Chocolate Stashes: A Busy Season

I feel like I open every blog post with the same sentiment – that I am amazed by how quickly time is traveling by. But it is always true. My last update was at New Years’s, and that seems like a lifetime ago. Here is a quick rundown. Each little point could warrant a post all its own.

In January, I took the trip to Key West with my parents. We flew down to Fort Lauderdale and rented a car. We drove to Marathon the first day, stopping at Key Largo to eat and relax for a while. The next morning, Mom and I took took a paddle boat out for a while, and then we hit the road. We stopped to eat in Big Pine Key and then we drove down to Bahia Honda State Park and stayed for a few hours. That evening, we arrived in Key West. We stayed there two nights. We explored Duvall Street, Mallory Square, Smather’s Beach, the Earnest Hemingway Museum, visited numerous art galleries, and ate lots of delicious seafood. Then we drove back up to Key Largo and spent our last night. It was a wonderful time. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

At work, I am precepting a senior nursing student from the University of West Georgia. She is working 12 shifts with me. I have precepted new employees before, but never a student. It has been a lot of work, and I don't get paid extra for it. Only two more shifts to go. I think it will be a while before I agree to do that again!

Our last several weekends have been jam packed with activity. It has been fun, but exhausting. In just one day, we did the Ginger Pride parade in Rome, Bonnie and Will filmed some stuff with their uncle during and after the parade while I took Rosemary and Luke to the mall for Spring clothes, then we met the rest of the family back at the Mellow Mushroom for a late lunch. We had two hours to kill in Rome before mass, so we went bowling, then went to mass, then came home, changed clothes, and went to cook out with some friends. Days like that are awesome, but I go back to work feeling just as tired as when I got off.

Many weekends have been the same. We jump from activity to activity. We have done the Cub Scout Pine Car Derby and gone to the Gem & Mineral Show at the Forum. Matt and I ran in in Berry College 5K. I visited with my friend Tiffany and her daughter Ava when they were home for a visit from St. Jude. We have had lots of church activities going on during Lent. Rosemary’s had her First Reconciliation, and Will read one night at the Station of the Cross. Easter was as wonderful as always. We celebrated my mom and aunt’s birthday at my Granny’s house the Saturday before Easter. Then on Easter Sunday we went to mass and then went to Matt’s parents’ house for dinner and an egg hunt.

This weekend, everyone except Bonnie went to the Top Shot Dew Dog Challenge weekend at Camp Sidney Dew. Will is a Boy Scout, and Luke is a Webelo Cub Scout. They had competitions between troops, like of like a big field day, but with bows and arrows and BB guns and such. Rosemary got to participate in the activities with the younger Cub Scouts, and she had a lot of fun. It has been a long time since I've camped. It was fun. Bonnie stayed with my parents one night and her friend, Andrea, the next night.

I took a week off work while the kids were on Spring Break, and we painted the interior of the house. It is now a light aqua blue. It’s nice. I loved my sunny yellow, but I was tired of it after so many years. We have only painted the walls and the ceilings so far. We are still slowly working on the trim. I’ll post a photo of it when we have it all put back together.

In other news, my Granny Chambers has been in a nursing home for about two years with dementia. She fell three times within a week, and she has really taken a turn for the worse. We think she might have had a stroke prior to the falls. Anyway, she is now on hospice. That happened about three weeks ago.

Here are some photos of our life so far in 2015:

This was at the Caribbean Club in Key Largo, which was the setting for the move Key Largo


It was crazy to come home to this after being in Key West the week before

I'm glad this little girl still loves to snuggle

Steak & Shake after a shopping trip. It was cold and rainy that night. While we were there, a homeless man came in to eat. Before leaving, we paid for his food. I hope he had a warm, dry place to go for the night, and I hope my kids realize how blessed they are.