The Things Boys Do

Today I picked up the boys from school and on my way home stopped to get some gas. As I'm trying to recover from the shock of how much gas is, $3.55 per gallon to be exact, I am hearing some noises coming from my vehicle. Once gas was pumped and we were getting on our way Andrew informed me that Luke had mooned him along with everyone at the gas station pumping gas! My first reaction was to explain to him that his behavior was not appropriate. My second reaction was a bit more humorous as I was thinking.."What if there had been a police officer next to us pumping gas and his reaction to being mooned by my precious 5 year old." What I would love to know is what are little boys thinking?????

Gulf Coast Beach Weekend

Recently Steve and I visited his mom in Bradenton, Fl, which is just North of Sarasota Fl. We love any beach but we truly love the Gulf Coast! The water is so green and clear and is usually calm. The day we were there the waves were in high gear, but the boys, including daddy Steve, just loved it! Andrew enjoyed using his body board while daddy did a little body surfing. To finish the day off we cleaned up and had a spectacular dinner @ The Sandbar Restaurant. Our dinner table literally was on the beach........ sand and all! The view was breathtaking and the boys enjoyed playing in the sand while waiting for dinner. Living in Florida has it's perks and one of them is living 2 hours or less from either coast. Gotta love it!

Life's Roller Coaster Ride

Life has its twists and turns but I have truly been experiencing many of them in the last couple of weeks. After my friend Tish passed away from Ovarian Cancer, another friend that same week committed the unthinkable. She leaves behind a 5 yr old little boy, who is Luke's friend, and a husband. No one knows for sure why she committed this senseless act but as a mother and a friend I have had a really tough time dealing with this tragedy. I don't think anything could have prepared me for all of this, but I am trusting in God and I set my sights on him. I have not felt like doing anything these past couple of weeks, including taking car of my house, much less blogging but I have now decided to open my heart and share it with all who are reading this.

I have to say I have learned a few things through all the hurt and tears. One being I need to cherish my family more, hug them and kiss them more often than I do. Spend more quality one on one time with each of my boys more often than I do. Most of all I need to tell loved ones and friends more often how much they mean to me and that they have made a difference in my life. Everyone remembers the old saying, "Live life to it's fullest and cherish every moment like it is your last moment." I plan to live by this daily and remember I'm not promised my next breath. Tish's quote she used often was "Drive On". I plan to adopt that quote and live life like it is my last day here. What would you do if you knew today was your last day on earth? Make your time here count and make time to show Christ love to others.

I close with this..... DRIVE ON!

Remembering Tish

Yesterday I lost my friend Tish to ovarian cancer. She was way too young to die, but I know she was okay with the path God chose for her. She is no longer suffering, but is healed from this horrible disease. Tish loved a party.... in fact, life to Tish was ONE BIG PARTY. That is how I remember her. She lived life to the fullest and left a finger print in so many lives. She may not be here in the physical form but she continues to leave fingerprints in so many lives of others, even complete strangers. Her legacy will live on through her husband and two beautiful boys. I was thinking about this the other day when I was spending a little time with the Lord and I want to share this with all who are reading this blog.

Don't wait until someone you love and care about passes away to tell them how much they mean to you or how much you love them. Don't wait until they have passed to share stories about their life. Cherish them now, love them now, tell them how much you love them and what a difference your life is because you have them in yours. Tomorrow may never come and you may not get that chance again. We were never promised our next breath, so live life in the NOW and not for tomorrow.

With that said I will close with Tish's favorite motto: "Drive On"

Good Times In Cocoa Beach

Living in Florida has it's advantages and one of them is you can go visit the beach on a whim. During the boys Spring Break, a couple of gal pals and I took the kids to Cocoa Beach for the day for some hot fun in the sun. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful either! There was not a cloud in the sky and the water was just the right temperature to cool you off from the hot blazing sun. Andrew and his friend Brandon used their body boards to ride the waves into shore while Luke and Jack frolicked in ankle deep surf. As the day wore on Jack decided the waves of the Atlantic Ocean were too much for him so he passed the time playing in the sand and building "sand buildings" as he called them. As always we all got a little too much sun! You would think as long as I have lived here in Florida that I would have a master plan at applying sunscreen down pat........ NOT! Thank goodness for hats and face sticks as I believe our faces faired okay. The rest of our bodies are a different story! Here is some advice for the upcoming summer months.......

CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATE ON ALL OF YOUR SUNSCREEN TUBES FROM LAST SUMMER!

That is the one thing I didn't do. I can now say I will never make that mistake again.

Rosser Tent City

Remember when you were a kid and you had a blast building tents in the living room? In order to accomplish this feat you had to hunt down every blanket and pillow in the house. The boys discovered this past time the other day and needless to say they had every throw blanket and pillow they could find to build their tent city, including a couple of kitchen chairs. I was on a mission that day to get the house cleaned and ready as we were heading to the beach in the morning and didn't want the house to be a mess. This was one of those times where I just threw my hands up in the air and joined in on the fun. To heck with the house, hanging out with the boys in their tents was priceless.

First Vegetable Garden

Spring is in the air in Florida so Steve and I decided to plant our first vegetable garden with the boys. We figure if the boys can grow a few vegetables they would be more likely to eat them! Our adventure started out at Lowe's Garden Center and the boys got to pick out what vegetables they wanted to grow as well as a flower for color in the garden. We also picked up a few herb plants as well since I love fresh herbs. Our cart was loaded down with an array of pepper plants, tomato plants, peppermint, cilantro and parsley plants, cucumber seeds, green onion seeds, carrot seeds, bell pepper seeds and to top it all off four flower pots of flowers and not to mention the 6 bags of soil and organic plant food. The idea was to keep this garden as natural and organic as possible so we lucked out in finding organic gardening soil. As soon as we got home the boys were in high spirits and ready to plant. After 4 hours of turning the soil over, weeding and grating it was finally time to get the plants into the ground. I think the boys had more fun playing in the dirt than they did planting and watering their crop! To add the finishing touches on the new garden, we dug out Scarecrow Rosser to keep all the critters away. Speaking of critters, we have one eagle, two owls, four sand hill cranes and one raccoon who call this area home. Not to mention a couple of alligators that live in the lake and a passing red fox once in a while! Hopefully Scarecrow Rosser will do his job and keep everyone at bay! Stay tuned for more updates on the Rosser farming adventure.