You can kiss your family good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world, but a world lives in you.
~ Frederick Buechner

Allyssa Brynn

Kelsey Leigh

Andrew Lee

Friday, February 11, 2011

Brad Paisley...FINALLY!!!

Since October 29th, I had been waiting for this night. Brad Paisley was coming to concert with Darius Rucker and I had been waiting for 2 years to see him in concert. It was our Valentine’s Day date and it did not disappoint. Jarrod Nieman opened the show and it was plain to see why some his songs were not played on the radio. While catchy, some of them could be quite funny and raw. He might need to clean it up a bit if he wants a few more on the radio than he has now. Darius Rucker came out at 8:00 and played for a solid hour. He could have done the whole concert on his own. He played his new stuff like “This” and “Alright”. He played old Hootie stuff. And he even played “Purple Rain”. He left to a standing ovation from the entire arena. In 15 minutes flat, they had the stage torn down and set for Brad Paisley. He came on stage playing his tour song “Water” and professed his sorrow for the cold weather and that for the next 2 hours we should just pretend it was the summer of 2011. Bo and I looked at each other thinking there’s no way he could play for 2 hours and there’s no way we could keep up with him for 2 hours. But, sure enough, he did not stop playing until 11:10 that night. There was not one break in the music...not even to change sets and there were still songs he could have played that he never got to. Half way through the show he came to a make shift stage in the middle of the floor seats where we were and played a favorite...“Letter to Me.” We were 20 feet from him and it was definitely the highlight of the night. By the end of the show, we were completely exhausted from cheering all night long. This concert was well worth every penny spent and I would go again tomorrow given the chance. Such a great show!!


Monday, January 17, 2011

SNOW FEST 2011

For the first time since we’ve moved here, the weather men did not disappoint. They had been calling for freezing temps, ice and snow for a week and we were all excited about the potential of having a day off from school and work and playing in the fun white stuff. What we got was SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. It was a Sunday night and we had asked Bo’s parents to come and stay with us for the big snow storm so they could be there the next day to play with all of us in the snow. We put the kids to bed on time...just incase there was no snow and school was really happening the next morning. And, we waited. And waited. We played bowling on the Wii and waited some more. By 9:00 PM, there was still not one snowflake in sight. But, by 9:30, Jenny had called us and told us that the city was getting nailed and was covered in the pretty white stuff. Finally, at 10:00, the snow started falling and by 10:30 we were covered. It was coming down harder and faster than we had ever seen before. School had been cancelled, so we woke up the girls to see the snow falling and them put them back to bed. We had a busy day of playing in the snow the next day. And, that’s exactly what we did. The kids were in and out all day long...between cups of hot chocolate...to play with their friends...sledding, snow angels and snowmen were the activities of choice. By mid-afternoon we were all starting to wonder what the next morning would bring. That evening was the NCAA National Title Game between Auburn and Oregon and we were all hoping for just one more day off so we could hang out for the game and not worry about work or school the next day. By late afternoon, we had gotten our wish...school had been cancelled for the following day. The temps for the day hadn’t gotten above freezing so nothing had melted and it had continued to snow off and on all day. The game that night was fun to watch with everyone because we all knew we had the next day to relax and recover from celebrating another SEC National Title...Go Tigers!! After the game was over, all the adults headed out for some midnight sledding...so that we didn't have any children interrupting our fun. And it was quite a lot of fun. An hour had gone by in the blink of an eye. The next morning came and went with more playing in the snow with our friends. The weather was warming up and starting to melt the snow, but the concern became the freezing temps coming back over night. Would they really cancel school for a third day??? Low and behold, the dinner hour came and the schools were already canceling for tomorrow. Not enough snow had melted and what did melt was sure to be ice the next morning. Bo’s parents decided to try and get home that afternoon before the freezing temps and ice and it’s a good thing they did because they wouldn’t have gotten out the rest of the week. The weather men were right and the melting snow and refreezing each night kept us home from work and school for the entire week. Atlanta was literally shut down for a solid week. Unfortunately, the loss in pay for furlough days and not taking care of kids made for a tough month, but the week we spent with the kids playing in the snow and having family game nights was worth it. By the end of the long weekend due to the MLK holiday, the kids were ready to go back to school and talk to all their friends about what they did for the week off. Most parents were happy to send the kids back to school and get back to normal, but part of me was a little sad to see them head back to school. Maybe we’ll have just one more snow day this winter for a little extra fun. Check out the Shutterfly site for all the pictures of our fun in the snow. Here are a few of our favorites.

http://therealjacksonfive.shutterfly.com








Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!!

2011 has arrived!!! Here's to hoping 2011 will be a healthy, happy, prosperous new year for The Jackson Five and all of our friends and family. May we all be blessed with whatever comes our way this year and always.

Happy New Year!!!