MONDAYS

Well, I think I'll let Gracie explain to you what happened on the way to Nana's house this past Monday.


In case you didn't get all of that, YES, I did get a speeding ticket. My first one ever. Hope it's not the start of a new trend in my life. It was on a side road I don't usually take and probably won't again for quite a while. I would have never guessed that the speed limit on that road is 30 MPH. I popped over a little hill and probably just got into Pelham from Helena and there he was. Pelham officers do not give "warnings" so I knew what was coming. He was nice enough. It was short and sweet and he was off back to his little hiding place to catch the next unsuspecting citizen. Bet he made the city of Pelham plenty of $$ that day. SO, drive the limit and don't "Go Speed" as Gracie says.

And should you not believe me below is the proof. I haven't called to see how much it is yet. I'm kinda scared to know. Have a great weekend everyone and obey the laws of the road or you'll get a ticket.

Something to Think About

Here I go again with the song lyrics but I heard this one on the way to work today and well it really makes a lot of sense in this crazy world we are all living in these days. Just felt like it was thought provoking. It's time to get back to the simple things in life and focus on Faith and Family. If ya really know me you know that I strongly believe in this. Have a nice day everyone. I'll share my Monday with you tomorrow. Whoo Hoo was it a fun one.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:20,21

American Dream lyrics

All work no play may have made Jack a dull boy
But all work no God has left Jack with a lost soul
But he's moving on full steam
He's chasing the American dream
And he's gonna give his family the finer things

Not this time son I've no time to waste
Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play
And then he slips into his new BMW
And drives farther and farther and farther away

So He works all day and tries to sleep at night
He says things will get better;
Better in time

And he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands

His American Dream is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
"Daddy, can you come to my game?"
"Oh Baby, please don't work late."
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away

'Cause he works all day and lies awake at night
He tells them things will get better
It'll just take a little more time

He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"
But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end
I'll take a shack on the rock
Over a castle in the sand
Now he works all day and cries alone at night
It's not getting any better
Looks like he's running out of time
'Cause he worked and he built with his own two hands
And he poured all he had in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are coming crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands

All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You

-Casting Crowns-

Ping Pong & Good Friends

So last weekend we got together with our wonderful neighbors, the Vegters. The Big Boys played Ping Pong like Forest Gump Champions and the little guys and dolls played all over the place. AND except for the first picture I did none of the camera work. My eldest little lady, Clara Paige was the photographer and the cinematographer for the whole event.

Ok so in a few years this won't be ok with us parents right now it's just buddies hanging out watchin some good Noggin TV.

Clara got a shot of Nicholas getting in some serious tread time on the tread mill.

Here's Ping Pong Pro Mr. Todd in his ready to play stance.

And here's Ping Pong Pro Mr. Alex in mid pong swing motion. Look at that form!

And below is a little video clip for your viewing pleasure hosted by our own little Miss Clara Paige. It's a hoot if you can stand the topsy turvey camera action.

Yep, She's 6 Already!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY ANGEL!!

My baby girl is 6 years old today. Well she will be at 8:23 pm tonight. I can't believe that it's been six whole years since Alex & I began our journey into parenthood. Whew! It doesn't seem like it's been that long but it's definitely been interesting and full of fun. Clara Paige is a delight and full of energy and life. If you didn't know us back then you might not believe she was born with BLACK and CURLY hair. Maybe I'll post some of those soon pics soon for posterity's sake. She was then and is now beautiful on the inside and out.

Here she is with her b'day morning goodies. Her party isn't until next weekend so I couldn't let her go through the day w/out some kind of celebration. Birthdays were always special days in my house growing up and so I want them to be for my girls also. One of the best blessings God has ever given me is the ability to be a wife and mom. My memories of carrying Clara Paige and giving birth to her are priceless to me. She's my angel! I love you baby girl and I know Pappy's smiling down on you today to make your day extra special.

"I don't need no one to tell me about heaven

I look at my daughter, and I believe.

I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth

I can see the sunset and I perceive." - Live

Generics/Genetics- It's all Relative!!

Ok so here is my best rendition of a conversation Al had with his mom yesterday. Since I'm away from my pictures at the moment I thought I'd share b/c for some reason Alex and I think it was funny. Sorry Mary, hope you can enjoy the laugh too. It just sounded too cute not to post. It's like a glimps into the relationship b/w a son and his mom.

NOTE: This is paraphrased as I was not actually there for the conversation:

Alex: "Mom, I went to the doctor and my Cholestorol is a little high."
Mary, Al's Mom: "Oh well that's just Generic."
Alex: "Huh, you mean Genetic?"
Mary: "Yeah, that's what I said, Generic."
Alex: "Mom, the word is Genetic! Generic is what Michele buys at the Grocery store."
Mary: "Gener, Gene, oh whatever. You can eat oatmeal. It will lower your cholestorol. It's easy, you just mix it and heat it in the microwave."
Alex: "Oh ok, I guess I'll just do that and heat it up in my microwave I have in my car." (Note this was sarcasm and Alex travels everyday, all day in his company car.)
Mary: "YOU HAVE A MICROWAVE IN YOUR CAR!?!"
Alex: "No Mom. I was just joking."

I promise this was a real conversation and was not adapted from a script of some TV comdey or anything like that. My mother-in-law is an intelligent and loving woman. I just thought this was too adorable not to share. Hope I'm not in trouble now. If you see this post disappear then you'll know.

Guitar Superchicks

A couple of weekends ago Me and CP spent the night with Rachel and her family. Obviously it was right after Christmas hence the decor but it was so cute to watch Emily and my Clara play Guitar Heroes. I have an adorable video that the computer refuses to post that I wish you could see of them rocking out while they play their guitars.

They look like real Rock n Roll Superchicks don't they? I think we'll save guitarist in a rock band as CP's back up plan for her career path though.

They also made cupcakes with Emily & Bailey's little cupcake maker. They really were pretty good and you make them in the microwave. It was a good time and I'm so grateful for good friends and good times.

I gotta new attitude....

disclaimer - I'm going all long winded on ya. I guess I need to use the blog as another therapy session. Just wanted to warn ya.

Ok so I'm working on one anyway. New attitude, that is. I can feel it in there somewhere. Maybe it won't burst out of me until spring or something but I think I need it. There's been so much on my mind lately and I've sort of avoided the blog to some degree b/c I didn't know where or what to post. Last weekend was really hard. Alex and I had to say goodbye to a friend, Brad, and watch another friend, Karen, mourn her husband. It was tough being back in that kind of environment and way too soon. We did get to see an amazing amount of our friends from Tuscaloosa times and our Auburn days. Although we were there for a heartbreaking event, it was strangely comforting and emotionally exhausting. We saw people we haven't seen or talked to in close to 10 years. One of the positives is that we have reconnected with some old friends and we all made a promise to stay in touch. Our preacher from our time at University Church of Christ did part of the service and our Auburn college minister, Jim Brinkerhoff, did the remainder. It was an amazing service and definitely a celebration of his life. As I sat and listened to Jim speak and looked around at all the people from our past in the audience it was a surreal event for me. One moment it was like we were back in school listening to a devotional on Tuesday night and the next moment I was teared up and the next I was laughing. I can say that Karen's strength through it all was most encouraging and empowering. I can feel the pain welling up right now from my own loss but I guess I write all of this to say that one can't let the negative outweigh the positive. If so, then Satan wins. I have bad days of coarse, we all do but I have these moments that pass over me wanting to dance, play and let go. So, I do. I want to. I will and I plan to. Life is too short as I've come to realize more and more as the days go by.

I've heard many depressing and sad things this week in addition to the ones mentioned above, and there are a LOT of prayers needed at this very moment but I'm ready for good news. I want to feel good. I want to laugh. I need to. And you do too. It's a scary time we are living in and the future could be even scarier but I refuse to give in and let life take over my spirit and outlook. I have 3 little angel faced girls who watch my every move (believe me EVERY move) and they are learning about their world through my actions. I want them to appreciate life and the joys it brings. There are always times in life to be serious and concerned but over all I'm a positive person. I want to live that way. I want you to know me and see that in me. God wants me to look inside more than I do and re-evaluate where I am. It's time to take over my attitude and grow in the process.

I've mentioned before that music touches me greatly and well, it does. For some its poetry or reading or singing. For me it's listening to powerful lyrics sung by amazing people that God has gifted with such talent. There is a song that gives me strength every time I hear it. I've posted some of the lyrics for you below. However, I've also found strength through others. Some are friends and some I do not know. I've found blogs that belong to people who have such amazing strength and faith. One of those is linked on my page, Bring the Rain. It's worth checking out but get your Kleenex if you start at the beginning. I hope maybe my ranting and ramblings might have touched you too. If not then maybe I gave you a little something to think about. I love you all and hopefully I'll get back to the norm and have some funny or cute pictures to post soon of my girlies.

"Even though the journey's long

And I know the road is hard

Well, the One who's gone before me

He will help me carry on

After all that I've been through

Now I realize the truth

That I must go through the valley

To stand upon the mountain of God"

Third Day

J-E-L-L-O

This weekend will not be a fun one for us. We will be going to Tuscaloosa for the services of Brad Carpenter. It will be hard. Harder than I probably think it will. Anyway, to lighten the mood I thought I would delight you with another edition of Maggisms.

The other day Mags got mad at me b/c I would not make Jello at 7:30 in the morning. I know, I know, how could I be such a bad mommy!?! But I don't know about you but Jello is not my food of choice in the morning. Anyway, later on that day I did make the Jello for my girls. Well once it was finally ready Alex got Maggie a big bowl of it. I was downstairs, probably messing with this blog, and Maggie apparently told her daddy that "This is the best Jello in the whole world. Mommy should sell this its so good!!" So there you have it. I might not be able to make homemade pizza but I can knock out some Tropical Punch Jello!

PS-I love my girls all the same so I didn't want you to think I only post about Maggie but right now she is just the funniest!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Prayer Request

More sadness seems to have made it's way around here. Please put in your prayers the family of Brad Carpenter. Brad passed away last night from some kind of cardiac arrest or blood clot.

We went to Auburn with Brad and Karen (Caples) Carpenter and attended the Auburn Christian Student Center together. Also they ended up in Tuscaloosa while we were there and we attended church together. Brad was very close to our age and he and Karen have two precious little boys. This was (like my dad) totally unexpected and sudden. Some of you may know Brad and Karen and some of you may not but do know that his family is hurting tremendously right now. No one wants to lose anyone they love but it's especially so hard to explain and understand when some one has to leave us so suddenly and so young. Brad always seemed happy and always smiled, again like my dad. As I'm sure you might have figured out this has affected me greatly and has made those painful feelings from my dad's death more raw again. My heart aches for Karen. I know that pain and it's like the worst nightmare you can imagine but only while you are awake.

I have to say too, I can't tell you how many of our AU family I have talked to, heard from, gotten emails from about this. It's a family that only the lucky get to experience. We rally that's for sure.

Agian, please pray that Christ comforts her as much as possible!

Good Advice

Christmas Highlights

Here are just a few highlights from our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

My dad made this doll house for me when I was little and so in honor of him we passed it down to my girls (with some needed updates)!!