My trials with the DMV...

I have always had problems with the DMV.  I guess it is really a love/hate relationship.  I LOVE having my drivers license, but I hate going through the red tape to get the dang thing.  It started when I got my license for the first time.  I passed the driving test with a flat 70.  I was honestly pretty proud of my 70.  When I was 16, my mom drove a Cadillac, this is what I had to take my test in.  Let's just say I didn't do very well with parallel parking... or making a left turn, now that I think of it. 

My next run in with the DMV was when I got married.  My parents have always called me by middle name, Layne, so I thought I would just drop my first name and take on my husband's last name.  After a lot of arguing, I prevailed yet again.  The real problem came when we moved to Nashville, TN.  They informed me that I must change my name legally through the state.  They made me take my first name back and were not very nice about it.  One point for the DMV...

When we moved back to Georgia, I thought I could argue my first name back off of my license... no such luck... although they were very nice about it, even let me think that I had won the argument.  I realized the DMV had won again when I got my license back with ALL my names listed...

The Texas DMV has been the most trying.  First of all, the town we live in is over 100,000 people and the DMV here can only hold 50 at a time including their employees.  The rest of the people have to wait outside until someone leaves, although they do allow 3 people at a time to wait in the foyer of the building.  I went to this place twice and after being rejected both times, I drove 30 miles north to another town to finally get my license.  I can tell you it was totally worth it.  I was able to stand in line in the A/C, although I still have 4 names on my license.  Maybe one day I will get my name changed legally and save some time and trouble at the DMV. 

Monday Mail

This week has started off with a bang! The girls have continued with their writing fun time. A big thanks to Kristen and Jennifer who suggested I check out the dollar tree for cards.  I don't know why I had not thought about that before! We were even able to get Trace to add his own personal "touch" to some of the letters we sent out. He really enjoyed himself, especially having a little taste of crayon on occasion!

The girls received letters back from some of their friends this week. They were so excited to see an envelope addressed with their name. It made me think of a time when I wrote myself a letter. I was probably in the 3rd or 4th grade. I was so proud, rode my bike to the post office and dropped it in the big blue box. I believe that stamps were only like a quarter then. When the letter made it to me, I had forgotten (for some strange reason) that I had done this just a day or two before. I ran in the house with my letter only to be a little let down to realize it was from me. So, you can imagine my delight when my daughters actuallly received letters from "real" friends... LOL!

It really has been a blessing to recieve letters, stickers, postcards, care packages, or whatever :-) in the mail.  It is so funny to see how excited the girls get about mail.  I think that our routine of letter writing has also helped with our move.  It has become a contest everyday to see who gets to check the mailbox.  Kate was even a little sad on Sunday when I told her the mail did not run.  I hope that some of you are having as much fun as we are with this.  If your child wants a pen pal, email me your mailing address to laynegarrett@hotmail.com  my girls would love it!  Happy writing!!

Mailcall Monday!

Today, the girls and I started mailcall Monday. We continued with the list we made last week and wrote several more letters. The girls were a little more excited this week after getting a letter from their Papa Saturday. We also mapped out our calendar for the next month to send out birthday cards. Thank goodness Wal-Mart has cheap cards! We hope you are enjoying this project too!! I was so happy to hear that several of you have been working on this too. Happy writing!

Got Mail?

I LOVE getting mail... commonly referred to now as snail mail.  I am afraid it is becoming a lost art.  One of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to start sending out birthday cards to family and close friends... needless to say, some months are better than others.  I feel like my grandmother, telling myself, "Well.... I just didn't get to the store this week".  Of course, I am able to drive so I really should do better.  The post office is often a sore subject for me as well.  It never fails.  The line is always super long, the self serve machine is down, and there are only 2 people working. 

I remember in elementary school, we would have a day where we would attach our home address to a helium balloon and release it in hopes of someone finding the balloon and writing a letter to one of us.  I can't remember how many times we did this, but I only remember one person actually receiving a letter.  Any peeps that went to Hunt Elementary School in Fort Valley, GA remember this activity?  I am sure today this would be a HUGE breech of security. 

This week, I was feeling a bit nostalgic (the new move and all), so I got my girls to sit down and write letters to a few of their friends from back home.  We made a long list of people we wanted to write.  Kate ended up writing to 3 on her list and Ann wrote to 2.  We also sent out postcards from our trip to the rodeo last week.  I must admit that I was probably more excited than they were, but they were good sports.  I am sure they will be super excited if they receive any letters in return!

For about 15 years, my daddy and grandmother wrote to me almost every week.  At the time, I would read it and go on my way.  I did not write them as I should have.  I wish now that I still got those letters and that I had kept them all.  Being that I am a pack rat, I did keep a lot.  I am glad that I did.  Today, I got a letter from my daddy and a flood of memories came back from those precious times that I took for granted.  Try writing a loved one a letter... they will appreciate it... Let me know how it goes.  Happy writing!

Caring that leads to praying

I have had several sweet families on my mind lately as they are experiencing a lot of stress right now.  Watching a loved one suffer through Cancer or some other dreadful disease is practically unbearable. I have been thankful for the websites that these families have been using to communicate updates to friends and families.  Caringbridge www.caringbridge.org and Carepages www.carepages.com are two that are great resources and free.  When Ann was in the hospital, we used the carepages site, it was so comforting to read messages of encouragement at the end of a long day.  Once she was home, we were able to print out all the messages from our family and friends.  We created a book to keep those precious words of Love for Ann to enjoy one day.  It was also very therapeutic for me to write each day about what we were going through. 

I think that these sites are wonderful tools to let people know how to pray for loved ones and to rejoice in progress that is made.  Take some time today to pray for your loved ones that are experiencing difficulties... there is nothing like the power of prayer! 

Thankful

As I am preparing for our move to Texas in June, I have had a lot of time to reflect.  I won't lie, I have spent a lot of time arguing my case with God of how Texas is not the place for us.  Daily, He convinces me that He does know what He is doing.  It amazes me that day after day, month after month, year after year, that I think I know best....

It dawned on my that this week 5 years ago was a major turning point in our lives.  This week marks the last time that Ann was in the hospital.  We were living in Dickson, TN at the time.  Ann had a major asthma attack and aspirated and had to be in ICU at Vanderbilt's Children's Hospital www.childrenshospital.vanderbilt.org/ for 14 days. We received the best care imaginable.  That period of time was such a whirlwind, it was hard for me to focus on what was happening or how serious the situation was. 

What I found out in those days, that seemed never ending,was that God was in control.  There was nothing that I could do to make things better or worse.  Having to go through that situation was obviously not fun or on my bucket list, but it finally gave us answers on how to care for Ann.  We found wonderful doctors (www.gppa.net) that have been able to control her Asthma with medication. 

As, I look back on my life, there are many events that I would have never imagined the Lord allowing to happen in my life - good and bad.  I have learned a lot.  I thought moving to Tennessee was a big deal, and now we are packing for Texas.  Who knew!?!  God has brought so many special people into our lives.  Our short time in Tennessee was very special and helped David and I to grow.  I am so thankful for our special friends in Dickson, TN. 

I am so thankful for Ann's health.  We still deal with Asthma on a daily basis, but she is a very active 6 year old.  We started off rocky, being told during pregnancy that she would be severely handicapped, then in and out of the hospital for the first several months of her life... you would never know it today.  God is so good!  Thank you to those of you that have prayed over this precious angel.

Confessions of an Eggplant Lover

Today, Kate and I found an eggplant at the store, she was curious, so we bought it.  She promised to help me cook it.  I love eggplant!  I really love it fried, but tonight I wanted to take a healthier route.  A few weeks ago, we visited my dear friend, Trellis Payne, in Savannah, GA.  She took us to an Italian restaurant called Bella's (www.bellascafe.com), which is fabulous!  I had a grilled eggplant dish that was to die for, I thought I could recreate it tonight...

Instead of grilling the eggplant, I thought I could just pan sear it and then bake it for approximately 30 min. It was pretty hard to cut up, as you can see.  Kate thought that she could have done a much better job... I have to agree.

I layered with spaghetti sauce and cheese.  Now, doesn't this look just fabulous...
I even made a smaller casserole with just eggplant and cheese, because my girls don't like sauce.

Well, I guess you have figured it out by now, this meal was an epic fail.  The girls took one bite and hated it!  I choked down mine thinking it had to be better with the sauce, but I was sadly mistaken.  Trace did eat his portion, but I really think that he is part garbage disposal.  So, friends the lesson for tonight, when trying to introduce your children to a new food, make sure you know how to prepare it!