June 6th - Another special day

Today is my Mom & Dad's Anniversary.

Another 1st for us since we lost him last fall.

What a special day it must have been. The love between my mom and dad was unsurpassed.

I can not begin to imagine how my mom feels today but thankfully she is with good friends while we are still here at the beach. I can't imagine what my life would have been like without my dad in it. I wish he were still here so badly. Several times since we've been at the beach I've imagined him here b/c he loved being with his girls on the beach. He would always dig and build in the sand with them. He was my mom's rock. Wherever, whenever and whatever my mom or us wanted to do, my dad was there going along with it.

Please remember us today, especially my mom. Getting through all these firsts is a rough ride but we are a strong family and we will make it through each one of them and be stronger for it! Daddy would want that!

** I just have to add that while we were getting ready for "annual beach pictures" this morning Maggie was just talking to herself and said "HAPPINESS IS PAPPYNESS!" She then told me she said that because she was thinking about Pappy. Isn't it amazing the mind of a child. I had to bite back my tears because it was so precious!!

Planting at Elmwood

Last weekend me, my mom and the girls headed over to Elmwood Cemetery to plant some flowers in my Dad's family's plot to honor my dad. That's where my dad is buried. As morbid as that might sound, it's actually a place of peace for me. I thought going there would produce feelings of anxiety but it really doesn't. It's where so much of my family history lies and Elmwood itself is a Birmingham landmark.

Nana and the girlies watering the flowers.


The twins raking up leaves and debris with their little rakes. Too cute.

If you've never visited Elmwood, you should. There's lots of old Birmingham families that have places there like the Brunos and Lavoys. Anyway, there are these concrete statues there that are amazing. This is just one of them that my girls are standing under.

Here's a pretty bridge the girls are standing on. I know it seems weird to be taking leisure pictures in a cemetery. Believe me it's not something we do often but like I said Elmwood is different and for some reason I like it there.

Oh, and by the way for all you bammers out there - your precious Bear is there too!!

CP's Awards Day

We're at the beach this week and loving it. I got lucky and there is Internet access in our condo so I can do some catching up on the blog so maybe I can get some beach shots in soon!

Clara Paige's class had their awards day the day before school let out. Here's a picture of her sweet little class. She had an excellent year. CP won the Best Listener award because she always kept Ms. Cunningham in line on what she had said that day. I'll agree with that. She's got the memory of an elephant. She NEVER forgets, ANYTHING!! We loved her teacher, Ms. Cunningham this year. We will miss her next year when my baby starts 1st grade!!!
This is her best buddy she made at school this year, Abbey. I think Abbey and Clara Paige were pretty inseparable throughout the year. We plan on getting them together for "play dates" this summer.

And finally here is CP with Ms. Cunningham. She was a blessing to us this year. She took in my baby and helped her grow into a wonderful and independent student!

My Kidos

Here's just a quick few shots I thought were cute enough to share with ya. We're heading out on an adventure to Atlanta Motor Speedway tomorrow for the ATL Pit Tour Club annual Picnic. Then on Monday we head to the beach so not sure if I'll be able to post before we get back. I hope to get up picture of CP's last day of school soon too. We'll see.

Here is the beginning of what's to come and I dread it already. It's really cute now but it won't be 10 years from now when all my babies are walking around with phones stuck to their heads or better yet texting all the time. Who knows what will have developed by then. For now it's cute. Clara Paige was calling her best school buddy, Abbey. They were too cute because 6 year olds really don't have a lot to talk about on the phone.

And I threw this one in because it's so cute. I plan on taking another picture just like this when they are all teenagers. Of coarse this is my girlies in the Jeep with our precious neighbors Zack and Nicholas.
What a crew they are! I love 'em all!!

My New Toy!!

Well, in case you didn't already know, I have a new toy. For quite a while I've wanted a Jeep Wrangler. I'd say I've had this itch for around 10 years. I'm not sure what it was that made me love them so much. I've known a few people who had them and decided they were cool.

I really haven't talked about it much in the last several years because the idea of ever owning one went down on the list of priorities when babies started into the picture. When Clara Paige came along I realized a Jeep was not the safest place for a baby. And then when the twins bounced into the scene my dream melted I suppose. Can't you see us bee-bopping down the road with 3 car seats smushed into a Jeep?? Not very practical or possible.

Anyway, over the years we collected an old Ford Explorer. It was an excellent "extra" vehicle and would pull Al's trailer. A month or two ago, while Alex was recovering from the "accident" we came up with the idea to sell the Explorer and look for a Jeep. And below is what we ended up with (after much pain and suffering but that's another story for another day!!) Let's just say I LOVE MY JEEP! Alex really took it upon himself to find one that I would love (again there's a story there but I'll refrain)! He really did good finding one just like the ones that always caught my eye as my favorites. He was determined to get one for me. Some might think he was buying me off as he jokes but he was very sincere in letting me know that I had been through a lot in this past year and he wanted to get something for me that I had always wanted and that made me happy. Don't get me wrong - material things do not make me happy! However, the thought and love that goes into him thinking of me first was as awesome feeling. My girls love it and we as a family can all enjoy it as our little fun vehicle. I'm sure there will be lots of memories made with the Jeep involved.

Thanks honey for loving me so much!!

We took it up to the empty lots in our neighborhood for this photo shoot. If you look closely you can see my sweet fellow Jeepsters in the back seat.
Here's a close up of my new little Jeep fans. They love it just like their momma.

One more shot before I leave ya. Oh yeah, Al and I do have plans to do some improvements on it. It will be our project to take on together. We've already replaced the bumpers but that was after this picture was taken. I'll post pictures as we progress so you can see the transformation. You see, I like rough and tumble Jeeps. There'll be no Girly Jeep for me. I want it to look tough. I know, its a contradiction in my personality but hey, I have lots of layers!!

T-Mobile Mom to Mom Quiz

Not sure this is spot on with my real parenting style but it was fun to take!!

T-Mobile Mom to Mom Quiz: "

Take the fun, Mom to Mom quiz and discover your parenting style.

"

A Girl & Her Dog

So, I captured some cute moments the other day between Gracie and our Kelsey dog. Since Clara Paige was born Kelsey has always been a good dog to our girls. Now, she doesn't just absolutely adore them b/c well, she was our first baby. As you can imagine she was demoted as the #1 child once babies came into the picture so she does harbor some resentment deep down inside. However, she tolerates our girls just fine.

So, a couple of days ago Gracie wanted to brush Kel. It sounded like a good idea to me b/c I've never seen our dalmatian shed as much as she has this year. Kelsey generally likes to be brushed. She just doesn't like being still for it. Below is how it all went down:

Chasing Kelsey all over the deck while trying to brush her. Kelsey wandering in the house, out of the house, into the yard then back onto the deck for some more brushing time.

Bonding begins. Kelsey gave up and plopped down so Grace could give her a good brush down. She decided this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Ahhh, they love each other. The dog is brushed and the child is happy. Priceless!

Maybe I'll go see if Gracie wants to brush her right now.

Next up: My New Jeep! Stay tuned.

Let's Play Some Catch Up!!

Ok since I've neglected my poor friend Blogger lately, let's do some catching up so I can get on with my life already and quit feeling guilty! heehee.

This was taken Mother's Day. It was a nice and relaxing day. Unfortunately My Hubbs had to work that day so it was a girls day. Me and my mom and the girlies took a trip out to see my Granny (the matriarch of my mom's side of the family)!! To know Granny is to love her. She's the best! Sorry I didn't get any pictures. The one above was all we captured. I wanted one of me and mom and the girls but the rain said otherwise!! It showed up like seconds after this picture was snapped.

** My brother was there for lunch so I guess it wasn't an ALL girls day!! Sorry Jonathan. Didn't mean to leave ya out. Love ya.

Next up is a quick picture of us and our dear friend Ms. Chanda (as my girls call her). Brad and Chanda Tomlin are precious friends of ours that we met while in Tuscaloosa. They were there for us in so many ways and we have tons of memories together. You might not believe this but as much as we LOVE the Tomlins, Chanda is one of the BIGGEST Bama fans you will meet. And we were really tight friends. Seriously!!
Anyway, Mr. Brad and Ms. Chanda are expecting their first sweet baby girl in just the next few weeks!! This pic was from her baby shower in Tuscaloosa. CP and I trekked down there for the event. It was so special to see Chanda and all our Ttown buddies that we miss so very much.
We can't wait to meet sweet little Miss Henley Tomlin once she arrives.

And finally, I went with some work buddies to Sips N Strokes on Monday night. I'd heard all about this experience but never been to one. This location was on Hwy 280 and once we FOUND it we had a blast. Just for anyone out there that might try to venture out to this particular location - "Sips N Strokes" is NOT on the outside of the building. We did NOT know this bit of information so needless to say we were LATE! The instructor even nick-named us the Slackers in the Back. Ha! Anyway, I do recommend this adventure to any girls (or guys willing) out there that need a night out! I noticed lots of friends, moms and daughters and of coarse co-workers. So, above is my masterpiece. It turned out pretty good considering all the laughter and giggling that was going on in our little corner of the room!!

More to come soon!!

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Let me preface with this - My girls have kinda pack peddled on their fear of storms lately since we have had so many come through our area. Therefore, Maggie does not like us to watch the weather or even the News for that matter these days. And she lets us know it.

Mom was watching the "News" this morning and Maggie promptly tells her "I don't like watching that, it scares me!" She was referring to the weather particularly but with everything that's going on in and around our country these days I can't say I blame her. I'm a little scared too my little one!

Maybe it's a good time to be hitting our knees with some heartfelt prayers four the Good Ole - Red White and Blue. I think we need God on our side these days!!

Have a great day everyone!

I know it's been a week!!!

I have not abandoned my blogging duties. I'm just on a little unintentional hiatus I suppose. Ever feel like not much is going on in your life but really there's a ton of stuff but it just doesn't make it to the blog?? That's how I feel lately. But I'll get back with ya soon. Promise!!

Mothers

"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Mother's Day. I know I did. Honoring and respecting one's mother is one of the best and cherished things a child can do.

May 5th, 1949

That was a good day! Some of you may know what it was. Some of you may be wondering what kind of extra special Cinco de Mayo was that? But for me and my family it was the day one of the best men, husbands, fathers, and pappys was given to this Earth. Yes, there are tears running while I write this but that only means that I miss him terribly. If it weren't for that day 60 years ago, my mom wouldn't have met him, me and my brother wouldn't be here and neither would my sweet girls. He has 3 of the most precious legacies. That I do know personally. I don't have time to write all the things going through my heart today. I wish I did but I just wanted you to know so I could share my birthday wishes to my Dad with you and all the world. It's a strange thing this May 5th, 2009. I feel like I should be picking up the phone to call him to say "Happy Birthday Dad." I feel like I should be doing something to honor him. Maybe somehow me and mom will come up with something by the end of the day. I knew it was coming and I knew it would be hard but maybe I didn't know it would be this hard. However, I want my dad's birthday and my dad's memories to be something to celebrate b/c he was such an extraordinary person. He was a father, brother, neighbor, pappy, husband and a friend. He was a good man.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Hope you are having a great Cinco de Mayo up there.

PS-Also, you know I'm a music lover and that I get from dad. So, my plan was to put some of daddy's favorite bands on my music player for today.

***Hey, I finally got the music to work. Some of these might not have been his favorites but I certainly remember him singing them to me when I was a little girl.***

I'm going to leave them up for a while so enjoy especially if this is your kind of music!