Another Rik story...

Last night Lee and I stayed in Cheraw with Darren & Denise after going to Lee's class reunion. (I'll blog that after I download the pictures). Anyway, I always read before I go to sleep and I got interested in a book called "The Good Guy" by Dean Koontz that was in Darren & Denise's daughter's (Anna) room. I couldn't take it with me to finish it so I was talking to Erik about it when I got home and telling him how I needed to go get that book because the suspense was killing me. Anyway, he just came in my room before leaving to go to Kenny's house tonight and guess what he'd gone and got for me today? Yep, he got me that book! I think Erik is a good guy. He amazes me more and more everyday. I love my sweet boy!

Rik Rik is thankful for...

My children seem to be fond of self portraits. Self portraits in that bathroom. Don't ask. Anyway, today Erik had to come up to the office because Dr. Patterson had to work on his tooth. Tooth number 5 to be exact for those of you who know what I'm talking about when I say tooth number 5. Anyway, Dr. Patterson asked him, since it's Thanksgiving, what Erik was most thankful for. Dr. Patterson was telling me this story after Erik had already left and I'm thinking about what profound or sweet response Erik gave him to this big question. You know, Erik has just been so good and sweet lately so I couldn't wait to hear what his response was. Are you ready for this?? Erik is most thankful for....


FOOD!!

YEP!

Guess I better go work on those pies....

Great song

Strong

I love you more...

I remember how it felt when the kids were little and they first started saying "I love you." It was so sweet! :) We always end every phone conversation with those words. The past couple of days Erik has changed it up a bit. When I tell him I love him he answers back "I love you more" and then hangs up before I can argue. Makes me gets tears in my eyes just writing this. I am so blessed.

We went to Erik's class ring ceremony last night and then went out to eat at Stefano's afterward. Erik's best friend Kenny went out to eat with us. I love this stage in my son's life. He's turning into such a good person and he's so happy right now. I'll try to get a picture of his ring later to post.

Paul Davis

I was very sad to hear that Paul Davis passed away. He was an amazing artist.

Erik's first date...

Last night Erik went on his first official "date" with Jordan. After much persuation by Jordan's mother, Jordan's father allowed Erik to ask his permission to take her out to dinner. After showing Erik all of his guns and Army medals, he told Erik he would allow him to take her to dinner but she had to be home promptly at 9:00. He took her to Outback and then had her home way before her curfew. So all of you parents of daughters out there, the old gun routine still has a pretty good impact. Erik said he wasn't about to have her home late even though he knew her Dad was just kidding.

More football...

Lee graduated from Coastal Carolina back in 1989 (when it was still part of USC - hence the reason we support both USC and Coastal). Lee absolutely loves to cook so when we go to the Coastal games we set up a tent and a grill and everyone cooks before the game. So much fun! Here are some pictures of us with friends at a game a few weeks ago.

Football...

Growing up in a house full of girls we never watched sports. It hasn't been until the past 10 years that Lee's been dragging me kicking and screaming to sporting events that I was ever really around sports at all. I never could understand the fascination until now. I still am not one to want to watch sports on TV, but I absolutely LOVE to go to a football game. We've made so many great new friends and we have so much fun cheering for our Gamecocks! Not to mention the tailgating is always great. Yesterday our friend Patrick took us to his friends condo and we had the best burgers ever! Thanks again Patrick!


In this photo at about the 25 yard line you see a guy in a white shirt and backwards ballcap standing on the sidelines. That's Michael Phelps. Yep! He has a friend that attends USC so he was at the game yesterday. By the way, we beat Arkansas! Way to go GAMECOCKS!! :)

Fall in TN

Lauren & I went to TN this past weekend to spend time with the family. We had such a good time. I can't find the right words to fully convey how beautiful it is this time of year so I'll just post some pictures. Most of them were taken by Lauren at a place that we went with Mom, Mary and the twins, called Warrior's Path.

George K. Salhofer

While we were visiting Key West we came across an artist and I purchased a beautiful beach print from him. If you get a chance check out his website. It amazes me when I come across such talent. His work is just beautiful and evokes such a peaceful feeling. Check him out at www.salhoferstudio.com. It also amazes me how it's such a small world. Turns out in speaking with Mr. Salhofer that he and his wife come all the way to Florence, SC to go to the dentist at an office right down the street from where I work. It's a small world after all!

Fireproof

At the recommendation of a friend (thanks Amy!) I made Lee go to see this movie with me last night on our date night. (He's not fond of going to the movies). You MUST take your significant other to see this movie. It will change your relationship for the better and give you a whole new perspective on what love really is. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Cruisin'... again...

Yep, we went on another cruise. Just Lee and I because the kids couldn't miss an entire week of school. Lauren is 18 and Erik is 16 and we decided that this time they would be ok to stay by themselves. Usually we have our friend Evey stay with them (she loves them!) but she just had her little baby boy so that wasn't an option. So... I worried the entire time. Not so much that they would get into trouble but just the same things I worry about everyday. Car accidents, etc, etc. With no family in town it made me really nervous for them to be alone. We have plenty of friends, neighbors, etc. that they could call if they needed to. And Lee's Dad (Grandpa Haun) was really good about checking in on them while we were gone. Still, a Mother will worry!

We went to Key West and the Bahamas and did manage to have a really good time and make lots of new friends. Maybe next time I won't worry so much... but probably not. : )

This is a picture of the beach that we layed out at while we were in the Bahamas. Lets just say those waves are fierce down there! I went out to wade in the ocean and got knocked down several times and barely stood up good before another one would knock me down. A group of kids were a little further out and I could tell they were having a good laugh. Women, be warned, wear a one piece! I flashed hundreds of people when the waves stripped me of my bikini. So embarrassing!! Beautiful beaches though!

This is a picture of Atlantis. Very pretty place!

I LOVE Carnival Cruise lines beds! Not to mention the cabin boy who makes the bed everyday and cleans the cabin.

They leave towel animals on the bed each night while we're at dinner. Here's our Frog!!

Sunset leaving Key West. Beautiful!!

Sloppy Joe's is a place in Key West where we stopped to eat. I didn't realize I loved the banjo so much until I heard this guy play. He was amazing!

Prayers answered...

On March 30th, 1992, Erik was born. He was the sweetest, most perfect baby.

Aside from some awful colic, you couldn't have asked for a more perfect, precious child. As long as he was fed and dry he was happy. He slept all through the night from the very beginning. As he got a little bigger he was always happy to just play with his toys for hours on end, especially his helicopters and fire trucks.

Fast forward to kindergarten and trouble started. First of all he had absolutely NO interest in learning the alphabet. I really had my doubts that they would allow him to start school at all once they have him the screening test. They did let him start and within a week he knew the alphabet (I loved his teacher)! Anyway, I usually got called every week for silly things that Erik would do. For instance, once, the teacher had the kids trade papers to grade them in class. Erik had one of those tiny staplers that I had strictly forbidden for him to take to school. Well, he took it to school and that particular day he proceeded to staple this other child's papers together all around the margins so he couldn't get them apart. Erik, of course, claimed it wasn't him. I never did get that stapler back after the teacher confiscated it. Another time that I got a phone call was one day when one of his teachers had another teacher stand in for her for a few minutes. Erik took that opportunity to get up and run around the classroom flapping his arms and making sounds like a chicken. Over the years there have been countless conferences about not turning in homework, talking in class, etc. etc. I tried everything imaginable to get him to do right but nothing really ever worked. I prayed, and prayed. Then prayed some more. Oh, and cried. That never really helped anything but I was just so frustrated. Here's this smart boy with so much going for him and I can't get him pointed in the right direction. Then he turned 12 and it turned into a full scale battle of the wills. Then suddenly this year everything is different. He's doing projects and homework left and right. He's talking about college and wanting to get a good score on his SAT's. Just today he said, and I quote, "I like school this year." Go figure. I about passed out when he said that. For the past four years I felt like I had an alien in my house but ever since he turned 16 it's like my sweet boy has returned. The Lord has answered my prayers. I love my sweet boy!

New hair do...

Last Friday Lauren & I had a girls day where we went out to eat, went shopping and went to the movies. We went to see Nights in Rodanthe with Richard Gere and Diane Lane. GREAT movie, you have to go see it, although the guys need to be warned that it is a chick flick. Anyway, throughout the whole movie I kept looking at Diane Lane's hair and thinking that I would love to have my hair cut like that. For years I've been getting my hair highlighted and it's cost a small fortune to keep up. So I finally made up my mind to go back to my natural color and chop it all off. I'm still getting used to it and I'm still shocked when I look in the mirror but everyone says it looks great. It is so much easier! What do you think? Is it better than the bleach blonde look?

ADPi pictures

Something has happened to my daughter. For years she's been kind of shy and not so much into being sociable. Those of you very close to me may pick up on what I'm about to say. I used to believe that having a ton of friends was not necessary. I had a "best friend" and I thought that was all I needed. I also used to give this friend a hard time about having other friends partly because I was so insecure that if she spent more time with other people I thought she'd like me less and also because I am very shy and it used to be hard for me to make new friends. (NOT possible with Lee as a husband. He's THE most sociable person I've EVER met). So I kind of shut a lot of other people out of my life and didn't give them the time of day and I forced her (the ex-best friend) to do the same. Something happened a couple of years ago that made me change my way of thinking and what a blessing and a curse it has been for me. But mostly, it encouraged me to tell Lauren how very important it is to "not put all of her eggs in one basket" and to branch out and make new friends. Easier said than done. Mostly throughout high school she had one girl that she hung out with and that was it and I was so worried she was following in my footsteps. Until now. It's like watching a little rosebud open up and display all of its hidden petals. I look at these pictures and smile knowing that it's happening for her. These are relationships that will hopefully follow her throughout her lifetime. She's so happy and animated when she's talking about all of her new friends. And I'm thankful that throughout the past two years, God has made some good out of what I thought was something I wouldn't ever make it through. Life is good. Sometimes we scream and cry and wonder what the lesson is that we are supposed to be learning. I get it. I finally get it.

The old guy at the gym...

So several months ago I begged Lee to let me sign up for a gym membership. I promised that I would actually go this time (I'm a previous YMCA member). Anyway, I was real gung ho at first and went two days in a row after signing up. Then, for months, nothing. Well, I have recommitted myself to getting healthy and working out several times a week, and actually using the gym instead of just donating money to them every month. Being that today was Monday and the start of a new week, I decided today was the day to get back into the groove. (Not to mention I'm thinking about fitting into that black dress on our cruise next month). First, I had to make a stop at the front desk of the gym and ask them which locker was mine since I'd forgotten. Then once I had that important bit of information, I had to ask them if they could cut my lock off since I had also forgotten the combination to the the lock. Then I had to buy a new lock, and ask them to please store my locker combination in the computer, just in case I forgot it again. So, finally, once all of those details were out of the way and I was properly dressed for the occasion I wandered over to one of the treadclimbers (you know, since I have no idea how to use any of the other intimidating equipment.) To my left was an older man (maybe in his mid to late sixties, just going to town on his treadclimber. Since I really wasn't quite sure how to operate this very complicated piece of equipment and risk looking like I was not a seasoned gym goer, I pushed the big green button that read "QUICK START." After an agonizing 10 minutes on this thing I realized that the 1 hour that this thing said I was going to do, was not going to happen. I finally figured out how to reduce the time to 30 minutes. I would have quit before my 30 minutes was up had it not been for the old guy to my left. I thought surely if he could last the 30 minutes that I would too. Since we both finished up about the same time, we chatted for a minute or two and I asked him if next time he might only go for 20 minutes instead of 30. I told him how he was my motivation. He smiled and told me next time he was going to do 45 minutes. Oh well. I ignored the fact that as I was walking to the locker room to get my things and leave that he headed over to the freeweights to work out even more.... Never underestimate the old people.

Long time no post...

Now that we are back into the school routine I guess it's about time I give you all an update. Lauren is officially a college student at Francis Marion University (for those of you that don't know, Francis Marion is a four year college here in Florence). She is living at home this semester but I feel sure that next semester she will live on campus. She joined a sorority (ADPi) and has been very busy with that & work & school work. We're very proud of her!

Lauren (2nd from last) & sorority sisters

Lauren (far left)

Erik is a Junior this year at South Florence High School. His first Interims were A's & B's!! He seems to be a little more serious this year about school so far which makes me very happy. He still works at taco bell and he's just very happy to have his car and be more independent. He's also started dating a girl named Jordan. It seems the kids stay so busy that I hardly get to see them enough.

Erik & Jordan

I am what I call a "hunting widow" again as hunting season has started. Lee stays pretty busy between work, hunting and his new side job. He's started painting houses on the side for one of his friends that is a builder. So most nights I'm sitting here at the house by myself because everyone is gone. So please - CALL ME if you are bored! I have plenty of time to talk in the evenings and weekends.

I am sure most of you have heard of the networking sites myspace.com and facebook.com. (Uncle Jim - how about add me to your friends!!) I have reconnected with a lot of old friends and recently met a group of them in Columbia for a girls night out. Well, one guy crashed our party because he happened to be at the same restuarant we met at. He really thought he was something - one guy with all of us girls. : )

My friend Alyce & I

Sorry about the quality of this picture. I'm waiting for someone to send me a better one. These are some more friends, Becky, Sheri, Deanna, Kim, Sheila, Alyce, me, Lance & Michelle. My high school reunion (20 years) is next summer. I can't believe I'm getting so OLD!!

That's about all for now. I hope everyone is doing well! Please call or come visit if you get the chance! We'd love to see you!

You should consider reading...

The Shack by William P. Young

Makes me realize that maybe we tend make things too complicated.

http://www.theshackbook.com/

Jake

Lee found a new puppy for us. We just love labs! Anyway, Jake is about 2 months old and he's very sweet. Zach is still making up his mind whether he likes him or not.