Ordinary Life

I am in some sort of crazy cycle rigt now... never getting caught up before a new adventure begins... and that's OK... but until I return to some form of normalacy in life and in blogging, we'll always have pictures. (worth 1000 words a pop, right?!) This one is amongst my recent favorites: While on a trip to see Mom and Dad, DeAnna and I were able to catch up with each other for a day at the zoo... The girls check out a monkey. The monkey investigates the onlookers. " Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most curious one of all? "

I know that judging by the blog posts, it looks like the students at Aletheia haven't been doing a whole lot. On the contrary, we've posted very little because we've been doing all sorts of things and can't find the time to sit still or find our fingers too messy to type! Recently, we made play dough using this recipe: Traditional Play Doh First we mixed the dough, then I placed it in plastic baggies and made a small indention. I then added drops of food coloring and imitation coconut flavoring for scent. Each kids kneaded a few bags to blend the colors in and smooth the dough. VIEW AS SLIDESHOW

After leaving Atlanta on Chandler's birthday, we headed for Alabama to meet with Clay's friend and business partner, Antonio. Clay and Antonio met this summer during the Week of Champions and it didn't take long for them to realize they were soul mates, meant to be together as often as possible! (can I get an Amen, Gloria?) We went to Pelham, a suburb of Birmingham, and truly enjoyed getting to know Antonio's family better. While the men spent time working, the kids and I explored the area. We visited Oak Mountain State park, where Chandler cried... literally cried... all the way up The Peavine Falls trail, thanks to the confidence his father has shown in my driving ability. The poor kid just knew I was going to drive us over the next curve... We made it up and down and they all relaxed enough towards the end to enjoy the beauty of the area. You will also see a handful of shots at football practice... where Mr. Antonio spends a lot of time helping the local middle and h...

Monday was Chandler's 9th Birthday. It felt like we had been celebrating all weekend already, but we tried to make the actual day feel special. We were due to checkout of our hotel, but before we did, I took the kids for a celebratory dip in the hotel's roof pool... it has an indoor and outdoor, and on this particular morning, the outdoor was actually warmer than the indoor (but the wind outside was another ...very cold... story) After check out, we drove to the Blue Willow Inn , in Social Circle GA for a special lunch... yummy as usual. I brought Chandler's cake out at this time and he was truly surprised , as we had told him all along that we would probably buy him a small cake since we were traveling. We had also told him that the adventure itself was a gift, so there wouldn't be any real gifts to open, but he got a Garfield (his favorite comedian) DVD and Magic Treehouse Book set... both strategically chosen to give him car activities for the trip home. Turns out th...

While the boys took in a Falcons game on Sunday, I got busy constructing Chandler's birthday cake. I had messaged a friend, Shantel of Heavenly Cakes , back home in Augusta to see if the layers would hold up if I made them in advance.. after she told me the best way to preserve them, I had the courage to take the pre-made layers with me to the hotel, along with an entire arsenal of cake decorating supplies. I made the icing in the Ice Bucket (don't worry, I washed it thoroughly first) and mixed individual colors in the water glasses. The room's desk served as an excellent work space, though I'm not sure the hotel staff would've been thrilled to see it covered in powdered sugar. After I assembled the layers and frosted them with a thin blue coat of icing, I rolled out fondant that I had colored blue a day or two earlier (to give it time to dry) to cover the ball shaped cake, then on fondant "continents" with icing... I had previously traced, cut out and pai...

On Sunday of Chandler's Birthday Adventure, some of Clay's friends brought their sons for a little Father/Son Falcon game... (oh, and to talk a little business of course!) While the men chatted before the game, I played Mother Goose and took the 6 children to the game room, (20 bucks in quarters spends FAST in there!) the fitness room, and for a walk along Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. The 2 day walk for breast cancer was just winding down and there were pink boas and cheering supporters everywhere. There was also one very public breast feeding woman which is a longer story for later ... (imagine --I have 5 boys in tow... this was no small matter!) We went in to Carvel and I tell the guy, " I got 20 bucks and 6 kids, how can you help me?" He was very helpful and nice as he let each kid pick a flavor and cup or cone... my total came to $19.73 :) He was so gracious and even offered me a cone free of charge, which I declined to return the graciousness. Service like t...

On Saturday, we went to Atlanta to start Chandler's birthday weekend. The Neely's from Food Network were making an appearance at The World of Coca Cola museum and we had gotten Chandler tickets as a surprise. He didn't know until the last minute, when we were standing outside of the closed museum and a security guard said something like "Welcome to the Neely event"-- until that point, everyone in line had coincidentally neglected to mention "Neely" and said "We're here for the 5 o'clock Event" instead... as if they too realized they were in on a secret. Once we got inside, there was a short wait-- we had the museum to ourselves and more importantly, the international tasting room, where we were invited to taste the different Coca Cola products from around the world. (We have done this before, but the idea that we had the opportunity in such a small and "private event" setting made it fun) Meeting the Neelys was a lot of fun- t...

Our friends, the Theakers, came to town for a family camping trip and like a good neighbor, we were there :) ((you may or may not want to hum the State Farm jingle at this point)) The kids had a great day together...age difference didn't really seem to be on their minds at all... only sand, sun and fun. I was greatful for the time with friends, and the timeliness of their visit, since Clay was in Birmingham on business and I was already two days by my lonesome :) The weather was just beautiful, as was the beach and all of God's creatures that we got to view at the nature center. I thank God for beautiful beach walks and friends to share them with: 9 . 04 . 08 Hunting Island, SC View as Slideshow

Falcons Game #1...Georgia Aquarium...World of Coca Cola... Heaps of God's Grace! 9 . 06 & 07 . 2008 *Aquarium, Coca Cola & Hilton Garden Inn Downtown/Saturday View as Slideshow * GA Dome and Falcons' first game/ Sunday View As Slideshow

We visited Grandma and Grandpa in Covington about a month ago. Kevin has been busy making things spiffy...here's a peek: View as Slideshow