And the Nail Fell Off . . .

Remember when Paige broke her finger on New Years Eve? Well, tonight she came downstairs with tears streaming down her face telling me her "finger was falling off". I couldn't help but laugh and the more I laughed the madder she got. What she meant was her finger NAIL was falling off! It was catching everything she rubbed her hand against!

I carefully cut it off with clippers as she sobbed on my lap. We then carefully coated it in Neosporin and covered it with a Band-Aid. As she walked away wiping her tears she said "thank you Mommy, you're good at that".

Bless her heart!

What a Week!! (for me anyhow!)

This has been the longest week in history . . . I'm sure! Work has been chaotic with one crisis after another. Many of my patients and colleagues have had the vomitting stomach flu. My two favorite patients were rushed to the hospital first thing Monday morning and one is now on a ventilator that will probably be discontinued tomorrow, the other is still unresponsive as of 3pm today and it's not sounding good. Tuesday I came home with a horrible headache and achiness all over just praying it didn't get worse! Wednesday I wasn't feeling much better, but made msyelf go through the daily routine of work and kids. Wednesday night Mike and I just passed eachother on the road as we picked up kids here, dropped a few there all at different times and across town from eachother. Thursday is the day I dread every week because I don't get to see my husband at all - I get home at 4, but he leaves around 2 and works until 4am to build movies for all you Friday night movie goers! I did get a phone call and an "I Love You" from him this afternoon. Tomorrow is end of the month - so it's paperwork all day long! I still have the headache and achiness - but so far that's all it is!

All I can say is . . .

Lots of Yardwork To Be Done!!

The above is the before picture - small front part of our yard. Duke Power came and cut a bunch of trees down that were "a danger" and just left it all in the yard. Add to that the storm that carried 50mph winds last week - and our yard was an absolute disaster! The wind was so strong it ripped the cover on the wood shack into threads! So - we spent the better part of the day cleaning it all up.

The kids each had their own job to do in this huge task! Chase and Kayleigh drug tree limbs down to the fire pit in the woods, Paige filled the wheelbarrow with the smaller pieces and Daddy would help her take that down to the firepit. Mike and Devin moved and cut up the chunks of tree left and got it all stacked in the wood shelter. I did all the raking of the leaves, pinecones, and super small branches (with a fractured wrist I might add!).

Below is the "after" picture - after 2 hours of all of us working together! Take note in the before picture - the red bush and the three big treese in the front yard - how the actual yard itself was full of branches, leaves, and chunks of tree. In the after picture below is that same red bush and three big trees - the center yard section is completely clean!! Yeahh!!

Next weekend we'll do another section of the yard. We have 2 acres of this sort of mess! So - baby steps to get it all looking nice again!! Gotta love living in the woods!

Devin Passes Drivers Ed!!!

Devin's been taking the book part of drivers ed for the last few weeks. It's had it's ups and downs - many quizzes, tests, and "silly rules" according to Devin! In the end - he passed with flying colors. Next up - the actual driving! He's been begging Mike and I to take him to our church's parking lot to practice . . . I'm just not that brave.

So - I was thinking as a gift I'd get him a Flintstone's car. At least I know he'd be safe because his legs can't go more than a few miles per hour! Right?

Congratulations Devin!

Introducing: Jeff and Sheri McMahon

(Uncle Jeff, Tyler, Aunt Sheri, Samantha)

Kayleigh, Chase, Paige, and I (Michelle) drove to Wheeling, WVa yesterday for my Uncle Jeff's wedding. It was a quick trip there and back because of obligations at church tomorrow, but we're glad we went! We were able to see lots of my Mom's family that we haven't seen in a few years. Paige and Chase had fun with cousins they had never even met before!

Congratulations Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sheri!

Scenic Overlook in the Mountains

We pass a scenic overlook along the West Virginia turnpike every trip home we make - but we've never stopped. The kids and I needed to stretch our legs - so we decided to see what it was. What a beautiful overlook!!! We'll definitely be stopping when the trees are all green in the spring and again in the fall when it's all full of colors!


This second picture was taken straight out in front of us over the valley. You can see the top of the mountains - and i fyou look close in the sky you can see the moon above the clouds. It was so cool!

Anyhow - if you ever get a chance to stop along the overlooks - do it! Glad we finally did it!

It's Snowing!!!!!

This is absolutely insane! We were at 60 degrees in the Winston Triad today - and tonight it's snowing . . . snowing hard! There's about an inch or so on the ground already - with snow continuing over the next 2-3 hours. It is quite beautiful - but I'll be glad to see it go!

Mom Finally Gets Her Hair Cut . . .

Much to Michael's dismay . . . I finally went and go my hair cut off again! Kayleigh insisted on taking a picture and me putting it on our website.

Andra (at Allure Day Spa) tried to cut it so that Michael wouldn't notice how MUCH she really cut off! Off the back went just more than 4 inches and off the front sides about 2 inches. I absolutely love it and I got the approval of the kids. As for Michael . . . . he'll get over it!!!

Andy Gets A Bath . . . and so do we!!!

(This is Devin's attempt at not getting wet and holding Andy still!)

It's beautiful here in North Carolina today - right around 70 degrees and sunny. So - Devin and I decided we'd try to bath Andy outside instead of taking him to the groomer like we've been doing over the winter - maybe save $75. HA! Boy was the joke on us! Andy did not care for the cold water coming out of the hose, let alone it being sprayed in his face! Devin and I ended up as wet as Andy was and we really didn't do that good of a job! Now I know why the groomer charges so much . . . but we've definitely decided it's worth it!

( Poor guy finally gave in and let us do our thing!)

Mr Groundhoug Has GOT To Be Wrong!!

Is spring coming?

According to all the news reports, our friendly groundhog claims we have another 6 weeks of winter coming . . . . Then explain why today was 65 degrees and gorgeous!

We were able to spend time outside with the kids and even get a little yard work done. Mike decided to try playing basketball for the first time since his shoulder surgery in November. The boys blasted him in games of HORSE multiple times! Actually, Chase beat out his Dad AND his brother Devin! Man that kid's got an arm!! Paige decided to take up skateboarding with the help of Kayleigh!

As for me . . . I just ran around taking all the pictures!

And he shoots! But doesn't score!!

Wow Dev! Look at that follow through!

Chase grins at yet another victory!

Mike will NOT give in!!

An Accident Waiting to Happen!!