Just another day...

Today is just another day for so many people. It is Friday to them. It is payday or maybe it is the start of the weekend. Whatever it means to them - it is just another day. Today - for me - is the day my oldest son moved to Alaska. We drove to Charlotte in the wee hours of the morning. It was barely 4am. We talked a little bit here and there. I found myself thinking back to taking him to pre-k for the first time. That same lump in my heart appeared. Taking him to pre-k was just another day too. I took him to his class and he was so happy to be there. He was the same age that Sebastian is now. I went out to my car and I cried. I cried so hard that I was sobbing. I remember driving down East Bay and looking at people in their cars. To them it was just a typical Monday morning. They had no idea why that crazy young woman was sobbing at the stoplight. This morning, I looked at my son wearing his hoodie. He is off to Alaska and yet he doesn't have a winter coat or gloves or a hat. I felt like I needed to tell him to put his coat on and zip it up. It was cold in NC this morning and by the time he flies from NC to GA to TX to WA to finally ALASKA it will be freezing. It didn't matter that he will be 20 in less than two weeks. It didn't matter that he is a soldier. I looked at my boy and thought how much he needed a coat and gloves. He assured me they would issue him a parka. I asked if he could get one on Saturday because I can't imagine him waiting until Monday. He said yes, but I think with the hint of "I am just saying this for you mom" in his voice. I left him at the airport and made my way home. It was just another day of highway drivers. My mind has thought of so many days over the last twenty years. The way I cried when he walked his baby walker down the stairs. Then there was that funny day that he picked up a fish off the ground. He put it on his fish hook and came home to trick me. He told me he caught the fish. I got my camera and took a very proud picture. Only later did he tell me that he had fooled me. That was just a typical spring day when he was about 8 years old. As we were driving last night, he mentioned the huge raccoon on the side of road. The minute he said raccoon, I thought of our camping trip in High Springs. The raccoons tried to eat our s'more stuff. On one of those days of camping, Timmy hand fed a deer. I held my breath as he did it. All of those days seem so far away and yet like they were just yesterday. So, today is just another day. It is a day where I miss my child so much that the tears are just a second away. I am proud of him and I know he has to go. I just wish it wasn't so far away. If you see me driving down the road - crying at a stoplight - it is because it is just another day that my son is so far away.

My kids...

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When Tim II was on leave in December, I took them to get the pictures done. I had ordered special outfits for Savannah and Sebastian to coordinate with Tim II's uniform. You may recognize Sebastian's outfit as his Halloween costume because he went as what he called an "Army guy". I was so pleased with the way the pictures turned out. I have been getting my kids pictures done since Timmy was 5 days old. I think I counted and I have been to about 40ish photo sittings between all the kids. There have been a few family ones here and there too. Needless to say, I have experience with portrait studios. The woman at our Columbia SC JC Penny's is amazing as was the man who did these pictures. I have had years where the pictures are just okay. This year, I have loved all of the kids pictures. I have them hanging on my wall and each time I look at them - I am just overwhelmed that I have been given these kids. I mean - who knew? Who knew that when I knocked on Tim's door over 22 years ago that some day I would be getting our 3 kids pictures done together. Who knew that my heart would feel such pride when I look at our oldest child in his US Army uniform? Who knew that my little guy would look so much like his big brother? Who knew that my daughter would have a smile that brings me pure joy? I surely didn't see all this. I hoped and I prayed for a family, but I didn't know for sure. God is AWESOME!

Gratitude...

I know... I know... I haven't been writing. I want to. I do. I just haven't had the time or the energy. We went to Florida for 10 long, tedious days. Ugh! It was a lot of work. Something we would both like to forget. Our house is on the market. Ugh! I don't want to think about that. I have handed it over to a realtor and God. That is all I could do. I cleaned, painted, help fix and everything else I could manage to accomplish. It is all I could do and now it is all up to God. Tim did so much work and never even lost it. I wish I could say the same. Thank God for my mom who talked me through my hyperventilating phone call at some point during our trip. Gratitude... that is what this post will be about. I am thankful for my husband. He worked and worked and worked some more to fix our house. The renters left us quite a job. He just got to work and did an amazing job. I am so lucky to have him! My mom... she is always there when I call. I call and I complain and cry and she just listens. She doesn't tell me that if she hears me whine about this house one more time - she will hang up on me. She just listens and tells me to have faith. Tim's parents... they gave us their spare room and let us come and go like we were at a hotel. We just worked so much and barely spent any time actually visiting. My sister-in-law, Jessica... she made brownies and let me know there was ice cream and toffee bits to go with it. She knew I would be needing that chocolate. Then there are 3 other AMAZING PEOPLE! Alex, Susie and Cindy. Oh my - where to start... These are 3 ladies that have been my friends for a long time. Each of them has a daughter that Savannah is friends with. I formed my friendships with them through our girls. When we got to Florida, I dropped Savannah off with Miss Alex and her daughter Seraphina. Savannah spent a couple days there, then I dropped her off with Miss Susie and Elizabeth for a couple days. Next, a day back with Seraphina and then a couple days with Miss Cindy and Lauren. I didn't have to think of a thing for Savannah. They swooped in and helped. Alex took Sebastian to play at her house twice, so I could paint. At one point, I had FORGOTTEN about picking Savannah up to take her to another house. Susie called me and asked if I would like her to take Savannah to the next house. I looked at the time and couldn't believe I was an hour over when I said I would call and pick her up. I was so flustered. Susie was so sweet and said she would just take her over to Alex. At that exact moment, Alex rang my doorbell. She said she was out and decided to stop and see if she could pick Savannah up for me to help me out. I nearly cried. I had Susie on the phone trying to help me and Alex at my door trying to help me. I seriously was overwhelmed with gratitude. My friend, Cindy, picked Savannah up for co-op (yes, they all even made sure she got to her homeschool co-op and girl scouts) and took her home. Then Cindy made pizza for Susie, me and her. I just got to sit and relax with good friends. When we decided to stay an extra day because we still had work to do - Cindy just kept Savannah for another day. It felt good to know my child is so loved by her friends and their families. She was gone for most of the 10 days and I knew she was always in good hands. So, I have so much to be thankful for even if these are some of the hardest days of my life right now. Faith... Family... and a week or so of the best of Friends...

25 Random Things...

I did this for Facebook and thought I would share it here too.

1. I am a homeschool mom. When I had my first kid nearly 20 years ago, I thought homeschooling was for crazy people. When that child went to K and my nephew started homeschooling K - I still thought that was something I would never, ever do. I am finishing up my 10th year of homeschooling this year and I can't imagine anything else for our family.

2. I have a irrational fear of dinosaurs. Not like on tv - but the big ones in museums, etc. I actually think it has to do with the size of them that overwhelms me more than the fact that is was a dinosaur because some of the 3d type signs in Orlando freak me out too. If you are a Florida friend, the dinosaurs at the exit on I4 for Dinosaur World drive me nuts. My kids always try to make me look at them.

3. I think waking up with a baby cuddled next to you nursing is one of the absolute BEST things I have ever experienced in my life. It is probably the only thing I miss about my baby days being gone.

4. I met my husband when I was 14 and he was 15. He was telling some girl (Shawn Heinz) his address on the school bus. They lived on the same road. The next day, on a walk to the grocery store, I convinced my friend to walk over to his house with me. I didn't know him, had never spoke to him and was a very shy person all around. I knocked on his door and said hello. That was over 22 years ago. I think God sent me there.

5. I have an unnatural love of shelving. Every time my husband installs shelves for me - I feel pure JOY! I love storage!

6. I own two houses. One in FL and one in SC. We moved from FL after I was laid off from my telecommuting job. It was one way we could afford to keep homeschooling without my income. My husband is wonderful because he LOVES Florida, but LOVES his kids more.

7. My mom is my hero. She is just awesome! She has always, always supported me in everything that I have ever done - even the things that weren't probably the best choices. (My dad did too!) She moved from FL to SC so I could continue to be a homeschooling mom because she knew I would never leave FL if she stayed behind.

8. I love Disney World (well not just Magic Kingdom - the whole thing) . I have had season passes twice. If I could afford some kind of lifetime pass, I would buy it.

9. I love snorkeling. That makes no sense because I am afraid of most things like that. I forced myself to try it out because Tim loves it. It is the most relaxing and amazing thing to swim with sea turtles. I want to take my kids back to St. John with us to share the experience with them.

10. My best friend is in heaven. I really don't think I will ever meet another person that understood and got me the way she did. I miss her terribly.

11. I make up silly songs and sing them to my kid while we are out running errands. I do not have a good singing voice - so this can be embarrassing. I don't care. Someday they will laugh at the memory of their mom singing about how she needs to find graham crackers in the store.

12. I am addicted to the internet. Some people have to have their morning coffee... I have to check my email, Facebook, and read a few blogs.

13. I live next door to my husband's brother and family. I live across the street from my husband's two sisters. We have close family friends that live around the corner. We sometimes call it a compound. Crazy, huh?

14. I am slowly beginning to freak out that my son will be moving to be stationed Alaska in less than a month. I can't imagine not seeing him again until possibly Christmas.

15. I have an obsession with Starbucks Hot Chocolate with Hazelnut. I don't even like coffee and had never entered a Starbucks. Then my son gave me a hot chocolate with hazelnut. It is an addiction. I just smell Starbucks and I want to buy it.

16. I had my first child when I was 16. My husband and I chose to get pregnant with him. I would not advise my kids or other teenagers to do that in any way, but I believe that God sent my child to us for a very specific reason and at the perfect time. My life has been so amazing with him in it and I can't imagine it any other way.

17. Sebastian is my bonus child. We had decided to stop after two kids - Tim II and Savannah. Something changed my husband's mind and he suggested we have one more.

18. I am superstitious. I don't like umbrellas open inside. I will criss cross my window if a black cat crosses my path. I always say if I drop a spoon that a child will visit, fork - a woman, knife - a man. I have a strange habit of not being able to mark off a calendar until the next day when that day is really finished.

19. I believe in teaching my children to learn, not just fill in a blank, but actually learn. I find that most learning doesn't come from textbooks or traditional studying. It comes from many places. Right now we are having fun making lapbooks to store all the info in. I think it is a gift that I get to help them find a way to learn.

20. I love real estate. Not owning real estate (anyone wanna buy a house in Florida?) If I weren't homeschooling and had a 4 year old, I think I would get my real estate license. Maybe when my kids are a little older.

21. I have always been a Christian. Always believed in Jesus, but didn't really strive to understand more until my sister-in-law passed away 5 years ago. It forced me to lean heavily on my faith and seek more. (see number 10) Having said that - I really don't enjoy reading the Bible at all. It puts me to sleep. I keep praying for some divine intervention that makes me find it enjoyable.

22. When I was pregnant with Savannah, I wanted a baby girl more than anything. When I had my first ultrasound, they couldn't tell me if it was a girl. My wonderful husband set up a second ultrasound, paid for it since insurance only covered one ultrasound and took me the very next day. They still couldn't tell me for sure if she was a girl - only about a 90% chance. I went and saw my dad that day at the hospital and told him I was having a girl. He passed away a couple days later knowing we were having a girl and we would name her Savannah. He said that was a "hillbilly name" with a big smile on his face. He would have loved her so much.

23. I once stopped Splash Mountain at Disney World. I am terrified of theme park rides like that. I chose to get on to make my husband happy. We asked at the beginning of the ride if there was just one drop or many. The guy said one drop. He lied! There were many drops and by the time we got to the last drop, I was having a full panic attack. When the ride stopped just before going over the big drop - I stood up to get off. I scared my husband to death! The disney staff was great - they turned on the lights and came to get me right away. Oh and a guy had died the week before from jumping off right as it had gone over. That made my husband even happier to hear that one!

24. I love to scrapbook. The only thing is that I never make time to do it. I once scrapbooked 300 pages in a year. I have really big hopes to get back to that one day.

25. Sometimes I stop and think about my husband and my family. I cannot believe how blessed I am. That is not to say my life is not crazy because I always have some sort of drama going on. Ask anyone that knows me well. Even with that, I have been given a wonderful husband that I have grown up with and 3 amazing kids. I thank God for them all daily - even when I am pulling my hair out.

One CRAZY week...

If you know me in real life, you know that my life is never dull. I am just not one of those people that has a ho hum existence. I have a good friend, Jorgena (Hi Jorge!). She, for the most part, has a pretty calm life. We have been friends since we were 12. I moved out of state when we were 18. These days we talk on the phone about every other weekend. I love talking to her because I never feel like she has changed. She just listens to me ramble on about the craziness of my life. Then there always come the moment when I ask her what is new with her. Very occasionally she will have something to tell me that is out of the ordinary. Most of the time, she is very calm and things are just normal for her. This is NOT to say that she doesn't have her share of challenges because she does have trials in her life. Just not as frequent as mine. This is true for a lot of people I know. I just seem to have some sort of knack for upheaval. Anyway, this week - really started last week. I found out through a phone call from another landlord that our tenants were planning to move out. This was news to me! Last I heard they were signing another year long lease. This has led us down a less that wonderful road of lost rent and an eviction process that we would rather have avoided. This also has led us to decide to put our house back on the market again. First we need to head to Florida to prepare the house for sale. Going into this week, we still weren't sure what we were going to do. I also began training to be Cookie Mom for our Girl Scout troop on that same day. I have been working on all that stuff. Monday was a busy day with Girl Scouts and talking about cookie sales. Tuesday was just CRAZY! It SNOWED! Savannah and Sebastian have never seen snow. It wasn't a ton of snow, but it was indeed snow. The morning was nice with the kids playing... the afternoon was filled with renter frustrations. I wanted to run away. Wednesday was as busy as ever. I have started going to a bible study with a friend. Sebastian plays with his friend Kameron while we attend. Afterward we take them to Burger King to play. I can't tell you how many times my phone rang between realtors and others. During this time, Tim II calls and says he can come home the NEXT DAY. I come home and deal with more realtor stuff while looking for a plane ticket for Tim II. There are a lot of different airport options from OK to here. I literally spent 3 hours looking at different scenarios vs. roundtrip and one way to different airports. He needs to be back in Dallas to catch his flight to Alaska in a month. I finally got him booked on a flight to Atlanta for Thursday morning arriving at 9am. So... my mom and I decide to get the kids up at 5am and head to Atlanta for the day. We didn't really find much we wanted to do there, so we just ate lunch at Chili's and headed back home. A 7 hour round trip drive for lunch at Chili's! Crazy, huh? Friday was a day of cleaning and a beautiful afternoon to sell Girl Scout Cookies. Today, more cookie selling and then out to the book store and dinner with Tim and Tim II. I am exhausted from the week. I think we are a little bit clearer on our plans, but still not set. It looks like we will be heading to Florida next weekend to spend several days to a week there fixing our house up for sale. Our plan is to price low and hopefully sell quickly. We can use prayers and good thoughts. We are so DONE with this house thing. I will leave you with a video of my kids playing in the "blizzard".

Christmas '08

So, it has been a few weeks since Christmas. It is never too late to post Christmas pictures, right? I really wasn't sure how Christmas would feel in a new house. I am happy to say it seemed like it was always home this Christmas. I even put up a lot more of my decorations. The first time in years that we did that. I was so excited Timmy was coming home. I just wanted the house to look very festive. On Christmas Eve, we all went to church and then we came back and had our traditional Chinese. I am a Christmas Eve person. I like Christmas Day, but I love Christmas Eve leading into Christmas morning. My mom and my sister come over and we exchange gifts with them. We gorge ourselves in Chinese, watch a Christmas story and just relax. My mom spends the night and the next morning the kids open presents from Santa. It is just a nice, peaceful time. This year, my sister-in-laws Jessica, Jennifer and Karen came over on Christmas morning. They were talking to Timmy and I was talking to them about how great he looked. I was just taken with so much emotion. I could hardly keep from crying because I was SO STINKING HAPPY he was home. I don't know how many more Christmases he will get to be here. I didn't see that coming. It just hit me like a ton of bricks that he may not always be here for the holidays. This was my favorite and best Christmas present this year. Just awesome!

We got him a camera to record all the views of Alaska.

Santa arrived!

I loved the fireplace with stockings all hung. (Too bad we had to open a window because it was so warm!)

My little elf.

My Christmas present!

Amazing...

I wrote the last post on Sunday night. I went to bed feeling pretty down missing my friends. I sorta realized that was a bit whiny of a post and I have said before that I don't want to do that here. It was just what was on my mind and my fingers typed it. Then, yesterday, I got a call from my friend, Susie. She is in Florida. She told me that our Florida girl scout troop had their cookie meeting where the girls discuss what they would like to choose as their reward for selling cookies. She went on to say they chose SAVANNAH! Yes, they chose to come visit us! I literally almost cried. I told her about my post and how it was odd that she called just hours later. She went on to tell me that we should come visit and just hang out with all of them. Again, I could feel the tears coming. Sometimes when you move away, you begin to think that nobody thinks about you anymore because you are not there. It was so nice to realize that we are missed. I am not the only one sitting here missing people, but I am missed too. I don't know if we will get back to Florida when Timmy is here next, but I hope so. We have such great friends and I can't wait until they all come visit!

A new year...

It is a new year and I have a list of things I want to do that is a mile long. I put blogging on that list. I don't know why I stopped writing. I have sat at my laptop a few times and thought I really need to blog, but then nothing gets typed and no pictures get uploaded. I am feeling really frustrated with the fact that we will be here a year next week and I don't know that I feel anymore "at home" than when I first moved her. In some ways I do because I know where lots of things are and how to get to them. I have made some friends and find familiar faces in the store. I just don't feel like I am finding the group of friends like we had in Florida. I miss going to co-op with my kids and hanging out with everyone. I miss going to Miss Vickie's to just visit a Friday night away. I miss going to girl scouts and talking with Cindy and Leslie while our girls giggled with Miss Susie in the other room. We have friends here and actually I think Savannah is pretty happy. It is just a me thing, I guess. I feel very disconnected from people. There are a few in our homeschool group that really do want to get together more and I find that encouraging. I am hoping spring will grow these friendships and maybe I won't feel like I am starting completely over again from square one. We really do have a great group of ladies in this group. It is not that they aren't the nicest bunch of people. Many just seem to have their routine and their comfort. I don't seem to have found that yet. As for other things on my list - sparkpeople, exercise and scrapbooking. They are all really things I want to do and haven't done for quite a long time. There is not better time to start - I think. Week number 1 went pretty well minus any scrapbooking. Week number 2 starts tomorrow - so I should head to bed. I don't know if I have any readers left after my long, long break. I hope so. I really would like to share my everyday blessings and hopefully encourage somebody along the way.

Things...

We made about 80 cookies the day before, so there would be plenty to decorate.

I know I said I would be back and then well... we got sick again. All of us. Sebastian had a 103 temp for days, then I got sick, then Savannah was down. Tim was sick while all of us were sick. I think we are finally on the mend. I really was beginning to feel like we may never be well again. Add to that, a lot of stuff to do. Just stuff. Lots of it. I don't have anything really big to do until Christmas. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned today. I wanted to disinfect everything. I also made some fudge. I have one or two more things to get at the store and I have to finish wrapping. Other than that, I want to make cookies and cinnamon rolls. I would say that means I will blog and I will blog alot, but the truth is that my heart hasn't been in blogging. Not really sure why. My mom says it is because I am on Facebook now. It could be. There is more feedback there. Here, I write and never really know who is reading or what they think. I still think there is a need for myself to keep blogging. I just needed the break. I plan to come back, but it may not be tomorrow. There are so many things I want to record on my blog. Someday I want to print it out for my kids. With that I will leave you with pictures from our cookie decorating. We had a party with homeschool kids. It was so much fun and maybe it will become a tradition.

LOOOOOONNNNGGGGG Absence...

I think this is the longest I have gone without blogging. I was sick and then I had company coming and then there was the holiday and then I was sick again. I am pretty darn tired. I have a lot to do. I am neglecting my blog. It is like I know it is there and I want to write, but I also want to read a book. I never really read a book except to my kids. If I have free time, I am usually on my computer. I started reading Twilight this past weekend because I was sick. I am a little over halfway through. I have heard I will want to read the next 3 books right away. We will see. Maybe, not so sure yet. Anyway, I want to finish my Oklahoma posts. Really, the most important ones are yet to come. I have some "free" time this week that I am going to use to work on Christmas cards and reading my book. Then I want to try to come here to finish off my trip posts. Then there are still the pictures from the kids birthday from back in October to put to music and oh, the list goes on and on. Maybe when I retire!

I'm sick...

I have a cold. A rotten, stinking cold. I plan to finish my trip stories. Today, I just wanted to lay on the couch and watch The Partridge Family and The Monkeys. Then I remembered that I wasn't 9 years old anymore. Those shows weren't on. If you are a child of the 80's - do you remember staying home sick from school? Do you remember watching these shows? The others like Green Acres, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Gilligan's Island, etc? I loved staying home to watch tv... not that I did it very often. I liked laying on the couch all day. It was so relaxing. THAT. DID. NOT. HAPPEN. TODAY. I tried to sleep in. I thought just maybe that would make me feel better. My darling last child is NOT sick. He was up with the sun and chattering away. I tried to take a nap this afternoon. Again - NO. NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN. Oh well, there is always bedtime that will come soon.

Five years...

This is the card. I couldn't make it bigger. If you click on it, it shows up bigger.

Today marks a day that so many of us wish was not true. Today, it has been five years since we lost Debi. I always think about her - every day. I thought about her every day before we lived here and now that I see her children on most days - she is on my mind. I have been missing her more lately because I feel like I need my friend back to get me through all the "stuff". I want to talk to her and share all sorts of things. I have been thinking about posting about this since a sermon at church. It was about angels. I just never got around to it. Today is a good day to post about angels. On the morning after Debi died, Tim wanted the family to go to Burger King. I think he just needed to get out of the walls surrounding us. We took the kids and my mom and headed off. I was so numb. I literally could not feel anything, but extreme grief. I couldn't eat and I couldn't think. I felt like the air had been sucked out of the world. I sipped on orange juice and we just all sat very quietly. Tim still smoked at the time. He went outside to smoke and the kids and I followed him. I felt so lost that I couldn't bare for him to be more than 2 feet away from me. We were at a Burger King on a busy Florida road. It was not a place for people to be out walking their dogs. Out of nowhere, this elderly couple walked up to us with their dog or dogs - I can't remember if they had one or two dogs. The kids started petting the dogs. I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I was doing all I could to control the sobbing that had started the night before. This couple didn't speak either. They just stood there quietly. It was sorta of odd, but peaceful. The next thing, I know, they hand me a card sharing with me the Way to Get to Heaven. It was a simple little business type card. It just told the truth. You see, I was raised to believe in Jesus and who He was. I believed in him, but I always had doubts. Not atheist type doubts, just doubts. I didn't have a real religious identity. I believed, but I wasn't sure what I believed. This may or may not make any sense, but it is the best way I can describe it. I stood there looking at the card. The tears were beginning to fall. Debi knew me so well. She knew I was a person who needed concrete evidence. I liked facts - all neat and orderly. I was so worried about her. I knew she was in heaven, but what about before she got there. The fear was more intense than I can put in words. Tim kept telling me that God was there with her and He protected her. I held that card in my hands and knew that she had sent me these angels to give me comfort. They were angels that told me she was okay and there was one way to get to heaven. I believe in angels. They are all around us. I believe Debi is an angel and she is still helping people like she always did. It has been 5 years and it still hurts and I still miss her.

Oklahoma or BUST part 4...

Creepy gun store.

Outdoor World

We had planned to go crystal mining on this next day, but the weather didn't look good. We also called the place we had planned to go and they were closed. Rather than hope for a good place to go and hope it didn't rain - we altered our plans and headed to Oklahoma City. It was about a 6 hour drive, not too long, but not exactly short. We got to OKC about dinner time and decided to Bricktown. I had read a little about it, but didn't really know all that much. It was chilly and drizzling (so I didn't stop to take any pictures). We ate dinner at some BBQ place that I can't even remember the name of. Tim II had called me while we were there and told me his throat had swelled shut from his medication and he had not passed his test. Pretty much from that point on, my head was numb. I was so worried about him, that the details of what was going on around me just left me. I was worried about his health and worried we would not get to spend any time with him. I told him we were an hour away and would be there to see him no matter what. He sounded really happy that we had decided to keep moving on to OK even if we didn't know what the outcome of family weekend would be. I just didn't care because I wanted to see him so much. We finished dinner and wandered over to the big Bass Pro Outdoor World. This store is huge and has a lot to see. The kids had fun wandering around with Tim. I found a spot to sit down in and call my mom. I was pretty close to tears and I just sat and talked with her. I did snap a few pictures before we left. We headed out to our hotel. I think this was the night I took the kids swimming in the indoor pool. I was hoping to do that a few more times, but each night we got back so late.

We weren't sure what are plan was for the next day because it really depended on the weather.
When we got up it was raining and cold. We had thought about the zoo, but opted for the OKC Science Museum aka Omniplex. First we made a stop at a huge gun store. It had tons of mounted animals. Creepy in my opinion. I had to drag Tim out of this store and onto the museum. We wandered around the museum for the entire afternoon. We enjoyed the exhibits, but probably would have passed on the IMAX film. It was pretty dated and not worth the extra money. Sebastian loves these hands on museums. We had been to our state museum just prior to the trip and he had a great time trying things out. It was a lot of fun just goofing off with each other. All in all, it was worth the trip to see this. It was a little on the pricey side as far as everything else we had done. It would have been less if he had skipped the IMAX movie. I think if I were giving advice, I would say it is worth the price of the ticket, but don't add the movie. We left the museum around 5pm and were to make our way to Lawton, OK. It was a really pretty drive and I really enjoyed it. Years and years ago, when Tim and I were celebrating our first anniversary, we were going to Disney World for the first time. It was an hour and a half drive from our house. I remember being so excited and feeling like a kid. I just couldn't wait to go to Magic Kingdom. I felt this same feeling heading to Lawton, OK. I was so excited to see my son. I just missed him and wanted to see his face. When he called that night, I was so happy to tell him that we were HERE.

Oklahoma or BUST part 3...

My pictures don't really do the caverns justice. You really just have to go there and see it for yourself!

Some country road.

Soda fountain.

My nephew Josh with his girlfriend, Cara.

On our third day of making our way to see Tim II, we decided to go to the Blanchard Caverns. Again, my sister, Leann, had told me what a wonderful place this was. It was not too far from where we were staying. We got to see some pretty rural country along the way. Actually, our whole drive from SC through GA, AL, MS, TN, AR, and finally OK was very pretty. I have been driving back and forth from SC to FL that I hadn't really thought anything would look different. It was vastly different from area to area, but each had a wonderful quality about it. So, back to the Caverns. It was a sort of drizzly day, but that is perfect to go 260 feet under the ground. I was a little nervous because I don't like tight spaces, but my sister assured me that the actual cavern was HUGE. Tim did have to ask the guide just HOW FAR the elevator was going down. I could have lived without that information. When we got down there - it was just amazing! You can tell that I have spent way too much time at Disney World because my mind kept thinking that whomever did this work did and AMAZING JOB! Then I had to remind myself that God had created this masterpiece, not some Disney Imagineer. Savannah enjoyed it, but Sebastian didn't really care all that much. He did attract attention because his jacket and shoes both lit up. It helped direct the dim path for everyone! This is another highly recommended place to go around Mountain View AR. It was also very reasonably priced and well worth the cost.

We left the Caverns and headed back into the town. There is a little old fashioned soda fountain pharmacy that we went to for lunch and ice cream. The kids had fun sitting at the counter. We shopped around the shops and then made our way to where my sister lives not too far away. We went out to dinner with her family. It was a great evening of fun and relaxing conversation. Her town is a very pretty, cozy little town. When I crawled into bed that night, I was so happy that I had got to spend an evening with my sister. Sometimes things just work out and it is really just a blessing.

Oklahoma or BUST part 2...

I think I need to touch up my roots... getting a little dark on top!

One room school house.

An old fashioned seamstress.

He is making tops on a wood lathe. Tim and Savannh spent about an hour with this man learning how to throw a top correctly. Savannah chose a top as her gift.

Making candles. No, I wasn't nervous that Sebastian would stick his hands in the hot wax. Nope, not me!

Our first official non-driving day (there weren't many non-driving days), we decided to visit the Ozark Folk Center. My sister, Leann, lives in Arkansas. I had asked her about a couple of places that she had gone to on her honeymoon. This place has about 24 artisans that show how things were made in pioneer days. This fit perfect with the American Girl, Kirsten, that we were studying for school. I love, love, love it when we can take a trip that ties into what we are studying. We went to Williamsburg when we were studying colonial times, then we did this. Next up we are studying the American Girl, Addy. She was a slave. I am pretty sure I should be able to round up a good field trip for this study right here in SC. Anyway, I am moving off of my trip topic... so scattered! We were staying on-site of the Folk Center, so we did not have to travel to it. We found where the tram took us over and headed into the park. It is very quaint and friendly. Savannah was in instant love with the place. She loves watching people work on a craft of some sort. The kids made candles and watched each artist do their work. We took a break and headed to the restaurant for a family style lunch. It was also very nice. I really can't say a bad thing about this place. The cost was extremely reasonable for all you got to see. We spent hours here. My sister had told me that we could probably do the caverns and this park in one day. I opted to split it up just because I didn't want to feel rushed. I am glad I did it that way because it gave us time to really talk to each of the artists and learn about what they were doing. If you are ever in Mountain View, Arkansas, you really need to go to the Ozark Folk Center. We wrapped up our day by heading to Walmart for some crackers, cheese, sausage and the all important caramel apples. We took that back to the room and let the kids play with their souveniers outside off our patio. It really was one of those perfect vacation days.

Oklahoma or BUST part 1...

Well, it has been a few weeks since we actually left for our trip. I still wanted to post about it at some point. Today is as good as any. I am supposed to be leaving for the park in a few minutes, but the first couple of days of our trip were pretty simple. We headed out on a Friday evening to get a start on the driving. We made it to outside of Birmingham. The kids were really good and excited about the trip. I was cautiously nervous about so much driving in a short time. We got up on Saturday and drove to Mountain View AR. We had opted to rent a cabin room from the Ozark Folk Center. It had pretty decent reviews and was right where we wanted to be. We were very happy with what we found. It was very clean and cozy. After driving all day, we decided to just stay in and relax. The next day we planned to visit the Ozark Folk Center. The trip was off to a good start with lots of possiblities to follow!

Our Cozy Cabin Room.

Crossing the Mississippi River. This was something none of us had ever done before. Well, maybe I did it when I was really little. I don't remember.

Huge plant on the river.

Waffles for breakfast became a very important part of our trip.

Halloween 2008

Mmmm... Pumpkin Seeds

Grandma with Baby Lucy.

Look at the loot!

Dad was helping sort the candy.

Working on the ooie gooie part!

He really was not sure why we were keeping the seeds.

My expert pumpkin cleaner outer.

My Army Dude and Medieval Princess

Posing with their creations.

Halloween is over for the year, not that we are anywhere near being finished with the candy. I would say it was a huge success. None of us knew just what to expect being in a new state this year. We ended up only doing math on Friday and just celebrating the holiday. The kids carved their pumpkins in the afternoon. Sebastian actually took a "few" seeds out and then Sissy very nicely finished the messy part for him. My mom had one of those Mr. Potato Head kits for pumpkins. Sebastian loved poking the pieces into the pumpkin! Yay for Grandma! Savannah drew her own face this year and did a great job cutting most of it out. Then we started getting into costume early - thinking we would head out early. Well... the truth is traffic was actually crazy here. If I were still in Florida, that would be normal. That is NOT normal for here. I had to run out to pick up my mom because she hands out candy for us. There was an accident so her road was blocked. I decided to run past Sonic and Tim's work and then swing around to get her. The traffic was just amazing. I guess people seriously all get off work early and head home for the holiday. All told it took me a little over an hour to do a 5 mile loop. I was really happy the kids were already dressed up and just ate their dinner in the car. Tim got home and we headed out trick or treating. I love walking around with Tim and the kids. It was a little cold when we started out, but we warmed up pretty quickly. There were tons of houses participating. It was really great. We did our neighborhood and then went across into another neighborhood. Sebastian would have kept going another 5 miles, but Savannah's shoes were hurting her feet. So, we called it a night and headed home. Another GREAT Halloween!