The Land of Dixie: 2008-05-18

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Last night, Jim and I went to a birthday bash for my sister, Harriett. It was at her club... JB Pivots Beach and Shag Club. She booked the fabulous Coastline Band. Jim Quick and his band are really southern soul and beach music. They were better than ever and I guess have become very popular and are booked way in advance. They have won many Carolina Beach Music awards. You can look at them at their site..
www.coastlineband.com
Amy and Peter joined us there and it was a lot of fun watching the showband and watching Amy and Peter Shag. For those of you who are not from the South... Shag is our state dance here in SC. The movie " Austin Powers" has raised some eyebrows when we speak of the shag in places other than the south. Peter and Amy have been dancing together for a couple of years now and have really honed their skills. The club offers free lessons but quite honestly, Jim and I have tried that route. Trying to confine Jim into a framework for dancing is impossible. He learns the steps and then about 5 steps into the dance, he breaks out into the JIMSHAG ! Yes folks, you are in for a new type of dance. The Jimshag is great ...just not to be confused with the state dance shag.
Check out the website for all the activities planned at PIVOTS. You can find their link on the sidebar.
Summer is underway , we have already lost use of the boat for a short time. Jim ran the boat into an oyster bed and the propeller had to be fixed. We would have used our backup propeller but it is also in the shop. This is only one small chapter of our boat stories. It would take a blog dedicated to just that to tell you all of them. Suffices to say, if you do not have about 500.00 a month to throw away, do not buy a boat.That is a conservative estimate which includes payment, insurance, repairs, gas,and storage.Did I mention that also if you drop the engine cover on nearby cars..it is expensive... that did happen to my Z.
Summer Calendar is filling up ! I am still looking for the days when we can just sit back and relax and enjoy being retired. Right now , I forcibly plan them.
Check the sidebar for a few new links to blogs that are fun to read.

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Our new cadets, Sutton and Alex

We adopted two freshmen cadets this year. This is a photo from their first visit to our house where they basically ate, slept and did some laundry. Both of them are just wonderful and roommates and are both from Florida. We are looking forward to spending time with them and seeing them succeed at The Citadel. Sutton is on the left, Alex is on the right.Click on the photo to be routed to The Citadel website.UPDATE...The guys became part of our family this year and are about to finish their freshman year ..both with flying colors and wonderful grades. We are so proud of them and love them so much !! What a blessing !..THIS IS FROM FRESHMAN YEAR... NOW THEY ARE SENIORS !!!!!!TIME FLEW BY

UPDATES

Looking over my pages and realize that most of the information in the blogs is old. Here are a few updates.My cadets Alex and Sutton are now seniors. They have been unbelievably successful at The Citadel.Sutton , a business major is a gold star cadet, meaning his grades are 3.8 or higher and he has been given a commission in the Army that will take him into the Army at graduation with an officer rank. Sutton made the Summerall Guards which is an elite group of cadets who perform a silent drill for special occasions. This is not easy to get into...Congratulations Sutton ! Alex has also excelled in academics, deans list as an engineering major is a great accomplishment. Alex also made The President's List which is a list of cadets who are at the top of the game in many categories, personal , academic, military. He also has a Navy contract for a pilot slot at graduation.Both guys have received their rings (october) so they are on the home stretch to graduation now. I am so proud of them in all they have done but I will tell you the best part !!!!!!!!!Both Alex and Sutton have asked Jesus into their lives since coming to The Citadel. They love the Lord and both have been in regular worship and Sutton is involved in campus ministry. What a blessing. Love both of our cadets and will sure miss them when they take off to travel the world.Bo has opened his own law firm. You can view his website at
www.jrobertslawfirm.com If you need a good lawyer, call Bo. He is honest and will work hard for you.The grands are growing. Sophie has been in several plays with The Flowertown Players and excels in her schoolwork.Britton is an avid Scout and is doing well in school. He loves going to horse shows with Peter.Caleb is into karate. He loves to write stories and draw and still loves Superheroes.Olivia is talking up a storm and still loves her Grover. She loves books, babydolls and playing with her cousins.Joshua is a wild man. He is all about running, riding the four wheeler and jumping from the stairs. He is the family comedian.John Grady is cooing up a storm and is such a smiley boy. He is growing so fast and he is sooo cute !Nanny is enjoying her apartment at the Assisted living place. Her short term memory is not good but she remembers things from the past pretty well. She would love a visit from any of you any time.Jim is still teaching in the simulator for the C-17 for L2 communications on the air base. He also does quite a bit of public speaking taking the gospel to men's groups and churches all around the southeast.I am still leading the women's at my church .

Merry Christmas

December sneaked right up on us... What a beautiful fall we had. I was sad to take down all the fall decorations... they are my favorite colors. Thanksgiving was such a blessing as we had all our children here and 3 of our 5 grands. I count my blessings every day and at the top of the list is the fact that all of our children now live within minutes of us !! God knew I did not want to share !
Today is Dec. 1st and I am feeling a little overwhelmed at the task of turning the house into a Christmas backdrop. I always feel that way and it always gets done....so off I go to open the first of many crates and bins ! Merry Christmas Ya'll. Have a blessed one !

Truly an Empty Nest !

With Bo settling into Tampa and Amy moving to the farm and Kelly and her family growing and living a few miles away and now my cadets leaving for summer and my grandson leaving my care to go back to his stay at home mom... I am truly moving into the empty nest stage of life. While I will miss all of them and would bring them all back here if I could.... I do have a million plans for all my free time. I think I am excited about all my projects but I am facing the fact that I cannot use any of my motherhood duties as an excuse for not getting stuff done. Once June hits, I am going to have 24 hours a day to use as I please ...so watch out ... I am going to become painter, writer, interior designer, crafter , traveler , grandmother , extraordinaire... and most of all will have time to dote on a one of a kind husband who has generously and quietly sat on the back burner to all this crazy moving, wedding planning, and full time grandmothering this year.
My summer project begins with a Cadet porch pot that is overdue for a friend who purchased it at an auction a year ago. After that, I am headed to the beach house to start some serious decorating and updating .. hopefully I can use the summer to get the old house rentable. So many friends have asked us if we rent. I hope to get it rentable and get a friends and family rent brochure together by end of summer. While I do not want to rent to strangers, the renting of the house to close friends can help them by allowing a cheaper rent than they could get anywhere else ...thereby sharing our blessing... and can add to my funds to improve the place little by little to make it more enjoyable for everyone.
I do not see an end to that project so while that is going on... I will also be finishing some much needed painting and decor in our Ashebourough house. It is a lot of upkeep but a great place for our family to gather and enjoy life.
This summer, our family will grow as Kelly and Tom welcome Joshua James Reser in August ... I am really looking forward to a newborn. I just love that stage and while it is hard to believe I can love someone as much as I love the others.. I am sure that he will carve out his own little place in this world and be another unique , precious , and wonderful love in my life.
I hope the coming year will give us opportunities to spend time with lots of friends for surely friends and family determine the quality of life that we have... add that to good health and a vital and loving relationship with the Savior and it does not get any better... well maybe if I could lose 50 pounds... that would be the icing on the cake... and since my excuses for "no time to plan meals and exercise" are gone in a few weeks... maybe I will find my way to do just that......