Sunday, September 28, 2008

Happy Belated Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday dear. . .

. . . Elijah (3rd)
. . . Faith (9th)
. . . Dana (11th)
. . . James, Sarah, and John (17th)

Happy Birthday to you!!!

As taken from: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.internet.is/mvala/birthday_monkey.JPG&imgrefurl=http://metropolitanlady.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/happy-birthday-mom/&h=301&w=363&sz=20&tbnid=iqM9PqseTWIJ::&tbnh=100&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbirthday&usg=__a37Kr8JrqTrxtQmqW65oQGU0FxQ=&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=4&ct=image&cd=1

BELATED: First Day of School Pictures

New School Shoes
(Elijah in Sketchers boots,

Faith has "High School Musical" shoes with pink laces she tied herself,
and Isaac in camo Converse)


Can I tell you how totally cool my kids are? Isaac just entered 7th grade and is on his first football team -- strut and all. It's really cool to see the self-esteem that goes along with the encouragement and being one of the "guys." We can expect he's at least a half-hour late as he hangs out after practice (since we live on the other side of the field) . . . cute.

Then there's Faith who is 6-years-old and just entered kindergarten. She's SUPER excited to finally have homework like her big brothers and we've even given her some chores for around the house (putting away silverware, picking up shoes, putting dishes in the sink). She's sooo anxious to grow up and she's learning so much: wanting to do her own hair (sloppy pony-tails and pig-tails) and she learned to tie her shoes in about 5 minutes! We were very impressed!

Finally, Elijah just turned 11 and is in 6th grade. He's trying to adjust to life without Isaac as his constant companion -- he hasn't liked that Isaac has been busy with football! Unfortunately when we tried to sign Elijah up for Pop Warner football he was too big for his age range. We're hoping to get him started with wrestling or something in the winter. In the meantime, he's a MAJOR video game addict! Sweet, hormonal (a.k.a. "emotional") Elijah -- I take comfort in remembering that Isaac went through this too (and will again). God love the poor kid as his body starts changing!

So, there's a bit of the news at our house. . . Enjoy the pictures!

Faith headed in for Orientation & to drop off school supplies (she picked out her outfit)

Kindergarten!!

Elijah (still a sweet kid), Isaac (too cool), and Faith (ready to go!!)


P.S. Honest to goodness! Faith said, "I have a passion for fashion!" Friday when she got to dress herself for the day (no school meant no uniform) -- too funny!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Confession: I Love John Denver!

I've been watching a John Denver special on PBS (one advantage of a flu bug is the time spent vegging out) and it brings such warm, fuzzy feelings. The show features some footage of John Denver way back when (late 70's) and I have vague, early memories of watching him with my parents. . . . My parents were big fans and tried to live the life John promoted: family, love of nature, singing with the acoustic guitar. Watching him brings back those memories. . . Mom singing to us with her guitar and Dad tucking me in at night. Do you know what I mean?

Mom had the record, "An Evening with John Denver" (released in 1975 - the year I was born) and we'd listen to it over and over again. I can picture our living room with the record album propped against the stereo (not a "stereo" by today's standards -- but one of those old stereo's that was the size of one of today's small entertainment centers -- with the speaker on the bottom and a record player, 8-track, and radio up on top - the hinge lid). . . listening to the music while I helped Mom by dusting or singing along with it. My favorite song was "Matthew" and I'd ask to listen to it over and over again.



Now that I've grown, other songs speak to me. . . Sweet Surrender ("Lost and alone on a forgotten highway - traveled by many, remembered by few. . . ") . . . For Annie. . . Then there are the songs that make me laugh like Toledo, Ohio ("I spent a week there one day") or Forest Lawn and then there are the oldies by goodies like Grandma's Feather Bed and Country Roads Take Me Home. . . I've grown up and have, since, bought the CD of "An Evening with John Denver" and there are heartfelt moments on sunny-drive road trips through the country where I will roll down my window and proudly belt out "Thank God I'm a Country Boy!"

In the meantime, I'm enjoying this warm, fuzzy feeling and happy memories with listening to John Denver. Thank you, John, for the music and love! Praise the Lord (and God bless John Denver)!

I have vague memories of watching this on TV. . . John Denver and the Muppets - what could be better? :)

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Happy Anniversary!

Today is Joel & my 13th Anniversary. . . so much has happened in those many/few years. . . Three kids, two dogs, two college degrees, 3 years in the military, and too much life to count! I know that we were young when we married but looking at these pictures reminds me of how very young we were (and skinny!) ;>)

Take a walk down memory lane with me. . .

1.) Here we are at the rehearsal -- both Joel & I were very excited! Joel spent the night with his buddies and arrived late (later than I expected, I should say) on the morning of the wedding. Whew! He made it! :)

2.) Here is Becky Schmitt and Diana Herb helping me get ready (all those little buttons at my wrist) -- I was nervous and excited!


The photographer, Mike Dean, took our pictures with each of us "apart" with our family prior to the wedding and saved our "together" pictures until after the wedding (so Joel didn't see me in my dress until the actual ceremony). Here's some of the better pictures:

3.) This picture cracks me up because it really captures the youthful cockiness of Joel. . . He was two weeks from turning 18 years old. . . He strutted when he walked. . . He was a great kisser. . . He liked to give me that sly smile. Here he is having a "guy moment" with his brother, Krag -- his best man. Krag is the one who introduced us: He was fresh out of the Navy and started attending the community college where I was a freshman and we hit it off. I was dating someone else and my friend, Tammy, had a huge crush on Krag -- so we hung out talking and I heard stories about his suave little brother. During winter break Krag invited me and my friends over to play cards and I met Joel -- Joel was grounded and stuck at home & my boyfriend was back home with his family. . . We laughed, cheated at cards, and eventually fell in love. Wowee! See why Krag's the best man? ;>)



4.) My friends cracked up when, after many many pictures, I sat down with Sarah on the steps of the alter to relax until it was time for the wedding :>) Can you believe that Sarah was a mere 9-years-old then and is now 22-years-old and a Registered Nurse down in Medford?!? She's grown into a absolutely beautiful woman and one of my best friends. . . I'm glad we shared this special moment.

5.) During the wedding ceremony people commented on the beauty of this moment. . . lighting our unity candle and sharing a special moment. Admittedly the day was blessed -- end of September is often the rainy season but our day was clear with a rainbow outside. . . We were both happy but also joked about the fact that everyone probably thought it was a precious moment and we were both feeling beads of sweat sliding down (and wanted to itch!). Alas, this is a wee bit typical for us: great friends joking and sharing time as opposed to having romantic moments. . . Ahh well.


6.) When we were finally wed, we had the usual "Wedding Party" picture -- many thanks to all our supportive friends! Pictured: Becki, Melissa, Diana, Sarah, Jonathon, Joel & Elizabeth Priddy, Mandy, Krag, Dustin, Kevin, and (little brother) Tim.

7.) First dance. . . Danced to "One boy, one girl" by Collin Raye

8.) The Toast. . . Krag then Diana then, one by one, each of my siblings toasted us. VERY cool!

9.) Here's a picture of us feeding each other cake. . . Always the question: smash it into the face or feed gently? Joel strongly believe that you need to feed each other gently as it's a sign of respect and trust -- we were nice to one another ;>) Isn't he cute?


10.) Ahh, the wedding mobile. . . That car served it's purpose but it was an AWFUL old car! When we gave it to Mom & Dad to donate to charity -- Joel had replaced the head a couple of times and the front driver's seat was propped up on a block of wood. But, we were a poor, young, newlywed couple and there are memories associated with it :>)

11.) Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Joel and Elizabeth Priddy:

So, there you go. . . That's where we were 13 years ago today. We missed our first three anniversaries together because we were apart for the military and other bits of life happened, and, today I've had a slight case of food poisoning and Joel's battling a bug too. . . Par for the course? Ahh, but we've hung in there and 13 years later, we're still Mr. & Mrs. Priddy. . . pretty good for a couple of young kids getting married ;>)

One last pic just as a P.S. -- Joel's cousins, Mandy & Jonathan, were our flower girl and ringbearer -- they were too cute!


Friday, September 5, 2008

A Once in a Lifetime Event. . .

What do you get when you:
- take two huge pots of noodles (4 packages)
- 2 pots of oatmeal & barley
- 3 boxes worth of instant mashed potatoes
- some canned peas, carrots, and cranberry sauce
then team 8 boys (Isaac, Elijah, Jacob, Cody, Brandon, Christopher, Joshua, Mason) and Faith?

Elijah's 11th Birthday Party. . . With a Food Fight theme! The boys have been asking me for a Food Fight birthday party for about the past 3 years and now, with Elijah having just turned 11 and Isaac(12) - they are the perfect age for this experience. So each kid was armed with a can of whipping cream and silly string. . . we established some ground rules and then had about 20 minutes of wild fun :>)

Here are the results:

BEFORE: Ready, set, go!


Isaac learned that you shouldn't take the cap off a can of whipping cream, put the can in your pocket, and then bend over ;>)


Daddy taught Faith to put the whip cream in her hand and then throw it. . .

Cody


Isaac & Mason


Silly string & whipping cream :>)



AFTER: The picture doesn't nearly do them justice. . .


Brandon


Jacob (Isaac's best friend) and Chris (Elijah's best bud)


Elijah and Mason -- a happy birthday boy!

And what next you ask?

Dishes. . .

Video games. . .
A Happy Birthday!!
Then, hopefully, they will sleep tonight :>)

Praise the Lord for Elijah and may this year be truly blessed. God, please continue to guide his life and may his life be filled with even more joy than he experienced today. . . that is my birthday wish for him.