"while you were out"

this guy is in my neighborhood right now......yes, that's right, i've seen him with my own two eyes (from a great distance) twice now. for those of you who live under a rock, this is andrew dan-jumbo from tlc's design show "while you were out". this guy along with a designer and lots of others come in and redo a room in 48 hours as a surprise to a member of the household. anyway, yesterday, as i was leaving really early for a doctor's appt downtown, i noticed lots going on at this house on the corner. they were blocking off the road, setting up orange cones, an outdoor tent, and there were several people walking around with big TV cameras. my heart started to race and i realized i was in the presence of a possible design reality show...the only question, which one? trading spaces, while you were out, some other random one i don't know of?? there was big long truck, but it was covered in white...no logo or anything. makes sense b/c then people like me would slow down and snap pictures. hours later, i drive back in and slowly go by peering out the window and i spot him...tall, curly hair, it's him, andrew dan jumbo. again today, as i left the neighborhood, there he was outside under the "construction tent" cutting wood. you know what's funny? i feel famous...this show is filming 1/2 mile from our place and i feel famous all of a sudden. i kept thinking "i bet they love charleston"; "i bet they're loving the weather at the end of november, high 70s" and on and on. all the reasons why this will be their favorite spot of all the places in the nation they've ever filmed. i'm planning on driving by several times tonight to see if i can spot a designer or a host, too. they should be winding down and heading out tonight and the excitement will be over...sad :( but, at least i can say i saw him in person, even if it was from the car window!

caroline's quotes of the day

#1
caroline: look at the dark clouds, mommy!
mommy: wow, i see them...who made those clouds?
caroline: jesus did!!!

#2
mommy: caroline, you're the most precious gift in the world, did you know that?
caroline: no, you're a precious gift mommy!
mommy: thank you, but you're really the precious gift!
caroline: you're daddy's precious gift
mommy: i bet daddy would say you're his precious gift, too.
caroline: yeah, he would.

caroline's quote of the day

(as she was playing with several of grammie and papa's nativity sets)

caroline: dear jesus, thank you for baby jesus. in jesus name, amen.

restaurants, waiters and christians

i don't normally post my opinion about things, but i ran across this article today and it really struck a chord with me. it's called the Dreaded Church Table and was written by daniel holland and appeared in relevant magazine. the issue he writes about, christians and their behavior in restaurants, has long been a big pet peeve of both me and john. john waited tables at chili's off and on for several years and he always had this experience with christians, especially on sundays. i also waited tables the summer after i graduated college at a ranch in colorado and let me tell you, it is hard! john and i, because of our experiences, have always tried hard to tip well (at leasat 20%, or more if it calls for it) and be kind and courteous to waiters/waitresses. one thing i always like to do is look them in eye. since we've had caroline, we're even more aware b/c children are messy and hard to wait on...i try and make a conscious effort to clean up our table (including food that falls below caroline's chair) and leave it as neat as possible for the poor soul that has to clear it. this may seem silly, but i really feel it is such an easy and small thing to do to show the love of Christ to others. one sunday in particular, i went to applebee's with my parents, caroline and my niece and nephew, sarah and luke after church. my sister and her hubby were out of town and i was helping take care of the kids. the kids weren't particularly messy, but we cleaned up after them and made an effort to leave the table neat. the waiter was floored...he just looked at us and said "nobody ever does that, thank you so much". they're watching and they notice how we act...do we reflect Jesus or not?

catch up, part 5 - georgia

they're ready to hunt for pumpkins!

this one is the perfect size!

kaitlin and grandma

caroline and caleb...despite her look, she was having a blast with him

a view of the pumpkin patch

abigail trying to find the perfect one

note the sign instructions...and note caroline ignoring them :)

the crew

caroline enjoying a freshly squeezed lemonade slushy and baby pumpkin

amusing themselves while waiting on the hayride

here we go!

mommy and not smiling caroline

the talking pumpkins

a view from the hayride

caroline pretending to take a picture

grandma, grandad and the grandkids

one of the last things we did during our week in georgia was go to burt's pumpkin patch in ellijay with the fortneys. this is a tradition for the grandkids and is always fun! we managed to fill up 2 wheelbarrows full of pumpkins (this even while unloading the millions of little ones the 3 smallest girls kept putting in) and went on a fun hayride, too. we finished off the afternoon with a visit to the apple orchard. it was a perfect fall day in georgia if i do say so myself!

catch up, part 4 - georgia

kaitlin, caroline and amy dancing at the varsity

more of the same!

abby joined in for ring around the rosey

bekah giving caroline a lift to phillips arena

snow white

the seven dwarfs

caroline watching the show intently

mommy and her little princess

abby and aunt rachel

while we were in georgia, we also got to go see disney's princesses on ice at phillips arena with all the fortney women plus our fearless leader, grandad! god bless him for dealing with all of us! veda, leah and amy bush and sarah bowling also came with us. before the show, we stopped and ate at the varsity, which is always good :) caroline isn't completely well versed on all the princesses so i wasn't sure how much she would understand. well, she was enthralled and loved it!

caroline's quotes of the day

#1
caroline: mommy, i want a baby
mommy: well, you have lots of baby dolls
caroline: not that kind
mommy: what kind do you want?
caroline: the kind you get from the doctor

#2 (after caroline woke up very grumpy from her nap)
mommy: do i need to pray for your heart?
caroline: yes, mommy
mommy: lord, please fill caroline up with your kindness and your love. allow her to be a blessing to everyone around her. in jesus name, amen
caroline: thank you, mommy
mommy: you're welcome. are you going to be have a happy heart now?
caroline: no, i don't think so

**oh well, i tried :)

catch up, part 3 - georgia

sarah and luke on their awesome playset

what can you say? he's precious!!

body shot :)

can that smile be any bigger??

"redneck" caroline...note the mullet and popsicle mustache!

little luke

aunt lauren and little peanut

taking a dora break

mommy and andrew

after the wedding in florida, caroline and i rode back with joyce and sonny to spend some time with family in georgia for the week. we were able to go to cumming and spend a day with my sis and her kids. it was so good to see them and see how baby andrew has grown in just a few weeks. he is a sweetie! we had so much fun with them, it was just too short. it's especially hard to live so far away with all my precious nieces and nephews in georgia. they grow so fast and i feel like i miss out seeing everything.

catch up, part 2 - st. augustine, florida

kaitlin and caroline after the wedding

they loved playing in the rocks...whatever works!

the beautiful bride and handsome groom

uncle john and kaitlin relaxing after the wedding

caleb took this pix of caroline...he's good!

miss abigail

caroline hugging the bride

tony and joyce

abby sporting some cool shades

the new trend for toddlers everywhere...pink dora shades!

caroline and grandad kicking up their heels at the reception!

kaitlin wants in on the action, too!

caleb and caroline leaving the reception

emma marie corey

above are some pixs of john's cousin shannon's wedding in st.augustine, fl on october 21. we had a great time and couldn't believe how warm it was...well in the 90s. shannon and her new hubby tony had a beautiful wedding and reception and caroline was in awe of the bride. she would barely say a word to her, just hugged or stared at shannon. caroline, kaitlin and abby had a blast dancing all around and wearing themselves out :) we loved our time with john's extended family and john especially treasured the time he got to spend with his grandad. we don't get to see everyone in florida as much as we used to so it was a blessing! on sunday, we got to see emma marie corey christened by her grandad, john's uncle david. emma's mommy, michelle, is john's cousin. how special to witness that!! she is a gorgeous baby...i loved holding her :) the weekend was way too short, but we'll take what we can get!!