This gothic style church is in downtown New Bern. It is very large and somewhat forboding. For some odd reason, the front entrance brings to mind the Spanish Inquisition! LOL I guess for me it's the heavy architecture. I had to go across the street and to the back of an alley to get this picture and I still couldn't get it all in there.

You know I love history!
The interesting thing about the grounds is that like our own beloved "Old Sheldon Church" this one also has head stones dating back to the 1700's. It also has a nice little playground for the kids that is open for public use as well. The thing is, you have to walk through the graveyard to get to the playground! There is no defining line between the two. I grinned to myself when I saw it, thinking...oh yeah! Beaufort would really let that happen with all the regulations that go on there! Another thing that struck me was that the church kept it open for the public to use. A dad had his three daughters playing while his wife was shopping down the street. I just don't recall any church's here that leave their playgrounds open for public use.
Sadly, due to crime we can't.

The Man Party

Bubba's man party was a giant success Friday night. We steamed oysters, ate cake and generally ran amuck! Ahhh....the finer things in life!

This guy came away from the table rather umm...bloated. LOL I have to say, I've never seen ANYONE shuck and oyster as fast as Jamie. LOL She must have done this before!

Great Trip!

Eric and his little sister Erin, the baby of the family. She has a twin sister Erica.
The girls at Bear Park downtown New Bern. I thought this kind of thing belonged in Alaska myself!
Pirates are a biiig deal on the coast of N.C. Blackbeard's home port was Beaufort. And yes, it's pronounced differently up there. You'll catch a lot of crap if you say it the way we do down here! LOL Catherine is doing her best impression of Capt. Hook I think. This is a bear they made when they bricked the street. I'll have to find out why the bear is such a big deal there. It is the city mascot dating from about 300 years ago. I believe 2008 is their 300th anniversary. They're already preparing for a big blowout.

The trip to New Bern was great! All us girls went shopping while the guys stayed home and shot skeet. I'll have to practice a lot to out do Bubba now! He has definately improved! These are some pics from down town New Bern, including the birthplace of Pepsi. Those pics we'll post for Poppie!

Before and After...again

The funny thing is, it wasn't planned! I noticed it while working on the computer and snuck out to get my camera. LOL They even cross their legs the same!

I was playing around with this picture on photoimpression. I like the way it turned out. She was eating breakfast at Shoney's and drifted off to another world!

Our little champ!

Getting ready to pull out for Irmo! Breakfast anyone?
My beautiful cheerleader!

This weekend has been a real treat! The girls did BEAUTIFULLY! They came in 3rd place for state. When you consider they were put in the wrong category they did even better! They put up against a squad of 3rd graders that have been together in gymnastics since 3 and 4 yrs old. The other squads had 28 girls and we had 8. When the cheer board was approached about it they said the programs had already been made and they would stay where they were. Oh well, they better look for Beaufort again next year! The Bluffton Rams took first place for the middle school age girls. Way to go!

These are some pictures of the cheer princess over the weekend. We had a great time but she's very thankful to be in her own bed tonight!

GO RAIDERETTES!!

My hands were really shaky today so forgive the blur! Of course you recognize this little cheer meister! These little girls placed 1st for their age group in the county and will be going to the state cheer competition in Irmo, SC. We will be leaving Friday afternoon and getting a hotel room for the night. Otherwise we'd have to leave around 4:30 in the morning! And let me just say, the princess does NOT do 4:30am! They will cheer sometime Saturday.

Tadaa! Sporting her first place trophy, plaque and medal! I think she's just as excited to spend the night in a hotel for the first time as she is about the competition! LOL

Spooky!

The last time my little sister and I did anything silly for Halloween she was 6 and I was 16. The people in the pictures have changed a little since then. ~smile~

Harvest Youth...the ones I could get standing still anyway.

Yes, yes. I do look good!
Ride em' cowgirl!
Pastor throws for a long pass, all beit incomplete it was still a good attempt!
You want some of this? You mean my candy? Let me pray about that and get back with ya!

Well, this picture is for Jeff and Jamie. Thought you might enjoy it. LOL
This is for my two favorite boys. Quite handsome don't cha think? Bubba says he can't wait until they're on the same NFL team together. ~grin~ Good friends are the best treasure you can find.

Well the season is over. The Raiders played a heck of a game tonight! They didn't win the championship this year but man, what a great group of boys! There were some tears at the end but its all a learning experience. Coming in second place for the county is a great accomplishment. Way to go Raiders! I'm proud of you! Especially our two Sheldon boys Jimmy and Bubba!
The first of many football trophies!
Geeze I love that kid! On a happy note, Eric and I have a 4 month hiatus until softball season! Woohoo!

Before.... and after. LOL Thought it was a cute sequence.

I thought this would make one heck of a jigsaw puzzle. LOL

Colors of Fall

These pumpkins are HUGE! Ok, this is too sweet. Its also deceiving as crap!
Ahh my little man, after he peed in the pumpkin patch.
Now doesn't she look excited to be there?

Crown me Queen of the punkin heads!

This is one of my favorite times of year. Every year my mom, the kids and I pick out the best pumpkins we can find. I have a lot of "favorite" times of year though, I think its just doing something with the kids that I love. I pray they have loads of good memories stored up in their heads and hearts for later in life. Silly things are VERY important ya know! ~big smile~

Eric requested some Big "E" burgers for he and the girls on duty at station 41 a few weeks ago. They really liked them and couldn't believe how big they were. LOL This skinny little brat ate the entire thing without batting an eyelash! She runs everyday for exercise, I told her she better tack on a couple more miles for a while after eating that thing!
Of course I know Eric likes them. LOL
Jen had to burp a few times and make some room in her belly for more.

I love my firefighters and paramedics, but they sure can kill some cows!

This is what happens when a horsefly gets too close to a Princess! LOL

Angels Among Us?

Hah! I think not! In our youth class we're doing a study on angels. I told the kids to pick someone and dress them the way they believe an angel looks. Its amazing the impact TV and movies have on our lives. Let me tell you, this is NOT how our Lord describes his angels. I think the kids were a bit surprised to learn what they really look like. I told them that in this case, truth is DEFINATELY stranger than fiction! Read this and see for yourself! Ezekiel 1:4-28 Interesting huh?

This is a special post for the LT. I've been a bit of a slacker lately on the blog and since this was started to give you some pictures of home these are for you! Last Saturday Bubba had a football game on Barker Field in Hilton Head. These oaks were just outside the fence and I LOVE them! They definately say Lowcountry. They remind me of the oaks out at old Sheldon Church. I can just imagine the indians walking through the woods hunting with their bow and arrows.
This lovely little guy has been hanging out under the Blankenship barn. We saw a lot of each other over the past couple weeks. So Jeff, enjoy a few pics from around home.

Sorry I haven't been around for a while girls. I tried telling my life to slow down a bit and it simply refused! I need to post something, as I feel I have let my blogging buddies down; so I'm cheating with some oldies! Sorry! Christina was my official photobug at the scrapmeet. She did a great job with the pics!

I love the teahouse decor. It's nice to escape once and a while and just be a girl.