I'm loving it!

The weather has been glorious!

We spent most of the weekend outside. On Saturday, we went to the park and playground. The kids had so much fun playing, and we also used one of the grills to make dinner. It was fun to eat outside with the view of the lake. Parker and Claire had fun seeing who could find the most dandelions too.

Where should I begin?

I'm back and I have so much to tell you. I guess I'll start with this:

We listed our house ~ AGAIN! We tried to sell it last summer and are hoping for better luck this time. I've been busy cleaning and throwing out stuff. How does a family of four accumulate so much stuff in just one year? We did all this prep work last spring before we put it on the market. You'd think there wouldn't be that much to do. It was considerably less this time around, but still. Oh, and have you ever tried to keep a house clean and picked up with two little people who make it their main goal in life to make a mess? Well, I have!

So far we've had an open house and four other showings. We've had a lot of positive feedback but no offers. We have a lot of peace in knowing that God's timing is perfect, but it sure is hard to wait sometimes. It seems that lately our lives have been out of control. We have lots of unanswered questions but we are hopeful as we anticipate the future! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us!

Here is a song that I am absolutely loving these days:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb7TSGptd3Y&feature=related

Hello? Is anybody out there?

I hope you haven't given up on me! I've been super busy with no time to post, but I've still been reading and commenting when I can. I'll be back soon to fill you in on what's been going on around here! Y'all come back now, ya here?

Easter 2009

We had a wonderful Easter celebrating the fact that Jesus is Alive!Parker's favorite treat in his basket was his "four packs of bubblegum".
They immediately tore into the treats!

And then washed down all that candy with some doughnut holes (courtesy of Nana)

We went to church with my family at Believer's Church.

Claire with my Dad and Amanda

Claire and me

Parker with my brother Mark

Parker and Claire with Aunt Amy

and with my Mom

Then we went to Grandma and Granddad's for lunch and an egg hunt

Parker found bunches of eggs

Then we went to visit with my family and had yet another egg hunt

All the baskets are so full of candy and eggs, they had to use plastic bags!

Parker said he was carrying his eggs like a "hobo"

It was a beautiful day with gorgeous weather!

The Hunt

We went to our church Easter egg hunt this morning. Here is a picture of Parker praying before we started the festivities. Here's my princess waiting to get started
First, they decorated cookies

And ate them, of course!

Then face painting

And hand painting

And finally, it was time for the Easter egg hunt. It was inside since the weather wasn't great this morning and the grass was wet.

They both had lots of fun and found bunches of eggs!

Get Off My Doorstep

That's right Death, I'm talking to you! Back off Buddy!

I feel bad. I have been dealing with a stuffy nose, lots of sneezing, a cough that keeps me awake, you get the picture. I'm pretty sure it's allergy related. Our weather has been crazy lately. Seventy degrees one day, forty the next day. Whatever the cause, I'm totally over it! I don't have time to be sick, and I won't tolerate it! Thank you and have a nice day!

My 100th post

In honor of my 100th post, here are 100 random things about me. I do not promise it will be exciting, only random. Shall we begin...

1. I'm not sure I can think of 100 random things.
2. My favorite color is orange. Always has been.
3. I love to talk.
4. I especially love details.
5. I cry very easily.
6. My family used to give me a hard time about crying so much.
7. I love fall the most of all the seasons.
8. Right now I'm pretty fond of spring too!
9. I love the beach.
10. Especially Myrtle Beach.
11. I have two older brothers which makes me the baby and the only girl.
12. I may have been a little spoiled.
13. I may still be a little spoiled.
14. I'm addicted to my Blackberry, computer, email, and blogs.
15. I am slowly but surely convincing all my friends to blog. If I haven't got you yet, I will.
16. When I was little I wanted to grow up to be two things, a teacher and a mommy.
17. I'm living my dream!
18. My little boy is so much like me it's scary.
19. Bless his heart!
20. My little girl is totally opposite.
21. Although I think they look alike.
22. I look like my dad. A lot. Only two people have ever said I look like my mom.
23. My mom is beautiful! (If I do say so myself)
24. I love to plan stuff!
25. Events, trips, lessons, you name it ~ I plan it!
26. I also like to make lists.
27. I really love to mark them off as I complete them.
28. I had braces when I was in middle school.
29. My teeth never got as straight as they should have.
30. It makes me mad.
31. When I was younger, I had one blue eye and one green eye.
32. I used to do crazy stuff on my bicycle (with no helmet of course).
33. I can't skate.
34. I can't ski.
35. I HATE green beans.
36. I was saved very young.
37. I am thankful for that.
38. I love magazines.
39. I'm addicted to reality tv.
40. Not all of it, but a lot of it.
41. I couldn't live without my DVR.
42. I used to have a Tivo.
43. I liked it better than the DVR I have now.
44. I collect cookbooks.
45. And serving dishes.
46. Which I hardly use.
47. I like to cook.
48. But I'm not very adventurous with it.
49. Nobody cooks better than my mom.
50. Nobody.
51. And if it was made in her kitchen, it automatically tastes better.
52. That's just the way it is.
53. I love tulips.
54. And weeping willow trees.
55. I have the best husband.
56. I don't deserve him.
57. I'm really hard on myself.
58. Really, really hard on myself.
59. I like to grocery shop. Sometimes.
60. I have the most wonderful friends in the whole world!
61. Lots of "old friends" who seem to keep loving me even though they know me really well!
62. Lots of "new friends" who haven't experienced all my quirks yet!
63. I love having people around me. Constantly!
64. I love my birthday and look forward to it all year.
65. I love planning parties, especially birthday parties for my kids.
66. I love Christmas, even though I seem to end up with scrooges around me!
67. I like doing paperwork.
68. And all the stuff that goes with it including cute folders, notebooks, paper clips, etc.
69. That doesn't make me a nerd!
70. I love scrapbooking.
71. I'm WAY behind.
72. So I'm blogging instead to have some type of record of our life.
73. I enjoy decorating.
74. I just had to stop and ask my bff to help me think of random facts.
75. She said:
76. hypochondriac (so true)
77. Love Southern Living at Home (yep!)
78. I was a cheerleader (back in the day)
79. I have a broken toenail (yes, I share everything)
80. I have a perfectly fine purse, but think I need a new one (I plead the 5th)
81. I hate purple (Hate is a strong word, I would say I don't care for purple very much)
82. I don't like change (at all)
83. I say "whatever" a lot (whatever)
84. I have weird family phrases that make no sense (smack me a somerset)
85. I met some celebrity she can't remember who (Mel Gibson)
86. That's enough of that. I'll take over from here.
87. I am sarcastic.
88. I add the word extravaganza to everything I like.
89. Oreo Extravaganza (formerly known as dirt pie, but that sounded nasty)
90. Chicken Noodle Extravaganza
91. Vacation Extravaganza
92. You get the point.
93. I say "That's how I roll".
94. And other phrases that make me sound like a dork.
95. I do not like snow in April.
96. I just let me kids eat a cupcake for breakfast. It's Spring Break and we're livin' it up!
97. I can type really fast.
98. I can text faster than anybody my age should be able to.
99. I'm 33.
100. I'm tired from all the random thinking.

Friday ~ Like the Day of the Week

Friday has always been my favorite day of the week. And here's why:

1. My maiden name is Friday. Do you think that may have biased me a little? Since the name Friday is not very common, it became second nature to reply, "Friday, like the day of the week" when someone asked me my name. I also got the privilege of saying "Michele with one L" a lot too. Now it's "Murray with an A". Why must my life be so complicated?
2. Since it's my maiden name, there are a lot of "Fridays" that I love, not the least of which are my mom and dad.
3. Friday is the end of the work week.
4. It's the beginning of the glorious weekend.
5. When I was teaching, I loved Friday night so much because I could go to bed without setting my alarm, knowing I could sleep in as late as I wanted. Obviously, I did not have children during those years. Now I never get to sleep as late as I want.
6. Tradition: Friday Night Pizza Night. We don't have pizza every Friday night, but I wish we did. Ha!
7. Date night! Do those even still exist? They used to exist on Friday nights. Distant memories...
8. Sleepovers! When I was little, Friday was the night I always got to spend at a friend's house! Not too many sleepovers going on these days either. Precious memories...how they linger!

What's your favorite day of the week? Why?

A Kiss for Baby Sis

October 2005