The REAL First Last Day

So yesterday was Hattie's last day of school ... for real this time!

And, for your viewing pleasure ...
The bus ride:




Saying goodbye to Mrs. Maryann and Mrs. Julie:



And in her cute little hat and eating cake! (these were taken with my cell phone after the battery died on the real camera ... please excuse the poor quality!)



And, just so that Sophie can get her time in too ...

Look who is sleeping in a bed, on her back, without a bouncy seat! Looks like she is finally growing into her sinuses.

Now if we can just get her to sleep ALL NIGHT LONG, she can move into her very own room.
New prayer request!!!!!!!

Fitness on Friday

OK, this week I only lost a pound. I had been at 1.5 ... but then I carbed it up yesterday and went backwards. Ooooppsss!

See, the thing is, I have not written in my food diary at all this week. And that is, for me, a very bad idea. Which leads to my tip for the week.

A food diary.

Of course, this means you have to be honest. You have to write down EVERY SINGLE THING that goes in your mouth. The good, the bad AND the very ugly. It helps keep ya on track. It makes you think about what you are eating - and drinking. If I have to write it down, I have to face that I actually ate what I ate.

Let me tell ya, that has stopped many a teddy graham from passing these lips. Not to mention a few hotdogs, Shrek shaped mac and cheese, gooey and cheesy eggs and bacon (and a LOT of them), chocolate milk, large quantities of soda/pop, french fries and enchiladas with beans ... ALL OF WHICH I HAVE EATEN THIS WEEK! Because I have written nothing down!

Leason learned.

A Day At The Beach

Yesterday was a lovely day here in the land of unpredictable weather! So, we took advantage of said lovely day and headed off to the beach! Oh boy, we had us some summer fun!

First, we hit the park where Sophie enjoyed her first experience on the slide and both girls got in some swing time!





Then, Hattie found her own private "beach" in a puddle under the swing.

It was all well and good ... til she decided to go in head first!

Next, we took some time for a picnic lunch! (Take note of Hattie's wet/muddy head!)




And then, we were off to the beach! Sophie loved the sand and, eventually, the water. (I ran out of space on my card, so I have to wait to get the pics of her in the water from Cheri) Hattie LOVED it all - the sand, the water, the mud ... all of it!! She was in her element!






I wish I had not run out of space, because the scene when Hattie had to leave ... well, let's just say I would have had enough ammo for ALL of her teen years!

But it was a good day. Thank you Lord!

Up On The Roof

So, Monday was spent trying to get someone to our house to fix the roof. Seems there was quite a bit of storm damage in our area - some people did not get their power back on til Tuesday!!! So, needless to say the roof dudes were just a tad busy. So, we finally got a call around 7PM and they were gonna come over. 'Cause more rain was coming that night. And seeing as how we were looking at bare plywood up there, and they did NOT want to cover water damage in our home as well, they were gonna at least patch it, by golly!!!

They got here around 8:30 and by that time the rain had begun AND it was getting dark. But they climbed up there anyway! So, now I have men with flashlights, metal hammers and various tools and metal stuff to hold down the tar paper walking around on the TOP OF MY HOUSE in a thunderstorm ... complete with lightning!!

I asked my man to out there and talk to those boys about Jesus. 'Cause I did not want someone dying on my roof, especially if they were not gonna go to Heaven!!!

I mentioned power outages around town. These included some of the school district buildings. So school was canceled. NOW, Hattie didn't have school on Monday and yesterday was supposed to be her last day. So I got her up and dressed and had her waiting at the door for the bus. And waiting. And waiting. Then, being the quality parent that we all know I am (not), I checked the TV. Schools closed. Apparently they were closed Monday too, and I was unaware. So, now we get to do it all again tomorrow. 'Cause that is her NEW last day of school.

Here is a preview of Hattie's First Last Day Of School!!!

Waiting patiently


Patience wearing thin


Maybe there is NO SCHOOL!!!!


Seriously, where is that bus?


And, my personal favorite ...



Man, I love that girl!!

Well, we are off to get ready for our day at the beach with our buddies Owen, Mrs. Cheri, and maybe (hopefully) Mrs. Kathy, Evy and Jerzey!!!!

Picture Perfect Monday - Welcome

The sign on the door may SAY welcome ...

... but that does NOT mean that sick little girls are "welcome" to go out side and play (which apparently does not make her too happy)!!!

A Blustery Day

We had a little excitement around here today. First of all, we had church. And it was GOOD! Worship rocked, the sermon was great (GO ANDY!!!) and the girls were in very good spirits. So, we decided to go for lunch and then I was gonna take Hattie for a haircut. So we get to the restaurant and I look at Hattie and she does NOT look good. Now, 15 minutes earlier she was running around the church, playing and being social, but now... I could see it was about to get ugly. We skipped the haircut and came straight home. She walked in the house, passing two bathrooms, the laundry room AND the kitchen, walked over all of the hardwood floor and onto our expensive rug and ... puked. AAAGGGGHHHH!!! I ran her to the bathroom with her "letting loose" the entire way. By the time we got there she spit into the toilet and was done. That's my girl!

I took her temp, and it was 102!!! YIKES! I got her cleaned up and she retired to the couch in her Barbie pj's and snuggled up with her Little Mermaid blankie. (And yes, my little tomboy is discovering the girlie side of life!)

So, there we are quietly watching NASCAR when all of a sudden the Emergency Alert thing goes off on the TV and the warning sirens start going off outside. Now, since living here we have had warnings before - so much that it is really nothing to even get excited about. But this was different. We look out the window and it is going nuts out there! We grab the girls and a bottle for Sophie and we are off to the basement. Now, our basement is unfinished, so it is a mess, but we had a swing and some toys and a TV, so we were good.

Here is a look at how we spent our time:

At first Sophie was a little dismayed at the swiftness of our descent into the basement.

But then we brought out the bucket o' fun ...

... and she was good to go!

My wonderful hubby let his little girl open up a tornado warning beauty shop!!

Then she spent some time trying to asses the possible damage occurring outside.

So, after a few minutes, everything blew over and, it turns out, we did NOT have an actual tornado. We did, however, have some serious wind. Which did do it's share of damage ...




... fortunately, we only lost a few branches off of our trees, a few shingles off of our roof and the flag off of our pole (and, oh yeah, and our pole too!). As far as we know, no one was hurt. Hubby's sis lost some shingles too. There was more damage to a few houses in town and downed power lines etc..., but over all everything is OK.

Thank You. Father God, for Your protection and Your shield. We are truly humbled by Your power and the care that you give us.

Then Sings My Soul - I Don't Wanna Go

It is Saturday, and that means it is time for my favorite meme!!! Then Sings My Soul Saturday, sponsored by Amy over at Signs, Miracles and Wonders.

This one is special to me, on many different levels. Today is the anniversary of the day I married the most amazing man on the planet. I have been so Blessed to be his wife - he is truly a gift from Heaven. He is my very best friend, my greatest supporter, the love of my life and the best husband I could have ever asked for. I am truly honored to be his wife and to spend my life with him is simply wonderful.


This is the song we chose to have our buddy Alice sing while we lit our unity candle. We did the candle thing a bit differently. We lit a 3 wick candle, signifying that not only were we united with each other, but also with the Lord. HE is the center of our home, our marriage, our family and our love for each other. We chose this song because not only were we committing to go forward together, but to also go forward, as a couple, with God. Because, without HIM in us, we are a lie. To ourselves and to each other. We only know how to love because He first loved us. And we have chosen to keep our love sacred and pure - only for each other - through HIS love for us.



I don't wanna go somewhere, if I know that You're not there, 'cause I know that me without you is a lie...

Me with out my man - a lie...

Me without my Jesus - a bigger lie ...

US without our Jesus - the biggest lie of all.


I love you Honey, more every moment. You are everything I could have asked for and more. I can't wait to see what each and every tomorrow holds. As long as I have you by my side and we are following the Lord, we can do anything. Thank you for the best 5 years of my life. Thank you for my children, my home and the life you have given me.

Lord, thank You for my man, for his heart that is pure and for the love you show me through him. Thank you for making us whole and bringing us together. Let us glorify YOU through all that you give us.

It is Friday - Fitness Friday - which means it is time to check in on my progress this week...

Well, I have lost two more pounds. Which considering on my date last Friday we went to a Mexican Restaurant - which in my world, spells doom for the diet! I ate, not one, not two, but THREE enchiladas! Can you say "big goofball"? I knew ya could! BUT, I jumped right back on the wagon on Saturday. Then Sunday came and we ate lunch at Olive Garden. Pasta, in diet lingo, is the same exact word as mexican food. Same results too.
So, as of Monday I was down to a 5 pound loss (after the seven on Friday I was clearly disappointed in my self!!). I was back up to seven by Wed. and now I am at 8.9 - which counts as 9 in my book. Please do not pop my bubble. I am very happy in my dream world!

So, something that I learned this week.... Well, I got nothing. However, I will share something that I learned from Biggest Loser. And if you have kids - and therefor kid SNACKS - you may find helpful. So, the losers were going on a plane trip. And, can I just say that airports are NOT the place to be when hunger sets in! Forget the fact that there is a Cinnabon waiting in every terminal. Forget the fact that IF you can get past the Cinnabon, you will pass a news stand selling every type of CHOCOLATE known to man. Let's just focus on the fact that ANYTHING you find to eat - healthy or not - is gonna cost you FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS! 'Nuff said.
Anyway, the losers wanted to keep on track, so they packed snack baggies. Each baggie contained 100 calories only. SO, if they did eat, they would know WHAT and HOW MUCH they were eating. BRILLIANT I tell you. 'Cause, let me just say, when ya got a pantry full of animal crackers, teddy grahams and fruit snacks, you can get carried away FAST. Just another little way to be prepared.

Also, if you are feeding your child a PBJ and chips and she leaves a little on her plate, take said plate DIRECTLY to the trash can and DUMP IT OUT. 'Cause leaving it in the sink with chip crumples and PBJ crust remnants can get pretty tempting very quickly.

I learned that just now.

And, were I not typing this as it happened, I may have found myself licking the plate.

But I didn't.

I dumped it.

And I am proud!

Visit Natalie at Bye Bye Fat Mom for links to more tips. Let's lose it together!!!

Thank You Lord ...

... for a man that can fix dern near anything on the planet!!!

My man, may I just say here and now for all of the world to hear, ROCKS!!! I love him far a million and five reasons, but today, today I love him for this: Proof positive that the Lord has give my man a gift of handy-man-ness!

The parts arrived yesterday afternoon - have I mentioned my fondness for FedEx lately - as a sweet surprise. And by 8:30 my man had that thing up and running. So, I took all of the laundry out of the room, sorted and arranged in order of importance all items (there were piles all the way down the hall and around the corner!) and started her up. Here is a glimpse of the laundry room this morning:


And this is three loads into the fun!! However, I must say that the room has not looked this organized in a loooooonnnnnngggggg time. I did not have to make a trip to the laundr-o-mat land of fun, and I am getting her done with great swiftness. Why? Because the great shaking has stopped. Not only did my man get her running, he got her running RIGHT! Funny thing, it wasn't supposed to shake like that! IMAGINE THAT!!!

In other news, Sweet Sophie Lee is 9 months old today!! I can hardly believe that this amazing child has been on this earth for NINE WHOLE MONTHS!! And, honestly, I look at our home and our family and our lives and TRULY can remember none of it before she came. I know I was happy and fulfilled and totally in love with my man and my sweet Hattie Grace - and NONE of that has changed (except maybe to grow), but she has made this life just that much more amazing. I cannot believe all that the Lord has Blessed me with.

We've got bills up the wazoo, laundry piled sky high, my house is never clean, and about 90% of the time I don't know which end is up. But I know this 110% of the time - I am loved by a God who has fulfilled my every dream and who loves me beyond all comprehension. And I know that He has blessed me abundantly, so I know that I will PRAISE His sweet and Holy name with all that I am for all eternity.

Thank You Father God, for my life. May I use what You have given me for YOUR glory.