Madeline’s first sunglasses

Riding the carousel with pa

Audrey

Look…Paul Blart!

Heather and Alisa

“Where do you think you’re going?” They were the same size!!

OOPS

Senility must be setting  in – I forgot the most important people of all!

Jeremy – for being an awesome husband and for putting up with me during my pregnancies.

Susannah – for teaching me patience!  I love my little wild child.

Madeline – for being my little marshmallow.  There is no sweeter baby.

Yep, it’s another sentimental post….

I don’t know what brings these posts on.  Maybe it’s all the extra hormones from just having had a baby (okay, almost 5 months has gone by, so I probably can no longer use that excuse), maybe it’s just because I’m a girl – although I did spend a large portion of my life trying to convince myself that I didn’t have all those girly emotions.  I must have saved them all up over the years because I seem to have an over-abundance of them right now!  You know, the whole breaking-down-and-crying-because-your-family-sent-you-a-nice-birthday-box kind of thing. (By the way, guys, THANKS! I’ll be calling you all very soon.)

Anyway, all that to say that I’ve been thinking about all my people recently and wanted to take a few minutes to let you all know how much I love and appreciate you.  Here’s my thankful list:

Dad and Mom – I’m so thankful for all the whippin’s, teaching, time, effort, prayer, and love you gave me.  I never realized what an incredibly hard job you had until I had my own little monster.

Dad and Mom Lewis – I’m thankful for both of you.  Having you nearby has helped so much to ease the pain of my own parents being so far away.

Phil – for being the best big-little brother ever!  You were my very best friend growing up, even when I didn’t tell you.  I’m also grateful that you didn’t strangle me during those school years when I talked more than I worked (or for burning a hole in your ceiling with my lamp!).  You will always be one of my heroes.

Jenn – for not hating me forever for trying to break you and Phil up!  I love ya…

Ang – for all those childhood memories/laughs.  You were such a little savage! (Makes for good family stories!)  I miss you more than I ever knew was possible.

Josh – I’m thankful that I was right when I said you’d never get away from us!

Jonny, Davy, Jesse, Reuben, Alisa, McKinley, Audrey, and little Billy – I’m thankful to have the world’s most awesome neices/nephews!  Even the one(s) I haven’t met yet!

Josh, Michelle, and Regina – I’m thankful for friends!  Yall are the best!

Heather and Caleb – I’m thankful you are close enough to visit once in a while….even a tiny taste of home is enough when homesickness becomes overwhelming.

Plack Road Baptist – for all you were during the years that I needed a church to make a difference.

Pleasant Valley Baptist – for still being around to make a difference in my children’s lives.

Heidi and Ty – just for keeping in touch once in a while!  Yall are hard to catch!

Jacob – for making all the difference during the transition time when I moved here.  And for making me laugh when I really felt like crying.

Faraway Friends – There are a lot of you.  You know who you are and I’m thankful for each one of you.  I’m not very good at keeping in touch, but I think of you often.

Funny

My MIL forwarded this to me….I’m not a big fan of forwards but this one was pretty funny so I thought I would share. This especially hit home in light of my recent aging process (i.e., birthday)!

This is a story by David McClure from the Dallas News Community Opinion
page.

$5.37. That’s what the kid behind the counter at Taco Bueno said to me. I
dug into my pocket and pulled out some lint and two dimes and something that
used to be a Jolly Rancher. Having already handed the kid a five, I started
to head back out to the truck to grab some change when the kid with the Emo
hairdo said the harshest thing anyone has ever said to me. He said, “It’s
OK. I’ll just give you the senior citizen discount.”

I turned to see who he was talking to and then heard the sound of change
hitting the counter in front of me. “Only $4.68″ he said cheerfully. I stood
there stupefied. I am 48, not even 50 yet – a mere child! Senior citizen?

I took my burrito and walked out to the truck wondering what was wrong with
Emo. Was he blind? As I sat in the truck, my blood began to boil. Old? Me?

I’ll show him, I thought. I opened the door and headed back inside. I strode
to the counter, and there he was waiting with a smile.

Before I could say a word, he held up something and jingled it in front of
me, like I could be that easily distracted! What am I now? A toddler?

“Dude! Can’t get too far without your car keys, eh?” I stared with utter
disdain at the keys. I began to rationalize in my mind. “Leaving keys behind
hardly makes a man elderly! It could happen to anyone!”

I turned and headed back to the truck. I slipped the key into the ignition,
but it wouldn’t turn. What now? I checked my keys and tried another. Still
nothing. That’s when I noticed the purple beads hanging from my rearview
mirror. I had no purple beads hanging from my rearview mirror.

Then, a few other objects came into focus. The car seat in the back seat.
Happy Meal toys spread all over the floorboard. A partially eaten doughnut
on the dashboard.

Faster than you can say ginkgo biloba, I flew out of the alien vehicle.
Moments later I was speeding out of the parking lot, relieved to finally be
leaving this nightmarish stop in my life. That is when I felt it, deep in
the bowels of my stomach: hunger! My stomach growled and churned, and I
reached to grab my burrito, only it was nowhere to be found.

I swung the truck around, gathered my courage, and strode back into the
restaurant one final time. There Emo stood, draped in youth and black nail
polish. All I could think was, “What is the world coming to?” All I could
say was, “Did I leave my food and drink in here?” At this point I was ready
to ask a Boy Scout to help me back to my vehicle, and then go straight home
and apply for Social Security benefits.

Emo had no clue. I walked back out to the truck, and suddenly a young lad
came up and tugged on my jeans to get my attention. He was holding up a
drink and a bag. His mother explained, “I think yo u left this in my truck
by mistake.” I took the food and drink from the little boy and sheepishly
apologized.

She offered these kind words: “It’s OK. My grandfather does stuff like this
all the time.”

All of this is to explain how I got a ticket doing 85 in a 40. Yes, I was
racing some punk kid in a Toyota Prius. And no, I told the officer, I’m not
too old to be driving this fast.

As I walked in the front door, my wife met me halfway down the hall. I
handed her a bag of cold food and a $300 speeding ticket. I promptly sat in
my rocking chair and covered up my legs with a blanky.

The good news was I had successfully found my way home.

From Sea to Shining Sea

I love America. I don’t love what we are becoming, but I still love our country.
I thought it would be fun to try to see photos of all the different places my readers live. (Although I probably don’t have that many left!) Maybe we will be able to see from sea to shining sea.
Just post a picture on your blog or photo page and include the link below.
Here is Texas!

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Bountiful Harvest

Our grapevines are over-producing this year….grape jelly, here we come. Hopefully. :O)

Fruits of her labor

Our little harvester

Splish-splash

The first thing I hear every morning:
“Go outside…play in waaaater??”

:)

The Hairbow

I’m in love with these giant hairbows. My life goal right now is to learn how to make them. It can’t possibly be that hard.

Happy Birthday, LFO

So…Susannah turns 2 on Sunday. The past year has been full of bumps, surprises, giggles, hair-pulling (mine), and wonder. It’s a truly awesome thing to watch little ones develop. And it’s a truly scary thing to see them develop into YOU. (Meaning ME)
Most days I’m ready to crash into bed the second she finally closes her pretty brown eyes for the night, but then I’m always ready to see them open again in the morning. Amazing thing, parental love.

So…a year in review?  She’s learned to walk, run, talk, scream, yell, dance, swim (okay, splash), cook (she gets the eggs ready to boil), help, defy (yikes), love out loud (especially bear), sing, march, wrestle, tickle, destroy (intentionally), color, go potty on the toilet,  count (to about 7), and assume the role of big sister.

Her favorite things:

• Anything “pretty” – Lotion is her favorite, but she also like makeup, nail polish, purses, hearts, flowers, JEWELRY, etc.
• Dancing is pretty much her life
• Singing is right up there with dancing
• Eating fruit and cheetos is right up there with breathing
• Seeing her Pa and grandma
• Playing with her daddy
• Madeline

We celebrated her birthday a week early because I had a pizza party planned already and decided to combine the two events. Cause who wants to clean two weeks in a row? Just kidding!

What could it be??!!

Ang, she ADORES her bracelets and purse. She sneaks them in to bed with her…

Audrey was too funny…she absolutely could NOT contain her excitement while Susannah opened her gifts.

And the cake-face picture. Still haven’t come close to beating Davy’s.

I signed up for a Dominos House Party and they sent us a $75 giftcard…we had lots of pizza! Yum!