We miss Daddy!!!!!!!!!!!

Today started our 16 month adventure. Phil will start as the Business Development Manager of Vaco, Orlando tomorrow. In 16 months we will embark on our Vaco, Jacksonville adventure. BUT for the time being, we will live week by week traveling back and forth making it work. It has been an emotional day for all 4 of us. We are sad about being apart, excited about new possibilities, scared of the unknown and looking forward to having a free place to stay close to Disney World!

Honestly, I would imagine we make this work with very FEW nights apart each week. We are a very tight family and love our together time. We are lucky gas is cheap and the drive between Jacksonville and Orlando is just about 2 hours!!!!

Things we already miss about Daddy/Phil:

1. Phil gets my coffee ready for the morning so I just have to turn it on.

2. Bedtime kisses.....

3. Company in the house.

4. They way he tucks everyone into bed (including me) and then gets the house all organized and ready for the morning. YES ladies....he does. Amazing, huh?

5. Wrestling, bathtime, laughter, jokes, etc.

6. "Love you girls....." and "Love you boys". This is what we say all the time, dorky but cute.

7. Watching Dateline on Sunday.

and soooooooooooooooooooo much more.

Good luck tomorrow Daddy. We love you SO much.

pictures, pictures, pictures

I have been bad about uploading pictures to Shutterfly....soooooooooooo, here you go:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abt3LRk5ZNmL_I

cousins...

Cousins are wonderful! We have had a great 4 day in San Destin celebrating Thanksgiving with Phil's family. Jennifer and Mason have 3 amazing children; Aidan, Bryce and Blake who entertained my two all week. The past few years have been more tame with the kids playing mostly on their own but this time it was awesome! Aidan and Cooper ran all over this place and never faught while the girls played dolls and dressed like princesses. It was wonderful.

I am thankful for.....

Cooper: I am thankful for- my sister, the beach house, crabs, fishing, fishing poles, Christmas trees, and all my family.

Samantha: I am thankful for- the president, babies, Christmas, Momma and Daddy, and Raga.

Phil and I are thankful for our wonderful children, amazing families, friends, health, employment and our amazing life. We heard a sermon the other day that hit home...."everything we have in life was a gift". It is so true and we realize that we have been truely blessed.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We love you all.

READ THIS!!!!!

http://charlesmartinbooks.com/books/

When I went to visit Kell, I knew I would actually have some time to myself to read. I LOVE to read but never seem to find the time these days. I picked up "The Pact" at Target and became a bookworm all weekend in Boston. I LOVED it. After that, I asked my mom for some book recommendations. She is always reading and usually reading GREAT books! The next week we headed to the cabin and my mom brought me a nice stack of books to enjoy. I chose to start with "When Crickets Cry" by Charles Martin.

I read a few chapters there and a few when I got home. I was about 100 pages in when we left for our road trip yesterday. I knew I liked the book but during my 5 hours in the 3rd row of the van on our way to Destin....I got hooked. Last night I finished the book about midnight.

If you are looking for something to read, I HIGHLY recommend this book. Not only is it an easy read, it teaches you something about love and life. The lessons in this book can shape your thinking about many facets of your own life....and health. I am off to the book store later today to but my next Charles Martin book.

If you choose to pick this one up, let me know what you think. You will NOT be disappointed. Thanks Mom, you were right, I LOVED it.

31 years ago.....

Happy Birthday to the world's BEST dad!!!! (I know, I am a few days later posting this but have not had internet access......)

We love you Phil! You are an amazing father, a loving husband and an incrediable provider. I know this birthday was a bit hectic....to say the least......but we hope you know how much we love you.

Thanks for being so wonderful!!!!!

Blessed

We have been blessed in so many ways!!!!! My doctor's office called about 5 pm today to tell me that my thyroid biopsies appear to be benign! For now, this is amazing news and we appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers.

On another front, we will be moving things into the Orlando apartment tomorrow because Phil starts his new job on December 1st. We are so blessed in this economy to not only have found a job......to have found an amazing one that makes Phil so happy. Yes we will be apart some during the week but doesn't absence make the heart grow fonder?

During a time when it is nice to look at your life and remember everything you have to be thankful for......we have quite a list this year. I cannot wait to celebrate another year of blessings with our family next week.

No news....

I am about to open a can of you-know-what on my endocrinologist. I have been as patient as one can be....waiting a FULL week now for news from last week's biopsy and NOTHING. I called today and the nurse said Dr. Wyatt has my results and will call me soon. "OK dude, where is your sense of urgency? Do I need to come kick it in to gear???????????? Because I will!" This is what I would like to say to my doctor but instead I just sit here and wait......

I told my mom I feel like I am 9 months pregnant. Several friends and family members are calling every day or jump to the phone when I call just to hear the news. I love how everyone cares and wants to know but I also have to preface every conversation with "no news yet".

So, until I hear anything I am living by the "no news is good news" philosophy.

On another note, I had gum surgery on Wednesday and it has not been bad at all! The procedure itself was less than wonderful but the recovery has been a breeze.....or maybe it is the Hydrocodone?????

Our Crazy Life Continues.....

I am sure MOST people would think:

Husband off work = getting LOTS done, relaxing, etc.

What it REALLY means is:

Husband off work = everyone get to the doctor as FAST as you can, make and check off a "honey-do" list, find a place to live in Orlando, and everything else that needs to be done before dad goes back to work......

Today we are headed to Orlando (after Phil and Cooper get home from Coop's dentist appointment) to look for a rental place for Phil to spend his next 16 months! We want a place big enough and nice enough for the kids and I to come as much as we can. We are finding a TON of places but not too many furnished and in our price range. Keep your fingers crossed....

Our sweet friend Mel has offered to take care of the kids while we look. She recently moved to Orlando and Mina and Samantha are good friends. I think we may take her up on the offer to have an hour or two alone for some serious looking. We truely are blessed to have good friends!

Samantha says....

Samantha is growing up! Today I sent her to school for the first time in a week (because we were on vacation). We came home and she told Phil and I that she was crying at school. I looked at her and said "Sammy, why were you crying?". Samantha looked right at both of us (Phil and I), took her paci out (yes, she STILL has a paci...so what?) and said "Because I missed you guys!".

We giggled. Neither of us was expecting a complete and rational thought to come out of Samantha's mouth! Our baby girl is growing up! I wish I could keep her this perfect size forever. I know there are MANY amazing times ahead but I cannot help but wish she would stay this way forever.....small, innocent and sweet!

Cabin

Who has parent's with a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains and in-laws with a beach house in San Destin? WE DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was an amazing week in the mountains full of friends, grandparents, cool weather and lots of exploring. The kids played outside, searched for treasures and went on hikes daily. My mom read countless books to her grandbabies and my dad sang his bedtime songs over and over again. The Plemmons family (my college roomie) joined us for a few days and I watched Samantha LOVE having her "best friend" to play with. Phil relaxed, I started a new book and we all gained a few pounds from the yummy food! All in all, this was just what the doctor ordered for our little family. The only question is.....when can we go back????????

History was made!

I am all smiles today. I am happy that we have our first (half) African American president. I am happy the man I have been rooting for for MONTHS won the election. I am happy the months of arguments with (the majority of) my friends are over. I am happy that my children will watch Obama lead for the next 4 years. I am happy the ads are over on TV. I am happy to have taken my children to vote...they loved it. AND....I was very happy drinking my free Satrbucks yesterday.