I Heart Faces!

This fun little Blog has a weekly contest - you enter a pic of a face. It can be a child's face or an adult's face (there are two seperate catagories), whichever you chose. And since I love taking pictures of faces, especially those of my children, I thought it would be fun to enter.

Here is my entry for this week... This is a random pic of Sophie Bug. Her contagious smile is evident - how could you NOT smile back?

Good golly, I love this girl!!!

Project 365 - Week 2

Well, it is that time again - Sara over at Make Music From Your Heart To The Lord is hosting Project 365. A fun little diddy in which ya take a picture a day for an entire year and then post them up each week for the world to see ... or ya know, for my mom and the 2 of you who read this, to see!

So, here is the week in B Manor...

Jan. 4 - I had a date with my Teri ... she just got this hat. And she is ROCKIN' it! Kinda gangsta don't ya think?!

Jan. 5 - Miss Belle spent the day with us. As we were taking her back to her daddy, I looked in the back seat and witnessed this sweet moment between these two little buddies! Awwww!

Jan. 6 - I forgot to take a pic on Tues., but when I realized the oversight I took this pic. Because the reason I don't have a pic is because THIS is what I was doing all day - driving, texting and phone calling ... and not the fun kind either!

But, ya know, it is all OK, because I had my girlies with me for the fun!!!! (And, I DID NOT text while driving ... I promise!)

Jan. 7 - This is my brother Jimmy's birthday. If I had had the pleasure of seeing him on this fine day, I am sure I would have a lovely pic of him making some weird, goody or flat out rude face at the camera ...

Instead, you get me ... cause I am FINALLY figuring out how to get my hair to do it's THANG!!!

Jan. 8 - Forgot to take a pic again - did I mention that Tues. and Thurs. are my crazy days?! I did, however, remember before the day was completely over ... FIVE MINUTES before it was over!!! (Please excuse the blurriness ... I didn't want to flash and wake up the man!!)

Jan. 9 - Sophie (or "Baby" as she calls herself!!!) woke up sick. So, seeing as how she did not want to be more than 2.5 feet away form my side ALL DAY LONG, this was my view ... ALL DAY LONG!!! We even took a nap in this position in the afternoon.

Umm, did I say "We" ... oh yeah, it was HEAVEN!!! Except for the sick baby part ...

Jan. 10 - I actually mad a fully self prepared home cooked meal ... Shepherds Pie.

And my Hubby, he LOVED it!

And I Love making that man happy!

So, we will just ignore the fact that Hattie sat and looked at it staring up at her from her little plate refusing to even try it.

Because that, my friends, is my life ... and I LOVE IT!!!


So, how was YOUR week?!

A New Name

I am a nickname junkie - Just about everyone I know has one. My parents are "Homer and Marge" (oh yeah, they love it!!!), Hubbs is "Farmboy", "Honey Bear" or "Do", Hattie is "Boo", "Belly", "Puddin' Pop" or "Girlie", depending on the mood! And Sophie has a few too - "Bug", "Soapy" or, at times, "Bubba Gump" - gotta love Forest Gump!!!

But today, it seems, Miss Sophie gave herself a nick name.

Now, to set the scene, Sophie's vocabulary is growing daily. Her first word, however, was Dada. She LOVES her daddy. And, once she said that one, Hubbs and I both began a quest to get her to say Mama. She did ... and then she stopped. And proceeded to start calling ME Dada too. And then giggle. She thinks she is oh so funny!

So we regularly go through every one in the house and their names. Point at Hubbs - "Dada", point at Hattie - "Hada" (that is what Soph calls her), Point at Sophie - "Sophie", Point at me - "Mama"! She goes through it all and ends with me and says "DADA!" and laughs her little head off.

Today was a little different though. We never even made it to Mama, because every time we got to Sophie she would shake her little head and point at herself and say "Baby".

Every. Single. Time!!!

Which got me thinking about this:

Every. Single. Time.

And then I read about our little friend Belle's day HERE. And seeing that little pic of her in the corner makes me wanna watch the movie just so I can see the last scene and hear Patrick Swayze say ...

"Nobody puts Baby in the corner!"

Yeah, I am a sad, strange girl.

Project 365 - A Little ShakeUp

For the last several months I have done a little thing called "Picture Perfect Monday". It was a weekly glance - through pictures - into our lives. And I have loved it ... almost as much as my mommy has. (HI MOMMY!!!)

However, I am now gonna shake it up a bit. Ya see Sara, over at Make Music From Your Heart To The Lord, has started a project. And, y'all, it is such a cool idea, I could not resist getting involved. She has even started a whole new blog - A Year In My Life - to celebrate!!!

So, without further adieu ...

Welcome To Project 365!!!

Here is the plan: You take one picture for each day of the year (now, you can take more than one, but you have to choose just one as your official shot of the day!), and then each Sunday, you post your week in pics. I am soooooooo excited for this I cannot even tell ya!

And, here is our first week!!!

January 1: Now, truth be told, I did not learn of this little diddy until Jan. 2ND, so ... well, I cheated a little. This is actually from the last week of Dec. However, since Hattie has had this costume on every single day since, I guess it'll work!

Now, to some of you, this may seem like a little girl celebrating Halloween a little late. BUT, to me this is a miracle. I have tried for 3 years to get this child into a costume. THIS costume in particular. But, she has been afraid of it. And when I say "afraid", I mean running in fear, screaming at the top of her lungs and hiding and crying for a very long time.

So, yeah, the fact that she wore it - miracle. The fact that she wears it every day - annoying, but a miracle none the less!

January 2: Hattie got this little number from her big brother Kissy for Christmas. And she loves it! It has letter and number challenges - as well as a few others that we have not tried yet. On Friday (the 2ND), we discovered these games. Homegirl sat there for 45 minutes playing these games ... with no help from anyone.


For those of you who may be new here - Hattie has some "issues" and sitting for any length of time on a structured activity is sooooo not her thing. But she loved it, and has continuously gone back to the game several times a day!


This would be ANOTHER miracle for our girl! Have I mentioned that I LOVE THIS KID!!!



January 3: This was the final day of taking down the Christmas decor. This pic shows my trusty new vaccuum (which I WON - nothing better than FREE!!!), as well as a stack of toys needing to find a home and, way up on that shelf behind the vac, the centerpiece that Sweet Jane won at the ladies banquet and promptly gifted to me. It is very Christmasy, but I'm thinking of leaving that one out!

Here is a closer shot of it ... what do ya think?
(try to ignore the "junk" behind it ... this was taken during the set up process!!!)

And there ya have it - the first week of 2009 here in B manor. And, amazingly, there are no pics of Miss Sophie in here. That is because she is cutting some teeth - molars - and is not her happy-go-lucky self.

And, trust me, you do not want to see her like that!

She is making a comeback though, so come back next week for more!

Happy New Year ... 'cause I am Timely Like That!

Yeah, I know ... I am late. Because I am nothing if not a world class procrastinator.

But, as I always say (and hope people believe me), better late than never! So, I am saying it now ...

Happy New Year!!!

Truth be told, 2008 had it's ups and downs for us here in B manor. The ups were plastered here in all their splendor for you all (or, as Frannie would say - y'all) to celebrate with us. And many of the downs were here as well - 'cause #1 - misery loves company and #2 - I sometimes just need some cheering up! Y'all were pretty good at that last year. Thanks!

However, there was one down that I have not shared in it's ugly entirety with all of my bloggy friends. And, honestly, I have been on a yo-yo string in regards to knowing whether or not I should share it. I have been really wrestling with how honest to be, 'cause I do not want this blog to become a bummer. I want this little corner of my world to be a Glorification of the One who sets me Free.

That being said, I have come to a little decision. I am gonna lay it all on the line. Not today however, because I have to put some thought into the way I lay it all out for ya. But, in our prayers regarding this situation, our biggest request is that God is glorified. Not just in the "wow, look what He did for us" end result, but in the "look at what He is doing/seeing us through/helping us to survive/etc... every day along the way" getting there process. I know that He will not let us fall and I want the world to see Him carry us. I want you to see Him set us free!!!

When Paula was diagnosed with the cancer that eventually took her life, she said that if she had to go through it, then she wanted God to "use the tar out of it". I thought that was the bravest thing I had ever heard of. And she became one of my truest heroes in that battle. Now, I KNOW that this is nothing like cancer - Thank You Lord!!! - but I still want God to use us in this situation. Use us to His glory.

So, in the next day or two I will be posting a not so pretty post about what is happening here - no one is sick (Thank You SIR!!!), we have simply fallen victim - as so many others have - to a BAD economic picture. Details to come.

So, seeing as how I have given up on New Year's resolutions (it is January 2nd, so they would be broken by now anyway!!!), I have joined with some of my Siestas and my PBFF Beth Moore in dedicating myself to a little Scripture memorization. If you want to play along you can join us HERE. And, true to form, I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew. Rather than picking a verse or two, I picked a Psalm - an ENTIRE PSALM. Now, it IS only six verses, but still...

I chose these verses because I want to spend my life Praising Him - even if the situation seems bleak. I want to praise Him with my life. Every moment of every day of my life. So ...

Praise the Lord. Praise God in His Sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty Heavens.

Praise Him for His acts of power; Praise Him for His surpassing greatness.

Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, Praise Him with the harp and the lyre.

Praise Him with the tambourine and dancing, Praise Him with the strings and flute.

Praise Him with the clash of cymbals, Praise Him with (loud)resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord. PRAISE THE LORD!

Psalm 150

And, with that, I will bid you adieu for the day! Please take at least one moment in this day to Praise Him ... the rocks are doing it, won't you join them?!

God Bless!!!!

Picture Perfect WEDNESDAY - better late than never!

I had many grand plans for this post. Plans that included posting it on, ya know, MONDAY!!! However, the flu bug has bitten the B Manor, thus throwing all plans out the window.

I also envisioned a year end post in which we looked back through pictures and I poetically encaptured the year's memories and brought a tear to all of your eyes.

But, now, it seems, the only tears are in MY eyes, cause I tend to get teary when I puke. Now, for the record, I have not puked yet, per sey. I have, however, been puked ON three times in the last two days. And, in my feeble little mind, that soooooo counts!

And, now, for your viewing pleasure ...

We got the girls all dressed up for church on Christmas Eve and prepared to take pictures, and in a strange turn of events, it was Miss Sophie who proved uncooperative ...

Hattie gave a charming smile - it was so sweet!!!

Sophie, on the other hand, kept trying to grab the camera!

(see what I mean?)

Yeah, no body was cooperating for this one!!!

And then there was one ... and hello, it was Hattie!

Afterwards we had a little birthday party for Baby Jesus!

(And, yes, that is a tealight for the candle - because, being the good Christian woman that I am, I forgot the birthday candle for the Sweet Baby Jesus!!!)

But the cake was yummy, as proven by the following ...

Sophie is quite serious about her cake eating business!!!

Hattie just likes to have a little fun with her cake.

And, as they ate, we read the kids version of the Christmas story!! Hattie seemed to really understand things this year. All day long on Christmas, she kept saying it was Baby Jesus' birthday!!

And I cannot tell you how that Blessed this mommy's heart!!!

Christmas morning we woke to all of the gifts beneath the tree...

Hattie got this lovely baby doll set. And it remains untouched to this day... She prefers the cheap magic wand that she found in her stocking.

Sophie got some Little People sets that Hattie commandeered. But that is OK, because SHE prefers the old cell phone that she received. She is always trying to take everyone else's and this way she has her own. She LOVES it!!!

Hubby got t-shirts and socks. Thank you Santa!!! He also got a swell mug. And it, too, has remained untouched!

*sigh*

I got some straws ( I HEART straws!!!) and a ped egg, both of which have been used profusely!!! Wanna come feel my feet? Smooth, baby, SMOOTH!!!

Here is Sophie playing shy with the camera .... Ummm, who are you and what have you done with my baby?!?!?!

And, here is Hattie a little out of focus (have I mentioned that I am currently hating my camera!!!) due to the dancing she was doing with her magic wand! So sweet!!!

Well, that is all we have picture wise. And now, I must go and rest... all of this thinking has worn me out.

If I have a burst of energy before the end of the day I will try to get that year recap in ...

I wouldn't hold my breath on that one!

Have a BLESSED new year! Be safe and God Bless!!!

Explanation Required!!!

***Scroll Down for Sophie's First Haircut Pics!!!***

OK, I have had several people ask me why the hairy heck I went out for a haircut yesterday if I am just gonna grow it out. So, I feel an explanation is in order ...

See, I gave Hubbs the gift for Christmas, and he LOVED it! He was very excited (at least that is what he claimed ...). But, in cleaning out bathroom the day before he had found a Martina McBride CD that was in there from a much earlier attempt to grow it out a little. And he liked that look better than the one we had chosen as the "short version/in-between/getting-there" style. Here is what he chose ...

So, as a result, I set out yesterday to begin the process. I took said CD to the salon and had the shaping process begun.

Also, and here is a fact that I work VERY hard to keep from the general public, I have absolutely NO body in my hair whatsoever! None! Zippo! NADA!

Therefor, I must have some texturizing done to the top of my hair or I will most certainly look like a drowned rat by the time it dries. For instance, in the pics yesterday, I actually have some styling product in it, but the hair blessed dude that cut my hair yesterday seriously underestimated my need for lift. So, even though semi-styled, I still look like a rat on the way to drowning, if not quite there yet.

I will be having a re-introduction session with my hairdryer and curling iron later today!!!

Oh, the joy that this gift will give me ... it had better, at LEAST, make my man happy!

And now, back to my Holiday Bloggy Break!

See ya next week!!!

A Big Day for Sophie!

We interrupt this Bloggy Break for a very important announcement .... (insert drum roll) ...

Our Sophie Bug got her very first haircut today!!

And, her beautician was none other than her mommy!!! I am very proud to say that she was an excellent client! I am so proud of her.

I, however, had a very emotional time with it. She is my baby after all, and this is just one more step into being a big girl! I had to follow the haircut with a big 'ol piece of chocolate cake to drown my emotions!!!

Hattie and I both got hair cuts too. I cut Hattie's bangs - I would have pics of that too, but since I was cutting while Daddy held her head still and her hands down (she is not a fan of the haircut since a girl at a shop stabbed her in the forehead about a year ago ... don't even get me started!!!), there was no one to hold the camera!

I went out to get mine done, and had not styled it yet, which explains the LOVELY do I am sporting!!! I only wish it could explain away all of the chins ... Guess that's what I get for drowning my emotions in chocolate ...

Here is one last shot of our girl on her big day!!!

What It's All About

OK, first, I want to thank you for helping me with the hair dilemma of 2008. I think I have made my choice, with your help of course!!! The general consensus was between the two longer styles (numbers 1 & 3), but we must remember that my hair is very short right now, so I think I will frame a couple of pics. We will start off with number 2, knowing I can mess it up like number 4, and then grow it out from there. Now, if I can just stick with it long enough to get it grown to at least number 3!!! Then maybe we can shoot for number 4!

Now, I have a lot to tell y'all (Hi Fran!!), but, truthfully I have so much to do in the next couple of days - including focusing on the REAL meaning of Christmas! So, the blog will have to wait. I will be back after Christmas - there is a meme I have been tagged for, stories to tell and - of course - pictures to show. And there will be even more of each after the big day!

But, before I go, I want to make sure that you know what Christmas is all about ... And Linus, I think, says it best!



To think that the King of Kings left is throne for a manger, chose soil over streets of gold and humanity over divinity, for US! That is, for me ... and for you. I pray that you know that today. That you rest in that today. He came for you! He was so unwilling to live without you that He did the only thing to make it possible for you to live with Him. He lived here, he walked among our sin and depravity so that we could know His grace and forgiveness. And, He died here, only to rise again in three days, so we can beat death as well.

Please, do not let that gift go unopened.

It was a strange way to save the world indeed ...



...but, where would we be if it had been different?

May you know the One, TRUE Peace and Joy this Christmas and all year through.

Have a very Merry Christmas! I love ya all!

Picture Perfect Monday - Lookin' A Little Like Christmas

We have gotten a LOT of snow around here lately, and Hattie is lovin' it (sophie has a cold, so she has not been out in it yet, but she wants to...). We also got a chance to meet the Big Guy, Santa himself!!! Here is a look at the last couple of weekends here in B Manor...


Sophie is not quite sure what to think.

Hattie, on the other hand, is diggin' it!

She's also diggin' a little snow angel action (and so is Mommy)!!!

But, the snow kept coming and it got a little deep!

Thus, allowing for some sleddin' action!

Yeah, winter is a hit around here (except for the whole shoveling, scraping and digging out stuff!)

By the way, today is my Daddy's Birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!

Thank you for loving me so well. You are the very best Daddy a girl could have. You didn't have to love us, but you chose to anyway. You are living proof that anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a Daddy.

I love you SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! I hope that your day is as wonderful as you have made my life!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX