SuMmEr Is FiNaLlY.....Here

 Summer is in full swing here and it didn't come a minute too soon! Anna had her 5th birthday in June which means she will be going to SCHOOL next year...yikes!!!! I can hardly believe it has been 5 years since that little ray of sunshine came into our lives. Not much has changed here recently...we are all just a little bit older. We are still praising God for the blessings he continues to pour out on us daily!

Anna and I have been busy doing fun activities like going to the library's story time and puppet show's every week. Not to mention the TONNNS of books we have been reading! We have also been able to go to the Grand Caverns in Grottoes which was really neat...I love Summer because there are always so many fun things to do together (if you can deal with the heat).

We are leaving Saturday to go to Lake Anna for a week with our friends the Hostetler's...we are very excited to be able to have this vacation as a family with our buddies:)...I will post some pictures when we get back.

This is the tree I have been sitting/laying under outside and read while Anna run's widely doing as she pleases...it is actually really cool under there!

 Our little cousin Luke came to visit and stayed with us for two weeks! He and Anna had such an awesome time together...and it was so nice because Luke lives in GA and we live in VA...so we don't get to see him as often as we'd like. On the 4th of July we took a little trip right up the road to the Frontier Cultural Museum.  It is a really cool place where you can explore how different countries such as South Africa, Germany, Ireland, etc... lived in the 1600's-1800's but most importantly *~AMERICA the beautiful~* There were all sorts of festivities going on there that day to celebrate the 4th. Here is a little info on the FCM:  
The Frontier Culture Museum tells the story of the thousands of people who migrated to colonial America, and of the life they created here for themselves and their descendents. These first pioneers came to America during the 1600s and 1700s from communities in the hinterlands of England, Germany, Ireland, and West Africa. Many were farmers and rural craftsmen set in motion by changing conditions in their homelands, and drawn to the American colonies by opportunities for a better life. Others came as unwilling captives to work on farms and plantations. Regardless of how they arrived, all became Americans, and all contributed to the success of the colonies, and of the United States. Here are Joey, Anna, and Luke holding the weirdest looking chicken ever...I want to say this was @ the German settlement. 

American settlement 1800's

England

England

East Africa

Ireland

 Here are more random photo's from this SuMmEr so far*****

Anna, Nathan, and Luke @ the fireman's carnival in Waynesboro

Cousins playing barbies in Papa's pond

Slumber party

One of Anna's best buddies, Marie

She always wants to have her pic taken on the target ball...

Ice cream face

One of our many trips to Philly

It was finally warm enough for the park!!

Love and Kisses!!!

Blogging...???

So I guess I am new to this whole "blogging" thing.  I am going to try to figure this thing out and post regularly :~}  I haven't the slightest clue how to upload my pictures onto this... Here I go anyway...

A lot has changed in our lives in the past hmmm...almost 3 years.  It all started when we made the decision to move from the great state of Georgia (where we had lived all our lives)  to Virginia {is for lovers} so that we could be closer to my <crystal> family, also giving me a chance to go back to work since having Anna (which lasted all of about 2 years).  Since we have been here, I have worked for 2 dentists.  Joey is still working with John Deere (which I doubt he will EVER leave).  For some reason, he loves what he does even though he doesn't always like the people.  Anna is still perfect <3  She has gotten quite sassy lately...and VERY picky about...well...EVERYthing, including her clothes.  She has recently decided that she will be a nurse/ fashion designer when she grows up.  She has also recently picked up the line "own it girl" which she tends to say to me quite often.  who is this child, I ask you?  Well...she is her mother ;)

~*FaSt FoRwArD*~

I am not working at the dentist anymore, which I really miss

Poor Joey under my care...(evil laugh)

...but it seems to be for the best right now.  About this time last year my mama got (VERY) sick :(  She was diagnosed with stage 3 Colon Cancer which had spread to her liver.  The Doctors at RMH were able to surgicaly remove the huge tumor from her colon and then discovered that it was in her liver.  This was heart breaking </3 news for all of us! My Mother is the rock of this family, and the love of Anna's life. The doctors went on further to say that she would probably have about two years left at the most...NOT...She is still here and still kickin'.  She's not going anywhere any time soon!  That, I am sure of!

Just a short while after this we got in touch with The Cancer Treatment Centers of America {*BEST place ever*} She was flown to the CTCA the next week.  She started doing chemo every other week and just about 6 months later, they couldn't see it.  It did however recently reappear (in quite a few more places in the liver) and she just recently had her first Chemobilization (where they run a catheter directly to her liver and shoot small beads of chemo right to it) She seems to be recovering from it quite well.  They treated the right side this past time, so she will go back around the 22nd of this month to have the left side done.

I have been fortunate enough to be able to go to Philly with my mama to the center quite a few times.  We always take the train, which is a lot of fun.  We have been able to take Anna with us 3 times now, and she really enjoys it.  She gets so excited about going, she has her bag packed and ready to go a week before we leave.  It is so nice for me to be able to spend that time with my mom.  We don't get to see each other as much now that I have been baby sitting most every day to be able to stay home with Anna. 

Besides that.. I AM SO READY FOR SUMMER TIME!!  It has been FREEZING here this winter...although, I am sure it is always like this in the winter.  Last winter we got an ARCTIC BLAST!! We got so much snow, I stopped even counting the inches...or should I say FEET.

There's my poor brother, David...and you see the white car?  Well my car is behind it...(can you see it)

We ended up stranded at our house for quite a while.  This winter has not been so bad in that aspect, but still cold! I think being stuck indoors has not been good for me or the kids. We are ready to get outside in the sun and have fun!  I just keep thinking about slippy slides, summer dresses, warm weather, and 7-11 slurpee's...that's what's keeping me going ;)   Not to mention that Anna will be FIVE this summer on June 17th!  I can not believe she will be starting Kindergarten soon...where oh where has my precious time with her gone?

So this is my first blog post...I seem to have a lot of trouble putting my thoughts into an order that will allow you to understand my rambling...but as of now...(and my fav quote)  "it is what it is..." :~D Peace and Blessings
C