"Oh, Go Jump In a Lake!"

And this little girl did,

over and over again with her big brother....so much so that I started calling her, the mermaid, and him, the fish. 

We all know, some occasions in life just do not happen often enough! One being having all of the family...or a large percentage of... under the same roof for an extended length of time.  Well, thanks to Airbnb, we did pull off some family time in July.  And it was epic.... epic in the sense that we spent 95% of the time in one spot, the cars not leaving the driveway, and it was one of the best times ever!

We had three criteria for our time this year....1) find a house on a lake. 2) make sure it was within reasonable driving distance and 3) the main one! - make sure it was a lake with NO ALLIGATORS!

And Christa Jean pulled it off; she found the perfect spot....

therefore, earning the right to claim the master bedroom.  (Christa, given your track record, you may be the designated "finder" all the time!)

There were a few things I learned (or were reaffirmed) during that week....

~I have a tattoo dedicated to me!

~This teenager, along with her friend,

were very, very content with "down" time,

communing with nature and family, and being content

with the "quietness" of life.

(I use quietness loosely here, as indicated by the last pic!)

~This boy is a natural kayaker!...

~These sisters will be forever friends...

~These kids love their uncles...

...and aunts...

...and cousin!...

....and me..lol!

Now, for the 5% of time that we left the lake.... a few runs to the local stores in particular to pick up "swimmies" for everyone to make our lake basketball games easier to navigate....we were getting tired of almost drowning in our quests to shoot a basket...

before swimmies...

^^^notice the submerged player^^^

You can see why these...

...became a necessity!

(someone's yelling "jump"...how the heck do you jump in 10'+ of water!!)

The other short jaunt away from the pond, as Livi and Lucas called it, was to Clemson just a hop, skip and a jump away.  Because we're all suckers for college football stadiums,

and so that Christa could "gator-chomp" around campus...

Lake Hartwell,

...you did our hearts well!

and I look forward to

walking your paths

again!

   

A Haiku for Two

Years march on and on

You add such joy to our lives!

So proud of you two!

~~~

Happy birthday, Andre and Angelo!

So, so glad you are woven into the fabric of my life...

you add such beauty to it!

I looked up a  daily Bible verse for this day...

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people..."

Gal. 6:10

Thank you for bringing such goodness to me and my girls

over all the years!

You are amazing young men

and

I love you both!

So Proud

“This funny thing happens when you graduate college. You hear so much about being an adult that you start to feel like you have to become a different person overnight,

that growing up means being not you.

And you concentrate so hard on living up to the term

"adult" that you forget growing up happens by living,

not by sheer force of will.”  

~Cora Carmack

I am so proud of this young man...

                                                                                                        Photo credit ~ Donna

This evening he walks across the stage at

Rider University

and walks off campus with his B.A. degree,

hard-earned and well-deserved,

now ready to start his "adult" life.

The journey he has traveled to this point in life

has made him one of my heroes,

not only for the obstacles he conquered along the way,

but also for the fact this he is a literal hero...

serving as a volunteer firefighter for his community

since his teen years!

Ryan,

welcome to the world beyond school!

The "adult" world.

But, remember...as the quote says,

growing up happens by living!
As Alanis Morissette sings,
"you live, you learn".

So true!

May you continue to "grow up" all the days of your life!

Let the living begin and the learning never stop!

(do some of that living down here in Florida, please!)

A big congratulations to you, Young Man,

and a big virtual hug sent over the miles!

p.s.

And don't think I forgot about your

random, spontaneous promise to me when you were

about 4 or 5....

"Aunt Debbie, when I grow up I'm gonna take care of you!"

hahahahahahaha

These Two...

 

 

These two!

 

 

Have their own love song.

 

 

It isn't comprised of lyrics

or even musical notes.



The song is their life

 

 

and they dance to it every day!

 

 

 

 

 

Christa and Robert,

you are much loved

by me and so many!

 

We celebrate with you this day!

Happy, Happy Anniversary!!!!!

 



"I Lived" ~ 2015 in Review

Such memories as I go through the picture files, choosing a picture here and there. If I wanted to use all of my chosen pictures, I would have to string 3 or 4 songs together! But my purpose is not to make a documentary, but to just touch on moments of life as we live it, and that can be as simple as a smile or as difficult as capturing that first wave!

I love the message of this song. Basically, it's saying "live life" regardless of what might come your way..... and that is a message I want to send out to my girls....and all those I love - including you!

This link should allow you to view on mobile devices:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9LBQFVFvUtzTU9rWHgxNmJEQTQ/view



 

So long 2015

What will 2016 bring?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's to January

Do you read the prologue of a new book, the acknowledgements, the dedication page?  I do.  To me, it adds to the anticipation of what's to come.....the words on the pages of the chapters that complete the story.

That's what January is to me ~ the prologue of the next book in life.  Resolutions are entertained and perhaps decided upon, goals are made, it has an air of freshness.

It is a New Year!  

What is it going to hold?!?! 

In past years, history has proven that it's not always good.....we may come away with scars, both physical and emotional....but history has also proven that difficult times are always survivable and healing takes place. 

Because of this...

Faith

...and these...

Family

Friends

I thank God for being my foundation...I bask in the joy of my family...My friends are pillars.

The trifecta of life.

All elements of my book.

So here's to January and the year to come...

the anticipation is rising!

By the way,

here's the last book I read...

and its dedication...

to hope!

Always!

Coffee Shoppe and some Lip-Syncing

Recently, the majority of the fam stole a weekend away to the Dizzyworld area of Florida....just to take a break from "normal" life and sit back and relax for a bit.  (We missed you so much, RaeandJoseph!)
One of the more enjoyable evenings while we were there was just hanging at World of Coffee and ice cream shoppe. ....

which also had tea.....why did I not buy this sign!?!...

Our coffee and ice cream cone maker, Mr. Congenial...

To indulge or not to indulge... that is the question...

No text messaging here...

A whole lotta sharing going on...

Is she not a little elf !?!....

High school sweetheart...both with sweet hearts....

And somehow, during this hang-out session, the conversation took a turn to competition (are you surprised??)...lip-sync competition to be exact.  And in between the walk from the coffee shop....

Sidenote:  this sign is totally incorrect!  This pic is a depiction of the

right way!...

I think Christa agrees...

...and back to the condo with just enough time for the kids to get in their jammies, songs were decided and moves were practiced...and here, for the sake of posterity, are the amateur videos of the entertaining acts....

Somehow, Mish and Charlie turned into Part I and II...

And in true competition form, we were going to decide a winner,

 but in this case we all agreed...

everyone came in First Place!

p.s.  

notice I didn't partake...

I had all my moves down for a 

Proud Mary rendition,

but I had left my Tina Turner wig at home...oh well...

maybe next time!