Goodbye First Grade, Hello Tears....

Joseph is ready for the summer!!!!

Joseph looking cool and dapper as he leaves the house for his last day of first grade...

Joseph's morning tradition....kissing Presley goodbye as she cries for him not to leave...

I had to include this pic...this was Joseph's first day of First Grade......look how much they have grown in one year!!!

Well, today was the last day of First Grade for Joseph. I knew this was coming, I mean I have had all year to prepare for this day. However, nothing could stop the tears as I walked him into his classroom taking "last day" pictures of him. His teacher MUST think that I am the weepiest whino mom in the world. It just does not seem possible that my baby boy will be a SECOND grader.......in 2 months!! "Second grader" just sounds so old....how is this possible?? Wasn't it just yesterday he was playing with his Thomas The Train toys and making choo choo sounds?? Please tell me that time will slow down a bit, it just seems to go by too fast for me these days.

I am so proud of you Joseph. Your mommy and daddy love you so much and we pray that you will continue to do your best in school and in life. Your kind heart and compassionate ways make you one special and unique little boy. Your life verse seems to be so fitting for this day...."Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight."

We love you, Prince.

Field Trip to Athens Botanical Gardens

Brooke and Carin...Joseph's good friends

Joseph and this beautiful bloom! Joseph and Carin..they share the same last name and they think that is so cool!
Joseph and his good friend Lena
Joseph and Mrs. Stapp (his 1st grade teacher)

Joseph's class went on a field trip to Athens Botanical Gardens. We had a great time and saw many beautiful blooms! We also saw a puppet show and the kids got to dig in the dirt! It was a lot of fun for all of us!

An angel on Earth....

My beautiful Mom!!!!!



~ Me, Mom and Presley~


My mom is the best mom in the whole world! She is my best friend, my mentor, my spiritual guidance, and most of all my safe haven. We have so much fun when we are together, i promise you that she is the funniest woman you will ever meet! My closest friends will quickly second that!! :) I laugh until my tummy cramps and my cheeks are numb whenever we are together! There is nothing like being with her. She loves my children like they are her very own children and spoils them like there is no tomorrow!

Mom raised me to have compassion and love for all mankind. She looks at the heart and not the circumstances of people. Mom has a discerning spirit like no other and has many times used it to save me from heartache in my teenage and adult years. She taught me to laugh at myself and to not take myself too seriously...which i still struggle with! She made me think that I was capable of anything and that nothing was impossible because i was fearfully and wonderfully made by the Lord.

Thank you Mom for more than I could ever begin to express with my limited vocabulary. I thank God every single day that He chose you to be my mother . I never take our relationship for granted, for I know that it is a treasure from heaven.

All my Love,

your Jilly

Me and Ang showing mom some love!!!




I awoke on Mother's Day with our power out and NO WATER!! When our power went out, it caused our well to stop pumping water. This was not a good thing, because we all needed showers for church, AND i had a fridge full of food for a cookout at my house that afternoon! Yikes!! I was in a panic, but trying to be happy and grateful. We had planned on going to my mother in law's church, First Baptist in Conyers, however that didn't pan out because we could not shower or bathe! We spiffed up as best as we could, and headed to meet Jane, my mother-in law at Whistle Post for brunch. Thankfully when we returned our power was back on!! I told the Lord that i would never take running water for granted ever again!!

Later that evening I cooked dinner for my family....my sister and her family and my mom and dad. I have come to the realization that i absolutely LOVE to entertain! It is so much fun getting the house ready for company and preparing all the small details that go along with it. Lem said he couldn't decide if i was more excited about my family coming over, or just getting everything ready for them!! :) The funniest thing is that I made my very first 3 layer cake. Everything was going great until it was time to take the layers out of the pans and place on the cake plate. I used a spatula to dig the cakes out......oooops...big mistake. The cake looked like Joseph and Presley had attempted their first cake. Once the icing was on, it was beginning to look a little better, though. Thank Goodness for the icing!! Well, when i was re-telling the story to Jane, she was dying laughing and said..."honey, you just turn the pan over and the cake will fall on to the cake plate!" OOOOOOOOOHHHHH!!!! I was mortified at my inability to use such elementary common sense! Oh well, atleast it makes for a good "first 3 layer cake story"!! Martha Stewart I will never be!

When my family arrived we had such a great time, laughing, reminiscing, laughing some more, eating, eating some more...and just enjoying the closeness that we all share. I didn't want anyone to leave i was having so much fun.

By the end of the night, i was exhausted, yet still on a high from my (almost) perfect day. My ever so thoughtful husband cleaned up the remains of our good time in the kitchen, as i headed for the bathtub to bathe the kids. My day was coming to an end, and as i watched the kids in the bathtub, i was keenly aware of the blessings that God has so graciously, yet so undeservingly blessed me with. After tucking them in, I headed for a soak in my bathtub. As I was soaking away the long, yet glorious day...I specifically asked the Lord if it was wrong to not want my children to grow up and to just keep them in my care forever and ever. Lem and I are so aware of them changing and growing every single day, and it just stings a bit when they need you less and less. We often talk of wanting to freeze time and just remaining in the moment of where we are right now. Maybe, this is how heaven will be....

Don't get me wrong...there are days (many days) when i am pulling my hair out and asking God to " please, please, please give me more patience.... " :) But it is the quiet evenings when the kids smell of lavendar bath soap and freshly brushed teeth, when we are reading books in their beds, that i can't ever imagine not doing this.

Girls just wanna have Fun!

Me and Erin at the condo just about to head to Mazziano's
Me and Kim taking one last pic before heading to eat...
Our sweet waitress took our picture....
Had to include this pic....me at Sephora! See how happy i am??!!!

This weekend was FABULOUS!! Erin, Kim and myself went on a whirlwind girls getaway.... all the way to........Atlantic Station! We left Sat. morning and came back late Sunday afternoon. Saturday was filled with shopping, shopping and more shopping!! Atlantic Station is packed full of great shops and restaurants. For lunch on Sat., we ate at Rosa Mexicana.....mmmmmm.....muy deliciouso!! The guacamole was the best i have ever laid my mouth on! Sooo yummy!

For dinner the girls insisted that we go to Mazziono's because I had never eaten there. Wow! Great food and great atmosphere! We were surrounded by adorable highschool prom teenagers. They were so cute!! Made me feel really old, though! We had so much food leftover....my goodness!

After dinner we headed to Lennox, for yet more shopping! The highlight of the night was going to Sephora at Lennox. My favorite store of all time! I actually only spent $6.00 because i had a gift card......shew...glad for that. :)

Also, since we are still somewhat young and always up for a laugh, we tried on prom dresses at Macy's and took pictures. I didn't include those because they are way too embarrasing! We laughed our tails off in that dressing room. Those Macy's folks probably felt so sorry for us, trying on prom dresses on a Sat. night with no prom to go to! Nevertheless...we thought it was HILARIOUS. :)

Sunday morning we ate at Waffle House and went to IKEA! Okay, that place is a world all it's own. I was overwhelmed by all of the cool stuff they had. I can't wait to go back again!

It was nice getting home to our families on Sunday. The trip was refreshing and much needed for all 3 of us! Can't wait to go again!

Special thanks to our husbands for doing a great job taking care of things while we were gone! We love ya"ll!!! ;)

Presley and I have a picnic almost every single day! It is one of our favorite things to do together. Here she is sharing lunch with her favorite stuffed friend, Hello Kitty. She always wants to include a "friend" on our little picnics, so on this day it was Kitty. :)

Our neighborhood is very quiet and peaceful, so this time together is really sweet. She LOVES to talk like "big girls". I really don't have to say very much, she usually does most of the talking. (just like her daddy!) :) Presley is truly a girl's girl! Some of her favorite things are..... makeup, dresses , high heels, more makeup, jewelry, and talking on her pink Barbie phone. We have so much fun together! I never dreamed having a girl would be this much fun! (and exhausting at times! :)

The outfit that Presley has on in the top picture was hand picked by her....a high school musical shirt with a red and black Georgia skirt. This outfit was her 3rd outfit of the day...yes third, and it was only lunch time.