Growing up is hard to do!!!!!

My babies are growing up so fast, and it is so hard for me!!!! I absolutely love being a part of it though. Haley had her very first sleep over ever. This is the first time that she has ever stayed the night with or even been over to a friends house..... without momma!!!

Lucky for mom she was right next door, so mom could sneak over and get lots of pictures..... She had so much fun!!!

They made something special for mommy and I love it!!! They brought it over to me just as soon as she finished it. Isn't it beautiful????

Isn't she beautiful???? (She's the cutie in purple by the way)

I love Christmas!

This is my favorite time of the year! Putting up the Christmas decorations is one of the best parts. I wanted to do something different this year, I just didn't know what. I went to hobby lobby and just started grabbing stuff. Once I started putting up I wasn't sure what I was wanting, so I just starting putting things wherever and this is the end result.

I love it!!!

I will post pics of the tree soon......

My Baby Girl.....

I cannot believe that my baby girl is already 10. It is amazing and heartbreaking all at the same time. I am loosing my sweet little baby, but I am gaining a beautiful young lady, who by the way is one of my closest friends.

We did things a little different this year. Instead of the big party or the big class party like we did last year, we let her pick one friend and we all went to the movies and to get our nails done and so on......

They had a blast!!!

We went to see that movie called Where the Wild Things Are....... uuuh I think that was the name of it. It was absolutely terrible, he he he. I recruited momma..... two ten year old girls..... not by myself - no way! LOL We were so bored and disgusted at the movie.... well we accidentally had a popcorn fight in the theatre!

After that it was off to get their nails done.... Oh and mom's pedicure too! They had so much fun.

Look at that hottie next to my mother, he flirted with her all evening. Go mom!

Well one chapter closes and another opens!!!

I love you baby girl!

New Project!

I am very excited because I finally got to start my new project. Out master bathroom is set up absolutely beautiful with double vanity and a garden tub with separate shower. The only thing is that it had this hideous vinyl up with big pink and purple flowers everywhere. I absolutely hated it.

Soooo, we stripped it all down and textured the walls as you can see here. I am really excited about the next few steps. We are going to add a light color and then..... Crown molding and baseboards.

I will keep you posted on the progress. It is taking a little longer than I had hoped with 3 kids and school and all. But I am just about finished, He He He!!!

Football!!!

Football... Football... Football...

Joseph had his first game last week. This is him.... #80.. too cute.

It seems as though football is going to make an already hectic schedule, that much more crazy...

They only got to play for about 5 to 10 minutes before the game was completely rained out, they did manage to get a touch down though... Yeah!!!

They have a game in Roscoe this week, we are hoping that the weather will be pretty enough for him to play his first game.

He is really enjoying it, it is a lot of hard work... but he seems to love it.

Mom, on the other hand, doesn't know a thing about football...

I guess it is time to learn!!!

Isn't this cute???? They even have seventh grade cheerleaders. It was almost unreal watching my son on the football team, breaking through the paper and running onto the field behind the cheerleaders.
These are the days that we dream of as children, but never really expected.

The First Day of School

The first day of school this year was especially hard for me. My last little baby started off to school yesterday, meanwhile my first born went into seventh grade and made the football team. It all seems so unbelievable!!!

Joseph has been so excited about playing football for almost two years now. I can't seem to wrap my head around my baby being old enough to play football.

My Katie, isn't she beautiful. She is in fourth grade this year and is very excited to be able to switch classes every period. She feels very grown up now.


This one is just absolutely breaking my heart. It has been such a joy to be home with her these last three years. I can't believe that she has already started school.
When I dropped them off I was so distraught to have lost my daytime pals. The reality of just how fast they really grow sets in more and more each year. The first day of Pre-K is always the hardest. We think that we are losing our babies, when really we are just loaning our friends for a few hours.
All summer I thought about how I couldn't wait for school to start, and now two days into it, I can't wait for them to be home again.
AHHHHH, the joys of parenthood,
we grow as they grow!

Relaxing Weekend!!!

We went to Lubbock and spent a very relaxing weekend with some really close friends of ours - Chris & Emily and their wonderful kids. We just sat around and visited and bar-b-qued. Gary went golfing for the first time ever, he absolutely loved it.

It was a great weekend.

Family

My dad came into town this last week with my niece and nephew (Daryl and Sara). It was nice to be able to see them again......

They have grown so much, it is so hard to believe that Daryl is already 17. They are great kids!

Although I am glad to have my house back in order, I really enjoyed having them with us this last week. They have such wonderful personalities. They are both taller than just about everyone I know. Daryl just soars over everyone...LOL

We are going to miss them a lot. Hopefully we will see them again soon......

Wonderful Man

Laundry is my least favorite of the household chores.....I absolutely hate to do laundry! LOL

Sometimes I would even let it go and just do it all on one or two set days of the week..... makes no sense at all I know. I guess that my poor husband wanted to motivate me a little more, because he went out and bought me a new washer and dryer. Isn't he wonderful!!!!!

Much to his amazement... It actually worked! LOL

He is a sweet man!

New Members of our Family!

Meet Shava and Gizmo!!!! They are shih tzu puppies and they are absolutely adorable. They are very sweet and really tiny. Gizmo is the gold one with a black mask, he is imperial shih tzu with champion blood line. He is momma's baby, he only weighs 3 lbs. Shava is a little bigger, she is about 4 1/2 lbs, she is not imperial, but is also champion blood line.

They love to play with their toys, especially these little toy teacups. I love it!!!!!

Daddy loves them too!!!!

Gizmo likes to sleep in the console of the suburban when we go places. He is very lazy and loves to be pampered and primped. It is too funny. We are hoping to start showing them in dog shows when they get a little older. Gary is very excited, we think it will be a great family function for us. I feel like I have twin toddlers in my house, it has been very hectic. They are house training wonderfully and they never really cry when they are in their kennel at night. We don't hear a peep all night, Thank God........

We are truely blessed.

Learning To Cook

Kaitlyn has been wanting to learn how to cook for quite some time now. It has always made me nervous to have kids in the kitchen, but I figured it was time to start teaching her. She did great!

This is the first pie that she has ever made. She made a cherry pie for Granny!

It was Delicious!!!!!!

July 4th

My Aunt Brenda was gracious enough to let us use her pool on July 4th. We had a great time, it is so beautiful over there isn't it.

My handsome husband cooked food on the grill for us. It was delicious!!

The kids had a great time swimming. They did not want to leave.

We went out to the country and popped fireworks for the kids. They had a great time..... but I think next year we will just go watch them. I was so nervous, the entire time, lol. But it was great to see the children so excited.

Summer Fun

We have just spent the summer playing and lounging around. It has been so hot!!!

This is our little rock star, she is a Hannah Montana look alike. Too Cute!!!


Momma's favorite time of the day - Naptime. In this picture the girls decided to take a nap with me. As you can see Mom did not get any rest!

We went to the Zoo a couple of weeks ago with Granny. It was a blast, but the pictures did not all take. It was very hot that day.

But it was beautiful!!!!!

Mamaw

My grandmother past away a week ago.

Her name was Lovena Lawson Best.

We will miss her dearly.

She was the strength and pillar of our family. Always there and never missing the big stepping stones of our lives. Even though we had moved away when I was a child, she never missed the big events of my life. She was there for my graduation and to see my children after they were born. I always looked forward to the holidays - she was a chef in the kitchen.

We moved back about a year ago to help care for her. This last year has been an absolute blessing.
Even after she got sick she was still such a joy to be around. She always smiled and laughed. Life never brought her down - no, not a bit.
She lavished in what bit of independence the she had left. Always trying no matter how hard.

Being sick never for a moment stopped her from being Mamaw. One of my fondest memories of her is from about a month ago, when I took her to church. I got up during the service to go to bathroom and she grabbed my arm and gave me that look that she used to give me when I was a child. Needless to say - I sat back down. She just smiled.

She was and is a true angel.

Mamaw always made you feel like she had been waiting to see just you all day and the day was complete.