Nashville

Woo hoo!!!  Happy Friday!  And it's a 3 day weekend!  Last weekend, we went to Nashville for the night to meet my in-laws.  They live in North Carolina and were going to be in Nashville, so we drove to meet them Saturday.  Before we met up with them, we had another reunion with a sweet friend we met when we were living in Bogota.  Larissa is a missionary kid and served in Bogota for a year.  She is now back in the states and it was great to spend a little time with her.

We met at a mall (notice the Tiffany and Co in the background :)), and this mall had a Nordstrom.  I have only been in a Nordstrom a few times in my life, so of course, it was fun to go in an actual store!

We had a great dinner with my in-laws, did some shopping and also went to see a movie, Crazy, Rich Asians.   It was a good movie and we really enjoyed it.   We also played some cards together, so it was a fun visit, but no pictures from that :(.

On  our drive to Nashville, we did the old fashioned thing and packed a lunch.  We stopped at a rest stop to eat, which is something we rarely do.  Normally, we would stop at a fast food restaurant, so this was a nice change to eat healthier and save money.

On the way home, we had an hour and a half delay due to a fatal accident on the interstate, which was so sad.  Thankfully, we had snacks, a book, magazine, beading, and a deck of cards to pass the time.  

We have a weekend full of activities planned.  Hope you all enjoy your weekend and Labor Day holiday!

What's Up Wednesday ~ August Edition

 Here we go with another edition of What's Up Wednesday!  We made it (almost) through August!

What we're eating this week............

Monday - frozen pizza

Tuesday - chicken alfredo, salad and bread

Wednesday - church

Thursday -  I really need to plan....I have no idea

Friday - probably pizza again :)

What I'm reminiscing about...............

Wearing boots and long sleeve shirts....counting down until fall weather!

What I'm loving..............

I love getting off work at 2:30 and being home in the afternoons with my girls. 

What we've been up to............

We have been in school transition stage this month.  Brook began high school, Isabella began her senior year of high school taking classes at a community college, and Avery began taking a class to work towards a masters degree.

What I'm dreading...............

I am dreading a little more heat until fall temperatures are here to stay.

What I'm working on...............

My mom and I are hosting a wedding shower for my niece next month.  

What I'm excited about.................

I am excited about an upcoming long weekend! I am also looking forward to fall, pumpkins, pumpkin bread, fall candles....you know, all that stuff!

What I'm watching................

As a family, we enjoy watching you tube clips from late night tv shows and will often watch episodes of The Office.

What I'm listening to...................

On my way to work, I listen to Greg Laurie of Harvest.org every morning.  On the way home, I listen to either another podcast or 80's radio.  When I am in the car with the girls, we listen to top 40 music, Harry Styles or Elvis. 

What I'm wearing............

I wear jeans 3 out 5 days to work.  I am thankful for a casual dress code!

What I'm doing this weekend...............

Our plan is to tear up some bathroom tile and install new tile in the guest bathroom and hallway.  I also will do some painting in the hallway.  

What I'm looking forward to next month.............

2 days off work!!  The upcoming Labor Day holiday is a day off for me and also we have another weekend trip planned for September.....our first college visit for Isabella!

What else is new...............

I am just extremely proud and thankful for my family and they way they transition to new things.  The past 4 years have been full of transitions for our family.....moving to another country, learning a new language, making new friends, leaving a country, moving back to the USA, starting over with a new home, Isabella driving, me going back to work full time, Brook starting public school, Avery starting graduate school and Isabella starting her senior year classes at a community college.  Y'all...that is a lot.  It hasn't been easy.  It's been with hardships, tears, financial stress, yet it has also been filled with laughter and growth.  Of course, we owe everything to God's provision and faithfulness to us.  He has never forsaken us along the way.  Just wanted to share how thankful I am that the Lord has helped to persevere through these transitions.  He is a good, good Father.

Weekend, well.....Last Week Wrap Up

It's Monday!

Instead of a weekend wrap-up today, I am really catching up some life because I was out of the blog world last week.  Some weeks, working such an early shift and having activities in the evening just take up most of my time.  Last week, was one of those busy weeks.   Here are some highlights from last week......

In the last 2 months, I have began watching Pioneer Woman again.  I have always been a fan, but just didn't have Food Network until this summer.  I watched an episode Saturday and tried this recipe Sunday morning.  This was so good and easy!!  I used low carb tortillas, frozen cut green peppers, scrambled eggs, avocoado, shredded cheese and microwave bacon for our breakfast quesadillas.

We took a trip to Costco last weekend which forced me to clean out our freezer.  I found snow from this winter :). 

A sweet friend of ours we met in Bogota came to see us this week.  She moved to Bogota about 3 months before we left Bogota.  We haven't seen her in a year and a half, so it was so good to catch up with her.  She even brought us a bag of Colombian coffee! 

I bought some decorations for one of my co-workers who turned 50 this week.  She is a joy to work with and has been such a help to me at work.   She is a bright spot at work for me. 

We had open house at Brook's school this week.  It was so good to see her classrooms and meet her teachers.   

Friday night, we took Brook to her first high school football game.  She had a friend from church with her, so that was good and our team won! 

We finished up our weekend with a road trip to Nashville, but more on that later. 

Enjoy your day!

Life Lately.........

 Welcome Friday!  It is always good to have you come :)  Today, I am sharing some random photos from the last week.

We had breakfast prepared for us last weekend by our 94 year old former neighbor.  He is the kindest man and had the table set beautifully.  Brook was waiting on us to fix our plates in this photo.

Monday was quite the day with so many storms in the northeast.  It created a super busy day for us travel agents with so many cancellations and delays.  Notice I took this picture at 4:50am when I was getting ready for work!

We saw my brother and his family when they were in town one evening this week.  The babies made an appearance and were so precious as always.  Here are the youngest grandkids on my side with the great-grands. 

Yesterday was the 41st anniversary of the death of Elvis.  I listened to Elvis Radio, which is honestly pretty normal for us.  The news also broke of the death of Aretha Franklin.  How ironic that 2 musical legends, the king of rock and roll and the queen of soul died on the same date.

This weekend I am looking forward to some time at home organizing, cleaning and maybe working outside in the yard if it is not too hot.

Hope you have a great weekend with your people!

A Trip to Wilson

This past weekend, we went on an outing to the cutest little town in Arkansas.  Avery and I went with one of our closest friends to have dinner and also walked this cute town.  The history is fascinating as it was a company town until 2010.  Just check out these pictures.......

This is where we ate dinner. 

Cesar salad deviled eggs........delicious

Pork chop with pimento cheese sauce, mashed potatoes, stewed tomatoes and okra

Steak

The cutest little Tudor style town square

They also had some World War 2 markers, so the area definitely has some interesting history.

This place is off the beaten path, but if you ever within an hour drive, I would recommend going.

First Day of School ~ A week late :)

Last Monday was a big day for our family.....especially our youngest daughter.  

As some of you know, I have been a homeschool mom to my girls for most of their education.  When we lived in Bogota, Colombia, they did attend school there for the first time.  Isabella attended there for 1 1/2 years and Brook attended for 1 year.  When we returned to the United States, we also returned to homeschooling.  It was familiar and honestly, the easiest option for our family.  We have loved the flexibility homeschooling has allowed our family.  I am so thankful for it, even though I wasn't the greatest by any means.  And I am not so sure how well I taught them many days, but I am hoping they have learned something in spite of all my weaknesses!  Now that I have returned back to work, occasionally I think had I stayed in my position, I would have a lot more vacation and higher pay now.  That thought is quickly fleeting though because then I remember all the time I have had with my girls.  I am truly blessed and thankful.  I would not have had it any other way and all the sacrifices have been worth it.  I will never regret a day home with my girls.  

This is the girls when they use to attend a homeschool co-op every week.

Here are the girls on the first day of school in Colombia.

Now that my girls are a little older, I see the time flying by so fast with them.  I sure miss those younger days.  I do love time with them now, but I miss the hugs and snuggles and simplicity of so much.  Before I go on and on reminiscing, back to last Monday and this blog post!!

Brook, our youngest daughter, began public high school last Monday!  This was her first experience of school in the USA.  Overall, she had a really good week and now to do it all over again....and again....and again.   She is still adjusting to the schedule of going to bed and waking up earlier, the schedule of finding her classes, homework, teachers and meeting new people.  It is a lot, but she has gone with confidence and we are so proud of her.  This is a family effort of helping her get ready and to and from school each day.  We are praying for her and her teachers and hope it's a great school year!

We spent time organizing binders and supplies the night before school.

I dropped her off and she walked away with confidence and I drove off with tears.

In a blink of an eye, we went from homeschooling at the kitchen table..... 

to the first day of high school. 

Coming up in a few weeks will be a post on how my oldest is beginning her senior year!  Mommas, enjoy those days at home with the kids.

The Blended Blog ~ August Party Edition

Happy Monday!  This months questionnaire is all about parties.

1. Favorite birthday party as a child?

Most of my birthday parties as a child were at home and I have fun memories from them and can remember things basically from pictures.  I remember I did have one party at the local pizza parlor (it was actually called a pizza parlor :)) and that was special to go somewhere with my friends.  My mom always made my cakes and my parties were just fun and simple.

I do have many favorites of own children's parties, although, I enjoyed planning each of them.  Click here to see a snapshot of past birthday parties we have hosted.

2.  Do you like to entertain?  Yes or No?

Why yes I do!  However, since I returned to work full time this year, I have not done so as much.  We actually did have a friend over for dinner last week and my niece and her fiance came a few weeks ago.  As the weather gets cooler, it is nice to entertain on our back porch.

3.  What kind of parties are your favorites?

I love a theme party!  I don't necessarily love a costume party, but I do like a good themed party with decorations and food that correspond to the theme.  I guess this comes from my love of throwing birthday parties for my girls.

4.  Big or small parties?

I think smaller is better so you can really visit with people.  For my girls birthday parties, we usually had a 8-10 person limit.  I do remember one birthday party for Isabella where we had 12 though, but hey....the theme was Princess Kate, so we it was all good!

5. Favorite thing to do at parties?

Visit with friends, eat good food, good music in the background and good lighting are all some of my favorite things at a party.

6.  Party food favorites?

My first thought when it comes to party food are dips!  I guess that is the southerner in me.  I think of dips with chips or crackers and finger foods.

7.  Favorite flavor of birthday cake?

I love all things chocolate, but I like a good strawberry cake too. As much as I like yogurt, I think I would like to try a yogurt cake for my birthday this fall.

8.  Balloons?  Yes or No?

I had some balloons at birthday parties for our girls, so my answer might be 50/50 on this one.  I am certainly one to not overdo it on balloons.  I have bought a few single themed balloons for events, but not too often.

9.  Best party song?

When I read this question, the first song that came into my mind was "Party in the USA".  It is a fun song!  I think for an adult social, a good background music playlist is one from the 60's, 70's and 80's because it includes such a variety of music that we are familiar with, even if we weren't born or have many memories from the 60's.

10.  Do you like to dance?  Yes or No?

Why yes!  However, do I dance at many parties? No.  We did hire a salsa dance teacher for our daughter's 16th birthday party, which was so fun.  If my husband and I are at a wedding together, we do enjoy dancing at the reception.

Around here, it's the first day of school, so more on that later, but prayers appreciated for my youngest and all the other kids and teachers today.

Painting Furniture ~ Part 2

Last week, I blogged about my painting furniture experience.  I painted a dresser, and was so pleased with the results.  Since there was still paint left in the can, I painted a desk in our guest bedroom last week.  This was a desk I used when I was a teenager as my make up table.  I just started painting this and did not get a before picture in this case, but I did put the original knobs back on the dresser though, which shows the original color. It really makes our guest room blend and look lighter and fresher.
(check out the previous post linked above for paint information)

Our sewing machine had been stored at someone else's house since we moved to Bogota 4 years ago and I just got it back this week.  We are hoping to figure it out now that Brook has taken a sewing class.

You can tell by the knobs how dark the desk originally was.

  Back in May, we upgraded to a queen mattress for our guest room and bought a headboard and new bedding.  I switched lamps out in the house and added this one to the bedroom.

I am really pleased with how this project turned out as well and am thankful for this space!

Have a great Wednesday!!