Happy Birthday, Graddy

Happy Birthday, Graddy!

We miss you lots and think about you often. I wish you were here to see Trevor now and the babies. You would love to pick on James. His name is, in part, after you. It couldn't be more fitting for him. Everyone always tells me that "James" is a wild man name. I can only say that knowing you and him, I must agree. You will never be forgotten!

Gone to California

The California State Flag

Todd left this afternoon .....again! This time, he has gone to Riverside, California. Riverside is about 60 miles south of Los Angeles. He should be home Monday, if all goes well.

We don't have any big plans for this weekend. Trevor is having two friends (Bryce and Josh) spend the night tomorrow and I guess we will just hang out around the house Saturday. I drug out all of our Christmas decorations today. I will probably be working on that all weekend.

I'll be glad when Todd is finished with this project. He has been gone a lot the past few months. He is going to Colorado in a week or so, but I think that is his last trip for a while. He will be back just in time for all of the holiday events!

Back in North Carolina

Monday was a lazy day for us. We made it back around 10:00 PM Sunday night. James and Lilly slept until 10:00 AM this morning. I didn't even bother to wake James up for school. They were so wiped out that I knew they just needed to rest. We have spent most of the day unpacking and messing around. Today was a very lazy day!

More Family Visits

Trevor gets a math lesson from Dad

Lilly isn't so happy about having her

picture taken with Grandpa Tom

On Saturday and Sunday, we visited with more family. We had our Thanksgiving lunch with Nana, Susie, and Grandma Phipps. After we ate, Greg decided to stop by. It was good to be with everyone. I don't get to visit with Grandma Phipps and Susie that often. I enjoy the time that I do share with them.

Sunday, my Dad stopped by and spent the day with us at Mom's. We ate (again) and watched football most of the day. Trevor and James played outside but the rain drove them back in. Trevor had a math test on Monday, so he did some practice problems. Dad was curious to see what sixth grade math was all about. Trevor enjoys spending time with Tommy. James and Lilly haven't quite figured him out yet. I think there is just too much time that goes by between the time that they see him. As they get older, they will not forget so quick. Rick and Wanda stopped by to visit with us one more time before we left, too. Lilly is crazy about her Grandma and PaPa!!

We packed up the car and hit the road around 4:45 PM. We didn't want to get home too late because Trevor had school on Monday. Traffic was horrible, as expected. It was stop and go until we got out of Georgia. I think it took us as long to go 100 miles and the entire time of the rest of the trip. It took us almost 3 hours just to get to the South Carolina line. Luckily, James and Lilly slept most of the way. The were so worn out from our visit. Since we arrived at Nana's house on Wednesday night, they have been going nonstop. It finally caught up to them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Todd and Nanny

Trevor on the ATV

James on his ATV

Lilly and Emily color

We spent the morning at Nana's and had Thanksgiving breakfast with her. We were pretty lazy getting the day started. We were all tired and wanted to sleep in after the long ride down. Once we got moving around, we got ready and headed to Nanny's house.

We ate a big Thanksgiving lunch with all of Todd's side of the family. Last year, we celebrated Thanksgiving at our house with Nana, Grandma Betty and the rest of Todd's immediate family. Nanny was happy to have everyone at her house this Thanksgiving. She cooked lots and lots of food, as usual. It was good to see everyone and let the kids visit with family and play with their cousins. Trevor and Jake rode ATVs and James rode a John Deere power wheels. He wasn't going to be left out of the action. Lilly helped Melanie and Emily color and mess around in the house.

After our long day at Nanny's, we decided to spend the night with Grandma and PaPa. It was nice to visit with them and spend time together. The kids were exhausted by the end of the day. They finally hit the sack and fell asleep after a long, long day!

Home for the Holidays

We left this afternoon and headed south to Georgia to be with our family for Thanksgiving. We are staying with Nana until Sunday and then we'll go back home. The traffic was terrible and very heavy. James and Lilly fell asleep about half way there. Trevor watched a DVD and listened to his i-pod most of the way. They are all pretty good travelers. It was a slow go, but we finally made it. The kids were (almost) stir crazy by the time we got to Nana's house. They were so glad to get out of the car and run around!

In Loving Memory

Three years ago today, my life was forever changed. I lost my great-grandmother and the world lost an angel.

Gingee was the sweetest, kindest, most gentle person that you could ever meet. She taught me so much about giving, caring, and loving. I give credit to her for the person that I am today. She influenced my life in more ways than I can tell and words could never describe the love that I feel for her.

When I think of Gingee, several things come to mind. General Hospital, Chick-fil-a, and "Sugar Pie" are to name a few. I use to go up to her house after school or work and we would go eat at Chick-fil-a and then stop by the grocery store to pick her up some things. After we made it back to her house, we would watch General Hospital. I would visit her once a week and we would talk every single night (at 9:30 ) on the telephone. I would call just to be sure that she was ok and see how her day went. One of the things that I miss the most is our nightly telephone ritual. Every night, she would call me "Sugar Pie", would tell me to take care of Trevor, and tell me how much she loved me and how proud she was of me. I could always count on her to cheer me up, no matter what kind of day I had. I always knew that she was just a phone call away.

I could go on and on forever with all of the things that I loved about her and all of the things that I miss with her being gone. I always said that if I ever had a little girl that I would name her after my Gingee. About two tears ago, that finally happened and I made good on my word. Lilly is named after her great-great grandmother. If she lives up to be half the person that Gingee was, she will be a fine lady. I just wish that she was here today to see Trevor, James, and Lilly. She always got so much pleasure out of her babies.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about Gingee and the influence that she had on me. I am so grateful that she was a my great-grandmother and I had the privilege of having her for the first 30 years of my life.

He made it!

Todd made it back home late last night (early this morning). Everyone was asleep when he got home, so the kids didn't see him until this morning. Lilly remembered that I told her he was coming home and she asked for him at 6:30 this morning when she woke up! He had a few meetings at work, but came home early and stopped to pick Trevor up from school around 3. They all competed for his attention the entire afternoon. He took James to ride his dirt bike for a while and then he went skating with Trevor. After dinner, he and Lilly watched Toy Story (their current favorite movie). It's so nice to see the big smiles on their faces when they are happy!

The Carolina Renaissance Festival

Lilly and her Fairy Wings

Sir James, the Knight

Trevor eats corn on a stick

We spent our Sunday at the Carolina Renaissance Festival. Trevor has always loved going and this year, time has slipped us by. This weekend was the last weekend, so I figured we had better go. I am so glad that we made it. The weather couldn't have been better. It was sunny and about 75 degrees. I think that everyone else must have had the same idea as us because it was packed. We got there around 11 AM and stayed the whole afternoon.

James and Lilly have never been and everything was so new and exciting to them. When we got there, they were amazed at all of the people that were dressed in their character clothing. They both kept staring at everyone. We watched the Jousting Tournament, a belly dancing show, visited the petting farm, and ate corn on a stick. Lilly wanted some fairy wings, which she wore the entire day. James had to have the knight helmet, shield, and sword. Trevor picked him out a sword, too.

What a great day! It was nice to be doing something outside with the family and enjoy the nice, autumn weather. We'll definitely go back next year!

Happy Birthday, Granny!

Happy Birthday, Granny!

I wish that you could see my children and be with us to celebrate special occasions. I think of you often and miss you so much. You'll never be forgotten!

Virginia Beach, VA

Sunset over Virginia Beach

Todd left this afternoon going to Virginia Beach, VA to work. He should be back on Monday night, if everything goes as planned. He is still doing his consolidation project at work and having to put in a lot of hours.

I'm not sure what the kids and I will be doing over the weekend. Trevor has been wanting to go to the Renaissance Festival, so we may go check it out. He loves going to that thing. Ever since he was a little boy, we have been going. When we lived in Georgia, it was always in the spring and we would go every year. His first visit to the festival was when he was about 6 months old. We went with Granny and Graddy. We have a lot of good memories of going to the festival.

Thanksgiving Feast

Today, we had our Thanksgiving Feast at James' preschool. The children each made their Native American costume, which included a dyed t-shirt with animal prints, a hat with feathers, a necklace with painted beads, and a shaker. They all came in the room after the parents were seated and lined up. They sang (were suppose to sing) 3 Little Indians and I'm glad I'm not a Turkey. It was so cute. James didn't sing a bit....not one word. Although he did manage to yell "Mama" until he found me and Lilly. After their songs, we all sat down and had lunch. The teachers made a big pot of homemade vegetable soup and corn muffins. We brought food from Wendy's for James and Lilly. They also had a huge table with desserts. We tried the cookies (sugar, chocolate, and chocolate chip), cake, and brownies. As soon as we sat down, Lilly had to take James' hat off of him and wear it. She wore it the rest of the time we were there. After we ate, the kids ran around and played with their friends before coming home. It was a fun day and we all enjoyed it!

Uma's Birthday

Uma, the Birthday Girl!

James, the wild man!

Lilly, the sidekick!

This afternoon, we went to Monkey Joe's for a birthday party for Uma, one of James' friends from preschool. James was wild (as usual) and with all of his friends there, he had a great time. Lilly was right in the middle of them and keeping up with every move he made. Once I looked up and she had made her way to the big slide and was going down on her belly. The girl has no fear....just like her brothers! They played for about 2 hours and had some juice and cake. They are both so tired that I know they are going to pass out early tonight! We love Monkey Joe's!

A Day with Nana

Nana decided to come up for Sunday and visit with us. She got here late Saturday afternoon and stayed until late Sunday night. I didn't tell the kids that she was coming and they were so surprised when Pup came running in. Lilly mouth dropped wide opened and she yelled, "Pup, Nana!" and took off running to find Nana. We had a fun day on Sunday. We walked around the neighborhood, let the kids play in the park, rode bikes and the jeep, and then we took the kids to Brusters. Ice cream is always a good idea!

Fall Harvest Road Race

Tonya and Trevor, early morning volunteers

Trevor helps assign race numbers

Grace is ready to run!

Trevor and I volunteered to help out with the Fall Harvest 5K & 10K road race. They also have a Kids Fun Run called "Shake your tail feathers" after the road race is over. The race is put on by the Huntersville Parks and Recreation Department. We thought that it would be fun to get involved. Todd stayed at home with James and Lilly while we got up at 5:30 AM and headed out. Our duties were to help out with the registration and t-shirts. Once the race started, we worked on the course and were at a water stop. It was great fun and well worth the early rising. Trevor even said that he wants to volunteer again next year. James' friend, Grace, even participated in the Kids Fun Run.

Yard Work

Todd is a perfectionist about our lawn. Each Fall, we have to scalp the grass, rake the thatch, aerate, and reseed. That may not sound like a lot, but trust me when I say that it is. We also trimmed the trees by the street and sidewalk and the shrubs in our flower beds. I enjoy being outside and working in the yard. I love planting flowers and seeing them grow. Let me restate that.....I like to plant, although it is hard work sometimes, but the end result is so beautiful. I love seeing the flowers grow and bloom in the spring. My Granny had a green thumb and a real love for gardening. I am thankful that is one of the things that I learned from her and that I still enjoy doing. I often think of her when I see a beautiful garden or flower. Granny's favorite flower was a lily. I wish she could see my Lilly! I know that she would be so proud and happy!

Weekend Trip to Georgia

Lilly and Nanny

Lilly and Emily



Grandma Phipps with James, Trevor, and Melanie


Trevor, Jake, and Nick

Todd had to go to New York City to work for the weekend so we decided to pack up and head to Georgia to visit with family. We had a long 3 days and we visited with most of our family (briefly) while we were there. The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins and seeing their grandparents.

Trick or Treat!

Jango Fett

Lilly Bug

Lilly Bug and Jango trick or treating

Going through our loot

Here are a few pictures from our trick or treating night! We scored lots of candy!!