A Completed Mando with a twist

Last week while the kids & I finished up our vacation at the beach, Randy came back home earlier in the week. He didn't want to use all his vacation in one week & he had something else he wanted to finish up- his latest mandolin!
It's officially complete! And it's officially sold & out of the house as of last night! It's a little bittersweet each time this happens. Randy works so hard on these instruments & then he gets a little attached to each one. He ALWAYS wants to keep it on some level but gives it up anyway. He wouldn't let the buyer come pick it up until I came home from the beach because I had the camera with me & he wanted pictures. Can't blame him there... We need something to remember the details of each one. So here are the final pictures of Moss Mandolin No. 8...


And are you ready for a huge twist? About a month or so ago, Randy had a message on our answering machine from another guy who was interested in a mandolin. Randy called him back & told him that he was finishing up one soon & he could come take a look/listen when it was complete. That man (we'll call him Joe) came over Friday night & loved the mandolin that Randy had built for the original buyer (we'll call him Craig). In fact, he really wanted it. But Randy couldn't sell it to him obviously because it was built for Craig. However, Joe told Randy he would pay him cash on the spot for the one Randy plays (Moss Mandolin #7). Randy hasn't built a mandolin since right after Eli was born because life just gets crazy & he hasn't had the time (plus he built a custom guitar for someone during those years instead). So mando #7 is about 4.5 years old & has remained Randy's because it fell & got a crack in it. Randy repaired it & just kept it for himself & you'd never know it was cracked in the first place. Even with all this information, Joe still wanted the mandolin, though & offered Randy only $500 less than what the brand new one was being sold for. Seriously? This deal is getting sweeter & sweeter!

Hang on though... It gets even better! Joe not only wants #7, but he also wants Randy to build him one too. Is your jaw dropping, yet? Mine did when Randy called me on our last night of vacation to tell me this! I just know this is the Lord providing for us! It's been a tough year!

(#7 on left with no pick guard, #8 on right with pick guard)

Randy had no reservations about building another, but wasn't as convinced on selling #7. If Joe takes #7, then Randy won't have one to play (which he plays daily), nor will he have anything to show his craftmanship if someone else is interested in a mandolin. If he builds Joe one first, then it will be well over a year before he will have another for himself. But, we think we have come to a conclusion. Randy will sell #7, and then instead of building mando #9 for Joe and then #10 for himself, he will take a little more time to complete, but will build #9 & #10 together! Then in about 8 months or so, should have one to sell and one to keep! Let's hope this plan works out! :)

So, we of course, had to take pictures of them both before they were gone!!


This will be the last time for awhile that Randy holds one of his own custom built mandos! He looks thrilled, eh?!
But i have to say that I am so proud of his hard work and talent! He is truly a gifted man to be able to get something so beautiful in sound & aesthetics from one block of wood! It is crazy & magical all at the same time! Great job, babe!

fun project!

I was perusing pinterest today when I came across a really cute "rules" poster of sorts. I didn't "pin" it because I knew I could make one in a flash! So that is precisely what I did! :) In about 15 minutes I had this:Here's how I made it: I uploaded a high quality picture to picnik.com where I then used their crop tool to make it an 8 x 10. Then I used their "stickers" to create an overlay (the blueish background) over the whole picture. Then I added the text line by line with their text tool. I saved it to my computer at the same size/quality as a .jpg so that I can upload it to snapfish or shutterfly to make a print & have no distortion in quality!

Fun? check!
Easy? Check!

Now I need to order it, frame it, & put in the kids playroom!
I love an easy project! If you'd like the .jpg image, just email me or leave me a comment & I will share! :)

Happy Sunday!

Vacation is over!

We are back from Ft. Fisher! We got home this afternoon & I am eager to get through all my pictures so I can share them with you all!

And even though the sun has set on our beach vacation, stay tuned because I have about 850 pictures to go through & decide which are my favorites to share!
In the meantime, you can sit back & look at these & pretend you are sitting on a beach somewhere listening to the sounds of the ocean!A cool breeze... crashing waves....

Plenty of sand & salt to take in...No worries though, all the other pictures I have will be chock full of bathing beauties (no, not us... the KIDS!)

The MANY faces of Eli

I was going through pictures to burn off of my CF card tonight & I was just amazed at how many expressions Eli can make! I decided I just had to share them..... Some are fun, some are sweet, some are grumpy... so just sit back & enjoy!

Let me start you off with some real (or at least decent smiles):

Here is his "I am trying to give you a good smile pose..." Translation (He's clinching his teeth!)

And his typical quick grin (all in varying degrees of course!)...

Disgruntled in some form or fashion...



Goofball...
Sneaky...




If looks could kill...
His bored looks....
Contemplative.. & unsure....What's your problem??
What??

I'm listening...
Milk face!
And there really are so many more I could come up with like his face when he eats... he really gets into it & there are many eating faces! Or his concentration face when he sticks his tongue out! I think you get the idea though!

I think as a follow up to this post, I should keep my camera handy when it's time to turn off the Wii. There will be some INTERESTING faces to post during that fit, for sure!!

A Decade...

Wow. If you can believe it, today is mine & Randy's TEN year wedding anniversary! I can't believe it has been a whole, entire DECADE!

It has been one heck of a ride, but I will add that it's been the most amazing & rewarding journey! I am not sure what I thought life would look like when this anniversary came along, but I think I must have thought I would feel older than I do! Ten years sounds like a long time, but when you think about the fact that you are spending a lifetime with someone- it's just a drop in the bucket. I hope the Lord blesses us with many more drops & that the next few decades will be filled with just as much joy, laughter, & downright craziness!

Happy Anniversary, Babe! Thanks for being my sidekick through these years & keeping me sane!

Here are a few little inside jokes/funnie/memories we share(d) in our day to day life: (I hope they bring a smile to your (Randy's) face today! No pressure to read further if you aren't Randy, but you may not "get it!"

-"Turrrr-keeey!" which we state randomly & often & it comes from a game show where the man's answer was LITERALLY turkey for everything & in the end... he WON!

-Jokes about your Dad & grabbing the ENTIRE loaf of Lord's Supper Bread when he wasn't sure about how to break it at that congregation. And then your Mom just shaking her head in disgust. Meanwhile we were about to bust a gut in the church pew laughing! I love hearing you retell this story simply because you get that ginormous laugh going that I can't help but to laugh with!

-How YOOOUUU Doin? ....

-Which leads me to ALL the Friends quotes we live by! I am not sure a day goes by without a Friends quote somehow dropped into conversation! :)

AC/DC singing (or rather- screaming!) whether you are playing it on the guitar or belting it to the radio...

Seven Bridges Road is another one that comes to mind when I think of us singing together. You are awesome at harmony & I stink at it!

All the other duets we sing in the car while the kids think we are crazy! We love a good duet! :)

Your MAD dance skills- NOT! Oh, those stiff hips make me laugh! (You look like Chandler-- see Friends got worked right in!)

"I am one lucky guy... I get to see TWO of you..."quoted while anesthesia was wearing off... Oh the anesthesia stories!

Your ankle athletic socks with dress shoes... and many other wardrobe faux pas over the years...

Me walking into you having bought yourself a nice pretty & expensive Taylor guitar 3 days before MY birthday. It wasn't a pretty scene, was it?

That scene in your Mom's living room where Jeremy pulled that horrible prank on Lisa about needing her kidney! And her falling for it!

You, allowing me to talk you into crazy things like several cats & one lemon of a Jeep that you really don't want! And maybe a dog or two... (or three!)

Split shift parenting for 3 months during your mom's recovery... Me working 7a-3p with no lunch, then coming home & you leaving & working 4p-12p. Whew! It makes me tired just typing it! But it was worth it!

Dropping everything & driving to Boone on a Friday in October. WHAT where we thinking!? The fog on the mountain that got us lost & the hours of searching for a hotel with vacancy: read 1:30AM!

The trip to Va where we (I) didn't check to see if Busch Garden's was open. (It wasn't...oops!) But we made up for it by coming back a second time, right!? :)

Getting pulled over & then lost on our way to a separate trip to Va when your tags were expired (again, because apparently I hadn't done something I was supposed to...)

Hiding Gracie for several weeks on Richardson Ln because we weren't allowed pets! Then turning her in to Second Change & having them "hold" her until we could move into our house- which meant paying $90 for a dog we already owned. See? I talk you into crazy stuff!

Dry heaving (together!) over the vomited up round worms on the floor & in the crate... and then driving Zack to the vet in 9 inches of freshly fallen snow to take care of it! (And the consequent absence of spaghetti noodles from our diet for awhile!)

The first time I cut your hair! LOL! Oh, ye of little faith- you just had to start working on it yourself, didn't you... and then Jeremy ended up having to SHAVE your head!

Leprechauns... the entire labor with Jackson was just crazy & my hallucinations made YOU a little crazy too! :)

The Christmas I had strep throat at my Dad's... and you were awesome (granted I was drugged up) but you took Eli & I only saw him every 3 hours to nurse & then you sat out in the car waiting at Medac (to keep Eli out of the germs) on Christmas Eve & then traded out & waited for my name to be called while I nursed him in the car... THAT is devotion!

Dutifully taking on ALL the kids' vomit over the last 7 years simply because you know I can't handle it. And there's been a lot of vomit. I can't thank you enough for taking one for the team on that one! :)

I could go on & on, but I think you get the picture! No one else may have enjoyed reading all that but it was good for my soul. I have enjoyed all our memories together & I thank God for you & this life he has given us!

Love,