V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

We will be vacating Tennessee in less than 48 hours!!! Our home for the next 7 days will be:

Lookout Mexico The Lollar's are on their way!! We plan on doing:

Horse back riding on the beach....
Snorkeling.....

Swimming with dolphins....

And LOTS .......and lots of eating!! We're staying at an all inclusive. It never fails I always come back at least (at least) 10 pounds heavier.:(

Check back in about 10 days for a daily recap of our vacation.

Dream Job

At least that is what it was suppose to be. So what happened?? Where did it go?? I should have took notice a couple of months ago when I was on the verge of interviewing for this "Dream Job" and came across by horoscope. It was so true what was going on in my life it was kinda scary. The scary part should have been the last line. It said something like, You have worked hard for something and you are fixing to be rewarded. You have been patient and now it is time for your reward..blah blah blah. And then it said something like BUT ONCE YOU GET IT YOU MAY REALIZE IT WAS NOT ALL IT WAS CRACKED UP TO BE!!

Well you be the judge. Since getting this "dream job" this is just a little of what I have dealt with in the last month.

**My backup broke her hip and had to have a hip replacement. Which means I can NOT take off unless I beg someone from another office to come and work. Not just anyone, they have to be on the same "antique" system that I am on which is few and far between-- and be available.

**Since I have no backup, I have to work Saturdays. Because there is no extra people to borrow on Saturdays. I have since trained a part time carrier at my office to work the window on Saturdays.

**A program that I HAVE to access every day would take like 45 tries to log on. And of course this has to be done at the end of the day. I was spending anywhere from 15-45 mins past my going home time every day trying to log on. I have since figured out that if I delete all cookies, files and history for the day I can log on in 2-6 tries. FRUSTRATING to say the least.

**One Friday night as I was closing out on the "antique" machine, it crashed. But not only did it crash it destroyed all of my disk and backup disk. It took several days to get a new "antique" sent to me. So I had to manually do everything. FUN FUN

**Meeting an interesting customer, to say the least. If you watch Wife Swap or Trading Spouses and wonder where they find those crazy people, her family would be one of those. And since I was sooo nice (their words, not mine) they were going to bring all their business to me. And so far they have. They bring in anywhere from 3-10 gumball/candy machines every other day. They are the size of an end table and weigh 52 pounds each. My arms should be well toned, let's just hope my back doesn't break.

**My PMR(Postmaster Relief) (that broke her hip) (My replacement) Quit today!!! Sure I can hire another one. If they are willing to work for 10.50 hour/4 hours EVERY Saturday. Saturdays is all they are guaranteed, but they will get hours if I take off. And there are lots of weeks I never take off, so who wants to work for 4 hours a week and on Saturdays at that??

And get this, I told Cary last night I think I'm pregnant, not really, but I like to be dramatic at times. He assured me I'm not pregnant, but I am late. My tubes are tied, so really I am not pregnant but it has happened before, not to me, but I'm not. It's just the stress of the past month!!! Thank goodness I'm leaving Saturday for Mexico. But then again if I'm pregnant I won't be able to drown my sorrows, not that I would anyways. Well I might, but the kids are going so I won't!!! Yeah I need a vacation and a PMR that loves to work on Saturdays!!!

Anyone need a hairstylist??

There is a new and upcoming hairstylist that I have discovered. Since she is fairly new and a little underage, her prices are dirt cheap!!




Since I have a son that literally has hair like a chia pet that grows nonstop; I decided that I would try my hand at cutting it(Madison saw how much fun I was having and had to have a piece of the action too!!). The way I looked at it was I could always shave his head and start over.







Not too bad for no experience!!!

8 in 2008

Grant turned 8 in May. I'm a little late with a tribute to my baby. But here goes 8 things about Grant in 2008:


**Grant absolutely dreads eating. As soon as he finds out we are going to eat, he immediately starts asking how many bites he is going to have to take.

**Grant is very laid back and is definitely a morning person. As soon as you wake him he is sooo happy(unlike his momma).

**Grant is definitely a follower and not a leader. He never even thinks about the consequences of his actions. Hopefully this will soon change.

**Grant is a Mommas boy. This boy loves his Momma. I always thought I wanted all girls, but I could never imagine not experiencing the love this boy has for me.

**Grant loves to engineer and make things. (Just like Daddy)

**Grant learned to swim when he was 2. He spends hours in our pool and can swim like a fish.

**Grant is very tenderhearted.

**Grant loves his money and loves to spend it. He loves for me to sit and count his money for him.

Jesus

I know it's been a while since I've blogged and hopefully I will try to keep it up better this time. I have been waiting for just the right story to dive back into blogging with.

Of course I could have told you about my ski trip back in February with Cary and the kiddos. Skiing is something I have always wanted to try and have been told it's a lot like water skiing(That's a lie). There was 4 year old kids that were better than me!!! Madison picked it up instantly and absolutely loved it. Grant, well if you know Grant, he thought he could do just like the pros and probably still thinks he is a pro (even though I know different!) My biggest mistake is when Cary and Madison wanted me and Grant to ski with them. I made them promise to go down a fairly flat hill (if that's possible). Of course Grant took off with his own agenda, and went down what I would consider a cliff!! The rest of us had no option but to follow him. BIG MISTAKE FOR ME. Madison sailed down it effortlessly. I was behind her going only a few feet at a time praying that a snowmobile would save me. Cary and Grant were behind me and lets just say it wasn't pretty. It took me forever to get to the bottom but it took Cary and Grant FOREVER to get to the bottom. We had lots of fun and plan on going back. The next time I will be in a beginner's class and learn how to ski!!

Now for my funny story about Jesus. Sunday after Life Group we made a stop at Wal-Mart. As we were loading groceries in our car a man approached Cary and asked if he had some money to spare for gas. Cary explained that we don't carry cash and he only had a credit card. The man walked off and Cary got in the car. I noticed several other couples walking by and the man did not approach them--only us. When I said something like what if that was Jesus and you didn't help, Cary immediately said, "Why didn't I offer to meet him at the gas station and put gas in his car?" So that is what we decided to do. So we started looking for "Jesus" in the parking lot. He was just there, where could he have went?? We finally came upon him a couple of rows over. Although I do have to admit we were verifying his story by looking at his license plate (he told us he was from Nash) and also checking out what he was driving. When we saw the condition of his car we assumed he was telling the truth about needing gas. Cary rolled down the window and told him we could go get him some gas. He had a gas can. We got him some gas. He thanked Cary and told him "God Bless". So when Cary got in the car I stated. That was Jesus and we just helped him. Cary stated "If that was Jesus then he was a drunk Jesus!! I promptly reminded Cary not to judge. We kinda laughed about it and went on our merry little way.

As everyone knows, especially those in my Life Group, I have been highly anticipating a job interview. I have been waiting 2 months to find out if I had an interview or not. So Monday afternoon I found out that I do have an interview. My first thoughts were-That was Jesus that we helped!!

And then Cary, after several months of being at the end of his rope with his job, received a job offer out of the blue on Tuesday. Not only is it a job offer but with guys that he used to work with, has a great repertoire with, maybe less stress, and MORE MONEY!! So of course my first thought was--That was Jesus we helped Sunday!!! And whenever I say THAT WAS JESUS I'm starting to sound a little like Beth Moore. Maybe it's because I'm in a Beth Moore bible study at the moment!!

Seven Things....

I've been tagged by Donnie.

1. I have no patience and see none in my future. I've chosen not to pray about it, because God will just give me more things to work on my patience with!!

2. I have a little OCD with cleaning. I love to vacuum and have a clean house. My closets on the other hand are never clean and orderly. SO don't look!!!!

3. I am not a morning person and I don't want to even talk before 11:00.

4. I have the best job in the world. And I love to work.

5. I can NOT decorate (on first try) it takes several $$ and looks before I can finally get something to look right.

6. I am frugal but think nothing about spending $350 for my best friend and I to get facials and massages:) :) Hey, it's x-mas and birthdays rolled together plus were worth it!!

7. I am blessed beyond measure.

Thanksgiving week

I decided a week before Thanksgiving to have Cary paint the living room, hall and dining room. I don't know who had the harder job. Cary painting or me having to pick out the color. I went through several sample cans at $4.99 ea. But at least I got the colors that I absolutely LOVE!!!

Before (with paint samples on wall):

After:

We had 3 different Thanksgiving lunch/dinners at our house.

Lollar/Hailey family:




Campbell/Boles family:

Pa Ray with the grands:

Things I need to blog about.......

1.) My painting fiasco. -- After painting the entire living room and deciding I didn't like it and purchasing 8 sample paints to try, I finally found a winner.

2.) Madison turning 11 and her sleepover-- if for no other reason than to remind me not to this again.

3.) My work schedule the week of Madison's sleepover.-- Getting no sleep the week of Madison's sleepover + 8 girls + working on Saturday= Not happy Mom!!

4.) The funny things Grant says. -- Last night as Cary was painting he asked me if our feet were the only feet that had been in our house. Meaning did anyone ever live in our house before us. I assured him our feet were the only ones that ever owned our house!! Then at 8:30 he announced that it was thirty eight o'clock!! Oh, and he calls the Dining room the diamond room??

5.) Preparing for job interviews.-- Total stress.

6.) Preparing to host 3 Thanksgiving dinners at my house next Thurs and Fri.

7.) Finding out at Grant's eye doctors appointment that his eyes are greatly improving and that he will eventually be out of glasses.-- His eyes have changed so much over the last year that his glasses were too strong causing him not to be able to see distance. This could explain the many papers sent home saying all he had to do was copy it from the board and he didn't. Maybe he couldn't see the board!!

It's Been a While....

Since I've blogged so I will try to remember all that has
happened in the last month. During Fall break we went to
the magical place for 7 days. This was the first time the kids or I have have ever been. Cary had been one time when he was around 3. I studied up on all the ins and outs of Disney and truly feel like we definitely got to do everything we set out to do.













Our neighbors and friends(Chris, Shelia, Logan and Lucas) were also planning a trip the same time we were. They called and we met up with them on Tuesday and was able to spend the day with them. The last/only time Cary had been to DW was with Chris. Which I didn't know until Tuesday. Logan is in Grant's class and they are really good friends.














We ate and ate and ate. We were on the dining plan so we didn't go hungry or broke. This was a snack. It's a mickey mouse shaped rice crispy treat dipped in milk chocolate rolled in crushed Reece's peanut butter cups and then drizzled in white chocolate. It was huge. I took one bite and made Cary go back in and have another one made!!! YUM YUM!! I didn't eat it all at once-it took me 3 days to eat. We also tried many TS(table service) restaurants. One was Whispering Canyon. We had the all-you-can eat skillet. In the picture it looks like it was Madison's plate but we were all dipping from it. We liked this restaurant so much we went back for breakfast one day and had the same all-you-can eat skillet
with breakfast foods. One night we had dinner at
the Sci-Fi drive in. It was just like a drive in. You were seated in cars that had tables. We also enjoyed Chef Mickey's which was a buffet. Grant ended up getting sick this night so it was an adventure trying to get back to the hotel via buses with a sick child. I made Cary hold him on the bus with a Disney bag to throw up in while Madison and I stood at the front and pretended not to know them!!!

We took lots of time trying on hats that we never bought!!

We rode lots of rides. Some that scared the kids to death. I love this picture of Madison and Grant covering up in the

front row. Madison totally got scared on the Tower of Terror which is an elevator ride that drops you unexpectedly. She rode it once or twice but after that she wasn't having any part of it. So she stayed in the gift shop while we rode. All in all it was a great trip. We did lots of walking and very little sleeping. But we still got along great. Grant would have never made it without the stroller. It only rained on us once or twice for a very short period. The dining plan was the best way to go. In total we had 24 table service meals, 24 snacks, and 24 counter service meals. We used each and every credit although on the last day we were so full we really didn't want to use the last counter service meals but we did ;) The kids are definitely ready to go back. I don't know if we will make it back next year or not but we will definitely go back.

Relaxed~Renewed~Refreshed

That pretty much sums up my weekend. We spent Fri-Sun camping. This was my first time camping in a tent, and much to my surprise I really enjoyed it.

















We had several people comment on our $48 tent!!













It was so hot the dog even got in the water. I have never seen him do this before.













































Madison & Grant had lots of fun playing in the fire pit. Cary cooked us a delicious breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Yum!!

Grant practicing his hand stand or cartwheel. I can't remember which one!!!

Back To Normal!!!

At least for now, that is how I feel. The past couple of months at work has totally threw my schedule off. I need structure and daily routines to keep my self in sync. From June-Aug I was filling in at another office. It was more work but I did enjoy the change of pace from my office. The thing that threw me off was the hours. I was going in an hour later and getting off an hour and 45 mins later than my office. This was all summer long, so I became a little bummed over not getting home until after 5 each day. Needless to say by Aug I was more than ready to go back to my office and my daily routine.

But that didn't happen. Sometime in July I was asked to go to another office for another assignment. I was willing to go but really wasn't looking forward to another change in schedule. That's when I found out the office that I ultimately want to go to was going to be available. The Lady that worked there, Freddy Poindexter, had just found out she had lung cancer and since she was going to retire in Dec anyways she decided to go on sick leave until Dec. She has known for several years that I ultimately wanted her office. She asked for me to be placed in her office. I absolutely love this office. It's really not much different from my office, other than it's 3 miles from my house!!!! I have never worked so close to home before. I can even eat lunch with Madison since her school is only 5 miles from my work.

It has took several weeks and finally finishing a huge project(I began in July). But I am finally feeling like everything is back to normal. I'm back on my routine but only better. I can go home at lunch and wash clothes, vacuum, run the dishwasher, or just take a quick nap:) Even though I am in the office I ultimately want, I haven't officially gotten it yet. It could be the first of next year before I know for sure. I have experienced some moments of fear that I wouldn't get this office. I have slowly decided, although sometimes I have to remind myself, to trust God. If it happens--WOW WOW WOW--and if it doesn't I still have my office which is great too, just not as close to home. Either way I am truly blessed.

I would just like to ask that everyone reading this blog to pray for Freddie. She could have retired in Feb but decided to hang on for the rest of the year. And then in July was diagnosed with Stage 5 Lung Cancer. She is 1/2 way through her chemo and will find out next week if it has done any good. She is a really good person and doesn't deserve this, but then again who does?
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This weekend we are taking the kids camping for the first time!! We have been meaning to go all summer and one thing just led to another. I came across a tent at Target for $48 that was regular $198, that helped get the camping trip started. Since I bought the tent, we have to use it!! I've never camped in a tent before, so this is a new experience for all of us. I just hope we have lots of family time that we don't usually get when we're at home.

Family Encampment 2007

This weekend we went on our 3rd Family Encampment trip to Fall Creek Falls with our church family. My kids look forward to this trip every year. We had lots of fun, ate lots of food (5 pounds worth for me!), rode bikes (15 miles), hiked up and down the falls, nursed scraped knees, entertained natures critters (Amy you know what I'm talking about!), talked & talked & talked, cooked, cleaned, laughed, relaxed and worshipped. What more could you ask for??

Aug 1-14

School started Aug 3rd. Madison is in 5th grade and Grant is in 1st. Cary & I took off to take them to school to register and then to the library. Then back home for some pool time.

Of course Kaitlyn was having withdrawals from not being at our house all summer, so she came home with us after school registration. We went shopping that night at Opry Mills.

The next weekend Lexi and Kalesha were experiencing withdrawals too!! Between these 3 girls they are always wanting to spend the night at our house. So Friday night they came over we went to the drive-in and watched Underdog and Hairspray. I was so looking forward to Hairspray, but I fell asleep somewhere in the middle of it. So I guess I will have to rent it when it comes out. They also went to church with us Sunday and Lexi stayed with us until 8:30 Sunday night. She didn't even want to go home then.

This is one of Grant's best friend-Logan. I use to work with her mom and they live just a couple of houses away from us. Somehow these two have hooked up since kdg and rarely go a day without talking. Logan calls our house almost daily and also wants to come over daily. It's really cute to watch these two together. She also went to the drive-in with us.

Sunday was Life group at our house. Again I was in charge of the kids. This time I decided to get into the pool. We played several games. I was totally wiped out at the end of the day.