Update and Just Random Stuff

• Maddie's audition went well and she was selected to join Chorus. We're so proud of her, mostly because she's a determined girl and when she sets her mind to something, she goes after it full force. These are good qualities to have.

• School in general is going well for both Blake and Maddie. Moving into high school can be quite intimidating and overwhelming but Blake has done well with it and his grades are great at this point. He made an 94 on a math test he said was pretty hard, he was proud of himself and so were we. It's nice to see him be proud of his work. 

• I've been working on restoring an antique buffet that belonged to Bryan's mom. It was given to us back in the summer and I've done a lot of research on the best way to restore it. I'm in the final steps of the project and will blog about it when I get finished.

• Sadie is growing and becoming more active. She's 4 weeks old now and even though we've not picked her from the litter yet, I'm still excited to finally figure out which one she is and get to bring her home. Remind me of this statement later when my nerves are shot from having a puppy in the house. 
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• In October we will be attending the first annual Save a Life Golf Classic. This event raises awareness for organ donation. We are a donor family and encourage others to sign up to be a donor. It's a wonderfully selfless act of kindness to someone who is waiting on an organ.

~Tara

Audition

Maddie is auditioning for chorus at school this afternoon. She was allowed to choose her own song and, with advice from me, she chose God Bless America. I suggested she pick a song that she was sure she could remember the lyrics to, just in case she fell victim to stage nervousness. She rarely lets it show if she does get nervous, but this is a new experience, singing alone without music in front of her teacher. She practiced all afternoon yesterday and is as prepared as she can be, I'm sure. So I wished her good luck as I dropped her off this morning and we'll see how it goes...

~Tara

Labor Day

We spent our Labor Day visiting our nephews and letting the kids play in the pool all day. The guys went to NC to pick up a motor for an old truck that will be restored for Blake. The girls and kids had all the fun.

and ate a home grown garden watermelon.

and swiped their mom's phone and took selfies with their cousin.
It was a nice farewell to summer. It's been a good summer actually. Our kids managed to stay home alone for the first time ever, and they both survived and the house is still standing. We had a lot of fun around home and at the beach, (my favorite), we hosted lots of gatherings around the fire pit or sitting out in the barn. Now we look forward to all those things, just in fall.
Bring on fall, y'all.

~Tara