Quoted

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."


- Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

Just Ava

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If you are 7 years old and your sisters spend all afternoon trying on Halloween costumes, there are plenty of things you can do to pass the time.

Quoted

"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful."


- Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

Happy Birthday Kevin!

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Quoted

"That's the secret of entertaining. You make your guests feel welcome and at home. If you do that honestly, the rest takes care of itself."


- Barbara Hall

We Saw Rock City!!!

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I have made many, many trips to Chattanooga, TN. But for some reason I have never been to Rock City. While Kevin was on his ridiculously long European business trip, Kaylee and I made the trip. We only had a day and a half but one on one time with any of my kids is such a rarity, I cherish every moment. We rode the incline railway and spent some time at Lookout Mountain on Saturday. That evening we were supposed to attend a murder mystery dinner theatre thing. Kaylee was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I did not factor in the impossibility of finding a parking spot in downtown Chattanooga on a Saturday night. I finally parked somewhere near Atlanta and we started walking. The second mistake I made was trusting my friggin GPS on my cell phone. Needless to say, we missed the show. But we did see a large portion of downtown while we wandered around for the better part of an hour. We joyously made it back to our car and headed back to the hotel. Kaylee was a really good sport about the whole thing which made me feel much better.

Sunday morning, we went to Rock City. I was completely awestruck. It is just simply amazing. I would not compare Rock City to the Grand Canyon but both of those place left me with the overwhelming knowledge that my God is an extravagant God. I am so humbled by His creation. I also realized something important about Kaylee. I am crazy in love with that kid. She makes me laugh. She makes me think. She sleeps while I drive.

Quoted

"If there is one thing worse than being an ugly duckling in a house of swans, it's having the swans pretend there's no difference."


- Teena Booth

Book Review

This book almost ruined my weekend. Not because it was bad. Quite the opposite. It was so dang good I kept ignoring the kids and Kevin to sneak away to read. It was one of those great Tennessee fall weekends where the temperature is just perfection and the leaves are falling like snowflakes. The family was doing yardwork and having a great time outside while I was locked in the bathroom reading Juliet. (And, yes, I read in the bathroom. It's the only place in the house where nobody bugs me and frankly, I don't need your judgement.)

Juliet is about an American woman discovering her Italian ancestry. There's a big mystery. Yeah! There is a bunch of Shakespeare. Double Yeah! It's just a compelling read.

Quoted

"What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn't much better than tedious disease."


- George Dennison Prentice

Fall 2010

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Somehow we have made it through the first nine weeks of school. Both Kaylee and Anna have made a smooth transition to middle school. Katie has stepped into the role of 'Mother Hen' to Ava. It's so strange to just have two kids at the elementary school.

It has certainly been a bittersweet fall. We have had extreme joy and pain with Emily and I pray she bores us to tears for the next few decades. Savannah and Kaylee both started band. Savannah is playing clarinet and Kaylee is playing trombone. As a former(and always) band nerd, I could not be more proud. Savannah had her first 'boyfriend' and got dumped within the first week. She is really following in her mama's footsteps :)

Now if I can just get through the holiday season with gaining 50 pounds, we will be in good shape.

Quoted

"There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness."

- Josh Billings (1818 - 1885)

Just Katie

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Quoted

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength."


- Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

Sunday Girls

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