THE BIGGEST OF BIG NEWS!!

BUT....I can't say what it is.  Mike doesn't know, Courtney doesn't know, my parents don't, not even Lily. I will say what it is when the source comes out with it!!!  WOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!  hehe

Mike's BIG 50!

Today Mike finally turns 50!  I've already been 50 for 7 months!  HA!  It's also the 1 year anniversary of his mother's passing, so we won't be having a party today.  She is very VERY missed.

Those were taken at his 45th birthday party. He's asked not to have a party today, so we won't. 

I could add a thousand pictures on here of her and each picture will have great memories, mostly of laughing. She LOVED to laugh and was hilarious.  Smoking is a horrible, selfish habit and it leaves the family with a huge hole. 

I'll make this a short update. I've put loads of pics on this blog thru the years of her and my family.  We did almost everything together so we have lots of photos and memories.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Throwback Thursday

Today is the day we're supposed to put old pics on the web somewheres and look at it.  Don't know why!
Soooo,

The girls would kill me if they saw this picture!  I think they're beautiful!

HAAA!  Look at Britt's coo-lots!  HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!  She never reads my blog, so I can laugh at her!  hehe

This is Lily yesterday when I was begging  asking her to take a nap.  She eventually did.

And this morning after getting her dressed, dragging this huge brush thru her nappy head, washing her face, finding her pacifier (YES she still can't live without it) and putting her peacoat on, I had to take a picture of my accomplishment.  One clean, dressed and happy 2 1/2 yr. old ready for school!  She only goes 2 days a week for 4 hours each.  She LOVES it, but hates getting ready for it.

That's it for today (hopefully). 

In the news today, everyone AND they're granny is looking for this missing Malaysian airplane. I have been watching loads and loads of CNN.

L8R!

Baby Raelynn!!!

I became a GREAT Aunt today!!

That's my Brittany holding her.  Deanna finally had her baby and she is just precious and so TINY!  7 pounds isn't really small, but after toting Lily around, Raelynn is definitely dainty.

My sister-in-law Donna and her ex-husband Jimmy.  They have both moved on in their lives, but it was nice seeing them together for Deanna.
The flowers are starting to bloom and my allergies have kicked in.  I've been up since 3:30am sneezing with a stopped up head.  I'd want to live no where else but the south, but spring is just awful.

Warm spring day!!!

We finally had a warm, sunny spring day and we did did enjoy it!! It's supposed to be cooler next week, so we had to lap it up while we could.

March 2014 update

About a month ago, we had a wonderful, beautiful snow and I was off work and took a few pictures before I froze.  YES, that's my frying pan collecting snow.  hehe

Not to say I take too many pictures of Lily, but she's about ALL I take of.  My family hates when I take a picture before they put their makeup on or whatever.  Lily doesn't care!!!

Mike's birthday is coming up and it won't be celebrated this year.  It's his BIG 50.  It also will be the 1 year anniversary of his mother's passing.  On his birthday.  Thankfully, it's a weekday this year, so he'll be at work and hopefully too busy to fall apart.  This has been 1 very long year since then.  I can say since the calendar flipped to 2014, it has been better...somewhat.

That's about all I have time for this time.  I'm a total slacker, but I do think about blogging alot, I just honestly don't have the time I did before Lily graced us with her self.  And that's a great thing.  I have learned since my mother-in-law passed away with no known journal/diary/message/letter etc...that this will be important to my family some day.  They won't have to look for it, it's right here.  We lost SO many friends and family last year that I want to pay tribute to my own family!! : )

Enough of that.  Lily was diagnosed with apraxia from her seizure and we're really working with her speach, and frustration issues she has with that.  That's another long blog post I'll get to one day.  Not very uplifting, but a reality.

More soon!

Joan

Happy 2014

Thank the LORD we're done with 2013! What a relief to wake up January 1 2014 and not look back.  I lost my mother-in-law, my uncle and my dog in 2013. 
So, to look forward now, Lily begins K2 next week, Court is looking forward to another great year performing at Renfro Valley, KY, we plan on flying to visit Ash and John this summer in NH and everyone plans on staying healthy. Done.
I'm typing this from my Note 3, so it's an abbreviated update!
This is the plans today! More soon!

Thursday and it's cold and cloudy!!!

Britt ordered her a pair of BIG boots to wear this winter and they arrived in the mail!!!  She has to specially order hers since her feet are SOOOO big... she wears from a 12 to a 13 EEE shoe.  I'm not kidding either.  She's 6' tall with feet built to tote herself around!  hee!  I can tease her because we all do!  She loves it!!

 



I'm thinking Lily will have the same shoe challenges that her mama has, but with computers and Amazon, that shouldn't be an issue anymore.
The weather is getting colder and Ash comes home next weekend and all is well with everything.  At this moment.  I've learned to think that way because as we all know, that will change in a second.  Has done and will do.  Anyways, we're all good.
Lily has started settling down somewhat lately.  She must still under the effect of the cold she had.  She begins K-2 in January, so maybe she's getting herself psyched up for that.  WHO knows,  She still isn't talking yet, so we just guess.
All from here today!!!

November 2013 update

We have so much excitement to look forward to!! 
Ash is coming home the whole first week of December and we can't flippin' wait!! We have a lot to do before she gets here...I want to have all the Christmas decor up and our house to be Christmassy!!
I'm also OFF WORK the entire week!!  WOO HOO!  I love my job, but I sure do love not being there too!
Lily begins KY in January.  We're putting her in a private Christian school and it will be a challange for Britt keeping her in there, but we'll help as needed.  Our public schools are are beyond atrocious and we'll do what we can to keep her out of them.
I think that's it for the moment!!!

My parents

Today, Court Lily and I went to visit my parents.  Lily loves to go so she can play with my sister, Abby Nelle (the dog).
They're good, thankfully. 
We had a great visit and now I'm home cooking supper!!!

HAPPY OCTOBER

I'm FINALLY off work today after working 3 LONG LONG 12 hr. days.  Really.  Ashley is coming home from New Hampshire in December for a whole week and we can NOT wait!  Especially MEEEE!  We Skype a lot and she loves to talk to Lily!!!

 

That's our girl in her Halloween costume this year.  She's a fairy princess I think.  Or an angel.  Whatever she is, she's beyond precious!!

 



We take her to Renfro Valley, KY whenever Courtney performs up there and here she is picking her pumpkin.  She loves the camera and knows when we take her picture, she can view it on the phone.  I plan on getting her own phone for her next year.  Yes, I'm serious. hehe
Words can never come close to describing how much we treasure, love and just worship her.  We know how fortunate we are to have her live with us and can't imagine the day when Britt moves out.  I can't even type about it, so I won't.
Since my Mom-in-law passed away this past March, there hasn't been a day that's gone by that we don't wish she was here to see how we're all doing, mostly for Lily tho.  She would have loved her since of humor.  I take comfort in believing she is watching over that baby. 
Ash is doing really great!!!  She seems to love it up there in N.H. and I'm SOOOO glad.  John is wonderful and so is his family.  Time will tell what will happen with them, but I can see Ashley giving it 1000% and I hope he can appreciate and love her as much as we do.  Her sense of humor is wonderful and we love that about her.  I hope he sees that!!
Britt has begun dating a really nice guy who thinks the world of her.  He also has a daughter, which I'm thankful for.  Time also will tell with that!!

 

Here is Ash and Lily Skyping.  I LOVE IT!  Isn't Ash just beautiful!!! sniff sniff.

 

 

 

Here is Court singing up there. She is the happiest I've ever seen her and I just hope and pray she'll stay that way.  She has a gift and has found a place to share it.  Classic country isn't popular anymore, but there is a whole ton of people who love to hear it and watch it.  She loves it!!

 

 



Here I am with my most amazing niece Lauren.  She's a senior this year and plans on going to college at my alma mater, North Greenville University.  I laid the foundation down for her to continue on with.  She will exceed there and I look forward hearing how she does there.  Her and Lily have the same nose, in case you were wondering.
Britt has lost over 80 lbs. now and looks the best I've ever seen her!!

 

 

I don't have a good picture of her by herself, so I'll just use this one.  I remember when I took this, this past summer, I was missing Ashley so badly.  When she comes home in December, I will have my wonderful Note 3 glued to my eyeball taking pic after pic!!!

Well, that's it for the moment.  I have a fall time cake in the oven and Lily is asleep on the couch.  Britt and Court are at work and Ash too up yonder!  Mike just woke up.

More soon!!!

Just thought I'd share this pic of Lily....sniff sniff

Have you EVER!!!  We love her beyond anything we've ever known!!!!

Autumn is here....

This year is almost over and except for 2011, this has been a terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE year.  My Mother-in-Law passed away on Mike's birthday in March.  Then, after I could finally come to grips with that (she lived across the street from us and we were over there ALLLL the time, especially dinner time!!!), I had to put my 18 yr. old beloved Buddy to sleep.  That just about pushed me over the edge.  I went alone because I didn't have anyone that could go with me, it was very late at night and I knew if anyone went with me, it would have been even more worse.  He was almost gone when I got to the emergency vet clinic and the Valium they gave him in a shot before the pink stuff put him over.  It was the second worst day of my life. The first was when Lily had her seizure in 2011, and is still in recovery from.
THENNNN, Ashley moved to New Hampshire to be with John.  I miss her ferociously!  She's my humorous baby and I miss her laughter, her smiles, her sense of humor, her practical jokes...I just miss her.  We all do.
THENNNNNNN, a bff of mine lost her 21 yr. old son in a car wreck. THENNN, on my birthday, my big 50,  I was at his funeral and my parents call and tell my my Uncle Dennis had passed away.  I immediately, from the cemetery, called Mike to tell him my birthday plans are cancelled, I didn't want cake, no party, no wishes, no anything.  We will celebrate it next year on my big 51 birthday.  So, we didn't do anything.  It was a terrible time.
 AND, I have lost several friends and it's just awful.  I remember telling my whole family the beginning of this year, it was going to be a terrible year, and lo and behold it is.  January 1, 2014, I will be so happy!  I may even call out of work sick, just to be thankful all day that it's over.
I have very few positives out of this year, except my family is well and healthy.  That is a HUGE positive, believe me.  Lets see...we got a kitten for Lily and a fish tank. Ummmm.....I still like my job.  OH, Courtney is doing well performing at Renfro Valley, Ky.  She LOVES it and they love her!!! More on that on another day.
Anyways, enough of this cheerful post.  I can't tell you how many photos I have taken this year, but loads.  I have so many of Lily, if I had them all printed, I'd have to rent a storage building to put them in!!!
I have much to look forward to also this year.  Ashley is coming home for a week in December!!!  And 2013 is coming to an end!! WOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a HALF CENTURY OLD!!!

Today is my birthday!  I couldn't be happier either!  Mike and I are beyond BEYOND blessed to have 2 of our 3 daughters living with us and our little Lily!  We all love each other and miss each other when the others aren't around.  We're a big happy family!
I have sooo much to update on here, family members we have lost, additions to the family and just changes.  BUT, today isn't the day for it.
I have to go to a funeral this morning for a friend who lost her 21 yr. old son in a wreck.  At first, I was kind of challenged to find a way to get thru it AND remain positive.  Then I thought, what a way to begin my next half century of life.  To show support for a friend and her family. That's about the only thing I can come up with.
Tonight, everyone is working, so Mike is taking me and Lily out to dinner!!!  Another great way to begin my next half century!!!
More soon, I PROMISE!!! and pics too, I have tons-
Joan

Rainy day in Carolina

I woke up early this morning to the rain.  I love the rain, but Mike doesn't since he has to work in it.  I like to SLEEP!  Not today tho.  Britt started her new job at the hospital and her new-hire orientation is all this week.  So, Lily decided to wake up at 6 am this morning looking for her Mama, who was in the den getting ready.  We were soon all up.  She's asleep on the couch now and I'm in the kitchen!!!
This means, today, all my babys are employeed to some degree.  At the same time.  That means, I get to collect on the phone bill and they can buy their own gas for their own vehicles.  This is a happy day in the Arnold household!
I don't have a pic to add on here yet.  I'm thinking about baking another chocolate cake is prep for Ashley coming home next month.  She wants the perfect chocolate cake, with yellow cake inside.  I'm making it from scratch, so we'll see.
More soon!

No they DIDN'T!!

OH yes!!!

Good Bye Blackberry....

Thru the years, I've had nearly every BB out there and I've ended with the BB Bold 9930. I bought it in April and people laughed me at Best Buy for buying it.
Well, today, I took it back there in its pretty box and they gave me $350. for it! I'm not kidding. It's their buy back program and I did it! I will use that to purchase an IPad Mini! NOW WHO'S LAUGHING BABY!!!!
I'm an iPhone convert now and probley will stay one. I've had my 4S for a long time now and have never had one second's trouble, which is more than I can say for my android phones I've had.
All is well here and let's hope it stays that way!!!
More soon!

Gift

This morning, waiting for me on the kitchen table was a package from my cousin's Kenny and Joanne. WHAAA!
I SO HEART packages!
Joanne is a Western Romance writer who's books are, when reading them, like movies playing in your mind. I can even smell the earth, barns, horses and the kitchens of her characters! Even Courtney has become a fan!
Ken went to the DNC this year and sent me a button! LOVE IT! I will wear it with pride!
I voted Republican last election, but will NOT be this time.
After having Lily come into our world and observing how Medicaid works and WIC and how our government DOES take care of those who need a had getting back up, I decided to vote differently.
I don't know anything about politics beyond our house, and I don't have time to learn more. My 1 vote will go to the Democrat party this time, and I'll let wonderful people like my cousin Kenny bring to my attention what's important to know.
So... today I have HAVE to bake Court an apple pie. It's the second day of Autumn and she demands it. : )
Gotta go!
More soon-

Favorite pics

I'm still experimenting with this blog app that I haven't figured out yet.

Testing

I just downloaded an app for my IPhone to see if I can update from here.
I don't think I like this one.