Trying a weekly menu thing

As I sit here getting woken  up enough to start my work day, I was wondering what I should blog about today. I have Abba playing in the background and thought that I might give you a glimpse into trying new recipes. I'll post a few of the recipes throughout the week, but since the girls and Ryan are a bit pickier about what they eat, I find that incorporating new recipes is the only way to make sure everyone has something they will like.

Since we are on bi-weekly pay cycles, I meal prep and make menus for 2 weeks at a time. Since we are already a few days into it, I'll just start with today (Monday).

1. Bacon Cheeseburger Biscuit Bombs
2. Chicken Pot Pie Turnovers
3. Salisbury Steak
4. Slow Cooker Tortilla Casserole
5. Beef Stroganoff
6. Chicken Fajita Bubble Up Bake
7. Cowboy Casserole
8. Tortellini Soup
9. Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Quesadillas
10. 8 Can Taco Soup
11. Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

A few of these are recipes we have had before and they are amazing. Some of them are new to us and yet others are new spins on things we already eat. We are big on tex-mex inspired foods, so we have that up there several times. 

Decision process for us is always a challenge. If it was up to me, I could eat chicken every day of my life and be fine with that, but the rest of my family needs variety. I try to accommodate them as much as I can. Here's how it went down: 

• Kenzie loves cheeseburgers, so I needed to have something that would give us a spin on a cheeseburger. I've never made biscuit bombs of any type, so I am hopeful these will be okay. 
• Maddie has been asking for a chicken pot pie (she loves it when I make them from scratchish), so Kenzie found this turnover recipe and we thought it might satisfy that craving. 
• We all love Salisbury Steak, but I have never made it, so we thought it might be fun to learn. We normally just buy them premade. Nope, not this time. 
• I love using my crock pot, so I needed a few things that I could use that for. 
• Tortilla casserole because we wanted to try something enchilada inspired. 
• Tortellini Soup because it 's on that my mother-in-love makes and we love it! 
• 8 can taco soup because I've made it before and it's one of my faves! 
• I've been wanting to learn  how to make beef stroganoff, so that was a no brainer. 
• We needed a few more casseroles to round out the menu, so we added: 
• Chicken Fajita bubble up bake to try as a possible new addition to our list of faves. 
• Cowboy casserole because we've had it many times and love it! 
• Maddie and Kenzie love when we have brinner (breakfast for dinner). I am tired of pancakes, so I wanted to do something different. Using our tex mex love, I was able to find a recipe for the quesadillas. I'm hopeful that this becomes something they really love going forward. 
• Last, we love having pizza night, but the girls especially love when we make our own. This time around, we are doing 1 large pizza since it's one of our favorites. The Philly has been one that we have made before and we absolutely love it! 

Shopping process: Last night, with our list in hand, we went to the store and got everything.  Before leaving, Ryan asked if we were going in for a big shop or just for what I needed for a day or two. I said the whole 2 weeks. He rolled his eyes like a teenager afraid of what was to come. As we went through the store, he realized that it wasn't as bad as he thought. For the 11 meals, lunches, and picking up a few things we needed and wanted, but forgot to put on the list, we still had plenty of room in  the cart and I hadn't even spent $110. 

I'll share photos at the end of the week of all of the yummies! 

Performing what mom???

Since Miss Mack is headed to high school, and is 15-years-old, I've been trying to figure out how to approach her about post-secondary education. She's been very rooted in the "I don't want to go to college" thing. This has been a grumbling point for the two of us because I know how hard it was for me to go back to college after 15  years being out of high school. I only want what is best for my kiddos, so figuring this out early is a huge thing for me.

Mack has been in choir since 4th grade. She has loved being able to have that release. Additionally, when we lived in North Carolina, she was asked to be in the high school rendition of Peter Pan. She was a lost boy. We were so used to going into the auditorium for practices and lately, I've been missing that whole lifestyle. She loves singing, and she's known she's wanted to be in music, but she was allowing mainstream media to really impact her decisions. It wasn't until she realized that Mamma Mia was a broadway show before it was a movie that she realized what she really wants to do.

After a quick history lesson from her momma, she revealed "I want to do things like Mamma Mia". Well, with that information, I had a quick talk with her. We discussed her time on stage with Peter Pan. She said she loved it, just not to say her stage cue (Uggawugga meatball). She wants us to look into how she can start to get involved now and not later. So, knowing me, I went right to work.

I contacted our cousing Genevieve and found out that we just need to look around through the local smaller theaters for volunteer opportunities and go from there. So, with that, I found a local theater and I have an email out to them. I don't anticipate an answer today, but I look forward to finding out what we can do. Not only can she go and be part of the education and audition for different roles, but I can go and be part of props and dressing and what not.

Being involved in Peter Pan really brought me back to when my high school concert choir put on Les Miserables. It was one of the funnest things I've ever done. While I didn't try out for a lead because of stage freight, I truly enjoyed being a supporting role, much like Mack when she was a Lost Boy. I really think that this opportunity will be great for her and if she does it and doesn't like it, we will just re-evaluate and then figure out something else that she will love to do since she will be doing it for many many  years.

Jump Off Rock

Jump Off Rock is one of those places that many thing you can go to one time and be done with it. For me, this couldn't be further from the truth. It holds special meaning because it was here that I was introduced to the beauty that is mountain scenery. I wanted to provide some  history into the place for those of you who are interested in going.

At this scenic overlook, you will find panoramic views of the mountain ranges and rolling pastures of the Blue Ridge and Pisgah Mountains. This beauty is unlike any I've seen before. I think that for me it's because of the following passage:

"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible" Matthew 17:20

I look at those mountains up on the outlook and am reminded that even with the smallest amount of faith, I can move mountains. It's like my soul receives a hug from the Lord when I see these ranges.

Additionally, when I was told of the Indian history behind the location, something was moved inside of me. This legend has been passed down through many generations and it tells of a young Cherokee Indian maiden more than 300  years ago who heard that her young Indian chief had been killed during a battle. It is said that she climbed to the edge of the rock and jumped off. Indian legends say that on moonlit nights, the ghost of the maiden can be seen on Jump Off Rock.

This legend makes me remember just how much the maiden loved her chief and couldn't live her life without him. Many times through live, we think that we can't live without someone in our lives, but going back to our verse above, we can always know that even with a little bit of faith, our Lord and Savior will help us through. His love for us is beyond anything imaginable.

Ultimately, the view and hiking trails are well worth it to go for a visit, but the history is what really is interesting to me (and this is coming from someone who didn't care for history class in school). 

Our first trip to NC (2004)

Miss Maddie said she had promised that I would give you some history from Jump off rock this week. I am typing this on Sunday and will have it scheduled for one day this week. I wanted to do more than just Jump off rock. I thought I'd give you a run through of just how much NC means to us as a family.

In 2004, Roy, Carol, Grandma (Pappy's mom), Ryan, Mack (15 months old) and myself made the trip from the Clearwater/Tampa area for a long weekend in the mountains to see some family. We met Uncle Dave, Aunt Vicki, Uncle Danny, Aunt Sam, DeeDee, Courtney, Chase, Grandpa Craig, and maybe a few more family memebers (I can't remember because it 's been so long) at the "cottage" that Mr. And Mrs. Walker owned.

The Walkers had let us all meet at their cottage, and it was big enough that everyone had plenty of room. It was the largest cottage I had ever seen. It is situated right on the golf course, so we had lots of fun with a toddler on the green after the golfers had gone in for the evening. At one time, I had a photo of her trying to pick up golf balls from the green. She put one in her mouth so she could get more. Immediately, we got it out of there and helped her, but man was she determined.

Over the course of the week, we enjoyed the cottage and all that Cummings Cove  had to offer, but we also enjoyed historic Main Street in Hendersonville. The trip wouldn't have been complete without going to waterfalls and other fun places.

The ladies went to Biltmore Estate. I kept Mack at the cottage because she was young and I didn't think we would have a good time with a screaming toddler. I made a goal that one day, I would go back to this marvelous place. (More about meeting this goal in a future post).

We visited Looking Glass Falls. It's another of my favorite places. It 's just off of the road and you can go down into the water, if you'd like. It's just so beautiful. Hearing the water splashing down the falls and the smells of nature are just what a city girl needs every now and then.

We also visited Chimney Rock. This was AMAZING. The walk up to it was long and wow! The view was just spectacular. On the way back down, I had Mack on my shoulders since that was one of her favorite ways to travel at that age. Out of no where, Uncle Dave grabbed her off of me and packed her like a little football to the bottom. When I got there, she wasn't so thrilled, but he'd had fun doing it, so that's all that matters, right?

Jump off rock was another place we went on our first trip to the mountains. It was this place that would become near and dear to my heart. The view was spectacular. The ride up to it was slightly nauseating, but it was well worth it. As you saw in the post that Mads did earlier in the week, it's just breathtaking.

After this trip, I knew that I had to make sure that we made it back to the Asheville and surrounding areas. It was just something that had been laid upon my heart. Over the years, we have made a few trips back and each time, we visit new falls and places, but Jump off rock still is one of my favorites. It may be because that was the first place that I visited where I could really enjoy the view and feel so connected to the world.

Here's a list of the places in the Hendersonville/Asheville area that we have visited over the years. If you are planning a trip, it would be worth your while to take some time out for some of these:

• Biltmore Estate
• Jump off Rock
• High Falls
• Triple Falls
• Covered Bridge Falls
• Looking Glass Falls
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Pearson's Falls
• Hooker Falls
• Dupont Forest
• Mount Pisgah
• Ceasar's Head (Greenville, SC)
• Omni Grove Park Inn
• Sierra Nevada Brewery
• Historic Main Street (Hendersonville)
• Pretty Place (Greenville, SC)
• Apple Orchards (tons in the area)
• Feed and Seed
• Chimney Rock
• Lake Lure (On our goal list)
• Woolworth Walk (Asheville)
• Soda Fountain (yum)
• Asheville city trolley tour

As you can see, we've got quite the list and it expands into areas that are not central to Hendersonville, but if you have the time and want to explore, there's plenty to do. I'll schedule posts for each of these areas going forward, but if you have questions about any area, just ask. 

A week with Yaiyai and Pappy in the mountains

Sunday: Mom and dad left to go home while we went to putt-putt golf with yai-yai. We couldn't end our day without a little bit of ice cream. A trip to Mast General was in store for us too. We took a trip to the candy barrel there and brought home a baggie of yummy treats. Yum!

Monday: We went to a place called Bird Rock Falls. It's one of Mom's favorite waterfalls. Pappy took us since Yai-yai was golfing.

 That night, we visited Oscar Blues. There, we got to hear music and see tons of dogs. We've decided we want a golden doodle.

Tuesday: We went to the pool in the community. This was one of our favorite things. Since we don't have a pool at home in Florida, we love having the chance to go to the pool whenever we can.


Wednesday: Another day of fun in the pool. We event went to a water aerobics class with Yai-yai one day. That was really cool.

Thursday: Jump off Rock! Another of mom's favorite places. Yai-yai took us to get some photos that Mom said she wanted.

 Mom has a collection of photos of us around this tree. I think she is tracking us as we grow by seeing us near this tree.

 The last photo we have on this rock was with Dad. It's another one of the favorite photos. I think mom might have 3-4 of the group of us posing here.

We can't get over the history of this place, but the view gets us every time. I'll have mom do a post this week with the history of this place. It's simply really cool. When Dad comes with us, he likes to go exploring so I'm sure that will be in our future too.

Friday: Mom  had been teasing us saying that she was going to go to Mama Mia, here we go again! without us. So.... We got tickets and went with Yai-yai 7  hours before mom and dad had their tickets to go. HAHA! For dinner we had pizza with Pappy.

Saturday: The trip home. We were sad to head home, but we had to. We had McDs for breakfast and then snacked and snoozed all the way home. We saw a black bear on the trip down. Mom surprised us when we got home and bought both of the Mama Mia soundtracks on iTunes. We absolutely love those songs and now we can listen to them anytime! 

After a week visiting with Yai-yai and Pappy, we are happy to be home. Mack chased mom around their SUV so she could hug her first. I sat in the SUV and laughed at them. After the longest hug ever, it was my turn. We had so much fun and can't wait to go it again, but we are happy to be home for a mundane few weeks of rest before going back to school (although Dad has a trip to Busch Gardens already planned and he and I go to wrestling in Gainesville very soon).

Lots of love,
Mads

Planning the Sweet 16!

A child only turns 16 one time. Over the course of history, the age of 16 is one of the big celebrations. When a child turns 16, they are considered to have come of age. Yes, legally they are still a minor, but they have added responsibility.

• They are in high school and must think about their future
• They can get their driver's license
• They are expected to start looking for work in many cases. 

Due to the history, we decided that we would do something epic for Mackenzie's Sweet 16. 

Plans: 

• 5 day CRUISE to Grand Cayman and Cozumel! 

What kid wouldn't want to have a week long celebration, right? So we decided a few months ago to purchase a cruise and take her out on the open sea! Watch for some upcoming posts as we start to shop for the things we will need. 

SPOILER: There will be a formal wear shopping trip in the future! She's not looking forward to that because she hates to try clothes on, but she knows it's for a good reason. 

So, if you have great deals on anything we may need, please post in the comments :) 

Last night of freedom....

Okay, so the title sounds a bit bleak, but last night was our last night before our girls come home from a week with the grands. Yesterday, knowing that we had tickets to a movie, I decided to go in to work a little early so that I could get off of work a bit early. This was a great idea! After a long day at work with issues creeping up, it would happen the one day that we needed to be somewhere, I finally got off and out the door we went.

Since I had chosen the movie, Ry got to choose the dinner. We ended up at Hooters, no surprise there. He loves their buffalo chicken sandwich. I opted for a cheese steak sandwich. While at dinner, something with work came up, so I needed to step outside to make a few calls. This is what I love about my job. I can take care of some things no matter where I am. By the time I was finished with the calls for work, Ryan was finishing up.

Next stop: Burlington. Nothing they had really wowed me. We just walked around for a while. Then we went to the theater early. We were so early that we had to wait outside of the auditorium for a while. We got to talking with some of the couples around us, and to be honest, I was shocked that there weren't more people going to the showing since it was 7:20.

We saw Mama Mia! Here we go again! It was a little hard to get into the storyline if you hadn't watched the first movie, but it really was a great movie. There was one question that was never answered. I came home wondering "How did Donna die?". Watching the trailers, there was this feeling that Donna wasn't going to be in the movie, and for the most part that was true, but just like many others, I wonder what happened to her. That is the only spoiler I will leave since you need to see the movie for yourself.

So, this morning I have chores on the mind and getting ready for the arrival of my little princesses who aren't so little anymore. Tomorrow, we will put up a blog with all of their adventures while they were in North Carolina without us.

Loads of love,
Dawn

Hendersonville/Asheville Weekend

We took a much needed weekend to the Hendersonville/Asheville area last week. It was a great time to just disconnect from the mundane day to day life here in Ocala. It was also our opportunity to drop the girls off for a week with their grandparents. Due to how quick the weekend was, I took a few extra days off of blogging. I am back and going to get some fun things going for you!

Thursday-- We drove from our house to theirs. We only made 3 stops. 1 for gas. 1 for food. 1 for bathrooms. We made great time. After we pulled in, our friends Jason and Terri stopped by for a quick visit. This meant so much to us because it was late, and we do not get to see them very often.

Friday-- Ryan and I took off pretty early to go and look at a neighborhood we are looking at for our move. The girls went with Yaiyai and Pappy to go to a waterfall, but were close to running out of gas, so instead turned around and went back to get gas. We met back at the condo before heading into town. We all went to look at homes at Clayton  Homes. This gave us a great idea for what we want to do. We now have 2 choices and we believe that we have come up with a great plan. Then it was time to head downtown. Ryan and his dad went to a brewery while all 4 of us girls had Sweet Frog. The girls absolutely love this. After that, we went to watch some music. Soon after, we headed back to the condo.

Saturday -- Yaiyai, Kenzie, Maddie, and myself went to Pearson's waterfall and shopping while the guys were golfing. We had a great hike to one beautiful waterfall.

After our hike, it was time to go and grab lunch. We went to Hot Dog World. It's one of those places that we have to go on every visit. Then it was off to Old Navy, Ross, and Marshalls. We didn't find what we were looking for, but I got a dress. After shopping, we headed back to the condo to make dinner. It was lasagne night. The girls really look forward to Yaiyai making lasagne. While they were cooking, Kenzie, Ryan, and Pappy got ready to head to a Tom Petty Tribute.

Maddie, Yaiyai, and I stayed in the condo and watched tv then played dominoes.

Sunday-- This was the day I was least looking forward to. I had to go home and back to the mundane. I love working where I do, but my heart yearns for North Carolina. I was also leaving both of my girls in Hendersonville for a week. Yes, I knew they would be home soon, but I had never left them in another state with anyone. Maddie had only spent one night away from me in recent years. Kenzie, I wasn't worried about, but her little sister had a nasty bout with anxiety issues a few years back. So Ryan and I started to pack up. We left around 1 or so. We grabbed lunch before hitting the road. The drive wasn't too bad until we hit the backroads here in Florida. About 40 minutes from home, we hit a bird, we believe was a hawk. Needless to say, it scared the crap out of us and we had feathers and guts all over our car. Not how we wanted to end the trip. We got home and realized how quiet the house was.

While it was a great weekend, we can't wait to see our little peanuts again on Saturday. I'll see ya later. It's time to get to work!

Family time

What is famiy time to you? Each family unit has their own idea of what family time should be. To some, it's as simple as watching something on TV as a family and to others, it's having a set day of the week to gather and share a meal. For us, it differs. Since Ryan works such an odd schedule, we take our family time when we can get it. It normally consists of taking a few days to just be away from home and disconnected from reality. This normally happens on his weekends off. We have done all of the following at one time or another in order to get some family time together:

• Clearwater beach
• Asheville, NC
• Tampa/New Port Richey
• Camping
• Busch Gardens
• Magic Kingdom
• Epcot
• Hollywood Studios
• Animal Kingdom
• Bonnet Creek Resort
• Netflix weekends

As you can see, most of our family trips are within driving distance for us. We just need that time to get away. When we are in the mountains, we enjoy seeing his parents and hiking to waterfalls. When we are in central Florida, we normally head for one of the amusement parks or beaches. It doesn't matter what you do when you are spending family time together, the important thing is that you are disconnecting from the world and just enjoying each other. 

With that said, I am taking tomorrow off from the blog and will resume on Tuesday. Have a great break and I'll see you then. 

Love and blessings, 

Dawn

A little about the teenager

Hi! I'm Mack. Mom calls me Macky or Kenzie, but I prefer Mack. She asked me to write about me. I thought I would just put a list of my favorite things:

• I love to sing
• Boybands are my favorite
• My favorite color is red
• My favorite food is pizza, but ice cream is a close second. 
• My favorite way to travel is by plane. 
• My favorite amusement park ride is the people mover at Disney World Orlando
• Soccer is my favorite sport
• I love watching Degrassi. 
• My favorite place in the US is Ohio
• My favorite Disney movie is the Lion King because.... What I was a young warthooooooooggggg! 
• My favorite princess is Belle. 
• When I get to choose where we go to eat, it's Applebees. 

I'll be making more of these posts in the future so keep your eyes peeled! 

Make new friends, but keep the old...

Over the course of our lives, people will come and go, but one thing remains... As I have thought back about things I might want to journal or blog about, I keep coming back to how amazing it is to know that I can make new friends, but I also have those true to the core friends that I have known since I was in school.

This spring/summer, I have really come to realize just how important it is to make new friends, but also how much it is critical for me to strive to keep in touch with the old. You see, before I was in high school, I had a hard time making friends. I was very withdrawn and didn't make friends easily. It wasn't for lack of trying, but more because we moved around a lot and I was afraid of getting too close to anyone for too long.

I started my freshman year at Charlestown High School and was enrolled in a life skills class. This class was amazing for me. It taught me not only some of the vital skills I would need after high school, but it also enabled me to learn to lean on others. I was afraid of heights, but we had to do a trust fall. After some coaching, some of my classmates were able to encourage me to trust that they would catch me when I fell from the ladder. I was very afraid to go up very far, but after that experience, I realized that I could trust others. I could lean on them. Prior to it, I had a very small group of friends, but after it, I started to branch out. By the time I graduated, I had a pretty good size group of friends from my  high school. 

After I moved away from home, I lost contact with many of my friends, but thanks to social media, I have had the opportunity to reconnect with them. Leah and Heidi were probably two of my closest friends. They played basketball all through high school and I was the girls basketball manager (basically the water girl). I remember one year going and helping with decorations of our homecoming float and then holding the Rhino down as we paraded through town. It was just awesome! I loved the time we had together. This spring, Leah and I have really reconnected and it feels like we haven't lost a beat. Heidi too. I know that I can take anything in the world to them and they will support me no matter what. They laugh with me, cry with me, and pray with me anytime I ask them to.

We all have our busy lives, but just knowing that two of my oldest friendships remain intact and that I can reach out to them whenever I need to does wonders. No matter if they are at a baseball game with their son or on an airplane for business reasons, I know that they will respond. They are two of the most amazing women I know and I just thank the Lord that he brought us back together.

Each time I think of them, I am reminded of the Girl Scout song Make New Friends. While we do make new friends, we always go back to those we trust the most and have been there with us through thick and thin.

If you ladies are reading this, I want to say thank you for keeping me sane. Thank you for being the peanut butter to my jelly. You two truly have impacted more lives than you know and I love you both so much! :smoochies boochies:

Who is Dawn?

Over the years, I realize that I never really introduced the family to our readers. So, without further ado, I'd like to take the next several days to do just that.

Meet Dawn. I like to think that I'm fun-loving and fancy-free. Over the course of this post, we will talk a little bit about me. 

• Wifey to Ryan since 10/20/2002
• Mom to Mackenzie and Madison
• College graduate
• Training Lead at iScribes
• Crafter
• Blogger
• Interested in Jesus and the bible, among other things. 
• Loves the outdoors-- take me hiking and I'm a happy camper. 

After just a few of the highlights, let's get down to all of my favorites. 

Favorite fast food restaurant? Firehouse subs. There's just something about them. They have a bit of a sweet taste to them. I could eat a Hook & Ladder for the rest of my life. 

Favorite ice cream flavor? Ben & Jerry's Fish Food. It's a lot like rocky road, but has tiny little fish shaped chocolates. Those are my favorite. 

Favorite chocolate candy? Reese's. Anything peanut butter combined with chocolate. MMMMMM! 

Favorite fruity candy? Starburst Jelly Beans. 

Favorite flavor Starburst? Cherry

Favorite dish at Olive Garden? Tour of Italy

Favorite kind of sushi? California Roll. I do not like raw fish. That's sashimi, sushi is a rice dish ;)

Favorite Asian dish? Vietnamese-style iced coffee. 

Favorite Italian dish? Ravioli

Favorite food of all time? My mother-in-law's tortellini soup. 

Favorite way to cook a steak? Not hard as a rock but not raw. Probably Medium well. 

Favorite pasta dish? Any pasta dish will do :) 

Favorite cookie? Oatmeal no-bakes. 

Favorite fast food French fries? Checkers/Rally's

Favorite cereal? Raisin bran crunch. 

Favorite breakfast food? Chicken Biscuits

Favorite pizza toppings? steak, onion, mushroom

Favorite fruit? Watermelon

Favorite vegetable? Carrots

Favorite dessert? Chocolate Lasagne. 

Favorite comfort food? Chinese

Favorite way to eat bacon?crispy

Favorite thing at a buffet? sushi

Favorite pumpkin-flavored treat? Pumpkin pie donuts from Dunkin'. 

Favorite dish at Thanksgiving? sweet potato casserole

Favorite cake? german chocolate

Favorite ice cream sundae toppings? hot fudge with nuts

Favorite thing to cook? everything! I LOVE cooking. 

Favorite soda? I try not to drink it, but Code Red Mt. Dew. 

Favorite alcoholic drink? Anything that's not beer. 

Favorite drink at Starbucks? Mocha

Favorite flavor coffee? Mocha

Favorite 80's movie? Back to the Future

Favorite Harry Potter movie? Ummm can I only pick one? ALL OF THEM. 

Favorite Hobbit from the Lord of the Rings? Frodo

Favorite Simpson's character? Lisa

Favorite cartoon cat? Garfield

Favorite TV sitcom? Friends

Favorite cartoon? Scooby Doo

Favorite scary movie? Nightmare on Elm Street (all of them)

Favorite funny movie? Meet the Parents

Favorite celebrity? Kiefer Sutherland

Favorite South Park character? Kenny

Favorite chick flick? Coyote Ugly

Favorite Pixar movie? Cars

Favorite Family Guy character? Stewie

Favorite Leonardo Dicaprio movie? Titanic

Favorite actress over 50? Meryl Streep

Favorite Marvel movie? Spiderman

Favorite TV show? Live Pd

Favorite cancelled TV series? Bones

Favorite show on the Discovery Channel? Gold Rush

Favorite classic movie? Wizard of Oz

Favorite Beatles song? Hello, Goodbye

Favorite string instrument? Guitar

Favorite instrument? Piano

Favorite band or music artist? Ed Sheeran

Favorite music genre? Contemporary Christian

Favorite style of dance? Ballroom

Favorite boy band? N*Sync

Favorite disco song? Dancing Queen

Favorite 80's song? Livin' on a Prayer

Favorite cover song? God's Plan by Drake

Favorite one-hit wonder? Eye of the Tiger

Favorite song you're embarrassed to like? none. 

Favorite foreign band/artist? Ed Sheeran

Favorite state you’ve visited? North Carolina

Favorite country you want to visit? Italy

Favorite thing about America? Freedom

Favorite kind of vacation? Cruise

Favorite car? Toyota Camry

Favorite road to drive on? Country roads

Favorite way to travel? Car

Favorite beach? Clearwater

Favorite place to go with family? Pretty Place

Favorite vacation you’ve taken? It's coming soon! 

Favorite fictional place you’d want to visit? Hogsmeade

Favorite ride at a carnival? Tilt a whirl

Favorite thing to do at the beach? Tan

Favorite rollercoaster? NONE, but if I had to say one it would be Thunder Mountain because that's the only one I've ever ridden that I wasn't forced on. 

Favorite theme park? Disney parks

Favorite thing about traveling? Disconnecting from reality. 

Favorite dinosaur? Pterodactyl

Favorite breed of dog? Doberman

Favorite season? Spring

Favorite flower? Rose

Favorite animal at the zoo? All of them. I don't really dislike any animals

Favorite type of bear? The kind on Main Street in Hendersonville. They are statues that artists have painted. They are my favorite because I can get up close without fear that they will attack. 

Favorite natural disaster? None. 

Favorite reptile? Bearded Dragon

Favorite animal? Giraffe

Favorite bird? My old parakeet Skye. 

Favorite thing in the sky? Clouds

Favorite thing about a rainy day? Reading a book. 

Favorite sea creature? Dolphin

Favorite color rose? pink

Favorite small mammal? White Squirrel

Favorite big cat? Tiger

Favorite thing about spring? Seeing life restored to the dormant nature around me. 

Favorite wild animal you’d like as a pet? None. 

Favorite sport? Basketball. 

Favorite extreme sport you're too scared to do? Parasailing

Favorite Olympic sport? Icedancing

Favorite football team? None

Favorite basketball team? Kentucky Wildcats. 

Favorite hockey team? Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Favorite baseball team? Tampa Bay Rays

Favorite sport to play? None. 

Favorite winter sport? Basketball

Favorite sport you wish you were a pro at? I'm not really interested in playing. I like being a spectator. 

Favorite professional athlete? Michael Jordan

Favorite sport to watch in person? Basketball

Favorite nursery rhyme? Here we go round the mulberry bush. 

Favorite childhood memory? Finally being close to my sister. 

Favorite board game? Monopoloy

Favorite children’s show? Full House

Favorite toy as a child? My dolls

Favorite teacher? Ms. Money

Favorite thing about school? Getting way from my brothers. 

Favorite age? 17 when I moved out from home. 

Favorite Christmas present? The gift of Jesus Christ. 

Favorite Dr. Seuss book? One fish 2 fish. 

Favorite Halloween costume you've worn? None. 

Favorite lunchbox snack? Apples

Favorite Winnie the Pooh character? Eeyore

Favorite thing to do during recess? Swing

Favorite superhero? Spiderman

Favorite video game? None

Favorite color Power Ranger? Pink

Favorite fairy tale? Cinderella because my middle name is Ella. 

Favorite game to play outside? I didn't play many. We lived on a farm and so we had to work most of the time we were home. 

Favorite department store? Kohl's

Favorite place to shop? Kohl's

Favorite store in the mall? Belk

Favorite perfume/cologne? Ralph Lauren Romance

Favorite hair color? Burgundy

Favorite makeup you can't live without? Lip gloss

Favorite shoes? Flip Flops

Favorite occasion to dress up for? Date night

Favorite hairstyle? Layered

Favorite outfit you have? Dress shorts and blouse

Favorite soap scent? Cucumber melon

Favorite article of clothing? Leggings

Favorite place for a piercing? ears

Favorite piece of jewelry? Wedding rings

Favorite thing to wear to bed? Jammies

Favorite luxury brand? Michael Kors

Favorite brand of toilet paper? Charmin

Favorite candle scent? Yankee Candle Pumpkin Pie

Favorite extracurricular activity? Hiking

Favorite day of the week? Sunday, my day to really have time with my Lord. 

Favorite holiday? Christmas

Favorite website? I don't really have one. 

Favorite way to communicate? Text

Favorite Youtube video? Cruise tips tv

Favorite kind of house? One that is home. 

Favorite car color? White

Favorite baby boy name? Matthew

Favorite baby girl name? Miranda

Favorite thing to do when you’re sick? sleep

Favorite person you’ve never met? Tiffany Boddie

Favorite question you’ve answered so far? I'm not sure lol

Favorite thing you’ve done in the last 24 hours? Spent time with my girls

Favorite place to meet up with friends? coffee shop

Favorite hobby? crafting

Favorite way to cheer you up? take me on a cruise

Favorite thing to look forward to? serenity in the mountains

Favorite kind of gift to receive? love

Favorite crafty thing to make? everything! 

Favorite way to relax? reading

Future plans 2018-2019

From birth to now, I have never really found that place that I belong aside from living in Hendersonville. As I stated in a previous post, our hearts have longed for Hendersonville since we left. We knew that we weren't finished. Coming back to Florida was just a means to an end for us. Yes, we were judged for it. Yes it has caused separation from my family, but not without purpose.

"but Jesus told him, 'Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.'"Luke 9:62

When we returned to Florida, it felt like we were looking back. We weren't doing whatever it takes to be successful where we were called. We felt like Jonah when he wasn't listening to the Lord and was swallowed up by the fish. Florida is our fish. We know this isn't where we belong.

Over the last 2 years, we have wrestled with where to go. We know that Ocala isn't where we are called. We have contemplated with everything you can imagine, from New York to Miami. We even thought about going out west and starting over. Every time we think about anything, we always come back to the Hendersonville/Asheville area. It is the only place that we have ever really longed to be. The only place we have felt accepted. Asheville will always hold a dear place in our hearts.

It is with much joy that I reveal our next steps. As the rest of this year closes out, we will be making our preparations for a spring move to the Asheville area. We have realized just how much we need to be there. Additionally, we realize exactly how much we WANT to be there. The Lord is doing great things in us and we are ready to do what he says. He's telling us that we should be going to where when we get off of the interstate for a visit our kids say "Welcome home peeps", yes, that totally happened for spring break 2017.

We know that this will come as a shock to many, but we aren't doing this because it is what others want for us. We are living the life that the Lord leads us to live. We are making this move because we feel it is the right move for our family. If there are some out there who do not agree with what we are doing with out family, that's on them.

Remember, The Lord commands us:

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye. Don't waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don't throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. Matthew 7: 1-6

My season from CNA to iScribes and more

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

The bible teaches us that there is a time for everything. As indicated in the above scripture, we all go through seasons. It is my firm belief that from 2009-2018, the Lord was putting me through a season. While I didn't understand fully why things needed to be done as they were, I now can look back and be thankful to the lord for those things that he was doing during this season in my life. This post will discuss my career season. As the time begins, I was a CNA at a nursing home in New Port Richey, Florida. This nursing facility did not have a good reputation, but I made the move from a brand new facility to this one because it was closer to home and offered a better schedule. I hated to do it, but the place I was working at was not following through with promises made. You see, I was hired to work as a night shift receptionist. Shortly after starting, I was being required to work on the floor as a CNA. I did not want this to happen, but I was doing what my supervisors were telling me to do. Soon enough, I was called into the DONs office and told that I would be moved completely from my position as a night shift receptionist to a full time CNA on the floor. This really frustrated me because it meant that I would not be home to take my daughter to school and I would be sleeping even more during the day and missing out on my 2-year-old daughter's life. You see, my children were my world. Less than 2 months later, my husband was hired at the nursing home that I ultimately would leave my position to go to. It was more pay and better hours. I scheduled an interview for right after I got off of work one morning. I was offered the position at a higher rate of pay and turned in my notice that night. I started working at the new facility in early 2009.

Deciding to leave my job as a CNA
In December 2009, after much deliberation, Ryan and I decided that it was not worth my being physically abused by patients and verbally and mentally abused by nurses and administration. I quit my job just about a week before Christmas. This was a hard decision because we knew it would cut our income in 1/2. I had only ever been a nursing assistant and we would be trusting the Lord to provide for our needs. Ryan and I weren't sure how to approach this with our extended family, so we didn't say anything. I'm pretty sure they knew that something was up, but they didn't say anything. I continued volunteering at Mackenzie's school and doing whatever it took to raise Maddie.

Raising my children to school age and beyond.
I continued staying home with Maddie through 2011 when she went to kindergarten. At this point, I thought I would try doing the AVON thing. It didn't work out for me. So I just continued being a mom and taking care of the apartment. In 2012, we moved out of the tiny apartment we were in. We shared a large house with our friends for about a year. After they moved out, we were supposed to be able to keep the house ourselves. However, the landlord reneged and forced us to move into a tiny mobile home that was falling apart. This was during the summer of 2012. In March 2013, we found a little house that we moved into. By this time, Ryan wasn't working locally, so I had to move us on my own. It was so hard to balance this. A few months later, we found out that the house was still owned by someone who was deceased and we were not in a legal contract. We moved again, in with a different set of friends. During this time, our family unit went through a lot. About 3-4 months later, we had the funding to move, so again, I moved my family into our own place. It was a rough start, but we were able to stabilize. About 6 months later, we found a home we wanted to go into a contract on.

2/2014, we were able to move into what we thought would be our forever home. I was still living as a mom and dad both since Ryan was working so much on the road. The girls didn't have to change schools for this move, so things were starting to fall into place, or so we thought. I began my college education 04/02014. I was going to be going for my billing and coding diploma.

That summer, we went to visit in Hendersonville, NC. While we were gone, our neighbor started some really ridiculous things with our friends who were house sitting for us that week. We didn't trust him, but we didn't have anything to go to the law with. The week after we came back, there was an old tree branch that fell and smashed my friend's car right before he was leaving to go home. The girls and I were in the house and no where near the tree, but this neighbor tried causing more trouble. He called DCF and told them that the branch narrowly missed killing my children. This was not the case and upon their investigation, this was unfounded. She acknowledged that we had been gone for a week and that I was getting things all caught up from that week, so she closed the case. I got the rest of the tree branch cut down and we went on with our lives. He continued causing us grief. I called the agent who was selling the house and he told me that this was what this neighbor does to all of the tenants that attempt to purchase this house. It was horrible.

Shortly after that, Ryan and I made the decision that we would be moving to North Carolina. We loved the area and wanted to give it a try. The key here was that we had not prayed over it. We made the decision in our flesh and didn't give the Lord time to get things in order for us to move. Due to this selfish decision, we ended up moving back to Florida. I posted a bit about this a few days ago.

I continued with my education until 3/2016 when I obtained my Associate's degree in HIT. Right after graduation, I applied at a place called iScribes. I had never heard of the company, but was hopeful that I could get my foot in the door and be able to progress from there into coding. I finally got a call and scheduled my interview. I was hired on 06/30/2016. I worked through training and almost quit. It was so hard to learn all that needed to be learned in 2 weeks. Ultimately, I kept going because the trainer was so very positive and uplifting. I was given an assignment and worked 3 weeks on training then the lead decided that she wanted to step down and that meant that I would not be able to work for this provider. So, I got a call from the manager. He explained what had happened. I was really broken at this point. I almost said thanks, but no thanks. Ultimately, I took the weekend to review some of the recordings for this new provider and decided to give it a try. In less than 1 month, I was made independent with this provider. Soon after that, my lead came to me saying that there was a new position and she'd like to put my name in for it. I was looking for more hours, and this was one way I could get those. Not only did I get more  hours, but I got a raise. This was huge for me. By this time, I had gone from not working, to working 12 hours a week, to now making more and working 25 hours a week.

Six months later, the trainer that I had quit and that meant that the training specialists (my new position) would have to step up. I started working about 40 hours a week at this point. Additionally, I received another raise. A few months later, our manager quit. This was such a hard thing for all of us. Just 4 months after that, we were told that our company had been acquired by Nuance. We were very concerned with this because it meant that we weren't sure if in 6 months they would close the door on us. It took some fighting, but with the acquisition we were able to get the other part of the raise we were given earlier in the year. Now we are in May 2018. The new manager, who happens to be the founder of iScribes, called a meeting to promote the training specialists to training/content leads. In addition to this, I was given another raise. At this point, I am having to force myself to not go over 40 hours a week because most weeks, I could be working 50+ hours due to all of the work that there is to be done.

In the last few weeks, I have been training 2 new training specialists. I have gone from being a stay at home mom to a manager in the last 2 years. I has been amazing to see the Lord work. Additionally, all of this has given us the opportunity to do so many things with our family.

I tell you all of this to circle back to the scripture that says "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them". Romans 8:28

Summer in Central Florida 2018 edition.

As we prepare for our next adventure, we wanted to take the opportunity to enjoy our summer. This year, it's been a bit more challenging as Ryan is working tons of overtime and I'm workin 40+ hours each week. This means that we have to figure out creative ways to have a great summer. Normally, this means that there are daddy/daughter date trips and after work/on weekend family trips to include all of us. So far this summer, there has been so much to enjoy: 

1. We bought Busch Gardens annual passes this year. We have done the Disney World thing, but wanted something a bit more budget friendly. We also have friends in the Tampa area that we do not get to see often enough.
2. Since Kenzie is becoming more of a sports fan, we thought it might be fun for her to go to a baseball game with her daddy. I bought tickets for the 2 of them on the party deck to see the Tampa Bay Rays versus the Houston Astros. when they went into the park, they were both given Rays shirts. Needless to say, they were very excited when they got back to the hotel where Maddie and I had a relaxing Saturday. 
3. SummerSlam Heatwave Tour!! Say what? I also bought Maddie a special daddy/daughter date. She will be going to see professional wrestling in a few weeks. They will enjoy their evening in Gainsville while Kenzie and I have some teenage and mom time at home. 
4. Niall Horan concert. Another fun thing for Mackenzie. She's about to start high school, so what better way to celebrate than her very first concert! Ryan's taking her to see one of her favorite artists. It just happens that Maren Morris is opening for him and she couldn't be happier. 

As always, we have our tropical weather. It just so happens that we are watching the first named storm for the year the week that we are supposed to be leaving for a trip to Asheville. We are fervently praying that Ryan doesn't get mandated to stay home because of this storm. As things progress, we will keep our friends and family posted. As of right now, the storm could either go up the middle of our state, over to Texas, or fizzle out in the Gulf of Mexico. 

From 2015 til now...

In spring of 2015, we embarked on a journey to move to Hendersonville, North Carolina. As you might imagine, the move almost 9 hours north of us was quite the experience. Since that time, so much has transpired. Through this post, I hope to give you a glimpse into all that has happened since then. Hopefully, it will give you a little bit of information as to why our blog was deserted for so long.

Spring 2015
Ryan came home from working on the road. He had taken a week off to get us moved. We rented a rental truck and packed up from what we thought would be our forever home, but after there were many issues transpire up to an including a neighbor who was irate that we were buying the only piece of lakefront property that he didn't own on the street. He really made our lives as miserable as he could. We tried for a good year to do our own thing, but we found that he was just going to do whatever it took to make anyone living in that house miserable. Because of this, in the fall of 2014, we decided to try something new. I had never lived in the mountains and since Ryan worked on the road, it was something that he was really looking forward to. He loved the idea of coming home to somewhere that the neighbors wouldn't be trying to ruin his only day or two with his family. So, we packed up the budget truck and off we went.

Travel to Hendersonville
Day 1: We pulled out at about 7 am. We wanted to beat rush hour traffic in as many big cities as we could. Ryan driving the Budget truck with Maddie. That left me to drive our little sedan with Kenzie. It was spring break for our kids, so it was a perfect time to go. We drove from Hudson, Florida to Savannah, Georgia before the kids decided that they had had enough. They needed to stretch. We pulled in to a hotel for the night. We had less than 5 hours to go, but as you know, when you have kids traveling, sometimes, it is best to make that stop than it is to just push on.

Day 2: We woke up at about 5 am and set out for the last leg of our journey. We arrived at the condo before noon. We had stopped in town for a bit of a walk around Main Street. Let me tell you, if you have never gone and just walked your town's main street or whatever the historical area is, go do it. It is so much fun. After dropping the truck off at his parent's condo, we parked the car right in front of their place and jumped in their trailblazer. It snowed the night we stayed in Savannah and we wanted to be sure that we wouldn't get stuck in our little car, so we took the SUV out and took the girls to my favorite place. Jump off rock is to this day the one place I love going every time we are in Hendersonville.

Throughout that first week, we went hunting for places to live. We applied at an apartment complex and were accepted. This was about day 3-4 I would guess. We were able to move in the next week. So, we put our belongings in storage since we had to take the truck back soon. When move-in day arrived, we rented a trailer and my father-in-love drove his SUV with the trailer attached to move our belongings from the storage unit in Etowah to our apartment on the other side of Hendersonville. My mother-in-love and I had taken the girls in my car and we were picking up things that I knew I needed and getting lunch for them. Once everything was inside the apartment we said our good-byes and they went on home. We started the task of finding homes for everything. It was a humbling experience.

Over the course of the next several weeks, with Ryan gone back to work and me in the middle of my college education, I had to balance living in a new area, being a stay at home mom, going to school, and everything that comes with the above. We, very quickly, found that there was one mom who didn't like that we were in the complex. You see, we played by the rules. Her sons did not. One of the children liked to play very close to traffic. I had a conversation with the school because of how unsafe he was being and you can imagine what happened after that. After she came to me and started chewing me out, she realized that I had made the call simply for the safety of her son and we were fine after that. In fact, Maddie became pretty close friends with the children and they started to behave a bit more.

Our time in Hendersonville taught us what "home" really felt like. We met some of the most amazing people we have ever had the pleasure to meet. I became very close to my friend Tiffany and Maddie met her best friend ever, Gracie. Shortly after meeting, Tiffany invited Maddie to Gracie's sleep-over. It was the first time that Maddie had stayed over at anyone's house that wasn't family. Tiffany only lived about 10 minutes from me, so if I needed to run over to get her, that wasn't going to be a problem. She also sent me photos from the night and had Maddie call me. It was rough on this momma, but all in all, she had a great time and we made friendships that will last a lifetime.

Also during that time, Mackenzie was asked to be a Lost Boy in the high school production of Peter Pan. She was only in 5th grade, but they wanted her, so I said YES! This was right up her alley. She loved it! We went to practices as often as she was required to. Maddie learned what it meant to sit in the audience and Kenzie learned lots of rules of the stage. When the producer came to tell us what she needed for the play, I went to work! I found these awesome combat boots for her to wear. Needless to say, my kid was the only one with shiny black combat boots on stage! It was a hoot. She had 3 nights to put on the play. We attended with Yaiyai and Pappy. It was really great to see her really enjoying herself.

Shortly after that, it was time for DARE camp. She went for a long weekend with the local police and was able to learn lots and have tons of fun.  While she was gone, Maddie and I just enjoyed each other.

As fall approached, the yearly slow down for Ryan happened. It was so bad that he received some checks for less than $100. Because of this, we were faced with 2 decisions. First we had to decide if we would borrow from a family memeber to cover our rent. The second decision was if we would move in with a friend and sacrifice the life we loved in North Carolina. Ultimately, not wanting to borrow money from family and not know if we would have what we needed for the next month due to the nature of his job and my still being in college, we opted to move in with our friend. Ryan had to go back to work, and so our friend and I packed what we could into my car and his little pickup truck. Again, we set off south. This time, we went to Merritt Island, Florida. From the moment we left the mountains, my heart was breaking.

So this was in December. We moved the kids to the schools there and regretted it immediately. The bullying began. We knew this was a temporary move, so we were looking actively from the time we got there for our next home. During our time there, one of my brothers sent me a message on facebook that was very hurtful. It had the tone that my move was stupid and that I needed to find somewhere and stay there. From that point forward, I have been very careful of what I post because I know that he will judge me no matter what I do. Shortly after that, as I was preparing to graduate college, more judgement came from other brothers. So I became withdrawn. I graduated in March, but the ceremony wasn't until August.

Just a couple of weeks before I finished college, our friend and I had a falling out. It was to the extent that I feared for my life and the life of my family. That weekend, we came to Ocala. We had other friends living here. They were able to help us get into a unit with their landlord. Ryan stayed in MI and finished out his 2 weeks notice at the nursing facility he was working at and I started applying to jobs. I applied to one called iScribes. I didn't hear anything, so didn't think anything of it. (more on that in a future post). As summer was in full swing, the landlord needed to have us vacate the unit we were in, so we were moved across the driveway to another unit. We have been there since.

December 2016, we had been in the new unit for about 6 months. We had Ryan's parents for Christmas, and we knew that we didn't want to stay here. We have stayed only to get our lives back on track before deciding what to do. Our hears have yearned for the mountains since we moved away, but we were afraid to make that leap for a few reasons. First, was it what God was calling us to? Then, do we have the funding to do it? And now, where will we live and what will Ryan do for work (more on this in another future post).

So another year goes by. The girls continue in the same schools. It is now December 2017 and I have just gotten big news at work (watch for that post upcoming as well). We didn't have his parents for Christmas, but did an early Christmas with them. It was then that we made a decision that we would seriously look at moving "home". The only place we have ever truly felt was home. It was time to really start to try and see what we could do. We had been in Ocala for 1.5 years at this point and we knew we didn't want to stay here. Aside from the bullying at school for the kids, it just wasn't where our hearts were happy.

In 2018, so much has happened, and that will all be covered here very soon, but I wanted to bring you up to speed. This is going to be a wild ride, and we can't wait to see where life takes us! It's amazing to see how we have changed, good and bad. The one thing that remains constant is the love our Lord has for us. Without that, I do not know where we would be or if we would be at a point to be writing this blog post right now.

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

The above verse means so much to our family. For without the strength that has been given by Jesus, we would not be able to withstand all that has transpired in less than 3 years. Yes, we have been judged for what we have done, but without the context for why we have done things, one can only jump to conclusions. Yes, we will continue to be judged, but we know that with Christ anything is possible. We are learning to lean more on the Lord and less on the fleshly things that happen around us. Keeping our focus on our Lord, is what will get us over the hurdles that are surely to come.

Love,
Dawn and crew

Blog Re-vamp is on it's way

I know, I know. It's been too long since I appeared here. I am REALLY trying to get back into my blog. I allowed life to get in the way, but in that time, I have found a piece of what was missing. Over the next few days/weeks, I will be working to narrow down exactly what I want this blog to become. I still want to share our life with all of our readers, but I also want to make a nod toward our future. Be on the lookout for some amazingness to come! Some of what you can expect until I decide on exactly what I want my blog to be are:

• Asheville
• Kenzie and Maddie spending a week with Yai yai and Pappy
• Summer in Central Florida
• What we are planning for Mackenzie's Sweet 16 (it's going to be sweet y'all)
• Steps my career has taken
• Where Ryan's career has led him
• Update on each family member complete with a photo shoot of each of us! 
• What has transpired from 2015 until now
• and finally, What the next year has for us! 

I know this is a very long list and it will take some time to cover all of those topics, but we want to bring you our very best and that starts with being able to update everyone as to what has occurred while we weren't actively blogging. Some of the things you will find that I will continue to do is bringing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into our blog. 

Before I close, I wanted to share the verse that has really been speaking to me lately. It really has brought me out of my latest bout of depression and opened my eyes. 

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

In this verse, I am reminded just how much I need Jesus on a daily basis. I am also reminded that it is because of Jesus Christ that I can live a free life. Finally, with Jesus, I am here today to share not only our life, but  HIS love with you. 

With much love, 

The Cox Family

Ramblings toward our future...

Research is always fun! I get the opportunity to research things for work on a regular basis, but now I have the opportunity to do some research to determine the next best steps for our family. At this point we are weighing our options. Is Florida the best place for us, or are we headed to North Caolina? Only time will tell. In the mean time, we will do research to find out a few things:

Can Mackenzie still Virtual school?
Will Madison keep her IEP?
Where can we afford to live?
Where do we want to be?
What is best for us.

As we continue working through the process, we will update here, but it is going to be a long process, so I won't bore you with the details there!

On our path to making a decision, we know there is one thing we must do. We have to commit to becoming debt free. We need to adopt the principle to Live like no one else lives now, so that we can live, and give, like no one else in the future.

To do this, we will commit to the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University. Our first steps are coming in the coming days and weeks. I will post a little along the way about this path we are embarking upon. It will be an interesting ride for sure!

In the mean time, may you have a blessed weekend!

Homeschool Ponderings

Over the last few years, Mackenzie has been the victim of bullying. this past January, we had had enough. We decided to pull her out of public school with the intention to homeschool her. We were planning to use Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool. The reason behind this was that she could work at her own pace and be able to finish multiple grades per year. All of her lessons were all planned out and on the website. Ultimately we went with Marion Virtual because the homeschool office talked us into it.

I am still not 100% sure that we like the virtual, but that's ok. She started about 3.5 weeks after the start of the term and worked her tail off. She finished the term about 2 weeks after the end of the regular school year. We finally got all of her grades and she's good to go. She's now an 8th grader.

She's asking to be moved to Florida Virtual because that way she can still get her high school diploma and all that jazz. We have major decisions coming up and we do not know if we want to stay with the virtual program. I will be researching some other homeschool curriculum over the next few weeks and we will have a decision made by the end of the summer. Either way, she does not want to go back to the middle school here. The kids were just awful to her. We would like to have been able to made her a car rider, but we cannot because Madison is a car rider and the schools start at the same time so one of the kids would always be late to school.

Having the experience of the virtual school has taught us all not to give up. There are other options out there for students who simply do not do well in the public school sector. Right now she is still a student of the public school sector, she just does all of her coursework at home.

Our decision comes in this manner, if she does not continue with a virtual school through the state, she will need to take the GED. Mackenzie has a history of not doing so well on standardized tests. If we pull her and allow her to do the conventional homeschool method, we have to keep records and take them to a public school official and hope that they will sign off on the education so that she can be moved to the next grade.

I like that Easy Peasy is customizable to what the child's interests are, but I love that with the state virtual schools, she does not have to take another standardized test to prove that she has an adequate education to be able to find her first job and get into college. What I wonder is if there is a trade school she could get into. With her lower test scores, I am wondering if trade school would be the best option for her at this time.

So many thoughts and not much time... Until next time, God bless you and yours!

Bringing you up to speed

Everyday in our lives, we must make decisions. Some of those decisions are easy and some are hard. Some are influenced by others, and some are made just because. As we look back over the last 10 or so years, more of our decisions have been based off of someone else telling us what we should or shouldn't do. When it isn't that the decision was made because someone made a comment stating that they didn't agree with what we had done. It's a hard thing, being an adult. We have 2 lives that we have to protect and do what is best for. We have some major decisions to make in the coming weeks. Here's a glimpse into the last 10 years of our lives:

2007 we purchased the house I lived in when I was in high school. It was not an ideal situation. Our interest rate drove the monthly price up extremely high. We ended up with a home we couldn't afford.

2008 we made the decision to get out from under the above mentioned home. We moved back to  Florida. We had not seen the home we would be moving into. We trusted that we would be able to afford the place. We came back to the state with no jobs. We had hope that a job would soon come up. We both were offered a job with a new rehab facility. Ryan was let go because he had been charged, but not convicted, of child abuse when he got his DUI in 2003. He was devastated because this was still haunting him.

2009 we realized that we were drowning. We couldn't afford the rental house. We opted to move into a "condo". Well, that's what the name of the complex was. We found out later that it was more like the projects of Port Richey, Fl. We stayed there for about 3 years. We struggled at times. Ryan went through several jobs and I resigned from my job as a CNA. It was becoming too much stress. I came home and all I wanted to do was sleep.

2012 our friends stopped by on their way home to Hudson. That weekend, we found ourselves moving in with them. They lived in a huge rental house, and each of us had our own space. Ryan also was taking a job on the road. He would be gone for weeks on end. It seemed like the right thing to do. Later that summer, they moved out and the landlord forced us into a very small mobile home. It was not ideal. The place was falling apart, but it was the option we had at that time.

2013 we found, what we thought, would be the forever home for us. It was a cute 2 bedroom 1 bath home in downtown New Port Richey. We moved there and started trying to finally bring our life together. Little did we know, the "realtor" who we were purchasing rent to own from did not disclose that the house was in probate. We needed to vacate 4 months after moving in. We then moved in with friends until we could figure out what to do. Later that year, we were able to find a mobile home to move into. We did that in one day.

2014 we found another rent to own and went in with our friends on the purchase. It was decent. It was on 6 acres, and lake access to boot. The issue here was that the neighbor was really ticked that we were purchasing it. He caused some major drama. It was after we came home from our first ever summer vacation that we decided to move out of the state. We didn't think we would be returning.

2015 we moved to North Carolina. The girls and I loved it. Ryan was still working on the road. He never really was home for more than a couple of days before he was being called back out. We truly felt like we were home. Some stuff happened where we were not going to be able to afford rent for one month and we allowed another friend to talk us into moving in with him. Off we went to Merritt Island, Fl.

2016 the friend we moved into and our kids did not get along the best. We felt it would be best to find a new place. We were regretting allowing him to talk us into moving. What was done, was done. We got in touch with our friends who helped us move out of the Port Richey Projects and they were able to introduce us to their landlord. We moved into a large home with them on the property. Again, later in the summer, they moved out. We moved into another one of the properties here in the park. We have lived here ever since.

2017 we looked in South Carolina, but nothing really panned out. We looked in Largo and almost let someone talk us into a really bad idea. We ultimately decided we were not going to jump on anything until we were sure it was the right decision.

Many may disagree with the moves we have made, but in all of the moves, we have made sure that we keep our kids needs before our own. Since we have made decisions, we have had to follow through with the repercussions. Yes we are in Florida, are we staying, it is doubtful. When will we announce? When we are ready. Will we allow others to tell us what we should and shouldn't do? No. It is time that we stand on our own two feet, make the decisions and live our own lives. We do not want to live the life we are told that we should live. We have people who judge us because we live in a mobile home. We have people telling us, "do not move into another mobile home". Others tell us, you need to be in this area or that. None of these people are in our heads or our finances. We love our friends and family, but we need to do what is right for us.

When the time comes, you will know what our decision is, but until then, please just pray that the Lord brings the right forever location to us.

Much Love,
The Cox Family