Christmas 2008

I have not blogged in forever! I have been super busy getting ready for Christmas. I have cleaned every square inch of my house - literally with a toothbrush! lol It is nice to have it so clean - lets just hope it stays that way.

We have so much to be excited about!
1. Emilie is having a baby girl! YEAH :) I love babies and am looking forward to being the best Aunt Susanne that our little Emma Catherine could ever hope for. I have big plans to spoil her rotten!
2. Baseball season will start very soon. Dalton's tryouts are January 10th and Byne's season will probably get started at the beginning of Feb. Both of them should get lots of playing time this year - so you know MOMMA will have to try and make EVERY game :) It is hard with them in two different directions, but we will do the best we can.
3. Lakyn is practicing her gymnastics getting ready for Cheerleading tryouts in March. She needs a back handspring and is already making great progress.
4. We are lookng forward to our annual New Years Eve bash - lots of good friends coming over to ring in the New Year.

Christmas was great this year. Isn't it amazing that we spend a month preparing - buying, wrapping and it is all done in about an hour? We had to have our Christmas on Christmas Eve since Mark is on day shift. He has to be at work on Christmas Day at 5:15 AM :( Everybody was a little dissapointed in changing our "normal" traditions, but it is nice that our children will get to spend Christmas morning with their other parent this year. Dalton and Lakyn haven't been with their Dad on Christmas morning in a very long time. I am hoping this year that will be special for them. So......Mark will be at work, all the children will be with their "other" parent. Guess where Susanne will be......snoozing in my bed. I may get up and put my bathrobe on and watch a movie in my quiet house! Jan is making Christmas lunch for her family - so maybe I will stroll over there in my pajamas and have some lunch.:) Mark will get home from work around 2 and the boys will get home around then, so we will take Byne and Kyle to a movie Christmas afternoon. We always go on Christmas day and take turns picking the movie. Bad news....this year it is Mark's turn. That usually means a war movie! :( All in all it was a special Christmas spending time with family and friends. I hope you all are having a very Merry Christmas!

We had Thanksgiving at Maw Maws house today. Time for the annual family photo for the Christmas card. Good news.....it only took a few minutes. The boys behaved this year and Aunt Kay only had to take two or three and we were done!! They usually act really silly and it takes us forever to get one where we all look normal. We are headed to the beach for my side of the families Thanksgiving on Wednesday! I am looking forward to the trip! Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for :)

I believe everything happens for a reason

Dalton's friend married this weekend. He was the best man and it was a very sweet service. The couple is very young and has a baby on the way. It reminded me so much of how our family started. When I saw that bride round the corner looking so young and full of hope, it reminded me so much of how I probably looked at seventeen getting married. I was so young and so in love....nothing else mattered. When we are young we don't think about anything but the moment. Then as we "grow up" we realize how we change and begin to ask what have I missed. I prayed for her right that minute as I cried my eyes out. I cried because I can so identify with her feelings that day.....a little sad, very happy, very naive, looking forward but not having a clue what is about to hit her. Please pray for her!! Please pray for him!! I truly believe that everything happens for a reason.....God brought us our sweet Dalton. He was truly a gift from God that came very early in my life. I just realize now how fast we had to grow up and that I was growing up with him! I know that God has a plan for this young couple too!

Tennis at the Beach ~ does it get any better?

Our tennis team, Sweet Heat, made it to the State Tournament in Orange Beach. We were all so excited, but I was super nervous! I just started playing tennis about 6 or 7 months ago, and I only play once or twice a week. I wanted to do well at the tournament, but I have never had a lesson and still have so much to learn. I am grateful that I play on a team that is more concerned about having fun than obsessed with winning. My partner, Flavia, is also SUPER patient with me :)! We had the greatest time! All of the teams that we played were really nice, and our group of girls are GREAT! Emilie, Byne, Lakyn, and Cayla came down to support me ~ which was really cool! I learned so much this weekend and had a fantastic time ~ can't wait until the next time we make it to state (there will be a next time)! I just wish I could walk - every bone in my body aches! You know my body is not used to this much physical activity lol. Check out the pictures on our flickr site ~ Byne got really picture happy at the last match :)

Halloween 2008

We always have the most fun at Halloween! Lakyn and Byne seem to enjoy it the most and the costume parade at school is so much fun! All of the teachers dress up and some of them are so creative. The purple pod teachers dressed like the administration this year. They each made a mask of our faces. It was so funny! I thought Mrs. Judy was dressed as Obama when I first saw her and then discovered it was Mr. Jackson.

We had a little Halloween gathering last night and the kds had a great time. We were glad to get to see Mrs. Beth and John David. All of the children were here, which doesn't happen that often with two of them away at college. We were glad to see Kyle. It was a great night! We have so much to be thankful for!

CES Fall Ball

The CES Fall Ball was last night. My sweet children came and dressed up in the spirit of the event! We had a huge crowd and all the children has a great time!

Party like its 1999!

We had a weekend of celebrations. Lakyn turned 14 and Byne turned 21! We had a party for Lakyn on Friday night. She had several little girls come to a spend the night party at the lake. We played hide and go seek, decorated our own cakes, limboed, and busted a pinata. They had the greatest time! The decorating of the cakes was a big hit! I was impressed with some of their creativity! Byne's party was scheduled for Saturday night. He had a pinata too - transformers lol! It was a great time with family and friends. My favorite part was when Lakyn had to blow out the candles on all the individual cakes - I took a video. Check it out on our link to the family photos. It is too cute! I am so blessed with these sweet children! God is good! :)

The MJHS Mustangs beat Prattville!!

Our 8th grade team beat Prattville tonight! Lakyn had a great time at the game and was very excited that Camyrn, Michele and Luke came to watch her cheer. Luke did sleep most of the game though! He is so precious! It was a GREAT night and all the kids were thrilled about beating Prattville! There is hope for the future SEHS :) Go Mustangs!

Baseball, baseball, baseball!

It was a full day of baseball today! Dalton participated in the CACC showcase this morning and Byne had a game today. It was lots of fun watching them play! They both had a great day of baseball. With two of them playing we are super busy, but loving every minute of it. Cayla and I are staying at the lake while we travel back and forth to games. I am having a great time getting to spend time with her.

We found the fountain of youth! :)

Mark and I went to San Destin for a conference with my work this week. We had a fabulous time. It was my first time visiting Baytown Wharf and I was very impressed! We went on a Dinner Cruise on Thursday evening and had a great time with Andre', Monica, Steve, and Lori. We also went to watch an old friend of mine play the guitar at the Funky Blues Shack in Baytown Wharf. It was a great trip. We found the Fountain of Youth at Baytown Wharf - we thought that was funny!

Byne plays!

I had to add the picture of Byne and Lakyn in this blog. Byne came to watch Lakyn cheer last week and she was so excited. She loves that Byne. I thought this was the sweetest picture!:) We went to watch Byne play at CACC today. It was the first home game for the Fall season. He played in the outfield and pitched. It was such a welcomed change to actually see him playing! He did GREAT! We are proud of him and proud for him. He seems to be loving CACC! It does my heart good to see him happy!

I have been tagged.......

Nancy tagged me! :)

Six things about me that you may or may not know ~

1. I am super messy! My car is messy, and my house is messy and it really does not bother me all that much. Luckily, I married someone who it also does not bother. I do have my moments where I insist on scrubbing every square inch of the house, but I live the majority of my life with clothes hanging off the chairs in my bedroom and all in the floor!

2. I just got bumped up in the rankings on my tennis team. I am now ranked a 3.0 ~ and my tennis team is headed to state in Orange Beach Nov. 6-9! I have always loved to watch sports, but have never really liked to play! This love of tennis is new and I am enjoying every minute of it!

3. I HATE public speaking. I shake and break out in hives before I have to speak at PTO or any other school event. Mr. Jackson tells me that you can not tell, that I look cool as a cucumber ~ but I am actually dieing inside when I have to speak.

4. I have a severe addiction to Diet Coke. My family expresses concern about how many I drink a day. I am embarrassed to admit, but I have one in my hand from sunup to sundown. Although I love diet coke, I do not believe in dieting. I eat what I want when I want. I have NEVER been on a diet ~ when I want to lose weight I just eat less and exercise more.

5. I would rather have a few close friends than to have a whole bunch of friends.

6. My back porch is my most favorite place in the world! My dream is to one day have a porch on the beach :)!


I tag:
Suzanne R.
Blair
Shay
Allison
Stacey

I love football season!

I have never been a huge football fan, always a baseball kinda girl....but I do love football season. Lakyn has so much fun cheering for her school, that her enthusiasm is contagious! There is something about the air (less humidity- maybe?) during the Fall that makes it more enjoyable to be outside watching a game. Lakyn's first game was last week- they went into 6 overtimes. It was a really exciting game. She has another this Tuesday in Alex City, so her big brother Byne will get to come watch her. She is pumped about that :) Alabama football proved to be pretty exciting this weekend too. We watched the game at Jan's and had a great time. Byne and Kyle were home from college and were able to watch the game with us. It was a great Labor Day weekend with the family!

Luke

My friend, Michele, had her baby this week. Luke weighed nine pounds and 7 ounces and was born two weeks early. It is a good thing that he decided to enter this world a little early, for Michele's sake. He is the cutest baby and so sweet! I am so proud for Michele and Les! :)

Sims' Retirement Party

Emilie's parents both retired this year and they had a retirement party. It was lots of fun. Good drink, good food, old friends and new ones ;) We had a fantastic time! Thanks for the invite Kenneth and Janice, and I am especially looking forward to using that new beach condo! :)

Byne's New House

I had the most fun at Byne's house this weekend. It is really cool! He seemed so excited about this school year and that really puts my mind at ease. We tore down the girly wall paper and put up a Spiderman wallpaper border! Yes, he is twenty - going to be 21 in Oct. and still loves Spiderman. That is what makes him so GREAT! :) He still has roses painted around the windows, but we will fix that next visit! He seems settled and happy - what more can a parent ask for!

Back to School Party

We had a fantastic time at the lake this weekend! We did buy matching T-shirts (like we are in high school LOL)! Our back to school party wore us out, but I am so gald that we took full advantage of our LAST weekend of summer! School starts back tomorrow, so we are going to be super busy! I hope all of you have a fantastic school year!

YMCA Staff Party

Dalton worked at the YMCA this summer as a Camp Counselor and he loves his job. When they began to discuss where to have the end of the year party for the counselors, he volunteered to have it at our lake cabin. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the coworkers he has talked about all summer! They had a little awards ceremony and passed out personalized certificates to acknowledge the counselors hard work. Dalton was given the "Most ready to issue a beat down award". I am hoping that it means he has good discipline and NOT that he actually beat down the children! LOL These counselors played hard all day at the lake - I was worn out after just watching them. I am very proud of my Dalton for taking the initiative to get a job this summer and working so hard to make camp fun for his campers! Today was a GREAT day playing with a GREAT group of people!

Amy's Wedding

My family is very small. My Dad only has one sibling, a brother and he only had one son, John. Therefore, on my Dad's side John is my one and only cousin. John has two beautiful girls, Amy and Lisa. Amy married on Saturday, August 2nd! We are all so excited for her. She was a beautiful bride!

"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same."

"There’s a miracle of friendship that
dwells within the heart
And you don’t know how it happens
or where it gets its start
But the happiness it brings you
always gives a special lift
And you realize that friendship
Is God’s most perfect gift."

This is our BUNCO group (not all of them, Shay stayed home with Jake this particular evening)! I have been truly blessed with the best of friends. They are so special to me! Thanks friends for knowing me and loving me just the same!

Summerfest 2008 005

Summerfest 2008 005
Originally uploaded by susanne.goodin

We love summerfest! It is so much fun and it is great to see all the people that we don't usually get to see throughout the year. Summerfest usually marks the end of summer for me! We are working hard to get ready for the students to come back! We do have a Back to School party planned for the lake the weekend before school starts, but that is probably the only fun I will have time for. There is so much to do! We are recarpeting the office this week, so everything from the office is in hallway! Busy, Busy, Busy! I will post pictures after our lake party!

Two Great Books

OK - I must share! I just got through reading "The Five People you Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom. It is a great book!! It reminds us that although at times we feel insignificant, we AREN'T. We are important in the lives of others and everything happens for a reason. It was a really easy read, I read it in two days. You will love it!

The other book I am reading is "Breaking Free" by Beth Moore. I have always been so inspired by her. If you have never been a part of one of her Bible studies, you should. She is such an awesome teacher. I participated in several of her studies when I was married to John. His Mom held several at her work. It has been several years since I have read anything by her. About a month ago Mark and I were at Books A Million and I saw this book. I picked it up and I am so glad that I did. "Breaking Free" is a book that is also a Bible study. It does take a little longer to read, but is worth your time.

"Religion" is interesting to me and at the same time very confusing. I think when you go to college it causes you to question everything you have been taught. You become more analytical and begin to ask more questions. I have always been on a search for the truth. I have spent countless hours in discussions with Mark, Kay, my Dad, Mom, Aunt Cathy, John's parents, my friends. I love all of these people, which leads to more confusion - Who do you believe? All of these discussions led me to their point of view on the truth. Their ideas conflict some, and that is where the confusion lies. All people have points of view (opinions) on what is right and wrong according to the Bible. My visits to church have not led me to any peace, although I truly enjoy the preacher. I have found many of the people in the church are hypocritical and "pretend" to be the perfect Christian while all the while judging the actions of others. This just leads to more confusion. The beauty of Beth Moore is that she leads you to find your own truth in God's word. People are sinners and cannot lead me to the truth. In whatever way they were brought up, that is the truth they have found. I must find my own truth!

I'm slacking!

Sorry I have not blogged in a while, just been busy! We are excited that Byne will be coming home on August 4th!! He has to register for classes at his new school on the 5th. He will have to move into his house that he will be renting with two other boys. He seems really excited about his roommates! The other children are enjoying their summer - Kyle is at the beach, and Lakyn is headed to the beach with a friend next weekend. Dalton is still working hard at the Y and loving every minute of it. Mark and I are looking forward to Summerfest. It is a celebration of summer that Millbrook puts on every year. They have great live music and a fantastic fireworks show. You all should come out - it is on Friday evening at the Pines Golf course. Mark and I went shopping yesterday and got tons of great deals at Belk in Prattville. They are having a moving sale - the whole store is marked down. I got a $150.00 dress for $46.00. I also found a new tennis outfit for $20.00 - normally $60.00. I have new tennis shoes too and will be getting a new racket by next week - so watch out Hannah and Aunt Cathy - I am coming to get you! :) I hate to even mention back to school, but here I go. We are really looking forward to our "Back to School" party at the Lake cabin the weekend before school starts with close friends and family. I am sure I will have tons of pictures to post after the party. I have changed all my pictures to private on the flickr site. I should have emailed all of my close friends and family the password, but if you did not get it and want to look at the pictures. Call me or shoot me an email and I will give you the password. I hope you all are enjoying your summer - it just flys by!!

Byne's New School

We have decided on a new school for Byne! After many weeks of discussions, prayer, and research we have decided that Byne will attend Central Alabama Community College next school year. I know - you are asking - What,isn't he already a Junior? He still has three years of athletic eligibility left. They have a three year academic program at CACC, so he can focus on a minor this school year and then transfer to finish his major next year and still have two years left to play. Our prayer is that he has a great baseball season and is picked up by a D1 or D2 school to finish his last two years of school. Byne is thrilled because he already has friends who attend CACC. Mom and Dad are pretty happy too, because it is super close to the lake cabin. We will have a free place to stay on baseball weekends! :) This college baseball road has been a bit of a bumpy ride for Byne, but we know that God has the plan all mapped out! We look forward to seeing what God has in store for him :)

Check out my Slide Show!

North Carolina Trip to see Byne!

We had a great time visiting Byne!

We left on Thursday to travel to North Carolina to go visit Byne. He is up there playing baseball for the Catawba Valley Stars. He left on May 22nd, but it seems like he has been gone for months. We stopped in Auburn to pick up Byne's girlfriend, Cayla. Then we were off with the plan of driving above Atlanta then sleeping before going all the way to NC. I am a planner (that is an understatement)! I usually plan every minute of our trips, book hotels, print google directions - a regular Mrs. Organization. This trip Mark did not want to book any hotels. He begrudgingly let me print directions, but he wanted to just fly by the seat of our pants and find places to sleep! This worried me, but I obliged. I told him that it would be cheaper to plan ahead, but he ended up being right (I hate when that happens)! We stopped the first night at the Best Western. The girls and I were unsure - the bed linens seemed a little stiff and "crusty" but the room was clean. We made fun of Mark endlessly for his choice of hotels, but he was a great sport.

We woke up on Friday morning headed to NC. In the slide show you can see where we stopped at the rest areas in SC and in NC to document our trip. The girls climbed a wall in SC to get a picture with the flag, that was too funny. Lakyn had no fear and Cayla was scared half to death, but she did it! We arrived in Monroe, NC for the first game right before the start of the game. Byne played first base and did a great job! You could tell he was so happy to see us, and we were thrilled to finally lay eyes on him! After the double header, we headed the 1 and 1/2 hours to Hickory (where Byne lives). Mark let us pick the hotel this time since we teased him such about the Best Western. We picked one with soft linens (a Marriot)! We were finally settled in to our spot for the weekend. More ballgames, shopping, dinner, swimming,and two days later we left for Athens, GA to watch our final ballgame. Aunt Cathy, Uncle Tom, and Hannah met us at the ball field to watch him play. It was a great day at the ball park. The weather was fantastic! We had the best time visiting and Byne did GREAT! We left from Athens for Macon on Sunday evening. We spent the night with Aunt Cathy in Macon. We stayed up late talking and then woke up Monday to more eating and shopping. We returned home Monday! We had the greatest trip! We spent a whole lot of time in the car, but everyone was so glad to see Byne and we had fun together. The slide show is a picture walk of our trip - ENJOY! Byne didn't even whine about taking too many pictures, I think he was just so glad that we were there! We are now rewashing and packing for our annual Fourth of July trip to the Lake. I hope you all have a fabulous Fourth of July!

Peace and Quiet - Good or Bad?

Lakyn insisted that we take this picture the other night. She had gotten ready earlier in the day for us to go and buy her Dad a Father's Day present, and I had just gotten home from playing tennis. As a result, she looked beautiful and I looked sweaty. I love the picture anyway - we look so happy. I wonder when the "teenager" stage is going to hit and we don't "like" each other anymore. I am terrified that it will happen any day!!! I am praying that Lakyn and I will be an exception to the rule and continue to love to be around one another!

All of the children are gone this week. Lakyn went to visit her Dad, Dalton went to the beach with a friend, Byne is in North Carolina, and Kyle is at his Mom's house this week. The house is sooooo quiet. I am trying to enjoy the quiet, but it is kinda sad. I am accustomed to a house full of hustle and bustle. We are always getting ready to go somewhere or coming home from somewhere, or having friends over! I looked at Mark last night and said, "It's just you and me babe!" He just laughed, you know Mark loves the peace and quiet. I was having trouble deciding whether or not peace and quiet was for me, when the phone rang. The first ring was Byne for the fourth time today just checking in and making sure I remember to bring his baseball pants to NC this weekend. Then I settled back in, and the phone rang again. This time it was Dalton from the beach asking if it was OK for him to get a tattoo. I promptly replied, "Have you lost your mind?" That question is characteristic of my Dalton(a little on the wild side), but he will have to wait until 18 or older!!!!!! Then I settled back in and the phone rang again, this time it was Lakyn checking on Harmony and calling to say good night. After all the phone calls, I decided - maybe I will enjoy my few days of peace and quiet. Moms deserve a day off now and again, and I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Dad in his new boat

Dad in his new boat
Originally uploaded by susanne.goodin

My Dad retired after 42 years from Aldridge Borden and Company. He has a Lake Cabin on Lake Martin and loves to spend time there. I bought him this pedal boat as a retirement gift. He seems to be enjoying it and Aarron really loved it. We all had a great time at the Lake this weekend trying it out!