Friday, July 30, 2010
Steven and Drew... moving day
Yesterday morning, Drew and Steven packed up their stuff and moved to North Georgia. They are renting the basement apartment from Steven's grandmother. (Their rent is basically each paying a third of the monthly utilities) Steven's gramma lives in Blairsville near North Georgia Technical Institute. She's gracious enough to give them their first months rent free so they can settle into some jobs. They are both planning on working this semester and then beginning college the following semester. As you can see from the silly pictures below, they are beyond excited about their adventure. They have a sweet set up... the basement has 2 large bedrooms, a large family room, a bathroom, and laundry room. They are bringing a little frig and a microwave and Steven has a nice TV he's bringing. Everything else is completely furnished. Steven and Drew are all about the outdoors and they are near mountains and lakes, so of coarse they brought all their camping gear. Steven and Drew have been friends since we moved to Athens (about 6 1/2 years). We met Steven's family at church. Very sweet family!!!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Evening in the park
Two years ago they built a new park about 5-10 minutes from our house called Veteran's Park with a cool new playground... But they put it right across the street from another park, Herman's C. Michael Park. This summer, they tore down the old Herman C. Michael playground and put up a brand new one. So now we have 2 great parks close to home! Tonight after dinner, I took the girls to the new park to play. It's just too hot in the day and it was such a beautiful night tonight. It almost felt like a hint of fall in the air. The girl's had a ball!
Summer Concert in the Bonus Room (featuring Alex on guitar and Ellie on the drums)
Alex got his drum set back from his old roommates. Ellie went crazy over it. All afternoon they worked on a song for us. So after dinner, Keith, Emma, Elizabeth, Casey, Nick and I went up to see the show. (Drew was out of town) It's hard to see everyone in the video because I filmed it with my little camera and the lighting is poor. But at least you can hear it.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Last vacation of the summer
This was a great way to end the summer... A week at the beach with just the family (minus Tyler and Emily, plus Steven). It's been a while since the boys went to the beach with us. I'm so glad Drew and Steven changed their minds about going to Blairsville at the last minute, and decided to go with us instead. Alex, Drew, and Steven were in the ocean every day. The water was chrystal clear. Prettier than I've ever seen it. It was a yellow flag every day. Which is great because on the red flag days the water is too dangerous to swim in because of the undercurrent and the blue flag days are boring because there are no waves. The boys saw a shark and several sting rays in the ocean. Pretty frightening! The girls built sand castles and jumped the waves with dad. Mom's a bit of a party pooper when it comes to getting in the ocean. But I don't mind walking on the beach or collecting seashells. While the guys played more at the beach, the girls enjoyed the pool. Indoors, we played cards (spoons and go fish mostly), watched movies, read books, the girls built forts, and we ate a lot. For some reason, we can put down some food at the beach! One day, I took the girls to Target to get their school supplies. Sounds like a weird thing to do at the beach, but one can only take so much sun. Besides, they were so excited about getting their stuff. We also went to Pier Park a few times. Once, just me and the girls. They were dying to spend their allowance. And then the last night, we all went to Pier Park and ate dinner, rode some rides, and of coarse, we couldn't miss the candy shop. The week flew by, just like the whole summer.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Latest news on the boys
Keith took a day off yesterday and took Alex to Middle Georgia College for orientation. They left at 7am and got back around 5pm. They were both super excited when they got back! Alex met some really nice people and found out that almost everything he took at Gainesville transfers. He'll be part of the Aviation Program there which is supposed to be one of the top in the country for his field. Keith went to the financial aide office while he was there and was able to get Alex's grant increased an extra thousand dollars!!! What a negotiator, I knew he had it in him. Also, Alex found out that if he makes A's and B's this semester, he can re-apply and get the Hope Scholarship back!!!
Last week Alex and Drew went to Blairsville in the North Georgia Mountains near Lake Burton with their friend Steven. They occasionally go there with Steven's family to visit his grandma. They love it up there... lots of outdoorsy things to do. Steven is going to North Georgia Technical Institute in the fall and will be living in his grandma's basement. Drew started looking into it and thought he might like to go there and check out their Environmental Studies Program. Everything is very hands-on there. Since then Steven and Drew have taken another road trip up there to search for a job. They've decided to go again this week and job hunt while we're at the beach. (I'm a little bummed Drew won't be going to the beach with us, but glad he's found something he's excited about!) Drew and Steven plan on renting the downstairs of Steven's grandma's house in the fall. Drew wants to get a job there this semester and save his money and see how he likes living there and then maybe start classes winter quarter.
Drew also has been doing a little writing lately. He just shared an amazing poem he recently wrote with Keith and me! We were blown away! Seriously, it's that good!!! It's so fun to watch the kids creativity and talents emerge. Alex just played guitar at a friend's wedding a few weeks ago. He plays alllll the time around here and has gotten really good! I didn't know he felt comfortable enough to play in front of a crowd though. They never cease to amaze me. At the orientation yesterday, he met a few guys that are into music and already has plans to jam with them.
Tyler, my singer, songwriter, musician by night, and UGA student, Inoko cook by day is LOVING married life. I'm so proud of them. Tyler is really enjoying his major (Agricultural Economics). Emily just got a great job right here in Watkinsville that she will start in 2 weeks. She'll be helping with a daycare for Oconee County teachers' children. The pay is great and she loves the woman she's working for. Plus, she won't have to drive to Gwinnett every day for work anymore. She's got lots of experience with being a nanny, and is wonderful with kids!
Nick, who has become like a son to us, will be leaving for Tennessee to live with his mom for a while and begin taking courses to become a fireman. This house is beginning to empty out pretty fast. I feel a sadness about them growing up and moving out, but also am looking forward to the next phase for both them and us.
Last week Alex and Drew went to Blairsville in the North Georgia Mountains near Lake Burton with their friend Steven. They occasionally go there with Steven's family to visit his grandma. They love it up there... lots of outdoorsy things to do. Steven is going to North Georgia Technical Institute in the fall and will be living in his grandma's basement. Drew started looking into it and thought he might like to go there and check out their Environmental Studies Program. Everything is very hands-on there. Since then Steven and Drew have taken another road trip up there to search for a job. They've decided to go again this week and job hunt while we're at the beach. (I'm a little bummed Drew won't be going to the beach with us, but glad he's found something he's excited about!) Drew and Steven plan on renting the downstairs of Steven's grandma's house in the fall. Drew wants to get a job there this semester and save his money and see how he likes living there and then maybe start classes winter quarter.
Drew also has been doing a little writing lately. He just shared an amazing poem he recently wrote with Keith and me! We were blown away! Seriously, it's that good!!! It's so fun to watch the kids creativity and talents emerge. Alex just played guitar at a friend's wedding a few weeks ago. He plays alllll the time around here and has gotten really good! I didn't know he felt comfortable enough to play in front of a crowd though. They never cease to amaze me. At the orientation yesterday, he met a few guys that are into music and already has plans to jam with them.
Tyler, my singer, songwriter, musician by night, and UGA student, Inoko cook by day is LOVING married life. I'm so proud of them. Tyler is really enjoying his major (Agricultural Economics). Emily just got a great job right here in Watkinsville that she will start in 2 weeks. She'll be helping with a daycare for Oconee County teachers' children. The pay is great and she loves the woman she's working for. Plus, she won't have to drive to Gwinnett every day for work anymore. She's got lots of experience with being a nanny, and is wonderful with kids!
Nick, who has become like a son to us, will be leaving for Tennessee to live with his mom for a while and begin taking courses to become a fireman. This house is beginning to empty out pretty fast. I feel a sadness about them growing up and moving out, but also am looking forward to the next phase for both them and us.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Mr. and Mrs. Bushe
We have some of the sweetest neighbors that have taken an interest in our girls. I met Mr. and Mrs. Bushe one day while going for a run with Ellie in the stroller. Mrs. Bushe was getting mail out of her mailbox and noticed our little asian daughter and asked if we adopted her from China. She has a grandaughter adopted from China that lives out of town. They also support orphaned children in foster care in China. As the years passed and we adopted Emma, the Bushe's continued to love up on our girls. Their grandchildren live far away and our girls' grandparents live far away, so they sort of adopted each other. When our girls' needed some grandparents for Grandparents' Day at school, they were there. Every time a book fair comes up, they completely spoil them. Mrs. Bushe writes cards for Hallmark and has written several mini-books and poems for the girls. Every holiday my girls bring them some sort of treat that they bake and throughout the year the Bushes bring the girls treats as well. The latest "love exchange" was the other morning as the Bushe's were on their way to McD's for breakfast, they dropped by to bring the girls a bunny and frog that Mrs. Bushe made. She's so crafty and creative! She crocheted a bunny and a frog and wrapped them around empty juice bottles. Then she filled two envelopes full of change and marked them "bunny food" and "froggie food". The girls were beyond thrilled. How blessed are the girls to have 3 sets of grandparents who adore them?!!!
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