Remembering...

It is

the VETERAN,

not the preacher,

who has given us freedom of religion.

It is

the VETERAN,

not the reporter,

who has given us freedom of the press.

It is

the VETERAN,

not the poet,

who has given us freedom of speech.

It is

the VETERAN,

not the campus organizer,

who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is

the VETERAN,

not the lawyer,

who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is

the VETERAN,

not the politician,

Who has given us the right to vote.

It is

the VETERAN,

who salutes the Flag,

It is

the VETERAN

who serves

under the Flag,

It is

the VETERAN

who keeps us free.

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,

AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

Are YOU wearing the right jeans?

My dear friend Catherine posted some quite useful links on her blog today. None, however, were as important for every mom to read as this link, and it's scientific explanation of the "Mom Jeans" phenomenon that seems to plague us early 30s mothers. If you are a mom, aged 27-50ish or a grandmother of any age, I urge you to read this post by Rachel at Grasping for Objectivity. And for the sake of all woman-kind, please check your jeans accordingly. I know when I can fit into a sensible pair of jeans again (aka not plus sizes) I will be printing this out and hitting the stores!

Enjoy!

It has begun...

The outdoor projects have started here in Small Town USA. We have a lot of things we want to do this year including creating an extra parking space in our driveway, putting down pavers to make a patio in the back yard, and tackling the garage, which will certainly be a week long project I suspect.

This weekend after a lovely lawn manicure, Patrick got started by building me a flowerbed under our bay window. His little helper was hot on his heels, assisting when needed, painting pictures when not.

I am looking forward to the new changes and much needed updates that we will be doing this summer. Stay tuned as projects continue!

Oak Ridge and Knoxville, TN

Continuing our trip in Tennessee, on Saturday we headed to Oak Ridge, where Rob works for the National Laboratory as a physicist.

If you're a US history buff, you might be thinking that Oak Ridge sounds familiar, and rightfully so. Oak Ridge was the site of Y-12, the government project that created the atomic material for the first atom bomb in the 1940s.

The original building is in the process of being torn down, as the laboratory buildings surrounding the Y-12 complex are more modern and energy efficient. It was amazing to look at the place where so much death and destruction started, but also where military history was made.

After the sobering educational trip, we headed out to a park near the lab complex where everyone got in some play time.

We headed back to Knoxville after our jaunt in the park, where we went downtown to the site of the 1982 World's Fair. We saw the Sun Sphere and visited the site of the fair, which is now a grassy park.

While we were there, a triathalon was starting up and we got to hear Tara from The Biggest Loser speak about her weight loss journey. One of the ladies from the current season was there as well, and Amanda had her picture taken with her. Morgan enjoyed the free bounce houses/obstacle courses.

We had dinner at this brewery, and the food was great! There was also a beautiful war memorial at the World's Fair park. This was one of the pillars:

We headed back to Amanda and Rob's to conclude our trip. It was an awesome weekend with some awesome friends. Now we all wait for the arrival of their son next month, and hopefully another visit to Tennesses soon!

Having Fun in Gatlinburg, TN

Our first family trip to Tennessee went really well! Morgan did awesome on the ride down, only having one "unplanned" stop along the way. It was her first time in Tennessee, so we had to remember it with a photo of the state sign!

We went to visit our friends Amanda and Rob (and their unborn child...a boy!). Amanda and I worked together for over a year and have been friends for almost 3 years. It was exciting to go and be shown around East Tennessee. On Friday we went to Gatlinburg, TN and visited a few sights. We started the day at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. It was really great!

Morgan definitely thought so!
They had an underwater tunnel that allowed us to watch sharks and other sea life glide right over us!
See Amanda's baby bump? :)

This is Patrick pretending to pick the penguin's nose, just for my mother.

A beautiful shot outside of the aquarium. It was 90 degrees and I thought a dip in the river would have been nice. Sadly, we didn't do it.

Next we stopped at the Dukes of Hazzard Museum...it was disappointing, but we did get to see a few things.

Finally, we had a good lunch at a small local place, and saw this. If either of us skied, we might think about going here.

Happy Mother's Day!

"Mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. "

~Washington Irving

I would like to wish the happiest of Mother's Days to my Mom, whom I miss terribly. Also, a happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law (Janet), grandmothers-in-law (June and Opalene), all my friends and family who are mothers, new mothers, and to four very special first time mommies to be (Karen, Sheri, Melanie, and Amanda). May the day be blessed with your children's laughter (or kicks if you are pregnant).

Still Here, Running Ragged

The Tenneys are still alive, and still running all over God's beautiful creation. After the month of April, we had hoped May would slow down, but alas, it will not. I think this is what makes the summer go by so fast! We have activities scheduled every weekend in May and will be out of town at least once in June. But I am enjoying the beautiful weather, that's for sure.

During the last two weeks of April we saw the circus, spent time with Chris, Amy, Julia, and Kole, had a "work vacation" at the Social Work conference, had Morgan's birthday pictures done (yes I am aware that it was 2 months early, but our fabulous photographer is expecting her first child in early July), celebrated a monumental birthday with a dear friend, celebrated the 4th birthday of one of Morgan's friends, and we are headed to Tennessee tomorrow after a brief stop in Charleston to see the kiddos again. Whew, are you exhausted just reading it?

I had to get new tires yesterday, unexpectedly, because in less than 18 months I have driven nearly 45,000! HOLY MOLEY! We are all exhausted, but at least it's been fun. Poor Morgan has been dragged all over West Virginia, and her tiredness is starting to show in some rather crabby, unbearable behavior. I am definitely looking forward to the next two weeks where, at least for the week, she'll be in a stable environment of school and home. And as much as I enjoy traveling, my house is in very sad shape and I would love to sleep in my bed for longer than a couple nights. And I would like to get Morgan OUT of our bed...she's gotten in bed with us every night this week, which is very uncharacteristic and a sign to me that she is not sleeping well.

So we are off on another adventure. I don't believe Patrick has ever been to Tennessee, and I have only driven through, and Morgan has never been, so we are headed into uncharted territory. Thankfully we are visiting some friends who will be able to make sure we don't get lost on the way! Signing off for another few days, but when I get back I should have lots of fun pictures!

Blogging Break

I will be taking a short blogging break for the next week or so. Work life has become very busy and honestly, life will be so hectic from now until May 2 that I won't have time to blog. Besides, no one really wants to hear about my days (which will look something like get up, work out, travel/work, home, bed). So I'll leave you with a pretty picture of a sure sign of spring in Small Town USA and I will see you all in May!

**I will be continuing to update Morgan's blog since we will be doing some fun things with her over the next 10 days!**

PNC Park

Yesterday was our first baseball game at PNC park to see our beloved Pittsburgh Pirates (yes, we are fans even though they haven't had a winning season in somethingl like 18 years). We started the game with a 1 hour rain delay, while torrential rain pounded the field.

But once the rain stopped the weather was really nice and we saw a good game.

The Pirates nearly blew the win, but with a walk off RBI the Pirates are sitting at 0.500. We will be going to 4 more games this season and we are looking forward to more nachos, shooting hotdogs, and family time with Aunt Pattie. :)

The Most Beautiful Bouquet

Is a handful of dandelions lovingly picked by your child.

Easter

We had such a wonderful Easter weekend, spending time with the Tenney family and remembering and celebrating the reason for Easter. Our Lord is risen (just ask my three year old) and because of that we will live eternally with him after our time on Earth. Thank you Jesus.


Here are a few pictures from the weekend. All the rest have been uploaded to Shutterfly. If you need the password, let me know. You can also check Morgan's new website for more pictures of the weekend.

Beauty

The beauty of God is seen in every sunrise (or sunset as is the case here).

Not Me! Monday

So it's been a while since I participated in Not Me! Monday, and I thought that I could probably deny a few good things that have happened over the past month. Here we go!

I did NOT wake up scared half to death last night because I thought I heard a prowler while in deep sleep. In NOT doing that, I most certainly did NOT scream when my three-year old came into the pitch black room and whispered my name. I then did NOT allow her to get in bed with me because she said she was scared, and of course I was NOT scared, so thinking that at least she'd be near me was NOT going through my head while I did NOT wonder when Patrick would be getting home.

I did NOT silently do a happy dance in my head after my daughter told me, "Mom, you're a genius!".

I did NOT shut my door at work, turn off the lights, and stream the WVU basketball game on my work computer while my feet were up on my desk and my eyes were closed. I am always swamped at work so I never have time to put my feet up on my desk! Nope, not me!

I also did NOT tell my husband that all I wanted for Mother's Day was a Shark Steam mop. I always desire cute baubles and would never ask for a cleaning device for a present. And I certainly will NOT tell him that if he doesn't want to get the steam mop that I would really like my car to be detailed instead. HA! NOT ME!

And finally....

I did NOT hide a box of Samoas in the freezer and certainly did NOT eat the entire box in the course of 24 hours. I am trying to lose weight, by golly, and I would never sabotage myself like that.

If you are interested in not admitting to things you definitely did not do the past few days/weeks/months, please visit MckMama's blog for all the rules. And have fun!

Friday's Fab Five

A few of the blogs that I read participate in a blog-carnival called Fab 5 Fridays. In the spirit of the upcoming weekend, I thought I'd participate this week and give you a list of 5 of my favorite things this Friday. So, without further ado...

1) Shiatzu Massaging Chair Pad

This chair pad has been a god-send for me. Patrick likes to call it my torture device because he doesn't enjoy the massage, but for my fibromyalgia, when my back is hurting really bad, I can sit on the pad and get a constant massage, which I can either do my entire back or choose my own spots for the massaging balls to hit. This model also has a heat element, which makes this chair pad even better! There are MANY days that I would not be able to move without this chair pad.

2) Shamrock Shakes

Well, since this week was St. Patrick's day, I need to give a shout out to my favorite McDonald's LOVE. I am cannot stomach much food at this restaurant anymore (and I think that's a good thing), but once these little beauties come out I am like a moth to a flame! :) I love the minty goodness of a Shamrock Shake! I even heard you can get your friendly McDonald's worker to give you half Shamrock, half chocolate! YUMMY!

3) DVR

For years I have balked at the idea of having DVR. I said, who needs it? Well little did I know how much this service would change my life! I LOVE DVR. Being able to record a show when Morgan is having a bad night and requires more snuggle time, or when I am going to be out of town is just great. The best part? Fast forwarding through commercials! Second best? Rewinding live shows to catch that last comment Gibbs made to McGee that you missed because your three year old was in your face yelling about the dog eating her piece of cheese. Oh DVR, how did I ever live without you?

4) The Children's Place

This is my all time favorite store to shop in for Morgan. They have good quality clothes and run awesome sales! I rarely pay more than $3.99 for anything I buy in the store. I have found that it is the least expensive option for good quality, really cute clothes that hold up through multiple washings and romps in the mud, and don't shrink.

5) Books on CD

Having books on CD is really the only way I get to "read" anymore. I spend a lot of time in the car traveling, especially coming into my busy travel time (spring/early summer). Books make the time go by really fast and I enjoy listening to the actors read. I just finished the book shown above, and if you like police mysteries, this is a MUST read (or listen in my case).