Anyone who thinks the art of conversation is dead ought to tell a child to go to bed. ~Robert Gallagher

Back to school time already? This summer has been the shortest one ever I do believe. My baby boy is now a 3rd grader. Something about being in 3rd grade feels like he is really growing up. I am so anxious to watch him learn this year and see just how much he does grow.

The night before the first day I did my best to stick to my guns and have him in bed by 9PM. He got a good shower and was squeaky clean. Then these little hands reached out and said "do you want to cuddle for a few minutes?" I mean really? What mom would turn that down? Don't think I don't know that one day he will be saying "get away from me" instead of "do you want to cuddle?" So we sat down on the couch and cuddled and he talked and talked. He talked about his summer, the fun times he had with Kayla his babysitter, his awesome vacation, spaghetti and the dog. Yes we talked about spaghetti... he wanted to make sure I knew it was his favorite. I gave him hugs and kisses (those that know Matthew will be surprised to know that he let me give him kisses!!) He went upstairs and instead of to bed he stopped in John's office to "talk". John read him a story and then finally he was in bed... at 9:45!!

He woke up just as happy as he went to bed and had the best day of school ever! He then asked me how many more days he had to go till he was out again for summer. :-)

“The search for the perfect venture can turn into procrastination. Your idea may or may not have merit. The key is to get started.” – Unknown

So I get on here at the beginning of 2010 with these big plans of blogging frequently. I'm not really doing it for others to read but if they do that is wonderful but I want to do it for me so that I can just get these thoughts from my head and put them somewhere else for a change. As you can see it is the end of July and I am just now doing another one.

Why do I procrastinate? I think it is because I feel I don't have a creative thought in my brain at times so I figure why bother because no one will want to read it, however I forget that I like to read it down the road when time has passed. I like being able to look back and say OH YEAH I remember that, that was a fun time or wow I can't believe that happened so long ago.

This summer has been a busy one. We surprised Matthew with a trip to the Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando. He has wanted to go there a few years now and he had no clue until we pulled in the parking lot. We went to Universal as well and made the mistake to try to see the Harry Potter park on the FIRST week it was open. MISERABLE!!! It was so hot and you had to stand in this stupid long line just to get in that section of the park and then once in there it was shoulder to shoulder people. I believe I may have experienced my first panic attack when it was so thick with people that I couldn't even breath. Matthew got a wand though and that was the main goal. We will go back to the Harry Potter park oh say in about 5 years!!!! The Nick Hotel was SO MUCH FUN!!! I really enjoyed our stay there. If you got little ones that like Nickelodeon I recommend saving your pennies and taking them there at least once. www.nickhotel.com

Matthew turned 8 and is about to start 3rd grade on the 9th of August. He says he is not ready but when I brought home all his new school supplies he happily set down and sharpened a whole pack of pencils and put them in his new pencil pouch. He had the cutest look on his face as he was looking at all the new stuff. He then looked up and said "but this does not mean I am ready to go back to school" , maybe he thought that since I brought those home he was having to go the next day. It was too funny!!

We are starting our 3rd year of living away from our family. I still have moments where I feel like just a visitor here or a tourist. We have found a great church www.newpassionchurch.com We really enjoy going there and have met some great people. It is a new church but I think great things are happening there so if you ever come to visit me be prepared to go to church with me!!

My next blog will be one with pictures so that if you haven't seen us in awhile you can catch up on how Matthew has grown and how gray John's hair is. hee hee!!

2010... and so a new year begins...

I can't believe I have not done a blog since August. Life just gets too busy and we forget to take a moment and reflect on what we do and what we have. 2009 is over and now 2010 has begun. I have hopes and dreams that this year is wonderful for everyone. I could list everything that happened between August and now but that will just take forever. We will just say school for Matthew is going great. My new job is wonderful and John's job is going well too. We had a great Thanksgiving and a Wonderful Christmas. Here's to a great new beginning for everyone!!!

Boy Time Flies

Time sure does fly when you are having fun. I have totally slacked on my blogs. I don't know that anyone even reads them but I enjoying putting my words out there to go back and read up on later. I have not blogged all summer and well it is just too much to try and catch up on everything. A few highlights are:

• Matthew and I went with my family to Myrtle Beach at the beginning of June and had a great time.
• Matthew turned 7 and had a wonderful bday and a great visit with Grandma and Papa Peterson.
• Our air conditioner tore up on 4Th of July weekend!!! Luckily it was under warranty and was fixed quickly and for free.
• John got to travel to New Jersey for work.
• Matthew went on a great fishing trip and caught his very first fish and named him Gerald.
• I spent a great 4 days with my wonderful friends Sharon, Susan and Lisa.
• I ate at Whistle Stop Cafe where Fried Green Tomatoes was filmed.

Those are the best points of our summer and it has just flown by way to fast. Some major changes are coming next week. Matthew starts 2nd grade and I go back to work. I start a new job on the 1oth with 2 attorneys in Augusta. I am excited for this opportunity but will miss the freedom of being able to visit family whenever I want to. Matthew starts a series of 4 dental visits on Sept. 2nd which I'm not looking forward to but they must be done.

OH and the best part of the summer is this little addition to our family:

This is Zax, our little Yorkie. He is so sweet. lovable and very stubborn. He fits right in with us!

Wow it is already April 14th!!

Time is going by so fast. April came so fast and we are already half way done with it... that can't be right.

Matthew's spring break was last week... and boy was it eventful. We had planned on going up to Dalton to spend the week with family. He so looked forward to this trip for weeks. Friday night April 3rd.. he said "mommy my stomach hurts". He went to lay down at 7 and fell asleep and slept until about 3:30AM.. he woke up in good spirits and ready to go. I like to hit the road early so we started traveling at 5AM. He was having such a great time and got to my parents and was greeted by Abbey and Noah. He was so happy to see them. They played and played. Papaw took them to the park and when they came back he told me Matthew acted like he didn't feel well. I gave him some medicine and he perked up. I woke up early Sunday morning and he was burning up with a fever. I had to cancel our day with Grandma, Papa and Uncle Rick and the kids. He just felt terrible and I didn't want to get anyone else sick. Sunday evening he started feeling better. Monday he was doing pretty good but sounding croupy. Early Tuesday I woke up to him having a hard time breathing so off we go.. Me, Matthew and Nanny rushing to the ER. He was diagnosed with pneumonia poor little guy. Not a way to spend the spring break that you were so looking forward to. He felt miserable all that week. He started perking up on our last day there. He's doing better now but still has times he just wants to rest and chill out.

Not only was that going on but when we left here Saturday I noticed my cat of 11 years, Lucky, acted like he didn't feel well. I called John when we got to my parents and he said that Lucky would not eat or drink and was having a difficult time breathing. He just never got over what was wrong and sadly he passed away Monday morning. I'll miss him. We got him when we first got married and he has been with us the whole time. John took good care of him while I was gone. I'm glad he was here to do it. I don't know how I would have handled it.

We are back home now and Matthew is back in school for 6 more weeks and then the school year is over.. can't believe it. My little guy will be in 2ND grade soon!! We have a trip to the beach planned so lets hope we all stay healthy for this trip.

I have pictures of the kids playing that I will add soon.

Matthew's Spring Carnival 2009 Cedar Ridge Elementary

The rain moved the carnival inside for the day. Matthew's 1st grade was the entertainment and Matthew was trained to be a Jedi! He had fun. Cedar Ridge Elementary is the best!!!

Computer Break

I'm taking a few days away from the computer to clear my mind and re energize. I hope to get many things accomplished and have many things to blog about when I am done.