This has been one long week --

while Craig’s been fishing in Canada for nine days with his buddies. They had a great time and caught their limit everyday - and even on their ‘off-day’ when the captain came by and offered them a ‘free’ day out. He was worn out by the time he got home. [And I know I haven’t mentioned much, but he has a ‘little’ issue with a couple of disks in his neck, so he was hurting more than usual too. – He is pretty much living with constant pain right now, and I’d appreciate you lifting him up in your prayers when he comes to mind -]

After he got home the lady that wanted the camper came to get it, so he spent several hours showing them how it all works then they realized they didn’t have the adapter for the [tail / brake] lights to work so he offered to drive it 45 minutes to their place. At 10:30 p.m. 

I know for sure that I am married to One. Wonderful. Man. 

We got home after midnight…

The Pay it Forward gifts went postal – I think they’re cute as can be, struggled with a quote, and, in the end, decided to go with my little life [and blog] motto – 

Be Present. Be Real. Live Life. 

Did any of y'all participate in the pay-it-forward hoopla at the beginning of the year?

I had a little list of things to accomplish while Craig was out / town and am pleased to say I accomplished most all of them. The most important being the cleaning of the closets. 

And look what I found! 

 A Monkee’s concert book from 1967. [This was my first concert EVER – I tagged along as our parents took my sister and next door neighbor to see them in Memphis. I was 8 years old.] But back to the closets - while the pantry had been cleaned out a month or so ago, I had to get in there and re-arrange some things so it would accommodate stuff from the camper. Then I headed to the linen closet between the bedrooms downstairs that has always been partial school & rec. supplies too. Cleaned most of that out [found the croquet set we weren’t sure if we still had!] and have the school supplies in the donate stack [– so sad to me… but then again, I’ve got my own little ‘supply’ stash upstairs now…] Made room for all the quilts [8!], sheets, and towels from the camper… Then I headed to the middle playroom closet where I’ve had extra craft stuff stashed since the monthly kit days --  go it all cleaned out [sorted into yard sale, OMGiveaway, and keep] and moved all of Craig’s stuff from the office closet [that’s Closet # 4, y’all] into this closet so it’ll be easier access for him. Plus, let’s be honest, in my not so subtle office take-over, I have PLANS for that closet – I’ll share more about that in a couple of days. So really, that only leaves two closets [outside of bedroom closets] that need cleaning. Let me just stop a moment and say how much I love our closets. Seriously. In our ‘old’ house, the one we lived in 13 years – there was NOT ONE closet outside the bedrooms – that = NO STORAGE. And while my Mom set a great example of cleaning out closets each fall, I’ll admit, this is the first clean-out I’ve done since we moved in nine years ago…

But I know y’all would rather hear about our most exciting news of the week – the oldest is engaged! Haley is a sweetheart and we’re thrilled to welcome her into our family! 

They were kind enough to indulge me in a little photo shoot after our usual Monday night sushi dinner – so I’ll share some of my favorites 

[photos taken with my phone and Canon PowerShot, and edited with pic-monkey.]

 Haley teaches AP English at a local high school and 

Drew is working in missile defense here in town.

[So glad they live close!]

They became engaged on the 7^th – a year from their first date.

And they plan to be married on July 7^th of next year. At Disney – fun!

[Y'all know how we love Disney!!]

I forgot to get a photo of the ring – it’s gorgeous – made for them by an incredible jeweler [at Crown Jewelry] in Franklin, TN [who just happens to be my brother-n-law!] 

It’s a mint green sapphire with a moissanite on each side. Lovely. It’s set flush to the ring so there are no prongs to hang on guitar strings…

Those who know us well know that we raised our boys to feel confident in ‘thinking outside the box’ – so I’m awfully happy with the ring choice. [Not that it was EVER discussed with me – and that’s another thing I’m happy about too.]