Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma

September 3, 1918, Eula Marie (Sue) Payne entered the world. She had five children, which she raised by herself. She has served the Lord most of her 90 years. All of her children and most of her grandchildren are serving the Lord. At 90, Grandma is quite the fireball, not a force to be rekoned with. She has 9 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. We, along with many friends and other family members, including two of her brothers, one is 98, celebrated her birthday this weekend. Our theme was "The Roaring Twenties." We had a great time and it was a wonderful way to celebrate 9 decades of Grandma's life! Here are a few pictures commemorating the day.

Shame, Shame You Terrible Blogger!

I know, I know (hanging head in shame) I have been a horrible blogger. Here is a quick update:

Chase moved back to Chattanooga on August 16th. It was a sad day. We all thought we would be excited to get rid of him and he, to go, but it was heartbreaking! We miss him horribly, except Caden who is praying he doesn't come back! (hehe) It so hard to believe 17 years have gone so quickly. When I think about my life when he was born, it seems like a lifetime ago, but thinking of how fast he grew up and left us, it seems like the blink of an eye! He started college on Monday, August 25. He seemed to enjoy it and loves his Psychology professor. It is my prayer for him to grow and enjoy this time in his life.

Coy started sixth grade. We are trying a new, more hands on approach with him in school. He is just not a great student. He hates to concentrate, to sit still, and has a difficult time with memorization. We are hoping for a better year this year!

Caden has started preschool. He is so funny when people ask him if he goes to school, he promptly informs them, "I am homeschooled!" He is definitely going to be challenging. He is smart like Chase and high-strung like Coy. Hands on is most certainly his homeschooling fate as well! It is much more fun, but a lot more work for me!

We are still in love with LaGrange and its people. We don't know how we will ever leave this place! We have been told there should be work here until July, but that is only going to make it that much more difficult to leave!

Concrete Caden

Caden has always been enthralled by big machinery, bulldozers, dumptrucks, graters, etc. The park where we live is working on pouring cement on some of the sites. Currently, we are mostly red clay! Yesterday, they were pouring the pad in front of us. Caden was, of course, in the middle of it all. He tried to stay out of their way, but that only lasted for a short time. He watched them pour the concrete out of the truck. When the cement truck driver needed his concrete spout cleaned, he let Caden spray it off. He then proceeded to get himself a trowel and helped to finish out the concrete!

Update on Chase's Future

Chase was accepted to LaGrange College and had intended to live on campus. It is a private Christian school. Joe and I would love for him to go there. It is so flipping expensive, there is just no way he can go this year. He is going to be working on scholarships and grants so hopefully he can attend there next year. He is moving this weekend to live my terrific brother and wonderful sister in law in Chattanooga. He is going to be attending a state college there. He is disappointed, but recognizes it is a more responsible thing to do. He won't be in debt this year! We are really going to miss his humor and hugs. . . but I think we'll see him fairly often. . .

He has a girlfriend. I don't think Joe and I could have picked a better girlfriend for him. She is the cutest thing. We have always said Chase needs someone who is a yes-honey-girl or a girl who lays down the law. Christyna appears on the surface to be a yes-honey-girl, but in reality, she keeps him straight! She is precious. We love her!

He also become quite the little songbird. If you go to http://www.myspace.com/soulgate7 on the right side of the page, click on the song listed "Heaven Sent." It is Chase singing! It amazes me that my children never cease to amaze me!

A Vail Visit

My Mother in Law and Sister in Law visited this week with my nephew, Kain and my niece, Kylie. We had such a terrific time visiting! We hung out at the pool and waterslide and went over to the skating rink for the evening. Here are some pictures I wanted to share!

I Have Been Called Worse. . .

As I am, let's just say, maturing, I am becoming more and more aware of my family's impact on the earth. God gave it to us to enjoy and love, but not to completely destroy. In the last year, I have started making my own cleaning products, laundry detergent, grown a garden, started recycling, using energy saving light bulbs, saving water and electricity when we can, using reusable grocery bags, composting, really focusing on reducing and reusing and a host of other things. Ok, so it's lot for a spoiled, earth-abusing family to digest in less than a year. So, Joe calls me a "Tree Hugger." A friend of mine shared this slide with me and wanted to share it with you! I use plastic grocery bags for trash. Now, that I am aware of how many we are using in a year, I will have to find an alternative garbage bag! *sigh* http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016

I really don't know what I am doing here, but go check out this site!

Remembering our Troups

This is Les. He is the son of a guy Joe works with on the KIA project. He is 20 and had not intended to go in to the service. He was having a difficult time finding a job since graduating high school, so decided maybe the U.S. Army was for him, at least he would have an income in these days of unrest and the unknown. He was home on a medical leave on the Fourth of July. Three Creeks Entertainment was having an Independence Day blow out and Joe invited the family. I thanked him for his willingness to serve our country in a time of war. I also thanked his mother who simply said, "I am scared." It struck me that we have millions of men and women, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, sons and daughters fighting for our country, for our freedom, and we, at least I, tend to go about my days worried about what is for dinner, rarely thinking about our service men and women who are way more concerned about staying alive. So I challenge you to take a little time out of your day and thank God for them and pray for our soldiers safety!