Happy Anniversary

Tomorrow is my parents anniversary. They have been married 39 wonderful years. Some years have gone by quickly with no crazy twists and turns. Others have seemed longer bringing change, heartache, and loss. When you marry someone do you really know what your life is going to be like together? In my opinion you may feel that you know but it never turns out like you plan. When mom and dad married on that day in August 39 years ago they were two young kids starting on life's journey. Their life would take them in directions they had never dreamed of. Having to move from NC to Vermont was the fist of their adventures. Quite a change for two southerners. But they made it- you know why? Because they had each other ( and of course two wonderful children) . As long as they or we were together as a family it didn't matter where we were. They left Vermont for Ohio and this is where they made their life together. Obviously having grown up in Ohio I am a little partial to this stop on their journey. Mom devoted her life to us girls taking on roles of Girl Scout leader, Brownie leader, score book keeper at softball games, and just taking care of us in every way possible. Dad worked hard every day with Energizer traveling all over the world. Even with all the time he spent over seas we still felt like a perfect family. I remember when he was gone how close we were with Mom- doing puzzles, playing board games, and watching musicals all snuggled up in their bed. Maybe with us there she didn't miss him as much. When Dad would come home Mom would spend so much time getting ready, putting on a beautiful dress, rolling her hair, and putting on makeup. She wanted to look her best when she first saw him. It was such a big deal to go to the airport to wait for his plane. Back then we could not only go to the gate, but we could go to the observation deck and watch for the plane. Dad always came home with presents from his travels. Opal rings for all of us from Hong Kong, dolls from every country he went to, watches,and one of my favorites currency from everywhere. Kids always love money even if they can't spend it. We spent 19 wonderful years in N. Ridgeville and in 1998 Dad's job brought us back to NC. We, especially my sister and I were devastated at the thought of a move but never did we think of choosing the state over remaining with our family. Little did we know that the move to NC would be the final leg of our journey. Coming back to NC has brought us closer to our family and has brought us closer as a family. It's funny I feel closer to my parents and my sister now then I did when I lived with them. Mom and Dad have stayed focused on keeping our family whole and doing what was best for our family. They have stayed together through some tough times such as newlywed money pinching( tuna casserole anyone), the loss of a father, becoming a first time parent, moving away from family, moving to another new town, raising two children without the support of family nearby, the loss of a mother, the loss of another father, trying to sell a house while trying to build a house 600 miles away, another move this time closer to family but with two crabby and resentful daughters, leaving all their friends behind, job changes, life changes..... I guess my point is that Mom and Dad have always been there together, as a team. I hope that my husband and I can be such a wonderful team in raising our children. It is because of them that my sister and I are the women we have grown to be. I don't think they envisioned all the curve balls they would be thrown in life when they said I do 39 years ago. However I feel that because of those curve balls they are a better and stronger couple always supporting each other... Always loving each other. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. We love you both.

A Day at the Park

I love this picture I took at the park of the boys. When Billy and I started our family we didn't plan on our family growing to a family of five. We were blessed and we wouldn't have it any other way now. Emily was such an angel and Andrew has always been such a challenge. When we found out that we were expecting another I don't think that it came as a surprise to anyone that we were hoping for another girl. We were given the gift of another boy. I say gift because Alex truly is a gift to our family. It is on days like this day at the park when I get to hang back and watch my two little men in motion that I realize another boy was what our family needed. There being only two and a half years between the boys they will able to grow together and to learn from each other. (Hopefully only learning the good things) Alex worships the ground that his big brother walks on. He is seen here playing a little game of follow the leader. Even at 15 months old he wants to follow in Drew's footsteps. It is so sweet to watch. Some days I wonder why as Drew can be so physical. I don't think he understands that he hugs too hard sometimes, he gets too rough- he really doesn't mean any harm. Sometimes he does things he shouldn't but what child doesn't. Am I disappointed that I don't have another little girl- well maybe a little. But it is because I grew up with a sister that I couldn't imagine not having one. My sister and I were and still are so close that I wished that Emily could also have that same bond. The thing is, Emily is just fine being the only girl in this crazy family. In fact it may be for the best, because she gets to do special girly things with mommy all by herself. Having said that-would I change things and give up my two little men? No way, Never in a million years. I can't imagine it any other way. I am perfectly happy with my one angel and two little devils!

Can I Go To School Too Mommy?

I find it so amusing that my son would miss his sister as much as he does. Emily has been in school for 1 week now and Andrew is extremely depressed over losing his sister once again to school. I find this so funny because they fight like cats and dogs when they are together. Having grown up with only one sister who is 6 years older than me I am shocked by their behavior. Kris and I would fight growing up but it was so different. It wasn't so.... well... physical. As all of you know Drew is so physical and always has been (see scars on Emily's face from scratches ).I don't think that Andrew means to hurt Emily or anybody else, he just gets crazy sometimes. I guess Emily finally became fed up with his craziness and she decided to stand up for herself. She has started to defend herself and fight back. They love each other so much , they just bicker all the time. That is why it is so ironic that Drew misses her so much when she leaves for school. He actually packed himself a snack bag for her first day of school. How cute is that? When we walked her into school he said " OK let me get my snack out, where is my cubby?" He is so cute when he asks (everyday) "Where is Emily going?" I say "Buddy she has school just like yesterday, we will pick her up later today". I am so surprised and absolutely love his genuine concern that she is not going to come home from school, that she won't be there to play with (and to bicker with) at night. I think that he misses her and he is jealous that she gets to go to school and he has to stay at home with mommy. He does not realize that some days it is Emily who is jealous of him, that he gets to stay at home with mommy and she has to go to school.

Second Grade

We are off to school
Our Cubby where we keep our lunch bags and book bags

This is our class. A Class full of Crabs!

Our new teacher Ms. Price. Please take care of our baby!

After a long day we are ready to go home. Notice the gap in the teeth where we lost a tooth the night before. How is it that our teeth always fall out right before school starts?

Seven and a half years ago I left for the hospital not knowing how very much my life was about to change. I knew I was going to be a mother, have new responsibilities, be exhausted from late night feedings.... but I was still completely clueless as to what was about to happen. When I took the first look at that baby girl I knew things were going to be different. They don't tell you just how much this little being is going to affect you. I don't mean physically or financially, although we all know they certainly do,I mean mentally and emotionally. I had no idea that my life had been so unfulfilled until I had her. It was at that moment that I knew what true love felt like. Don't get me wrong I love my husband, but there is something so incredibly different about a mothers love for a child. I would spend the next four years day in and day out with my Emily. That is the gift of being a stay at home mother. You are blessed with the time and the chance to bond with your child. We had our second child right before Emily turned four and I no longer had Emily all to myself and she no longer had mommy. Andrew made life richer and we felt complete as a family( or so we thought) and Emily was so loving and caring for her new baby, she was the perfect big sister. That is right Big sister. It was then that she ceased to be my baby and I was forced to realize that she was growing up. It had happened in a split second. I went to the hospital to have a baby and in walked this grown up little girl. How could this have happened. I had no idea that once this growing up thing starts it doesn't stop, Not only does it not stop it keeps going by faster. I blinked my eyes and there I was standing outside a school getting ready to leave my baby there all by herself. Was I mad? Had I lost my mind ? You see it is EXTREMELY rare that I leave my kids with anyone. I was going to leave her with a complete stranger for a whole day and she didn't even care. I was the one crying in the hallway. I was scared, not my daughter. I guess she had a better grip on the situation than I did. I became the big girl that day I left Emily there at school with her teacher. Do you know what happened? She survived. She was so fortunate- no make that we were so fortunate- to have the best teacher on the planet. Ms. Dell, she is God's gift to parents of kindergartners. Emily worshipped the ground she walked on, as did all the kids in her class. At the end of the year there were tears but we knew we were moving forward, there were great things ahead of us. We would be moving on to first grade which was scary, but we would still have Ms. Dell looking out for us. She was right down the hall- we could say hello everyday. The transition was a little rocky at first, but we emerged at the end of the year- now a rising second grader. We could add, subtract, do story problems, and read entire books. We had made it through another year this time with the help of two teachers Ms. Woosley and Ms. Gutshall. How had we been so lucky to have had such wonderful helpers on this journey that our little girl was on. At the end of second grade we found out that our road had encountered a little detour. We were to be reassigned to another school and would be leaving behind our lovely school and all the wonderful souls that filled it each day. We were happy to learn that Emily would be joined by six classmates from her first grade class. Six!! Plus there were several other students from other classes at her old school that she was acquainted with. To top it off her P.E. teacher and one of her library teachers were joining the staff of the new school. Things were looking up!! We were able to see the new school on June 25th. It is a beautiful school with brightly painted hallways. I guess with our disappointment at the reassignment we expected the school to be dreadful . We were actually surprised at how pretty it was. Emily's hallway is painted a bright green. The only bad thing we could find is that the parking lot is way too small. This school might not be half bad after all. On July 7th I dropped Emily off for her first day of second grade. I didn't even cry( until I got to the car) .It was extremely hectic in the school, which was a good thing as I surely would have made an idiot out of myself blubbering. Emily's new teacher Ms. Price seems really sweet and Emily seems to really like her. Emily has completed her first week of second grade and both she and I have survived. This is the only time of the year that I don't like the year round schedule. It seems like she should have more time off in the summer. Maybe I am just selfish. Maybe I am just greedy. Maybe I just don't want to see my little girl grow up.

The 4th of July

Emily and Andrew running around with sparklers

This little face is that of a sleepy munchkin, who thought that the fireworks going off in the neighborhood were to loud, and was ready for mommy to take him inside to go to sleep


We had a great 4th of July. During the day Billy and Emily went out on the boat with his cousin and wife who were in town . Andrew went to Tucker Lake with his Aunt Susanne and his cousins Johnathan and Brandon. He had so much fun. He got to swim and go down water slides all day long. Alex and I stayed at home to make a watermelon fruit salad basket for our cookout that we were going to. When Billy and Emily got home from the lake we headed to Durham for a get together with Billy's old boss and some of the other people from Circuit City. It was nice to catch up with some of them. Then we headed over to John and Susanne's house for a cookout and had a wonderful time. We had great food, great drinks, great weather, and great company. We just sat outside on their patio and talked and listened to music while the kids played. It has been so long since Billy or I laughed the way that we did last night. Oh how I needed a laugh like that. I actually feel like a different person today. The past few months have been so stressful for Billy and for all of us, it was nice to relax with friends. We got home later last night than we have in years. Of course when we used to stay out that late we didn't have three sleeping kids to carry in when we got home. They were so sweet in the back seat asleep with their red, white, and blue on- so patriotic, so peaceful. It was a perfect ending to the night.

Meet Oscar

This is Oscar- he was ......sweet
This baby was 8 months old and very hungry, the kids got to feed her and pet her




Meet Oscar, no not the Grouch the Camel. Or as Andrew puts it Oscar the Campbell. The kids got the treat of a camel ride on Friday. "A camel is way better than a horse Mommy". I beg to differ , I will take a horse any day over a camel there is no comparison! I guess to each his own!!
They had fun which is what matters!

Two Great Women

On July 3rd we went to visit the two greatest women I know, Mom Mom and Aunt Gilly. I am so grateful that I am lucky enough to be able to see them on a regular basis. I guess I feel this way because I grew up so far from them. Living in Ohio I only got to see my family twice a year. We would make the nine hour trip at Christmas and stay for a few days. In the summer we would come back down for a week or two. We would make that trip twice a year so that we could see that woman- my grandmother and my grandfather, and the rest of the Earnhardt clan. She is perhaps the most wonderful woman to ever grace this Earth. I am so blessed to be a member of her family. I LOVE the fact that my kids get so excited when I say that we are going to see her, it's as though we are headed to the candy store.

Meet and Greet

This is our new school.

Herbert Akins Road Elementary SchoolExcited to meet our new 2nd grade teacher

One of our friends Rebecca from Kindergarten and 1st grade

Smile Ladies you are almost in 2nd grade

Emily and I were very excited to have our meet and greet this past week. We met Emily's new teacher Ms. Price, and she seems really nice. Emily is so excited she has 7 kids in her class that she knows from her old school . She has 4 other girls in her class and one boy that were in her first grade class. We are so excited to see what the next year holds for us.