Scott and Libby's Place

My Little Man is 22!!

2009-01-21T12:38:00.012-05:00

Jacob's birthday is tomorrow January 22. I wanted to put a couple of pictures of him on this here little blog, but it was hard to pick just a couple so here is the very "cut down" version of my chosen pictures.

Happy Birthday Jacob. I count it a privilage and an honor to be called "Mom". I love you.

Jacob and Johnathan went to Taiwan for James' wedding just after Christmas.

In Taiwan with a group of Aborigine (sp?) kids from a village.

Recieving his boyscout awards.

Climbing in Squaw Peak in AZ.

At the theme park on the Strip in Vegas.

Having fun with dad shooting his gun.

On the San Francisco Bay.

At the karate compitition in some casino.

Giving his little sister (Rachel) huggs, cuz Mom's watching.

A day at the park.

In the mountains for the day with Mom and Rachel.

Climbing our new tree with dad in our new backyard.

Watching dad in the tree.

This is an all-time family favorite. This is the day after mine and Scott's wedding, which Jacob was in. He spent the week with Grandma and Grandpa while we were on our honeymoon. Jacob was so wound up from the exciting day that he had a hard time winding down that night. My dad said he ran around the back yard howling at the moon until 3 in the morning. This is what he looked like when Grandma (not knowing he was up all night) got him up for breakfast. Too funny!!

At the reception that was held at Mark and Debbie's house.

Telling Grandpa (his hero, by the way) all about the cool limo ride he just went on to get to the chapel. He rode with his dad and Uncle Mark.

Dressed just like Daddy. These tux's had tails too. He was so adorable.

Riding the go-cart at Aunt Sharon's house with dad.

At the circus with dad.

On the road trip with Grandpa to Texas.

One of many funny Christmas celebrations.

Playing in the mountains with Grandma and Grandpa.

Climbing Red Rock.

The cutest baby boy on earth!!

My New Year

2009-01-04T15:17:00.005-05:00

But first a couple of pictures of Christmas Eve, which was our Christmas Day since Jacob was leaving. I was not in the wrapping mood this year (or any other year for that matter) so I had mentioned a treasure hunt. I don't know where my brain had taken a vacation to at that moment. You see I happened to mention that in front of Leah (my "never-run-out-of-energy" child) and she was thrilled. By the time it came to actually do the work of trying to figure out riddles and hiding places I was WAY not in the mood for that. Leah was OK with that because it meant she could do all the "fun" work. Let me tell you she did a wonderful job too. The only problem was that she was kind of tired (no I didn't say weepy) and it was not exactly as she had planned. She did such a good job that Scott and Jacob had to get into the fun. That can be dangerous to a very weepy (I mean tired) little sister. We had one or two little mishaps with the clues, but recovered and had great fun finding Rachel's Christmas present.

Scott and Jacob after they had been banished from playing in the treasure hunt.

Jacob saying sorry to Leah after blurting out a clue that Rachel didn't hear anyway. ;)

Scott, just before he was ousted.

Leah feeling better.

Rachel reading her last clue before finding her new stereo.

Last but not least Scott and Jacob playing. ;)

Wow another new year! God is good, His mercies are renewed each morning, each week, each month and each new year. What would you like to resolve this year? I think I just want to simplify my life. I don't want to think of bills, dirty dishes, laundry or bathrooms. I don't want to have to think of alarm clocks, schedules, mopping my floor (which I'm not good at anyway), or going to work everyday. Well since that will not be possible this side of Heaven I think I'll try something a little more realistic. I want to spend more time with God this year. I want to renew my mind on His word and His promises. I want to tell my family (all of my family) how much I love them as much as possible.

I see tons of people each and every day. Most of them are without peace and hope. I would like to be a shining example of God's love. I want them to know that if He can love me after I've broken ALL of his commandments that He can love them too. I want to show them that loving God is so much better than the things they have to give up; like bitterness, loneliness, selfishness and bad attitudes or behaviors. Add secrets to that list. Telling my story (which I didn't do for over 20 years) is very hard and I would rather not do it most times, but each time I do God blesses me. He is glorified for sure, because my part in that little bit of history is the bad part. When people see the way I am now (which is ALL God's doing) and hear me tell my story, His power is evident in their faces. His seed of love and grace is planted. The wonder of grace is in their eyes. I am so blessed to be a witness to that. I'll say it again God IS good!

Our Little Christmas Season

2008-12-14T06:45:00.006-05:00

This year we decided to try to save as much money as we could so Scott said we would be getting the Christmas tree down from the attic. Don't get me wrong, I love my artificial Christmas tree, I just didn't cherish the work involved with that tree. Climbing the stairs to drag down a huge box, unpacking and assembling, then "fluffing" it up. Not to mention all the dust on the tree that would have to be sprayed off with the water hose. I just was not looking forward to that task so I mentioned it to Scott and he took me out right away to pick out a live Christmas tree. Isn't he a dear :). It ended up being just the two of us. I had envisioned all five of us going and making it a night out, but that didn't work out, the only ones free to go Christmas tree shopping was Scott and I. It was UNUSUALLY cold that night and I was reminded of Christmases in Vegas when our children were little and I was MUCH younger. Christmas time had so many mixed emotions. First was the magic of the season, all the decorations, gifts, lights and yes even Santa Clause. Then there were the not so good memories. Drinking too much, fighting and just stupid stuff.

I don't talk about a lot of things from the past. Most of it I don't even like to remember. But when I look at where I am today and how far I've come from that world I am truly amazed. Sometimes when I listen to Scott talk in Sunday school, or in a group of people I can feel tension. Not sure if it's just me because I lived it with him or if it's the people listening to his story. I'm sure that some are thinking that there is no way some of the things he talks about could be true, but I am a witness to the life we lived before Christ and the transformation in both of our lives and I know that I know that I know it is true. Jesus Saves.

Just think of it!! He came down to where we are. He left the splendor of Heaven to walk among us. He came as a lowly baby born to a very young, poor girl who chose to believe what the angel said to her. She was surely in a "crisis" pregnancy, but chose to submit to the will of the God of the universe, to the God of her fathers, a being she had never seen with here eyes. She had faith. Think about it for a minute. Mary could have lost her life. According to her customs she should have been "put away", but chose to believe even if she had to do it alone. Not only did she have to face her family and her betrothed, but the whole community would have known. Can you imagine the whispers and the looks she must have gotten.

Yes I even filter the story of the birth of Jesus through my abortion filter. Abortion has been around since way before Christ and Mary could have chosen to "fix" her problem. I'm very sure she had strong beliefs and followed the customs and traditions of her time. But just think with me for a minute. She was very human, just like you and I. She had the same fears that any young woman would have had. Now think of the women (and men too) sitting in the churches all over the globe. They too are very human and most of them have a strong belief in God, but some of them (some is a very generous word here and I am included in that number) have fallen into the trap that Satin set for them. God gave them a gift of a precious life growing within them and Satan went to work. He assured them that they would be whispered about, that people would surely ridicule and mock so they bought into the lie that the "pregnancy" could be fixed and that "little" problem would go away. The truth about abortion is the loss of a precious life and the unbelievable damage to the souls of the parents of that child. But Mary gave us hope. Jesus came so that we could be reconciled with God, so that one day we would be able to see our children in heaven.

I had only intended to post a few pictures of our house and Leah's field trip to help feed the homeless, but got caught up in my little story. Hope you don't mind. I'll post these fun pictures too :)

Even the dog got in to the fun.

Our little Christmas tree all lit up.

Leah's class took a field trip to a park where a lady started an organization where they feed the homeless. She had a lot of fun and some very sad stories to tell. She is very much like her Daddy and her Aunt Sherry, meaning she knows NO stranger. Here are some of her new friends.

Jacob is planning to go to Taiwan on Christmas day and stay for a couple of weeks. Can't wait for the pictures. I'll be sure to post some more Christmas photos too.

Happy Birthday to my Leah May!!!

2008-11-19T14:31:00.006-05:00

What a privilege it is to have a small part in an amazing life!!

Here's Leah's big brother giving her help with her candles!!???

This is the birthday party crew. They're ice skating and having gobbs of fun. This little party takes about an hour to drive to so most of the fun is in the car on the way there and home too.

Lunch at Sonic's after two and a half hours of skating.

Now a little stroll down memory lane.

Leah's "candy-begging" costume. She did it all herself, wig, eyelashes, wings and all.

Jacob visiting Leah at PE.

Sitting on the front porch of Grandma's beautiful home in Odessa, TX.

Her favorite chickens. We had to get rid of them and she was so sad.

Sitting pretty in the window at our old house in Las Vegas.

Swimming with Sissy in Uncle Mark and Aunt Debbie's pool.

Playing with all of Sissy's stuffed animals.

Playing in the water after the rain.

This is absolutely the funniest thing Leah did.

I had thrown away all of her bottles, rings, and nipples since she was old enough to drink from a cup "like a big girl". I had finished cleaning the kitchen and was in the living room and out of sight. Leah must have walked by the garbage can and saw all those precious bottles in there. She was just tall enough to see over the top. By the time I had made my way back to the kitchen she was having a ball with all those lost treasures. She tried to pick them all up at the same time, putting all the nipples in her mouth that she could.

My very self confident toddler :)

Happy Birthday Carrie Lee!!!

2008-10-29T16:55:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday Dear Carrie,
Happy Birthday to Youuuuu
Cha-Cha-Cha!

What a privilage it is to know I am a small part of who you are. I love you Carrie, and Carrie-ett :)

Happy Birthday Rebecca Michelle :)

2008-10-15T11:23:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Rebecca,
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuu!!! Cha Cha Cha

All the October Birthdays. Scott Oct. 5, Debbie and Rebecca Oct. 16, Mark Oct. 18, and Johnny Oct. 19. Did I get them all right??? I'm not going to dare try to figure out how old everyone is :).

Thanks for being a wonderful part of my life. I love you

Scott's Birthday

2008-10-05T14:40:00.002-04:00

Can you believe it!!??? Scott is 45 today!!

The girls decorated our car this morning before church and this is how Scott and I drove to church. It was so much fun!! The best part of the ride was before he got into the car. Scott is REALLY not into advertising and would much rather ride around incognito and not even mention his birthday. So he was ready to breeze through church without being notice, race home and have a nice quiet dinner of tacos with the family and relax. But that was not to be.

As soon as he saw the writing on the car he said "I'm taking the truck." At that we all laughed until we cried. The girls had also framed the front windshield on the driver's side so there would be no mistaking just who "dad" was. It was a hoot! I laughed all the way to church.

We did have tacos that Rachel and Leah prepared. They were super yummy! Then we had Scott's favorite for dessert, pecan pie. The girls had bought candles and put them on the pie and we sang Happy Birthday. Leah loves pranks, so half of the candles were the kind that will not blow out. We had to charge the batteries for the camera or I would have loved to post a picture of this very small pie with 45 candles that would not blow out.

I am so looking forward to spending many, many more birthdays with my wonderful husband and friend.

2008-10-05T14:37:00.001-04:00

My Man

2008-10-01T09:18:00.003-04:00

This post is for Johnny Dale (and the rest of the Sutherland siblings). When Johnny made a funny about Scott not being in any of the pictures on our blog I was sure he was wrong. So I looked and looked and looked, but found no Scotty. Thus this post.

It was quit a challenge to get a picture of him when he is not in his underwear. So I purposed to rise to the occasion and this is the result. Sunday's can be super hard for us to stop Scott long enough to take pictures, but this past Sunday I got him stopped long enough to snap this one in front of the tree that shades our front door. Look-see he's all dressed up.

Being silly in front of the computer. Believe you-me that is not the time to sneak a picture! Usually he is intense while either trying to read the news, write emails (with one finger), or playing his game that he likes.

Tiling our floor!!! He is sooooo talented. Not only did he make me a beautiful kitchen, he has tiled the whole house, except the bedrooms and bathrooms. We plan to get carpet for the bedrooms and totally redo the bathrooms. This project was done in June when it is exceptionally hot and humid here in So. Florida. If you look at the windows you 'll see they are open. We had some very hot days in this old house while Scott was tiling the floor. Thankfully we could close up everything and turn the AC on at night.
After a week of being in this position Scott's poor back hurt for days and days.

This is the rooster we had in our backyard for a while. He ruled over about four hens and any other female who dared to enter our backyard. It was great fun for Scott to watch that stupid rooster chase us girls. We had him for about a year or two until Martin County (the county we live in) gave us notice that we had 10 days to get rid of them. Our whole family was sad that we had to get rid of the chickens.

We're Still Here :)

2008-09-17T14:01:00.003-04:00

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post! We have had a very busy summer, and that's without taking a vacation. These are just a few recent pictures. The most recent are first. It has been a very busy storm season to this year. Only one storm hit us and it was not a hurricane, praise God. Jacob and Rachel are both taking classes this year at the Bible College, and Leah is in the 5th grade already. We are all waiting for cooler weather (and the end of hurricane season).

I decided that I wanted to take a walk along the beach after work yesterday and invited the girls to go with me. I was so surprised that they both wanted to go. I love spending time with my family. They are growing up so fast and I know they all have gobbs of things to do, so it was special to me to be able to, on the spur of the moment, take a walk along our beautiful beach and just visit with my girls.

If you're wondering, yes Leah does have other clothes. She just doesn't change out of her school clothes unless she absolutly has to, and that is usually after a long debate over the reason she should change. :)

A week or so ago Rachel wrecked the truck into a fence and cattle gate. Her Daddy is so talented that he was able to fix the truck and the fence too. This picture of Jacob and Leah was taken when they went to help Scott fix the fence. Isn't the sky just beautiful?

Carrie Lee came to visit us this summer too!!! We all had a wonderful time while she was here. She got to visit with her Grandma who lives on the west coast of Florida just accros the state from us. We loaded up the car on a friday night and drove to pick her up for a little visit with us too. We were so happy that her dear Grandma Paula allowed us to steal Carrie away for a couple of days. She was a nice gift for Scott and I to have a visit from Carrie on our nineteenth wedding anniversary. In this picture though, Jacob is 21, Rachel and Carrie are 18 and Leah is 10.

A picture of the elephant ears by my front door before tropical storm Hanna came through and took a bunch of them out. And yes those are glasses on my face. I have given in to old age:).

Yes We're Still Alive

2008-06-18T18:35:00.006-04:00

Hey there!! Just thought about posting and letting everyone get caught up on what is going on in Sunny Florida.

We have made it through Memorial Day, Graduation, Father's Day and TLC bootcamp. Rachel was planning on going to Uganda this year and was very excited about that. God had different plans for her and she ended up on the team going to Belize. I still would appreciate your prayers when you think of Rachel. I'm not as scared of Belize as I am Uganda, but she is still far away from home and in a foregin country.

Leah has been staying at the Potter's house while Rachel has been gone. She loves it over there. In fact she had the chance to stay home with dad monday and chose to go to Miss Tammy's house instead. I am blessed to have a good friend that can watch Leah and Leah is blessed to have a fun place to go while Rachel is gone.

Jacob is working with Scott this summer and they are really having a good time together. I'm so glad it worked out for them to work together. They are so much alike in so many ways. It's really fun to see Jacob mature into a man.

Just had to add this photo I scanned earlier. This little destroyed tree house was in our backyard in Vegas. I think Jacob is 12, Rachel and Carrie are 9, Rebecca is 7 and Leah is 2.

Rachel's Graduations

2008-05-19T16:37:00.002-04:00

I was asked to gather some random pictures of Rachel for a powerpoint presentation our church wanted to do for the graduating high school seniors. I came across this one of her kindergarten graduation. She is giving some kind of presentiation at the ceremony. Just before that, her teacher had announce that she would like to present to us the graduating class of 2008. I don't know about anyone else in the auditorium, but I could not control the tears rolling down my cheeks.

Rachel was asked to speak for the last high school chapel also. Here she is with her best friend Juana. She looks just as nervous as she did in kindergarten.

Here's that 2008 Grad. Man does time fly, and yes I had tears rolling down my cheeks again! Way to go Rachel. We're so proud of you.

My Newest Nephew

2008-05-16T15:41:00.003-04:00

Elijah Phillip Dickinson arrived May 14th at around 9:30pm. He's Kimberly, Sarah and Noah's little brother. I'm sure mom and dad are glad he's here safe and sound. Although I do believe that Elijah will be the one to set the pace in the Dickinson home from now on, since it was he who decided not to wait on dad to come home. Instead he made his grand entrance in his own time (or better yet God's time). Our best laid plans are just that, plans.

Congratualations Dickinson family =) !!!!

Welcome Elijah

2008-05-16T15:37:00.001-04:00

Memorial Day

2008-05-13T15:33:00.001-04:00

Creative Spiritz

For all you do, and have done, thank you just seems so small.

Our New Little Chickey

2008-05-11T15:28:00.001-04:00

I Have to Learn Things the Hard Way =)

2008-05-04T21:07:00.003-04:00

Today I decided to change the background on my blog. When I did I just deleted all those silly little wiggets on the screen that the program was asking me if I "really" wanted to delete them. I didn't know it was all my blog links and my side bar pictures. I was bumbed for sure. I just had to fix it right away so I did. Do you like? I put a couple of links to some you tube and God tube videos in the side bar. You just have to check out Mary's Tribute to Conner. She did an awsome job. I was just in tears through the whole thing. That little guy is so special to us, and he has a beautiful family too.

Maybe when things settle down a bit I can post some more pictures. I love to look at everyone else's pictures, so I figure I should at least put up a couple of ours so you can get a chuckle too.

My Beautiful Graduate!!

2008-04-30T10:25:00.007-04:00

This is the 5th year I have had a child attend the Jr./Sr. Banquet at Hobe Sound Christian Academy. I may be a slow learner, but I finally got some good pictures of the attendees before they got on the bus. This is the Senior Class. All the girls were so beautiful in their dresses. Very classy looking too! Yes, that is all the guys in the class. They seem to be out numbered over two to one. They were all so handsome.

Here is Rachel with two of her best friends Juana Mateo and Ashley Irvin. They have all been friends since we moved here to Florida a little over seven years ago. Juana is in the same grade as Rachel and Ashley is a Junior this year. I would have liked to get a close-up picture of them, but they were all so excited and moving around all over the place. Juana and Rachel went to Brazil on a TLC missions trip a couple of years ago and were such a blessing. They both came back changed and on fire for God. This year Ashley and Rachel will be going to the country of Uganda. They will need gobbs of prayer, and so will their mommies. If you think of us this summer please remember the team going to Uganda. They will have to raise tons of money just to go, then will need much protection while there, but God is able and they are so willing.

Rachel, Juana and another good friend Ashley Doxey. Ashley is here from Colorado. What a brave 18 year-old coming all this way here to go to a strange school with all new people her last year in high school!! She is a real joy to be around, loves to have fun just like Rachel. She was trying to get out of going to the banquet because she didn't want to wear a "phoo-phoo" puffy dress. We begged her to consider going. I was even wanting to buy her a dress, but time didn't allow me to get everyone out on a shopping adventure. I was so thrilled to see her at the picture taking event before the bus ride to the banquet. The girls in the dorm really did her up beautiful! Rachel has always wanted to ride in a limo her whole life, and she loves Excersions. Her best friend Juana arranged for them to ride around in an Excursion Stretch limo after the banquet. Wow! was that and expensive little trip for those kids. A bunch of them pooled their money and spent $900 on an all night ride around So. Florida. They met up with some friends who had moved to different schools and all of them had a blast just tutteling around visiting and laughing until 4:00 am. Yes that was $900 and 4:00am!! I must have lost a few brain cells during the last few years, because I didn't even think to worry, and I slept like a baby all night while my little girl and all her friends ran the streets in So. Florida. God is good!

The girls have a tradition at Hobe Sound. They wear their banquet dresses to church the Sunday following the banquet. I was in the nursery so I didn't get to see all of them in their pretty dresses in church, but got to snap off a couple of pictures before lunch. Rachel just had to have one of her riding a motorcycle while in her dress. Check out her handsome driver!!

I just have to brag on my Leah too. This past week was competition week and our school was the host. All the Christian schools in our region came to our little school to compete in all sorts of different venues. Leah did a piano solo, band and a fourth grade ensemble. This is the ensemble waiting for their turn. There is a couple of girls missing because they were finishing up somewhere else

Here they all are singing the winning song Blessed. That is such a beautiful song, and to hear it sung by one of my daughters just about bring tears to my eyes every time.

One more thing then I'll let you go. I found a beautiful song/video on a web site I found. Check it out just under the header for this page.

The Sutherland Crew

2008-04-17T19:21:00.006-04:00

I just couldn't resist!!!

I was asked to gather a couple of pictures of Rachel for a presentation the youth department is doing for the graduating seniors. I happen to stumble accross these two pictures of my dear in-laws. A lot of folks know that my husband is quite the comedian, but may not know that all of his

siblings are just as crazy as him.

When their grandmother passed away they had to empty out a storage compartment filled with all of her stuff. We were all tired and hot, but managed to get a couple of laughs in. The first picture is of all the glasses that we found. There was just enough to go around so all the kids had to try them on. :)

Scott really found a treasure with the potty seat and walker. There is just not a dull moment with this crew.

Who Says Girls Can't Climb!!

2008-04-05T18:55:00.002-04:00

We have a mall down here that has this floor to ceiling rock climbing tower right in front of Sears. Everytime we go Leah begs me to let her climb. I usually say no because I'm wanting to get in and get out of the mall. This day Leah, Rachel and I were there in the middle of the day so I wasn't rushed. She about jumped out of her skin when I gave her the $5 to go climbing. She got to go up twice. There are three sides to the tower, one easy, one medium hard and one very hard. On the hard one you win $100 if you can make it to the top and ring the bell. She didn't try that one on this trip, but is ready for when we ever go back to that mall.Now this mall is in some what of a lower income area of town so there were quite a few fellows hanging around during the middle of the day. It was quite funny when this little skinny white girl made it all the way up to the top, not just once but twice. The lady at the cash register was busy for some time after we left with all those men trying to out do my little Leah May!!

Not only did she do better than all those strong men, she did it in a long skirt with long hair!!
Ok, so this picture was not supposed to be in this post, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to delete it out of the post. Rachel and I were playing around taking pictures and this is in the same file with Leah's rock climb. So you can see what this old, tired, over-worked postal lady looks like when she gets home from work.

My Talented Husband

2008-03-30T16:50:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was our Women of Worth retreat so I was gone all day from around 9am until 5pm. It was a last minute decision for me to attend. I was supposed to work, but God worked it out for me to have a few days off so that I could watch the girl's field day events on Thurs. and Fri. then go to the retreat on Saturday. I'm so glad I went. We had an awsome speaker and the fellowship with friends was golden. The food was pretty good too. I had planned to take some pictures of the retreat, but as is usual for me, I forgot to grab the camera as I was flying out the door.

While I was gone Scott figured out how to install my oven and cook-top. It took him all day with a bunch of "do-overs", but he got them both in. He did an awsome job. I had to greet for a concert at the church so when I got back from the retreat I changed and he took me over to the church since one of the kids had the other vehicle. Before he took me though he asked me to help him with a couple of things. I wish I had a picture of that because I'm sure I look quite the "goof" picking up that big piece of plywood in my Suday dress, heals and all. We are waiting for our granite countertops to be fabricated so we are using plywood for counter right now.

When all was done Leah cooked us a yummy treat of frozen french fries in my fancy new oven.

Saying Good Bye to the Orange Tree!!

2008-03-28T19:46:00.006-04:00

Jacob got a little insentive (money on his school bill) and went to town on the orange tree in the back yard that has done nothing since the hurricanes.

Since his school bill is so large, I think I'll just start putting price tags on the things I need done. :)

I had to appoint a foreman so that the job would get done right.

I think the job was just a little too much for that old fat foreman.

HSCA Field Day 2008

2008-03-28T16:30:00.005-04:00

I was looking over the post I did yesterday and realized I didn't put any pictures of Leah. So Here is a couple of pictures from field day.

Leah and her good friend Sarah

Leah winning the sack race. Way to go Leah!!!

Life is Moving Tooooo Fast

2008-03-26T14:46:00.006-04:00

I can hardly believe that I haven't been on here since Nov. I got a link in an email sent from my dear sister-in-law to check on Heather's blog. I checked on Beth too and found these cute little flowers. I hope you don't mind that I copied them on this site. I just think they art toooo cute.

I am about to have a bunch of teen girls over so not much time to go through this post another four or five times to get it right so I'll just post a couple of pictures for you. One of Rachel doing school work (I think) and one of Scott learning to ride Leah's wave stick. Almost as funny as when he rode the little bike in Bullhead with the life preserver and helmet. That was Thanks Giving one year when Michael and Beth came out.

Happy Birthday to Leah

2007-11-18T16:23:00.000-05:00

What a fun time we had!!

Leah decided she wanted to go ice skating for her birthday. She tried it out in Texas when we visited Grandma and just loved it. In her own way, she figured out how we could go ice skating in Florida. I tell you she is a natural leader.

She invited a few friends and we drove the over 50 miles to the ice skating rink. Leah and all of her friends are in Caroliers (the choir for HSCA elementry). So we had a wonderful time singing all the way to Lake Worth from Hobe Sound. Fortunately for us, all of them are the STRONG singers in the choir. By the time we arrived at the rink my ears were ringing. None of the girls had ever been ice skating before so it was a blast watching them glide around on their back-sides. The rink was only open to the public for about 1 1/2 hours, which was the perfect amount of time. The girls were cold, wet and giggled out by the time we headed back home.

We seemed to have picked the perfect day for an outing with 6 ten year-olds. The rink was empty and then the Burger King we stopped at was empty too. That meant we could gave fun and not disturb any one. Boy did we have fun!

Finally back home and waiting to drop everyone off at home. These special little ladies were such a joy to watch and listen to for a few hours. Leah's birthday was a great success and loads of fun too besides especially since our program coordinator was big sister. Rachel is amazing on long rides and just getting everyone taken care of. We filled all the girlies with bunches of candy and dropped them off at home. I haven't heard any bad reports from Mom's or Dad's so they must have all had fun.

It's hard to believe that my baby is already 10 years old!!

All My Fourth Graders

2007-11-03T12:51:00.001-04:00

As I scan and post these pictures I am reminded just how blessed I am. My children are the joy of my life.

It is with great sorrow that I have no fourth grade picture to post of my oldest child Joseph who was lost to abortion almost 29 years ago. I'm sure that he knows that his mommy, adopted daddy, brother and sisters love him and can't wait to meet him.

My handsome Jacob a little over 11 years ago. He was conquering the world.:)

My beautiful Rachel a little over 9 years ago. She had everything under control. :)

My sun-shinny Leah. She has ALL of us in line and under control. Since that job is not too hard for her, she also keeps up with Doyle Bozone as his Marching Band secretary. :) Believe it or not I think she may have a half ounce more energy than him, and WAY more energy than her ol' mom and dad.

Still Alive in So Fla.

2007-11-02T12:45:00.000-04:00

Layout codes and More!

Wow! What a summer we had! I'm so glad we have our computer back and can catch up with yall'. Found this little picture on a site I like to look at every once in a while. When I figure out what is wrong with our cameras I will try to post some family pictures. Love to all. Libby

Trying-out Different Sites and Toys

2007-05-13T19:04:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all. I recieved an email from a friend and this site was advertised with the card she sent. I just thought I'd try it out and see what it does. Lots of fun picking out a card and easy to download pictures. I think it is better emailed than blogged, but since I like the little card it made I'll keep it here just the same.

Hope you all had a wonderful day.

2007-05-13T19:01:00.000-04:00

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

2007 Banquet and House repairs.....

2007-05-06T14:19:00.000-04:00

My baby Rachel is all grown up. She was very pretty in her dress.

Haven't had time to post like I would like, but wanted to put up a couple of pictures of Rachel's banquet. It was such a nice day for the banquet. They all had a wonderful time.

The girl in the picture with Rachel is her best friend Juana. They have been friends since we moved to Florida. She's a wonderful friend to Rachel and a super nice girl. It is such a blessing for me to watch them both grow up together.

Alright, I'm sure you can guess where she got her personality from right?!

This picture was taken during clean-up time after the "after banquet dessert get-together". All the nervousness about the event was gone and they could all relax and have fun together. Rachel's class is a real joy to her. She loves all of them just like family.

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Since my dear husband figured that I had learned the virtue of patience and started working on my dream kitchen we have had many "bumps" in the road. First my job changed my position and placed me in a night job. That meant everyone being quiet in the house during the day so that I could sleep. I was sooooo willing to sacrifice a few days (or even weeks if I had to) of sleep for my kitchen to be completed. Secondly, Scott decided he was young enough to race some teens from church and found out he was plenty young enough, just not agile enough. He tripped over his OWN feet and fell. As he was going down he put his arm out to break the fall and seporated his shoulder. Then just upon healing from that injury he fell over backwards while tripping over Leah's bike, thus reinjuring the same shoulder. Boy-O-Boy, if that wasn't enough!!! Our insurance company sent us a letter of cancellation because our soffits were not fixed from the hurricanes. So poor Scott, hurt shoulder and all, managed to put in the rest of the cabinets in the kitchen and design and install our soffits. They (the kitchen and the soffits) are not complete with all the trimmings yet, but they are beautiful to me. I just can't get over what all has happened to us in the last few months.

It doesn't look like much work, but believe me, that is a lot of work for that small part of our house. Scott did a wonderful job too, by the way.

Thank you Leah for staying up with daddy to get this picture.

Jacob standing in front of three of the five kitchen cabinets Scott installed between injuries.;) To his left, just above the mixer will be a microwave. All we need now is counters, sink, molding and a dish washer. Wait a minute, I still have two dish washers at home! :)

Our Chickens and Pineapple:)

2007-04-21T17:26:00.000-04:00

Believe it or not that is Jacob sitting with Leah on the "ugly" side of our house. We planted a couple of pineapple tops there. They actually grew pineapples. I was so amazed. The first was yellow and this little one is red. They take at least 2 to 3 years to grow big enough to make fruit, for me anyway. Jacob just started a new job this week as a diesel mechanic. This picture was taken when he stopped by just after work to tell us about his day.

Leah holding Whitey our one and only female chicken, we think. The baby chickens are still to small to tell if they are male or female, but we have a feeling, by the way they act, that they are all male. Boy are our neighbors going to love us at sunrise!

Our little baby chickens. And yes they all have names. It will be extra hard to have chicken soup with a name.

This is Rudy our rooster. Oh my! is he funny to watch. He is scared of his own shadow most times and runs so funny. He loves to play the bully with the baby chickens and chase them all over the place. I think it makes him feel all grown up or something.

Since Scott hurt his shoulder and can't work for a while and my job changed my hours to nights we are both home during the day. My body hasn't adjusted to sleeping during the day (I don't think we are meant to sleep during the day:) ) so Scott and I are convalescing and have time to "watch chickens" and visit with each other. Practice for when our kids are grown, I guess. I think I'm going to like that season of my life.

Pictures from Grandma's House

2007-04-18T07:28:00.000-04:00

Dean is winning this race. His little brother will surely catch him at this pace!

Dean and Donnovan showing off the teeth they don't have! ;) Dean (the one in the bascball cap) is a year older than Donnovan. Their mother Sharon (my sister) has two older children too, Amanda and Derrick. When I get pictures of them they will be on here too. So watch out! Sharon is also blessed with a 2 year old grandson named Isaac.

I was so excited to recieve these pictures of my sister Sharon's little boys. My mom and my sister sent them to me in an email. They are really becoming super computer operators :). They all live in Odessa, TX.

Since moving to FL in 2001 we have not been able to afford trips to visit our families so this is so nice to see the pictures from them.

The picture on the left is of my beautiful mama Louise and her brother (Uncle) Kenneth. The one on the right is my sister Sharon and second cousin Delores. Looks like everyone had a super fun time visiting.

Pictures of Jacob, Rachel and Leah's Birthdays

2007-04-16T10:24:00.000-04:00

Rachel's 17th birthday!! This was February. We all went out to eat at Olive Garden with her boyfriend. Her friends also got her a cake at school to share at lunch time.

God has truly blessed our family.

This is Jacob's little blue truck. He came over for his 20th birthday in January. The girls love his truck because it is loud:)

Leah May's super fun birthday party at the park with everyone in her class (and their brothers and sisters). Rachel got all the stuff for apple dunking and it was the hit of the party with everyone. She turned 9 in Novermber.

Our very first post

2007-04-15T07:21:00.000-04:00

I thought this would be a lot more complicated than it was.

This is a picture of Leah sitting on top of the VW bus we have in our back yard. The bus was my dad's that my mom shipped out after he passed away. It sits at the back of our property and is perfect for Leah to climb on and check to see if the mangos are ripe yet. Since Hurricane Frances took out the mango tree in our back yard, and the other two hurricanes messed up mango season for the last couple of years we are (im)patiently waiting for these mangos to ripen.

I am looking forward to sharing our lives and pictures on here for the rest of our family and friends to see. Along with those mangos:).

Thank you Laura Hausman, Heather Dickinson and Beth Dickinson for sparking my interest in blogging!!

Libby