10 Things to Do in the Car on a Roadtrip! (Repost)

This is a repost..in honor of the fact that this contest ends this week! If you want to enter, there is still time, and there will be TWO CASH PRIZES! :) Go see their blog and enter today!

I am participating in a blogger contest held by Cabins For You. Cabins For You specializes in cabin rentals located in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge TN. For more information about cabins, events and attractions please visit their blog.

We travel as a family quite a bit. Usually we only take one big vacation every year, but with my husband's job requiring some travel, we have recently been able to accompany him on some business outings as well. Now that I have convinced him that our kids are old enough travel well and not slow him down, I have to keep up my end of the bargain and come up with ways to keep them entertained. These are just ideas...some I have tried and some that...well...may just be imaginary things I have thought of that I wish I could do. ha.

1. Treat bags with prizes. I first did this in 2008 when we first took our kids to Disney World. It was the first long car drive for them and I was obsessed with bringing plenty of on the road entertainment. I scouted out the dollar store and Target for cheapo toys and "wrapped" them in brown paper bags marked with mile numbers. Every 100 miles on the way and on the way back they got to open a new prize. Each one entertained them for about...5 minutes. ha. Actually, I want to point out that the on the way home prizes are probably even more important than the on the way prizes. Infinitely so.

2. Electronic Games: I love some electronic games for the road. Some people find it hard to read in the car because it makes them carsick. Nothing like wasting the hours trying to serve all your customer tables on Diner Dash, or making yourself feel smart with an electronic version of Sudoku that offers hints. You will make it from home to destination in no time with your mind preoccupied with the endless distraction of portable video games. Oh, and kids love it too! (Don't forget plenty of batteries/games/adaptor for charging the battery in the car!)

3. Car Bingo: It is great when your kids get old enough for classic car games. I found some great printouts that take the "I Spy" license plate game to a much more fun place. I mean really, I can barely identify the states on the plates anymore until we are smack riding their bumper, especially with all the donation/cause tags out there now. These games have you looking for various construction/road signs, types of buildings, and airborne items. The plus side to these printable cards is that even small children can enjoy looking for them without having to read, and they are FREE to print! Also very useful if you aren't going to be around a lot of traffic on your way to rural Pennsylvania or similar locale.

4. Food: Why stop and eat in a restaurant when you can use that time to drive further on and keep the kids occupied? No waiting around forever for them to finish four nuggets while you mentally begrudge all the miles you could be moving along instead. I have found that the drink carriers provided by some gas stations have perfect little compartments for dividing out fast food fare, or cooler food. It makes a great lap tray so food doesn't end up everywhere, and they are reusable for several meals (as long as you don't squirt condiments out on the actual tray). This is a great win/win for the kids and the adults. That way, when you DO stop to stretch your legs, they can actually run around like crazy instead of having to accomplish eating a meal at the same time. Added bonus: You know that they will be screaming to go the bathroom about 36 minutes after you get in the car after stopping to eat......mission accomplished: maximum miles and entertainment...plus minimum time wasted!

5. School Work: We are homeschoolers...a great bonus that allows us to travel more than we would if our kids were on a school system schedule. But, this tip is great for any family. If your kids need help with a certain subject or need to study, then bring along something they can work on in the car. It will pass some time, they will learn a little, and they can be rewarded when they are done with something obnoxious that isn't on this list, like watching a DVD on a portable DVD player. Yeah, it's not on my list, because I despise having to listen to their shows really loudly up in the front and/or not be able to listen to the radio while Elmo serenades our trip over and over and over and over. Our kids are now 7 and 6, so maybe its time to give that one a try again...ours broke several years ago and was never replaced...I guess Spongebob would be a little less annoying?? nah....
(Oh, and whoever thinks that headphones would help, has obviously never watched a tv show with a 6 year old.)

6. Have a GPS: Your children can be immersed into the foreign language world of the GPS teacher for hours at a time! We didn't know what a great entertainer for the kids the GPS lady would be until our children started imitating her and asking questions like, "What does motorway mean?" and giving advice like, "You are supposed to turn left Dad, left in 1.2 miles." I just know they are becoming geniuses and will be able to intuitively tell distance by bumps in the booster seat or how many trees go by or something in a few years. Oh, and you get to model civilized adult conflict management skills when you "discuss" how you still got lost while using the GPS.

7. Travel Brochures! You don't even have to visit iffy looking places to pick them up anymore! I recently ordered travel guides for about ten different states. The quality varies by state, but many of them are beautiful, colorful, and actually helpful, rather than just being an ad for such and such tourist trap. If you google "the state you want travel guide", you will get a link somewhere for a place to order these via snail mail, totally FREE. From the time you leave the house, you and the kids can preview little known things to do, state parks, and attractions for the place you are going, without having to wait till you get there to see pics and read reviews. Several of the cities that I ordered guides for, featured a "free" section, that highlighted, yes, free things to do. And not all of these are lame... many of them are little known "free days of the month or week" to certain big attractions like childrens museums and zoos! Yes, I am aware that all of this information can be found online, but for car entertainment, this is a perfect idea!

8. Clean the Windows: I haven't actually tried this one, but I can't believe I never thought of it till now! Let your kids clean the windows....and everywhere they can reach for that matter! Just get some kid safe cleaning wipes or paper towels dipped in your natural cleaner of choice, and let them at it! I could see my kids loving this, as they are way past eating the paper towel, yet still at the "big" chores are fun stage. I bet that sticker grime on the window would be totally gone in about....2 hours of hard scrubbing, max! :)

9. Looking out the Window: Take your kids back to the original method of in the car entertaining. Tell them it's cool and retro and they will too. Right? Seriously...I think we skip this step way too soon sometimes and pull out the full blown entertainment, thus running out of things to do early on in the trip. Sometimes it's okay (because you are the parent) to say, "Look out the window! It's fun, see what you can see... When I was little, we didn't have -fill in the blank high tech car entertainment-" It will kill more time than not looking out the window, I guarantee it!

10. Nothing: Sometimes when we run out of things to do...we actually end up doing nothing. We will find ourselves.... talking to each other.... laughing.... singing...discussing where we are going and what we want to do there.... SOMETIMES, my husband and I actually get to have an uninterrupted conversation and our children do the same... for example...one time my husband and I were talking and I heard a tiny voice squeal, "Mommy!!!" and I said, "What?!?!" and my daughter's regular voice reponded..."Oh, I'm not talking to you, that's my foot calling Noah's pencil."

It can happen!

Do you have any other ideas to add to my list? We have an 11 hour drive to Chicago coming up... and my kids are going to grow wise to the window washing and nothing before too long!

Planning and Winning!

We are meeting Friday with several local families who want to start a home school play group. I am very excited about it! It will be some of the families that met off and on over the spring and summer and some new ones as well. Since we aren't doing the big co-op this fall I want to be sure to get plenty of play time and our group looks like it will have around 16-18 kids, which is perfect! Our first big venture will hopefully be to visit an apple orchard in September. I wanted to do that last year but time got away from me, so looking forward to that for this year!


I recently entered a contest and WON! I WON a scholarship to the "Free to be me! Bloggers Retreat 2009" in Florida! The retreat is a chance for Christian women who blog to meet and fellowship and learn more about how to minister to others through blogging. I heard about it from my mother-in-law who also entered but sadly did not win. They will be giving away more scholarships so hopefully she will win one also and we can go together! It will be the weekend of Oct. 23rd. If you are a Christian lady and you blog, you should also consider entering one of their contests or signing up to attend. It is only $100 and includes all your meals and lodging for the weekend! Click on the picture to read all about it! (AND if you live in GA we could always carpool!!!!!!)

That's all for now. We completed day 23 of school today. We are taking our "week" break (originally scheduled for the last week of the month) as a few days spread out here and there as needed...I think I like it!

Happy Un-Birthday To Two of YOU!

Happy Birthday to me, and Happy Un-birthday to everyone else, especially two very lucky people who are winners today in my birthday countdown contest!
I turn 28 years old today on the 28th, which is supposed to be something special I think....

The official contest "name drawers."

Today ends the birthday countdown,
and as a birthday gift to myself I am making today an easy one.
So today's question is:
"Who did you pick as the winners of your birthday drawings?"
I am SO GLAD you asked!!!!
Faithful readers, I am pleased to announce the winner of my two birthday drawings. The first drawing was from those who submitted questions on the first post request for questions for the next 28 days. I had 20 different people submit questions! I had my very reliable and impartial official pull a name and....

Jessica D. is the big winner! Jessica wins a $10 Target gift card!

Happy Un-Birthday Jessica!!!!!

update: I was trying to be fun and different by sending a different type of giftcertificate,
but giftcertificates.com charges a $3.45 fee for ONLINE delivery!
Totally ridiculous, you are getting a Target one instead! ha ha! Didn't think either of you would mind the change!

My next drawing was added after a few days of answering questions. I decided I would reward those who were faithfully commenting on the other days' questions. So, this drawing included an entry for each time someone commented on the birthday countdown posts. If you commented 5 times, then your name was in 5 times!
My other reliable and impartial official drew a name for this one and....

Bethany is the other winner! Bethany you win a $5 Target gift card!

These may not be super big prizes, but hey, it is a very modestly circulated blog and look at it this way.... it's more than you had before! Happy Tuesday, April 28th!

Also, Anniversary Greetings are due! Today marks my parents' 30th wedding anniversary! I was born on their 2nd anniversary...
Happy 30th Anniversary Mama and Daddy!

Congratulations to both of the big winners, and thanks to everyone for reading all these 28 days worth of questions and answers! I am looking forward to a fun day today and am happy to spread the birthday joy to you guys on your un-birthdays! Jessica please post the best email address for sending your certificate via the web!

Tune in tomorrow for NOTHING! I am taking a BREAK! ha ha!

Birthday Countdown: Day Twenty-seven

My mom asked:
"If you could meet and talk with anyone(dead or alive)
who would it be and what one question would you ask them?"

When I first considered this question I thought that it might make sense to pick someone who I would not have an eternity in heaven to get to know and talk to...I mean, makes sense right? ha. Well, that would require a whole lot of assuming on my end of the equation, so I guess I will just pick someone else.

So, here goes. As a mom, I think that I have a really good one.
I would love to talk to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The one question I would ask her is: "Tell me about the babyhood/toddlerhood/childhood of Jesus. The Bible doesn't tell us anything at all about Jesus' childhood except that He grew "in wisdom and in favor" with God. But, wouldn't you like to know the details? Did she nurse and how long? Co-sleep? Spank????? Can you imagine spanking a child you knew was the son of GOD??! Did he EVER disobey? Was he constantly teaching THEM things? Did he ever get sick? Did he love animals particularly or dislike any foods? How did she handle that? Was he a popular child? Who was his best childhood friend? Any funny stories?
I think that would be a very interesting story to hear. And I wonder why more is not included?
Oh well...I guess it's something I'll never know in my lifetime. But, that is whom I would pick...
What about you?

Well, that is just about it for the questions. I will give everyone one more chance to submit and TOMORROW is the big day! The day I reveal the winner from all those who submitted questions at that first opportunity. AND a special bonus drawing! You won't want to miss it!!!!

Birthday Countdown: Day Twenty-six

Corey asked: "What was your favorite childhood cartoon?"

When you are discussing entertainment it is really difficult to pick one "favorite."
Here are some of my favorites:


Alvin and the Chipmunks (especially the movie with the Chipettes)

and

Garfield and Friends

I remember really enjoying both of these....they were funny, and I really like the songs in the Chipmunks. Another favorite of mine even as a teen was Animaniacs. That was one of the last really funny kids' cartoon shows! SO funny! I miss it!


So, there you go. Three favorites. Can't pick. So fun!

Tomorrow I will answer another one of my mom's questions: "If you could meet and talk with anyone(dead or alive) who would it be and what one question would you ask them?"

Birthday Countdown: Day Twenty-five

Corey asked: "And why...."

Because I can eat any kind of meat in the world
if it is on a piece of delicious, hearty, fresh baked bread!
It makes all the difference... Boar's Head or Land O' Frost.... it doesn't matter, neither will be good if it is slapped on a piece of store brand white bread! ha ha!!!!!

Something like this is what I always buy.....
Mmmmmmmm.......
not exactly fresh baked, but the next best thing....


If you are confused by this post, go back and read the yesterdays.....

Tomorrow I will answer yet another one of Corey's questions....
"What is your favorite childhood cartoon?"

Birthday Countdown: Day Twenty-four

Corey asked: "What is more important in a sandwich, the meat or the bread?"

Absolutely the BREAD!!!!!


Tomorrow, I will answer another of Corey's questions: "And why?" :)

Birthday Countdown: Day Twenty-three

Chris asked: "How/Where did Corey propose?"

Wow! You're not going to want to miss this great story! ha ha!!!!
I saved this one for today, because we got engaged on Easter Sunday, 2000. Easter fell on April 23rd that year, which also happens to be today's date! So, happy engagement anniversary, Corey! (We have never celebrated that before actually, I had to look it up! ha!)

We bought a ring in February right after we started dating in December, 1999. We had that ring hidden many places, including a safe deposit box and his truck glove box! ha! Every time I would go over to his house he would get it out (the times it was there) and ask "Do you want to?" I would always immediately reply, "No, not yet!"

Well, on Easter 2000, he got that ring out again, for about the millionth time since he bought it, and this time when he asked, "Do you want to?" I replied....."Okay." He was surprised and said, "Are you sure?!" And I said, "Yeah, why not?!"

So there you go. What a great romantic story, huh? We went out to greet his mom and grandmother, and I think Matt was there too. His grandmother took a picture of us (it was Easter, of course everyone had the camera ready!). Here we are....mere moments after the "big" event. :)

I think Corey looks a little unsure....

Here we are on the big day. It was July 7, 2001. One year and a few months later. We rearranged the plants at the front of the church nicely wouldn't you agree?

Here is one more photo I had to scan while I was at it. Andy and Bethany helping decorate our car at the reception (held at Provino's in Rome). Look at you guys! Look at us! Gracious! Did you ever think that day would be what it is to us now?!?! Crazy!
God is so good like that!!!!!

Aren't they cute?!

Thanks for the question, Chris!
It was neat that it worked out that I could post it on the "anniversary."
Tomorrow I will start answering some of the questions Corey FINALLY contributed!

Corey asked: "What is more important in a sandwich, the meat or the bread?"

AND...coming up next Tuesday...the WINNER in my birthday countdown prize drawing!!!!

Birthday Countdown: Day Twenty-two

Bethany asked: "What is your favorite movie, or genre of movies?
(special music selected specifically for today's question!)

It Happened One Night, 1934

I had absolutely no idea what this movie was about when I watched it a month or two ago. I was just scrolling through all the old movies available for instant play on Netflix. When I saw it had Clark Gable and was highly rated, and I had heard of it before, I decided to give it a try.

It instantly became one of my all time favorites! It has a fun (even though it is kind of predictable) storyline and I just plain enjoyed it! It is, however, as impossible to pick a favorite movie as it is to pick a favorite book (BETHANY!) but here are some more of my favorites.....

Next.....

Little Women, 1994

This is probably my favorite watch it anytime movie. Wonderful movie. Pretty closely follows the book as much as a movie can and doesn't change things too tremendously from the awesome book. LOVE love LOVE Winona Ryder as Jo. Every actress chosen was just perfect as the way I always pictured them when reading the book!


Gone with the Wind, 1939

Then there are the blockbuster classics....gotta love this one. Not just because it is a classic, but because it is a GREAT classic! It is just a bit long to pop in any old time. ha. I actually like the book and movie equally well....even though they are VERY different. Pretty rare thing.

Stranger than Fiction, 2006

I am SO not a Will Farrel fan, but I actually laughed so hard the first time I saw this movie that I almost...well...you know. It was so funny! Sometimes I like a really good funny movie, like this one, or Get Smart.

Winner for all time favorite series of movies.....

Anne of Green Gables series, 1985

Great books,great story, great movies...a great time!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1945

This movie is on my "to see soon" list. I read the book in high school (not sure if I should re-read it before I see the movie or wait until after I see it). I remember loving the book and I have randomly seen that this is among several people's "top five" movies on facebook, so I really really want to watch it soon. Hopefully it will be another favorite.

As you can see, I don't really have one favorite movie or genre, but, in general...I don't like to be stressed out when I go to a movie! ha ha!

In other birthday

movie news....
what was the number one movie in 1981?

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Not too shabby!

Tune in tomorrow when I will finally answer Chris's question:
How/where did Corey propose?

Birthday Countdown: Day Twenty-one

My mom asked:
"If you could go back and live over one day in your life, what day would that be and why?"

When I first started thinking about this question I was trying to pick a day that would be great to "re-live." A day that was awesome....I considered my wedding day, the day my kids were born, but how could I pick between those? How could I pick the day Katie was born over the day Noah was born or him over her?

So, then I tried to think about a day that might have been a time to make a different decision. One that would impact my life greatly. And I finally came up with what I think is a good one!
I would relive any day after we bought a house and before the 1st day of my last year of teaching. We could have created a budget that would have gotten us completely out of debt and enabled us to more easily allow me to stay home and able to do more with our debt free lifestyle! How awesome! What regret that we didn't plan for me to quit while I was still drawing paychecks.
Why would I pick a day "after" we bought a house? Well, because we bought a house that was modestly in our price range, so we didn't spend the same amount as we would have had we already been out of debt. It may sound pretty crazy that of all the days that such a seemingly unimportant choice was made. But, let me tell you...that is IMPORTANT and would have made a HUGE difference in our lives! So there you go. A pretty dull answer, but an honest one!

Tomorrow I will answer another one of Bethany's questions: What is your favorite movie or genre of movies?

Birthday Countdown: Day Twenty

Jessica asked: "What is a favorite memory from your childhood?"

I found this picture just for Corey!

One of my very favorite memories from my childhood is the year we went to Pigeon Forge and my brother and I were old enough to walk around Dollywood by ourselves and ride things on our own.

That was a huge deal for us, not sure why, I guess we didn't want to be stuck watching the "shows" all day. (Yes, I put quotes around "shows") We rode the roller coaster that is set inside like you are going through a burning town (or building, can't remember) over and over. It was so much fun!

Tomorrow I will answer another one of my mom's questions (since no one has submitted more-go ahead if you thought of one!). "If you could go back and live over one day in your life, what day would that be and why?"

Birthday Countdown: Day Nineteen

My mom asked: "What is your favorite story from the Bible.....and why?"

My favorite story from the Bible has got to absolutely 100% be the Christmas story,
of course!

I love it because it is one of the very first stories that children are capable of learning and remembering in great detail. Everything about it is so amazing and I have since heard so much more information about the details and the extreme way that everything had to be done in order for it to be *right.*

A great, miraculous, complete, wonderful, and amazing story. So big yet so simple. Just the best.
And, speaking of....if you haven't seen The Nativity Story, you really should. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is... a GREAT movie.

Tomorrow I will answer Jessica's question: "What is a favorite memory from your childhood."

Birthday Countdown: Day Eighteen

PJ asked:
How do you want your kids to finish this statement when they get older:
"my momma always said..."

"life is like a box of chocolates..."

SORRY!!! How could I NOT do that?!?! ha ha.

Okay, seriously...this is tough to decide. Well...as far as things that you want them to remember always coming from their mom's mouth, it would have to be something positive. I want them to remember something good I said...and encouraging.

I think the thing that I think I would want them to remember as a life encouragement would be "God has a plan." A plan for their future, (the best one)....a plan for a spouse (the best one), a plan for who they are friends with and the influences for their lives (the best ones)...the list could go on. Adopting this as a motto will make me more aware of it too and how I am helping to facilitate this in their lives with action and prayer.

Hopefully this could help them endure things that aren't so pleasant...and also seek out the best decisions as they realize that everything they do should be in the best interest of completing God's plan for them.

This was such a great thing to think about, PJ! I think everyone reading this should think about it too! If you stop and take the time, then you can start plugging that in with your kid's now...with purpose! Thanks for making me do this so I can get started!!!! :)

"For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).

If you have any other ideas for questions, or missed out on posting one, please feel free to do so today! You won't be entered in my giveaway drawing, but I know some people may have thought of more questions as the countdown has been progressing. I have gone through each person at least once...so I would love to have more choices...if not I will go back and answer some of the multiple question responses.

Birthday Countdown: Day Seventeen

Our four year old (4 years, 5 months at the time) reading a (not memorized) book to his daddy.

Erin asked: "What do you like best about homeschooling?"

Wow. This could really be a long involved answer. I guess the short answer is that it allows us to be a family.

The long answer:
I so love being able to see my children grow up in front of me. It is a special calling for me to be their teacher. I believe it is the way God designed the family...as a working unit, to grow together and learn and be taught from the family's perspective. I have a responsibility for my children...in every sense (physically, emotionally, spiritually) and I feel that if I am to be responsible for those aspects, then I have to TAKE responsibility for those aspects of their lives. Another part of it that may seem selfish to some... is that I just want to be with my kids. I mean, I birthed them for goodness sake... I don't want to send them off for eight hours every day to let some other person spend FORTY hours a week with them!!!! I love my kids, and I just enjoy them. I want to be with them. I want to have the privilege of teaching them the important things, the silly things, and the fun things in life.

It is pretty much impossible to share your reasons/loves for homeschooling without sounding like you are saying that others who don't choose to homeschool are wrong. I am not saying that at all. If you don't want to homeschool, then you truly shouldn't!

Why should I choose whole class instruction over private tutoring? Homeschooling allows me to create customized, individualized, efficient instruction based on my childrens' interests and in a loving, safe, disciplined environment. I could go on and on, but I won't.

And, just for everyone's peace of mind and enjoyment, I found a great article about the benefits of homeschooling, specifically, the *socialization* "issue."

Enjoy! Thanks for the question, Erin. I love absolutely everything about homeschooling!!!!

Tomorrow I will answer PJ's question: How do you want your kids to finish this statement when they get older:"my momma always said..."

Birthday Countdown: Day Sixteen

I always wash my hair every single time I take a shower or bath.

Jessica asked: "Do you wash your hair every day?"

ANSWER: "I WISH!"

Tomorrow I will answer Erin's question: "What do you like best about homeschooling?"

Birthday Countdown: Day Fifteen

Laura asked: "What is an accomplishment you are most proud of?
What is a regret that you have?

I can answer these two very shortly and sweetly:


I am most proud of my children! They are such sweet, loving, and smart kids. I know I am the mom and it is my job to think they are the best kids ever, and yeah, I am definitely in agreement with that! ha ha. I love them so much and they are my biggest "investment" as far as time, effort, etc. and I am completely 100% proud of them and who they are.
Besides that obvious answer, I guess I am kind of proud of the fact that I won some writing awards in college. A couple for poetry, one for short story. It makes me think that one day I just might be able to publish that childrens' book I listed yesterday :)

Regret: DEBT! Not much else you can say about that. *BAH!*

Tomorrow, Jessica's question: "Do you wash your hair every day?"

Birthday Countdown: Day Fourteen

Jon asked:
"What do you want to do in the next 28 years that you didn't do in your previous 28?"

Jon is actually a former high school classmate of mine. I recently discovered his blog through facebook and have enjoyed seeing what he has been up to recently, including welcoming an adorable little baby girl into the world last month.

When I read this question to my husband, his first (always sarcastic) response was: "Turn 50." not very funny.

28 Things to do in the next 28 years:

1. Add on to the family...at least once. :)
2. Get a bigger car due to #1.
3. Get a bigger house due to #1.
4. Graduate three or more from homeschooling and send them to the rest of their lives whatever that may be.
5. See New England and my "Green Gables" island.
6. Maybe take my grandkids to Disney World! *whoa!!!! why did you take me THERE?!*
7. See one of my children marry a Freeman child. :)
8. Write a children's book.
9. Be on a game show.
10. Finally have a fenced in yard so my husband can have a pet.
11. Hopefully see my brother get married! Not sure if 28 years will be long enough.
12. Get out of debt.
13. Be physically fit.
14. Run a half marathon.
15. Finally see Phantom of the Opera (live).
16. Clean out our basement ha ha.
17. Get a piano for our house.
18. Live in another state.
19. Work part time somewhere for FUN.
20. Babysit my childrens' cousins.
21. Grow a vegetable garden.
22. Read the Bible cover to cover.
22. Give up worrying completely.
23. See the west coast.
24. Visit a spa for a full day of pampering.
25. Complete a quilt.
26. Learn to swim.
27. Own a vacation home.
28. Have a great time at my awesome surprise 50th birthday party thrown by my husband of almost 30 years.

Thanks for the fun question, Jon.

Tomorrow I will answer Laura's question: "What is an accomplishment you are most proud of?
What is a regret that you have?

Birthday Countdown: Day Thirteen

The Duke Family asked: "How did you and Corey meet, and how long were you together before you got engaged, married, and had your first precious baby?

We got this Willow Tree figurine for a wedding gift. I love it!

Well, I am too lazy to find old pictures to scan right now, but I promise I will do that at some point.

Corey and I met at church. We both knew "of" each other before we met. His parents and their family grew up with my parents and our family. But, we had never met. (well, Corey says he remembers meeting me at a grocery store one time with his grandmother but I don't remember that at all)

When we DID finally meet, we actually sat down together and mutually agreed that although everyone was trying to play matchmaker we were totally uninterested. That was sometime in January or February of 1999.

In May of 1999 we went on our "first" first date. We saw The Mummy. It was great. BUT, I had to shed the small town for a while and was determined to do so on my own, so I went on to UGA for a semester in the fall of 1999. In December, when I came home for Christmas break, we hung out some more at church and I really really knew that I could not leave again. SO, I un-enrolled myself, came home, and we had our "second" first date on or around December 19th or so. It was to see "Grease on Ice" at the Forum in Rome! ha ha!!!

Anyway, in February of 2000 we were walking around the mall one Sunday afternoon near Valentine's Day and the jewelry store was having a sale on engagement rings. I suggested that we should go ahead and get one since they were on sale and they had the exact one that I wanted. We went in and bought a ring less than two months after we started officially dating. Later that spring we got engaged. I won't tell that story because it is another question....

We were engaged for over a year. We were planning a September 2001 wedding but moved it up. I was just ready to be married. AND, after attending Andy and Bethany's huge wedding where I about hyperventilated just sitting on a pew, I decided I didn't want the big wedding thing anyway and we put together our wedding in about a week's time. A friend made my dress, my PawPaw did the ceremony, and we just went up to the church (since we had a key), rearranged the lilies in the front and had ourselves a short, sweet, CHEAP wedding! We had a reception lunch at Provino's afterward and spent a lovely one nighthoneymoon in historic Chattanooga! ha ha!

So...there you go. The rest is history. I enrolled in Shorter College and in March of 02 we found out we were going to be blessed with our beautiful daughter, Katie, in October. Noah followed about 20 months later in June of 04.

I absolutely would not change anything EXCEPT.......

If we had known that $ would have always been tight anyway...we would have taken a week and gone to...GUESS WHERE for our honeymoon?!?! ha ha. It's okay. Actually, we are finally planning that DISNEY honeymoon for this December.....TEN YEARS after our "second" first date.

I have so enjoyed being married. It was truly a perfect fit for us. We are so good together. I figure in another 10 years he will be just about perfect (with my training of course!) ha ha!

Tomorrow I will answer Jon's question: "What do you want to do in the next 28 years that you didn't do in your previous 28?

Birthday Countdown: Day Twelve

Mrs. Routt asked: "Besides the obvious - trusting Christ as your Savior - how have/do you cultivate your relationship with your Savior?"

What a great question to fall on Easter?!

Well.... I guess one thing I do is to attend and be involved at our church, Graceland. God is always showing us new ways we can serve and work to be proactive toward leading others to Him through music, teaching, and small groups.

And, speaking of small groups... that is really the BIGGEST thing that helps me with my daily relationship.

I am not by nature a disciplined person..whether it be diet, exercise, chores, etc...it just doesn't come easily to me. So it makes sense that this also plays into my daily routine of "practicing the fundamentals" of daily prayer and quiet time with God. This is where the accountability and fellowship of a small group comes in. I cherish each time I am given the opportunity to join in a Bible study. I have joined one that was for "Moms"...one for "couples"....one for "just girls," etc. They have all been placed in the perfect moment of time in my life when I needed it the most.
Right now I am in two small groups. One is a book club for girls at our church and we are reading "Believing God" by Beth Moore. We get to discuss and pray and just fellowship together. It is more of an intimate group where we truly bear one another's burdens. I have made some great friends and learned so much from the ladies of all ages that are in our book club.

The other is a group going through Beth Moore's "Esther" study. It is more of a study that gets me to doing my homework kind of thing.

I gain so much from these groups and the time I spend each week preparing and studying to be ready to meet with them is really what keeps me on my toes.

Is it bad that I need those things to make me do what I am supposed to do? What do you think?

Thanks for that question Mrs. Routt. Good one!

Tomorrow I will answer a question from The Duke Family: How did you and Corey meet, and how long were you together before you got engaged, married, and had your first precious baby?

Birthday Countdown: Day Eleven

Mama asked: "If tomorrow you could visit any place on this earth where would you go? Excluding Disney!"

Tokyo Disney! HA HA! Just kidding, I would have to fly to do that....

I really am excluded from many interesting places because I won't fly... sad but true.
But really, right now the thing I would love to do the most is to take a road trip all the way up the east coast and see all the places along the way. This couldn't be done in a plane anyway.

I would love to hit Boston, New York, Amish country, Vermont, Maine, and even head all the way up and see Niagara Falls and cross over in to Canada. Drive all the way up to Nova Scotia and end up HERE:

"Green Gables" on Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia

Oh, to have the money and for Corey to have the time off to take this dream trip! That would be SO fun! Think of all the great and fun places you could see between here and THERE!

Tomorrow I will answer a question from one of my former high school teachers...Mrs. Routt asked: "Besides the obvious - trusting Christ as your Savior - how have do you cultivate your relationship with your Savior?