Southern Comfort

Easter Collage 2010

2010-04-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

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Our Little Mermaid

2010-04-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Kaylee Beth has been extremely into mermaids lately. It all started when she and her daddy were back in the toy section at WalMart one day and they came across a mermaid tale. This was a Matel marketing scheme to promote their upcoming movie, Barbie and the Mermaid Tale, a very realistic tale of a young surfer girl who turns into a mermaid after many hardships under the sea.
At any rate, her Grammy sent her a giftcard for Valentines day, so we got her the mermaid tail that she had been totally and utterly obsessed with for days upon days. She was having us look it up on the internet, just so she could show us this tail and she watched the trailor of the movie about 100 times on youtube. It became quite stalker-ish if I must say so myself.
We broke down and got the tail and I gotta say, man did it make for some cute pictures!

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2010-03-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

Her cake was a barbie mermaid waterfall cake

Well Kaylee-Beths 5th Birthday came and went. We had her party at Bounce U and lots of her friends attended. She got lots of fun presents and she really enjoyed spending so much time with her friends. We had a fun day and we were all pooped out by the time we got home.

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Long time no Blog

2010-02-27T07:10:00.001-08:00

Winter Storm 2010

Christmas 2009

Reindeer Food

School picture day

Halloween 2009~ KB as Belle

Hear No Evil, C No Evil, Speak No Evil

Panama City Beach 2009

1st Trip to Dentist

Ed and Krista's Anniversary Party... these 2 people are awesome, they mean alot to me, my family and tons of other people

bath time

July 4th @ the lake

Summer trip to Alabama

Pirate Day at School

Boys will be girls...

Showin off....

So I've waited about a year now to decide to update the blog. Alot has happened in this year, 2009 remained pretty uneventful, yet 2010 has been a bit busy. We started the new year off with a bang, literally. We got rear ended by a semi truck on the way back from Birmingham. We are o.k., Thank God, just a bit shaken. 2nd in line, Jason lost a friend on the force. He was a very nice man with a wife and a child, he died at his home from natural causes. The CMPD held a very respectful and encouraging memorial service for him. Probably one of the most uplifting memorials I have ever attended. Three weeks into the new year my Dad had to have surgery on his heart, he is doing well but this was a very trying and concerning time for us all. Through it all God has been great and he has lifted us up on Eagles wings. Currently our home is on the market, we are looking to move back closer towards civilization. We thank God for this house and the purpose it has served, but we are more than ready to start a new chapter in our lives.
Here is a little smilebox creation, some of the pictures may be the same. Love to all.

A scrapbook by Smilebox

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Easter

2009-04-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Easter came and went, it was a great easter, the easter bunny came and hid eggs outside of our house the day before easter and we had an easter egg hunt, then on easter morning, we awoke to find an easter basket full of goodies that the bunny had left for me. Grandma was here to visit the week before easter, but she had to leave that morning. Mommy, Daddy and I went to church to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I learned about Jesus rising from the dead at church. We had a wonderful day as a family.

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I turned 4!!!

2009-03-30T10:38:00.001-07:00

My presents

I liked the singin, it was just soooo loud!!!

Me and my buddies painting our flower pots

My cake, sleeping beauty and her bed

Sleeping Beauty

Kaylee-Beth had a wonderful time at her 4th birthday. All of her friends came, except the few out of towners who couldn't make it and close family from out of town. We painted flower pots to take home and put in the yard, we ate, opened presents and hit the piniata. It was a great day and she got lots and lots of gifts. We can't believe our little girl is getting so big, before you know it she'll be driving.
Kaylee-Beth you are such a joy and a blessing to mommy and daddy and we couldn't imagine life without your contagious smile and sweet loving heart. You make every day wonderful and we look forward to your future with you, we know you will be an amazing person that the Lord created you to be. Thank you for coming into our lives and making it whole.
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

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SK8ING

2009-03-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

Mimi and Pawpaw came to visit the middle of March, we went skating, it was fun, this is me, my first time on skates.

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2009-03-03T05:27:00.001-08:00

Waaay behind on the blog, so here's a quick update:
Christmas came and went without a hitch as usual, here are some pics of KB and Daddy at the Christmas lights display at Tanglewood in Winston-Salem N.C.

On Valentine's Day we went to the Fairy Festival, it was free but we had so much fun. KB got to ride horses, get face paintings, cotton candy and build fairy houses, all free. Here are some pictures of that.

Yesterday we had some snow, we had alot of fun making snowmen and doing snow angels.

So that's what we have been up to lately. Kaylee-Beth turns 4 next Sunday, which makes me happy and sad, we'll post pictures of her party next time, in about 3 months.... ha ha ha.

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2008-11-30T12:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Turkey Day!!!
Sooo, our Thanksgiving was one for the birds. We went OUT to eat, yes I said out. I wasn't cooking this year with 2 adults and one child, no way. We had a nice meal, went home and everyone napped.
Kaylee-Beth woke up around 4 and we started noticing her belly sticking out. We got to talking and realized she hadn't gone pee pee since the night before. Uh oh,
off to the ER we go. Four hours and a catheter later, we all made it home safely and into bed. Poor Kaylee-Beth. She was a trooper though. After the catheter came out, she was bouncing around the room, just like her old self.
Oh well, at least daddy helped her make some cookies for turkey day and she got to wear his hat too. He was soooo excited that Alabama finally won the Iron Bowl. He couldn't stay off the phone with his friends all night.

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HAPPY FALL Y'ALL

2008-10-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

We've been quite busy this fall with friends and some family time. Mimi and pawpaw came to visit us in September, we had alot of fun. We went to Discovery Place while they were here and Kaylee-Beth loved the aquarium.

She and Taylor enjoyed looking at the eel being fed.

Kaylee-Beth didn't like the Imax too much, she thought it was real, so she had to leave early.

Kaylee-Beth looks so tiny next to a grizzly bear.

We carved out pumpkin last Saturday, Kaylee-Beth told me she was going to marry him when she get's older. His name is Punk.

Yesterday we went to Dan Nicholas park in Salisbury. We had alot of fun going to the petting zoo, the mini train and the carosel. Kaylee-Beth also played hard on the playground, as you can see, she is still quite the dare devil.

Monsters on the "haunted train ride."

Hope everyone else is having a happy fall too!!!

Waves and Sand and Ike OH MY!!!

2008-09-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

We visited the beach for some fun in the sun the second week of September. We had alot of fun playing in the ocean, at the pool and shopping around town. We love the gulf coast so that is where we decided to go. The first 2 days, the ocean looked like a lake, no waves, perfect for snorkeling and for swimming for KB.

The next couple of days were beautiful, but the waves from Ike got so big that we couldn't play in the ocean, thank goodness for the pool.

Kaylee-Beth had a ball and we all can't wait to go back.

2008-09-23T06:15:00.000-07:00

What a summer!!! It's been a long time since I last posted, we have been busy bees. When we finally got over the chicken pox, we visited Tweetsy Railroad with the Lairamore family. We had so much fun riding the railroad and all of the great other rides. We had alot of fun and will definately return soon!!! Thanks Lairamore's for a great time.

AGGGHHHH!!!

2008-07-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well we have finally crossed thru a childhood right of passage, our baby girl has none other than CHICKEN POX!!!!! What a nightmare. Last Thursday she had what looked like chiger bites on her knees, well, they never got better and little bumps started popping up on her chest, and she had a cough and was complaining of a sore throat. Jason asked me friday night "Do you think it's Chicken Pox?" I have worked in pediatrics for crying out loud, but did I notice the symptoms with my own kid, noooo, that would have to be her daddy who figured it out just like that. Low and behold we researched it on the internet saturday morning (by this time there were bumps everywhere) and it is a classic case, confirmed by her doctor today. Needless to say, she's out of school for the week and she is miserable, can't keep her little mits of of them. We take baking soda baths, do calamine lotion, bandages, benadryl, the whole shabang, and it still sucks, big time. So everyone, count your blessings (I am counting mine, things could be alot worse) and cross your fingers, for the pox do not rock..... they stink!!!!

2008-07-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

What a summer!!! We've had parties, parties parties and swimming and lake visits and visits back to Alabama. Whew we haven't stopped. To start things off, we went to Baby Thomas Caruso's first birthday. His mommy and daddy just got a beautiful new house and hosted alot of old family and friends for a big celebration of his birthday and christening. We had alot of fun seeing the old gang.
Next we went to Ellies party, but I forgot my camera. Kaylee-Beth had so much fun playing with all of her old friends at the party.
The day after Ellie's party we headed back to "Sweet Home Alabama" for some much needed fun in the sun. Kaylee-Beth had a wonderful time visiting with her family and absolutely loved swimming in the lake and boating. After we left Birmingham we headed up to Kathy's parent's lake house for a get together with all of our old friends and their families. It was such a great time getting to see everyone and we sure do miss you all.
Baby Thomas tasting his 1st birthday cake!!!

(kaylee-beth and her cousin bethany)

(bethany, kaylee-beth, grandma)

(nothing like some Mimi and Paw Paw time)

(KB in mid slide-on slip n slide)

(silly face)

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A pickin we will go

2008-05-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

We went to pick strawberries on Monday. We had a great time with Ellie, Lexi, Brock and Kyla. The weather was perfect and the strawberries were delicious.

Strawberry Face

Plentiful Strawberries

The whole gang

Eating a strawberry

Pickin some strawberries

On the hayride

at the petting zoo

planting a green bean

KB with her strawberry overalls on

waiting to pick strawberries with ellie, brock and lexi

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2008-05-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

Kaylee-Beth being quite the gymnast at Rollie Pollie. Her session has ended now, but she really loved it when she went. We are going to get her enrolled up near us sometime soon.
climbing the rock wall

having fun in the foam pit

On the rings

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Disney on Ice

2008-05-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

the royal couple

Under the Sea with Aerial and the gang

Be our guest

Daddy, KB and Mommy

We went to Disney princesses on Ice about a month ago, it was wonderful. KB didn't move a muscle for 2 hours. She literally sat "on the edge of her seat" for the whole thing, she didn't even suck her thumb, which those of you who know her, know this is huge.

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move

2008-04-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

So we finally got moved in last monday. We are loving it. I have hardly had time to sneeze, much less do anything else. I am soooo happy to be out of that apartment. Kaylee-Beth loves to run, run, run outside and the dogs are out there more now too. Hope all of you can come visit soon. Here are some pictures.

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It's Party Time

2008-03-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

Opening Gifts

Happy Birthday to You!!!

Kaylee-Beth "Building Her Bear" with our party hostess

Emma, Bella, Ellie, Lexie and Kaylee-Beth

Kaylee-Beth and Daddy

We had Kaylee-Beth's party at build a bear today and it was great. Her friends Ellie and Lexie, Emma and Bella, Andrew and Davis, Thomas, Bradley, Isabella and Joshua and Bryce all came. We got a dairy queen Disney princess cake and it was delicious. Kaylee-Beth had a great time celebrating with her buddies and making her own little bear.

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3 it is

2008-03-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

So I've procrastinated way to long in blogieland. Our sweet little baby girl turned 3 on March 8th. She is such a big girl now. She talks so well and amazes us every day with new tricks up her sleeve. It was a quiet birthday this year. We aren't having her party until this coming saturday at build a bear. She is having about 10 little friends to come and all participate in building their own bears. It should be fun (more pics of that to come.)
We celebrated the day by giving her her birthday presents that morning and then we had another party to go to. We came home and napped and then went to the bowling alley with the Bosi's for a little bowling fun. It was a good time. We had a cake and candles at the bowling alley so she atleast got to blow out candles.
I cannot believe how fast the time passes with each year. It seems just like yesterday that we brought her home and of course got up every 2 minutes that first night to look and make sure she was still breathing. These past 3 years have been the best, most amazing and challenging time of our lives, and I can't imagine life without our girl. So happy birthday KB. We love you baby.

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2008-03-19T04:13:00.001-07:00

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Tiny Dancer

2008-02-28T16:23:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of KB in B'ham shaking her booty in her ballerina outfit, and just a random picture of a beautiful sunset that I took as I left work one night.
I needed that sunset that day, it had been a rough day at work and as I walked outside I saw God's canvas painted with this beautiful work of art. I immediately took the picture of this spectacular view.
We are doing good. Waiting, waiting and still waiting on this house to get done. Ready to be in a home and not an apartment anymore. Our trip to B'ham went well. We finished cleaning out Mimi's house and they are getting ready to sell soon. It made me sad to know that this would be the last time I'd ever be in that home. I grew up there, so it just brought back alot of nostalgic memories for me.
We are getting ready for our girl to turn 3, the big day is in 2 weeks, wow how time flies, I still don't even have the pictures from her 2nd birthday developed yet. What kind of mom am I???? NO but really, we are going to do something fun, we just haven't decided what yet. Hopefully it will be a stress free day for all.

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2008-02-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

Kaylee-Beth is getting bigger each day. She has remained in her big girl bed and this has presented some challenges for us. She seems not to want to go to bed so we are struggling with getting her to stay in the bed now. I cannot WAIT to get my DVR back so I can record shows again, but since there hasn't been anything good on lately it doesn't really matter. We picked out the cabinets for the house and I'm going Monday to pick out light fixtures, granite and paint colors, so it is coming along great.

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2008-02-03T05:17:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a week. First thing, KB started sleeping in her big girl bed. She was just ready (as they say) I guess. I put her in her crib and she was crying so I went in there and got her and put her in the twin bed and she said she wanted to stay in there for the whole night. She went right to sleep (after I kept interupting her by peeking in on her) and stayed there for the remainder of the night.
Next they had friendship day at school. Kaylee-Beth got a letter and a picture in the mail from her friend Eva. They are big buddies at school. I thought the picture was cute. Her school also had circus week this week and on Friday they got to make special shirts and do face painting, eat cotton candy and icees. Needless to say, she was quite hyper by the time we got home, but she had a wonderful time. She has a wonderful little school there are only 6 kids in her class and 3 teachers. We are very lucky to have her there.
On that note, the place almost burned down on Wednesday. I got a call at 6 am from the director saying that they had to close because the police and fire department would not let them open due to live wire's in the parking lot. Someone hit a generator and it fell in the parking lot. What a mess. They had to shut off the power all day while the box got fixed.
Other than that life is rolling along smoothly as ever. The builder said he'd love to tell us that the end of Feb. would be the end date on the house but realistically it looks more like middle of March. Oh well, we might just have to have KB's birthday party a couple months late.

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2008-01-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

Well our house is coming along. Hopefully it will be done by late Feb. early March. I am getting so excited I can hardly stand it. Here are some pictures.

Looking into living room from staircase.

Garage w/ Jason's work space.
front of house and kitchen

I know it's hard to tell what alot of this stuff is, but it finally has walls so we are super excited. Well better go now, need to do stuff while little one is asleep.

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You Go Jay Leno

2008-01-28T11:27:00.000-08:00

Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....

"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence, 2/3's of the citi zenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we so unhappy about?''
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world i s just not good enough.

Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provides services to help all, and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your famil y and your belongings.

Or if, while at home watching o ne of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens . They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about wh at we d on't have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The President that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been call ed every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?

The Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it...are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't h ave to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it leads; and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" t hem in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about "how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way"...Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

We are a mong the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Jay Leno 2007
Please keep this in circulation. There are so many people that need to read this and grasp the truth of it all.

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2008-01-21T05:51:00.000-08:00

My heart is heavy as I write this post. A local radio host where I used to live (in Birmingham, AL) son lost his life Saturday night. The child was 2 years old and he accidentaly got outside and drowned in their pool. Their website has more information. www.rickandbubba.com. I keep listening to their webcast and all I keep hearing is how strong the family is spiritually. This is a true testament to faith. This poor man just lost his youngest child and he can still glorify God. I hope my faith can one day be this strong. Although, I cannot imagine this and it is my worst nightmare, it comforts me to know that he is with God and his mother and father will be comforted by the Lord. After listening to this, it has really made me reflect on my faith, life and gifts God has given me. I will forever be grateful for my gift from God and that is exactly what she is a Gift. I will never, ever take for granted again her precious life. And when I feel like complaining about her or how much she's getting on my nerves (as we all do as parents) I will forever think about this family and the loss they are feeling. They are in my prayers and thoughts daily.

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~IT'S SNOWING, IT'S SNOWING~

2008-01-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

Well it snowed and we are expecting more today. This was Thursday. It was gone as fast as it got here, but at least KB had a good time.
Conversation:
Me: KB do you know what snow is?
KB: Yes, it is BEAUTIFUL!!
Me: Do you know what snow is made out of?
KB: Yes, Santa Claus!
Gotta love it. They say the sweetest things sometimes.

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Christmas a little late

2008-01-08T17:51:00.000-08:00

So christmas was great for us this year. We had a few snags here and there, but all in all it worked out wonderful. Kaylee-Beth had a wonderful time opening her Santa stuff and mommy and daddy had just as much fun watching her. She got tons of barbie stuff and lots of disney princess stuff. If I watch "cinderelli 2" again one more time I might scream. But nonetheless, it all went of without a hitch. Our new house will be ready in about 8 weeks, I'm so excited I can't wait. I'm getting a new house and all new appliances too including a front load washer and dryer. I know this is probably small beans to some, but sadly to say, it excites me very much. I can't decide on the brand though, always nervous about bad brands of stuff that breaks. We went out to the house today and the plumbing and electric are being done so it is all coming along great.
New Year's was good. My family came up and saw us and we had a nice time. My neice Taylor loves our little one so much, she's like a little mommy. Made some New Year's resolutions but have not gotten around to trying any of them on for size.
Our little one has been sick lately and we ended up in the doctors office for over 2 hours yesterday. We did get medicine though and it has worked after one day. Hopefully she will be better soon.
With the holiday season behind us and a fresh slate in front of us it's nice to be able to hope for a great 2008 with lots of love, healthiness and happiness.

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To My Girl

2007-12-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

To my beautiful daughter Kaylee-Beth.
Child, I love you so much it makes me weak in the knees sometimes. I want to write all of this down, so you can see it when you become older. You are so funny, you make daddy and I laugh all of the time with your humor and wit. You have the cutest blond hair, a huge smile, and a silly little laugh. You are a great mommy to your babies and you love to protect them. Some of the funny things you say right now are:
1)stunk/ this is your word for skunk- "Ew mommy, I smell a stunk and it is stinky winky."
2)snow wipe/ this is your name for your snow white doll.
3)hihena/ this would be your word for heyena.
4)mmmm. yummy to my tummy.
5)Docker Baker/ this would be your pediatrician. "Mommy, let's go see Docker Baker."
All of these funny little sayings make me laugh very much. You are a very very strong willed girl. You love to be outside running and jumping. You love gymnastics and whenever possible you'll do a "roll" for us. You love to stick out your booty and dance/dance/ dance. You like to help mommy or daddy with whatever they are doing too. You are growing up so fast, right before our eyes. You will be 3 soon, and before you know it, you'll be 30. So just because I haven't done it yet, I wanted to write to say how much I LOVE YOU.

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2007-11-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

Thankful!!!
I have so many things in my life to be thankful for. I shouldn't have waited this long to post them. Life is a journey that takes us up mountains and back down again, it is not until we are at the bottom looking up that we realize how thankful we are we made the climb back down from the very highest part. We must strive each day to remember that we all DO have things to be thankful for in life. Each and every one of us has great potential and promise and if we use it wisely we will see great outcomes.
1) I am thankful for my husband. I rant and rave about him alot, but without him, I would be a lost soul.
2) My daughter. She has brought such complete joy into my life that I cannot even imagine life before she was here. Even though she can bring me to my knees sometimes, she is my pride and joy.
3) My dogs. Yes one is a diabetic, blind, cripled retard (sometimes) but I still love him and even though he really gets on my nerves sometimes, I'd cry if he was gone.
4) My family away from me at the holidays. I know I shouldn't have put this after my dogs,remember, these are in no particular order :) I miss and love them dearly and without their love and support I don't know where I'd be right now.
5) My job. Oh yes, I said it. I do complain about this one alot, oh yes indeed. But needless to say, I am thankful that I have a job and have the ability to work at all.
6) My friends. My friends here, at work, at my old "hood", back home, out of town. I love em all. I don't think I could make it through life without having a few that can relate to my crazy insane self sometimes.
7) My home. As we venture into the building of our new home and we are now stuck in an apartment again (which I must admit is pretty nice for apartment life), I am thankful that I have shelter over my head.
8)My God and church. I know this should be first, remember, no particular order here. No but seriously, I lean on my bible alot and on God's word to strengthen me when I most need it. I am also thankful that I live in a country where I can worship freely.
9)My car. It may have over 100,000 miles on it, but the yota is still running strong and I hope it continues to do so for a long while.
10)My blog. This blogging thing is great. It has added so many laughs and joy to my life. Even if it is a of a voyeristic view into others lives, we post it so others can look.
Here's to another great year and hopefully many more things to be thankful for again next go round.

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MIMI

2007-11-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

My Number One Fan!!!
Have you ever had anyone in your life that you just know loves you so much that it causes your heart to ache? Well for me that would be my late grandmother, otherwise known as MIMI.

You see, in my eyes, Mimi is a superhero of sorts. The goddess of domestication. She could cook, clean like no tommorrow, sew and she was actually the only person I ever knew that ironed underwear. She had a garden in the summer (up at the lake where all of us grandkids spent most of our time), she canned the vegetables and fruit from the garden in the fall, she cooked the vegetables in the winter and she started getting ready for the garden again the next spring.
She raised 2 children when my mother and aunt were small, then came the grandkids, there were 5 of us. Most of the time we were all together at her house, as she kept us ALL, while our mothers went back to nursing school. She also cared for her mother at the time, who had fallen ill and was completely bed ridden from a stroke.

After I had my daughter and there was only one of her, I asked my grandmother "With all of the grandkids and your sick mother here, how did you not jump out of a window", she just laughed and told me she was just made to do that kind of thing and that she wouldn't have had it any other way.

Mimi told me once "Love is not sex or money or thinking he's cute, love is sitting side by side on your porch when your older and looking back at all the crazy things life has thrown at you and being able to look into your spouses eyes and say Can you believe we've made it through all of this together, the ups, the downs the goods and the bads." And as I've gotten older and been married for almost eight years, I've realized she was right.

Mimi also taught me to always look someone in the eye when you talk to them, and to this day I still have trouble not looking at someone dead on when we talk. She taught me how to cook, I always called her when I had a question about this or that. She and Martha Stewart were on a first name basis, every day at 11 sharp she'd say, "Oh, I've gotta go tape Martha", this was the older show, pre-prison. The day "Martha" got in trouble I called Mimi and asked her what she thought. She told me that although what "Martha" did was wrong, she wasn't doing anything everyone else was doing, she just got caught."

This lady was such a great cook that preachers spoke of her sour cream pound cake on the pulpit. I know I'll probably never taste food like she cooked again. I have a pressure cooker that I use alot (she gave me my first one) and she always used one at her house, to this day I can't hear that thing chugging without thinking of her. Also her grandfather clock at her house. I've never heard that chime anywhere else in the world and I probably won't. It's still at Mimi and Grandaddy's house, with my Grandaddy (who loved and cherished her until her final hours).

So basically this is just a little tribute to her. I've really been thinking about her lately, her birthday was October 25th, she has been gone 6 months on November 26th. She was an intricate part of my life as well as my whole family. She was the glue that bound us together. I'll miss and love her forever. Here's to you Mimi.

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Eye to eye with a Buffalo

2007-11-11T17:32:00.000-08:00

So we took it upon ourselves to go to a birthday party at what is known as Lazy 5 Ranch, a farm of sorts with animals you would not expect to see up close and personal. Needless to say my daughter got to have a new experience and I got to see what the inside of a buffalo's mouth really looks like.
Yes ladies and gentlemen, as many of you probably didn't know a buffalo only has teeth on the bottom. I must admit, when the tour guide told us to only DROP food into their mouth's otherwise they may bite off one of your limbs, I did get a little concerned. Not that they don't already smell bad enough, I guess they feel like they need a whiff of something new of sorts to clean their palats.
So they decided to go sniff the hineys of the caraige next to ours. I could not resist taking that picture.
Next it was off to see the giraffe. Once we were comfortably seated in front of these tall odd, but beautiful creatures, the guide says "I need two brave souls to raise their hands." The words had not been uttered for more than one second and my 2 year old raises her hand. He picks her, like she's a 20 year old lady that actually understands what he just said, to feed the giraffe's. Now I know most of you are probably thinking big deal, however you must understand, the whole hay ride we had heard nothing from him except for "don't feed this animal, it will bite your fingers off, don't feed that animal, it will bite your limbs off, don't get off the wagon, the animals will see you as food etc., etc." So I am imagining one of those awful videos you see where the kid is in the lion cage at the zoo somewhere in Japan and the lion is ripping it's clothes off. I hesitated you see because I, her mother, the lady that carried her in my womb, was to pick her up and feed her, I mean let her feed leaves to the giraffe. So, as visions of Michael Jackson hanging his child over a balcony go through my mind, I lift her up, she stretches out her arm, as I am closing my eye, and the next thing I hear is laughter.
She was being licked by the giraffe.
After I realized that she would live, and I would not go down in shame as the "worst mother of the year", I breathed a sigh of relief. And even though the rest of the ride was still smelly and cold, I hugged my baby girl and breathed her scent deep into my soul and realized, sometimes you gotta just take the plunge and go for it.

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Funny

2007-11-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

So I went back to Alabama a couple of weekends ago and while I was there a funny thing happened. My sister called and was asking my father (who is 61 years old) what they were doing for halloween. He replied "I think we are going to the church to the "Junk in the Trunk" thing. He meant "Trunk or Treat". I thought it was so funny. I proceded to explain the differences to him and he turned beet red. How cute.

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Southern Comfort

Easter Collage 2010

Our Little Mermaid

Long time no Blog

Easter

I turned 4!!!

SK8ING

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL

Waves and Sand and Ike OH MY!!!

AGGGHHHH!!!

A pickin we will go

Disney on Ice

move

It's Party Time

3 it is

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Tiny Dancer

You Go Jay Leno

~~~IT'S SNOWING, IT'S SNOWING~~~

Christmas a little late

To My Girl

MIMI

Eye to eye with a Buffalo

Funny

~IT'S SNOWING, IT'S SNOWING~