Monday, June 25, 2007

WE DID IT!!!!!

We made it through a long weekend of classes!! I have to say that although it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, I am surprised at how well I did. The days were long and grueling. But we had a wonderful instructor that made it seem so much easier. He was young, but had a good sense of humor and made the class a pleasant experience. He had good scenarios which made things easier to remember when it came to each test (which he said was a bad word) He liked the word review better. He and the lady who started the school were both teaching this same class (she was in the next room) and his test scores were higher than her class. So we were thankful to be in his class! During our last test Sunday evening there happened to be a church service going on in the next room in the hotel we were at. It got to be very distracting. We were all pulling our hair out to concentrate because of the loud singing and praying. They had their microphones on way to high. But the instructor said he had more 100% on this test than any. He guessed they must have been praying for us. HA! Any how, we made it through. I am exhausted,my head hurts from too much concentration for 10 hours a day, but we can apply for our State License now. YEAH!




Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Our present workspace




A side view outside of the office



Outside Entrance to the office



The conference room



The waiting area



Inside the office

This is what our present office looks like. For those of you who don't know what Rod does, he sells insurance. He started out with selling Life ins., Health ins. and Annuities. He loves his job and loves the challenge to be able to help people save money on the products and investments we sell. This has been our office home for about 3 years, but as other agents have come in to work with him and also with the expanding we are doing we feel the need for a bigger space. We are excited that we have the opportunity to expand and look forward to what the future holds in this business. Our new business will extend out to selling homeowners and auto insurance and we are excited to offer these new products. Of course it comes along with extra training and so therefore for the next 4 days this weekend Rod & I will be taking courses for 10 hrs. a day in West Palm Beach to help us better serve our future clients. Pray I can make it through these courses and pass the test. I'm not sure how well this brain works to comprehend all the info. But I know it's something that has to be done!
Our new office has been laid out and we are excited to see the progress. We hope to move into it in August or September. Below is a picture before any work is started.

Monday, June 18, 2007

The father's day ball game





We decided to take the message to heart and go take the kids to the park and play ball. We had alot of fun. Of course they all like something different now and then. I actually shocked myself and hit all but one or two balls that were thrown to me. I hadn't played ball in ages. Jessica was hitting them pretty good too. We had one mishap when Zach thought he would get below me way too close and play catcher. That happened to be one of the ball's I missed and it was thrown too low and hit Zach right on the forehead. So he now has a nice little bump! Otherwise we had alot of fun. Zach was determined we had to play and run the bases. So before we left we let each one hit the ball and run the bases. They thought that was the coolest thing in the world.They were in the big league you would have thought. Good thing we cleaned out our closet the night before and found the bats again. We just can't keep them out where they can have access to them or they'll beat each other to death. Guess we have another sport to play now. The kids are all old enough to enjoy playing ball other than Meagan. But I have a feeling she'll fit right in real quick. She was just loving the freedom to run around on some grass and not have anyone chasing her to keep her in her boundaries. We had a relaxing Father's day afternoon.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Happy Father's Day To the Father of My Children!!


To my wonderful husband and father of our children. I hope you can have a relaxing day. With as many kids as we have it's not always easy to have a moment to sit down and relax. Saturdays always seem to be the day to work around the house, and this one was no exception. You worked outside all day and came in and helped me clean out the dreaded master bedroom closet. That's no easy task, but I thank you for all your help. You help tirelessly with all the kids and you help prepare meals several times a week. You have always made sure we had everything we needed even if you had to work extra jobs to do it. I appreciate so much your hard work and dedication to me and our kids. You are a wonderful example to our kids and I know you love each one of them very much. We love you too! Hope you have a nice day!
This picture was taken after church today and the ball Meagan is holding is what the father's received at church as their gift today. The theory is to take time out and play ball or spend it with your children at least paying attention to them as they grow up. Time flies by so fast and they'll be gone before you know it. And they'll turn out just like you. Children do follow in their parent footsteps.

Happy Father's Day to Our Dad's!!



My Dad has always been someone I looked up to. His nickname for me growing up was Puff. I can remember when I was little and he worked for the County, if he would get called out in the evening and my mom was working he would take me with him. I always thought it was so cool to ride in the big snow plow. He would let me pull the lever to dump the salt on the roads. I thought that was so neat. And of course when we got back into the garage he would always get me a red pop to drink. Although dad was always kinda quiet you knew when he meant business by the look he gave. I was an only child growing up, so I guess I was spoiled. But My dad was always the best! And he still is. Love You Dad!


To Rod's dad and my Father-in-law for 17 yrs. We wish you a wonderful day. You are a very Godly man and very conscientious of your life and we appreciate that. You like to enjoy life, and the grandkids love riding bikes with you and their trips to the park on Sunday afternoons. You even like to rollerlade with them and they have a blast! We hope you are having a relaxing day.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

The cost of living

One of my birthday cards that was given to me was about the things that happened or cost of things from the year I was born(1966). Oh how nice it would be for those cheap items now. Following is a few things that are interesting:

1. A new house- $14,175.00
2. Average Income- $6,899.00
3. New car- $2,653.00
4. Average rent $120.00 mo.
5. Tuition to Harvard $1,760.00 year
6. Movie ticket $1.25 ea.
7. Gasoline .32 gallon
8. postage stamp .05 ea.


9. Sugar .55 for 5 pounds
10. Vitamin D milk $1.11 gallon
11. Ground coffee .90 pound (they didn't have starbucks!)
12. Bacon .72 pound
13. Eggs .36 doz.
14. Fresh ground hamburger .45 pound
15. Fresh baked bread .22 loaf


Wow! How cheap! No wonder today a person goes broke. We go through an avg. of 4 or 5 gallons of milk per week at almost $4.00 ea., Eggs are just under $2.00 doz. and on a Saturday morning for our whole family to eat eggs we go through almost 2 doz. Bread, well our kids are picky and will only eat Martin's potato bread at $2.25 a loaf. During the school year at 4 sandwiches a day for lunches thats an average of 3 -4 loaves a week. The list goes on, but I thought it was interesting to see how cheap things were 40 yrs ago. Of course their income was low too, but guess they got by.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!



This picture was taken in Atlanta at the AFLAC Awards Banquet



Today I celebrate #41. Yippee! I don't feel that old! Hopefully I'll celebrate many more. But, just another day!

Beach Day



Jessica in her goggles...She looks real cool!


Andrea having fun!


My favorite picture...Meagan enjoying some sand


Rod & Meagan in the water


Zachary running in the surf

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. It's just now starting to get pretty humid, but the sun is shiny brightly. So after lunch on Sunday we decided to make it a beach day. This was Meagan's first time to go to the beach. She wasn't real sure about the sand. She didn't like the fact that it stuck to her. So she was making some pretty wierd faces. I wish I could have gotten some pictures of her face. But my camera died. Crazy me forgot to check the batteries before I left and didn't take any extra's. Guess that means we'll have to do it again to get some good pictures.! The kids had a wonderful time. Of course they always do. We don't do the beach much because I just hate the mess. You drag everything from towels to drinks and snacks. And you drag it all back with some sand with you. They do have spots to wash off, so you can get rid of some of the sand and not drag it all home in the car. But of course you get home and have all that lovely sand that got inside your swimsuit. So the bathtub is always full of sand. Oh well, guess that's the price you pay for some enjoyment. The ocean is just beautiful to sit and watch. So I usually sit and watch the water and the kiddo's and soak in the sun. That's my idea of fun!

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Time at the park



My two blondies Brittany & Andrea



Rod & I



The whole crew



Brittany & Meagan



I thought this was a pretty scene. Not sure my camera did it justice.


Yesterday was day number seven of strict dieting and excercising. It was beginning to hit me too. We are following the South Beach diet, which means very little to no carbs at all. I have to say, I am sick of eggs for breakfast. I could live with the bacon or sausage, but I am not the biggest egg fan. We have mainly stuck to salads for lunch, which are growing old too. And of course meat and veggies for dinner. By last night my head was pounding from lack of carbs and so I thought we would reintroduce a little bread into the diet to see if it would help. We went to the store to get some things for dinner, only to come home and remember that We were out of propane so we couldn't cook anyhow. So we decided very quickly it sounded like a night for pizza. The kids were excited for something new and were more than happy to get their shoes on and go along to pick it up. We took it to the park and had a picnic and took some pictures goofing around. We are back on the diet after one stray meal. I have lost 5 pounds. Yeah! Wish it could fall off faster, but gotta remember it didn't come on overnight. We are walking twice a day. Sometimes I feel like I just walked when I get up in the mornings after doing it the night before. AHH!! Why do diets have to be so hard? The headache is slightly better today. But we had to get up at 4AM to go the Ft Lauderdale airport to take friends . So I am extremely tired. Hopefully a good nights rest will help.

Friday, June 1, 2007

The last day of the first year of high school




Today was the last day of school for Brittany. YEAH!! She made it through her first year of high school. We survived all the projects and papers she had to write. And now we can rest for the summer and regroup. No more uniforms to wash! I snapped this picture after she came home from school today. Shirt already untucked and ready to get out of her uniform into regular clothes. Here we go with summer and lets see how many times they can all say "We're bored, Or "I'm hungry". Help!