We Interrupt This Series of Posts..

to wish each and everyone of you a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. It is my prayer that if there is anyone who has not yet received the gift of Christ that you will not wait too late to let Him come in. "Let Every Heart, Prepare Him Room".

Happy Holidays,

Oh Happy Day!

Happy Mother's Day to me! It's pretty, isn't it? I've been wanting a Vera Bradley purse for awhile now, but wouldn't come off the money, so I was pretty excited today when I opened this.

I had a great day today. My kids mean the world to me and I feel so blessed just to have been given the privilege to be their mother. I look back and wish I could do so many things differently over the past years of their lives. I know I haven't always made all the right decisions in regards to parenting and I know that Big Dan would for sure tell you I was the strictest parent on the face of the earth, but I've tried. Oh how I've tried to be a good mother.

I spent some time with my own mother this evening. I went to church with her and we had some good quality time together tonight. I am so thankful I still have her and that she is my bestest friend in the world. Pete's mamaw that passed away last week had lost a daughter many years ago. Little Ann heard the story for the first time just the other day of how she fell off her bike, hit her head and died just a few days later. She was only 9 years old. Although Pete's dad and uncles buried their mother just 2 days before Mother's Day this year...what a wonderful reunion in Heaven for a mother and her daughter!

I've got lots of things to blog about this week. It's been a whirlwind, but lots of exciting things to post and pictures to share in between all the house cleaning and preparations for Graduation Friday night. Oh dear. Graduation is Friday night! Unbelievable.

Have a wonderful week and I hope you had a great Mother's Day!

Eleven

Although it is actually 11:00 and the day has almost ended, it was a very special day....and no, not just because it was "St. Patrick's Day", although it was.

My baby girl turned eleven today.

She was up this morning before anyone else in the house. By the time my alarm went off she had already had a bath and painted her nails green for the occasion. I made cinnamon rolls especially for her birthday breakfast.

While she was at school, I scurried around knowing this would probably be my only chance to get chores done around the house. I'll be baseballing pretty much the rest of the week, but savoring every last moment of it. My parents picked Little Ann and my nephews up from school and they went to celebrate over supreme pizza and a root beer float, while afterwards heading to wally world to pick out a gift. I, of course, went to watch Big Dan, but if I had to guess, she had a great day. We will be celebrating more this weekend gearing up for "Playtime Pizza" and some "Cold Stone Creamery". I'm sure you'll be hearing more about that birthday celebration in detail..(with pictures!)

They grow so very fast. It's hard to believe that my sweet little chubby cheeked baby....


has blossomed into such a beautiful young lady.

Happy Birthday! I love you, my sweet Little Ann.

Happy Anniversary!

Anybody tired of my nostalgia? I hope not. I think I remember telling you in a previous post that I have a hard time remembering anything and that blogging sometimes enables me to go back to the "good ol days" and dig up those memories that seem to go foggier and foggier as the years pass.

Today is my parent's anniversary so I chose to scan in one of my favorite photographs from their "dating" days. It has been 41 years (if I remember correctly) and yes, my mom is still taller than my dad even without the beehive.

They've been out on the town today and my daddy took my mom out for prime rib tonight.

Aren't they cute? I think I'll keep em.

Today I am thanking God

First for just some small, insignificant things, like the energy He enabled me to find this week to be consistent in my "biggest loser" workout all 5 days. (yeah, I took the weekend off....so.)

For giving me the power to sit still long enough to (almost) finish an entire book...which we all know is an unattainable act for me, but I've prayed for His guidance in helping me get my finances back on track and am super excited about the direction He is leading me.

For allowing me to get control of my hormones, my life back to reality and finally a clearer complexion.

And yes, though maybe a bit shallow, I'm being honest with you in sharing these smaller things in life I am thankful for.

And I'm thankful for some bigger things too. Like the fact that today is my mother's birthday. And I am so blessed to have had her in my life for this many years and I'm looking forward to many more.

My mom and I - Fall 1973

She has been my rock throughout my life and as I've said before I know no matter where life's road takes me, she will always be my constant.

October 1990 - Baby Shower for Big Dan

But today, I am most thankful for these precious two people.

We got word that for the 2nd time in 2 weeks, Big Dan has lost one of his classmates. The first girl passed away in a one vehicle car accident just a few miles up the road. If that wasn't disturbing enough, we found out last night that another girl in his class had just passed away in a four wheeler accident. I must say, I was so shocked and can't even tell you how sad I feel for her grandparents, parents and siblings. Our school is very small, with only about 50 in Big Dan's graduating class, so anytime anything like this happens, it is so hard on the kids and the entire community. Please remember this family when you pray.

It's no secret the love I hold for my children. Just knowing that I could lose them any day makes me want to hold on to them that much tighter.

And can I just say this......if you truly love your children, the most precious gift you can give them is the opportunity to know the Lord as their personal Savior.

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Hebrews 9:27

A New Year's Day..Daybook

Outside my window.....I see sunshine shining down on a barren yard. It's not a cold as it has been. 59 degrees feels much better than 30.

I am thinking.....that this break has passed by way too fast and I'm not ready for it to be over. And I wonder if I will be strong enough to hold fast to some resolutions that I am making in attempt to better my life. I wont share what they are to save myself the pain of having to come back and admit my failure. (But, I'm sure some of them are the same as yours!!)

From the learning room.....nothing. Are you kidding? We've still got the weekend.

I am thankful for.....the fact that I have a warm, cozy house, a recliner and a laptop. (oh my, is that shallow or what?) I am thankful for other things too though.

From the kitchen.....Pete is on the back porch grilling pork steaks and they sure smell good. I have corn on the cob and pasta boiling.

I am wearing.....my pajama's. I know, I know. It's only 2:30 in the afternoon. I promise I'm headed to the tub, then to put on clothes, and then to work. (Oh, you know you wish you were in your pj's too)

I am reading.....no reading here.

I am hoping.....to get all this Christmas stuff put away and this house clean today. No better way to start the new year than with a clean house.

I am creating.....a monster, by allowing this little rock star to continually play guitar hero from sun up to sun down.

I am hearing.....Survivor - Eye of the Tiger on guitar hero and Van Halen playing in the kitchen. I guess Pete needs a little New Year's pick me up while grilling.

Around the house.....uh...you really don't wanna know. Ask me tomorrow.

One of my favorite things.....chocolate milk. And the reason I am dwelling on that right now is the fact that I am planning to give it up soon in an attempt to downsize my behind. (One of many attempts)

A few plans for the rest of the week.....regain order, paying some bills (oooo, that's scary), taking Little Ann to spend one last night with her memaw and papaw. Papaw wants to take her squirrel hunting. I'm not quite sure of other plans. Sometimes, I just go with the flow and do whatever the mood strikes me.

A picture thought for the day...

Anybody else make any new year's resolutions to lose weight the fun way? Been thinking about getting this. Does it live up to it's name?

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you can keep all those resolutions you've made in the last 24 hours. As for me, I will probably forget mine by tomorrow.

Oh, and pardon the blog makeover. That's another one of those things I'm trying to do as I put away the old and begin with the new. It is "temporary" status right now.

Because I don't ever remember anything...

I love how everyone on my blog roll is reminiscing over the past events of their 2008. I've enjoyed reading the ones I've read so far and plan on catching up with the rest of them soon. I especially loved how this blogger even linked back into her favorite and most memorable blog entries. If I had any kind of imagination, I would've thought of that first.

Although this past year has been filled with it's ups and it's downs for sure, I can't pinpoint the most memorable things as some of you have done. You can read some of my profound thoughts here. I'm sure I've said before, I have a terrible memory and that is one of the greatest reasons I am so glad I started blogging. I have always been a journaler..(is that a word, really?) I have enjoyed keeping the day's events and my thoughts on paper, and love going back and reading what I wrote. I am so thankful I have done this even if there was I time I didn't do it faithfully. If it weren't for my past journals and now my blog, I absolutely wouldn't remember anything.

I just want to take this time to wish everyone a wonderful and very happy New Year. May we continue to grow in our bloggy friendships and say and do lots more things I probably won't remember, but will love at the time!!

Traditions and a little Chaos

I can't believe Christmas is already over. I spend so much time preparing...shopping, wrapping, decorating, cooking and all of a sudden, the celebrations have ended and I'm left with a barren tree, a house full of empty boxes, trash and dirty dishes. I know it is all worth it though when I see the big smiles on my children's faces.

Little Ann held tight to her list, making sure we followed the order of operations. Luckily she remembered our yearly traditions and had listed things in order anyway, so as we went with the flow of our Christmas Eve evening, it all naturally fell into place.

Christmas Eve has traditionally become the time we spend with my side of the family. My family isn't very big as I only have one sibling and once my grandparents passed away, everyone began to branch off establishing their own traditions with their immediate families. This year my parents weren't able to make it so it was just Pete, the kids and I, and my brother's family. Which believe me....with 3 boys and Big Dan to ag it all on..was all the chaos we needed.

The food was all delish as usual and once the tables were cleared and food put away, we began our highly competitive traditional game of Bingo. After Bingo, we managed to fulfill another of our family traditions being our family photo, but not without lots of grumbling.

You can't tell it though. We managed to get a smile out of everyone..surprisingly.

The present opening came after the picture and is usually what takes up the majority of the night. We are slow and it took Pete awhile to get used to our way of doing things. His family is so different than mine where presents are concerned. They waste no time with their opening, but we try to make it last by giving each person their own turn and full attention. These are a few of the happy faces from the night's gift giving.

For all you "non-country" folk out there, this is a three dimensional deer target. This is what the poor man asked for ya'll, so don't be giving me those eyebrows. Jeff Foxworthy may've said it best..."You might be a redneck if.....". lol.

I must say..one of the highlights of the night was listening to my brother's 3 year old repeat his newly learned phrase....."What in the heck?" as loudly as possible every single time someone opened a new gift. Look at his mouth and get a mental picture. Hi.lari.ous.

After all the gifts were opened and we all did trash patrol, the kids, once again followed Little Ann's schedule and took the telescope out to find Santa

all the while running in and out to track him on the Santa tracker as well. Hmmmm..is he close?

And where there are boys, you will most likely always find some level of chaos...especially with little (and big) boys who have just inhaled an extreme amount of sugar, opened lots of new toys, and are anxiously awaiting Santa. Needless to say, there was lots of this going on...

And thanks to Aunt Scrapper Mom who buys the most awesome gifts ever, a nerf gun, and a boy who subconsciously doesn't want to grow up (especially on Christmas), there was quite a lot of this too...

But Christmas Eve and all of our Christmas Eve traditions finally came to an end, Santa arrived at the home of Scrapper Mom and here are my sweet babies on Christmas morning. This was such a bittersweet morning for Big Dan. Does Santa still come see you after you graduate High School?

Awww... I must say, these moments are few and far between.

I won't bore you with the list of everything everyone got from Santa, but I will tell you, I think the Wii was the favorite. I haven't played the ping pong yet, but I'm ready to take any of them. I rock at ping pong!

The rest of Christmas day, we spent with Pete's family. The girls.....

Some of the guys...(I bet you'd never guess they were watching football, would you?)

And I know I have probably more than used my share of picture allotment for the day's post, but I just have to show you Pete's sister's tree. It was small, but adorable.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday!!!

Christmas Reflections

This will probably be my last post until after Christmas. I've been contemplating this post for a while now, thinking of just exactly what I wanted to say and what pictures I wanted to include. I'm not sure if it will come together just like I have it pictured or not, but I'm gonna try. Have I ever mentioned that I absolutely love blogging? There is just something so liberating about it. Whether I have readers or even commenters, I blog as much for myself, I think, as I do for you. It makes me dig deep inside my soul to bring out who I am. It forces me to remember things I have tucked away, and things that I have so much trouble remembering as I approach the age of 40. It brings me to old albums to search for just the right picture for the post I am preparing....and I could go on and on. And I have met so many wonderful people in the process. Thank you for continuing to be a faithful follower. I can only hope I will develop more friendships in the future as I continue my blogging endeavor.

Today, for myself, I want to reflect back on some of my most memorable Christmases. Starting with what I am assuming to be 1973 or 74 or something like that. Bear with me on these old photos. I've had to scan them while inside the album and there is some discoloring. (Did I mention being close to 40??)

I don't remember much about this Christmas, but I do love looking at how pretty my mother dressed me. And I got so tickled at how far her Christmas tree decorating has come over the past years.

This next photo must have come sometime after 1975. I'm assuming I was around 6 and my brother 2. Little Ann thinks Santa looks corny. I agree he does need somewhat of a makeover.

I love looking at our nappy heads every Christmas morning. And did anybody else have one of those Fisher Price hospitals? Remember the dinging elevator? You can't see here, but I was missing a few front teeth in some of the other photos from this morning. I must've been singing "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth".

Let's fast forward a few years. Eventually, I did grow up. I graduated high school and moved into my own apartment in my college town. This is where I had my first taste of independence in so many ways. I remember how all I really wanted to be was a mother. I was always so afraid the rapture would occur before I had that opportunity. Little did I know what being a mother would behold for me, but I knew it would be special. I loved to play house...even in college and dreamed of what kind of wife I would make when that time came. I remember being so excited to go buy my own tree....(even though it was the cheapest one Walmart had at the time) and the limbs highly resembled the toilet brush I had in my bathroom. I was so proud of my table setting. Pretty good for 18 years old, huh?

Fast forward another couple of years when motherhood became a reality (a little earlier than expected), but I love this picture.

And I love this boy and wouldn't have had it any other way.

And this precious boy is now 18 years old himself, but I don't think he's too much into setting tables for the holidays.

My husband came into the picture when Big Dan was almost 3. He moved himself right out of his bachelor pad with a stereo and a big electric skillet into a home Big Dan and I already occupied. We didn't have much money then...(haha and still don't), but we lived on love. This is our first Christmas together along with Big Dan, my brother and his girlfriend (which is now his wife).

We'll move forward another 5 years to December 1998 which was Little Ann's first Christmas. Where Big Dan was an October baby and only 2 months old for his first, she was 9 months old and very, very busy. We had sold our little house in preparation for a bigger one where Little Ann could have her own room. We were renting a itty bitty one bedroom house while we built with a living room so tiny, I only had room for 1/2 a tree. Yes, 1/2 a tree. The front half in front of the window. It worked pretty well until Little Ann decided to pull it over. She has always been a little mischevious. Pete had to tie it to the wall with fishing line to keep her under control. That was a small house, and we were cooped up in it together for over 12 months, but we had some great times there.

In October of 1999, we were able to move into our new home where we've spent many more Christmases together and made lots of memories.

I love looking back at what the kids received and the smiles on their faces...nappy heads and all.

And although time has continued to pass me by, the memories will continue to linger and new ones will be made. Here is to a wonderful holiday season. May the Lord richly bless you in the new year. Please remember that He truly is the reason for this wonderful season.

Merry Christmas to you all.

A Christmas-y Weekend Wrap

First of all, let me start this post with a warning for ya. I love pictures, so I'm letting everyone know up front that this post will be long and full of photographs! Maybe you won't get too bored looking at my Little Ann during our Christmas-y weekend.

The Girl Scouts got to go to the County Courthouse to view their ornament on the big tree, sing Christmas carols with the County Judge and eat refreshments.

We had to go up to the 2nd floor to be able to see our ornament which meant Little Ann wasn't getting anywhere near it. She has a height phobia, but agreed to let me get her picture by the wall.

Christmas presents came a little early for my brother's kids and Little Ann. Meemaw and Papaw wanted them to come open their gifts and spend Friday night with them. They always get so much on Christmas Eve and get lost in all the chaos. This way they could enjoy what they got that night. Unfortunately Big Dan had to work, but if I know my practical parents, I'm sure his gift will be waiting in the bank for his future "hard times".

Here is Little Ann with her new point and shoot....a girl after her mother's heart. The newest photographer in the family.

And run for your life! It's the Hulk 3 year old style!

Remember this night? The kids were all so excited to get their parent's and grandparent's gifts with their behavior bucks. They were so much more eager for my mom and dad to open than they were to even get their own presents.

And I totally don't want to gross anybody out, but on this same night, my dad surprised my mom with $500 big ones so she could go buy her a laptop. The sweetest thing is that they are in retirement, so he had gone out and cut several loads of logs to sell to the mill so he could do that for her. I can only hope I am this happy after 40 years of being married to the one I love.

Here is my little "lady in red" hamming it up for the camera. She is all decked out in meemaw's new scarf and mittens, wearing her bow while holding her new red camera. So stunning..dahling.

We had a busy morning today. Of course, being the Sunday before Christmas meant our choir's performance, lots of wonderful holiday food, and back into the sanctuary for the children's play. It was called "Operation Baby King" and the kids did great. It was a sting operation to make sure everyone understood the Baby Jesus came for ALL PEOPLE!!

Here is Miss Sass herself....The names blond.....Jane Blond.

And last but not least...here's my baby girl and myself. She'd already gotten rid of the tie. And...Oh dear hairdresser..I know you had surgery, but can you just look at this hair??? I need you.........before Christmas!!

Have a great Monday!