Home Sweet Home

Today (Sunday), marks our one year anniversary in our home in Lakeland! The year has gone by so fast and it's hard to believe we have been living here for a full year! Jason and I are so very grateful for our home and we daily thank the Lord for allowing us to find the house that is perfect for our family, and also for providing the means for us to live in such a great place. We have an incredible neighborhood, that is quiet and full of children for Macie to play with, and we have great neighbors that we enjoy spending time with. We look forward to many more years growing together as a family in our home!

Wimmin....(as Macie would call it)

Macie has come to LOVE "wimmin" (aka swimming) this summer. Her favorite water spot of course is her Nonnie and Poppies pool, but since we don't have a pool at home Jason and I decided to buy her a little kiddy pool for the house. In the past months we have not had very good luck with "blow up" pools so we decided to try the good old fashioned "hard plastic" kind and it was much cheaper than those blow up pools that end up having a hole in them after you finally exhaust all your breath blowing them up:)! This one works great and Macie LOVES it! She played for about and hour and half last night after Jason brought it home!

"Wimmin" in my new pool!

Swimming at Nonnie and Poppies

Colley-Sellers Wedding!

Our very close friends, the Colley's, had a fun filled wedding weekend and on Saturday, June 27 at 5:00, Lindsey Colley said "I DO" to Kyle Sellers It was a beautiful service at Ridgeway Baptist and gorgeous reception at the Esplanade. Macie stayed with her Nonnie and Poppie and Jason and I had a night out! It was so much fun to dress up and spend some time with friends!We wish Lindsey and Kyle a happy life together!

Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Sellers!

Me and my handsome hubby!

Uncle B and Aunt Wendy

Me and Beautiful Lea

The Girls!

Kay Kay, Aunt Wendy, and Me

Fun Times With The Smiths!

Yesterday morning, my friend Melissa invited Macie and I to meet her and her girls up at the Arlington Park. The weather was a little bit cooler so we jumped at the chance to hang out with the Smith's. Melissa and I taught together at Elmore Park Middle and have been friends ever since. Her youngest daughter, who is also named Macie, and my Macie are just a few weeks apart in age. It was just a "little" confusing for the girls when we would call one of the "Macie's":) Megan is Melissa's oldest little girl; she is 5 and starting kindergarden this year! She did a great job watching the younger girls, so her mom and I could catch up on the latest! Next week....the sprinkler park!!

A Very Sad Day

I just got some very sad news that my friend, Valarie Powell, who taught on my 6th grade team with me at Elmore Park Middle School, passed away Saturday night.  The details of her death are not not known at this time.  Valarie had been having respiratory complications for several months and was being treated for the complications.  Valarie was such a sweet lady! I always looked forward to seeing her each day at school and I enjoyed subbing for her last year when she needed me. She always knew how to make me laugh and make me feel better on the days the kids would "put me over the edge".   My heart goes out to her children.  Not only have they lost their step-mother, Valarie,  but also their biological mother, who passed away when the kids were very young, AND their father (Valarie's husband) passed away two years ago in a tree trimming accident.  I know Valarie was a believer and I am rejoicing that she is not only with her Saviour and her husband now. Please keep Valarie's children and extended family in your prayers as they prepare for services honoring Mrs. Valarie Powell.  I will miss her very much.

Happy Birthday Kay Kay!

Last Thursday was Jason's mom's birthday! The family celebrated by having dinner at Fresh Slices in Cordova, located in the Old Town Square on Macon Road. YUM!!! I highly recommend this place! We all enjoyed some great food and had fun watching Macie and Kay Kay play in the fountains afterwards. We all love Kay Kay so much and are so thankful to have her in our lives! She is a incredible mother, a wonderful mother-in-law, and a GREAT Kay Kay! The evening together was a lot of fun!! Happy Birthday Kay Kay!!! We love you!

Quietness Means Mischief (most of the time)!

For most of you that know my sweet Macie, you know that she is "very" vocal. There is hardly ever a quiet moment with her:) Well, this morning, I was doing something in the back of the house and stopped for a minute taking special notice of the "extreme quietness". My first thought was "oh no, what has she gotten herself into now". Quietness usually means mischief around the Long house. So I start calling her name, waiting for her to respond, and no response. So I went looking for her. I finally made it to her room and saw her sitting in her floor with her back to the door. She was swaying from side to side as if she were dancing. I walked in and I found her with my I-pod, just jamming away to Natalie Grant's "I Will Not Be Moved":)!! She even knew to put the earpiece up to her ear! I got such a laugh out of this one! Apparently, she had gotten it out of my drawer, taken it to her room, managed to turn it on, and began listening to some Natalie Grant! Just one of the MANY cute moments during our days:)

Photo Shoot!

We were honored to have our close friend, Elizabeth, take Macie's pictures last weekend!

Elizabeth is not only a great friend friend but an amazing photographer!  We all met up at the Memphis Botanic Gardens hoping to get a few good shots and of for some reason Macie was in a TERRIBLE mood, which is very unlike her!! I still have no idea why she decided to be in such a rotten mood, but sure enough, as we were leaving all the sweet singing and dancing began! Go figure:) But despite her crankiness, Elizabeth was able to get some BEAUTIFUL shots!!!  Thank you so much Elizabeth for sharing your time, talent, and patience with us!!  You are the best! Here are just a few of my favorites! Enjoy!

Food, Fun, and Fireworks!

Happy 4th of July! Jason had to work the fireworks at Tom Lee Park yesterday and last night, so Macie and I had a relaxing day at home and then went and hung out with some neighborhood friends!  We had a blast!  There were 3 other little kids around Macie's age, so they played while all the grown ups hung out!  We feasted on some amazing hot wings, ribs, potato and macaroni salad, and "buffalo turds" (never had them until today, but they were FABULOUS!!!!) Then we topped off the night with some homemade vanilla ice-cream! YUM!!!  Just as we were starting to call it a night, we were able to watch some neighborhood fireworks!  Macie just watched in amazement, saying "whoa mama, whoa"!  It was a great night!  We are so grateful to our neighborhood friends for inviting us over!! Thanks Jeff and Sharlie!  I just hate Jason missed out on the fun:(  For any of you who are interested, here is the recipe for the "Buffalo Turds"!  They are tasty! 

Buffalo Turds

Jalepeno Peppers

Creme Cheese (softened)

Little Smokey hot dogs

Bacon

Take the jalepeno peppers, cut in half lengthwise, and strip seeds from the inside.  Spread the creme cheese inside the pepper and then place the little smokey hot dog inside.  Wrap the pepper and smokey hot dog with the bacon and close using a toothpick!  Grill for approx. 20-30 minutes until bacon is cooked! Enjoy!

Google Reader!

This has to be one of the GREATEST internet tools I have found in a while!  There is nothing better than keeping up with new friends, old friends, family, and even people you don't even know, but find their life uniquely amazing through reading about their lives by blogging! I am sure most of your are just as addicted to blog reading as I am and Google Reader makes that so much easier to do!!!  If any of you are like me, you log into your blog every day and click through every one of your favorite blogs that you keep up with, which can be extremely time consuming!  With Google Reader you set up an account and link up the blogs that you read and it lets you know when there are new posts for everyone on your list and you can read it right there! AMAZING!!! No more clicking through all those blogs to see who has a new post!!  Of course, I am sure this great feature has many other capabilities, but I am just learning! If there other great things about Google Reader that I haven't discovered yet, pass them on!!!