22 years later...

In 1987, I was 15 years old, and I began dating a boy named Jamie Thompson. He was a year ahead of me in school, and he drove a blue sports car. When we had been dating about 3 months, he told me he was going to marry me one day...my mama said boys lie, so though I wanted to believe him...I wasn't so sure!

Just before Christmas in 1992, he asked me to marry him and had a ring to encourage me to say yes. I often tell him thank you for asking...on July 17, 1993, Jamie and I were married. Today, we have been married for 16 years.

Over the past 16 years, I realize each day that I love Jamie more than the day before...I am very thankful that God put him in my life. He is a wonderful husband, father, and friend. As we get older, I feel very blessed that such a young love has been able to survive and turn into something that words really cannot adequately express. I guess everything changes and grows through the years...I am thankful that as we have changed our love for each other continues to grow.

1988

1993

2009

Siblings...

Sometimes they fuss...even fight, but when all is said and done...I don't know two other people in this world who think more of each other! (Especially when they think no one is looking!)

Making Jam and Jelly!

I have discovered that I love making jams and jellies!

The red jars are strawberry jam.

The green jars are yesterday's creation: hot pepper jelly.

(The pepper jelly is my husband's favorite!)

Jekyll Island, Georgia

Jamie and I decided to take the kids to Jekyll today. We were there a couple of weeks ago, and it was simply beautiful and fun! When we arrived just before 11 AM today, this is the beach that greeted us!

I looked at Jamie with concern, but he assured me that soon the tide would be headed to a low...and we would have plenty of beautiful beach to enjoy. (There was very little beach, and a lot of debris!) Trusting him as I do, I decided that I would not rain on the kids' parade as they seemed unaware that we did not have a big, beautiful beach on which to play. Sure enough, within an hour...my husband was right! :-) We had a wonderful time, and I can't wait to go back!

Creating a Scrapbook!

I have always wanted to scrapbook, but I was overwhelmed with the idea of trying to "go back" and create something from all the years of pictures. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I was in Statesboro by myself (what a RARE occurrence!), and I decided to visit Hobby Lobby. While there I made up my mind that I would purchase just a few basics and try to create some scrapbook pages from some recent pictures. I convinced myself that I would just focus on one page at a time instead of trying to capture on entire event. (I am one of those people who has to break things down into smaller chunks, or I end up a large, impossible task because I have simply made it TOO BIG!)

After spending only $25, I decided to try my hand at creating a memory book that my family could enjoy. I would have never guessed that I would get so much enjoyment from doing this...I think I have found a new hobby! While I have looked online at a variety of ideas, I quickly realize that my work demonstrates the skills of a beginner, but I decided that it is okay that I am not making these really complex pages. I may work up to that, or I may simply continue as I am. I am very excited about this new endeavor, so if you have any tips, hints, or ideas...please feel free to let me know!

Here are a few of my first pages:

This is one of the pages I created to highlight our March Disney vacation. I created this one the first day that I attempted to "scrapbook."

These two are pages that I created today. I bought a couple of sheets of school-themed paper for this. I think they have turned out fairly well, so I am going to buy a few more school-themed sheets to finish up the 2008-2009 School Days section.

Father's Day 2009

I feel very blessed to not only have a wonderful husband, but he is also a terrific father!

Life is good!

Death by Vegetables!

This past week has not only been busy but also very tiring! My latest realization of why God is great is that I was definitely born in the right time period. I am not sure that I could have survived had I been born in the times where it was not just a summer ritual but a necessity that vegetables are gathered and put up for the winter. My sister Kathy and I have put up corn this week, and while I feel sure that our freezers should be full due to effort alone; they are not.

Even though the work was tedious and tiring, I did enjoy the time I spent with my sister. She is almost 18 years older than me, and she enjoyed an adult relationship with our mama that I will never be able to have. When I spend time with Kathy, I learn so much about mama that I never knew. I am very thankful that I have a sister with whom I can spend time and enjoy her company. Yesterday as I left the farm, we left each other's company with promises of meeting again next year to once again put up corn and enjoy time with each other.