CRAZY HAIR, SOME TATOOS, A BELT, AND A HE HELD A MIRCROPHONE. I GUESS HE WAS A ROCK STAR......HE EVEN HAD A LITTLE GUITAR WHICH SHE MADE. HE WAS CUTE.
HERE'S AMBER FRIENDS HANGING OUT BEFORE IT BECAME REALLY DARK.

Alishia Grace Mitchell

One of my best friends from high school, Kim, had her first baby girl Sept 25th. I went to see her the day after she was born and three weeks later. I wasn't able to take pictures of her my first day with her but I did on the 15th. Isn't she pretty? I think she looks a lot like her mommy. Mommy wasn't as willing for me to take her picture to compare! HA!

JMS Homecoming 2007

My cousin, Laken, in this years homecoming. She's the one in the middle. I didn't realize the pictures were a little blurry till I downloaded them. OH well! That's technology for you!
Laken is in the 7th grade this year! Wow, how time flies.

Beach pictures

A statue of King Neptune sits on the beach as you drive up to Atlantic Ave. Up close it looks really neat.
Here is the building where I went for training everyday while we were in Va Beach.
Here is one of the buildings to the Aquarium. I was a little disappointed. They are in process of adding more to the Aquarium so maybe it will be better but right now it is not good at all.

Here is the last motel we went too while we were there. We were on the ninth floor.......it had ten total.

Beach pictures

We stayed at two motels while we were at the beach. Since I was in training most of the time I never got any pictures of the kids at the first pool and whirlpool. So, this is the second pool and whirlpool at the Surfside at Holiday Inn.
We went straight to the beach when after we were settled in our room. It was pretty cold but we wanted to hit the ocean anyway. As you can see Becky and Taylor were cold!
We walked around on the pier at Va Beach after my last training class. Our motel is way down the beach behind us.
This is Taylor acting silly. Notice his tatoo on his arm?!!

Happy Birthday Papaw Kenny!

LOVE, TAMRA AND TAYLOR

REST IN PEACE

Please remember my step family, The Bellamy's, during this time of loss. My step grandfather, Cecil, passed away suddenly lastnight. I found out on my way home this morning from Va Beach. Funeral services will be held at First Baptist in Jonesville from 6 to 8 and the burial will be at ten. Friends and family can meet at Memorial Gardens in Woodway.

Road Trip!

We are headed on a road trip in the morning to Va Beach. I am taking the kids with me and Taylor's Mamaw Becky. I have training to do during the day and the kids will stay and enjoy the beach till I return. We are all dreading the ten hour trip to the beach but looking forward to getting there. Wish us luck!

Update

Just a quick update on my stepgrandfather, Cecil. He was finally taken off the ventilator yesterday and did really well. He had been taken off many times before but never could breathe on his own. Now he is doing fine so things should start to change for him. It should only be a matter of time before he is out of ICU.

Also an update on my first week of work. All I can say is, "I made it!" I did a different assortment of things throughout the week. Mainly I was the 'new girl' trying to find my way around and figure out what I needed to do! It was quite overwhelming at times. I don't feel accomplished at this point but I do feel happy that the week is behind me. Next week I should be able to do more things with home visits, court, and the foster kids. The following week I will be heading to Va Beach for my training session. When I come back I hope to be able to use that training toward earning a case load. We will see if things go as quickly as I feel like they should! HA! Just continue to wish me luck and pray for me!

First day

Flowers my mom sent me to congratulate me! Thanks Mom!
Well, I made it! My fist day wasn't too bad. There was lot's to do but I'm wondering how much there will be for me throughout the rest of the week. I mainly tried to set up my office, sign papers, read policy and procedures, and toward the end of the day I had internet setup. The day passed by pretty quickly. The only kink in my day was when the kids were let out of school early for a gas leak. I became quite frantic because I wasn't sure how to get the kids where they needed to be. In the end everything worked out very smoothly and I was very thankful of that. I wasn't able to sleep very well lastnight so tonight I am quite tired! I hope to have a restless night tonight! Wish me luck on this getting up and staying up everyday! I will need it! Quite different learning how to stay awake and interact with adults rather than my husband and my kids. This is going to be a learning experience I am sure! HA! I will update again at the end of the week. We will see how well I am holding up by then!

Anxious!

Well, I am feeling a bit anxious today. Tomorrow is my first day at my new job. This is the last of my freedom to do whatever I want during the day! UGH! Don't know how I will deal with that! My mom pointed out to me the other day it has been four years since I worked outside of the house. I guess being a substitute teacher doesn't count? She also made me aware that even when I did work for four years at the hospital I had a uniform to wear! SO, nevertheless I had to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe for work! That was a bit tedious! I felt like I was on What Not To Wear! I was trying on stuff I had never tried on before! It was like a job and after two days of pure shopping I was over it! Hopefully I have enough to get me through for awhile at least! HA!
Everyone keep me in their prayers for the next week! Who knows what this week will be like but I am hoping for serenity! HA! I'll update as I can. Who knows how I will feel after each day! Surely it won't be that bad! HA!

Prayer request

Please remember my step grandfather, Cecil Bellamy, in your prayers. He had emergency surgery on friday afternoon. They thought he was reallly going to die. The doctor came out after surgery and told us that things weren't as bad as they originally thought. The doctor saved his life! Now Papaw Bellamy is in ICU and will have to recover from the surgery. He is doing much better and we continue to ask for your prayers while he recovers. It may be a long road with lung disease and his age. Please keep the family in your prayers as well.

Mom's flowers