Fly Through Our Window - the account of our nest

54 In Life

Bullets & Cell Phone Pics

Greetings, strangers!

I used to be such a better blogger and now I’m just here when I can get here, which seems seldom these days. For the sake of time I will throw a few random thoughts into bullets…

TODAY is our 10th anniversary! Wow… it simultaneously seems like yesterday and a long time ago! It has been 10 wonderful and refining years, and I’m thankful to walk the road of life with Justin! Life hasn’t slowed down much. I just looked down and counted with my fingers each street we’ve lived on… we are currently residing in our 7th residence. This may be why I’ve had to invest in new face potions.
We also recently celebrated Justin’s 34th birthday, he was thrilled with the killer cooler he received from me. It’s a bear-proof and Darby-proof cooler. I’ve been lifting weights so I can maneuver the handle back to get the ice-cold contents. He also made me laugh really, really hard the other night. He joined LinkedIn. I was laying in bed and he was working away at the Coleman camping table that we have set up in the corner of our bedroom. It’s like a makeshift “office” in the corner. Anyway, he proceeded to say something like, “I’ve just become LinkedIn, and people say it’s a really good networking tool.” This is probably all true and not funny at all, but Justin has always been adamantly opposed to social networking. Me… not so much, so I welcomed him with a hearty laugh and told him it’s not so bad after all. He’s already reconnected with an old friend who plays for Redeemer Church {www.riseoburiedlord.com} in Knoxville, and we have thoroughly enjoyed their album! If you like Red Mountain Music or Indelible Grace be sure to check them out.
The sale at Honey Bee Tees in February was a huge success… thank you! I will certainly have to do that again. New & old designs are in the process of being restocked! I am so grateful my friend, Lindsey, continues to run the whole operation in my absence very smoothly from the garoffice.

I have re-enrolled Rover in preschool here at the beach in the fall. This means we think we may still be here. Does this mean we will definitely still be here… we’re not sure. Nothing is really sure when you are dealing with an oil spill. I’m learning lots of lessons about taking things one day at at time, but when it comes to planning things {like school} for your kids, not knowing how long you will live somewhere can be a tad challenging. I also really miss doing anything to my house… not big projects, but little things like hanging wreaths on the door or changing bedding. We are trying not to accumulate a lot of stuff here, I tend think we have few personal belongings here but when we move out and have to get a uHaul for our bikes, strollers, & toys I’m sure I’ll be convinced we do have a lot of our personal stuff here!
When we were at the brown house last month I ran a quick errand to drop Justin’s boots off at the cobbler. While I was there I realized my boots needed new heels too, so I slipped them off and walked out in my socks. I climbed in my trusty chariot and took off to pick up lunch. Just a few minutes later I realized that my “LOW COOLANT” light was legit all those days and I almost burned up my car with no shoes on. Justin came to my rescue with water, coolant and the kids.

She’s back in working order after a water pump replacement… next major service for the ole girl will be a complete shampoo of her carpet because milk has been spilled and if you’ve ever experienced milk in the carpet of a car you know it smells like roasted brussels sprouts or a dead mammal.
Rover is undoubtedly a lefty. He has become completely enamored with coloring and it makes me so happy. He will sit still for the longest periods and color and draw…. mostly race cars and letters that don’t spell anything, but he asks me 100x a day what things “spell”, and I have to make up words with the letters he’s drawn and then he gets all excited and says, “I spelled HSYTOP”! We celebrate because I’m just glad he’s writing letters! Next we will work on the proper way to hold a pencil!

I try to volunteer at the girl’s school as often as I can. I love to be there with them. It reminds me of my elementary school and I love to see them interact with their friends and classmates. The kindergarten classes all share an extra classroom and call it the “Fun Friday room”. It’s huge and full of different play stations. JM always tags along and never wants to leave. They have awesome vintage toys in there… and its the best reward for good behavior for the kids! {The Dr. Seuss “green eggs & ham” were for Dr. Seuss day… recipe source.}

I still have braces on my bottom teeth… I hope they come off really, really soon! I go next Wednesday and my fingers are crossed but thankfully my teeth are not.
I am officially a “softball mom”. The kids haven’t really been involved in extracurricular activities since Morgan played tee ball three years ago. We were all excited about softball this year… but friends let me tell you something I didn’t expect for a 7 & 8-year-old city league softball team: practice every night and 2/3 of the games are played away at different towns! Both of these are because we are the only girls softball team in Orange Beach in our age bracket. We have no competition for a practice field, hence the practice every night, and we have no teams to play so we have to travel to play the surrounding cities. Nothing like easing our way into an extracurricular. We’ve decided three practices a week will suffice! The good news is she loves it!
Justin and I have become completely hooked on Downton Abbey. {thanks to your recommendations} He betrayed me the other night and watched an episode without me after I fell asleep. We have two episodes left in season 2 and I hope I don’t have to wait long for season 3 to be released on netflix. I think you can probably watch them online but our internet connection is through our cell phones and it’s SLOW as molasses. Streaming anything is nearly impossible. And we don’t get any tv stations on our tv at all… not even PBS.
I found these bars at TJ Maxx {of all places} they are hands down the best “healthy” bar I’ve ever had. I’m sure you can buy them places we don’t have like Trader Joes or Whole Foods… but I will be ordering them online if I must. Earnest Bars… look them up people, they’re so good!

I also found some shoes at TJ Maxx for 2 weddings. I usually running anything I like by Erika for confirmation that they are as cute as I think they are…

These sunglasses I didn’t need her confirmation for… I’ve been eyein’ them for a while. I leaned over the dock a month ago to scoop up some minnows for Rover and my first pair of “good” sunglasses flew off my head and into the cold, deep water. They still lie deep beneath and are probably covered in barnacles. So, these are their replacements. Now Rover, Daddy Boy and I all match.

We have a neighbor here named Bob. We call him Mr. Bob. He and his wife feed a heron, and I consider that heron their pet. He waits for them on their upper deck handrail and looks in their windows waiting for food and fresh water. When they are out of town we try to take care of their bird. I’m pretty sure he’s the same one we fed minnows to last summer. Anyway, I pulled in our garage last week and was walking upstairs when I noticed he was on our back patio and just a tad too close to my seedlings. I just watched him a while to make sure he wasn’t going to mess with them… he must have been more interested in his reflection in the glass than the plants. Whew!

Today is also Justin’s parents anniversary and they are coming this weekend, along with his brother and sister and their families!! They have rented a beach-front condo, and we are looking forward to an action-packed weekend with them!
Last weekend we took a little trip up to Auburn. It was so wonderful to take the kids there. Justin and I have rarely been back. It’s such special place to us—full of wonderful memories of meeting and dating there. We were there for a wedding of our dear friend Jack {and his wonderful new bride Bethany} and the whole weekend was such fun. Before we headed off to the rehearsal dinner Friday night we dropped the kids of at a bustling apartment complex filled with Chi Omegas and we knew they were wonderful hands! The rehearsal dinner was wonderful and there were so many old friends there, some of which I hadn’t seen in over ten years. It’s always so neat to see how lives are orchestrated, how lives are changed, and how people are brought together. Justin and I had the pleasure of sharing a booth in the back of the restaurant with Dr. and Mrs. Peter Doyle. Who we loved getting to know and hearing of their life adventures. Dr. Doyle has been a PCA pastor for years but also writes adventuresome children’s books that walk though significant historical events! The wedding was beautiful and held at First Presbyterian of Opelika, which is a small, old church with lots of charm!
On the way home from Auburn we detoured to the brown house to check on things, including the bees.

I will leave you with this PRECIOUS video! Rebekah was a pledge sister of mine at Auburn {later she transferred to to UT}. I have followed along with their adoption adventures of both Caleb & Isaac. This video is so powerful I can’t help but share! Such joy, such love, such encouragement!!!

March 9, 2012

59 In Life/ tshirts

You Can Steal Honey Bee Tees & Other Ramblings

Hello folks! I’ve been waiting for the shop to be completely restocked before offering this 30% off coupon… and we are well-stocked and ready to go! With the 30% off code you can get super cute tees for less than $10 a piece! This would be a great time to stock up for Easter baskets or birthday parties. And as soon as some of the inventory is cleared out we’ll have room for summer designs!

I’m not sure where January went and in a matter of days I’ll probably wonder where February went too. It’s been unseasonably mild here, much like the rest of the country, which has freed us to spend a decent amount of time outside enjoying the sunshine. I believe the car was already dusted in yellow pollen by mid-January! I’ve snapped a few pictures here and there, not nearly as many as I wish I had. The kids are growing so fast, changing every single day. The little Raiger has learned to read like a champ at the tender age of five, and her voice, as she goes from word to word, is the sweetest sound to her mother’s ears. I want to freeze the moments. Morgan loves to read too and teach. “School” commences in the family room every afternoon when they get home from school.

Her classroom is a well-stocked, and somewhat-organized, fun place to play and learn. She’s very thorough and we’re working with her on tenderness and patience with her pupils who are sometimes berated when they lose interest in her game.

The little man is an aspiring race car driver, matchbox car collector, and patience-tester extraordinaire. We also call him Murray as needed. He verbally protests to his new name, which is only used when necessary, because he knows all about Murray. You see Murray is The Boy Who Cried Over Everything. If you have a three-year-old son {or daughter} who may be in a stage where they cry over things like: having to get dressed, you opening their yogurt {instead of them}, picking out the wrong spoon, having to wear shoes, not getting a treat at the store, having to take a nap, not having hot dogs for every meal, shall I go on… then I recommend you introduce your child to Murray. You see Murray seems to cry over everything. Rover knows that Murray’s behavior is not becoming of a young man… that crying over things that aren’t cry-worthy is not good. Little did I know that the book would have such an impact on him. Today at the library when he started in it only took a simple and gentle reminder of who he was acting like to dry him up. In the end, Murray figures out when it’s ok to cry over things and when it’s not. Now, if Betsy Childs and Dan Olson would take Murray to church and help him figure out how sit quietly, and be respectful during “Children’s Moment” at the front of the church, I’d be delighted. If they need any ideas of things that Murray might do to interrupt the congregation I’d be happy to fill them in with a few of Rover’s secrets.

Here are few pictures from a Friday afternoon about a month ago at our community pier near the end of our street.

And a couple weekends ago we ran over to spend a weekend with Erika, Chance, & Sloane in Rosemary Beach… it was an awesome weekend but I only snapped a handful of pictures!

This is “Murray” trying to figure out how to share with Sloane.

I believe she walked away empty-handed and he was the torpedo victor so we have progress yet to make!

In other news, Justin did WAY better this year for Valentine’s Day! If you weren’t around last year, I received a cheese & sausage basket all in the honor of LOVE from my husband. He has heard a small amount of grief over this for the past 12 months. This Valentine’s Day I was thankful to receive dark chocolate, Twizzlers and a card! His dad, probably in fear that cheese and sausage would be on the agenda again, sent the girls and me the most gorgeous arrangement! It has made me smile ear to ear for days.

We are still without cable television {almost a whole year!} and Justin and I have been helping boost the Redbox & Blockbuster Express earnings. We fear before long we will run out of options. Last weekend we rented Jane Eyre and both loved it, if you haven’t seen it you should. Finding a decent movie, that is entertaining without trash is becoming increasingly difficult. We’ve also enjoyed Contagion and Courageous, although Contagion may have been a little intense at times.

We transitioned straight out of Valentine’s Day into Mardi Gras. This is our first Mardi Gras experience and I’m certainly an amateur when it comes to all things Mardi Gras. Paige & JM both had to make floats for their class parades. Without my usual arsenal of crafting supplies we resorted to the toy box for Paige’s float… I introduce to you The Mystic Order of Majestic Mares, they’re obviously a wild bunch!

Alright… time to pack up for 4 days at the brown house! Our first trip “home” in over a month!

February 17, 2012

43 In Life

Croaker Fest

The beach tends to lose a few of it’s redeeming qualities in the winter, but so far we’ve been pleasantly surprised by January… with mild temperatures, sunshine, and still no shortage of things to do! One of which has been watching the croakers. Monday night they were out in rare form. The weather was perfect, so we had a family pow-wow on the dock and entertained ourselves with their presence.

It looked a little something like this…

We’ve been watching the croakers for about a week now. They swim against the tide, and have been most prominent when the tide is at its peak, either coming in or going out. Monday night the tide was coming in and they were facing/swimming south. The tides are fascinating. The croakers are fascinating. All of nature truly is fascinating to me. We had a great time soaking in the wonders of the multitude of fish swimming at the dock. And Justin, as you can see in the next couple pictures, is as swift with a net as he is with a gig. We were able to put a few croakers away in our deep freezer and we hope they come in handy when snapper season opens.