Nothing Could Be Finer than to be in Carolina--South that is!

Smitty and I made our trek to SC back in late March. We had not been there in more than 10 months. Fortunately, they had made multiple trips to Texas during those 10 months. We went out on a Thursday and stayed through noon on Monday. The first two days were just perfect for outside activities, but the last two were rainy and cold. We had a wonderful visit and had lots of "play time" with LilE.

JD, LilE and Mom-to-be

Spent one afternoon letterboxing.

LilE had studied all about caterpillars in preschool
Rainy days brought out all the crafting ideas.
Pop even got into pasta pictures.

Playing with the little people can be lots of fun.

What for a fun weekend for Mimi and Pop!

Shower of Blessings

As many of you know, we started a master bath and bedroom remodel on October 23, 2010. As of December 23, 2010 we were able to move the bed into the room and had limited use of the bathroom due to no shower enclosure. We were having a special design "etched" into the shower glass. Well into the new year we were notified that the person who was doing the "etching" had passed away unexpectedly during the holidays. The glass company was looking for another person or company to fulfill our order. After many weeks, another company was located, but the cost had tripled in price. Thus, we had to opt out of this special designed glass and pursued a clear glass enclosure. Arrangements were made for deliver. To our dismiss 2 sides of the enclosure were installed, but the shower door had been mis-measured and hinged improperly. A redo of the door was required. I am glad to report that this past Thursday, March 31, the door was installed. (Remember, this remodel began on October 23rd.) In the near future I will past a "before and after" of this complete remodel and new decor. We are almost there, just a few more upholstery pieces, pictures and lamps to go!

New shower door

Overall view of the new shower enclosure.

Baby Shower

The first of March I hosted a baby shower for a dear family friend's daughter. JuJu is one of the three girls (her older sister and KLee are the others) who grew up together as our families shared many experiences together. This is her first baby and we were so excited to share this good news with them. I used baby socks and acrylic frames to help decorate the table. The socks and frames were then given to the honoree as part of her baby gift. Thanks to B and Elle for helping to get things ready for the big day.

Christmas and Family

I got ahead of myself and failed to get pictures posted from Christmas. We had a great time getting to be with most of our family members. It was great to see the little ones on both sides of the family having such fun. We don't see most of them together except for Christmas. We got to "meet" our newest one born last summer to G & G. We also had good Christmas news as we learned that Klee, LilE, and JD were expecting a new one June 2011. Can't wait!

Newest one---C!

Cousins who all like to play dress up!

Grown kids in their traditional Christmas Eve attire????

LilE in her Christmas PJs!

LilE with B and Elle!

Christmas Eve and the Christmas Story with all the little girls!

Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Year's

As you can tell, posting on the blog hasn't been a top priority for me. So, I will quickly catch you up. We started the remodel of our master suite in late October (hoping to be completed with that by Thanksgiving). Thanksgiving came and went and the remodel was still going on. No problem, we weren't hosting Thanksgiving this year, so no worry!

Thanksgiving weekend I drag out all the Christmas decorations and prepare for the holiday season. (Fortunately, all workmen entered from the sliding glass doors off the patio directly into the master suite. No issues with workmen being in the main portion of the house.)

Time to host the office staff party......requested that the workmen take a long lunch that day so guests will not be viewing all the work being done from the living room windows.

Time to host the Bible Fellowship Christmas Party......no problem. It was at night and darkness hid all the tools and "mess" on the patio and backyard.

December 23rd--Children will arrive on Christmas Eve for an extended two week vacation. We only ask that we can move our bed into the room to sleep. Contractor works ALL DAY to clean and get us where we can move bed into room. B and W come to help move bed into room along with a few clothes to hang in the closet. We share bathrooms with the kids during their stay.

Demolition Time

After 4 1/2 years in our house, we have finally made the commitment to remodel the master bedroom and bath. We have been remodeling for the last 3+ years. Even though the master suite was probably in the most need, we opted to tackle all the common areas first. We (or as Smitty would say--YOU) have been dragging our feet on beginning this area. There were so many questions and options and "how-are-we-going-to do that?" moments, that I just couldn't seem to get started. Finally, in late October, we "bit the bullet--pulled the trigger--took the plunge" and started the demolition with the promise from the contractor that he could be finished no later than Thanksgiving weekend! FAMOUS LAST WORDS!

Off with the old, ugly wallpaper, mantle and mini-blinds.

Take off sheet rock on walls and ceiling and add more vanity lighting.

Knock down "potty room", remove tub and the ugliest tile I've ever seen.

October Outings

Klee and LilE spent some time in Texas during October. One of the activities during the week was letterboxing. They have really gotten into this activity and we seem to enjoy it as well. The weather was perfect on the Thursday designated as letterboxing day. We found several boxes and spent the day enjoying several short hikes and a picnic lunch in the park.

After finding the letterbox there is some processing that occurs.

LilE enjoying being out in nature.

After an active day, it's bath time and a bedtime story from Pop.