Thanksgiving 2007 Oh my!

Well. I can't imagine what I was thinking when I decided to have my dining and living rooms painted the MONDAY AND TUESDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING WHEN I AM GOING TO HAVE 30 PEOPLE FOR LUNCH!















I know that my parents thought I was smart at some point in my life. This is wild. Every nook and cranny has dust, paint or dirt in it. Everything is OUT Of the china cabinet and off the shelves. Everything in the living room is now housed in the foyer and only a small path is available for walking.
All the trim is painted and there is nothing in its correct place.









Okay , the artsy-fartsy person that I am went shopping for a little while tonight and low and behold when I got home, I looked at all this mess and decided to....................NOPE , not get everything in order or ready to get in order..................NOPE , Not me.........I got out all my craft junk and proceeded to make a Thanksgiving wreath. Yep, sitting in the middle of chaos doing whatever it is I WANT to do is what I love!!!!!!
What a creation! It is now on my door.
I waded through the furniture, angels, chairs and what-nots and finally reached the front door. I opened it and tore down the previous precious tacky wreath and replaced it with the newer more tacky version of the Thanksgiving from Hell wreath. As I tucked and stapled whatever was hanging and not looking quite right, I stepped back and ...........yuk........a flying critter zoomed over my head.

I had no idea when we moved to this neighborhood that previous prehistoric insects still made their homes here. No one told me that roaches from those times actually flew. Okay, now something else to deal with besides the regular kind. I shall call Tom and complain about not being told about these monstrosities. Harummph.


SERIOUSLY

I know that when Thursday comes that I will have everything back in its "general" home and most of the knick-knacks will be out or hidden in various closets around this huge house.
I truly can't wait to hear all the new gossip, hear how much weight I have seemed to gain, and watch my wonderful , crazy, fun, wild, nerve-wracking family have a great Thanksgiving with everyone present and accounted for!
Let's eat!

In honor of MartyW

My music director and praise team leader has made the "big time" ! whooo - who! He is the centerfold for Scoops Magazine......
Heheheheheh......doesn't that sound cool !
What an eye-opener for this young talented BAPTIST music minister and for us! We entered the praise team rehearsal in awe of our praise team leader who had made it big! His picture was splashed right in the middle of the Scoops magazine. Who says Griffin isn't making it on the map!
We have our own centerfold at First Baptist Church!
Marty enlightened us on the interview process and excitedly explained to us about his G-string and the F-hole (okay for all you dirty minds, that is cello talk ).
Okay......end of the teasing time.
Truly, Marty is a very talented musician and First Baptist is extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful musician and minister in our midst!
He really is the centerfold in the magazine, but he is fully clothed and is only posing with his cello.
Marty , if you are reading this, I hope you know that we do LOVE TO tease you , but we also really DO LOVE ya too!
VikiB

Short and Informative...heheehee!

No pictures for now. . What a week at school. My energetic schoolmates designed an informative and interesting journey for our 2nd grade classes. I, for one, was not impressed at the time. No amount of cajolling or teasing was making me want to enter into the domain of traveling with 50 or 60 seven year olds trapped in a yellow , road submarine!

Just the thought of herding all these young'uns in and out of the sub, round, down , through and out of that historical place was making me KNOW that I had contracted a severe illness on Tuesday night that would definitely last throughout the day on Wednesday (the day of the final-journey-through time).'
My FRIENDS, Clong and Lmelton, JENNIFER, Ldavis and Gharvil told me to get with the program and pick my bottom lip up off of the floor and stop with the attitude.
OK. Harummph......just for ya'll , I did it.
As my media-specialist tells us to do, I put on my big girl pannies (hush Jennifer), fixed my own lunch (thank you cafeteria, but.........nah), donned my favorite pair of jeans (from Atlanta Tent and Awning), my FR shirt, sunscreen and bug wipes!

As I walked out the door with all my paraphernalia , I remembered that we would be peregrinating during the tour and immediately decided to revert back to the Nikes instead of the mules.
Arriving at school, the bee project backdrop was looming over Futral Road's gym and needed to be moved right then and there......so with 16 children underfoot I traveled down the hallway to try to elliminate the problem......and the backdrop too , ha. Since I couldn't eliminate the person, I decided to explain in depth that I was about to embark on this 2nd grade journey and that I would be like Scarlet and just......think about it tomorrow.
New word for me.............LOVE THIS>>>>>>.. WHATEVER!..............hahahahahahah.......
I will now say that when someone tells me something I don't like......LOVE IT, love it!!!!


Anyway, I waited as long as possible to load my crumb-snatchers on the great yellow -road-submarine! Clong finally called me on the loud speaker to "come on and get on this bus"....so we went.
So much for an excruciating headache , right Ldavis! No meds on this trip.....no way...if I've gotta go, y'all can have a headache, so there! (just kidding, I gave her drugs when we returned and now she loves me again). We all had a tremendous headache when we got there ,but no head clicking thank goodness. I guess we don't have the headboards that Ldavis has....hmmm.
Obstreperous children were actually the cause so leaving the sub to go on the journey was a blessing.


clong was my partner and we set out to do whatever it was that everyone was so intent on putting me through...................................
I have to admit , everyone watched their little kiddies, no one got lost, everyone had lunch, no one wet their pants or vomited on the sub.
Also, I must admit my reservations were in vain. The journey was well worth the time and money spent to get there! What an awesome time! What a lot of information to process and apply! It actually was HANDS ON LEARNING and I LOVED it!

I have lots of pics, but alas, must get permission to post!

Thank you to my sweet supportive, loving , patient....DEMANDING bunch of cohorts! I love you and thank you for a SUPER PEREGRINATE!
You are all amazing!

Weekend Madness............YES

Well. My house is quiet. I've been up since 4:30 a.m. My crew has embarked on a journey to Highlands. They are going to camp and ......try their hands at trout fishing. Wonder if Highlands will ever be the same! They will be accompanied by fishing pro's , Mr. Landy and Mr. Marty. I am sure the level of instruction will be high. Because they are "roughing it", they had to take TWO TRUCKS to be able to take everything they "needed". Of course, there had to be room for I-Pods, coolers (for water , of course) , coolers (for bait...yep), radios, and FOOD. Because this was a special trip, there was a definite need for NEW Coleman chairs, new grill, new fishing poles (what was I thinking when I thought they already had 89 fishing poles).

Daddy Ken packed the truck last night and put my car OUT OF THE GARAGE so he could put his packed truck IN THE GARAGE. Harumph...........
Pillows were taken by the boys (secretly put under the "stuff" in the back of the truck) as well as cell phones..........go figure. I said okay because ...hehehehehe.....hahahahahaha....haw...haw....they won't work where they are going.....snicker !
As they got up and realized it was time to enter the world of camping and fishing, there was enormous excitement!!! NO mom to hound about making beds, folding clothes, vacuuming etc. No mom to cook, wash clothes............"What a weekend!", they all shouted. "Boys Nights Out!"
After kisses and hugs, they are off and I am sad. I looked forward to this event for a month.
Now that it is here, I want them to come back.
Okay, Ms. L., where's that hot tub....maybe that glass of wine!!!
Moms are just weird.
PARTAAYYYYYYY.....Jennifer , where are you?????? Yeeeee ha.
Kidding. I really am sad.
v

Molly's Missy Dog........my baby...

This is Missy. Her mom is Molly McIver. She is the sweetest pet ever. She is always a good listener and a sweet friend. She is always ready for a kiss and a hug. She loves for me to come outside and play. Of course, she is shedding now and insists on sitting in my favorite chair on my back porch. Yes, the paint is wearing off of the concrete floor.

Just hush... I once was young and stupid and thought it would be cool to paint the durn porch floor.......hush ....stop laughing..... Little did I know that you have to do it every year. So I stayed stupid and got older. No more painting the porch. Now it looks like this. Too bad. I love it and I don't have to paint it because ....I don't want to. Missy is 4 years old. She is loyal and NEVER tells anyone the secrets that I tell her!

She doesn't even care if I write about her on my blog.

Ken says his blog has to come off. Okay. He can do it. Heheheh. He'll have to figure out how to do it.

Maybe he'll get in on the blogging, right Jenn......!!!

We are the Bozeman's !

This is our favorite place to be........away from anything related to work or stress.............how can anyone question the existence of GOD when observing the beach!

We love the Dad! He is the best!
That Ken knows what to do for his wife to make her feel better!
Hush Jenn, I am talking about taking me to the beach.
Harumph!




Ken's Job!

Oh my gosh......my baby is having to shave his "stash"! I can't believe it. He's not supposed to be old enough to do this!!!Leave it to Dad to explain and perform the task.

Two peas in a pod.........for sure.


Not going to mention what the sink and counter top looked like when they were finished. You'd have thought that Santa was shaved witht the amount of shaving cream everywhere.

. He is the best Dad and hubby! I think there are those who also say he is their best friend and the best boss! What a silly and crazy family we are!

LUV IT!
Ken is the principal of a wonderful elementary school. He has the ability to calm a "storm" and to be able to be a listener when someone just needs a friend.
The most patience he has is evident by his staying power in our marriage!

Snicker!!! Don't tell him about this blog. He'll make me remove it. Shhhhhhhh.

What vacation....hehehehehehe.

My special friend , Linda, is one of the smartest and also one of the hardest working women I've ever met. I am so fortunate to have her as a mentor and as a friend!!!!


What a perfect person with whom to attend a Theory Based Conference!
We are definitely both work-a-holics!!

We even took our winter vacation (much to the chagrin of our spouses) to take a week long trip to Orlando to meet with and talk to Robert Marzano and Alan Blankenstein. If you don't know who these guys are, you are missing a real treat! For five days we met with people from 38 states/provinces. We had a blast in addition to the conference.....................!!!


Lots of work produced lots of ideas and ways to work SMARTER.
Thanks bunches Marty for driving us and for listening to countless hours of "school chatter"! You are the best!







Yep. It's one of our many heroes in educational theory and practice. Robert Marzano was friendly, patient and extremely willing to share his ideas! What a great guy!


Bob signed several copies of his books that we had and seemed to enjoy doing it!



Notes and notes and more notes.....whew!



Alan Blankenstein was very friendly and open concerning his ideas about kids AND teachers! What a super guy. He also was great about signing our books and explaining some of his ideas and suggestions for student success! He is the author of several books . One I've read recently is "Failure is not an Option". Great book!


This winter conference was well worth the time and money spent to attend it.

Eve........Is she just the cutest~ Of course

This is my first baby.What a beautiful sight!

Eve is the visual artist of this crew. She is a super mom and a fantastic daughter. We grew up together and learned about life together.
Eve is smart and very determined........... to do whatever she wants to do..............AND in her own time......not mom's. Ha!
Eve is actually Evie and from here on shall be called that in my blog(s).
Eve is a world traveler and a very funny gal. I continue to be in awe of the things that she is able to accomplish as a single working mom. I hate for a day to pass without talking to her , at least, over the phone. She makes me worry. She makes me cry, but most of all she makes me feel loved and appreciated. What a great daughter. I love you , Evie!!!!

Neat picture , huh? Can you tell , they were all having such a great time with the "mom". (me).
I KNEW THEY WOULD LOVE THIS WATER PARK..........oh well. It took 2 hours to pack all the towels, drinks , swimsuits, snacks, flip-flops, sunscreen and various other needed items. It took 20 minutes to go down the slide, walk up the ramp , slide down, walk up the ramp, slide down , walk up the ramp......well .........you get the picture. Literally. You've gotta love 'em.

Evie used her brothers in

her senior ART SHOW.

The professors wasted NO time in expressing

their compliments about

Evie's artistic talent.

Aren't these pictures fantastic and very much like their "models"?

Very handsome guys !

If you are reading this, don't forget to support a team for the Relay For Life Cancer Walk! Need to sponsor someone? Futral Road Staff has a team!
I am becoming addicted to this blogging.........JENNIFER.........I can't believe you got me started on this!

The older young son......whew!

Look at all that hair!
Zack , you need a haircut.........














Because of the different types of music he likes to play, he has chosen to have three different types of bass guitars......They do look good , don't they?




Well.........Zack is 16 ! Above , he is involved in just one of his favorite pastimes which is playing the bass guitar. He enjoys playing lots of different kinds of music ............very loundly!





Now he is 16 and he has decided to have a more "mature" look. He claims he looks more serious about sports with this new haircut. I can tell you , this mom likes it bunches!

I know that this is really not a big deal (the hair). There are so many worse things he could be into and doing. What a great kid this is! He doesn't apply himself to academics, just gets by, but..............he does get by.....go figure!

Zack is strong minded, smart and handsome. He is picky and argumentative. He loves and worships God and never forgets to remind me that I should be a role model......harumph.....


Zack LOVES football and girls.........he is a bit too shy to let them know, though. His number is actually 58 and not 62. This is from practice pics. Zack is the greatest 16 year old I know!







I LOVE YOU, ZACK!

My youngest.....

You should hear this kids play this Les Paul! He is amazing!

NICK! Nick is the youngest and is now , the 13 year old! He is demanding and strongwilled! He is bright and funny. He LOVES football !

Here is Nick as the center and about to snap the ball

VERY COOL, huh

This is my youngest............... I LOVE YOU , NICK!

Earlier post:

Yes, boredom has hit the Bozeman home. As I pushed my children out the door to try and get the house almost presentable, I looked outside to see Nick banging and building . It seemed as if he had found something to keep him busy. I looked out again and found that the skateboards were put together under my container (that used to house the off-season clothes) and Nick was paddling down the street with a hockey stick and as he was rolling through the neighborhood, he was yelling, "Free the children from boredom! Join me and let's make our parental units pay!" What can I say? At least he had his helmet on...............

As I looked again later , he had delegated some of the work to some of the neighborhood kids!

He the cat's meow!

This is a little bit of me..........

Imagine our lives without those around us whom we love desperately and we become different.

Because we have family, we survive the worst of times and the best of times. Popi (the granddaddy) is definitely the powerhouse and the "boss" of all of us.... He is the hardest working human I have ever encountered in my entire life. He is also the one who made me work the hardest I ever did in my whole life. Because of this daddy, three girls grew up to be professional people with beautiful children ! Momi, the quiet, enforcer, was also responsible for teaching those three wild daughters about humility, hard work and having a bit of fun too. What a fabulous combination. Popi was diagnosed with leukemia a couple of years ago and was pretty much sent home to "get his things in order". Well, those doctors didn't know Popi very well. That month was October/November of 2005 and in January of 2006, he was in remission.

Pretty cool , huh! That's what we thought too, until August of 2006.....at that time Popi was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Thanks to some precious knowledgeable doctors , he was sent to Emory to be one of the few people to qualify to receive the "whipple procedure". This is a very time consuming and difficult surgery. The operation was a success and after several difficult months of chemo and radiation , Popi is still planting loads (70 tulips and 40 amaryllis bulbs) of things , fixing the daughter's houses, building bird houses for school kids and teachers, fishing (when he is up to it) and visiting those who are not doing so well. He finds the time to thank God for his ability to carry the burden of being so ill and to be able to take the treatments he has chosen to take. He still kicks the door if it happens to be in the way and ....say some ...well, make many comments to his brand new computer (many of them I am not allowed to say even tho I am 51) ha.! Momi has been a trooper throughout the entire time Popi has been ill. She has been his angel (to put it in his words). He told us he knew he needed to take care of her because she has taken such good care of him. Momi is a pleasant and quiet person unless she is introducing her children. At that point she is very clear to speak out loud and explain that I am the oldest! and Beth is the middle child and Lynn is the baby.

Momi listens to lots and comments little. What a powerful gift that is! Momi is a comforter and the most supportive wife I've ever seen.

Aren't these parents the greatest! They have put up with me for 51 years ! Amazing !

I thank God every night that I have them and can tell them I love them every day! I do try to do this as often as I can!

Anyone reading this, come out and do the Relay for Life. This organization provides the research that allows the testing of the products and tests that have kept my daddy alive and kicking for much longer than anyone ever anticipated! He is affectionately known at Emory as "that Tom Perdue...yep....he IS a tough 'ole bird".

Keep watching for more posts as we walk laps at the Relay for Life in Griffin, GA in May 2007!