Friday, May 29, 2009

She is Eleven!!

Our youngest daughter turned 11 years old yesterday! She waited very patiently the whole day for her party to begin. She asked her grandpa if he would fry fish and homemade french fries for her birthday dinner. He told her that was a lot of work....but she was worth it. So, fish and fries we had! And they were very tasty too! We came back to our house to open gifts and have dessert and sing the "song." She really wanted a bike for her birthday. A pink bike.

So, here she is ready for hours of riding pleasure this summer. :) She also wanted this Wii game and Nana and Papa came through with it.

More smiles.....and Nana had a special cake for her with two candles that are supposed to look like the number 11.....and a big chocolate chip cookie decorated with her name on it as well. Blow hard my little one....

She is turning into a young lady right before our eyes. She is very into fashion and her hair. She likes to wear make up....but only around the house. Blush and lip gloss is all. She likes to draw and make crafts. She is learning how to crochet but it is so hard for me to teach her since she is a lefty like her dad and I am a righty....but we are working on it. She loves to listen to music. She could watch High School Musical over and over again....she actually has! She will help me with chores around the house when asked. She is a good girl. She is kind and soft spoken. But, she can get her point across when needed (just ask her big sister!) She is my baby and she is 11 years old now.

We are having another party on Saturday to celebrate with both sides of our family. So, there will be more food and fun coming! What a lucky girl she is!!!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Duck Awards

Tonight my daughter was invited to an awards banquet at our church. The sponsors called it The Duck Awards. Taken after the Dove Awards. Catchy huh? :) The night was for Jr and Sr High kids that attend the youth groups at our church. My daughter was awarded THREE awards tonight!!! Her daddy and I are so proud of her!!!! One was called "The Daniel Award." Her youth pastor told us this was given to her because of her ability to pray when called upon or just volunteering to pray without being asked. The second award was "The Commitment Award." This was for her commitment to the youth group. She is always up for the service projects and helping to serve others and be there for all the fun outings they have for the kids as well. The last award was the biggest. She received "The Preener of the Year Award." Her youth pastor explained it as this....he calls the kids ducklings. The reason is because ducks have a gland on their bodies that secrete an oil that goes on their feathers. When the ducks preen they put this oil on their feathers. This oil protects the down that is underneath their feathers. It keeps them warm in waters and keeps them healthy. He wants the kids to be like ducks. Whatever Satan or this world throws at the kids....he wants Jesus to be the "oil" that protects their underneath.....their souls and hearts. Without this protection, the ducks would die. So would our kids. :(

Here are her awards for the evening.....





She has some fantastic sponsors that give of their time and hearts to the kids. This sweet gal is very very very dear to me. Her name is Rachel. She was my daughters baby sitter when she was in high school. Now she is in college and is going to become a teacher someday. Any child who is placed in her class will be EXTREMELY blessed. She is so special to me and to my family. She came on board to help in this ministry this last year. My daughter adores her!!

This last picture shows some of the sponsors and Shelby. They are all wonderful people! They all dressed up tonight in prom dresses and one gal even had her wedding dress on but it was dyed yellow. And it still fit her!! What a cutie! The kids were dropped off at a sponsors house but they had a surprise waiting for them to take them to the church.....a huge stretch limo!! I am sorry to say that I do not have a picture of that....but it was white and very very long. :) The kids were treated like royalty tonight and they were called out individually for their accomplishments through out the year. I am so thankful for this group of people. They love my daughter and are Godly influences in her life. They are helping her dad and myself to raise her to be a child of The King. We are very very proud of you Shelby Anne! Love...your mama. XOXO

Make a Wish And Blow!!

Funfetti cuppy cake with pale pink icing....cotton candy decoration on top.....darling little candle for me to blow out....people singing the Happy Birthday Song to me......priceless. :)

Monday, May 25, 2009

My Party...The Circus

Just got home from my sisters house where she hosted my little party. She decorated everything in a circus theme. It was soooo cute!! Here are some pictures I wanted to share.




The table was adorable! She had an old quilt turned upside down and a little antique green cloth with the tiniest yellow rick rack on the edge. I accidentally spilled something on it and told her that I would love to take the table coverings home with me to wash them for her. You know...since I spilled something on them. (Wink Wink!) But, she knew what I was up to and told me she could get the stains out herself. Aw shucks! ;)




She had this little container of popcorn set up in the middle of the table. Cuz circus tents always have popcorn!

Here are the little napkins she got for me. Aren't they lovely!?!?!?!?! And the little red silverware tied with gingham ribbon. Too stinkin cute!!

She and my nephew filled the hurricane glass with sand and animals from his room. We had a giraffe, a horse, a tiger, a snake and a lion inside. Oh my!

And the night would not of been complete without these little favorites of my dad's. Circus Peanuts! HA! Actually, I love them to.

Aren't I a lucky girl to of had such a nice birthday party? Yup....I sure am. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!


Getting ready to head over to my baby sisters house for a little of this tonight. Actually tomorrow is my 42nd birthday but due to working, daughter going to an awards banquet at church and my nephew having a baseball game......we are celebrating today. There are some yummy foods going to be there for me....hamburgers on the grill, German potato salad, corn on the cob and ice-cream pie. Ummmmmm. And, some lovely people will be there to celebrate with me as well. Lucky me! :)

Saturday, May 23, 2009

They would rather read......



Today was the first official day of summer vacation. I gave my daughters the option of going to see the new "Night At The Museum" movie. But, they chose instead to go to Borders and get some new books for the summer. How lovely is that???? We were in there for over an hour while they browsed and picked their selections. They both read all the way home. Then one went outside to read and the other went to her room. I love the little nest the youngest made with the two lawn chairs. Pillow, cool cotton sheet and a book. All under a shade tree. Gotta love that kid! My oldest started in her room, then moved to the couch to be next to the cat. Kitties make reading better, don't ya know. :)
I hope this becomes a good habit this summer. Reading and being lazy under a shade tree. Maybe I should follow their footsteps and do the same thing? Nah....I would rather sew.
Now where is that lemonade? :)

Last Day of School Breakfast

WARNING!!! THIS POST MAY CAUSE EXCESS SALIVATION!!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!

Yesterday was the kids last day of school. In honor of that, I decided to make something yummy that my mom and grandma used to make for me. Homemade doughnuts. They are so simple to do and the results are soooo good. All you need is a package of buttermilk biscuits. Mine had 10 in the package. The lid from your oil can be used to make the holes in the doughnuts if you don't have a cutter, oil and a pan. That's it! Here is my batch ready to go into the oil.

Here they are cooking. Getting all brown and beautiful!

And here they are all yummied up even more! I sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top of them when they came out of the oil then drizzled some powered sugar glaze on top. Just because. We shared a couple with my friend that lives across the street. She LOVED them. We also ran a couple over to my mom for breakfast too. You know...to celebrate the last day of school. Wink!

Being Sneaky

My sister spent a couple days in Washington DC for work. She has a very hectic, busy, stressful job and this trip was something she was not looking forward to in the least. My nephew stayed with me while she was away. We had a nice time together even though we were busy with school, work and baseball games. The kids got out of school on Wednesday at 2:00. So, we headed over to her house to get the place spruced up before she got home.




We mowed the lawn so she would have a nice fresh cut green carpet waiting for her.


We got all her flowers watered so they were not thirsty when she came home. (This little bucket is one of her flea market finds. Don't the geraniums look good in there? Too cute!!)

We put up Welcome Home signs on her garage door. We thought it looked like a patchwork quilt on her garage door when we drove away! :)

And lastly, we put a little peony flower in a vase to make the house smell good. It was nice for her to be home again even though she was only gone for a couple days, we missed her. And, I think it is good to teach the kids to do thoughtful things for others....just because. Good life lessons...don't ya think? :)

Flea Market Day

Wow! It has been awhile since I have put anything on here. Busy busy busy I guess is my excuse. Last Sunday my sister and two girlfriends took our annual pilgrimage to the closest flea market, that I know of, together. We left early because it is a little over an hour to get there from our houses.

I think it is always so interesting to see what other people buy. I caught myself several different times asking "what do you suppose they are going to do with that?" For instance, this guy.

What the heck? At first I was a little worried about him but then we saw the "other half" of his purchase with the woman with him. I am still a bit worried about him. :)

Then there was this lovely chair. My girls told me we did not have enough room for that in the car, so sadly I had to leave it behind.

You know I am kidding about this chair.....right? This would soooo not go with my Shabby Chic style.

And Bambi was at the market as well. Except we were not sure why she was riding on a two wheel cart?????? No room for her in the car as well.

But there was some of this stuff going on that we did enjoy.

Yummy tenderloin sandwiches.......yum!

But mostly there was giggling and smiling and laughing and being plain silly. We did not get any fleas at the market...so that was good. Hee Hee.... But we did make some fun memories of a beautiful sunny day together. Can't beat that!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Moms Rock!

Happy Mothers Day! I hope you were able to enjoy and relax some of your day today if you are a mother. We did! First, we started our day with church. It was so nice being back this Sunday since we were in Florida last week. I don't like missing church! After church, we had a little lunch (that I did not have to make in it's entirety, so that was lovely.) We had some friends and family over for dessert and coffee. Very nice. Hubby ordered pizza for dinner so I did not have to do a thing with that. Very, very nice. Then hubby made the kids snacks before bedtime so I did not have to do that today either. Very, very, very nice. :)
I have a friend who we celebrated with today. She is the older sister that I did not get. She had a terrible marriage for 23 years. Her husband was verbally and mentally abusive to her. She had one son with that man. He informed her while she was delivering her son that if that baby was a boy, they were NOT going to have any more kids. One was enough. When she had her son she cried. Not because she was disappointed that he was a boy...but because she knew he was the only child she would ever be able to have.
Her husband was/is a wealthy farmer where we live. When the son grew up and graduated from high school, she knew it was time to leave her husband. He had always threatened her that if she were to ever leave him, he would keep their son away from her and she would have no contact with him. Nice guy, huh? Well, she could not take the abuse any more and she left when her son was raised. And, her husband kept his word. He tried his darnedest not to let that son have anything to do with his mother. Threats came and came that if he had any contact with his mother, the family farm and inheritance and all the land and millions that they owned would go to a farm hand and not to the boy. So, the son and mother would sneak to see and talk to each other when they could. When they knew that no one was watching them and running back to tell the ex husband.
Seven years ago the son had terrible stomach pains on Christmas Eve. He called his mom and told her how bad the pain was and that he was going to the hospital. She knew it sounded bad so she took her chances on sneaking in to see him. After all, who can hold back a mama when her baby is sick and needs her? She did see him, only briefly, and he urged her to leave because if his father came in and saw her there "he would have hell to pay." And, since the mama loved her child so much and she knew the hell he would have to pay since she herself had lived it for 23 years, she left the hospital.
A few hours later she got a call from a friend who told her that her only child had died. The ex husband never called her to tell her that their son had passed away. Evil at it's finest.
My dear sweet friend is a Christian. She is an example of who I want to be in my walk. She is still trusting the Lord with her life. She could of turned her back on God and been angry for taking her son. She wanted a relationship with him on this earth so badly! She prayed and prayed for that for years after she left. But what God had in mind was something different. He is going to let her spend eternity with her son. Oh how she is holding onto that promise!!!
So for Mothers Day, she comes to my house to celebrate. There is NO WAY this sweet friend of mine is going to be forgotten on this day for Mothers. She is just to special to me for that to happen. She loves to fish so we bought her a pink and purple tackle box. We also got her a gift card to McDonald's because she loves their coffee. :) She told me she loved her day....even though her son is not here to celebrate with her. That is God, isn't it?



I made up two of these little flour sifters for my sister and another girlfriend who came to our house today. I thought they turned out pretty cute. Hope the plants stay alive in them.

This is me sporting my new Minnie Mouse apron my husband brought back to me from Disney secretly! Isn't it cute!

And lastly, these little people are the reason I got to celebrate today and why I call myself a mom. :)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Reality Stinks!

Well, here I am.....back home from the Happiest Place on Earth. And, it stinks!! I am ready to go back!!!! We had the most wonderful time playing. Without kids in Disney is actually quite fun! Who knew?!?!?!?!?! It felt strange at first....but we got over it!! As you can tell by the pictures.....we did not need our girls to have fun at Disney. We had so many interesting things happen to us. God was there and showed Himself in several ways. It was awesome!


Let me share some of our trip with you....ready? Here goes.






First, we wore a lot of silly 3D glasses on this trip. I believe this pair was in the Muppet Theatre. Kermit and Fozzie and Gonzo were all there with us. :) Gotta love pictures where the subjects take the picture themselves. Someone always gets partially cut off. Or they do when I am holding the camera with my short arms.






This one is one of my favorite rides in Magic Kingdom. We did not get a chance to ride them last year when we went with my sissy and nephew and kids. So, I HAD to ride them this year! I picked the pink tea cup....of course!!





This was our first time watching the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. And, might I add, it will NOT be our last. They were amazing!!!! My little camera took this picture. Isn't it cool!?!?!!? They put lights on the Castle at night and with the fireworks and music that they played....it just added to all the magic. Ahhhhhhhhh........




I took this one of us in Epcot on the Nemo ride. I believe our mode of transportation was a clam shell. Can't say that everyday, now can you? HA! It appears that once again I have cut off a portion of my husband taking our picture. Sorry honey!

And lastly, here is one of me and my girl. Isn't she lovely! I told my husband that WHEN I get a studio room of my very own.....this big Minnie is coming home with me and she will reside in my studio. :)

And, that is it for our little get away to Disney and sunny Florida. Tomorrow we are planing a little Mothers Day get together with family and friends. It is supposed to be sunny here with a high almost 70. Not quite the 90+ degree weather I am used to, but I'll take it! I want to encourage anyone reading this little blog of mine, that if you have a chance to get away from your everyday life and refresh and reconnect with your spouse....please take it. It does not have to be at Disney either. I forget how important it is to be me....Shann....sometimes. Us mama's have so many hats that we wear. And, sometimes we need breaks from all those hats. We can't be good mothers if we are not being good to ourselves a little as well.

Well, I will step down from my soap box now and wish all of you a very happy Mothers Day! Talk to you tomorrow!! :)

Friday, May 1, 2009

Two More Sleeps!

Walka-Walka here I come!

Happy May Day!

When I was a little girl, my mother would help my sister and I make May Day baskets to give out to neighbors and grandparents on May 1st every year. We would pick flowers from our yard and add some candy to put into our little cones or sometimes she would actually make a basket out of construction paper. My mother is extremely crafty...if I have not told you that before. Anyway....this was the only time of the year that we were given permission to ring someones doorbell and run and hide.....leaving the basket of goodies on their doorstep. And man was it fun!!!!! We would peek out from around a bush or tree and watch them pick up their little basket. I loved it!
So, you can imagine what tradition I started a long time ago with my two daughters. Yup! May Day baskets for neighbors and grandparents! And, sometimes friends. :)
This year my oldest daughter daughter did not want to make them or go with us to deliver them. Made me very sad. But, my youngest and I taped the baskets together and put stickers on them and filled them up with little fun size candy bars. Before we left to deliver them, we added fresh flowers so they would have a little bouquet from us.
This is what we came up with.

Nothing fancy....but filled with love for those we delivered to. My youngest daughter asked me if we could still "ding dong dash" people today. HA! Seems like her favorite part is ringing the doorbell and running too. You gotta admit....it really is fun!