A Day of Great Things

I ...Love...This....Man.....

Dr. Pearson has been my heart doctor for about 14 years now. I trust him more than any doctor I've ever had. When we moved to South Carolina, I drove 4 hours and paid full price (my insurance didn't carry over to GA), just to see him. I've never told him this, but my cat is named after him "Tiger Vincent." It may seem crazy to you, but I still love this man. After all these years he's moving his practice. I'll be following him even though my drive will be a little bit longer than usual.

Speaking of my heart, I have to give God all the praise for how well I'm doing. This June marks 10 years since my open heart surgery. I'm doing GREAT. The fact that I'm doing so well is a testament to the awesome, mighty God I serve.

After my doctor's appointment, Jason and I went to the new pizza place in town, Johnny's. We both devoured our stromboli's. Delicious!

The other great part of today was the fact that I got my cell phone back. Yesterday I chalked it up as stolen, thinking I'd probably never see it again. In fact, I had the service suspended. Later that afternoon, someone at Verizon called to tell him my phone had been turned in. Not only was it amazing that it was found in the parking lot, but it was a miracle that a person would go out of their way to drive to the store and turn it in. I was so thankful I didn't have to buy another phone.

Carolyn was watching Rocco for us today, but I picked him up after lunch. He and Sydney were having a big time running around the beauty salon while Tonya was getting her hair cut. Those two are the cutest pair!

The absolute BEST part of today was helping out at VBS tonight. I was able to share what salvation means to 1st - 4th graders during mission time. This little girl was ready to give her life to Christ. Seeing the transformation in her life was a miracle. God is awesome! There's nothing any better than when someone accepts Jesus into their heart and accepts His forgiveness for their sins. Rocco had a BIG time at VBS. He certainly has come out of his shell. Carolyn is in his class, but she doesn't have to stay right next to him like last year. Here he is dancing next to his pre-K friends. They are wearing the western vests that they made.

While giving Rocco a shower tonight, he kept telling me something. When I realized what he was saying I just about fell in the floor. "Mama, I have a guh-luh friend. " Yes, this is the first time he broke the news to me. "Her name's Madisyn." When Jason and I asked him what they did or what this meant he infomed us that they ran together. (I think there is a little more to it than this. Last night I caught her kissing Rocco. She was also loving on his face during recreation time outside. They told me that when he went to the bathroom, he said, "When I get back I'm gonna play with that guh-luh!")

Here's a picture of Madisyn I took on Easter. She's a cutie!

Playing with Trains and Going to VBS

This morning I reorganized the train tracks. Any time we vacuum at our house it's a big deal in the living room because the tracks have to be taken apart and moved (they take up most of the living room floor). Rocco and I played with the mechanical trains for a while once I finished engineering the new track.

Vacation Bible School is well under way. We're having a blast on "Saddle Ridge Ranch." Rocco is in the pre-K group. The class has been so large that they've split the kids up during the lesson and music time. All of them get together again during outside recreation. Rocco's nana is one of the helpers. One of his best friends is Will. Jack is another prek-k friend in his class. They have played really well at church this week. Tonight, though, Rocco hung tight with a girl who took a liking to him. Her name is Madisyn.

Lori and I are a great team. I'm so blessed to have her help me with the fourth graders. I think we're the smallest class, but the kids are great listeners and get along well. We couldn't ask for a better group.

On a side note, today is my nana's birthday. Rocco and I called and sang the "Happy Birthday" song to her. Hopefully this weekend we'll get to see her in person and spend some time with her.

Cleaning and Swimming

Maria is probably the best gift Jason ever gave me on Mother's Day. She is the sweetest lady who does an outstanding job cleaning our house. Today was her day to come out. Rocco and I helped, too. Of course we turned it into a hiding game. Has anyone seen Rocco?

All that work made us hot, so we decided to go for a swim. Granddaddy jumped in with us, too. Nana decided it was a little too cold, so she just took pictures of us. The four of us laughed and laughed; Rocco does a great job of keeping us tickled. He played in his little boat, and when granddaddy got too close to us he would try to get away. He begged me to hold tight to him. When granddaddy did get him, he would say, "Take it easy with me!"

After our nap, we got ready for VBS. I had to explain to Rocco that it was NOT CVS, the store. He kept thinking we were going to where Uncle Ben worked.

Getting Ready for VBS (3rd day of summer)

Blogging every day is a challenge. I don't see how some people do it. This summer I hope to capture all of our moments. When school starts back in August, I always wonder where the time went. By blogging, I'll be able to remember what all we did.

Sunday at our house means going to church. Church, eat with the family, nap, and then church again. That's our Sundays. This Sunday was extra special because we were bustling around trying to get things ready for Vacation Bible School.

Lori is one of my best friends from church. She and I have the 4th grade group this year. After morning service, the workers ate at church and then began decorating their classrooms. In a few hours we went from this...

to this...

Our theme is Saddle Ridge Ranch. Our goal was to turn the Sunday School room into a western themed bunk house.

Lori and I were a great team. This week I'll be teaching the lessons and she'll be playing some review games with the kids.

Our service tonight was a celebration for the VBS kickoff. Our children's director went all out and brought in a horse, inflatables, cooked burgers and corn on the cob, cowboy games, and a mechanical bull. Almost everyone tried it out...including Rocco.

Jason had no business on it since he just had knee surgery a few weeks ago. You can't tell him anything...he's stubborn when it comes to stuff like that. Oh yeah. Right before he rode it, the weather turned bad and it poured rain on us. By the time it cleared, all the inflatables...and bull.... were soaked. When Jason was bucked off he was drenched. Serves him!

But we all had a great time ( including nana and granddaddy)...

and we can't wait to see what all God is going to do this week!

The Second Day of Summer

Our second day of summer was just as fun as the first. Around 10:30, Rocco and I headed back to Matthew's house so that he could ride bicycles and scooters with him. When we arrived, Matthew was out in the yard shooting his paintball gun. Rocco soon joined him. This was the first time Rocco had ever shot a gun. He seemed to enjoy it. They splattered the slide with orange paint.

Rocco put his helmet and pads on and headed out on his scooter. Matthew is a pro on his bicycle; he's five and does just fine without any training wheels. They rode throughout the neighborhood.

Rocco and Matthew are somewhat opposites. Matthew seems to ride at high speeds with no fear; Rocco worries about tipping over and refuses to go down a hill with some slope to it. Eventually, my cautious little boy decided he wanted to ride his bicycle though(with me staying nearby). This only lasted a few minutes for he wanted to walk back to Matthew's house. It was so hot and humid I insisted he ride back. They later went inside to play more with the trains.

And for the first time, Rocco stayed at a friend's house without any relative there. That's right. He wanted to stay and play with Matthew while I went to the post office. I was only gone about 20 minutes, but when I returned he was absolutely fine. I don't think he even missed me. (He told me he was "way too busy to cry." )This was exciting considering school is starting in a couple of months and we're working on his separation anxiety!

When it was time to leave, I buckled Rocco in the car. Next minute I turned around and Matthew was riding shotgun, buckled up, and ready to go home with us. Rocco had already been begging for Matthew to come home with us. It reminded me of my growing up days; I did the same thing to my parents. Matthew ended up coming to our house for lunch and playing for about an hour. The boys went upstairs and pelted me with balls while I fixed their food. They had a blast doing this. After we ate, we rode the golf cart. Of course, both boys had to have a turn driving. Both of them were so cute with their mouths brown with oreo cakester crumbs from their dessert.

Matthew left, and Rocco and I took a nap. After resting we played some BINGO, Thomas the Train matching game, and put together a puzzle. To our surpsrise, it glowed in the dark. We settled for some frozen pizza at supper.

Later that afternoon, Jason, Rocco, and I met up at Gary and Carolyn's for our first swim of the season at the family pool. It was a little green, but I scooped up trash with the net while Jason scrubbed the algae with a brush. The three of us had fun (even if the water wasn't perfect).

Summer has Begun!

Yesterday was my last day at school, so today we officially started our summer. What better way to celebrate than sleeping in late with Rocco?

We met some co-worker friends of mine at school, Val and Cindy. We walked from the school to the Cafe downtown for lunch. On the way back, we stopped at our small town beauty salon to see one of my best friends, Gloria. When we saw Matthew and his mom driving down the road, we decided to call them and plan a spur of the moment play date. The boys played with Thomas the trains and drank some grape juice packs at Matthew's house. Next time they plan on riding bikes, scooters, and getting wet on the slip and slide. Matthew is one of Rocco's best friends. They were on the same tee ball team this year, go to church together, and plan on being at the same school next year. Rocco is just one year younger than him. Rocco knows his daddy doesn't like the cat, Willow, inside. He asked, "Is daddy home?" Jason was out plowing so we gave Willow a quick bath in the sink, watched her shake off and lick off the "clean" with her scratchy tongue, then we put her right back outside. Rocco squealed with delight. (He asks me every day, "Let Willow in the house...peees!")

We took a 2 hour nap (another great part of summer) and headed to Tonia's house for Rocco's hair cut. Then, Jason, Rocco, and I went to McDonald's for supper (certainly not my choice). This happens to be Rocco's favorite restaurant. Later, we rode go karts . . .and played putt putt. I beat Jason by 8 points...unbelievable! Take a look at Rocco giving his daddy an extra obstacle. What a great way to start the summer!

Tee Ball Awards

I helped Rocco put on his orange tee ball shirt and ball pants tonight. He was anticipating getting to play tee ball. We explained to him that the season was over; we were going to a party where he'd see his team mates and get a trophy. "What is a trophy?" he asked.

All of the teams were there; the park was filled with many kids and parents. (It was extra special because this is where Jason grew up playing ball as a kid.) After eating hot dogs and chips, the tee ball teams gathered on the field. Terry, our cousin, announced it was time to give the awards. There were about 5 tee ball teams on the field. These were the teams we had played several times throughout the season. Our team came forward when they were called and each kid received their trophy. Coach Roger gave each player their award.

Here's a cute picture of Will and Rocco showing their trophies. These two also go to church together and plan on going to the same pre-school next year.

The older teams were called later onto the fields. Our cousin, JJ, received her trophy with the rest of her team. They were first place for the season. Go team Joe Hill's Lawnmower Shop!