Blueberry Pickin!

We had the best time picking blueberries together, I just LOVE summer! Can you belive it was Sam's first time? We found the best place, and I HIGHLY reccomend it if you are in the Gville area (about 20 min out from town). Their blueberries are chemical-free, they do not use chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or insectisides. They go to great lengths to not harm the environment and everyone was so nice! There is a great covered area with very clean restrooms & picnic tables to eat lunch and they have hiking trails and a creek since is near Sante Fe River. Sammy just loved Mrs. Nancy! She offered us some organic bugspray (she said she got it at Walmart, it was great!) and gave Sammy a popsicle and made us some gatorade! I actually learned a lot as she explained the various varieties of blueberries they grow and Sammy enjoyed learning how to put them on the table and hit it to shift the twigs and leaves out of each bucket full. They had SO MANY to pick, just an abundance compared to other places I have picked from in past. We loved that some of the bushes were in the shade and there were plenty of low bushes for Sammy to pick off of.

The actual picking was so fun with him. He picked them right off the bush and popped them into his mouth. Only his first 2 made it into the bucket. At one point he just sat right down by the bucket and ate several handfuls out of it and said "mummy" (yummy) with each hanful. In fact, the boy literally ate blueberries all day long and to answer your question Mom, yes his poop was blue! =) Too funny. The experience was very calming, if that makes sense. As I stood with my shirtful of blueberries I was reminded of the many times growing up that I helped my Gram pick tomoates or peppers & several other things in her gardens and it really made me miss her. So often I wish she was still around and we could have just one more good chat, especially now that I am all grown up (well kind of). I miss you so much Grama!

Blueberry season is almost over so if your family hasn't picked yet you may want to plan a trip before time runs out. This particular farm is only open through July 19th, but they are seven days a week 8am to 7pm, no reservation needed. Check out their website at http://www.blueberrywoman.com/ She has included several tips about storing and freezing blueberries that I found very helpful.

Picking out his bucket, we anticipated red but he surprised us and picked green!
Very eager to find some booooeyiedadas (that is seriously what he called them??)
His first one!We were so proud and glad he liked it otherwise it would have been a lo-ong day!

Taste it daddy!

Yummy!
Now that's the way to do it!



When he was done pickin he just ran up and down the rows singing =)

Ours weighed it just over 2.5 lbs! not too shabby considering Sammy ate about half of what we picked!

His new b/f Mrs. Nancy
For me?? Why thanks!
Learning how to sort & shift
That a boy! He did it!
Lunch time, perfect end to perfect day!

Need a favor.. can anyone help a sista out??

Ok so I am hoping someone will have pitty on me. Sam and I have been going to church gym to work out. Music really helps the min fly by and I do much better, but I hadn't used my ipod since last time I worked out which was VERY long time ago. I plugged it in to charge it and then sync but somehow things got all messed up between mine and Sam's ipod libraries and practically my entire library is erased. It is older so doesn't have new versions it insited I needed and other issues. I still have the files though in my "my music" folder on old computer but don't know how to get them onto new computer and into the new ipod library I created b/c forgot old account info. I'm a mess I know. Any tips would be great and much appreciated!!!

Also, anyone know how long to grill beef steak for? We had some in our Angel food box and is our first time cooking beef steak... Mom doesn't have cell service yikes! I tried to google but so many different recipies, etc. They have been marinating overnight and today, should be yummy but if you see this and have tip and can reply within next 2 hours would be super helpful!

Muchos Gracias!

Missing Mom & Richard

Well my mom and Richard have been gone traveling the world for about 5 months now. Not really but it sure feels like it! They thankfully started their descent from up north and are now in VA staying in Shenadoah valley and will hopefully be home Monday-ish. Anyway, we are all missing them so last night when Sammy was asking where everyone whose name he knows is we pulled up some pics. He is so cute, he will sit and look at pictures for way longer than a tv show and just loves to watch the little movie clips I have of Hannah being silly. He laughs so hard at her over nothing. Anyway, I came across these from when Mom & Richard visited right before they headed off, too sweet. Had to post them! We love you both, be safe driving back and have fun! Oh, and Hannah has asked for 4 more postcards b/c she is apparently collecting them now... haha.

Grandaddy sure knows his tickle spots!
Spoiling him with chocolate cake, He signed more after every bite. We really don't let him eat like this unless with the grandparents, promise!
Hannah really wanted to take a picture of all of us, this is her handiwork. Not bad!
With the pic she drew for mom
Love it!
Awww, she asked if we could make a picture frame for this one. That is one of our rainy day activities so we have several pic frames now with all the rain we've had!

Hee-haw! Ride em cowgirl!

We had one more little adventure last week as part of our quest to find free things we can do for fun with Sammy. Our "situation" has really forced us to become creative as to the various things we can do as a family. I'll have to say, we have come up with some pretty fun things! Maybe one day I will compile some sort of list of free family fun activities. This last time we went to see horses! My friend Kim has always been obessed with horses and finally got her wish.... she is now the proud owner (kind of) of Mae, a very old and pregnant horse! We decided to drive out and watch one of her riding sessions, it was a lot of fun. Sammy loved it, he still has no fear around animals. He said "neigh" a few times and he fell in love with the baby and wanted to go in the stable and see it several times. He even talked in soft high pitch voice to it and kissed the gate 8 times!

Kim was so great! She rode like a pro and even did some jumps! She is supposed to have a show at somepoint and I can't wait to see her, so cool to watch your friends live out their dreams. I actually learned a lot in our short visit. There were some really beautiful horses there, I mean just gorgeous. Some spunky, some boring, each with their own personality. In a way they seem to me like giant dogs but maybe much more smarter. Anyway, I uploaded some video of her riding below and here are few pics~ Giddyup!

Sammy & Cody!

Living here in Gville has been great for so many reasons but it has been SO hard to be separated from our friends and fam in Jax. We try hard to stay in touch with everyone through the weeks but scattered visits here and there and emails/phone calls can't replace the day to day little things we used to do together. I miss calling up my friends there and just meeting up for lunch or coffee and talking, or if I needed something from store meeting to shop together. Its always those little moments when completely hillarious things happen and memories are made. I want so much for my friends up there to know Sammy and for him to be close to them, esepecially to their kids (Marc, Caitlin, & Peirce!) but it is hard when he only sees them every 5 or 6 months or so. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before we can be back there but for now we are doing our best to keep in touch from afar.

My dear friend Cody is one example, we used to see each other EVERY single day since we took classes together at UNF and were PsiChi officers by day and went to Bible study together at night. She would hang at our condo between class since she lived so far from UNF, it was just great. Our lives changed so dramtically~ we graduated and I started grad school here and she started law school at Fl Coastal. You can see how difficult that made it for us to be in touch. It is hard enough when one is that busy but to have both of us just trying to survive and make it through, very hard to find time to keep up with the day to day. Thankfully we have remained close and can always pick right back up where we left off. She is now..drum roll plrease..... Cody Lauren Westmoreland, attorney at law! I could not be more proud of her and am just so happy to see her new life. She has an amazing job and is doing wonderfully, of course. It is so nice to get a glimpse into her life when we can get together and hear all about what she is doing. I miss her family so much too, yes even Nikos her brother who calls me Chin-lo just to irritate me (I don't care to explain why). Sam and I were amazed by all the things going on and she laughed at us and said "I know you only live in Ganiesville but it is like you are from a different culture", too funny, but it really was true! Sam and I can't keep up with all the hip technology and all the I phone buisness. Maybe one day.

We had a chance to spend some time with her while we were up for our family pics and it was just so great. Thanks for taking a short break from your busy schedule Cody, we had a blast and love you and miss you terribly. Sammy just simply adored her. He pulled up a chair to sit by her and he started calling her CoCo, just too cute. He had very important things to tell her, of course. Hopefully it won't be so long before we can see each other again. I included a little video of him saying her name, very sweet!

Let the little children come to me.....

"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it" and He took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10: 13-16

Three down and one to go! I think most know by now but Samantha AND Mark (Hannah's sister and brother) prayed to ask Jesus into their lives at VBS a few weeks ago. Krista prayed about a year ago. I can not even begin to express how beyond happy I am that these little ones that we love so very much will be in heaven with us one day. It is so much more than that though, we talked a lot about how this decision is not just about heaven but also about just a new life. A life filled with joy and hope, even in your darkest of times, most difficult of struggles. I don't know what the future holds for them or us but I am not ignorant to the fact that one day things will change and we won't see them each week or have them in our house to see what our family is all about. So, this is just great to know that they can start learning how to talk with Jesus about anything and everything go to Him with their problems. Samantha had been asking me questions for a while, wondering various things. I was very careful to answer her questions in a way that would not push her b/c I wanted to be sure that the decsion was 100% wholeheartedly of her own doing.

Krista called on Thurs to talk with me some about Jesus and she had questions about talking with Him and being a good example. She said she wants to tell all her friends about Him and that she has been reading the Bible we gave her. She explained to me that you don't have to go all over the world or be an adult to be a missionary b/c you can tell people in your neighborhood just as good as those far away and since she STILL hasn't turned old enough to drive (didn't tell her she has loooong way to go!) she has decided to be a missionary in her neighborhood. That is what it is all about, right? Seriously this is why I LOVE working with kids, I learn so much from them and they keep me real. Some of the questions she asked me really made me think. I love that she felt comfortable enough to call me and ask me. I am just thanking God for that sweet phone call. Hope we have many more like it.

The verse I included from the book of Mark has always held a special place in my heart. In the academic world I see so many beyond brilliant people who are amazing scientists and wow me constantly with their knowledge but sadly their smarts get in their way of the true meaning of life. Faith is actually too simple for them. The think they can know more than God. The fact that we can pray and ask the one and only Jesus Christ to actually have a personal relationship with us, that He would even care to know the intimate details of our every day lives is just beyond them. This is why He says come to me as a child, so that all our thinking doesn't get in the way. He tells us "lean not unto your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5) and just have faith him him. FAITH. Faith means "belief or trust in a person or thing that is not based on proof". This is why in His word Jesus says we only need the faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains (problems in our lives, overcome our struggles) (Matthew 17:20-21) beacuse once you take that tiny step of faith and ask Him to come into your life, things change and you finally have a peace that beats anything I felt before I knew my Jesus that's for sure. I know there are plenty of stories of people coming to Jesus as adults and on their deathbeds and although it is still a wonderful thing, it is sad in a way. They missed out on a lifetime of getting to know Him and just enjoying Him and His love for them. So many think that being a Christian means you can't have any fun... um NOT SO! Life is ubelievably more full and abundant and way more fun now than it ever was before. When I am down and think I can't continue on with whatever is going on, I just go to Jesus spend a little time with Him and He fills me back up and I am totally 100% renewed. This is why I am just sooo happy about Krista, Samantha, and Mark. They have their whole lives in front of them and hopefully they will decide to do great things with their lives, things that will honor God and make a this world a better place, because of their own decisions to trust Him with their lives. I know they will struggle, but if they fall away and grow distant in their relationship with God at some point they can hold on to the fact that He is always there, waiting for them to choose to talk with and follow Him.

Still hoping my little Banana will choose to make this decision one day too. I couldn't think of anything we could do together that would make me happier than praying that prayer with her. It is one of my deepest desires and has been since we were matched.

What can I say, I love these kiddos!!! They may make me get some gray hairs but they are so totally worth every one.

Little Fishy!

So we totally have a little fishy on our hands! Sammy loves all things water and had blast in Grammy & Papi's pool. He has no fear of water, I would actually prefer some slight hesitation on his part but no such luck. He seriously tries to pry our hands off of him and dunk his face right in, he loves it. I do think we need some toddler swim lessons for sure! Thanks to Linda's sister in law, Jennifer, who gave us some tips. She used to be an infant swim instructor so told us we need to first work on teaching him to blow bubbles out anytime his mouth hits water. This should become automatic and keep him from taking in giant gulps of water and choking. He really enjoyed the bubble thing, so good start. Had to post these pics from the pool, just to stinkin cute.

Quick funny..... Was doing laundry tonight to prepare for our weekend getaway (spending 4th of July weekend with Shirey Fam and just couldn't be more excited) and I freaked out b/c our dryer sounded VERY broken. It was making the most awful terrible sound that I have never heard and all I could see were money signs as I ran to it to diagnos just how bad it was going to be. I opened it only to find a bright white ROCK flying around. That's right, Sammy's little rock he found from the other night. I thought he lost it but nope, he aparently had shoved it in his pocket. I guess this is just the begning of an array of strange things I will soon find in our laundry now that he has discovered the wonder of "the pocket". Glad it wasn't an expensive dryer problem but somewhat worried about what the future will hold. What will I do if there is ever a frog in there.. oh just the thought gives me the heebedy-jibbiees!

Have a happy and safe 4th of July! God bless our wonderful country!!!!

Was still sporting the remains from his VBS injury on his forhead. It seriously seems as soon as one bump/goosegg on forhead heals another one pops up. Just today he started play falling at Gloria's and got another goosegg. Boys!? I just don't get it?? Why on earth would you WANT to fall??

Decided to put up few more Grandparent pics... Here he is helping Grammy with dinner prep
He wanted so badly to watch the games of pool so this is the best they could come up with, he sat there and yelled "goal" throwing his hands up after each person made a shot



Grammy & Papi surprised him with a giant "Dump tump" as Sammy calls it. Elmo and his smaller trucks go for many rides in it
Sam's dad wanted to document that he whopped Sam in FOUR games of pool, too funny
For those who don't know, Sam has taken up the art of balloon animals for our upcoming trip to Guatemala. He has taught himself from free sites on Google and has gotten good at hats, weiner dogs, and girraffes. Still working on flowers and few others.