Fall Festivals and Field Trips

I LOVE fall! It is my absolute favorite time of the year. College football is so much fun, the weather is feeling just right and the beauty of God's creation is everywhere to behold. Judson and I just went on a Mother and Son Outing trip with our homeschool group in North Georgia and we had a blast! Newt races, treasure hunts, and hiking were the best parts of our trip. We even had time to get back and see Auburn get a win over LSU AND Judson played his last regular season game for a win! This puts his team into the playoffs which will start next Saturday. Creekside had a Trunk or Treat event which was lots of fun and the kids went trick-or-treating in Windermere on Halloween night. Auburn has a 9-0 season and Judson has been wearing an AU jersey everyday...preferably #2, Cam Newton's jersey. I have been studying in between the activities. The Meadows are LOVING fall!

Fall 2010

Okay, I am making a NEW commitment to blog at least once a week...or month. LOL I am having a hard time keeping up with a full time job, homeschooling Judson and Caroline, keeping the house going, and NOW getting my doctorate in pharmacy for the next three years. Whew! I know through all this madness that I must rely on my God. I know that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Somehow, with God in control, the hours will multiply in my day to accomplish all that I need to do. Priorities are first and foremost, my relationship with God and my family.

That aside, fall 2010 is awesome! The weather is gorgeous, Auburn football is so exciting (we are 7-0), and it has been fun watching Judson play football again. His team is 6-2 and they won their game this past Saturday in double overtime. Caroline is a member of the CFAF Orchestra this year and just had her first babysitting job. We have been on a field trip to the zoo and it was a blast. The kids loved the pandas, the baby gorilla and the baby giraffe.

SCREAM

Just returned from a SCREAM retreat with 40 4th and 5th graders from Creekside United Methodist Church. It was a blast! I screamed, worshipped, danced, ran, played games, prayed, pranked and loved every minute of it. The worst part were the bathrooms and not having water for 12 hours. It was a beautiful site at Athens Y Camp in Toccoa, GA. God renewed me and also gave me a new ministry....5th grade girls. I connected with them and came back asking to be involved in SS ministry for that age group next year. I look forward to all that God has planned and I rejoice for the chance to help these girls connect with Jesus. I accepted Jesus at age ten but was not directed or helped out as to how to live out my faith. I pray that I God will work through me to teach them how to do that. God is GOOD!

BTW, SCREAM is Students Celebrating Rejoicing Enthusiastically, in the Almighty Messiah!

Jekyll Island 2010 (215 photos), by Michele Meadows

We went to Jekyll Island with five other homeschool families for a three day 4H camp. It was awesome! We had classes from 8am until 8pm each day. It wore us out! The kids learned about three months worth of science in three days.
Click here to view photos

Tellus Science Museum

Friday, January 22nd....Field Trip to Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, GA

We have not been on a field trip in a few months so we were really looking forward to this one. The museum was awesome. We went to two planetarium shows, went digging for fossils, and panning for gems. The museum was packed with lots of learning and fun!

Snowing in Georgia!

We just started "back to school" on Monday and the weather has already put a halt to our new schedule. It snowed about 1/2 inch last night but that was enough to get my kids outside sledding all day long! The cable went out about 8pm last night and Brant took the kids to the golf course for some long distance sledding. Today they spent hours with friends and neighbors sledding in the back yard. It is 8pm right now and 14 degrees. BRRRRR! Judson is at basketball practice and Care is on the computer. We are also playing a family game of Scrabble. We are so blessed as a family!

Christmas 2009

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What a difference three years makes...

Just had the FCHE Cotillion 2009 and it was so much fun. This was the second time that Judson and Caroline participated in the cotillion. The first time was three years ago in 2006. Caroline wore white gloves! Could not get her to do that this year. It was beautiful and once again we served the kids a five course meal with dancing and sign language in between. They have grown up sooo much. I tried to take their photo in the same place as last time.

Rainy days in Georgia

It has been raining in Cumming for more than a week straight! Yesterday we had so much rain that schools and roads were closed all over. Here is a picture of Windermere Park that the kids and I just went to last week for our nature walk. It was covered with water and the picnic tables were literally taken away by water. Judson is just like his father and was absolutely captivated by the weather. They drove around looking at all the flooding and had so much fun. Caroline and I on the other hand, went to mall and stayed inside instead. Hardly anyone was at the mall and we had our own fun there. The kids are growing so fast that it is hard to keep them in clothing that fits. We shopped for her ONLY and she (of course) said it was the best day ever. She has a new favorite store (Macy's) and loved trying on clothes for hours.... I LOVE having a girl!

Judson's 11th birthday

Judson would probably say this was a weird birthday. I know it definitely wasn't his favorite..but every birthday can't be your favorite, can it? Somehow, things just didn't seem to work out right. HOWEVER, the good outweighed the bad and the birthday was had anyway. Let me post the pros and cons....

PROS
* Judson is in good health on his day of celebration!
* Judson played in his first football game of the season...and they won 14-0.
* Judson's grandparents came to see him play and took us to eat lunch at Red Robin.
* Judson's granma made him the cutest football birthday cake and it was delicious.
* The day before his bday, Judson had cake and ice cream (and presents) with his
Sawnee Mountain Boys group.
* Judson recieved 25 emails wishing him a happy birthday.
* Judson got lots of gifts and mostly money from friends and relatives.
* Judson had his best friend, Mac, spend the night and played Spore, XBOX, and watched movies and football all night long.
* Auburn beat Mississippi State!

CONS
* Judson has been wanting a fishing boat for "his whole life" as he puts it. He has been saving money for at least three years and has been wanting to make the purchase this year. He and his daddy found a boat on CraigsList whose owner was in Cumming. They happened to be the second caller on the boat and it was sold to the first guy.
* Judson got a "King Kong" movie from his parents. When he opened the movie box, it was completely empty. I took it back to WalMart and wouldn't you know...there were no more "King Kong" movies?!
* Judson wanted Pillsbury Apple Turnovers for breakfast and we could not find them anywhere! Brant went to three stores to look for them.
* Judson's little sister, Caroline was sick and the cupcakes we made for the team celebration had to be thrown out due to contamination! They were so cute too!

Wanted to write all this down because sometimes in a "just turned" eleven's eyes some things can be distorted and the slightest disappoint can seem so BIG! Isn't it wonderful that we do grow out of this stage? Well, some of us do! :)

Nature Walks

Every Wednesday this school year we are going to take nature walks. The kids love it. They get to experience God's creation up close and personal. Each week they seem to find one thing to focus on. Afterwards, they sketch, paint or write about what they have seen in their nature journals. We took our cameras last week and took lots of pictures. Windermere Park was our walking place...

Judson's first game

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Brant gets an iPhone and goes mobile with the kids....

Due to the economy and the decrease in real estate market, I have taken a 7 on 7 off job at the hospital. Brant has taken the kids to Whitewater Park and Six Flags in the last two weeks. He has been able to do this because of the iPhone and being able to work on the go. Here are some photos from their trips!

Hooper Academy 25th High School Class Reunion

On July 25th, my class at Hooper Academy held its 25th class reunion. It was great to see old friends and reconnect with them. Alot of us have facebook pages and have become "friends" again through the Internet. Tina Bullard and I have remained close through the years and I can honestly say that she is still my best friend. We went to the reunion together because Brant had to stay and be with Judson for football evaluations.

Judson is playing football!

Judson has asked to play football for a few years now but finally Mom gave in! :) We were told that he would probably cry and whine and want to quit after the first couple of practices. Not Judson! He was ready to go back for more! Of course, he hasn't gotten HIS lights knocked out yet, but he has levelled some other boys. After hearing about this, Mom asked him if he apologized to the other boy (who had to go home after Judson knocked the wind out of him). Judson and Brant thought Mom was crazy to suggest such a thing! Judson said, "You don't apologize in football!". Here are some pics from his first practice!

Callaway Gardens

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First day @ Callaway

We are at Callaway Gardens on a mini vacation. We are here playing golf on our first day. Took advantage of a Stimulus Package for $99 a night with free golf, boat rental and garden entry...

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Summer is here!

Summer is here...I am still working full time evenings, at least four nights a week from 2:30pm until 11pm. Judson and Caroline are being sloths. We have let them watch TV, swim, have sleepovers and basically hang out and do nothing for about three weeks now. I know why I like for school to start! They are taking guitar and violin lessons through the summer on Tuesdays. Judson will be playing football in the fall and is getting geared up to practice three days a week for three hours each. Whew! Caroline will be working towards her black belt this fall while Judson is at football. Brant is getting busier with real estate but it is still SLLOOWW. We have learned to spend less and use coupons alot! We have to take a July vacation this year and it may be spent at home. We will see.... Here are some pics from summer so far...