the girls & the grandsons

This weekend my mom, my sister Amy & I, plus our boys, Josh & TJ, all went to a family party. We hadn't seen most of these family members since my grandfather died many years ago. My Uncle Dale was turning 80 & his 6 children were having a surprise birthday party for him. It had been so long since we had seen everyone that we thought it would be nice to go. I am so glad we did. The site of their faces made my heart happy. Just driving into Breezewood (the town where they used to live) brought tears to my eyes. My mom had only one sibling, a sister, named Jackie who passed away many years ago from cancer. I ADORED Jackie. She was a WONDERFUL aunt who was such a part of our lives. So many memories.........

My mom with Uncle Dale & his 6 children.













Josh & I with Uncle Dale, TJ & Amy








Uncle Dale & his only daughter, Erin

TJ

I love this little guy sooooooo much. My sister calls him "Peanut" for a nickname, but now I told her she needs to call him "Walnut". He was only 6 lbs. 6 ounces when he was born. Now he weighs more like 15 lbs. He is just the cutest thing. I LOVE being an aunt.





















This is his Elvis face: "Thank you. Thank you very much."

Basketball season is over!!!!!

Well, basketball season is over & I have my husband back. I'm virtually a single mother during basketball season. My hubbie gets home from work in the afternoon, takes a quick recharge cat nap & then he's out the door to coach his Junior Varsity basketball team. He loves sports & LOVES coaching. I LOVE going to the games & watching him coach. One of my favorite parts of the game are the time-outs when he's talking to his players. He gives such good pep talks. He's firm but motivating. My favorite thing that he says to his players is, "Play till the end. Don't stop. Play till the end!" He says this whether they are winning or losing. He doesn't believe in giving up, backing down or taking a break. He paces the floor like a dad with a child on the way. I truly enjoy watching him as much as I enjoy watching the game. The kids love going to the games as well. The kids & I have been nicknamed, "The Cheerleaders" because we cheer so much & so loud. Pardon those of you who are L-town fans, but they are a lame group. Sometimes I wish he coached for another school that truly had some school spirit. Regardless we support Lonnie & his team. I'm proud of how hard he works & happy he found something that he enjoys.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This says "Happy Valentine's Day" like nothing else. This red outfit was one of Kirsten's birthday gifts. She felt so special going to school in her cool Valentine outfit!

























Here are the loves of my life.




I'm the weird mom who didn't give candy for Valentine's Day but gave books instead. I LOVE books & want to make sure my children do as well.



My dear husband gave me candy & these beautiful flowers. Daises (especially Gerber daises) are my favorite. Thanks honey! You are such a sweetheart.

Happy Birthday Kirsten!

She has looked forward to this day for so long, & it FINALLY arrived. February 12 was Kirsten's 6th birthday & her first birthday with us. First thing in the morning I told Kirsten that God had the first gift of the day for her. He made it snow so she could have the day off school. She smiled from ear to ear. I think she thought it was just as special to have a gift from God for her birthday as it was to have the day off. We had to sing Happy Birthday first thing & give her a cupcake with breakfast. They went outside to play of course, and finally when Dad got home from work the birthday fun began. It was a special night. I personally was a little nervous about the cake that I made for Kirsten. She wanted a Barbie cake & I just couldn't justify spending $50 on a cake. I tried making my own. I kept calling my friend Maren for advice. She saw my hilarious example of a Pirate Ship cake last year for Josh's birthday. She didn't want any other children to have to relive my "theme cakes". Just kidding Maren. Anyway, it turned out better that I thought. That night as Kirsten & I were writing in her diary, she said her favorite part of the birthday was the cake. So, amen to that. I guess another child has lived through my experiments. Kirsten was just so tickled with all her gifts. After everything was open & we all just sat eating cake & ice cream, she came running over & said, "Mommy, I love all my presents. Thank you." Gratefulness is the best attribute a person can have. It's gratifying to know she is learning things here that will make her a better person know matter where life leads her. Even if it turns out that she goes back home, she will taking home more than she brought.

Piano recital

Josh had his piano recital after the holidays were over, & as always we loved it! I am so proud of him for practicing & playing the way he does. Some days he sits down without letting out a peep & plays & plays. Then there are other days........
One of my favorite joys right now though is when Josh plays "I Am A Child Of God" & Kirsten sings along with his piano playing. It brings tears to my eyes every time. Sometimes Aaron will grab his guitar & the three of them will be performing their own little concert. It's precious. Great job Josh on your recital!




Every recital needs a party afterwards. Thanks Miss Pat!














Josh & the other piano students















Miss Pat comes to our home for the piano lessons.

















The goal.....learn a piece & earn a sticker......lots of stickers.

Start the year out at the beach!

The new year started out with so much fun. At the beginning of January, Lonnie & I went to the beach with my Mary Kay girlfriends & some of their husbands for a retreat. It had a western theme & we made the most of it. We received awesome training from a National Sales Director who is not only successful but such a wonderful person as well. Sometimes successful people tend to be snobby or they "forget where they started" but she isn't one of them. Every month her check from Mary Kay is at the minimum $15,000. Yes, that's in a MONTH. How many people make that much a month & LOVE what they do? Most importantly to me though, are Mary Kay's beliefs: God first, family second & career third. She always said to keep these priorities in order & to follow the Golden Rule. Unfortunately, there are few jobs and or "arenas" where Americans are not found to be "offensive" when they speak about their religion. It gives me great pleasure to be able to say the Mary Kay philosophy of keeping God first at all my appointments & meetings. You never know when God is going to put someone in your path.

Anyway, the retreat was wonderful, the time alone with my dear husband was a much needed one, & the girlfriend time was wonderful. I want to give a special thanks to Lucy for inspiring one of my consultants with that Turbie Twist thingy. I loved mine so much that I gave one to all my consultants who came to our Christmas get-together. One of my consultants thought they would be fun to wear at the retreat as part of our costume. Every unit there wears something fun to identify their group. We went to town with our twists! We ended up wearing the twists, matching t-shirts & matching big, fluffy white robes that said "Cowboy's Dreamgirl". We were a hit!



















The directors are part of the festivities on Saturday night & go on stage to "perform". I say this word very loosely. Here are a few of us trying not to make fools of ourselves. As you can see, I wore my Turbie Twist all night! So thanks Lucy for being part of our fun even though you didn't know it!

Kirsten's first birthday party!

Kirsten went to her first birthday party during February. I was so tickled that Becca invited her. She felt so special & was so proud to show everyone her little invitation. It's almost impossible to know what is an actual "first" for her. But I don't think she had ever been to one before. Becca's dad said that at times she seemed to be in wide-eyed amazement at all of it. Abbie (Becca's mom) is such an amazing mom. She had crafts for the kids to make,cookies for them to decorate and just all kinds of fun for everyone. Thanks Becca for being such a good example. Kirsten hasn't lived with us that long & it was nice of you to invite her!
The party girl with her present!
















Kirsten & Becca

Get ready girlfriends!

I promise I am still alive. Just busy like the rest of you. I will update soon. Have all kinds of fun things to blog.

Dreams do come true

Just can't help it. I love this clip so much. I could watch it a hundred times a day. Maybe it's because my grandmother was an opera singer, maybe because I love the unexpected, maybe it's because I love to watch dreams come true. This gentleman did ultimately win "Britian's got Talent"(their version of American Idol). He is phenomenal. It proves that God puts a dream in everyone's heart & what we all must do is learn to solve things & master our circumstances. Find a way make a way is what I say. Now turn off my music & click on the link below. When you're done watching the clip turn my music back on to enjoy more of Paul Potts.

Trust me this is breathtaking