Piedmont Pictures

Kiara hiding behind a tree at my mom's pond.



A view from my mom's pond.

A local winery.

Amish family near our home.

September Post

Well, it's starting to feel a little more like fall now that school has started for pretty much everyone. It has been strange starting so early when a lot of other people still had a summer left.

We just had a wonderful weekend with Paul's sister, Bev, and her husband John. They drove all the way down from PA to see us, and it was great hanging out with them on an awesome Labor Day weekend. After they left, we drove to Lynchburg to see "Grown Ups" and to get Paul some shoes.

Today, Paul went "pickin'" (getting stuff to resell at the Antique Mall) in Richmond while I stayed home cleaning and working on my on-line class until Kiara got home. Tomorrow I start my next seried of parenting classes which will be held near where my mom lives, so I'll spend the night with her afterwards...

That's the extent of my exciting life in the country. Hope you didn't fall asleep while reading this. Hello? Wake up.....

Gettin in the Groove

Kiara is into her third week of middle school, and it has been an adjustment for all of us. The B & B has picked up business lately with two full weekends coming up. I am still working part time an also teaching parenting classes. (Then I come home and try to do all the things I've taught and, I admit, sometimes I fail miserably.) I have been more involved with Facebook lately and plan to switch over from communicating through that instead of a blog. So, if you're not a FB user yet, I encourage you to join on in and "Friend Me".

Parents

This evening Kiara and I were watching t.v. together after school when a commercial came on for the new show featuring the father and son who used to build motorcycles together. They apparently could not get along and the son left the show and opened his own shop. After hearing the struggle of this adult son in dealing with their seemingly irreconcilable differences, Kiara replied, "Maybe we should take him in for foster care until he has things settled."


It got me thinking how blessed I am to have such wonderful parents who always supported me throughout my life, even into adulthood. My parents were always my best friends. I am so lucky to have had a great relationship with my dad while he was here, and I am also blessed to have my mom still here to share my life with. I love my parents!!!

Saturday at Keysville Station

It's a hot one today... 103 degrees. But that doesn't keep the fun away at our Antique Mall.
Kids touring the Keysville fire truck. Wishing to turn on the hose for some cooling down!

Motorcycle Poker Run stops here! Restin' in the shade of a bike.

Lunch is ready followed by fresh baked cookies from Polar Xpress Ice Cream Store.

What Have We Been Up To?

Hangin' out with friends...
Enjoying beautiful views from our yard as we spend time outside...
Fun times during a visit with my brother, Scott...

Canoeing down Briery Lake...

Field Trip and Graduation

I was a chaperone on Kiara's field trip to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. The views were just gorgeous, as you can see from the photos below.

The next week, Kiara graduate from elementary school. My little girl is growing up! Here are two pictures taken on the "Big Day".

Kiara in her graduation dress. Take note... it's not often you see her in a DRESS!

After the ceremony with her "beau".

From Preschool to Middle School

Kiara has one week left of elementary school. I can't believe she is about to become a middle-schooler!! Seems like yesterday I was taking her to preschool. She is certainly picking up all those preteen traits. I've dealt with children up through age 11 all through my teaching career, foster parenting, and helping w/ friends' kids... but this is a whole new territory for me. Pimples 'n boys 'n hormones 'n girl feuds 'n texting 'n drama 'n eye-rollin'. What's a mom to do? No, really... I mean it... what's a mom to do????

Kiara at age 3- sweetly and innocently holding a kitty.

Now at age 11 torturing our cat, Bo... at least it's a reprieve from torturing me!

Tractors

Tractors are a big deal in our small town. Last year we had a tractor parade that went down Main Street...


A few weekends ago, our Antique Shop hosted an Antique Tractor Show...

We don't have any fancy restaurants, theatres, or even a Walmart... but we do have us some mighty fine tractors!

Two Times in 2010

2010 isn't even half way over, and we've had the opportunity to go to the beach twice already! Is this a sign of a great summer ahead? I hope so! This last trip was over Spring Break where we stayed in my sister/brother-in-law's Myrtle Beach condo. Thanks, Eileen and Phil for lending us your vacation rental! You guys are awesome! Here are some picture highlights from our trip...

We were amazed at how many campers there were next door. This is one view from our window.

Kiara watched the fish and turtles in a pond on the complex of Myrtle Beach Resort.


Kiara and Paul look for treasures on the beach.


Paul relaxes after a good meal. (Just kidding! This was a baboon we saw at a local zoo. I loved the expression on his face. The back side of him made an interesting picture, too!!)

Beach Pictures

The girls focus intently on their DS game which refletcts onto their faces.

We see who's really in charge...

View from our balcony.

Friends forever.

The gang's all here at VA Beach.

Favorite family shot.

A Quick Hello

At my mom's now and thought I'd change the background on my blog. Tired of seeing those snowflake and opted for spring-like pastel polka-dots. I'm so ready for spring! Went to the beach last weekend with friends and hope she posts pictures on her blog so I can link to her site. My friend, Kim, just started her own blog so go on over and check it out sometime! (Just click on her name in the last sentence and it will bring you directly to her blog.)

Getting ready to watch a chick-flick with mom now. Gotta treasure those girl times whenever I can. Every moment is precious...

Pictures, Finally!

I don't know what I did to make my "add image" button finally work, but it did... so here are some pictures to post while I can. Who knows what will happen next time I try. Would add more but I have to leave for work now...

Snow Pics

My brother is helping me figure out why I can't post pictures from Blogger on my computer. It works fine from his laptop (see 2 pics below of my mom and him). He seems to think I might have a virus or maybe one of my settings is off. I'm hoping it's just a setting problem. We're still working on it. Technology is wonderful when it works!

February Snow

I know, I know... it has been a long time since my last post. I must admit I just lost the motivation for a while- but I'm back now! February has been a month of snow. Kiara has missed most of the last two weeks of school. Today (yes, Saturday) was supposed to be a make up day, but we got the call early this morning... closed again because of snow. Kiara is loving it. I wanted to post a picture of her sledding with her friends, but Blogger won't let me add images. It won't do anything when I click on the icons. I 'll have to try to figure it out later.

My sister-in-law, Joan, just headed back to New Jersey. We went down to Georgia last weekend for my brother-in-law's ordination as a deacon in the Catholic church. Paul stayed in Keysville to keep watch over the B&B and the store. It was a little strange going down without him, but, hey, they're my family too! Kiara likes hanging out with all her cousins, and she often brags about having 17 of them!

My brother has been staying with us lately as well. He is in town waiting to hear back from a job for which he interviewed. He may be moving from Florida back here... we'll see!

Time to start the day... finishing up my hot tea now and ready for a nice warm jacuzzi bath, then coziness by the fire. Snow days really aren't all that bad.

A White Christmas ???

The falling snow inspired me to try changing my background again. I managed to get something in with a little manipulating, but the blog edit buttons still aren't acting right. Good enough for now.

We are expected to get about a foot of snow tonight and tomorrow... and it MIGHT even stay around for Christmas! I can only remember one other white Christmas since I've been married, and it was the our very first one together back in 1989.

So, Kiara is off of school for two whole weeks. Yay!

We had a function (dinner for 18) scheduled for Monday night that is now cancelled b/c of the snow. This might be a relaxing holiday after all! I do have to work the part time job M, T, and W though... but they should be easy days.

Background Trouble

I've been trying to update my blog background to a winter theme, but everytime I go to edit I just get a beeping sound and it won't let me in. Anyone know what's going on? Until I figure it out, I will just have to keep it in the Fall decor.

Only 4 more days until Kiara's Holiday break begins. I'm not quite ready for Christmas yet. Have some shopping to do. Shouldn't take long, though, because we are on a tight budget this year.

The B&B has one function coming up... this Monday. 12-15 for a holiday dinner. Friends are coming this weekend. My brother leaves to go back to FL tomorrow.

Got my car stuck in mud yesterday-- and I mean really stuck. Paul had to pull me out w/ a tow line. It has been raining so much here that every bit of ground is a mud pit.

Hmmm, what else is new?? When I asked Kiara what I should post, she suggested I tell everyone that "the goats are doing fine". So... the goats are doing fine. LOL

Back on Land

We got back from our 9 day cruise on Monday! Can you believe we couldn't find our camera, so the only pictures I have are on my cell phone?? I need to get a cord to download them to my computer. We had a great time, although the weather wasn't always on our side. We had to miss one islad because the seas were too rough. Luckily, we had been to that one before on a previous cruise, so we already had that experience. This was the first time we'd sailed with Celebrity, and the one thing we noticed was that it was an older crowd. It was a quieter and slower paced cruise that we were used to, but we enjoyed the "down" time. The music on board was exceptional, and the shows were great, too. So now here we are-- back in reality.

Thanks to my mom, Kim, and Uncle Donald for taking care of our precious daughter while we were away!

My brother is in town for a while, and I'm looking forward to spending time with him during the holiday season.

How Times Have Changed

I haven't taken any pictures in a while and decided to go through old ones to see what I could post. I came across this one that my cousin sent me recently. It is of me holding her in a car when I was about 12 and she was just a toddler. Not only are neither of us buckled, but she isn't in a car seat. Remember the days when it wasn't a big deal to ride like this? In today's society, this would warrant a call to CPS!

Paul told me that once he and his 7 siblings were riding in their station wagon when the youngest (who was just a baby then) actually ROLLED out of the car while his dad was driving! Can you imagine? They turned the car around and picked him up unharmed, thanks to the tight bundling of clothing. I wonder what our kids will be critiquing when they get older and look back on how we parent today. Only time will tell...

November Already?

Looks like I didn't do too well posting in October. It was a busy month with B&B guests every weekend and a week-long training out of town for my new position, which BTW, started TODAY! I am now working part time as a Family Resource Specialist. I will be the one to screen first time moms in our 7 county area to determine what their needs are and to offer community referrals- one being home visitation services (if they qualify) which is what I was providing until today. I will also connect the community with our program participants through things such as church donations and Angel Tree at Christmas. So if you want to "adopt" a family this holiday season, let me know and I can hook you up!!

While in Richmond for training, I got to visit with some special friends and co-workers from my past "city life". If you were one of those who went out of your way to meet with me, thanks a bunch. I had a great time catching up!

The Antique Mall is slowing down a bit at the weather gets cooler. I have been spending most of my time there working on the upstairs where we will eventually move when Roselawn sells. Kiara's room is almost ready and we are getting our plumber in there soon to see what we can do about adding a kitchen.

Haven't taken any pics lately, so just boring ole' words for this post...

Happy November!