Snow Days

In March, we were surprised with a bit of snow. Seven inches, to be exact! I don't know who was more excited, the boys or me. The only person that wasn't excited was David, who had to call off school for 2 days due to road conditions. These are pictures of us playing outside in the snow. We finally got to use the sled that we bought a few years ago. No more redneck boogie board with a dog leash for us! That's right, people! The Hicks family is moving up in the world!

Where Has The Time Gone?

Looking back, I realized that I hadn't posted since January! Ugh! Well, the 2nd semester was a difficult time for us. David had to deal with a lot at work and I felt his stress. It's amazing how you hurt when someone you love is hurting too. Glad to report that all is much better now. Just always remember to pray for your enemies as well as your family and friends.

Since January, we were foster parents to a dog named Sweetie, who was adopted in May. We are happy to report that Mema's cancer is gone! Praise the Lord! "Ding, dong, the bitch is dead!" Hopefully, it won't come back again!
Mason played soccer for HCMS and Dawson is still into karate. He recently received his orange belt. Jackson is Mr. Man. He wants to be such a big boy, but he still loves his mommy. He's my shadow this summer. I am worried about his going back to school. He loves school and his friends, but I don't think he realizes that I won't be with him every day. He says he wants to go to "Mommy's school with Dawson".

I celebrated my 40th birthday with a trip to Hawaii from David. Better than the boob job I wanted years ago! :) Hawaii was gorgeous and I'll post pictures later on.

We had VBS the first week we were out of school. Jack and Dawson loved it! Mason volunteered with the first graders and really enjoyed it. I taught the K class with a friend that I co-teach Sunday School with. It was so much fun!
Right now, Dawson is at Centri-Kid Camp in Cleveland,TN. I miss him so much, but have to admit that it's a whole lot quieter around the house lately. He'll return on Friday and Mason starts his local mission trip on Sunday. At least I'll get to see him a couple of times next week when I volunteer. We are so blessed that our boys love church as much as they do.

Lucy Belle and Scout

It just dawned on me that I haven't shown you my 4 legged children. Introducing Lucy Belle Hicks, my cockapoo. She's my dog. She's smart, sophisticated, happy, and she doesn't shed. I adore this dog! Lucy Belle is my diva and I am hers!

David and the boy's dog is a "man's dog", so I've been told. His name is Scout and he's a rescue dog. The boys went to a Scottish festival in town and came home with Scout. He was really afraid of us at first, especially since he was abused by his previous owners but he loves us now. He's a German Shepherd mix. We just aren't sure what he's mixed with. He's the sweetest, most lovable, big ole' dog we've ever had. He's just over a year old and weighs around 55 pounds. He's not very graceful, but he is the perfect completion of our family.

The Bitch is Back!

Where to start, where to start? First of all, if you are the praying type, PLEASE lift David's mom up in prayer. Once again, she is going to have to battle lung cancer. Ugh! You'd THINK that this was an illness for someone who was a chain smoker, inhaled 2nd hand smoke all of their lives, or something similar. Rather, it can affect anyone. This is Mema's 4th bout with lung cancer, the second time that she will have surgery. My mother-in-law is the most positive, uplifting, God loving person that I know of. (And if she's reading this, it's killing her that I started a sentence with 'and'!) She is facing this with grace, integrity, and just a tad bit of bitchiness (she got that from me!)! So, here's a wonderful picture of the boys' Mema and Papa for you to see.

And the Oscar goes to..........

Here's my actor, Dawson, in our school Christmas play, "The Nutcracker". This play was
no small feat. Our music teacher put together a wonderful play with all 650+ students, K-5! Dawson played one of 4 toy soldiers. His favorite part was that his friend Harry was one of the mice, and Dawson got to poke Harry in the butt! Gotta love it!

Lazy Saturdays

I love Saturday mornings! No hurrying to get to school, no fights over waking up early, and coffee! David usually goes to have breakfast with a couple of buddies from his office and I piddle around. When he returns, we sit on the porch and look at the lake. We haven't gotten to do it lately because the water was so low that it wasn't pretty to look at. Fortunately, we received a lot of rain this week and the lake is up over 4 feet! Yahoo! So, this morning, I had a chance to sit on the porch and watch ducks play in the cove. They were having a blast and stayed for quite a while.

All Partied Out!

Jack didn't take a nap yesterday since we woke up at 11 a.m. Needless to say, at 7 p.m. last night, he was pooped! I found him sound asleep, blue blankie in hand, standing inside of the ottoman, lying on the chair. He'd fallen asleep playing pirates and his ship was right beside him. Unfortunately, once in bed, he slept for about 90 minutes, then he was ready to go. He stayed up until 11:30 last night! He wanted to watch t.v. and I wanted to sleep! Today, we nap!

Happy 50th Anniversary, Mema and Pop!

My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 28! Fifty years without killing each other! Wow, I hope that David and I can make it that far. We made them a slide show that has pictures of our family over the past 50 years. If I can ever figure how to upload it, I will. Anyhow, Happy Anniversary Mema and Pop! We love you!

The Hicks

Here are all of the hicks! If someone ever called me a 'hick', I could say that I represent that name! This is a picture of everyone from Christmas. We had another picture that was a little better, but Lina had an orb on her face. I told her that she had a spirit watching out for her. It's a cool picture. All 8 grandchildren are in this picture. Beth (18), Josh (16), Mason (13), Sam (10), Emily (10), Dawson (9), Tyler (7), and Jack (3).

My family

Here is a picture of the five of us. It's not the best picture there is, but it's one of the few that has me and David in it, with the boys. It was taken on the 4th of July.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! It's 2009 and this year holds tons of possibilities for me! First of all, I am curious to see how long I'll keep up with this blog. Secondly, I'm turning 40 next month (*gasp*) and I'm strangely excited about it!

Just like everyone else, I have my list of New Year's Resolutions. Here they are:
1. to lose the weight that I've carried for 3+ years, since Jack's birth
2. to read daily, and not just when on vacation
3. to cook more (no laughing!)
4. to exercise daily
5. to start running (yet again) and complete a 5 K
6. to not stress out and worry so much


Last night, we had some friends over for New Year's Eve and ended staying up until 1:30. Needless to say, the kids stayed up until way past midnight. David and I cleaned up after they were asleep and then crashed! We all slept until 11:00 a.m. This afternoon, we'll take down the Christmas decorations, cook a pot of turnips, and go for a long walk to get some vitamin D.

Happy New Year everyone!