Say G'Bye to this Blog

Hey! Hey! Good people!! I have moved. Not physically (love the beach too much). My BLOG has moved. I have painstakingly created a new blog with BIG NEWS!!! Go to http://www.ghanagetsugar.blogspot.com. Change it on your links!

I promise to blog more frequently. Promise to Holla Back!!

This is a test...

I've been surfing the blog world and various and sundry other places online on our 8 hour (which is now approaching 10) drive home from TN. I'm looking at all these cute new blog designs and think I want a new blog. THEN I think, why?Because you've been blogging so much?

So, this is a test. To see if anybody even checks this thing anymore. If you have so much as even clicked the blog to check it, give me a shout out. I might try to resume. Most of you are well aware that Mark and I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon. After much kicking and screaming.

We got a good fussin from Mama Debbie this Christmas b/c we set her up on Blog world and then defected over to FB.

We spent the first weekend of Christmas in Marietta with all of our favorite people. Mark turned 40 on Saturday but you can't really tell. ;) We took a trip up to TN - to be with Mark's family for Christmas and are now headed back to the southern region! (More southern than TN).

The boys are huge - I'll update some pictures - we got a new digital camera so now I can actually do that without the prior hassle that I had before.

Let me know!
a

Mark's Debut

Here it is. What you all have been waiting for. Mark's new blog. I recognize that I usually stand in the shadow of my husband. He's super funny - it's why I married him. But for the past year, the blog world was all mine. I'm ready to share it with him. He's ready to lay his heart on the table and share it with all of you in writing. But! Don't give me a complex people - don't switch to Mark's new blog and forget me. Don't forget to show me some love.

Here it is http://www.markfritchie.wordpress.com - Give him a shout out! Now you can finally get both sides of the story....

Puppy and Fluff

Another disclaimer: I have no idea why this is underlined and I can't figure out how to fix it.


Hey Y'all!! We got a new pupppy!!! Her name is Anna - she is a yellow, lab mix - beautiful, I might add.

But before, I tell you that - I should tell you that our dog, Scout, passed away the week before Christmas. She was 10 years old and had kidney failure. We had to put her down. She weighed 110 in October and was down to 85 lbs by that week. She was pitiful. We had a sweet, vet friend come and put her down at the house for us. We bawled like babies. You know, Jantzen and Scout were our 1st children. We're not ashamed of great affection and devotion for them! Sure, it waned a bit once we had 2 legged children (who will remain nameless in this tribute out of respect for Scout). Anyway, Jantzen loved her freedom as an only dog for a few short months. We took her everywhere. Until.....

A man named Reid at our church brought 11 puppies to the children's building one Sunday morning. Nicely played. Low down dirty, if you ask me. Well, Eli waltzed right up to me with Anna in her arms and said, " Mom, can we have her 'cause there's like 100 of them!?" I already knew I had been caving. Scout was my tag-a-long dog. Sat behind me everyday in my office while I worked - laid in the kitchen while I cooked - came to sleep on my side of the bed each night when I slept.... I think I might cry! Seriously - we miss her. Anyway, Anna is certainly my new tag-a-long pup. Jantzen looks at her a little sideways most of the time but has a spurt of energy for her periodically.

Anyways - we love her. Her mom was a chocolate lab (we don't know who the baby-daddy is) and she was the only blond out of the whole crew. The kids love taking care of a new dog. There's a lot of difference between a 6 week old pup and an 11-year old dog. Here are her mug-shots.





On to equally exciting news! I talked to Fluff today!! Who is Fluff you say??? Only one of the most popular golf caddies ever!!!! If you remember my random tidbits, I grew up going to the greens of The Augusta National - home of The Master's. My dad was never into sports much. Golf was all we knew at my house. I'm not even sure I can recall the Super Bowl or the World Series being watched in my home growing up. But we watched golf every, single weekend. We had a big, huge frame of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, and Gary Player in my family room. I could name any great current player on sight. I once named a stuffed bunny I got for Easter, Fuzzy, because Fuzzy Zoeller had won the tournament that Easter weekend. I loved it. I watched Fluff caddy. I mean, how can you miss him? His big white, fluffy mustache and all. His real, name is Mike Cowan. He used to caddy for Tiger. Now he caddies for Jim Furyk.

So, here's the story, I am at Winn Dixie tonight buying a loaf of bread in the bakery to go with supper. I look over right next to me - less than a foot away! and see a caddy with a Sea Island hat. I immediately see the big mustache and go:

Amy; "Fluff?" (quickly noticing his name plate FLUFF on his hat so as not to make a COMPLETE fool of myself- wait, too late.)
Fluff: "Hey!"
Amy: " Omigosh, I mean...I...it's....I grew up in Augusta watching you at the Master's every year...I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity....I.... yeah"
Fluff: (glancing around for security) "Well, thanks very much"
Amy: "OK, good to see you."
Fluff: "yeah"

HAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I'm not even kidding - I wish it was on video tape b/c you totally would laugh your butt off. I was totally star struck for a GOLF CADDY. I'm an idiot.

Well, I only have one more thing to say - Welcome back to the blog world, LARK!! We sure did miss you!

Peace -
a

Tag- you're it!

I feel so hip and in being tagged and all.... glad I checked blogs this week!

10 Random Things about me

10. My new 6-week old puppy is laying on my belly as I type this. She is a beautiful yellow lab mix b bvfcdrc who keeps trying to type the keyboard with her paws. I left in the b..letters to prove it. Her name is Anna. Pics to follow in a new blog post.

9. I've always wanted to be a rockstar but I'm practically tone deaf.

8. I was homecoming queen.

7. My biggest pet peeve in the whole world is stepping in puddles of water in the house with socks on.... could be melted ice, dog droplets from water bowl, you name it, I hate it. I must change socks immediately.

6. I used to teach ballroom dance to 5th grade - college students.

5. I want to go see Elton John in concert. Bad. I'm not even kidding.

4. I love to organize and clean out attic-like messy rooms but I hate to dust.

3. I've never mowed the lawn. Not even once. In my whole life.

2. I went to the Master's every year of my life from age 7 to 25.

1. I think I have the best life ever - even better than what I dreamed of as a little girl.

I tag LARK & Brad!!

Here we go, Mama Debbie!!

In an effort to push Mama Debbie into the 21st century AND to keep up with her during and after the big move to AZ, I have created a blog (albeit, elementary) for her. I posted her 1st blog for her to get everybody started with comments to encourage her to blog. She thinks she won't be funny. I find that hard to believe but told her we weren't interested so much in her humor (a little white lie never hurt anybody, right?) as simply hearing about her everyday life from afar.

So, hit Deb's new blog http://www.memoirsofabelle.blogspot.com/ (Also, I'd love to know how to make that a 'link' but say something really cool like 'Deb's blog' - Somebody tell me) Add her to your links. Comment a bunch on her 1st blog so she'll blog to us!

Word.
a

It's the New Year!! So, I figured what better way to start than to update last year? Ha!!!

Disclaimer: Reader, beware. Looking at my updated pictures is like watching a 2 year old try to replicate a Monet. I definitely did them chronologically backwards. Then, I wanted to rearrange them but for fear of deleting over an hours worth of work, I've left them and will blog around them. I feel like posting pictures is like writing a term paper. But I didn't want anyone
to forget what we looked like. So, good luck to all.



So, I entered our new updated kitchen into the Better Homes & Gardens Home Improvement Challenge! I'm really excited about it - I spent a ton of time putting together our 'portfolio' and recently sent it to them. They close the competition this month and choose a winner by the end of April. They have about 10 different categories and pick 3 'small' winners from each category and then a big overall winner from all the categories. Say a little prayer for us! I think it would be really cool to win something!!


This is kitchen gone! It took a few months of living out of our microwave and restaurants!

Here is the original kitchen. Yes, those are blue laminate countertops from the 70s. And, by the way, yes the kitchen is about 4 feet wide (if that). The other pic is the old 2 pantrys. We removed those walls and put the fridge and newly configured pantry.

Picture below is original wall with my realtor/friend standing in front of it. We knocked it down. This is the same view as the one above with the bar & chairs.

This is Mark & the boys pretending to be asleep at Asa's Kindergarten 'field trip' to the King & Prince. Are you kidding that the kids take a field trip to the King and Prince for a 'nice' lunch? They had a hot ham & cheese sandwich (Asa didn't touch), fruit in a glass, bag o'chips, and a capri sun!!! ha!!! They came to see all the elementary school classes' Gingerbread houses that they had on display that they made earlier the week before. Asa thought the bus ride to the K & P was the best part.

Random picture I found of me and Mark with the Men in Black when we were vising studios in LA.

This picture of Mark & E is from our October Trunk or Treat. He had just gotten off his horse ride and he's pickin' off the 'hitchhikers' off of his socks. That's what we like to call 'em in South GA.

This picture is my favorite new picture of the boys. If I had sent a Christmas card or a New Year's card, likely this would have been the pic. But I didn't. So enjoy the blog friends.

The plane they are on belongs to Gracia Tuten's Daddy whom my boys call 'Butchy'. He told them to. They didn't make it up.

Eli's Christmas Play!! Here is E and the 'Fantastic Four' as we like to call them. I do this awesome swap off thing with 3 other moms where 2 days/week one of us takes all 4 of them home for an hour 1/2 until our older kids get out of school. The next week the other 2 moms do it. It has worked wonderfully and the kids love it almost as much as the moms :) I have fallen in love with their moms and it's created a great little group for us! The other pic would be during E's singing performance as they sang the words 'asleep on the hay'. Doesn't get much cuter than this, people. That would be his girlfriend, Lily, sitting to his right (your left). I definitely had one more picture of everybody praying for the food we were going to eat afterward (goldfish & cookies) but Eli and Lily had their hands folded, heads bowed but both were TOTALLY peeking at the crowd. They are 2 peas in a pod and send love notes back and forth. Simply too funny. They look like they could be brother and sister.

Trunk or Treat!! Our awesome new Children's Director put together this amazing Trunk or Treat event as an outreach to our community. They did an awesome job. This is our decorated car. We went the ever-so-clever beach route. Surprisingly, nobody else did. We just grabbed all 34 skimboards and 96 beach towels we had laying around and threw them in the back of the mini.


Batman & Dash Incredible riding a horse. E on the jump-it slide.

Moving right along, backwards in time because I couldn't get the pics right.....

E's RockStar 5th Birthday party!! We had a blast. We invited about 10 kids 'backstage' (our house) to tattoo up everyone and spike everyone's hair. Then we had the GP limo pick them up for a ride to the concert. We landed at a local Youth ministry room that has an awesome stage where we had Eli & Asa's drumset (courtesy of Uncle Mikey B last Christmas) and all their other musical instruments. They ran around and made a ton noise for a couple of hours. E got a red real live electric guitar for his birthday (child size). He's ready to hit the charts.


Our friend, Grant, who also happens to be one of the wisemen above.(far left).

Mark coached Asa's soccer team this Fall. They were the best of all 4 teams that played. Ha! That's funny b/c there were only 4 teams. It's true b/c they really were the best. #3 was a little Pele and nobody could keep up!

More Trunk or Treat
2 Dashes - One apparently has been eating lots of veggies & steroids!

Eli concentrating on the drums!!

Asa's rocking out with his spikey hair!

E and his new RED electric guitar!!! He has on his new shirt from the Bed's "I do all my own stunts'. He loves this shirt and can't wear it without somebody saying ' Well, that's very appropriate!!"

Daddy playing Duck, Duck, Goose with all the RockStars. (You can only play drums for so long, people)

The limo!!

We owe a HUGE thank you to the Bed's for letting us crash at their house while we were locked out of our original destination! My boys love to be in your home with your people. I know we wore you out - thanks for letting us do so.

I ALWAYS leave Marietta with tears in my eyes. Our hearts and spirit dwell with our people.

That being said, we love where the Lord has us. We have settled in and are thriving. We are with great anticipation about what 2008 will bring for our family, our friends, and our ministries.

Enjoy the blog, my bloggers - it could be March before I get back to it!!

Love to you all!

a

Childhood Spirituality

We're in a great season of teaching the kids about Jesus - 'shepherding their hearts'. They are learning sooooo much and it is so fun to see them really want to know more of Jesus and get excited about it. I've tried to do a couple of new things lately. Asa recently got a new journal that is just for his 'notes to God'. He loves it and it is so precious to see some of the things he wants to write, pray, ask, and thank God for.

So the other thing I've tried to be really intentional about is learning and memorizing scripture. We've started picking a verse out and printing it on a sheet of paper and posting it on their surfboard corkboards above their beds. Asa is TOTALLY into it. The verse he just learned is Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the Life, No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 Once he could read it on his board, he had it memorized in one day.

So, not to be out done, Eli wanted to pick a verse out of his devotion book, so we picked 'Jesus said, "Follow me" (abbreviated).Matthew 4:19 So tonight, we printed E's out and put it on his surfboard.

A few minutes after we put them to bed tonight, the boys were talking quietly and then called out to Mark and me,

Asa: "Hey!! I know another Bible verse!'

Mark: You do? What is it?

Asa: Jesus said, 'Always cover your mouth when you burp.'

Mark and I almost fell over. I don't think Jesus said that. But he probably should have.

Bedtime Stories

Every night when we put our kids to bed, we read stories - sometimes play a little family card game. On occasion, we play the 'Make it Up' game - where somebody starts part of a story and each person gets to add to it as we go along. You can only imagine the hilarity and confusion that has gone along with this in the past. Well, tonight was a make it up night. Except we all told our own story. Mark went first.

"Once upon a time, there was a cheerio. (Yes, you are reading that correctly). And in the morning when a little boy opened the Cheerio box, the cheerio yelled, "Nooooo, don't eat me. I don't want to be eaten!" (Laughs heard all around the room.) Then when the little boy poured the cheerios, the cheerio rolled off the table, onto the floor, out the door, and right onto the school bus. (Silence.) "

Eli says, "My turn!" (Mark not allowed to finish due to lame-0 story)

E's story: Once upon time there was an....um.....(looking around room for story inspiration) Shrek! (not anywhere in the room) and a dragon. And the dragon and SHrek were fighting and Shrek was fighting the dragon and they were fighting and fighting....Shrek and the dragon and.......what do you think, Mom?

Me: And there was the princess!

E: Yes, and then Shrek killed the princess. The end. (WHAT!?!?)

Me: Asa, your turn!
A: I don't wanna go, you go Mom.

I told a lengthy story about a grasshopper named Jimmy who lived at the ballpark - had lots of involvement about Jimmy's favorite food at the snack bar (which was sour skittles - uncannily, just like Eli's) and how JImmy wanted to fly on a baseball. So he climbed into the bag with all of the balls until the coach gave him to the pitcher. He held on tight while the pitcher threw him to the batter and the bat went SMACK and Jimmy flew way out of the park. "Eli, then what happened"

E: Um, he was killed when he fell off the ball. (WHAT?!?!?!?)

Me: Ok, Asa! Your turn!

Asa: Once upon a time there was a dog. Actually 2 dogs. They were named Scout and Jantzen. (High creativity going on.) And Scout was this tall (points to knees) and Jantzen was this tall (points to top of head - at least we are switching it up a little) And then there was another dog. (At this point, Asa has gotten off his bed and is walking around picking up objects to illustrate his story) The other dog was as big as this clock. (Walk over to pick up my shoe) Then another dog was as big as this shoe - his name was 'shoey' (again, high levels of creativity at bed time - then picks up beach ball) Then there was a round dog like this ball.

At this point, Mark has reached his limit of this nonsense and says, 'ASA! What happens? What actually went on in the story?!?"

Asa: They were all killed.

Mark falls off the bed laughing.

This my friends is story time at Fritchies place.

SCORE!!! Who's your Daddy?!?!

Yes! I am not a lost cause after all. One step at a time, right? Here's the pic's from my beautiful and rowdy boys!! Love to you all! a

Practicing the pitching wedge

My favorite 2 boys in the whole wide world!!!

Spiderman cake by Mom

(picture facing the right direction this time)

Practicing

First Day of School


This, my friends, is the entire island at Little Leaque Opening Day.


A happy crowd after a long, day's practice!
(ok, it was just one hour but it felt like a long day)


Checking out the competition while resting at 1st base

This totally makes my heart pound fast!!




Tiger? Is that you?


Look at me!

Eli uses approximately 62 tees in one hour. He needs a new tee for every swing.

He is in this position as much as he is swingin!!! ha!

Headed to the golf course!

Instructions from Dad - note 3 balls teed up at the same time :)

Joe Cool

I could eat him!