Our Trip to Atlanta and More

Last week, we journeyed to Atlanta for some new and exciting experiences. We traveled with our friends over at Happy Home and their 5 month old.

Rayray received two tickets to Celtic Woman at the Fox for her 13th birthday, so we decided to make a little vacation out of it. We all decided to go since I don't drive in large, scary metro cities like Atlanta. NO, I'm not joking....even though I lived there for two years.

We stayed in the Georgian Terrace across Peachtree Street from The Fox Theatre. It is a gorgeous, 100 year old hotel. The Gone With the Wind movie premiere party was held here!! And when it first opened, it was THE place to see and be seen. We gazed into the ballroom windows and let our imaginations run wild.

Here is Appledoodle posing on gorgeous marble spiral stairs in the Terrace.

Beautiful Georgian Terrace


The three heads waaaay up there belong to Hero and kids...
long way up...long way down.


We ate dinner here before the concert.
We got there at the perfect time,
sitting down at a table immediately.
Our food came fast,
was delicious,
and our waiter was wonderful,
and the lobby was slap full of people
when we left!


We had just enough time between
dinner and the concert to
primp a little and take some pictures.




Here is the beautiful Fox Theatre,
as viewed from The Georgian Terrace.

Even the top of The Fox is beautiful....

The inside is like a beautiful Turkish castle

or an opulent mosque.

It's like you're in a courtyard and

the night sky with stars and moving clouds

is above you.

It's absolutely gorgeous.

It was the perfect setting for

Celtic Woman.

I did not get any pictures of

the girls singing bc cameras were

restricted. Banned.

If you've never heard of

Celtic Woman,

check out their site.

We were amazed and

I was moved to tears on several numbers.

Rayray absolutely loved every minute of it.

So, this is a pic I took of the top of the stage area,

just before I got yelled at for taking pictures.

Nope, not kidding. Yelled at me!
And the concert hadn't even started.

These are our friends and Rayray

on the roof of the Terrace after the show.

A bit windy, Rayray?

The night was one we won't soon forget.

The Fox Theatre was so spectacular.

The Celtic Woman show was amazing.

And we loved being with our friends!

And Hero did a fantastic job babysitting

our two youngest and the 5 month old angel, too!

Ah, Ikea. I miss you already.

Since we were downtown,

I convinced Hero that taking me to Ikea

the next morning was a great idea

bc an Atlanta friend said breakfast was CHEAP.

And everybody needs to eat!

It cost only $14.00 to feed bkfst to all 5 of us...

grits, eggs, sausage, bacon, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, juice and coffee!

We were at Ikea for FOUR HOURS.

It was just wonderfully ridiculous!!!!!!

We were all bone tired after all of that,

but it was quite an experience!

We then headed to the mountains for a few days,

Of course, it was dreary and rainy the entire time,

but we still had fun. Our kids are pretty much happy wherever,

which makes things so easy.

This? This is my older brother,

whose natural habitat is the mountainous region.

I have no comment about this photo

except you should feel very sorry for

me and my childhood.

We arrived home late Saturday night

to find that some sort of tornadic non-confirmed cell

passed over our neighborhood narrowly missing our pine trees.

We are thankful.

The end.

Girls Weekend!

We had a girls weekend and I only have one picture taken from C10's phone to show for it!

Ok. I guess techincally that's not all I have to "show" for it if you count the two cute tops I bought at Kohl's to wear to see Celtic Woman at the Fox. That's next week.

Yes, I bought two dressy tops to wear to one concert. I'm thinking I'll stuff one into my tiny clutch and halfway through the concert, dart to the restroom and change tops?? Ok. Maybe not.

We did have a fun weekend while the Daddy met his old friend at the Lake for a guy's weekend. I guess Hero deserves a guy weekend every once in awhile...I DID go on a girl's getaway cruise, for Pete's sake.

Anywho, C10 spend the night with us girls.....while the Butter was at the grands. We ate dinner at Mellow Mushroom, scoured clearance racks at Kohl's, and watched Jane Austen movies until the wee hours. Very nice weekend.

(Yes, Doodle is a pizza-eating machine.)

You Know You're a Homeschool Family When...

.....the Daddy is saying the blessing on St. Patty's day,before we eat our "green eggs and ham" (broccoli, bacon, egg scrambles), and he says, "And Father, we thank You for St. Patrick. I don't really know who he is or what he did, but I'm sure as soon as I say 'amen', the kids will tell me."

And of course, they did.

Twas funny.

(Rayray is wearing a scarf bc she studied Jewish clothing for a paper in lit. and was practicing tying on a head covering...if you were wondering.)

Amerian Idol - Top 11

Hey, y'all! It's kuntry nite!!! YEE HAW! (I can tease bc I live in south Georgia.)

We get to visit Randy Travis who's gonna love you forever, foreverandeveramen. As long as old men sit and talk about the weather, as long as old women sit and talk old men.

1. Michael had a blast with "Til The Sun Comes Up." We loved the harmonica dude. Simon! Singing in Norwegian? PLEASE!

2. Alison looked much softer tonight but her vocals weren't soft! She did an awesome job on this classic Patty Loveless song. Whatever "dope" means, we agree. We think.

According to Merriam-Webster, precocious means exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age. In case you're wondering.

3. Chris did a beautiful job on "To Make You Feel My Love." We all really enjoyed it. The one word I kept thinking was captivating.

4. Lil Rounds taking on my Martina? Martina and I are tight. Well, we'd be tight if we knew each other, I'm sure. I was excited at first for Lil but I have to agree with Randy...it wasn't a good fit. I understood her explanation, though. All 5 times she explained the explanation...

5. Adam - Well, can't pinch Adam today because his hair is green. Ring of Fire...with a sitar. We have one of those on Wii Music. That's why I know what it is. It all feels like a big act to me. Rayray is very afraid. Hero asked me not to post his comment but it has to do with acting possessed.

6. Scott took on Martina and the Wild Angels. He is a genius on the piano and I absolutely do not believe the piano is a crutch for him. It's part of who he is as an entertainer. He's a class act.

As far as the little tiff between Pauler and SimonSez, all I can say is R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me.

7. Alexis Grace and Jolene. She kinda does favor a young Dolly Parton with pink hair. AG has amazing pipes but we didn't love this one.

8. Oh Danny Boy. He started out pitchy on Jesus Takes the Wheel, but THEN! Have mercy people, he nailed it! Oh look! The judges agree with PajamaMama!

9. Anoop. He'll be Always On Our Minds tonight? Randy Travis said we'd "rethink his capability as a singer." Well, we did and it was fantastic. Zero to hero, SimonSez???

10. Megan Joy goes walking after midnight. Reckon that's how she got the flu? I'm just teasing. She was gorgeous tonight...dress, hair, makeup...and sick with influenza b. Get some sleep tonight Megan Joy.

11. Matt Giraud - I always cringe when someone tries a song that's a current hit. But Matt did Carrie's song justice and was amazing on the piano. He wasn't quite what all the judges made him out to be, though...

I think my personal favorites tonight were Chris and Anoop. There's a lot of talent and it's hard to choose a favorite! Rayray really likes MJ and Alison.

Michael Sarver is probably going home this week but wins PajamaMama's pick for quote of the evening: "If we were all perfect, we wouldn't need this show."

Check out BooMama for more enlightening AI reviews!

Makin' Banana Pancakes...

This is what we love about our

lazy Sunday mornings....

A cup of hot coffee

with white chocolate-coconut creamer...

A gentle breeze on the porch...

Time with Daddy...

Banana Pancakes...

The Universe and The Yellow Jacket

I had a little run-in with a yellow jacket a couple of years ago. So, I wasn't pleased to see one flying around my kitchen yesterday. My Hero took care of it for me while I cowered in another room.

Last night as I was wiping the counter, I saw a strange tiny toy head that turned out to be the head of that dead yellow jacket! So during school today we put the dead head under the microscope and it was AMAZING! We could see all the units in its compound eye, lined up in perfectly straight rows. He had little hairs all sticking out like whiskers...It was amazing, that dead head! Thank you little yellow jacket for providing a great launch for science and discovery today!

We had an ongoing discussion about how creative Father was and is...and attempted to wonder if He created one bug at a time or all at once. No matter. He had fun doing the creating, that's for sure, but at the same time, His creation is beyond ingenious and sophisticated! (See if you can figure out the yellow jacket's compound eye. Sophisticated indeed!)

While being reminded of the care our Creator took in each tiny detail down to a yellow jacket's head, He is absolutely, unfathomly vast beyond measure...beyond our mind's comprehension.

We are reading a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. In Chapter 1, we were instructed to watch the following 3 minute Awe Factor video. From the head of a yellow jacket to a kabillion light years away. You're gonna love this...

R. C. Sproul - "Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God."

American Idol - Top 13

Top 13. Two will be eliminated this week instead of one, Simon Sez.

Paula looks like a fairy princess this evening.

This is Michael Jackson night. My first thought was OH NO! But, we'll see...

1. Lil - This mom of three is amazing!!! Yea for Moms of Three!!! She absolutely was super on "The Way You Make Me Feel." I agree with Paula.....sounded like an angel singing. Ain't nothing li'l about her voice!

2. Scott - So, right off the bat I like him because, well, he's from a homeschool family, y'all. I can't help it. He learned "Keep the Faith" on the piano just this week. He's amazingly gifted. I didn't know this song, though.

3. Danny - Y'all, I had totally forgotten about this song. PYT! Pretty Young Thang. I haven't heart it in probably 20 years!!! I enjoyed it IMMENSELY and so did the hubs. We LOVED it!

4. Michael the Oil Rigger Guy - He did a great job on "You're Not Alone." Didn't know this song either but he did a great job. And Doodle was thrilled beyond words to see that his little girl had on "her" leopard print headband!!

5. Jasmine - I hope they get to keep their Glam Squad chosen outfits, btw, and I don't think they had much work to do on Jas. She was pretty glam-ready to begin with! Gorgeous! We couldn't really get into this song bc we play "I'll Be There" on Wii Music and couldn't get past our little WiiMii's singing it.

6. Kris - He's just so cute with his pretty new wifey!! We thought he did a fine job on guitar with "Remember the Time." But, again, I didn't know the song.

7. Allison - This 16 year old is Rayray's fave. But I can't even put the title of the song on the blog. Totally inappropriate for a 16 year old to sing in my opinion. So, I don't know how she did, really, bc I just couldn't listen.

8. An00p - Hon, we really want you to succeed. But I agree with Paula that "Beat It" is untouchable. I didn't listen to judges comments bc I knew they'd be harsh.

9. Jorge - Not George. HORHAY. "Never Can Say Goodbye" All of Puerto Rico will be burning up the phone lines.

Is that Ryan's Mama and Nana? Or a random mama and nana??

10. Megan - What a darling little boy she has! Bless her heart, she misses him so. We disagreed with SimonSez. The Hero said, "She picked the perfect song for her." Rockin Robin...tweettweedleetweet!

Paula changed her glittery hugemongous dogtag necklace-bracelet from one arm to the other during the break. I only noticed it because it was so huge..mongous.

11. Adam, the Jonas Brothers cousin - I guess his theatrical experience paid off. I know the judges thought his "Black and White" was the best of the night, but I still feel like I'm being screamed at.

Rayray isn't so sure about black nail polish on a guy. I'm not so sure about black nail polish, period.

12. Matt on the piano - He's so musically gifted, y'all. He did a great job on "Human Nature."

13. Alexis Grace - She just a little pistol! I didn't like the song but she is so tiny with a HUGE voice.

Bottom line: We know who our favorites are but aren't real sure who'll be "toast" tomorrow night. We're thinking Anoop and maybe Jasmine? But some of the guys might be in trouble NOT because they didn't do an excellent job but just bc there were several guys singing less-popular Michael Jackson pieces. We'll see!!!

What do you think the change in rules will be!?!?!?! Check out BooMama for other enlightening discussions of the top 13!

The Boy and His Eyes

I took all three kids to the eye dr last week...bc we finally have decent choices of eye people.

It really wasn't a big surprise to find out that Butter is farsighted. I had seen some signs this school year...but STILL. I felt like Mother-Teacher Of The Year...bc when you are attempting to read words and work math problems you kinda need for them to be CLEAR, not blurry.

I was gazing at this pic of him in his cool new glasses and Father gently reminded me of something. And I'm so glad He did.

When we found out we were expecting a little boy, I asked Father if Butter could please have his Daddy's beautiful brown eyes. Rayray has my eyes. I wanted our son to have Daddy's eyes. And it never hurts to ask.

Well, he was born with blue eyes. He turned one with blue eyes. He turned 2...blue eyes, still. Our boy is notorious for never getting in a hurry. Never. Nada. Between ages two and three, guess what happened?!? Blue eyes turned brown. Yep, tis true. Exact same shade of brown as his daddy's.

I remember the day Father reminded me of my prayer three years earlier. I remember sitting on my bed with tears in my eyes, in awe and wonder at how Father loves me so and heard my prayer...even for something seemingly little like a baby's eye color. He waited until Butter was older so I'd KNOW it was a direct answer to this mama's prayer.

Our Boy has his daddy's eyes in more ways than just eye color, though. No, I'm not talking about how they can both be looking straight at an object and still not see it! ;)

I'm talking about eyes full of compassion. Eyes that see from the heart. Eyes that are gentle. Eyes that are kind, loving, and tender. Eyes that are accepting and non-judgmental. Eyes that are full of mercy. Eyes that are deep. Eyes that make me smile and tear-up at the same time.

Yep, he's got his Daddy's eyes...

And they both have their Father's eyes...