What was I thinking???

Okay, so for those of you who love to paint, I applaud you. You see, I always thought I loved to paint, although I've only painted once in my whole life and that was our family room in Asheville (which by the way, turned out really good). Anyhow, after that I contracted bacterial pneumonia and ended up in the hospital for a week...at which time Cleo informed me I would NEVER be able to paint again because it was just too risky with my asthma and sinus troubles. Well, I don't like to take no for an answer and have been begging to paint again. After careful consideration, he decided that it would be okay for me to paint the ramps and lattice around the bottom of the shed since it was outside and there would be plenty of ventilation. Well, because I'm not very experienced at this whole painting thing, I waited to start the job until yesterday afternoon...that's right afternoon in Georgia in this heat!!! What an idiot I am, but I did manage to get the ramp part done before almost passing out from heat stroke. I decided to get up early (well 9:30!) this morning and finish the rest. I did get the front and noticeable side done before my paintbrush gave out. You can't even see the other side unless you are in the backyard and go into the woods looking for it, so I think I will take my time getting a new paintbrush to finish that side. After this is done, I will NEVER ask to paint again and will be happy to let Cleo do it or hire it out. It's a good thing you can't look too closely at the picture or you could really see my "handy work" and I'm sure you would all just die laughing.

All About Cleo

This weekend was definately all about Cleo. He started off by going to work for a few hours Sat. morning and getting home around 9:30. He has a pretty good crew working for him and was able to leave them to work without his help for the rest of the day. He headed straight for the back yard to build ramps for his new shed so we could get the riding mower out of the garage. He worked straight through the HEAT, bugs and sweat and finished in late afternoon. On Sunday we invited Jarod and Lindsey and 2 other couples over for a bbq---but it wasn't all fun and games, we definately had an agenda!! You see, Cleo got a 24 gun safe that weighs around 600 pounds about a month ago and it's been sitting in the garage, not being very useful and we (no me) decided it was time to get it up to the "mancave" where it was intended to be. The sporting goods store wanted $20 a stair and with 16 stairs going up to the mancave that was just a bit too much to spend, so we decided if we fed the "help" maybe they wouldn't mind helping get that thing up the stairs. Well, after waiting for quite a while for the last couple to show up, Cleo, Jarod and Jeff decided to go it alone and get that thing where it belonged. Well, after a serious struggle with the staircase (one in which the staircase dang near won!) they were able to get it up with only one minor injury...that being Jarods' toe. You see, it was under the safe when they set it upright---OUCH!! He said it was okay, but it looked pretty sore to me. I guess someone was bound to have a "battle wound" after that task, but we did feed them well afterwards. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening eating and playing cornhole. Today, Cleo was able to finish putting the lattice around the bottom of the shed. It really looks nice and it's now my job to paint the ramps and lattice. I am praying for a cool day this week so I can get it done in one day. Wish me luck.

And last, but not least I just want to take this opportunity to say Thank You to all the men and women who are serving all over the world. I so appreciate their sacrifices and to all those before them and know for a fact that we wouldn't enjoy all our freedoms in this wonderful country if it weren't for them. I want to personally thank my Dad, father in law, brother, son in law and nephew as well as my grandfathers, uncles and cousins who served (or may still be serving). I pray that our Heavenly Father will watch all those who serve and protect them from harm and bring them home to us soon.

Another Great Weekend!!!

Once again, we enjoyed a great weekend with my parents. Cleo took Friday off work and we drove down to Pine Mountain, GA (about 1 hour south) and went antique shopping. None of us found a thing, but we did find a great little restaurant to eat lunch at. On Saturday morning Cleo and my Dad went to Home Depot and bought wood to build shelves in our new shed. They spent the day doing that while I mowed the lawn (on the rider of course!) and then Mom helped me to cut down and clean up some of the small scrub brush in the woods immediately surrounding the yard. It was a beautiful day to work outside and it made us all feel like we'd accomplished something. We bbq'd steaks in the evening and then went to Big Lots...don't laugh, I love that store. You never know what you might find there and it's always cheap. Today, we went to the Braves game and then went to Five Guys and had burgers and fries on the way home. We are planning to go up to Atlanta tomorrow evening and meet Jarod and Lindsey at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for dinner so that they can say goodbye to my parents. They are planning to leave on Tuesday morning and drive to Missouri for a few days to visit my Dads' brothers and then on to Nebraska to see the rest of their families before heading home to Wyoming. We have really enjoyed their visit and are anxious to see the rest of my family over the 4th of July for my parents 50th anniversary in Casper, Wy. Not much else new to talk about right now so hope everyone has a great week

Wonderful Mothers Day Weekend.....

Mom and I before Church
Jarod and Cleo playing cornhole
Lindsey and I playing cornhole
The big match with Cleo, Lindsey, Granny and Pa
Granny, Jarod, Lindsey and Pa

My beautiful Mothers' Day flowers from Lindsey and Jarod

What a wonderful weekend we had. My parents arrived on Friday afternoon and we spent the evening catching up. On Saturday we drove up to Atlanta and spent the day at Jarod and Lindseys' house. Jarod BBQ'd ribs and I made a macaroni salad and calico beans and had ordered a white chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting from a great bakery called A Piece Of Cake. We had such a good day and the weather was overcast and warm, but not too hot. On Sunday, my Mom and I went to church in the morning and then Jarod and Lindsey came down and spent the day with us. It was so great to spend Mothers' Day with my Mom. She is such a great mom and grandma and I love her so much. I am grateful to her for teaching me the value of family, service to others and just how to be a good person. I strive every day to be more like her and hope I can get there someday. Thanks Mom...I love you. Thank you also to Patsy for raising such a wonderful son whom I love with all my heart. He is such a good husband and Dad and has taught me so much about life and love, which I'm sure he learned from his Mom. I also want to wish our beautiful daughter, Cori a happy Mothers' Day. She is an amazing Mom to our 2 beautiful granddaughters and she continues to amaze us with her parenting skills. To all the other Moms out there I applaud you all. It is truly the most amazing blessing to be a Mother and have the opportunity to raise kids.

After we ate dinner; shrimp and grits that Lindsey had made--yummy!--we played a game called Cornhole (not what you think!) in our back yard. It's kinda like horseshoes, but you have a 2x4 ft. board with a 6 1/2 " hole in the top with one end that tilts up and you set them 25 feet apart and then throw 4 bean bags filled with corn and try to get them in the holes. You play with 2 on a team and go to 21 points. It was so much fun and Jarod and I were a team most of the day and I have to tell you, we Kicked some Butt!!! We played for several hours and did switch the teams up some and even had my parents playing. We then sat in the hot tub and just relaxed and then Jarod and Lindsey had to leave around 10:00 pm to go home. It was a great weekend and I only wish my other kids could've been there to enjoy it with us. It was probably the best Mothers' Day I've had in years, but then, pretty much every day is a gift and I try to live my life with that philosophy.

So far, so good....

Well, my first attempt wasn't as painful as I thought it would be...but man do I have a lot to learn! It is kinda addicting and I think I spent way too much time on this in the last day, but I guess I answer to myself about how I spend my days and so what if I don't get the laundry done or the house cleaned--haha. I will try to keep this up to date and post as often as possible without getting boring. My parents will be here tomorrow and we're planning to go up to Jarod and Lindseys' for a BBQ on Saturday and to play yard games (weather permitting) and then they will come down to our house on Sunday for Mothers' Day. I am planning to take my Mom to church Sunday morning as I haven't been since we moved in ( I know, I'm bad!) but there are 2 Methodist churches here in Newnan and I need to try them both to decide which one to join. I hope those of you who are Moms will have a wonderful Mothers' Day...being a Mom is truly one of lifes greatest blessings.

My first blog entry

This is my first attempt at a blog...wish me luck. Cleo and I are enjoying our beautiful new home in the Georgia country. We moved in on Valentines Day and couldn't be happier. It's everything we dreamed of and more. We have about 5 1/2 acres and are busy doing some landscaping and clearing some of the trees immediately surrounding our yard. Cleo stays busy with his new job at Massana, Inc. and I have been plenty busy decorating the house and now working in the yard. I plan to start looking for a part time job sometime in the early fall. I would love to go back to work in the medical field, but I haven't worked full time in over 6 years and part time in over 4 so I'm afraid I may have lost some of my skills!! I guess I will find out when the time comes, but for now I stay plenty busy at home. My parents are driving out from Wyoming and will be here the end of this week for about 2 weeks. We are looking forward to seeing them again and showing them around. I hope to keep in touch with more of you by doing this blog and I just hope that I can figure it all out. If any of you that do blogging have tips for me, I'd love to hear them.