Time for a Haircut July 10, 2009

BOO!  I can’t believe it either, here I am!!!!  Some of you are so sweet to tell me how you check in on me here and miss me, thank you!  Well….I have a lot of catching up to do, but I put a good honest effort in today and got lots of photo work done on my computer.  I do not see a light at the end of the tunnel, but perhaps my train has started moving again!?!?

Here are the last pics I had in Flickr that were not posted (sorry FB’ers you’ve seen these), you know Mrs. O has to go in order – cleaning out before I add more!  Jack is in need of haircut #3 now!  But these are of the very first one when he was 15 months old.  (My McKinley was 3 1/2 before she got her first real haircut!)

So this was BEFORE, yikes!

Sitting in his Daddy’s lap and slurping up his very first sucker, this boy hadn’t a care in the world about somebody around his little chubby face with sharp scissors!

Somehow we lucked up with the cutest funniest little hairdresser.  We have no idea where he was from but he had a very thick accent and called my JACK “Jhoque!”  He said, “Oh, Jhoque, we make you bootiful.  You such a bootiful boy.  We cut off yor mullet and make you bootiful!  Ahhhh, yes!”

Miss Thang sweetly watched from the next chair over…

I was a little unsure about this whole spike look at first…

But then…I mean, honestly…

Seems fitting May 9, 2009

that tomorrow is Mother’s Day, to share this.  I’ve been dying to share some pics & posts with you but they’re so lengthy in my head or in my “to blog” folder that I constantly procrastinate. But this one’s easy.  And it’s my new fave!  Seriously!?

I am beyond blessed, beyond grateful, beyond impressed with these two, and that God saw fit to share them with me?!?!  Happy Mother’s Day to me! And to you, my mommy friends!

Conversation with Jack March 26, 2009

Honey this is for you.  I know it’s been a long day.  Hope you enjoy!  Love you!  And I hope the rest of you enjoy too.  Outta be against the law having these two!

Town Hall for Hope March 25, 2009

I’m telling everyone I know!  Check it out HERE! My Christopher is heavily involved with this and considers it his baby (outta the house anyway).  So check it out and make some plans!  Oh and sign up to follow the blog too!

The Flower March 23, 2009

So I have this one pink rose that is still beautifully alive leftover from the bouquet a couple weeks ago.  It’s been in a single vase by my kitchen sink and this morning McKinley asked me for it.  I asked her if she wanted to put it in her room and she said, “Yes I want to put this by my bed so it will remind me of you and Daddy and Jack. And Alonna and Morgan.  This pretty flower reminds me of my family. And my babysitters.”

Seriously!

Just Because March 11, 2009

I have to brag on my big babe here.  Any of you who know my Christopher (”our Christopher” when I’m praying for him) know he has a huge heart.  And while neither of us think that giving gifts is his love language, it’s totally his thing!  He goes beyond reasonable at times I tell ya!  And he surely spoils his wife.  But it’s all an expression of how incredibly crazy he is about us.  Chris is an amazing daddy to our little ones.  Oh they are crazy about him too!  So here’s what brought me to tears a few days ago….

Boy walks in from work carrying these precious flowers.  Of course I instantly blush and smile assuming…well that they were for me.  But he immediately made it clear who they were for…his daughter.  Oh I wish you could have seen how special and thrilled she felt.  Before they could even get to the card I had to grab the camera as this would be a moment I’d want to capture forever.  “Just Because” is what he told her I suppose was the reason, it’s the reason he does many things for us.  Just because she’s his girl.  Just because he’s crazy about her.  Just Because.

So they open the envelope and he reads to her his special note, words cannot express how grateful I was in that moment that those flowers were for her.  Absolutely incredible is this man!  I mean he even thought to have them put a little plush kitty cat in the arrangement.  Like we need another animal in this house, but oh how proud she is of her new gray kitty!  So he heads to the garage to “get his bag” and I head to the kitchen to get supper finished.  And Jack checks out Cissy’s flowers…

Now I did for a second in my head think, “that’s weird, why didn’t he just bring his bag in on his shoulder like he always does?”  But I just got back to work thinking nothing of it.  Then saw this fella come through the house behind a humongous arrangement of flowers.   Just Because.  Honestly.

And Mr. Thoughtful even thought to have them put in some of my favorite flower, hydrangeas. Now it’s not about the gifts he gives, we could do without every one of them.  He loves us hard and he loves us true.  And we love him that way too!  Christopher you are THE BEST!  I am beyond the moon proud of you!   -me

An Idol Dream March 11, 2009

I love American Idol.  I watch it from the first episode of the season – the funny auditions, the grueling Hollywood week, then the narrowing-in.  So tonight is the first of the real “narrowing in” part, it’s down to the Top 13.  I’ve been very intrigued at how many parents are now on this show (as in the contestants have children), have you noticed? I am particularly drawn to these mothers.  I think there are three?  And my heart instantly aches for them not being able to see their babies for such a long period right now.  So tonight I’m hearing them talk about this “DREAM” they have and how BIG it is.  I mean props to ‘em, what a great opportunity they have in this moment of time.  But the question has sorta drug over my heart, do I have a dream like this?  Is there anything in this world I want to do that could carry me so far from them?  From here?  From now?  No.  No.  No.  No.  It’s really simple.  Nothing really draws out a passion and longing in me like I see these women have.  And tonight I actually thanked God that I didn’t have that beckoning on my heart & life.  EXCEPT the one I have for them.  Those two little blonde-haired-blue-eyed chitlins in there in bed.  There is absolutely NOTHING in this world that is bigger to me than them!  Don’t hear me put them on a pedestal, I know the priorities and I work and pray diligently they be right, I adore my husband, he is certainly above them.  And I’m eternally grateful & connected to my Savior, Jesus.  But THEY are the dream!  I am living the very calling He cultivated inside my heart.  And words cannot express how grateful I am.

Recipe Updates February 24, 2009

Shut-up! I KNOW! Me again! Praise the Lord for preschool! So I’m crossing off my everlasting to-do list here and updating my recipe page. I’d like to clean it up a bit with recipes I haven’t touched in a while, but I figured they made it there for some reason so why take ‘em away? You’ll notice when I add new recipes I always add them at the end of the category and mark as “New” for those of you who may check in from time to time. Hope you enjoy these. I hope they help you “rock” in the kitchen! I told my friend Lara, whose pretty intimidated in the kitchen, that a good cook is only as good as her recipe collection! So if I’m any good in the kitchen, I gotta give props to the recipes I only follow! Let me know if & when you try any of these, would love to hear your thoughts!

Hmmm…it’s me finally & I’m not sure what to say February 22, 2009

Am I in a funk? Maybe. A blog funk? Uh, Duh. Am I a busy little bee to two little baby bees? For sure, but I love every minute of it. I think about you often, things I’d like to share with you – funny things, serious things, everyday things, things on my heart, oh and recipes too!  And there’s really no particular reason why I don’t other than…hmmm, I’m not sure.

You know that pictures are a problem for me, I take too many and want to share them all with you.  I’m overwhelmed with what I’d like to do with them.  I admit I’ve made time every day for stupid Facebook though, it’s like my own little personal People magazine I get to open up & read.  Silly I know.  But interesting.  And God is at work with Facebook, trust me.  Maybe I’ll tell you that story one day.

I’m humbled that you’re here – you being this ambiguous little audience I have in my head.  I know most of you who check on us from time to time here.  I won’t do a cheesy “roll call.”  I wonder how many of you are even left though, considering it’s been a good two months really.  I mean I hardly recognize my dashboard on here now! (that’s blog talk). And some of you don’t even know that I know you’re here, but I do.  I have this precious little friend Susie, I hope she’s not offended I call her that (the “little” not “friend”), I bet she’s about five-feet-tall’ish.  But her spunk & her spirit are way taller.  And she’s quite a lady.  Every time I see her she puts this beautiful feather in my hat with her compliments of The Thomas Report.  Really.  Every time.  I swear she thinks I hung the moon.  And it thrills me.  Flatters me.  So I really wanna get back in the game for you folks, at least for my one true fan anyway! (Thanks for the box of cookies btw, Sus!)

So back to the funk.  the blog.  the pictures.  I have all these folders on my desktop I so wanted to share with you last year – my girls trips, our beach vacation, Halloween & the pumpkin patch, etc.  And I have cool new circus-with-Grammy, Harper-spent-the-night, adorable everyday-romps pics, & who knows what’s even in the camera right now!  And you KNOW I like to do things in order, it’s a sickness.  This is like my little scrapbook I get to at least feel like I’m up to date in.  But I can’t keep up with myself.  I still have pics to file away for me and to send to others.  It’s just this massive hairy complex to-do list when I get in my iPhoto, let alone the printing or scrapbooking or blogging.  Whugh!  Overwhelms me writing it!  I suppose that’s okay because my time is well spent investing in some other things that really really matter (not talkin’ Facebook here).  The two little bees I mean.  My mentor mom said once that there would be plenty of time for “all of that” later.  So I’m gonna try not to get all befuddled here & just jump back in somewhere.  Old stuff, new stuff, I know you don’t care!  Let me go find you something….here ya go!  My two precious little baby bees….  And hope you hear from me soon!

Here’s another chance! January 21, 2009

My talented little sister-in-law, whom you’re all always complimenting her work, has the coolest raffle for their adoption fund.  It’s a two night stay in a Gatlinburg cabin the weekend after Valentine’s Day.  How great would that be?  Twenty five bucks is all it could potentially cost for a weekend away with your hubby or even family!  Or another couple, there’s two King suites!  So get a girlfriend and divy up how many tickets you want to buy (if you buy two you get a third free).  How easy is that?  And if you don’t win, the money has been given to a great cause!

GO HERE to her site to see all the details and get your tickets!

Noon Jan. 31st is the drawing so go now!  Now!  Go!