She's Getting Married!

We are so excited....Our oldest daughter Amanda is getting married! She got engaged two weeks ago and the wedding is two weeks from today. Her future husband is Steven, a wonderful young man who is currently serving in the Navy. They have a new house and we have a grandpuppy named Trigger.

The wedding is going to take place at Vilano Beach near St. Augustine. We took a ride over there today to check it out and I got the truck stuck! We will have to be careful where we drive...The reception is going to be here at the house, in the back yard...We will have a big white tent set up with Tables underneath and a sit down dinner. Mike is building a dance floor to go under the big oak tree...I think it will be beautiful...

I have so many hopes and dreams for them. I want them to have a marriage that is full of love and joy.

Well, I better get going, there is a lot to be done!

Is it time to go?

I don't know who is worse, me or Michael!

When I was growing up my favorite place to go was my grandparents farm in south Georgia. While most of my friends went to the beach or Disney World on their vacations, I went to the farm to be with my dad's family. It was heaven for an only child from the "city". Mostly we worked tobacco (which is a story in itself) but there were also chicken houses, cows and pigs. I can't even express how wonderful it was to spend the summers there. I learned so many things that have made me who I am. I laugh when the girls at work complain how hard the job is....Obviously they have never worked in a tobacco field in the middle of a hot Georgia summer. People comment on our eight children and wonder how we do it...I think of Aunt Jackie and how easy she made it look to take care of all of us. When I am serving people at work... I think of Grandma and how she always had room at her table and a smile on her face. When I am tired and don't want to take care of my responsibilities... I remember my grandpa and my uncles "If a job is worth doing it is worth doing right". Mostly, when I think about my faith and the wonderful gift that it is... I remember the little church down the dirt road and the truth I heard there as a child, the homecomings, revivals and the dinner on the grounds, my aunt and uncle and cousins all loaded in the front of the truck on our way to another church and another service for them to share the message once again through song, the simple faith of a farmer who planted his crop knowing it was God who would make it prosper or not and was content with the outcome.

Now some things have changed, my grandparents aren't there anymore but my aunt and uncle still provide a place where my kids can share some of the magic I remember. I still can't wait to get there, but now I am not the only one, my Micheal loves it as much as I do...so I guess I had better go get ready because We Are Going To The Farm!

Difficult Tuesdays.....

Every other Tuesday night is difficult at our house....We are on a visitation plan based loosely on Ackerman. Basically, I have the majority of the school year and their dad has the majority of the summer. During the school year the kids go to their dad's home every other Wed. after school and stay until Monday after school. I get the first five days of summer and the last five days of summer and ten days in the middle. I get to choose the ten days one year and their dad gets to choose which ten days I get the next year. I don't like the plan at all but, I really don't know that there is any better way to do it...I think they need stability during the school year, so this is what we have worked out even though I don't get to have very many of the carefree days of summer.

I am sure that once they get to their dad's they are fine...It is the leaving that is hard...Then there are Mikes kids who are with us all the time...I know they would like some time with their mom but Minnesota is just too far away...

There really is no perfect solution so we just do our best to make it work.

Where it all began......

Mike and I were married September of 2004. We both have four children each from previous marriages. Hence the name Eight is Enough! I have searched for blogs that have to deal with blending families and found very few. I know there are many of us trying to make this work, I guess we are just too busy to post about it. At this point there are only five children living in the house. Three are now grown up and on their own. Actually, they are the ones I worry about the most. It is hard when you no longer have control and have to let them make their own decisions and yes, their own mistakes.