Enough is enough!!

A few months ago, my kids didn't even know who Michael Jackson was. Now they can't seem to stop talking about him. It all started the day or two after MJ died and they were playing his videos on TV practically around the clock. The first video Eli saw was from when Michael was young and still cute and normal. Eli's first question was "Why is he dancing with that beautiful girl?" Which he was (and yes those were his exact words, beautiful and all). The next video to come up was one more recent, to which Eli asked the question "What is SHE singing about?" So over the last few weeks we have answered more quesions about Michael Jackson. We even let the kids watch the Thriller video. And we have talked about how he never truly seemed happy to be who God made him to be.

Well, the other night after getting out of the bathtub, a naked Elijah walks over to a full length mirror, strikes some random pose, and asks "do I look like Michael Jackson??" WHAATTT???

Then yesterday Marshall was trying to cut Eli's hair and Eli was fussing about wanting to grow it long. Marshall said, "Why do you want to grow your hair long?" To which he replied, "So I can look like Michael Jackskon."

That's when you know enough is enough.

Growing up my sister had a Michael Jackson doll. It is the size of a Barbie, and it somehow ended up in all of my Barbie stuff that got passed down to Payton. I could not locate his pants, but I did find his awesome red jacket. He is pretty creepy looking actually.

The Farm

In June, Brooke came along (Russ was in Africa with the Marines doing some training) with our family of 4 to Knoxville, TN for a weekend trip up to visit our family friends the Watsons and Sharpes. There was a birthday party for Ashley's oldest daughter Raegan, and my parents came up just for the day on the day of the party. It was a sweet time of memories and fellowship with old friends. Marshall and I always say that we wish Ashley and Todd were our next door neighbors. In fact, we have often talked about moving to Knoxville to be closer to them, and because we love it up there. Since getting married, Ashley and Todd have always lived "on the farm" (some family land that Dick and Judy had always wanted to build a house on but never did). When we would go stay with them, there would be cows in the field in the morning right outside the back window. The kids could run around the fields and ride the four wheelers all around the house. But next time that we go back to visit they won't live there anymore. They have since moved into a new, bigger house. It will be much different. But I am reminded in the following pictures of the beauty of "the farm".

Brooke, Ashley and I

Isn't the background beautiful? Behind us is the view Ashley has from her front porch. The old barn is awesome and the rest of the house is surrounded by fields with cows roaming around. Now do you see why it is called "the farm"?

This is one of my favorites pictures. We never take pictures with everyone. The whole crew (minus Russ of course).

The original five. Eric, Brooke, me, Ashley and John.

The brothers I never had and my little sister Ash, and good ole Brookie of course.

I love Ashley because being around her is like spending time with Judy. She has her mother's wit and humor. She is also an amazing cook, just like Judy was. We were being silly here.

This is supposed to be try #2.

And of course I love this one of the boys. Dad and Marsh look so serious. And then there is Eli.

Somehow I currently don't have any pics of the kids to post. I will have to add some later. That is what is the most fun about going up there these days, is watching all of our kids interact and play. Just like we did when we were little. While the parents are having their own fun :)

Evergreen Eels

This summer Payton changed swim teams and swam for the Evergreen Eels. It is actually a neighborhood 2 subdivisions down from where we live, so it was very convenient. Payton and I would even ride our bikes to practice sometimes. We love the coach and are very glad that we made the switch. Payton swam a great season swimming both freestyle and butterfly in the meets. We are very proud of her! She even swam in the county meet. Although she did not rank in county, her team came in 3rd place out of over 45 teams in Gwinnett County! Way to go Eels!

Diving in!

Freestyle in Action

Swimming Butterfly

Some of her support team

The Swim Banquet

I love this picture of Marshall, his parents and Payton!

Family Time

One of my favorite childhood memories is going to the zoo with my father on Sunday afternoons. I grew up going to a church downtown, and once or twice a month my father and I would spend the afternoon at the zoo after church.

Recently we took a family trip to Zoo Atlanta and had a really fun time! It was a cooler day, which is not only more pleasant for us but more of the animals were also out to visit. Even the kids got along most of the day! It was an enjoyable day all around.

First we went in to the new parakeet house. If was extremely neat as the kids got to feed the birds with seed on a stick. They loved it!

Several of the animals seemed to be enjoying their spectators, and they remained close to where the viewing places are. I was able to get some great pictures as we watched them.

Like I said, the kids actually were KIND to each other most of the time we were there! It was amazing.

And of course you can't forget the petting zoo. A favorite for everyone. The floppy eared goats were the best!

The Wisdom in Her Years

One of the many things that we have been doing this summer around the house is cleaning out the basement. In the 3 years that we have lived here, we have seemed to just stick random junk down there without any organization or labeling or anything. So it was our goal to completely get everything out of there and start over. You would be amazed at how much of it just needed to be thrown away. And even more amazed by how much of what we put on the curb was taken by either a neighbor or a passerbyer even before the trash ran the next day. But, anyways, that is not my point.

Marshall and I were shocked by how many large rubbermaid containers full of the kids old outgrown clothes were in the basement. So it became my job to go through EVERY SINGLE ONE (I think there were at least 12 large bins and several trash bags full of clothes) and sort through the clothes, keeping only my favorites and outfits that I really think I would use again on another child.

Well, I had just dumped a container full of Payton's clothes and started going through it when she came into the room. Payton walked over and immediately picked up a little Mickey Mouse nightgown and said "Oh! I remember this!" Pretty normal right? Then she said "This is the gown I was wearing the morning you and daddy told me that Odell had died." WOW! That is certainly NOT what I expected her to say next. Not in the least. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know exactly what I was wearing the night that he died. It even still has a little bit of blood and body fluid of his on it. Will I ever wash it? No. Will I ever wear it again? No. But will I keep it forever just because I want to? Probably. In hindsight it really does not surprise me that she remembers what she had on. I guess I just had never thought about it before. But she knew exactly what was going on, throughout the life and death of her brother. She has experienced life differently than most children her age. And she is very wise in her years because of what she has been through. My daughter is only nine years old, but her persective on life is very eternal. I am amazed at how she processes things. Adults could learn something from her.

Payton feeding her brother Odell



This was on Easter of this year. Isn't she beautiful?

The Glorious Beach, Part II

Well, it has been 5 weeks since my last post, and I am frustrated by my inability to keep up with blogging! I am 2 months behind, having never even gone back to blog about Easter and even Payton's Birthday Party. So here I am to play catch up once again.


The beach was wonderful! Even after 12 days we still didn't want to come home. And as you can see, all that time I thought I would have to blog, obviously didn't happen. The kids this year did better than they probably ever have on the beach. Payton spent most of her time in the ocean, and Elijah was in and out playing both in the water and sand. Her are some pictures of us in action.

This year we went to the Gularium in Fort Walton for the first time. The children enjoyed the dolphin and sealion show very much. And they thought all the the marine animals we saw there were pretty cool!

This last one is one of my favorites. We had gone out to dinner and then went to the marina to see the fishing boats coming in for the day and what they caught. Can you tell who was tired and grumpy and refusing to take the picture? Say cheese!