Callaway Gardens~Fireproof your Marriage

This weekend Todd and I went on a couple's retreat through our Church to Callaway Gardens. We were supposed to be there by 7:00 on Friday night but because of a wreck on the interstate, I was more than an hour late getting the kids home from school. Emma also needed a site change for her pump so that put us at another 45 mins behind. We gave Big Jer the run down on how to handle everything, all of our numbers, and a basketball practice to get to.

By the time we arrived at Callaway that night, all the fun festivities were over. We missed the "who is your twin" game and the "Newlywed game". Since we were a part of the Newlywed game last year (and lost), we were not eligible to play this year. I did however help come up with a few of the questions that were asked. See how well you and your spouse would have done.

1. Name one other song played at your wedding, other than the wedding march.

2. If your spouse could chose one food to have over the weekend, what would it be.

3. What is your spouses' favorite catch phrase.

4. What one piece of furniture or item did your spouse bring from his bachelor days that you would want to see gone.

5. If you won $5,000 what would your spouse want to spend it on? (It can't be retirement or college)

6. What is the last book your spouse read?

7. How many years did you and your spouse date before you got married.

I can't remember any more...there were about 30 or so that they had to chose from.

Saturday we all met together and Bobby and Jan Parks talked with us about communication in a marriage. We had break out sessions where the men met with Bobby and the women met with Jan. This was an opportunity to ask any question that you needed help with. We also had notes that you could anonymously write questions on. Bobby then met with the women and Jan met with the men. We were able to ask him how men think and how we can communicate more effectively with them.

Near Callaway there is a place called Georgia Safari. A couple had gone before with their grandchildren and talked a group of us into checking it out. We had lunch on the park and then rented a van from them to tour the safari in.

All the vans are white with black zebra stripes. The windows have been taken out and bars put across. You could drive your own vehicle in the park and save the $15 for a van, but when you got a good look at the horn scrapes, drool, and general nastiness of the vans, I'm not sure why you would want to take your own car.

I think you can see a scrape on this van...

Most of the animals you were allowed to feed, we bought food in the store but some you were warned about them "pecking". 

This guy followed Dana for quite a while begging food...

All the animals get up close and personal...

this seemed to be the favorite pose of many, guess they thought it got them more food?

Someone was smart enough to bring towels, a lot of snot comes flying in when they are that close!

After the Safari, we went back to Callaway and watched Fireproof. We then went off the grounds to a restaurant for a nice dinner and more speaking time with Benny Parks.

We finished up Sunday with some worship time and then closing comments from Benny on what is good communication, how to have it, and how to practice it.

We came home a little after lunch time to find my dad packed and out the door within minutes. He said the kids were good but the fear in his eyes told me something else. We may have to chose our next outing a long time from now!  I ended up taking a 3 hour nap once I got home.

Until the next marriage conference...

Emma's B'day at Omas

We went to Todd's moms house on Saturday to celebrate Emma's B'day and Uncle Mamu's B'day. They were both born on January 15th. We had carrot cake for the grownups and cup cakes for the kids. 

Emma got the Wii Active Outdoor life thingy..

This is Todd and Emma taking on the Mine car racing game.

Nolan absorbed in his PSP.

Todd and Emma doing the Waterfall Challenge.

Uncle Mamu takes on Bart...

Emma at B'Ball

Emma is playing upward again this year. She has had a pretty good season and her shooting is improving. Todd is doing the Assistant Coach thing this year with Emma's Team.

Coach Craig with some of the girls.

This was a busy weekend. After the basketball game Emma was a part of Entertainment night.
I didn't get any good pics during the performance so here are some at the gathering in the fellowship hall afterwards.

Emma with Cecil Martin (she is the woman who does the Summer Showoffs and Holiday Showoffs)

Emma and her friend Emily

Emma and Caroline ~ she came to see her friends preform.

Emma is 10!

Today is Emma's Birthday. We are saving all the special stuff for Saturday when we do a ceramic painting party...but she did get to pick the place for dinner, so to the ihop we went.

Emma with the Smiley Face pancakes...

Goofing off with dad...

Nolan eating the leftovers...

My fam...

What to do....

What do you do with an old window frame? Why you get creative (ok, I stole the idea from a store) and put pictures where the glass went. This is something we are going to hang in Emma's room. I think I'll go back and paint yellow & green dots or something around the outside of the frames edge. Emma got her own digital camera for Christmas so she will be able to take pics and change them out herself.



This is one i did years ago and have up on the wall in our bedroom. The kids were still very little (3 and 5 I think) so I thought it would be great to have black and whites of the kids with prints to remember them by. I went out and found hand made linen paper and used a green that is in the bedspread.



I've also "used" their ideas about getting ceiling tiles and creating cork boards for Nolan's room and using a metal sheet, painting on it, drilling holes (my neighbor had to do this) in it, and hanging it in Emma's room (I also did one for my neice).

I think the store is onto me, I get people watching me as I take pics with my camera phone!! Oh well...

Christmas - the third time

Well, Saturday we went to my mom's house to do the Christmas thing. I was working a wedding that night i was about 1/2 hour later than I wanted to be to get Christmas started. Here is a pic of mom's tablescape. This is the same one - minus tree branches, that she used for her Sunday School dinner. OK, your not supposed to have competitions with your fellow SS attenders over tables, but believe me...it happens.

In this picture you can't really capture the ambiance, there were lights that ran along the table.



We had a lot of good food and conversation, then the kids excitement got too much and we headed in to open presents.

Mom got the three girls a pair of gloves, Amy and I got black and Ash got ruby red. So of course what else do you do with that?

Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil (have no fun)

We then opened our next gift which was pepper spray. Morgan ranked as one of the women this year and was given pepper spray also and of course the "Charlie's Angels" pose came to mind.

The new Charlie's Angels

Random acts of gifts.

you can't beat Under Armor!

What boys face doesn't light up at an Xbox 360... you would have thought it was a red rider BB gun!

There is just never enough dress up clothes!

Just plain havin' a good time.

CHRISTMAS MORN 2008

Well, since the kids are bigger and we've adapted the 3 present rule...let me go ahead and explain this so I don't get hate email. I heard a few years ago from a friend that they had gone to the three present rule. "Baby Jesus got three gifts for his birth...why should we get more?" Now, with extended family...your still bringing in a haul, so it's NOT as bad as it sounds; and yes technically Baby Jesus' gifts were in the realm of uber expensive. Anyhoo, the kids get to ask for three gifts. Now mind you they are 12 and 9 so the gifts can be fairly expensive. So far they pulled in a PSP, a new digital camera, PSP games, a desk, and games for the Wii (that Todd's side of the family bought the kids), and airsoft gun, Itunes gift card, gift card for more PSP games, Auburn shirts, Magnetix and a webkinz. This is all before we do the Christmas thing at my moms house on Saturday. When the kids were small and we thought we had to spend a lot of money, we became so disenchanted with Christmas morning because we realized the kids got stuff just to get stuff. They didn't really play with it all, it had been more because we felt that they needed more under the tree. Once the 'ol Santa thing was no longer believed in, we went to the 3 gift rule.

The first Christmas I spent with Todd's family it was like a wildlife experience. His brother and sister were still very young (Matt was three when we met and Megan was born that first year) the paper came flying off the presents at a horrific speed. A paper cut from one of the wrappings could cause you to have stitches. At my house, we had always taken turns so that everyone could see what you got and then you passed the wrapping paper to my dad who threw it into a trash bag. (This was our tradition for as long as I can remember, don't know if it actually worked when we were toddlers). Anyway, Todd has made fun of us for years, even though his brother and sister had to admit, most of the time they couldn't recall what they got once they had tossed the box to get to the next.

So here is Todd who has now conformed to our ways and Yemma is oblivious that Todd has charged her digital camera and has been taking pictures with it.

Of course the morning starts out with Christmas cheer and love. Here are Emma and Nolan expressing this... Todd and I have bets on how long it will last.