My Sweet Family

Kapriel's 11th birthday -- so hard to believe.  Its such a sweet life to have 3 precious grandkids & 3 precious kids.  Love being so blessed!

NEW RING

Imagine our disappointment when we realized that our 25th wedding anniversary reception was going to have to be cancelled due to the weather and road conditions..... 125 invitations had been sent out. I was pretty sad by it but we received phone calls, cards and etc... from our friends and loved ones letting us know they were thinking about us. 3 friends even came out of Madison county braving the roads to get here. Our hearts were touched.

This is the ring that my dear hubby - whom I still think of as "the man of my dreams" 25 years later came me for our 25th wedding anniversary! Needless to say I totally LOVE IT!!

Although the day didn't go as planned we are still so thankful that we were able to spend it together!

"SNOW" much f-u-n!!!

This year for Christmas we bought Kapriel a digital camera -- she LOVES it! It has alot of built in frames in it as well as games... only problem is we have to be careful.....she is always clicking away! Glad she is so happy with gift!

25th coming UP

Okay, So this photo is sideways and I am not real computer savy --- please turn your head to view it...sorry! February 6th, 2011 will be our 25th wedding anniversary - I don't have to tell you how impossible that seems. We had our photo taken for our invitations. We have decided to have our get together at our house - cause its what says the most about us! We have 100 on our list so far to invite --- we have been blessed with so many precious family and friends! I am having a blast planning it....... my main concern is the weather --- I just pray it doesn't snow and/or ice.. It will be on Sunday 2/6/11 from 2-4p! On Tuesday we will leave for a 4 day stay in Hot Springs.... So excited! :)

Just Me

Today I spent alot of time thinking about my momma. With Christmas only a few days away my mind keeps going back to when I was a child and how our holidays were always so filled with family and with love. March will be 2 years since she went to Heaven but I still find myself going to the phone to call her and share something with her. Daddy still has a difficult time ... I remind him as I remind myself that momma wouldn't come back to earth even if she could - she is happy and only has goodness where she is ..... only for selfish reasons do we wish it. It makes me feel better to know that now she can take full breaths, she has no pain nor suffering, no more chemo, radiation, being stuck with needles. These thoughts are what gets me thru each day.

Let the Summer Fun Begin

Pools Open - Time for summer
Kyla & Kapriel having some summer fun!!

Tana going off the slide.....

We love having a pool in our backyard....it provides hours & hours of entertainment. Not to mention after mowing the lawn for 2 hours how wonderful it is to go cool off!

Cousins - BFF

Chance & Damon

are 4 months apart... Chance born in July & Damon in November. These boys have been more like "brothers" than cousins. Before they hit the teen years they practically were together 24/7 in the summer & on the weekends... Riding 4-wheelers, fishing, playing games etc... As with anything as they get older they have less time to hang out and just enjoy life. When they do get to spend time together it is greatly enjoyed... Cousins but also BFF's...

Senior Year

How can it be that the sweet little boy I carried in my tummy for 8 months & 1 week is now 17 years old, a senior in high school and WAYYYY taller than I am. I remember crying the day he started kindergarten & thankful that the year 2010 was so far away.... I am not ready for it to be here but he is... I can't imagine getting ready for work each morning & not going in to tell him to "get ready for school" I'm certainly going to miss that part of our lives. Jeff & I are so proud of him...he has many decisions to make but he has made the most important one to have God as a part of his life.
Seems like I do alot of looking at photos - crying, laughing and smiling.... You have grown into an awesome young man bubby but you will always be "my baby"
I love you!
Mom

This is what....

strep-throat looks like. Last month Chance complained of a sore throat...it was red & had white spots on it so I took him to the doctor thinking "strep" but the doctor did a throat culture & it came back negative & said he had a virus... The next morning he woke up & it looked worse. So, we head back to the doctor, another throat culture & another $35.00 & this time less that 24 hours laterit came back positive....

He was given 7 different medications to take... Amoxeilion[sp] at TOTAL of 3000 mg a day so yes of course his stomach was upset. Normally, this momma would throw in some chicken noodle soup but my sick baby wanted potato soup which I was happy to make for him.

2010
It's a new year. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for it. 2009 was such a rough year that I honestly don't think I'm ready for any disappointment quite yet. I'd much rather twenty ten be a year of God's outpouring love & blessing so instead of making a list of things I'm going to do, I thought I'd make a list of things that I will not stop doing in 2010.

I will not pretend I'm super mom.

I will not stop crafting.

I will not stop loving the Target $1 aisle.

I will not stop blogging, although I won't promise that it will be daily.

I will not stop wishing I had a maid & a cook.

I will not let life get me down

I will not be afraid of being real

I will not stop reading.

I will not stop eating dessert.

I will not stop wishing I could sleep more.

I will not be afraid to be me.

I will not stop making spontaneous purchaes.

I will not stop eating cookies for breakfast.

So what will you not do in 2010?

Bringing in 2010

It has been a tradition in my family for at least 40 years that on New Years Eve we all meet at one of our houses [my parents, aunts/uncles took turns hosting each year] bring tons of food to snack on & play "pitch" as we bring in the New Year. It is always such a blessing to spend time with family.

Daddy & Damon playing cards...
Chance & Damon acting "tough"

Madison, Chelsea & Kapriel had a great time playing Barbies

Kyla, Dana & DaltonWe had 3 tables of "pitch players" going ...

& of course we had Mr. Damon in his impressive hat... NOT

I hope everyone has an awesome 2010.... How does your family bring in the New Year?

3 Generations

It's hard to believe that my daughter has a 7 year old daughter of her own. The older 'lil Miss Kapriel McKenzie gets the more I fall in love with her and the day she was born I didn't think I could love her anymore.

I see so much of her momma in her - she has curly beautiful hair, dark brown eyes and freckles..She can be quick to get an "attitude" but just as quick to bless your heart.

Just as all of children - my grandchild brings me many blessings and great joy!

Thankful = Blessed

I love my family... I love being a mom. I love My Heavenly Father for allowing me these 6 blessings.

Thanksgiving 2009 was a hard one this year...our first without my momma...I know she was looking down on us ...we made it thru the day but oh how we wish she could have been here.

Summer Vacation

Every summer when the kids go to camp - Jeff & I take a week of vacation and enjoy the time together. This year we went to "Beaver Lake Front Cabins" in Eureka Springs. It was very private and our cabin was wonderful. The peace & tranquality of the place was just want our souls needed. It is something that we look forward to every year! Thank you Heavenly Father for allowing us to spend this time together as we draw closer to you.

They Got it ....

My dad is very allergic to mosquitoes.... a few years ago while sitting on hit front porch - he smacked a mosquitoe.... a few months later he had a very small red bump come up...over the years it started to grow... A few weeks ago I made him a doctor appointment...Dr. Bonner informed us that he thought is was skin cancer - he had a biosopy on it and it did come back as skin cancer - we went to see Dr. Wood who explained everything he would do during the surgery.. what was suppose to have taken 15 minutes ended up being 55 minutes as it was alot deeper than he orignally thought.... daddy ended up with 19 stitches and will have quite the little scar ... they had to take a flap of his skin and form it to cover the hole... We just PRAISE GOD that Dr. Wood was able to get IT ALL. It was such a blessing to hear those words and to know once again just how our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers.

My Daddy....

Is trying SOOO hard to be strong... he still misses my momma so much. It breaks my heart sometimes just to look at him. I can't even imagine loosing my soul mate... We try our best to keep him busy but I know it doesn't take away the pain. Please keep him in your prayers... We know only God is the only one that can truly bring about healing.

Devil's Den State Park

The boys enjoying their "picnic dinner"
Chance, Kapreil & Addison on the paddle boats... They loved this!

2 weeks ago after church we took a trip over to Devil's Den for "something different to do" - We were lucky to grab the last picnic available -- enjoyed some good 'ole sandwiches & chips. Afterwards the kids played on the playground for a bit than off to the paddle boats. Kapriel was a little scared to get on at first but Uncle Chance assured her that it was fun! They had a blast!!!

My cup runneth ..... OVER

There are no words to truly express how blessed I am to be married to my best friend for 23 years. He still does the "little things" that touch my heart. The other night when I got home he was already in bed asleep... I tip toe to my side of the bed to & take my glasses off to put them on my night stand only to that - "that spot has been taken" I get the flash light to see what is there and find that on his way home from work he stopped at Harp's & bought a package of candy kisses and put them in my favorite yellow coffee mug and put them on my night stand. Is that not precious or what?

Thank you Heavenly Father for creating my soul mate & for bringing us together.
May we continue to grow in your love & may it glorify you.

My GIRL...

Jeff & I love the summer for MANY - MANY reasons but I think the very first one would be our precious grand-daughter gets to spend it with us. We have so much fun with her & can't believe that she is already 7....

Last Year....

I have been carrying around a box of kleenex for the past week ... Chance is going to be a SENIOR this year.... I keep thinking geez.... WHERE has the time gone.... 17 years ago I was carrying him around in my tummy.... NOW he is a SENIOR, drives, doesn't need me to "baby" him anymore.... I also feel sad because I know how much momma would have loved to see him graduate... she was so proud of the girls when they did & took so many pictures....

He doesn't even come close to realizing how much his life will change after his SENIOR YEAR... but I guess that is the beauty of youth!!!

Enjoy your year "my little man" --- you deserve it!