How Do You Say Goodbye........

It is through many tears, and great sadness that I write this blog.

When I was 6 years old, my mother remarried. I didn't know at that time the impact that would have on my life. Those "I Do's" would forever change my life. She didn't just marry anybody. She married a man that I would come to know as one of the greatest men I ever knew. Roy, a marine, was always larger than life and indestructable in my eyes. He could do no wrong. His patience, his love, and his guidance are the reasons I am who I am today. Without him, I wouldn't be me. He took my sister and I in and loved us as his own. They later divorced when I was 19. But, for Julie and I, we were still his babies and would always continue to be so. For 32 years, we have been the light of his life. And, now I will have to say goodbye to one of the greatest men I ever knew in the next few days. How do you say goodbye to someone who meant so much to you? How do you say goodbye to the man that would sit and rub my head for hours when I didn't feel well? How do you say goodbye to the man who taught me to ride a bike, who drove me to school every morning, who cheered me on from every ball game, who picked me up when I fell? How do you say goodbye to the man who held me while I cried, who tickled me until I couldn't breathe, who laughed at every corny joke I ever made? How do you say goodbye to the man that told me that boys weren't good enough for me? He even told a few of them that, including Jason. lol. How do you say goodbye to the man who taught me the values and morals that I hold so close to me today? How do you say goodbye to the one person who I always knew was there for me? How do you say goodbye to my inspiration? Some of the greatest years of my life and some of my fondest memories were spent with this man as his daughter. How do I let go of that?

For 32 years, he has held me, loved me and comforted me when I was sad and in pain. Unfortunately, this is a pain that he can't protect me from. I've never felt so alone as I do right now. I'll go visit him in the morning. I know before I go, that this will most likely be the last time I see him alive. How will I say goodbye??? What I'd give to hear his voice one last time; even if it was to ground me for breaking curfew AGAIN!

I thank God everyday for blessing me with two great Father's. I couldn't have asked for more. In a few days, I will lose one of them. How will I say goodbye? Losing a parent has got to be the hardest thing to ever lose. They aren't supposed to ever leave us. They are supposed to live forever. How do you say goodbye???

Roy,

When I think of you, the song, 'Because You Loved Me,' by, Celine Dion comes to mind. You truly did give me wings that made me fly. In a few days, you will be the wind that carries those wings. You will become my angel, patiently loving me and guiding me from Heaven. I am so blessed for each and every day I got to spend with you. You did make my world a better place. I know that someday I will see you again. It is through the strength and courage that you have given me through the years that I will go on. Your voice will always speak loudest to me. I really am everything I am Because YOU Loved Me!!!
I LOVE YOU DAD!!!

Saying Nothing At All.....

"Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers. Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs, that just because he may not answer doesn't mean he don't care. Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." Lyrics taken from the song Unanswered Prayers by Garth Brooks.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the unanswered prayers I have prayed. Sometimes, I hear God the loudest when He doesn't answer. Much like my own children, I have learned through the years that if I want the girls to really hear me, all I have to do is to say nothing at all. Alison Kraus sang it best when she sang 'When You Say Nothing At All.' The first verse of that song says it all. "It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart. Without saying a word you can light up the dark. Try as I may I could never explain, what I hear when you don't say a thing." That is especially true with me. Most often, I hear more of what you're saying when you say nothing at all. It's amazing what you can hear with unspoken words. When God goes silent and speaks to me through unanswered prayers, that typically brings about a revelation of things; forcing me to see things more clearly. Most of the time, I can better see what His plans are for my life. I can see what direction relationships in my life need to take, which ones I need to build or work on, and which ones I need to let go of. I may not always like what I see or hear. But, I know in my heart it is always what is best.

Today, I am thankful for unanswered prayers. I am thankful for the revelations they bring. I am thankful for God blessing me with the ability to hear not only words with my ears, but also the ability to hear the unspoken words with my heart. I am thankful that God blessed me with a love of writing, through which I find much solitude. I am thankful that God has granted me the strength to publish this post, exposing some raw emotions and thoughts within me. I am thankful for my many friends and family, who have cared enough to ask "what's wrong," and listened when I told them. I am thankful for those same family and friends that listened with their hearts when I said nothing at all.

A Few Things I'm Thankful For..................

"Bring me joy, bring me peace. Bring the chance to be free. Bring me anything that brings You glory. And I know there'll be days when this life brings me pain. But, if that's what it takes to praise you Jesus, bring the rain…." Lyrics taken from Bring The Rain, by: Mercy Me

What does that quote have to do with Thanksgiving? For most, it probably doesn't; for me it has a lot to do with the things I am thankful for this year. Read on to find out why this chorus means so much to me. WARNING!!! This is going to be a long blog. I have a lot to be thankful for. And, you know me, I can be as long winded as a Baptist Preacher on Sunday Mornings at times.

What am I thankful for this year? I'm thankful for the rain that came my way in 2008. Sometimes, we need to walk through a storm to reach happier times. 2008 was my year of storms. It seemed like everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. My stress level was at an all time high. Then, I was admitted to the hospital for a couple of days over problems I was having with my heart. My cardiologist lectured me about the amount of stress in my life. There's nothing that can bring you to your knees quicker than lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to heart monitors, and worrying about your kids being ok. I wasn't thinking about being thankful for that moment at the time. That was almost a year ago. Today, I'm very thankful for that thunderstorm coming into my life. That thunderstorm put the "I back in my LIFE." Through this, I learned to give up some of the control and stress that had me burdened. I came undone. Lol After that happened, I began keeping a prayer and gratitude journal. I promised myself that I would force myself to go beyond the surface level gratitude's, and learn to appreciate the small, and often unseen, things in my life. Now, I wake up each morning with a thankful spirit; thankful for breathing the air; thankful for the opportunity to walk through another day of this life that God has blessed me with. I go to bed each night thankful for a new day and all the joys and blessings it may hold. This was one of many times in my life that I have called on God to answer a prayer. I'm very thankful that He always does.

I'm thankful for my husband, Jason, without whom this journey wouldn't have been made possible. I am thankful for the sacrifices he has made, his devotion and support, and his willingness to take over things to relieve the stress on me. For that, I will be forever grateful.

I'm thankful for Abbey. Her heart, her caring and loving spirit, and her courage never ceases to amaze me. She is my inspiration. I can only aspire to be as faithful to Christ as she is. I can only hope to find the love for others that she has. I can only wish to own an ounce of the courage she has. I'm thankful for the decision she made to give her life to Christ. I'm thankful that I could play a part in that. I'm thankful that God allowed me to be her mother and trusted me to raise her in His glory. Abbey inspires me to be a better me. I look at her and see in her the person I would like to be. I'm thankful for the young lady that she has become.

I'm thankful for Morgan. I'm thankful that she pushes me outside of that proverbial box at times and forces me to live life to the fullest. She experiences such an overwhelming joy just to live life in the moment. I'm thankful that she has/is taught/teaching me to do the same. I'm thankful for her laughter. It's contagious. I can only hope to live a life filled with that kind of raw, carefree, joy. I'm thankful that she is nearing making the decision to give her life to Christ . I'm thankful, that I'm getting to be a part of that and experience it with her. I'm thankful that God has trusted me to be her mother as well. I'm thankful for the closeness that I have rediscovered with her while homeschooling her. I'm thankful for her innocence. She, too, is an inspiration to me. I'm thankful for the sweet, innocent, fun loving, child she is. I can't wait to see what else God has planned in both of their lives.

I'm thankful for my family. Your consistent love and support encourages me and lifts me up. I'm thankful to each of you for the unconditional love you all have given me through the years. I'm thankful that you all believed in me, even when I didn't. I couldn't ask for a better family than you all. Thank you.

I'm thankful for my friends, both old and new. Each of you has brought so much into my life. You've laughed with me; you've cried with me; you've stood by me. Words cannot explain how truly thankful I am to have you in my life. Your love and your friendship mean a great deal to me. Thank you.

I'm thankful for my church family at Providence. I'm thankful to have Chad as a pastor that teaches me, encourages me and leads me. I'm thankful for the spiritual influence our church family has in our lives. I'm thankful that God led us to where we need to be.

I'm thankful for each and every day of 2009. Each day has brought so many blessings into my life; especially the last 8 months. Old friends that I had lost contact with, have been made new again. New friends have entered my life and brought so much joy and happiness into it. I have developed deep life long relationships with these new friendships. I look forward to seeing and experiencing each new phase and direction it takes. I'm thankful that my relationships with ALL of my family and friends have deepened this year. I'm very thankful to God for blessing me abundantly with so many wonderful people in my life. I treasure each and every one of you.

I'm thankful for 2010 and the blessings it will bring. It's already revealing some of the things to come. I can't wait!

I'm thankful for God. I'm thankful for my salvation. I'm thankful for every breath He has given me. I'm thankful for all of the blessings that He has so richly bestowed upon me. I'm thankful that whenever I call His name, He is there. I'm thankful for all the answered prayers. I'm thankful that He has kept me close in His loving arms. I'm thankful that my life is in His hands. I'm thankful for the rain He has brought at times, and for holding my hand and leading me through the storms. I'm thankful for the comfort, peace, joy, love and forgiveness that He gives to me freely. I will forever live in Him.

In conclusion, I will live each day with Thanksgiving in my heart. I will have a thankful spirit. I will continue to be thankful for everything in my life. These were only a few of the things that I am thankful for. I'll never have enough time to list them all. Everyday is Thanksgiving for me. I may not eat turkey and dressing with all of the helpings daily (probably a good thing); but, I will continue to always be forever thankful.

**I failed to add that I am very thankful for my health and my great team of doctors. My heart is doing much better since then. My cardiologist threatened to fire me as a patient if I continue to do so well. And…. I'll be very thankful when he does. Lol.

Good Times.......

"If we live good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times." 
Saint Augustine


A trip to the mountains, lots of pictures, loud music, dancing, and one almost speeding ticket made for a very fun filled weekend. Our weekend was anything but boring! After getting the car packed with all of the luggage, and receiving a much anticipated phone call or two, we hit the road. I had one teenager, one pre-teen, and one 9 year old in the car. The levels of excitement were at an all time high. I don't know which was louder, them or the radio blaring Def Leppard. I was very relieved when Felicia joined us in the car. Finally, another pair of adult hands. Lol. We were running a tad late. Running behind plus my natural lead food equaled an almost speeding ticket. I got LUCKY! Thankfully, the highway patrolman was making a turn and didn't have his radar available. We spent the next 20 or so miles with him pacing me. I have never been so happy to see the N.C. border! Whew! Dodged that one. We made it to Maggie Valley, N.C. just in time and without a ticket. Thankfully, my phone rang again and offered much needed relief from the tension of being paced like that. Lol

Mom met us in Maggie Valley to watch the girls dance. She loves watching them. I think she could sit for hours and do nothing but watch them dance. She HAS! The girls did great! They competed in their first ever acapella solo. Acapella is danced with no music. The judges turn around and they are judged based solely on sound. I was very impressed with how well they did. Morgan forgot her step at the end. Her reaction was hysterical as you can see in the video. All of the dance teams and dancers did really well this weekend. WAY TO GO!!! We also received some AWESOME news while we were there. We have a new little dancer to the studio. Brayden Scott Cassidy was born! Congrats Scott and Missy!

I couldn't leave Maggie Valley without "paying" my respects to the Indian Reservation in Cherokee via Harrah's Casino. Mom had to come home Saturday. She already had a room at Harrah's. So, she gave us her room for the night. That was fun. Courtney spent the night texting us from the jacuzzi tub. Silly girl! Of course, I took advantage of being there and went down stairs to support the local Cherokee economy. I "played" my part in that. Thankfully, some luck was sent my way. I managed to break even. That doesn't happen too often. All in all, a good night ;-)



Our adventures began again bright and early the next morning with breakfast in the hotel; where we lost Courtney's inhaler. Thankfully, we found it. We loaded up the car and headed over the mountain; stopping along the way to take some pictures of the beautiful fall foliage. I was having problems getting good shots out of the car window. I improvised by standing out of the sunroof. Got some great shots, strange looks, and almost hit in the head by an eagle. But, well worth it. The stupid things I do to get a good picture. DOH!!! We stopped off at Clingman's Dome. We attempted to walk up Clingman's Dome. Unfortunately, Courtney was ill with a sinus and upper respiratory infection and got dizzy on the way up. So, we turned around and headed back down. Maybe next time. Hopefully, she will get better soon. Our next adventure led us to Cades Cove. It was BEAUTIFUL! God must be really creative to create something that beautiful. We were AMAZED!!! Nature at it's finest. I took lots more pictures and found a new hiking trail. It took us almost 5 HOURS to make the 11 mile loop. Still, very much worth it. Felicia and I finally made it back to the house with 3 exhausted girls around 8:00 pm. All in all, it was a tiring, busy, exciting, fun, and adventurous weekend. Now, I get to spend the week looking forward to hiking that new trail I found next Saturday. YIPPEEEEEE!!!!

End of September Updates

September brought us lots of new experiences and excitement. As I told you in my last blog, we started school with Morgan. That has been a real experience. It's came with its own highs and lows. For the most part, things have been going really great. We are starting to see some improvements with her. There have been hurdles we've had to cross. Morgan's favorite subjects are the Language Arts. I am very pleased with that. I have found a way to incorporate reading and reading strategies into all of her subjects. Shhhh.... Don't tell her that. She doesn't realize it lol. Our biggest struggle is Math. Math is typically an argument as soon as the books are opened. She hates it. Too be honest, so do I. I finally admitted defeat and accepted that the Math curriculum wasn't working for us. I ordered a new curriculum the other day. This one is more computer based and has fun games built into the lessons to further her understanding of the Math concepts. I'm hoping this new program will work much better for us. Overall, we are really enjoying it. I don't think she's ever going to want to go back to school. She IS! lol. Jason is also getting very actively involved in helping me teach her when he is home. He's even enjoying it as well. Friday, we had a bunch of errands to run. I started school with Morgan while he was busy. Then, he took over her lessons by himself while I got ready to leave. I was very proud of both of them! I only got called back to the dining room twice to help out! Good job Jason! One of my biggest concerns with teaching Morgan was how I would manage to get everything else done that needed to be done and still teach her. I've, since, learned to teach English while folding laundry, Science while doing dishes, and I've even learned to do my exercises while teaching her. Morgan thinks that's funny. lol. That is Math isn't it? "Morgan if I do 15 reps of arm curls and 3 sets, how many have I done in all?" No, don't worry, I haven't really asked her that. Thank you all for all of your encouragement!

Abbey is really enjoying her 7th grade year. She has turned into such a sweet and beautiful young lady. I couldn't be more proud of her, of both of them. Her teacher, Ms. Harris, pulled her aside and invited her to be a part of TSA (Technology Students Association) She is very excited about this. She chose 3 areas of study in the program; photography, website design, and criminal science. She is loving it. She has also become very active in her small group at church. She loves going to her leader's, Amanda, house every week to study and worship. She brought home her first mid term reports 2 weeks ago. She got all A's and 1 B. WAY TO GO ABBEY! She loves going on the computer and keeping a check on her grades. On the boyfriend issue......SHE BROKE UP WITH HIM! YAY! Can you tell I'm excited about that????

In other news, the dreaded flu bug has came to visit. Abbey was out of school sick with the flu most of last week. I thought that it was limited to Abbey. After she was healthy and back in school, neither Morgan nor I were showing any symptoms of having it. I thought we had escaped it. No such luck. It has now hit me as well. I'm hoping it skips Morgan and Jason.

Abbey attended her first UT football game. I had bought tickets for Jason and I. Unfortunately, work called and he was unable to go. Abbey had always wanted to go to one. So, I thought, why not take her. I have this extra ticket now. We dressed up in all of our orange and headed to the stadium to watch the UT - Ohio game. She LOVED it! She said that was the only way to watch football! Said it was like watching football on the biggest HD, flat screen T.V. ever. lol. When UT scored the first time, she went nuts! She loved hearing the band play Rocky Top every time. The crowd doing the wave really excited her. She cannot wait to go back again. Jason and I are discussing getting 4 season passes next year so they both can go with us to the home games.

On the sports front, the softball season is almost over. This will be there last week of regular season games. Tournaments start next week. Both girls have played exceptionally well all season. Abbey's team is ranked 1st in their age division so far. We have had a little mishap this season. Abbey has been suffering from a knee injury. Her doctor has advised bracing her knee when she plays ball and dances for now. If that doesn't work, he will refer her over to TN Sports Medicine for further consult. I'm hoping the brace does the trick. The girls will also compete in their last dance competition in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, October, 23-25th. Wish them luck. The indoor season of soccer for Morgan will also be starting again soon. She can't wait! She loves indoor soccer. Go figure. It's very fast paced. Perfect for Morgan.

Happy October everyone!!!

Morgan's First Day of School

After dropping Abbey and Kaitlin off at school, Morgan and I came home to start our first day of homeschooling. We had our ups and downs from the start. Morgan wanted to do Math first. So, we started with that. She wanted to take her sweet little time. She came up with every excuse in the book to get out of it. She was hungry, had to go to the bathroom, needed a break.... After butting heads over that, we finally got to work. Then, she asked to use a calculator because her teacher's at school had allowed her too. I was mean and said no. That'll be a habit that we WILL be breaking. During this time, the same old questions popped into my head, "Can I really do this? What am I thinking?" We did survive our first day of Math. The rest of our day went pretty smoothly. I even learned a few things about bats with her during Science. The best part of the day was during English, our 2nd subject. I was teaching Morgan subjects and predicates. When I saw her grasp ahold of that and actually KNOW what I taught her, I was so proud. Then, I thought, "Maybe, I can do this." This happened again with the rest of our subjects. Overall, we had a great first day. Morgan even told me that I was a good teacher although a little strict. Morgan loved doing school in her pajama's.

Today was our second day of school. It went much smoother than yesterday. We didn't butt heads this morning. We started a little later. And, we had a few distractions to deal with today. Daddy was home. That was a bit challenging. But, we over came it. He even got involved in "our school" and enjoyed it as well. As most of you know, the reason we chose to homeschool Morgan is because of issues she has in Reading. Today, she had to take a comprehension test over the material that we read and studied yesterday. She aced it! I was soooo proud of her. My thoughts today have gone from maybe to "I CAN DO THIS!" She and I both really enjoyed our second day of school and are looking forward to the days ahead. Thank you for all of your encouragement and having confidence in me when I often lacked it in myself!

In other news, the girls danced in their first National Competition in Nashville this past weekend. Unfortunately, work called; and, Jason was unable to go with us. On the plus side, my mom was able to step in and go with us to lend a helping hand. Thank you MOM! Hannah went with us as well. The girls were very excited to have their grandmother with us to watch them dance. All of the girls danced very well. I am proud of them all! We had a great time. We were all very tired when we got back home. I think we slept for 2 days, well not quiet. Although, I could have. I think I logged 10 miles on my flip flops this weekend. If you've ever stayed at the Opryland Hotel, you know exactly what I'm talking about. lol. No need to exercise this weekend. I got plenty of power walking in. lol. Our next competition will be in Maggie Valley, NC, October 23-25. The girls will also be dancing at a big tailgaiting party hosted by UT Alumni during the UT vs. Ohio game on September 26. We are very excited about that.

Abbey's 1st Day of 7th Grade

The alarm clock going off at 7:00 am officially started the new school year. Abbey excitedly jumped out of bed, ready to go! She couldn't wait to get there. She wanted me to have her there by 7:45. School doesn't start to 8:30! Excited much? She couldn't wait to start her first day of school. Me, I was ready for another day of summer vacation. No such luck! We woke Morgan up. She whined, saying, "But, I don't wanna go to school." She argued about it. She was obviously arguing with herself in her sleep. She finally woke up and said, "Oh yeah, I don't start school today." She jumped up out of bed at that point. LOL. We dropped Abbey off at school at 8:15. She wouldn't let me walk her in and take pictures. "I'm in 7th grade now Mom. I'm not a baby," she said. Broke my heart. She's IS NOT supposed to be that old! I reluctantly gave in and stayed behind. She looked so grown up walking in. Morgan asked me what time Abbey got out of school. When I told her, she wanted to know if we could pick her up early. She, then, argued with me when I explained that we couldn't do that. She demanded to know why not. This coming from the child that thinks her sister is a bossy pain in the butt most of the time. It will be interesting to see how she does her first full day without her sister. We finally went back to get her at 11:30. Abbey came bouncing out of the school. She loved her first day and couldn't wait to tell us all about it! She said she had homework. I thought that was odd for the first day of school. She didn't care. She was excited to have homework. She's definitely not mine or Jason's child. LOL She was very excited about seeing all of her school friends. She said that when she walked into Mrs. Harris's class that she said to Abbey, "Well there's a Fritts if I ever saw one." Abbey thought that was funny! In Mr. Watson's class, he told the kids that he had been teaching school for 30 years and asked if he had taught any of their parents or siblings, if so to raise their hands. He, then, looked at Abbey and said, "Not you Ms. Fritts. I had both your dad and your uncle." Abbey thought that was embarrassing but funny. Of course, she couldn't go a full day without getting into a little bit of trouble. Not really. But, Lynn had to remind her that he was Coach Allen at school. It was funny. She did say that she was glad the day was over with. Why? Because she wanted to hurry up, go home and go to bed so she could start her first full day of school tomorrow! I had to explain that she couldn't go to bed at noon and sleep until 7:00 the next morning. Goofy girl. We are so blessed to have a child that love's school and education the way she does. It excites me to see her so excited about school. I hope she stays that way forever!

Saying Goodbye....

Saying goodbye is always hard to do, especially to something you love so much. Yes, I'm talking about summer. Summer will be coming to an end for us officially on Monday with the start of a new school year. We have had a great summer filled with lots of memories. We hate to see it end. We will miss you summer. We will miss the pool, the beach, staying up late and sleeping in, playing with friends, etc... On the plus side, whenever you say goodbye to one thing, you say hello to something new. That something new, for us, will be the start of new school year and all the exciting activities we have planned for fall.

First, Abbey will start the 7th grade on Monday. She is very excited. She has Mr. Watson and Lynn Allen as 2 of her teachers. She is sooooooo happy about that. I'm kinda sad, though. Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday she walked through the kindergarten doors. Now, my baby, is 12 and starting the 7th grade!!! I need to find away to reverse time! With any luck, she will let me pretend that she is still little, for just a few minutes, and walk her into school on Monday. Camera in hand of course. lol.

While on the subject of school, I'll take a minute to update you on our homeschool adventures with Morgan. After months or research and prayer, I have finally chosen the curriculum that she and I will be using. And, I finally have our lesson planner complete. That is a huge monkey off my shoulders. We have officially withdrawn her from school and enrolled her in a homeschooling program. We have decided to postpone her start date until after Labor Day. This will give us a couple of weeks to get Abbey settled into a new school year. Then, Morgan and I will hit the books and the road occasionally. We have a few field trips already planned out. You all know me with planning EVERYTHING! lol. We are very excited to get started. Morgan gleams with excitement every time UPS pulls in our driveway with a new delivery. She knows it's her school stuff. I'm so relieved that she is this excited about it. I, too, am getting excited now. I'll keep you updated on our progress. Please keep us in your prayers as we go through this journey in our lives.

Next week is also the official start of softball and soccer season. Time to put the gear back on. Time to say goodbye to home cooked meals; and, hello to McDonalds, Wendy's, Subway, etc... Gotta love the sports schedule. As soon as I get their ball schedules, I will email them out for everyone to come help us cheer them on again.

The girls have National Dance Competitions on September 5th in Nashville. Good luck to all of the Step Above Dancers. While in Nashville, we will also be taking the time to visit several friends of ours there. We can't wait for that! They will also be competing in October in Maggie Valley, NC. That will officially end this years travel part of dance until February.

Also, in October, Jason and I will be going to the Caribbean for a week. It will be very nice to get away from our hectic schedules and just relax!

Saving the best for last, fall is also the time of year we say HELLO to TN football. Yep, "It's almost football time in Tennessee." Is there a greater time of year to be in Knoxville than that? NOPE! Time for big screen tvs, football parties, chili, tailgating, home games at Neyland Stadium, and of course......ORANGE everywhere! GO VOLS! The air even smells orange in the fall. The countdown has begun!

So...... Goodbye Summer! Until we meet again next year............we will miss you!

Home Sweet Home....

We're back! We made it home from Myrtle Beach around 10:30 tonight. We had a great time! Unlike Dorothy, we were clicking our heels saying "I want to stay here." I love the beach. I could be a beach bum for life and be perfectly happy. However, I am very glad to be home and be back with the people I missed and love. Now, I'll count down the days until I head back to the ocean again in October; and, again in March. I think in March we are going to head down to Florida. The gulf is calling my name. lol. I will try and get the beach pictures posted in my MobileMe gallery within a day or so for you all to see.

Dance Competition Updates: Morgan won 2nd place in her age division for solos. Way to go Morgan! Abbey did extremely well also! We are very proud of both of them. Overall, our dancers won 11 1st place, 3 2nd place, and 4 third place. Way to go! It was a lot of fun. I'll have those pictures up as well. Plus, a friend of mine video taped it and will be putting it on youtube for everyone to see. I'll post the link to the videos as soon as they are posted.

Hope everyone is having an AWESOME SUMMER!

The Most Amazing Night...

Tonight has been the most amazing night. It was perfect! Definitely, the most rememberable night of our vacation. It was just Abbey, Morgan, and I. I decided to take advantage of that and enjoy the quality time with them. We went down to the beach, took our shoes off and stood in the tide, letting the waves rush over our toes. Then, with flip flops in hand, we went walking down the beach. I gave Abbey my shoes to carry. Then, took her hand and Morgan's in mine; and, together we walked, we danced, and we played along the shore.

Morgan let go of my hand and ran a little ahead of Abbey and I playing. Abbey and I talked and laughed as we watched Morgan. We did this all the way down to the pier. At the pier, we enjoyed a nice dinner with just the 3 of us. Then, walked out onto the pier to see what we could spot in the ocean. Abbey was hoping to see a shark! We stood out on the pier and watched the sunset. It was beautiful. As we were leaving the pier, we stopped for ice cream. On the way back to the hotel, we searched for unique sea shells. Morgan found a "baby" conche shell that she was very proud of. Abbey found a shell that still had something alive in it. We couldn't figure out what it was. She put it safely back in the water. A few big waves came in and got the bottoms of our sun dresses wet. That was ok too. We saw a golden retriever playing ball and swimming in the ocean. Of course, the girls had to stop and play with him. This made us miss Emma. The girls want to bring her with us next time. I don't know about that one. LOL. Although, I have to admit, it would have been fun having her with us tonight. Abbey started singing "The tide is high..." Very fitting. I laughed and sang along with her. Once we got back to the hotel, we sat in the sand, buried our toes, talked and laughed some more. They decided they wanted to go swimming again. So, we changed back into our bathing suits and headed to the pool. We swam and then sat in the hot tub. Froze our butts off when we got out of that. After the pool closed for the night, we went back down to the beach to look for sand crabs. Abbey got tired and decided to go to bed. She left Morgan and I on the beach and went inside to bed. Sleepy head.

Morgan and I stayed on the beach and played in the sand for a little while longer. We were "cooking." Morgan came up with some very unique recipes. Don't know that I would want to try those. We had a blast. Of course, she was telling me how to prepare the recipes step by step; and, I had to "cook" along with her. Silly girl.

As the kids get older, I find that it gets harder and harder to have these special moments with them like this. Our schedules get packed with school, dance, ball, etc. Tonight warmed my heart. The quality time spent with them can't be described fully in words. It was so calming, relaxing, and happy. I wish every day could be just like tonight. We enjoyed it so much so that we turned off the cell phones and disconnected ourselves from the world. Only the 3 of us existed for just a short period of time. I wouldn't change anything about tonight. And, I'm so thankful for tonight and the memories that will last forever.

Summer happenings....

Whew! It's hard to believe that our summer vacation is half over. The thoughts of it ending sadden me. Can I stretch it out a few more weeks? We have had a lot of fun this summer; and, more fun is heading our way. While there has been lots of fun, we have also experienced a few struggles, came across a crossroads of sorts in our lives, new friendships formed, and even a new love has blossomed this summer. Here is an update of our summer thus far; and a few upcoming events we have scheduled.

First, we started the summer with a difficult decision to be made. After many prayers and advice from family and friends, we made the decision to homeschool Morgan this upcoming school year. This was not an easy decision to make. In fact, I am still struggling with my abilities to be able to teach her everything she needs to know. Thanks to a talk I had with my brother-in-law, Josh, I am feeling more confident about this new adventure in our lives. Thank you Josh for your support and encouragement. Thank you to all of our family and friends for your continued prayers, support and encouragement. We are very proud to have made the decision to take over control of our youngest daughters education. It was a hard decision to make. But, we know in our hearts, it was the right one. We are very hopeful and excited about this. And, something about it just feels right. Morgan and I are looking forward to this journey. I look forward to seeing my baby reach these milestones with excitement in her eyes. I'll keep you all updated on our progress once we get started.


With that behind us, it was time for the fun to begin. We kicked it off with a trip to the pool. The water was freezing cold. The weather was hot and sunny. And, we loved every second of it. Until we jumped in. Then we froze. Well, I did anyway. The girls could have cared less. It was water; and, that's all that mattered. Much of our Summer, as usual, has been spent hanging out at the pool with friends. Morgan and Abbey are like me; they should be fish. Morgan jumped off the diving board for the first time. Now, I can't keep her off of it. I love it!



Then, with much hesitation and fear, we saw Abbey off on her first ever Beach Camp with the youth group for a week. She had a blast and learned a lot. It took everything I had not to drive to Panama City just to check on her. I survived and kept my word not to come down there. She's looking forward to returning again next year. And, I'm actually looking forward to letting her.

The most exciting events was our family visiting from Texas. First, Logan , Cici, and Maddie came in to visit. Maddie has grown so much! She is as cute as a button. And, is so happy. You can't help but smile every time she smiles. She's crawling now. She crawls faster than any baby I have ever seen. I'm guessing that she will be a runner just like her mommy. We really enjoyed seeing them! We miss them dearly.


Then, Josh, Amy, Garrison and McKenna came in for a visit. We were very excited to see them as well. A lot of events took place while they were in. First, we babysat Garrison and McKenna while Josh and Amy attended Josh's high school reunion. That was a lot of fun! We jumped, bounced, played golf and soccer, sang, danced, you name it, I think we did it. McKenna even serenaded us by singing Bon Jovi's, Wanted Dead or Alive. If you haven't heard a 3 year old sing that song, you should. It was hysterical.

Then, we had the summer Garrison family reunion. We ate too much and laughed to hard. Most importantly, we relaxed and enjoyed our time spent with all of Jason's family. Almost all of the family attended this year. We missed the ones who were unable to attend. Their absence was felt by all. Hopefully, we will see them at Christmas. Later that night, Morgan and I attended Courtney's 16th birthday party at Big Mama's Karaoke Café. Morgan got on stage and sang for the first time ever. She had a shy moment. No fear. Rebecca and Whitney to the rescue. They sang back up for her. It was cute. And, she was very proud of herself.

The most special moment of our summer was Abbey's Baptism. On June 14th, at Providence Church, Uncle Josh baptized his niece, our baby, Abbey. She went in the water as our daughter and emerged as our sister in Christ. Dad, her family, friends and I were all so very proud of her! Josh, thank you for baptizing her; and, thank you for being such a great spiritual influence in her life since birth! Thanks to all of our family and friends that shared this special event in her life with us!

Love is in the air…… Yes, Abbey has her first boyfriend. Not to sure I like that or not. At least I can say that he is a nice kid. And, he seems to like Abbey a lot. They go to church and school together. She's still a long way away from being able to date. I'm thinking maybe 30 for her first date. That sounds like a good age to allow that. What do you think? A mother can dream can't she…..LOL


Independence Day! We celebrated Independence Day with friends at the lake. The girls had a great time swimming in the lake. Morgan even tried skiing for the first time. Dad was nervous and insisted on my being in the boat and his being on the jet ski….just in case. She did great and loved it. She can't wait to do it again. Later, we went to my sister's for more swimming, food and fireworks. It was a fun day spent with friends and family.

We will be traveling to Seneca, South Carolina this upcoming weekend for the girls dance competition. We are very excited about that. After the competition, we are heading to the beach for a few days of sun, surf, and relaxation.

In August, our lives will kick back into full swing again. Softball and Soccer will begin again. Abbey will go back to school on August 17th. Morgan and I will go to the dining room table on the same day. LOL
Abbey and I are hoping to be able to go to Nashville and see Def Leopard perform in concert on August 10th.

We will travel to Nashville, again, on September 5th for the girls national dance competition. Good luck to all of the dancers at A Step Above Dance Studio. The following weekend, I'm hoping to head back to Nashville to participate in A Walk For The Cure For Lupus with my friend Lisa, who struggles daily with having Lupus. Here is the link to Lisa's website if you would like to read her story or make a donation to the cause. http://walkforlupusnow.kintera.org/nashville/lisalee Hers is a very powerful story and one I think everyone should read. Any donation you can make would be greatly appreciated. Or, come on down to Nashville and walk with us.

Stay tuned for more updates on the rest of our summer...

Day 2

Day 2 of the challenge. It all began with simple sidewalk chalk....

Check out my link for more pictures.

Day 1

My photo on Day 1 of Photo A Day Challenge. Morgan with her foot on her head. She told me, "Look Mom! I can scratch my head with my toes!" Silly girl!!

Just As I Am.....

Who am I?

I am a Christian. I am a wife. I am a mother. I am a sister. I am a daughter. I am an aunt. I am a friend. I am a photographer. These are just a few of the "I am's" about me. Hmmmmmm……. But, is that really JUST all I am. No! It's not. Lately, I have come to realize that those are only a few of the titles I wear. The greatest Hymnal of all time, Amazing Grace, says, "I once was lost; now I'm found…" That has been me. I have been lost in my titles. Now, I AM found. Sure, I am Jason's wife; Abbey and Morgan's mom; Julie's sister; my parents daughter; a friend to my friends and an aunt to my nieces and nephew, and much more. Knowing those things, does it REALLY tell you who I am?

Do you know that I love to laugh? It's my most favorite thing to do. Laughter is truly the best medicine. "Laugh and the whole world laughs with you." Have you ever tried to laugh while you're angry, mad, upset, frustrated, etc… Try it! You CAN'T. It's impossible to laugh and still feel those "bad" emotions. I AM a person who can find humor in almost any given situation. If not, I will try to search for it. I love to tell jokes, even if I screw up the punch line most of the time. I love to laugh; and, I love to make others laugh! There isn’t a more beautiful sound as that of laughter. Laughing has a way of making you feel better about yourself and life. Basically, I AM a goofball. I like to have fun and laugh while doing it.

Do you know that I am actually fairly intelligent? If not, don't feel bad. I didn't either. LOL. What makes me intelligent? It's not the knowledge I have that makes me intelligent. It's the stuff I don't know and my willingness to learn about it. If I don't know the answer, I'm not afraid to ask. I am smart enough to know what I know and I have the wisdom to know the difference. I just love learning. Simple as that. Therefore, I AM a student of life.

Do you know that I am fiercely competitive, almost to a fault? I've never allowed failure to be an option for me. However, I often, fail anyway. I realize now that failure and mistakes are both part of life's great lessons.

Do you know that I have a rebellious spirit? Ask my parents and my husband. They can testify to that one. (LMAO. My husband read this as I typed it. His reaction was, "HELL YEAH you are!") I wish I could argue differently and say he is wrong. But, I can't.

Do you know that I am an adrenaline junkie? I like to take risks in life. I do have limitations now. However, even with those limitations, I will still live on the edge as much as I can. Otherwise, life would be boring.

Do you know that I am a perfectionist? My family lovingly tells me I'm OCD. LOL. They're probably close to right. I am my own worse critic. I expect nothing less than perfection. That has been a great quality to have in life. Its also been a hindrance as well. I expect too much from myself. If I see that I can't do something perfectly, I, too often, will choose not to do it at all.

Do you know that I am in love with love? I love being in love. I love showing others love. I love that I have more than one love IN my life. To love with your heart and be loved is to be richly blessed.

Do you know I'm not perfect? Although there are a few in my life that think I am. Or, maybe, they think I'm perfect JUST AS I AM. I struggle each day with seeing what they see in me. Maybe, someday, I will.

Here's a few more just for fun do you knows about me. I drive to fast. I talk to much. I should've been a gypsy with my love of travel. I sing to loud and off key most of the time. I care to deeply at times. I cry at sad movies sometimes too. I am very passionate. I can argue until the cows come home. I am deeply spiritual. I am fairly social and shy all at the same time. And the list goes on and on with both the good qualities and the bad.

These are just a few things about who I am. I'll add more later. Now that you know a little more about me, I want to know more about each of you and not just the titles you wear.

A Picture A Day Challenge

A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. - Ansel Adams

I have been challenged to take at least one picture every day for a year. And, I've accepted the challenge. I think it's going to be fun, and cause me to stop and think outside the box. The rules are simple. All you have to do is take just one picture every day. And, post it. We can post them to Facebook so we can see each other's progress. That is the challenge. The picture can be of any subject. Doesn't matter what. No professional camera or experience needed.
Why did I accept this challenge? Simple. Photography is a passion of mine. But, that passion has been slipping lately. There have been times that I didn't want to get the camera out of the bag. Sad huh? Who would have ever thought I would feel that way??? I decided to accept this challenge because I want that passion back. I want to forget the camera's settings; stop worrying about the scene and composure. I want to remember the excitement I feel when I hear the sound of the shutter as the picture is snapped. Ahhh! Music to my ears. I want to remember the simple JOY of taking a picture and viewing my world through the lens. Not caring if it comes out a little blurry, to dark, to light, or has to much noise. I might even learn how to shoot only in AUTO again for a change. LOL. Yes, it's been awhile. And, I'm going to challenge myself to think outside the box on what I photograph.
I would love for everyone to join me in this challenge. This is also a great project to get your kids involved with. I love giving my kids a camera. I get to see the world through their eyes when I look at their pictures. They often see things that I would miss. So, join me and let's have some fun with this!
Now, on to part 2. And, just when you thought you were getting off easy. LOL. For all of my scrapbooking friends, and others who would like to join us, I'm adding an additional part to the challenge. Get those tools ready. I'm challenging us to create a scrapbook dedicated to this challenge. The only pictures allowed in it are the photo a day pictures. Keep it simple. Tell the story behind the photograph. Why did you choose that subject? What were you feeling when you took it? You get the idea.
So, to all my photography and scrapbooking friends, specifically: Sara, Sonya, Whitney, Missi, Michelle, Cici, Tamara, Krystal, Melissa, Jane, and Tonya, I'm asking you all to join me in this challenge. It should be a lot of fun! Anyone else that wants to do this with us is more than welcome. You can follow me with this challenge by viewing my album Fritts 365 on Facebook. I'll have it ready when I post the first picture. Let me know if you are going to be joining me. The official start date will be July 1st.
Now, get those camera's ready and start SHOOTING!

Happy Father's Day!

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it."  ~Clarence Budington Kelland

I consider myself to be very blessed. Growing up, I had several strong male role models in my life. And, for that I am thankful. I think every little girl needs that. Through those male role models in their lives, they learn a multitude of things, strength, courage, faith, hard work, etc… They also learn how a man should treat, love and respect her. They give her the self confidence to not accept anything less. For me, I was blessed with 4 great male role models, my dad, my 2 step dads, and my grandfather. All 4 have taught me so much in life. And, for them, I am grateful. My grandfather is no longer with me. I still miss him every day. The gifts he taught me are kindness and compassion. He was the most compassionate man I ever knew. And from watching him, I learned to have compassion for others. My dad, well what can I say about my dad. He's nuts! But, in a good way. My dad is one of the funniest men I know. Through him, I've learned to find the humor in life; that laughter is the best medicine. I've learned not to take myself too serious. Other lesson's I learned from him is perseverance and patience. The most important lesson my dad taught me was to always have faith in Christ. My 1st step dad is the strongest and most intelligent man I know. Through him, I learned strength. I learned that knowledge truly is the key factor. He instilled a deep, lifelong, love of learning in me. I still love to be challenged with learning new things every day. My mother remarried 18 years ago; giving me a 4th strong male role model. He, too, is a lot like my grand father. He has the kindest and gentlest heart of any man I know. He has taught me the true meaning of the spirit of giving. He always gives of himself to anybody, regardless of the limitations placed on him. I am choosing to spend this Father's Day with him. His health is failing. And, my fear is that this could very well be the last one I spend with him. I pray that it isn't. Either way, I'll spend it with him and tell him how much I love him and all that he has meant to my life. There are many other lessons in life that I learned from them. But, I'm writing a blog, not a novel. The most important lessons all 4 have taught me is to love myself, love life, and to forgive. All 4 have kept me on that proverbial pedestal and given me their unconditional love, even when I made life a little tough on them at times. No matter what I did, they always loved me and forgave me. It's unfortunate that so many little girls go through life without a good, strong male role model. Me? I was blessed with 4 great ones! Because of them, I have never accepted anything less from a man than his absolute best. I've never let a man mistreat me. My 4 role models taught me that I deserved better than that. Now, I enjoy watching my girls learn these same lessons from their father, grandfather's, and uncles. They, too, are like me. They have been richly blessed with a lot of strong males in their lives. For that, I am tremendously thankful to each of you and all that you are in their lives. So, to all of the Father's in my life, my husband, father, step-father's, brother's-in-laws, uncle, and friends, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Thank you all for playing such an important role in all of our lives. I love you all!

A Blog Is Born....

When I looked into starting a blog, I did so with the intent of creating a blog to update everyone on our experiences with homeschooling Morgan. The more thought I put into it, the more stressed I became, specifically, the title and the description. As hard as I tried, nothing was coming to me. My next thought was to create a title about photography. What a perfect title for a blog written by me, right?! Yet, another road block. I skipped ahead and focused on topics I might want to blog about. Each topic was centered around things I am passionate about. Then, a very close and dear friend of mine asked me if I considered myself to be a woman of faith. My answer, of course, was yes. Easy answer, right? At that time, I thought it was a very simple question with an obvious answer. That question stuck with me. Am I a woman of faith? If so, faith in what? We use the word faith, usually in reference to our faith in God. My answer is YES. I do have faith in Him! But, what else do I have faith in? With that one simple question, this blog was born. I want to write about my passions, things closest to my heart, my thoughts, my life; and, what I DO have faith in, as well as what I struggle with. Once the direction was clear, all I lacked was the title. One of my favorite Contemporary Christian songs today is "And, Now My Lifesong Sings," by Casting Crowns. If you haven't heard it already, LISTEN to it. After much thought, I decided that song would be the perfect title for MY blog. The words in this blog are just that, My Lifesongs. Music is and always has been a passion of mine. More so, the lyrics and what the writer is saying. Every song written has a meaning behind it. My hope is that this blog will be the lyrics of my life song. I invite you to follow along and let my life songs sing to you…

**My daughter, Morgan, has a bracelet that reads, "Take it in - Live it out." That's how a life song is written; by taking life in - and living it out.