Me and My Household

We're Moving!

2011-06-18T13:47:00.001-04:00

One month ago today we surprised the kids with a new house. It was so much fun making the banner, hanging the balloons and coming up with the crazy story as to why I was taking them through this neighborhood one more time. It was even more fun seeing the looks on the faces and hearing the excitement in their voices as the ran inside.

Watch for more posts as we begin the task of making this house our home!

I was a Happy Birthday for my baby

2011-04-15T21:23:00.001-04:00

March 30th my baby turned 7!! She has added so much fun and excitement to our family, I just could not imagine our lives without her. Here are some of the highlights of her day!

Opening her look alike AG doll. She named her Caroline!

Breakfast at Hardee's on the way to school!!

Cookie cake with her class at lunch!

For dinner we drove up to Savannah and met Uncle Hal at The Shell House. Such a treat!

It was such a fun day! Lauren we love you so much and thank God for your life.

Swim hard or go home!

2011-03-26T20:51:00.000-04:00

Today was Katherine's 1st swim meet swimming with GIST (Golden Isles Swim Team). She had a fantastic meet! She swam a 50 Freestyle, 25 Breast and a 50 Backstroke. She placed 1st in her heat on the backstroke and was thrilled!!

I realized during warm ups that I would not be able to take pictures of her during the meet. If she sees me she cannot help but look up and smile and even wave at times. If this happened during an actual event it would not be good for her time. I know one day she will probably run and hide and deny knowing me if she sees me at the edge of the pool with a camera. I treasure the sweet innocense of youth.

Katherine (sitting on edge of pool on left) and her teammates.

Cross it off the list

2011-03-25T23:24:00.002-04:00

Shortly after I finished my list of 40 before 40 my friend Amy invited me to a craft day at her house. Much to my delight she said we would be painting a canvas. I was thrilled, not only were we doing something I had been wanting to do, but I would be able to cross something off my list. I am one of those who likes to make lists more to be able to draw a line through the task than actually doing the task. Weird I know. Here are a few pictures from our day. Misty and Stacy were there creating masterpieces as well, and Angie stopped by to enjoy our company.
This is Amy painting a picture for her husband. He's from Colorado.....don't you love the "purple mountains majesty"!!

Misty adding some of her artistic touch to Stacy's painting.

Stacy's BEAUTIFUL artwork!! After she finished this we found something similar on Etsy that was $225!!

Me and my little bit of love!! Amy has something similar in her home and I have always loved it. She did not mind that I copied her creativity.

It was a fun filled day. I can't wait to do it again soon!

40 Before 40

2011-03-22T23:24:00.002-04:00

I turned 37 earlier this month. How is it that I have lived more years since high school, than I had when I graduated. How is it that I have a child that will be entering high school later this year. How is it that no one in my household sits in a car seat, drinks from a sippy cup or needs help going to the bathroom. My 30's have nearly passed me by. I have made a list of a "few" things I would like to accomplish over the next couple of years. These are things that appeal to me right now, and they may change over the next couple of years. It's a starting point to being more intentional about how I want to live my life and some things I want to accomplish!

Read the Bible all the way through!
Travel with Jim to Italy.
Take a one on one trip with Jake, Katherine and Lauren.
Keep a journal.
Do something that scares me.
Get a bike.
Run a 5K.
Make entries in my blog at least twice per month.
Finish Jake's scrapbook.
Run a 10K.
Go to my 20 year class reunion.
Take a photography class.
Wear my bikini (maybe at a beach where I won't know anyoneJ)
Travel as a family to the Grand Canyon.
Go on a mission trip.
Have people over for dinner.
Get more involved in our town.
Host a craft day for my girlfriends.
Have a birthday party for myself.
Run a ½ marathon.
Send handwritten notes to family and friends.
Get Katherine's memory book started.
Get Lauren's memory book started.
Get pictures from computer to disks.
Make photo books of pictures.
~~Paint a canvas for our house~~.
Call my grandparents more often.
Call my brother more often.
Finish landscaping our yard.
Go on a girlfriend's weekend.
Take the kids to the Okefenokee Swamp.
Tube down the Ichetucknee River with the family.
Give a monthly surprise gift to someone.
Give up soft drinks….oh this one will be hard.
Teach Jake, Katherine and Lauren each to make a meal.
Grow tomatoes.
Become a volunteer for an organization.
Take an art class.
Read 40 books
Make a list of 50 before 50!!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T19:42:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas from a chilly Southeast Georgia. We are looking forward to a great day celebrating the birth of our Savior!

Almost Christmas

2010-12-23T17:14:00.005-05:00

It's 2 days before Christmas!! What am I doing on the computer, well I don't know. I decided to pull up our blog today and I realized how much I love remembering what few entries I have on here. I also realized I don't do a very good job documenting our lives. At 14, 8 and 6, Jake, Katherine and Lauren are growing up so quickly and it's easier to forget the not so monumental moments in life. That being said I am going to start documenting our days more often.....

Starting with today...

We started off playing a little Wii. Then I suggested we make Salt Dough Ornaments. "No mom we want to keep playing". The girls have not touched the Wii in months. But last night we decided to play and now it's as if it is a brand new toy in our house. But keeping with my belief that kids should not be glued to the TV I dragged them to the kitchen for some fun. Okay no dragging was involved but within minutes the girls we having a blast!

After we put them in the oven we met Jim out at our lot to burn a little yard debris and then to run some errands in town. Here is Lauren helping to vacuum out the van at the carwash.

We returned home to play a litte more Wii. Honest we really are not video game junkies, I don't even let my kids turn the TV on during the week. Then we painted our ornaments and enjoyed a little dinner.

I even got in on the action. I was so into the game I did not even notice I was being photographed and I think I have a hurt shoulder. Why don't I realize I am NOT really knocking someone out.

I must confess...I love our Elf on a Shelf, but I am glad this is the last night he needs to find a place to hide in our home! We'll miss you Nick, come back next year.

Merry Christmas and goodnight!...

End of the School Year Wrap Up!!

2009-06-03T18:15:00.007-04:00

Wow I can't believe the school year is over. Back in August, with all three kids in school, I was looking forward to some free time. That never happened and I'm glad. I spent a lot of time at the kid's school volunteering and substitute teaching. This was a very busy year and I enjoyed every minute.

Here's a little peak at some end of the year activities!!

Jake played Basketball for his school for the first time this year. It was not a winning season (everyone on the team had never played basketball before), but they had a great time and learned a lot. Jake recieved an award for leadership!

He also recieved an award for highest GPA in history! Way to go Jake. Sixth grade was a big transition year but he made it through and are looking forward to 7th grade being even better.

Katherine had a fantastic year in first grade. Here she is recieving her Presidential Academic Acheievement Award. She was also on the "A" honor role for the whole year! Way to go Katherine.

This is Katherine's FAVORITE first grade teacher EVER....Miss Calicutt. She is the sweetest thing. She truely shows the fruits of the spirit to these little ones, all the while teaching them a tremendous amount information.

Katherine's class had their end of the year party at the beach along with a visit to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Here is Katherine and her friends Adrian and Grace working on their scavenger hunt on the beach.

Each month the kids were given the opportunity to read a certain amount of books at home to recieve an award from the Pizza Hut "Book-It" program. Miss Calicutt took everyone who participated every month to Books-A-Million to buy some books and then on to Chick-fil-a for ice cream.

Lauren had a tremendous year in Pre-K. Jim and I were really worried how our little firecracker would do in school. Turns out she's quite the little student. Lauren is a bit on the independent side and therefore would do everything that was asked of her the first time, because she did not want to have to be told again!! Huhh funny she's doesn't mind if I tell her to do something 100 times. Oh but that means I need to work on something about ME. So let's not go there!

This is Lauren being recognized for showing the Godly character trait of being a helper. "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in it's various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

Here is Lauren participating in field day! She had a great time, well except when her team lost at tug-o-war!! I don't know where she gets her competitivenes?

Summer has officially begun and we are off to a great start. Jake has been enjoying basketball camp this week. While the girls and I have been at home getting ready to go to Peachtree City for 10 days. Jim's brother David and his family will be leaving for Kenya to do mission work tomorrow. The kids and I will be housesitting, dog sitting and spending time with Jim's parents!

Merry Christmas

2009-01-05T23:38:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Look what I have....

2008-09-22T14:10:00.004-04:00

Those were Katherine's words yesterday morning, when she woke up and pulled out her first tooth!!! Here she is with her Tooth Fairy Pillow before she went to bed. She woke up and was excited to report that she received a "5 Dollar bill". Which I am sad to say she has just brought me 1/2 of, the other half has been eaten by our dog Chip. That's a whole different post, but I am beginning to come to terms with the fact I DO NOT LIKE dogs:) Don't worry Daddy will replace the "5 Dollar bill", not to be confused with 5 dollars.

D-Day for Jeni!!!

2008-08-16T14:43:00.005-04:00

Drop-off Day that it. AKA, the first day of school. This year was a little different in that it was the very first time I dropped ALL my children off and went home, all by myself. Okay Jim was technically in the car with me, but he came home and went straight to court. It was quiet....I mean QUIET around the house. No whining, no fighting, no Dora the Explorer, no laughter, no hugs, no being needed by anyone other than Chip, our new little chihuahua puppy. It was bitter sweet. But I will not lie, I enjoyed the day. Jim and I went out to lunch at our favorite little sandwich shop Angel's Cafe and I went to Target....all by myself. Wow, that was fun.

Oh, enough about me and the first day of school.....on to the kids. All three attend Heritage Christian Academy in Brunswick and they all LOVE IT there. Jake is in the 6th grade, Katherine 1st and little miss Lauren Leigh Pre-K.

This is how we started off our morning...

When I tell you all my kids have crazy hair in the morning I am not kidding!! Lauren with her mulkelberry (strawberry milk). I know, I know it's a sippy cup (really more like a cup with a lid) and she's 4, and she's starting school; but for pete's sake she's my baby. Oh and she's stubborn like her dad and I don't like to fight with her in the morning. So she gets her strawberry milk in a cup with a lid, it's like coffee for this 4 year old.

Jake was a bit nervous when we pulled up to the school and Jim hopped out of the van. He thought for sure Jim was going to walk him to the door or something way uncool like that. Luckily is was just for a quick picture. I think that is a smile of relief on Jake's face. He had a great day and really likes all of his teachers, three of whom go to our church.

Here we are walking the girls up to the school. Yep, I brought my blankie so I could camp out for the day.

Here is Lauren at her table. Notice the hair.....much better now!!! Once everyone arrived the whole class organized all the school supplies that were in their backpacks. We peaked back in and she was having a lot of fun.

Here is Katherine with a few of her classmates and the class gerbil "Cinderella". There are only 9 kids in her class and they are a sweet group of 1st graders. Miss Calicut is her teacher and Kat just LOVES her.

We are excited to see what God has planned for Jake, Katherine and Lauren this year. We'll keep you posted!!!

Happy Birthday Katherine!

2008-07-30T17:05:00.003-04:00

Six years ago today I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl, our sweet little Katherine Elizabeth. She has been such a joy to have in our family. Extremely funny, silly, dramatic, is perfectly fine playing by herself, loves a great piece of bread, apples, milkalot (her word for chocolate milk~which she doesn't say very often anymore, just a sign she is growing up), always making a card for someone to bighten their day, hates to talk on the phone, loves her sister and brother, loves to read and so much more. Her daddy and I are so thankful God chose us to be her parents.

We LOVE you KATHERINE!!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

2008-07-05T18:30:00.002-04:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July. We headed out on the water for a few hours then home for a nap before we cooked out. A little bit before dark we headed to our lot and shot off some fireworks we bought while in South Carolina. Boy let me tell you, those are the real deal. We had this big box "thingie" that Jim lit and they were REAL fireworks. I couldn't stop laughing long enough to be able to get a good picture of them but it was pretty. They were going off right above our heads (well way up in the sky right above our heads).

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Rocky Mountain High Colorado

2008-07-05T14:28:00.004-04:00

(I know you are singing the old John Denver song now...although to be honest, it's the only line in the song I know)On June 17th the kids and I headed out to Colorado to spend a week with Karen, Hal and Michelle (Jim's one and only sister, for those of you who do not know). We all had a great time, Colorado is absolutely beautiful. All of you in the family who keep asking them when are they moving back to Georgia need to go spend some time where they live, and you'll understand why they are in no hurry to move back east!!!

We stayed busy every day while we were there. Hal even took Jake off for 3 days to play cowboy. What does that mean?...well no one really knows except a whole lot of target shooting, participating in some Western shows and watching Lonesome Dove. Oh boy I don't think I even want to run that title through Screenit.com!!! Jake had the best time.

While they were away us girls went to the North Pole(an amusement park for little ones), the Buell Children's Musuem and out to eat!!! Lauren found a new best buddy in Michelle. Lauren loved playing with Michelle's long hair and styling it in her own creative ways. She was also very interested in meeting her boyfriend. We were able to meet Scott one evening when he came over for dinner. Nice guy!!

All the kids loved their dogs ~ Buck, Jake and Lexi!! They are really ready for us to get our yard fenced in so we can get a dog of our own. We also enjoyed a couple nights of roasting S'mores around the fire pit in the back yard. Karen and Hal live in a beautiful location that allows you see horizon to horizon, even enjoying a view of Pike's peak.

We can't wait to get back out west. Next time we are hitting the slopes!!!

Enjoy the slide show. (Just a note: some of the pictures didn't save to the final slide show. I don't know why and didn't want to take the time to figure it out:)

Make a Smilebox photobook

Friday Family Fun Night....minus one!!!

2008-06-13T16:50:00.005-04:00

We try to go out and do something fun as a family on Friday nights. This particular Friday it was bowling. Jake was at a slumber party.....do boys have slumber parties??? or are they just sleep overs that happen to be a birthday as well?? Oh well, who knows, but you get the point...he wasn't with us.

After dinner at Denny's which is attached to the bowling alley, we put on our velcro bowling shoes and hit the lanes.

We all had such a good time cheering each other on.

If you take a good look at the board in this picture you will see the top line has a score of 111, you may say wow Jeni did pretty well. But oh no you would be wrong, that score belongs to our little Lauren Leigh. She was tearin' it up that night.

Lauren recieving her victory toss!!!>

The Graduate

2008-06-13T15:03:00.006-04:00

Say it isn't so....I have a child who's graduating?!? Well it's Kindergarten, but it's still enough to make you slow down and say, where have all the years gone. Didn't we just bring her home from the hospital and I swear it was only a few weeks ago that she had her first day of school. How can it be over already. I told Katherine she would always remember her Kindergarten teacher. I remember mine....Mrs. Arnt ~she drove a Subaru Brat, her husband was our dentist and I think of her every Christmas when I hang the walnut, painted like a strawberry, she gave us in a goody bag on the last day of school:)

This is Katherine with her sweet teacher Mrs. Halbert. I wonder what tidbits of info she'll remember about Mrs. Halbert when she is in her 30's and has children of her own.

Nonna and Pop were not able to make it to graduation but sent this great candy basket to Katherine!! Lauren is already dreaming about the candy basket she'll get when she graduates.

Katherine, in all her sweetness and without being told, offered some of her candy to her brother and sister. Even going so far as to tell Jake to take a bigger piece of candy, which he did of course.

She had a very successful first year of school. She recieved awards of excellence in phonics, reading and math. Jake also had a great LAST year of elementary school. He made the A/B honor roll for the year and recieved the Presidential Academic Excellence award. My mom and dad were able to join us for the graduation on Thursday night and the award program on Friday morning. It was a lot of fun!!

NO I did not forget how to use my computer.....

2008-05-08T19:08:00.000-04:00

Lauren with her "children" Molly and Michael.

I know I have been a bit lazy (a big bit) about getting updates on my blog. So I will do a brief 1st part of the year update!!!!

January:

3rd - Jim's 45th birthday and my first attempt at homemade Lemon Curd. Oh and the day of my second attempt at Lemon Curd. Jim loves a lemon cake and I had been flipping through the pages of my Martha Stewart cookbook and found a recipe for Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd filling and whipped cream frosting. My first attempt at the curd (trust me...much tastier than it sounds) was a flop!! So off to the store I went to purchase another dozen eggs and another $6 bag of lemons. I also decided to forgo Martha and hit Allrecipe.com for a much more successful outcome. It worked and the cake was a hit.

4th - Lauren and I were enjoy a typical day at home together, me folding and putting away laundry and her looking for something to get into. As I was coming out of Jake's room and rounding the corner into the kitchen, there she stood on the counter. Before I could even react she attempted to jump off to me. Well the fact she had socks on and I was a good five feet from the counter led to her landing face first on the tile floor. I first checked to make sure her teeth were all still in place, thank God they were, and then looked to see where the blood was coming from. It was one of the scariest experiences. Of course she started with the blood curdling scream, which I expected, then it switched to a moaning and holding her head as her eyes rolled around. Well I had the thought to call 911. But then I remembered this is Darien and I've seen our EMS around town for long enough to know that I would not trust the care of my child to them:) So I got in the car and headed to Jim's client's office....don't worry she's the local pediatrician (although not ours). I prayed the whole way that they would be able to see Lauren and sure enough after throwing around Jim's name (Just kidding) they let us in. She looked fine but they suggested that I take her down to the ER for a CAT Scan just to be sure, with so many bones in the skull there could be a crack and that would be the only way to tell. Lauren was such a trouper, everything checked out fine, and by the time we were able to leave she was standing on the bed in the ER room.

Ooops! I said I would make this brief.

Mid Jan. - Weekend in Orlando (at an actual hotel....not the Lamb Abode) Went to Sea World with my mom and dad and had a blast.

That's Jim pretending his finger was chomped off by a sting ray. My dad and the girls are trying to act like they don't know him.

Katherine followed in her mom's footsteps and attended cheerleading camp at her school that was put on by the upper school girls. They finished the week by cheering at the Friday afternoon Pep Rally.

That's here front left, arms crossed!!!!

Jake completed his first science project comparing store bought stain removers and home remedy stain removers. He won 1st place in his category and second overall for his school!!! Way to go Jake!!

FEBRUARY

A trip to Charleston, SC would not be complete without riding on one of these......

Basically uneventful. Jim and I spent a weekend in Charleston while his parents came to stay with the kids. Jim also served 9 days of national guard during this, his last month ever of guard duty.

A Camel!!!

MARCH

1st - Lt. Col. James R. Coppage's official retirement from the Georgia Army National Guard. We won't see any benefits for another 15 years other than an inexpensive, yet nice, resort at Disney and in Hawaii to stay at and a military discount at Rack Room Shoes. But the pension will start being deposited just in time for us to have both girls in college at the same time:)

9th - YIKES can it really be.....34 years old for me?!?

Easter - we spent our first Easter ever with Jim's parent in Senoia. We also managed to drive a million miles across Atlanta (yes that's what it felt like) to go to the American Girl Doll store. Oh to have been 9 years old again (and to have my dad with me). Lauren picked out her birthday present....the bitty twins, who have come to be known as Molly and Michael.

We attended church with Nonna and Pop at FBC Senoia and had a great time grilling out Easter lunch on Pop's new grill. I told Nonna this was the way to, she didn't have to do anything except put a couple of things in the oven and the men did the rest of the work.

Nonna ran out of marshmallows for the sweet potatoe casserole, Lauren had a great idea!!! Let's use PEEPS!!!! Yummy!

Spring Break - We made our first official trip to the beach of the year this week. I was get and yep everyone got a little to much sun.

30th - Lauren Leigh turned 4 years old!!! It was a Sunday so after opening her Hantana "Ontana" guitar we headed to church where she shared cupcakes with her Sunday School classmates!!

ROCK ON!!!!

April - Jim headed to China for 2 weeks with a client for a business/pleasure trip. He had the most amazing time. He spend a couple of days in Tokyo, Japan and then on to Dalian, Beijing and Shanghai. He brought me back some beautiful jade and pearl jewelry and we are now sleeping on 100% silk bedding.

.....NO I have no China pictures to post because I have not even seen the China pictures. I willingly let Jim take my camera (yes we each have our own camera and camcorder) and he has not even shown the pictures to us . He wants to go through them and match them up with the notes he wrote in his handy dandy notebook he took with him, so he can tell us exactly what we are looking at in the pictures. For those of you who do not know my hubby well, if you Google Type A Personality - Jim's picture pops up!!! (okay don't actually try that). I did have to get him to reassure me that the reason we had not seen the pictures was not because he lost or messed up my camera. (yes he has been know to do this, hence the reason we each have our own stuff).....BUT when production on "JIM'S BIG ADVENTURE....part XVII: CHINA" is complete I'll post some photos.

May - The first weekend in May is always Homecoming at Campground United Methodist Church in Hahira, Georgia. This is the church that Jim's dad's family went to when he (Jim's dad that is) was a boy. And every year a clan of us Coppages quadruples the attendance and enjoys good old southern cooking at a fellowship picnic outside after the service. The church is just like the church on Little House on the Prairie (probably why I like going - I think I'm Laura Ingalls sitting there in that pew). My kids enjoy running through the graveyard after they eat. And this year Jim and I stood looking at the small slice of land still available for burial plots and talked about purchasing ours. ~WEIRD~ But, some of the best people I know are going to be buried there and we don't want to be left out!!!

So there you have it. A somewhat brief account of we have been up to. We are looking forward to summer which is fast approaching. I cannot believe Katherine will be finished with kindergarten and Lauren will be joining Jake and her next year at school. I find myself getting a lump in my throat when I think about moving on to this next season in motherhood --all children in school!! It has really caused me to slow down and savor this time I have with my kids. I am however looking forward to being more available to Jim with his work. Oh and the occasional day at the beach by myself!!!

Our Little Bethlehem

2007-12-05T21:48:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday evening the Mission Friends (the 3,4 and 5 year olds) group from FBC Brunswick performed our 3rd annual Christmas Pagaent "Our Little Bethlehem". It is the kick-off event for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, which for those who do not know is the International Mission Board's annual funds drive to support the over 5,000 American missionaries who serve through them all over the world. We were so happy to raise $299.02 that night. Not bad for a group of preschoolers!!

This was Katherine's 3rd year in the performance and Lauren's 1st. As you can see below Lauren was a sheep. She and her friend Jenna added some improv to the show as they proceeded to fight over who was going to stand at the microphone (and let me mention they were supposed to be sitting).

Lauren and her friend Jenna, looking sheepish.

Everyone lined up and ready to go....but are they ready for us??
The performance.....everyone did a great job and no one fell off the stage!!

Dear Gob...

2007-09-28T13:03:00.000-04:00

Earlier in the week we were all working outside in the yard. The girls grabbed the sidewalk chalk to entertain themselves. While I was walking inside, I looked down to see this image on the driveway. I love U Gob. Katherine will get her b's and d's mixed up from time to time and this time it really caught my attention. To see her show her love for God right there on the driveway for all to see. And even though I may have noticed the mistake thank goddness we serve a God who looks at our hearts not just at our works! I know He got the message.

Tiny Dancers

2007-09-28T12:16:00.000-04:00

Katherine and Lauren have been enjoying dance lessons every Thursday afternoon. This is Katherine's third year and Lauren's first; and they are in the same class. (which is great for my sanity!) Lauren is loving it and pretends that she is "Miss Traci" all throughout the week. She even gave her little friend Levi dance lessons when he spent a day with us. Katherine loves dance class, but is having to adjust a bit to taking lessons after a long day of school. They are enjoying being in class together, although I peeked through the window yesterday and saw Katherine pushing Lauren to the back of the line after she tried to cut in front.

Take Me Out to the Ball Park

2007-09-04T22:07:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we traveled to Jim's parents (just outside Atlanta) in Senoia. Katherine said it well when she woke up in the van at about 11:30pm and said "I see cow things. We're near Nonna and Pop's town." For those that don't know....Jim's parents moved to a new home a couple of years ago, it is a much shorter drive for us, so we try to visit when we get a chance. They live on 2 acres out in the country (well, country to me). Their neighbors have horses, there are dogs from various neighbors that make a way over to their house and Pop grows a great garden every summer. They have even added a fire pit which we have enjoyed using to roast marshmallows and eat S'mores.

We were able to attend an Atlanta Braves game this past Sunday. It was a blast. We met up with an old friend of Jim's, Doug Douer and his family. The Braves played the Mets and did not win, but still provided some good entertainment. All the kids had a great time cheering for the Braves and doing the Tom-a-hawk chop.

The best part was after the game when the kids were able to run the bases. After their Sunday games they have it set up where the kids can wait in line and run the bases around Turner Field. So we, along with every other child age 4-14 who attended the game, waited over an hour for the kids to the the chance to run the bases. It was awesome. There were my 3 little indians running around the big league field.
Here they are lining up. Lauren looks like she might be nervous. We were a bit dishonest and let her run even though she's only three.

......And she's off. That's Katherine getting ready to round second base. Like her mom she had to make sure she got a good head start on Jake. There was now way her big brother was going to beat her because, "I'm the fastest, right mom!"Here's Lauren. I don't think she could have smiled any bigger the whole way around. I wish I was quick enough to capture it in a picture. But as we were cheering her name when she was coming around third base, she just looked up at us beaming with excitement. I didn't capture a picture of Jake running. Well I did but he was behind one on the workers on the field when my camera clicked. Oh how I wish my dad was there to capture the images on film. After they were finished running, each child was given a t-shirt and certificate. That is Doug's daughter Isabel on the right. What would a Braves game be without a pre-game stop to the Varsity. We had a great time loading up on hotdogs, hamburgers, frosted orange and fried pies. Nonna even joined the fun and put on her Varsity cap. Jake said no way to the hat!! A good time was had by all.

First Day on the Job

2007-08-30T21:18:00.001-04:00

Don't call dfacs but Jake is a working man. Mr. Dave came over one evening to ask if Jake would like some work mowing his lawn. Jake's eyes lit up and the two of them walked across the street so that Mr. Dave could show Jake what was expected of him. They negotiated a price, well okay Mr. Dave said $10 and Jake was quick to accept, then sealed their deal with a hand shake. Here he is on his first day at work!!! A few days later he had another yard on his schedule. Miss Jean, who has her law office across the street, is now onw of Jake's customers. And a happy one at that!!! We are so proud of him. Hey maybe his next job will be that of loan officer.....now that he's rolling in the dough!

First Day of School

2007-08-30T19:35:00.000-04:00

August 15th was a big day for all of us....THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Jake was ready to see his friends and thrilled that the 5th grade classrooms had been moved over to the upper school, Katherine was excited to go to school for the first time, Lauren was ready to enter first grade (never mind that she's only three), Jim was ready with his new camcorder to capture every moment and I was a mix of emotions....probably from having to get everyone up and out the door so early.

I even managed to squeeze in a home cooked breakfast, as pictured above. Katherine showed her female side by insisting on not wearing the jumper uniform but rather the skirt and shirt. Good thing I had all her uniforms washed and ironed. She wasn't thrilled about having to tuck in the shirt but she's used to it now. Okay I know from the looks of these pictures her hair is a mess (sorry mom and Nonna) but we did have barrettes in to keep it out of her eyes. She wanted to be a big girl and wear it down.

August 15, 2007

Of course we had to make sure to get the annual back to school pictures taken on the front steps. I know it looks like we were torturing Jake but really we were being nice.

Katherine was very excited to put her things in her cubbie and sit down at the table and look at books while all the kids were getting settled. She was happy to humor her parents by posing for some pictures in her classroom. Jake on the other hand made a mad dash for his class while Jim tried to video tape him.
Boy does time fly....here they are three years ago on Jake's first day of 2nd grade. Katherine, 2 and Lauren 4 months.