OUR CAMPING TRIP

MARCH 26, 2009

Our family decided to embark on our first "tent" camping trip this past weekend. We have camped in the backyard several times but never away from home together as a family. Jimmy and I wanted to spend some family time with Rachael with no amenities of home such as TV, phone, electronic games, and other devices.

We decided to take a trip to Grandfather Mountain and rented a space at Grandfather Campground. The place was very nice and we were within 300' of a bath house. Upon arrival, we proceeded to set up camp.

Jimmy and Rachael setting up our tent.

Jimmy trying to untangle the drop cord. (We did select a campsite with electricity and water.) There are some things I absolutely cannot do without.

My husband and his "sense of humor" trying to untangle the drop cord.

After setting up camp, we decided to spend the remainder of the day shopping and visiting downtown Boone. We stopped at a few antique shops and found an open market near downtown with plenty of vendors selling different crafts.

Later that evening, back at our campsite, we started a campfire, roasted marshmallows for smores and spent time just talking and laughing. Bed was early, due to the rain that came in and the next morning we awakened to a fresh new day.

All of us but Rachael. She decided to sleep in!

I was elected to fix breakfast. Country ham & egg sandwiches.

My husband inside the tent in his morning devotions.

I chose to do my devotions outside after breakfast.

Starting to feel more raindrops!

The rain seem to be just enough to dampen our plans to visit the Grandfather Mountain Mile High swinging bridge. We wanted to make sure that we went to the bridge on a day that was very clear and sunny so that Rachael could see the beauty of the mountain. We decided to wait and see if the weather would clear on Monday and just spend our Sunday with family. We met Nick and Melissa in Boone and toured Melissa's Alma Mater, ASU.

Me, Rachael, Nick (step-son) and Melissa, (Nick's girlfriend) standing in front of the founder's bell at Appalachian State University. The inscription on the wall states that students believe if they rub the bell before going in to take exams, they will do well on them.

Nick, Melissa, Rachael and me standing in front of the "Rock".

Go Mountaineers!

We left campus and went to the Farmers Hardware and The Mercantile Store. Great places to visit and each one has a candy barn. Rachael and I took a rest while Jimmy, Nick, and Melissa went inside the Mercantile Store.

Me and Rachael decided to "people watch"

Nick and Melissa took us to Cafe Portafino's in downtown Boone and it was great. I had something called a Spicy Sirloin Penni and it was delicious! I will have to try to make this at home. We enjoyed our time with Nick and Melissa and later wished them a safe trip home and we headed back to camp.

Rachael wanted to spend the remainder of the day fishing. She loves to fish and we had a great time watching her. Its nice to see a teenager enjoy being with her parents.

She caught a trout within 15 minutes of trying.

She is very proud of "her catch"

She let him go. Said he needed to get bigger before we could eat him.

We woke up on Monday to rain again! We made the decision to pack up and head home instead of trying to visit the Mountain. We are going to visit again soon and make sure Rachael gets to see the Mile High Bridge. We had a wonderful trip in spite of the rain and enjoyed our time together as a family. We have learned some lessons from this "tent camping" that will help us on our next trip. (yes, we decided we do enjoy camping and will go again.)

QUICK NOTE

MAY 21, 2009



Just giving a quick update to blog followers. Jimmy's mother was released from the hospital this past Tuesday and is at home recuperating. She is doing really well and walking each day. This has been a burden lifted from everyone and we appreciate all the prayers. Please continue to pray for her as she is facing an additional surgery to place stints in her neck in 6 months.



Rachael is finishing up exams and the end of the school year is almost over. Her last day will be tomorrow and she is singing with 3 other young ladies for graduation Friday night. I am going to make sure I video her this time and maybe can even place it on the blog next week.



We are heading out of town on Saturday. We are going camping at Grandfather Mountain. I will take some pictures and post them also. We are excited about spending some time together as a family and exploring Grandfather Mountain and other areas.



Weigh in was much better this week and I truly feel I am back on track. I lost 6.6 lbs so I was really excited. I have seen the fruits of prayers and I feel very blessed. Please pray for me to continue to have strength as I still have more pounds to lose.



The baccalaureate service was awesome last night. The message that Daniel Hawtree brought was "dead-on" and should have spoke to everyone in the church. It gave me a real desire to pray for my children daily but also know I cannot give up on any of them. I pray for my children but sometimes I allow other things to draw my attention from really getting on my face before God and being persistent, never giving up.



Quick recipe as I have let this fall to the wayside.

Chicken Parmigiana

1 spray olive oil cooking spray

1 pound uncooked boneless ,skinless chicken breast, thinly pounded, 4 (4 oz. pieces)

2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 cup(s) canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.

Place egg whites in a shallow bowl. Combine bread crumbs with Italian seasoning and salt.

Pour into another shallow bowl. Dip chicken in egg whites; turn to coat. Dip chicken in bread crumbs mixture. Turn to thoroughly coat.

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and add oil; heat over medium high heat. When hot, add chicken and cook until lightly brown and no longer pink in center, about 4 minutes per side.

Pour 1/2 cup of sauce in baking dish. Place chicken in baking dish and pour remaining sauce evenly over chicken. Sprinkle with cheeses and bake until chicken is cooked through and cheese is bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Number of servings: 4 Points per serving: 5

Helpful Hint: I added 1 tsp of garlic and basil to my sauce just to add some more flavor.

THIS AND THAT...

MAY 13, 2009

As we all do sometimes, I have not been blogging as much. Not anywhere near my 100th blog, (Kim and Heather), just around 58th blog. We've had a busy household with many eventful things happening in the last couple of weeks so I'll try and catch everyone up.

On May 3rd, Jimmy's mother suffered a heart attack while in route to church. Her husband, Jimmy Sr. took her to the hospital and on Monday the 4th, they did a heart cauterization. It showed 4 blockages in her heart and they scheduled surgery for Tuesday the 5th. We all gathered on that Tuesday morning to pray with her and Dr. Duncan cancelled the surgery. They discovered that Ma Maw had 3 more blockages in the veins in her neck. Dr. Duncan wanted to do some further test before doing open heart surgery. So, on Wednesday morning the 6th, we all gathered back over to her room and Dr. Duncan told us he was going to go ahead and do the open heart surgery that morning and wait 6 to 8 months and put stints in the blockages in her neck. She did really well through the surgery and is still in the hospital recuperating. She has suffered some setbacks due to diabetes and irregular heartbeat and this morning was taken back to the operating room to have her heart shocked back into rhythm. We are praying that she will be able to come home in the next few days.

We have been doing a lot of commuting back and forth from the hospital and it has been tiresome but I know Ma maw has appreciated each and every visit. She has been in good spirits but really wants to go home. There truly is "no place like home."

On May 8th, I was preparing to leave my work a little early to travel to Charlotte for the State Softball Play-offs. As I was walking back into work from the employee parking lot, I tripped over a concrete parking stop and propelled myself forward, landing directly on my left forehead, striking my nose directly on the pavement. This hurt. I have never suffered any sort of trauma to my face and was totally not prepared for the amount of pain I would be in. I was bleeding badly from my nose and some bleeding from my forehead. I was disoriented and trying to get my wits about me when one of my co-workers exited the building and saw me. She immediately called for assistance and I was helped to a chair inside the building where an ice pack was placed on my nose and left side of my face. I was taken to a nearby urgent care where it was determined that I had suffered a mild concussion and non-displaced nasal fracture. In short, I broke my nose! I did not really care about what I had broken, I just wanted something for pain. I was given a shot of Toradol in my hip and within 30 minutes, the pain eased off. I am feeling better although I am still suffering from some pretty intense headaches. They come and go and I never know what will trigger them. They are always behind my eyes and feels like sinus pressure. I went back for a follow up visit yesterday afternoon and the doctor told me I may suffer from the headaches for months to come. (I pray not) Because of the location of the break in my nose, they will not attempt to set it, but x-ray again next week. They seem to think it will heal on its own but if not, they will refer me to another doctor. It really doesn't hurt as long as I don't touch it. I'm am healing quite well and the bruising is mainly centered around the left eye. I have been able to conceal it quite well with make up and was even told Sunday morning at church that I looked great to have broken my nose.

We went ahead and had Kelli's birthday party/cook-out on Saturday the 9th and had a good time of fellowship. There were about 20 of us that gathered at the house and even though the rain came in and kept us inside, we still managed to enjoy the evening with fun and games.

Mother's Day was quite. We made visits to each of our mothers and also tried to chip out some time for our own children. Nick and Kelli came by and brought me some gifts and cards which I greatly appreciate. I love Target gift cards and Contemporary Christian music CD's. Rachael gave me a beautiful card and apologized for not being more prepared. I have to admit, I was not too happy with my husband on Sunday. He seem to overlook the day and by lunch was give out. I've since had to recognize that we all have been under a lot of pressure with different events occurring in our home and that it is not about the gifts but what's truly in the heart.
I know Jimmy loves me and I know Rachael loves me. They just fall short sometimes in showing it to my specifications. Did you get that? To my specifications....(sometimes we tend to think it is all about me) I had to realize that Mother's Day doesn't make it my day but a day to celebrate all mothers. If I would have focused more on my mother and Jimmy's mother, I would not have been so focused on me. Anyway, lesson learned, forgiveness given, and all is well.

My weight. Lets talk about the weight. I did not attend last week's meeting because we were at the hospital and I never found the time to attend any other meeting for the week...excuses, excuses...excuses...(now I know where my daughter gets this from). I have gained. I have not been faithful to my tracking, exercise, or eating. I am up 5 lbs and now must get back up and get busy. No more excuses, just do it!

Having said all this, pray for us. Pray that God will continue to strengthen Jimmy's mother and she will be able to go home. Pray for my nose and headaches. Pray for strength for Jimmy and I to continue our journey to better health. Pray for Rachael. (exams next week) and pray for each other. We all desire and need each others prayers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLI

May 07, 2009

Happy Birthday Kelli! You turned 24 years old today. We are so blessed to have you in our lives and we love you very much! It has been my honor to call you my stepdaughter for 18 years now and I still remember the day I met you. Your dad and I had been dating for well over 6 months and he thought it was time for me to meet you and Nick. We came and picked you up from your grandmother's house and took you for ice cream. You were so shy and timid. You hardly spoke 2 words the entire time, but I knew you were definitely "sizing me up." You were making sure that I was the "real deal" and "good enough" for your dad.

I am so proud of the young lady you have become and I have enjoyed being a part of your life for the last 18 years. I look forward to many more years to come and want to see God move in your life. I pray for you each morning and night. I hope you know how much your dad and I desire to see you serve God faithfully. We are still praying for you. You are loved so very much!

Kelli Michelle Tullock

Born: May 07,1985

Your sissy saids hello and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! She is looking forward to your Birthday Party on Saturday evening at the house. We look forward to seeing you! We love you Bunches!!