About Me

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Welcome to my blog. I'm a Mississippi country girl transplanted to Grapevine, TX. I have been blessed with a great husband, and my kiddos, Aleck and Ella. When I'm not eating bon bons on the couch, I am my kid's room mom, PTA member, Sunday School teacher, taxi driver, amateur photographer and personal chef. When I'm not doing those things, I'm running a small jewelry business, 2nd Amendment Jewelry (www.2ndamendmentjewelry.com), that I started with my twin sister, Glenda. It's a crazy and busy life, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world. I am so thankful for all the blessings in my life!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

I love Veggie Tales

Aleck was drawing today and he randomly said, “We have to obey God.  If we don’t, we don’t get in the Promised Land.  We will walk around for forty years.” 

He watched a lot of Veggie Tales on our road trip and this was one of the lessons.

Love it.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Bye Bye Bottle

It’s official.  No more bottle.  The plan was to switch  Ella to a sippy cup when we got back from our trip.  After our long road trip, I was too tired last week to deal with the repercussions of taking the bottle.  I didn’t want Tom to have to deal with a fussy Ella over the weekend I was gone to my scrapbook retreat so we didn’t switch over the weekend.

Ella had her last bottle and her first dentist appointment yesterday.  I didn’t want her to be fussy for her appointment so I gave her a bottle, but in my mind I had already decided that was the last one.  The dentist asked me, “When did she stop taking a bottle?”  I replied, “She JUST stopped taking a bottle.”  I didn’t tell her it was just 3 hours ago. 

Yesterday, she periodically asked for a bottle, but it wasn’t a big deal when I gave her a sippy cup.  This morning when I gave her a sippy cup, she insisted I hold her on her back like a baby and hold the sippy cup for her while she drank her milk.  She didn’t really get fussy and demanding until she woke from her nap.  She cried and rolled around on the floor.  I am so thankful she wasn’t chanting, “ohnnnn gaga,  ohnnnnn gaga” in the whiney voice that she uses to get her bottle.  That would have pushed me over the edge and possibly made a liar out of me.  Tom said, “Let’s just wean her.  Let’s give her a bottle tonight.  What if she ends up on a shrink’s couch when she’s older because we didn’t wean her from the bottle.”  Daddy hates to see his little girl unhappy.  I didn’t give in.  She’s two.  It’s time.

I really hope she doesn’t wake up tomorrow chanting, “ohnnn gaga, ohnnn gaga.”

Monday, July 25, 2011

Jesus is Powerful

Aleck attended his first VBS tonight. He missed St. Vincent’s VBS because we were traveling, so I took him to Compass Church. He was so excited because he was in the same class with Brooke and Presley. He had a great time and after we got in the car he said, “Jesus is powerful. He is in us."  When I looked at his handout from the night, I realized he had memorized Ephesians 3:16. It does a Mommy’s heart such good to hear her little man quoting scripture.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Gabby Scrappers Mini Retreat

This was the view from my table at The Gabby Scrappers Mini Retreat this weekend.  Can you say paradise?

I worked on my 2009 scrapbook/blog book and caught up on my blog posts from our trip home.

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We go to the Covered Bridge Inn twice a year, but Catherine was nice enough to invite us to her lakehouse on Eagle Mountain Lake this weekend.  As usual, we all had a great time.

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Terry worked on her daughter’s Christmas stocking.DSC_6798Dede celebrated the completion of her mirror.  It turned out super cute!

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We ate supper at Ginger Brown’s, a restaurant known for their wonderful cinnamon rolls.  Every meal comes with a cinnamon roll for dessert.

DSC_6813DSC_6816We had to get the rolls to go because we were racing back to the house to catch the sunset.  Cari couldn’t wait until we got back to the lakehouse to eat hers.DSC_6817

We raced down to the dock just to catch the final stages of the sunset which is just fine with me because some of the prettiest colors come right after sunset.

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Thanks, Catherine, for a wonderful weekend spent with an amazing group of women. 

See you in October, Gabby Scrappers!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Soccer

Aleck had his first soccer class at the Hurst Recreation Center today.  It’s just a four week session, and they don’t actually play games, but it is an introduction to the sport for him.

Aleck has wanted to take soccer since Brooke and Presley started soccer last year, but for various reasons he hasn’t been able to do it before now.  We went out and bought him “soccer clothes” this afternoon after naptime.  He was pumped!  He wanted to wear his clothes from the store.  He was willing to wait until we got home, but the minute we walked in the door the tags came off and the clothes went on.  The rest of the afternoon, Aleck would periodically say, “Do you like my soccer clothes, Mommy?”

For his first time with organized sports, he did really well.  He could take the ball from one end of the gym to the other pretty easily.  He was chosen to be line leader and was so proud when he was walking out of the gymnasium. 

His instructor gave him a stamp on his hand.  Note to self: Never, NEVER intentionally wash a good job stamp off in the bath unless you desire a mini meltdown to follow.

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Saturday, July 16, 2011

Fruits of Our Labor

We stayed up until midnight shelling, but we almost finished before we went to bed.  Our fingers were purple when we finished.DSC_6414DSC_6413DSC_6419Ella wanted to help shell and was so proud when she found a pea.  I wish I had brushed Ella’s hair before taking pictures.  She has a crazy case of bed head.DSC_6403DSC_6404DSC_6401DSC_6406

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The peas, corn and tomatoes were homegrown by Mom and Dad.  Yum Yum!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Pea Picking

The garden is coming in while I am in Mississippi.  I am in heaven.  I think it has been at least ten years since I have been home to help when the garden comes in.  Jessica has been wonderful to watch the kids while I pick.  Since Dad’s knee is bothering him, he hasn’t been able to weed like he usually does and the garden is full of weeds, but that hasn’t affected the yield.  The peas vines are loaded!  We picked a couple of bushels today and will probably have at least that tomorrow afternoon.  We are going to sit in front of the television and watch Harry Potter tonight while we shell peas. 

This visit has brought back such wonderful memories of my childhood.  I have this great desire to have a home in the country so my kids can experience all the wonderful things that I did growing up.  Until that happens, I am so thankful that we can go home to Mississippi.IMAG0216IMAG0213IMAG0214IMAG0219IMAG0221

Glenda and Dad in the pea field.

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Thursday, July 14, 2011

Canning Tomatoes

Mom and Dad have gardened for as long as I can remember.  When we were little, too small to help, Dad built us a tree house in the back yard in front of the garden so they could keep an eye on us while they worked.  Glenda and I would play in that tree house for hours, while Momma worked in the garden.  I remember one time Momma dropping her hoe and taking off screaming down the row after she had seen a snake.  She was sure it was a diamondback rattler.  I’m pretty sure she wet herself that day.  She refused to go back to the garden for a few days after that.

When we were old enough to help, my parents made us work in the garden alongside them.  Man, I hated gardening.  It was hard work.  Unless we got up early in the morning, it was hot as blue blazes.  I might add that I have NEVER been an early morning person, so it was usually hot as blue blazes when I was in the garden.

Even when we were in college, we would eat supper together and head to the garden.

Isn’t it funny how life completely changes our perspective on things.  Looking back, those times in the garden alongside my family are some of my most treasured memories. 

This week, the tomatoes were putting on their last show before the vines begin to wither.  There are few things in life that taste as good as a tomato sandwich on white bread with a little salt.  I was one happy girl.

Glenda and I canned salsa a few nights this week.  Today Mom, Dad and I canned tomatoes.

 

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We filled the sink with a mess of tomatoes and covered them with boiling water to loosen the skin.

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We rinsed the tomatoes with cold water, then peeled and diced the tomatoes, discarding green spots and blemishes.

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While the tomatoes were cooking, we boiled the lids to sterilize them.  The jars were still hot after a hot rinse in the dishwasher.

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For the life of me, I can’t remember how long we cooked the tomatoes, but the look on the stirrers face says it was quite some time.

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Next, we poured the tomatoes in the jars.

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Followed by a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of sugar on the top of each filled jar. 

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After hours of work, the end product was six jars of tomatoes.  It’s a ton of work, but worth every bit of it.  I can totally taste the difference in soup or chili when I use my canned tomatoes.  The greatest thing about it is that I know that my food wasn’t drowned in harmful pesticides, and it was picked at the peak of ripeness.

  I’m making the trek home next summer during tomato season and I hope to fill my pantry with enough tomatoes to last the entire year.

I am so looking forward to putting my kids to work in the garden when the time comes.  I have no doubt they will hate it as much as I did.  But, I also hope that they one day look back with the fond memories that I have with the people that I treasure.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for teaching us so much about so many things, but especially how to be self-reliant and not be afraid of hard work.  I love you both and am so thankful for you.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Tea Party with Superman and Princess Ella

Ruby and Denman, dear family friends, stopped by for a visit.  Aleck and Ella were playing dress up.  Ella was dressed as a princess and Aleck had his Superman pajamas on.  The kids thought it was wonderful that they had new recruits for a tea party. DSC_6093

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Read by The Very Special Nana.

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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Birthday Celebrations, Take Two

Today is Cathy’s birthday.  Unfortunately, Tom had to fly back to Texas, but the rest of the family was in Oxford for the celebration.  Ella had a few more presents to open, and more candles to blow out. 

It was special that we could celebrate Ella’s birthday with family, but I missed Poppo so much.  Ella missed Poppo too.  She would see his cane in the corner of the living room and go get it and say, “Ohhnnn Poppo.”  Translation:  “I want Poppo.”  It broke my heart and brought tears to my eyes every time she did it.  I suppose I could have moved the cane, but it also gave me a peace to know that she remembers Poppo and is asking for him. 

Poppo loved Ella and Aleck so much.  My children may be too young to really remember him, but as they grow, we will show them pictures and tell them stories about how much their Poppo loved them. 

 

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