not working!

Letting Isaiah sleep yesterday until 10:30 AM was NOT a good idea. The boy did not fall asleep last night until around 1:00 AM!! He wasn't just awake, he was watching the Disney channel, playing his guitar, beating his drum sticks on the couch while singing loudly. It was total chaos. Now that Gracie will be going to preschool, maybe we can get into a better sleep/wake routine.
This madness has to stop!

Nothing Special

Today has been nothing special but it has been productive.

The kids and I didn't even get out of bed until about 10:30.... how nice. I was up late last night due to a self defense class I'm taking on Wednesday nights from 7-10 pm. Once I got home, I was not ready to sleep. So I stayed up watching TV and playing on the internet.


Once I got up this morning I called the preschool Gracie has been registered at to see if she had been excepted. I registered her last week and was told that there were still a lot of apps to be processed and that there might not be any openings for Gracie. I waited for a phone call all week and never received one. So I called her school today and they said she was in fact on the roster and that school had started this past Monday. I didn't know school had started, what time school was or who her teacher was. Gracie decided she'll skip tomorrow and start new on Monday. I feel badly that we've not seen her school, her room or even met the new teacher.
We may go and do some of that tomorrow if they'll let us.

Once that was done, I cleaned our bedroom. I got everything up off the floor and was able to vacuum the whole floor. I haven't swept the whole floor in a couple of weeks. I tusre does feel better in here. Now my "quiet place" looks and feels much better and much more peaceful.

Tonite I'm supposed to meet up with a lady from church to discuss getting a women's bible study together. I feel like this is my calling since I have the time to prepare lessons and things.
I just want to be able to connect women to eachother and to Christ at the same time.
This is kinda my way of getting connected myself as I'm having a hard time finding the types of friends and relationships that I found at New Life. Believe me, I don't take for granted the friends I gained at New Life. The people are different at Community and don't seem to be seeking friendships the way I am. I guess it's all in God's time that I will make true friends. This is what it's like being the "new girl". I'm hoping that through this women's study that it will open doors and hearts!

solo Debut

I sang my first solo at Community Christian yesterday. I sang Potter's Hand, one of my favorite songs. I had to sing it at both the 8:30 service and the 11:00. The first service was easy because there was only about 20 people there. Second service was a little different. There was probably closer to 200. My nerves got to me a little bit more the 2nd time. But I think I pulled it off.
You'de think I was a pop star the way they complimented me. My CCC family made me feel very special and loved with their showers of compliments. It's funny how, even though I've told people I love to sing and that while at New Life I was on praise team and sang solos, that no one ever seemed to give it a listen. Once I sang, I've had people offer to sing duets with me and play instruments with me while I sing etc. I guess I just had to prove myself... that's how it is in show business.
I give God the glory for all talents he's given me, those both big and small!!

hair cut

I got my hair cut today. I had not cut or trimmed my hair in over 2 months and it was due.
I went to the trendy Salon Vogue and had my hair cut by a cute , little, 22 year old girl named Dena.

Although I'm letting my hair grow out she had to take about an inch of the top layer because it was pretty much dead. Then she blended the layers and put some jagged cuts into it.

After she styled it it was looking good. I took some pictures of it a few hours later and realized either the camera makes it look worse than in real life or my cut isn't "all that".

It looks pretty plane in these photos. Once fall gets here I plan to darken it up and put some funky stripes in it like red!! Can't wait!

hangin it up

Cris and I did something today in the apartment that we really never did at Pecks Ridge............................................................................




We hung pictures in every room of the apartment!! Now, what you need to understand is that each room can only hold a few pictures so it wasn't hard putting them up in a total of 4 rooms (bath, bed, kitchen,living). I decided that if we were going to be here awhile we might as well make it feel like home! It's so nice to lay in bed or sit on the couch and see framed things on the wall!!!

Just Peachy

Do you love fresh summer peaches like my family does? Over the years I've been spoiled by Cris' parents with fresh Carolina peaches. Every summer that we visit them we always go to a produce stand to get fresh veggies and fruits.

The past two years that we've gone to Myrtle Beach we stop at multiple produce stands to get enough peaches for the beach to eat as well as to make at least one peach cobbler!

After this years beach trip I didn't get enough, so as soon as we got home I went to Walmart to get groceries and stocked up on the "tree ripened" peaches. What a disapointment. After cutting up 3 nasty peaches I had to throw them away. No juice, no flavor and a horrible texture.

So today the kids and I went to a local farmers market here in London to get some good West Virginia peaches and cantaloupes. I have to tell you, these are delish! They are so juicy. As soon as you put the knife into it the juice starts dripping! They are the perfect ripeness and texture.

I think we've already eaten about 7 peaches today.

I've been trying hard the past few months to really watch what I'm eating and summer is so great for fresh fruits and veggies. Make sure you're getting yours in too!!

Fun Times

I met up with Amy today in Hamburg for lunch, shopping and coffee.
Since her birthday was this past Tuesday we went out to celebrate.
We had a scrumptious lunch at Ruby Tuesdays then headed to Dick's to get some manly protection type things for Dusty's football games.
That was quite funny!!!
Then we proceeded to Old Navy where I tried on 2 hideous dresses that looked more like pj's.
Amy laughed so hard at me that she cried! I was a funny sight.
She was able to find me a trendy brown "shirt" belt. I explained to her that I didn't have an outfit to wear it with. So then we were on a mission. We found a really cute dress at Marshall's on clearance! I can't wait to wear the new dress and belt..... after I find a new pair of brown heels!
We also went to a really neat coffee house called Coffee Time and had a latte and cappuccino.
DEEEEELISH! Amy opened her gifts and we sat and chatted about life.
That's the fun stuff girlfriends do!

Myrtle Beach 2007

I wanted to send a few pictures of our July Vacation. Of course one is of the 4 of us and is the only family picture we got the whole week.
The picture with Cris and Gracie has the condo we stayed in in the background. It was an 18 floor building with a beautiful view. We were on the 3rd floor and could see everything above us and below us.
When we looked out in the day we'd see parasailers and boats, evenings we'de see kites flying in the wind (which I tried) and in the night we'd see fireworks. It was beautiful all day long!!!
Everyday we'd pick shells and one morning I actually made it on the beach by 8:15 AM to walk and have some alone time with God and thank Him for His beauty and blessings.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today is a special day for a special person in my life.
Today is Amy's birthday. I won't tell you how young she is because I don't think she'd appreciate it!! I can't wait to see you, Amy and celebrate your big day!!

Home bound

We left Myrtle Beach Saturday morning and had a great week! The weather was great for being outside.
Mid 80's most of the week and cloudy. At some points in the day I would even get a chill.... on the beach. That's crazy!
But at least it wasn't smothering hot. The kids enjoyed the ocean and the pool, but the pool more!
By the time we left, Gracie was swimming on her own. She's not able to swim the length of a pool by any means, but she can go a small distance underwater. I'm so proud of her. As for Isaiah, he can't swim but thinks he can. NO FEAR!!

We'll leave North Carolina first thing in the morning (that's around 10 AM for me) and head back to London. It feels weird going home to London. This is the first time we've left town and came back to London as "home". I must admit, I've not missed the small apartment.
Especially after having our own suite at Pop and Nor Nors brand new house. It is so big and beautiful. They've only been in it 2 weeks now. Anyway, I hope our travels are safe and smooth tomorrow as we head through the hills of Tennessee and back to Laurel County.

Myrtle Beach

The Jones fam is heading to South Carolina to north Myrtle Beach on Monday.
We'll head to North Carolina tomorrow night after church and stay the night with Nor and Pop, and get up and head to the beach on Monday AM.
We can't wait to build sandcastles, ride the waves and work on our tans!
We're looking forward to quality family time with the kids and Nor Nor and Pop!
As long as I have internet access I'll be posting the days' events.... as I know you'll be awaiting.

Delorean Grey

Community Christian Church had the privilege of hosting London's own band Delorean Grey.
This rock band consists of Shane McCowan-lead vox, Logan Miller-Bass, James Wheat-Drums, Steve Hampton-Guitar .
These guys are awesome! It was so loud in the church that I could hardly understand them, but over all they are a greatly talented band.
Check them out on www.myspace.com and listen to their latest radio release!


Thanks to the New Life crew that drove 2 hours to see 10 minutes of the concert!!!
You all ROCK!!

High School Musical

Today I have been so tired and sore. My legs are feeling it from all the trips up the stairs yesterday hauling stuff.
I tried very hard to get things straightened up today, but I didn't get a whole lot done.
I did manage to fill up 6 more large garbage bags of clothes and towels to take over to the storage building. There's just so much to go through.
We've almost got our bedroom done bust most importantly the bed is clear with clean sheets and ready for me to crash on it.
I did manage to watch high school musical twice today. That makes a total of 4 times within the past week. I don't know who likes it more, Cris or the kids!!! He said he liked it because it was about basketball...... ok!
I also watched Raise your Voice with Hillary Duff. It was a sad movie.
If you're wondering why I was able to watch 3 movies in one day, we don't have cable/dish and only one local channel comes in. It gets really old watching one channel that plays the old stuff such as Mama's Family and Andy Griffith.

I did have a funny thing happen today. Gracie wasn't minding me so I told her to come here and get a spanking. She walked over to me and I gave her a spanking. She then walked over to Cris and said "that didn't even hurt."

And from a more serious note, if you can, get to Wendy's as quickly as possible and try their new root beer float! It is AWESOME!! Their vanilla ice cream is better than DQ's!! LOVE IT!!!
It's my new obsession.

Load 'em up, head 'em out

What a day! There is so much about this day that I can praise God for!
We managed to get the house packed up and moved out.
This absolutely would not have happened without a few key poeple!
A simple Thank You is not even enough to Gina, Thurman, Jarrod, Jackie, Nina, and Hannah!!!!!
YOU ALL ARE AWESOME!! I remember about 3 1/2 years ago on a cold December night when Thurman helped us unload our whole house into a storage unit. And of course 3 1/2 years later he's helping us once again move away from Flemingsburg. You all are what we call "good people"!!
Jackie and Nina have driven to London twice now to help us move our stuff down. They have provided a truck and trailer for us to use both times! God has given us such good friends! We hate to leave friends such as these.

With that said, we're happy to finally be in London with all our "stuff". Although a lot of our stuff is still in our attic in Flemingsburg it's not anything we'll miss. Once we sell the house we'll get ALL of our things and be in one place (hopefully much bigger than what we're in right now). But for the next 6 months we're going to make the best of what God has blessed us with.

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for all your hard work today. And believe me, it was hard!
I am completely exhausted after going up and down our apartment stairway 20 dozen times hauling boxes. I am going to sit back, watch a movie, and hopefully fall asleep soon!!!

Wild Weekend

We showed the house Friday morning and by Friday afternoon we had an offer settled.
The Lord finally sent a family for our home. We agreed on a "lease to own" offer. They will rent for 6 months and then purchase the house. We will continue to live in the apartment in London until the house is officially sold. This could be a long 6 months but we are so glad the Lord has provided a buyer for us.


We packed all day Friday and more on Saturday morning like crazy. You see, the family has to be out of their place by Monday (today is Saturday) therefore we have to be out of our house by Monday. We still have stuff to pack and get loaded all on Monday WHILE they are moving in.
This could be total chaos.

We're not sure how all of this will go, but we are sure that God's hand is in all of this.
He's getting us out of our comfort zone at this point and we just have to go along with the game plan.

We'll be heading back to 892 Pecks Ridge Sunday night to finish packing, so if you're looking for something fun to do come on over and help pack and load!

Fleming County

The family and I are headed to Flemingsburg this evening. We are going to show the house Friday sometime.... again. I'm not getting my hopes up too soon!!
And we need to pick up a few things that we need at the apartment in London.
We'll be at the house all day Friday and Saturday morning so swing by if you can!

You just said what??

I heard two things today that were polar opposites of each other.
One was a very nice complement, the other made me sick to my stomach.


The first was a compliment from a lady in a purse store. I was browsing around
and told her I'd never been in the store before and wanted to check it out. We got talking and Gracie and Isaiah came up. She said "You have kids? You don't look old enough to have kids."
Now that's a compliment I can handle. Especially now that I'm pushing 30!!!

The other was such an insult that I could have thrown up.
Cris decided to call one of our potential buyers since we hadn't heard from them in a week. They were honest and told us the house was priced too high, so Cris asked what price they were looking for. The guy proceeded to tel Cris that "if your house was on auction, I wouldn't pay more than $40,000."
Ain't that a kick in the head! I honestly don't think I've ever been so offended!

I listened as Cris tried to talk to this guy. You could tell he was dumb founded and didn't know how to respond to such an "offer". He told the guy that we can make a deal, but nothing that low. He explained to him that a bargain is one thing, but giving the house away is another.

Needless to say, I'm a little disappointed and frustrated at this point! This again poses a whole new set of questions between us and the Lord.

one year gone by

I started this blog page in July 2006 all because of Chad Doerr.
One year later, I've written and read more blogs then I could have imagined. I've inspired others to blog...... and that's so neat.
I look forward to my next year of "keepin up with the Joneses". This has been a way of therapy,inspiration and a connection from me to you, wherever you are!

Loves Abiding Joy

I sat down tonight and watched the 4th movie of the "Love comes softly" series, Loves Abiding Joy.
This was a good one. It brought tears to my eyes more than once. It has a great story where faith and love are challenged.
I rented it from our local laurel county library. I suggest you take the time and watch this wholesome family movie as well.

Happy Independence Day!!

Isn't July 4th cool? I'm so glad we live in a country that's free. I thank all the men and women of the past, present and future that secure our freedom.

As much as I love freedom of the USA I love my freedom in Christ even more.

I thank God that he sent Jesus to die for me so that I can be eternally free.

Free of sin, shame, guilt, sorrow,death, poverty and chains.

Today Chris was off so we had breakfast then headed to Levi Jackson park and hiked.
We went until the kids asked to be held, then we turned around and headed back to the car. They lasted for about 20 minutes out before having to turn around, and we trekked up some hills. They had more stamina then I did!

Then we came home and had lunch (the all American corn dog), watched a movie, took a nap(seeing a pattern yet?), went to church. Once home we had pumpkin pie then waited for the sun to go down. We lit some very wimpy fireworks and sparklers. The kids loved the sparklers and pop rocks!

We were able to see some really good fire works last night at the Corbin civic center.

They were BIG and LOUD!

It took us about an hour to get into the fairground area and another hour to get out. But the 20 minutes of fireworks were worth it. The kids loved it.