Week in review

Another week has almost come and gone. I can't believe it! Here are a few highlights:

*Matthew had his end of year piano recital on Monday. He told Bryon that his birthday present was a perfect performance. He didn't disappoint! He played both his solo and ensemble pieces perfectly. We couldn't have been more proud!

*Thomas had a game on Monday night and Matthew had a game tonight. Those are always so much fun. Every time Matthew made a great play, he immediately looked to see that we were watching him. I love that!

*Mary Beth is now asking to go to the potty in addition to going anytime I put her on the potty. We ate out after the game and she pointed to the bathroom and said, "Poo poo!" I guess I should get serious about training her. Maybe when school gets out.

*We are in the middle of the great Barnhill clean out. Here is why: Our family decided to pitch in and buy my mother an arbor for her birthday. I ordered it only to find out a week later that Dad thought it was his responsibility to order it! Well, I just couldn't see how I could refuse a beautiful arbor sitting at my door when I have the perfect place for it especially when the $36 shipping fee was nonrefundable! Bryon agreed that we could keep it so long as we had a garage sale that we have been mulling over to pay for it. I have been working like a dog going through the house and separating the things I no longer need (think baby clothes/equipment). I think it is so interesting how excited I get to aquire things and how I am equally excited to see them leave my house!

*Tomorrow is Matthew's track day at school. This is a very big deal! I remember my track day in kindergarten at Woodland Forrest Elementary in Tuscaloosa, AL. There was a contest to see who could blow the first bubble from a piece of bubble gum. I won! What a proud moment in my life! ;)

*This weekend will consist of a Cinco de Mayo party tomorrow night, 2 baseball games, a birthday party, and lots of yard work. I am sure it will fly by!

Have a wonderful weekend!

My garden

My Madame Issac Periere rose. My favorite flower in the garden. It is the most heavenly thing I have ever smelled!





(Warning: Potentially boring blog!)

Anyone who reads my blog knows how much I love to garden. Next to being with friends and family, it is my favorite activity! It's great for exercise, being outside with the kids, helping to beautify my environment, and take care of the earth God gave us. It makes me appreciate the here and now. Most of my beautiful flowers only last a few days. Some are gorgeous in the early spring and are gone until next year.

My dream is to go through the master gardener program in a few years when all my kids are in school. Can that really be only three years from now?

Yesterday, I was working back there and saw my first vegetable. A jalapeno! Who knew one little jalapeno could bring such joy? I decided to take a few pictures of my favorite plants in the back yard that are currently blooming:










This guy has been with my from the beggining of my garden. A few weeks ago, there was nothing in the ground but a few twigs. My hummingbirds love the spirea which makes me love it!

My Heritage rose is holding on to one of ME's hairs!

My vegetable garden is getting huge! I can wait to eat fresh veggies really soon!

To my mom.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Here is what I wrote about her last year.

If I could have chosen who my mother would be, I still would have chosen you! I love you so much.

Although I am always anxious for the weekends to get here, Monday morning is one of my favorite times in the entire week. We don't have to be anywhere in particular and Thomas and ME usually sleep late. I love getting back on a schedule and preparing for the upcoming week.

This was a busy and fun weekend!

Friday night, we had a cookout at our future subdivision. It was supposed to be a campout, but severe weather was expected that night (a tornado actually touched down in north Waco) so we went home after dinner. We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows and got to give all the kids a lesson in what a copperhead looks like since one was killed on the path to the fire pit! Two snakes in one week is ENOUGH!

Saturday was Bryon's birthday! We had the boys' pictures and games starting at 8 and ending at 10. Then, after a quick birthday breakfast, we headed to Conroe to spend Bryon's birthday with his family. Bryon and his dad took the kids to a Kids Fest in town and Bryon's mom and I headed to the mall! For part of the shopping trip, Bryon's mom dropped me off and I was able to shop...by myself...no strollers...no diaper bags...in non kid friendly stores...pure heavenHere is a picture of my kids and Shari's kids (Bryon's sister).

Sunday after church, we headed to the Antique Rose Emporium. It was beautiful and I felt like a kid in a candy store! I have been doing my research for months in anticipation of my visit, but I was still overwhelmed! I picked up 4 new roses and it was time to come home.

We were able to drive on a beautiful scenic road outside of Brenham and it did my soul much good! I love driving off the beaten path. I guess it is from my days working in home care where I had directions such as "Turn right when you see a bunch of cows", etc!

It was a whirlwind weekend but fun nonetheless. Matthew has his end of year piano recital tonight which, sadly, I will miss so I can take Thomas to his game. Bryon will stay with Matthew since he missed his Christmas recital.

Happy Monday morning to you!

Thursday night

It's Thursday night! What a week! I am definitely happy that tomorrow is Friday. I don't exactly know why this week was such a flurry of activity but it was. Between baseball games, church, and snake hunting, I have hardly sat down. Last night, I realized that most of the meals I had eaten (all but about one) were eaten while I was standing up running around. For the first time in my life, I picked up a pizza at the pizza place and ate it with the box on my lap on the way to 2 baseball games! This morning, I met one of my friends for a muffin and coffee at Starbucks. It was divine-pure heaven-to sit, savor a meal, and talk with Cindy. Boy, did I need it!

On to the snake. I have hunted high and low for the interloper and I haven't seen him. I have gone out 5-6 times a day, shovel in hand, looking for him. I have raked under every bush in my backyard. I am hoping that he has made a new home for himself in the easement. We are going to get something called SnakeAway that is supposed to emit a scent that snakes don't like. I was skiddish about going out with the kids on Tuesday, but by yesterday, I was able to start working in the garden and letting the kids play under my close supervision.

Tonight, we started celebrating Bryon's birthday. My birthday boy will be 35 on Saturday. Tomorrow night, we have a camp out at our future subdivision, and we are going to Conroe on Saturday to see his parents. Tonight, we gave Bryon his gift-a hammock- and ate grilled out pork tenderloin and his favorite cookies-Mary Beth cookies. Every year my mother makes him banana ice cream cake which he craves every year!

Saturday, we have both of the boys pictures and games between 8 and 10 a.m. Then we are headed for a less than 24 hour trip to Bryon's parents house. We haven't been since Christmas and Bryon hasn't been with his parent's on his birthday for at least the past 10 years. Sunday, Bryon is taking me to the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham. I have become an antique rose fanatic over the past few years and have been itching to go to the A.R.E. for quite some time. I'll write more about that later.

Yesterday, ME got into my purse and found my lipstick. I think she had heard the theory that putting lipstick on the outside edges makes your lips look fuller. It's a great look, don't you think? The two pictures depict her surprise at getting caught and her delight in how "funny" she is! My parents think ME is "Elizabeth, Jr." I was always into stuff at her age---potting soil, flour, bananas, birthday cake, pots and pans. What a chip off the old block!

I think that is all for now! I hope everyone has a happy and blessed weekend!

A few stories from the week thus far...

I forgot to mention this one from Sunday. I always pick up ME after bible class and take her to church for a few minutes until she starts getting too active (this usually is a 5 minute turn around). There is no use getting her all cute for church only to have her go to the nursery right after class!

Sunday morning, our family was sitting in the middle of church. The elders were doing most of the service and my dad was doing the call to worship. ME looked up hearing her granddaddy's voice and yelled, "Deedah!" ME has inheirited Matthew's booming voice so the entire church heard her! Dad stopped what he was saying and said, "Hello, Mary Elizabeth!"

ME thought it was a game at this point so she said his name again, "Deeeeeedah!"
Up I shot, bag in hand and hurried to the back so as not to completely throw Dad off! Once again, a 5 minute turn around!

I think my gardening days are over for a while.....

I was talking on the phone yesterday morning and picking weeds in the back yard. At the back of my yard, I saw my raised bed which was starting to sport a few weeds so I headed in that direction. On design flaw in the bed is that it is too close to the fence. In order for me to pull the weeds in the back, I have to jump up on the bed, balance the beams to the back and hold on to the fence for support.

While I was back there, I looked over the fence at the job Bryon and a few other guys did getting most of the underbrush off of the easement. Then my eyes drifted to the 4-5 inch space between the back of the bed and the fence. There my eyes landed on the biggest snake I have ever seen outside of the zoo! I had a moment before I jumped away to look at it. It had a triangular head which I knew meant it was poisonous. It was a copperhead between 2-3 feet long inches below my sandal clad feet! I think I scared Lauren, who was on the phone with me, to death!

I backed away looking for my shovel which I remembered was still in the garage. I yelled to Thomas to open the garage door while I kept my eyes on the snake which at this point had slithered out from behind the bed in my full view. When Thomas opened the garage, I bolted for it looking for my shovel. When I got back, the snake was gone!!!

I went back in the back several times looking for it. I don't have rubber boots, so I was walking around looking like a street walker in shorts and 3 inch high heel boots shovel in hand!

Still no sign of him, but I just don't feel comfortable having my kids play back there yet. In a bizarre way, I am hoping to find him and kill him today. I am just filled with rage that this evil, dangerous creature has chosen my garden to slither around where my children play. Thank God that they didn't find him while I wasn't there.

Another weekend come and gone.

It's amazing how quickly the weekends go. This one was no exception!

Michael was here all week and Friday night Jilinda came in to town to pick him up. They stayed for the weekend to see the baby, run errands, watch the boys play baseball, and celebrate the three family birthdays occurring this week.

Friday night we went to dinner at a great Mexican seafood place in town that I love. It took a while to bring our food so we were there for two hours which is never pleasant with all the kids, but we still had a good time. Then we headed to Barnes and Noble which is one of our favorite hang outs for coffee and books.
Saturday was baseball day! Thomas's game was at 9a.m. The whole team (which most of them I have known since they were born) looked adorable. Thomas hit the ball on the first swing both times at bat and someone remarked that he was one of the only kids who knew to run the bases when the next batter hit the ball. I guess hours of backyard baseball prepared him for that! Unfortunately, my camera battery died before I took lots of pictures of him, but there is always tonight!

In between games, I ran home to recharge the camera battery, oversee Bryon clearing the overgrowth in the easement behind our fence, run to one of my parents' friend's house to talk gardens, and run to a local nursery to pick up a few plants.

Off to Matthew's game at 1 p.m.! This was lots of fun to watch. Definitely more structured than the T-Ball game. Matthew played well and got several good hits. He also caught the ball and tagged a opponent for a forced out.

We went home from the games drenched with sweat. It just shouldn't be in the 90s in April! This makes me nervous about August!

Saturday night, we celebrated with a birthday meal for Lauren, Bryon, and Mom, whose birthdays fall within the next 8 days!

Yesterday, we cleaned, played, and got ready for the week. Last night was book club. This was one of the first times that Matthew didn't put up a fuss about me leaving him. He walked out to the car of my friend (the one he made me sign a contract that I wouldn't hang out with her until 2008) and said to have a good time! M.K. said that was sweet but not nearly as fun as when he fussed at her!

Tonight we have piano at 4 and two games at 6:30. What an afternoon!

Also, happy birthday, Lauren! Today is Lauren's 26th birthday and her first day to be alone with James!

All the planets are aligned

This past day and a half have been particularly great. I can always find happiness in each day, but it is rare and very special to have a day when all goes well.

Yesterday, ME slept until 10, so Thomas and I got lots of one on one time. We colored together and did preschool workbooks.

Late morning, I got to hang out with my mom, sister, nephew, and kids at my sister's house. My two enjoyed playing outside while I got to hold James. I think Lauren enjoyed playing with and laughing at my kids as much as I enjoyed holding her newborn! James reminds me a lot of how Matthew looked as a newborn. It is fun reliving some of that magic with James!

Yesterday afternoon while ME was sleeping, Thomas did puzzles outside while I read and got some sun on my legs. I felt like I was in college again!

Last night, my brother, who is in town on business, took the boys to a Baylor tennis game. They had a blast! Michael said Thomas's eyes were like saucers on the way there. He is enjoying getting bigger and getting to participate in "big boy activities"!

This morning after I dropped the younger two at MDO, I accompanied Matthew's kindergarten class to the zoo. I was so happy that the trip fell on a MDO day! I got to hang out with (and supervise) Matthew and his two favorite friends in his class. A morning thunderstorm threatened to cancel the trip which would have devastated Matthew who woke up at 4 in the morning to inform me that it was "Zoo day"! Fortunately, it cleared up just in time and we enjoyed beautiful weather.

I finished my book last night and completely enjoyed it. Now I am reading The Count of Monte Cristo. It is very long, but I enjoyed the movie so much, I watched it three times in the theatre and a good friend said the book was even better. I can't wait to dig in!

Matthew will be home any minute so I need to get ready. Have a great day!

This and That

I feel very scattered brained right now--almost like I had a baby without the pain! I am sure this post will be filled with lots of random thoughts:

*Totally enjoyed AI last night. Probably the first episode I really enjoyed all season. It was the first night I actually got why people like Chris, although I am sticking with my early prediction that Katharine should win.
*Thomas absolutely loves his little cousin. He talks about him all the time and says he is his favorite person in the whole world. This is the opposite of Matthew who is very concerned about his Aunt Lauren, and wants to make sure she is feeling better.

This makes the conversation I had with Thomas on Monday a little out of place. I went up to the hospital twice to take pictures and I told L and J to call me when they were on their way home so I could take picture of them entering the house. I got the call...

"Thomas, let's hurry over to Aunt Lauren's to take pictures of Baby James!"

"Three times in one day?!" Pause "Mommy, have you ever heard the song, 'One is enough'?"

*ME is in the language explosion phase right now. Every day she comes up with new things to say. She is a speech therapists dream and I love doing language "therapy" with her! We walked by a statue of Jesus in the hospital on Monday and she pointed and said, "Geez!" I think God will forgive the whole Lord's name in vain thing since she is 20 months old!

*We are totally loving being outside right now. We hardly spend a waking moment in the house until the kids go to bed. I had to change to boys' outfits three times each yesterday because of water fights. ME's new favorite thing to do is to climb up the slide and hang out in the non-toddler proofed fort. This is fine if I am there, but I have found her up there a few times unsupervised if I have turned my back for a few minutes!

*I am really loving the book I am reading right now. If you love historical fiction, I would highly recommend it.

*I was thrilled to hear that Tom and Katie had their baby girl yesterday. I wonder if Tom grilled or sauteed the placenta? It makes me glad that my junior high dreams of marrying Tom Cruise did not come true. ;)

I think that is about it for now. Have a great day!

Oh yeah, Easter.

I'm afraid the blessed events that occurred early Easter morning overshadowed the whole Easter morning experience for us! I finally went to sleep around 5:30 in the morning and the kids were raring to go at 7. I was glad that I got to come home and help Bryon get the kids ready for church. I always felt like the Easter candy thing was hard on Sunday morning. Of course they did manage a few pieces.

"Here is your candy. You can look at it now, but you can't eat it because you will get your nice clothes dirty!"

Bryon got the kids off to church and managed to get them to class, teach the kindergarten class, be in charge of the communion guys and do the closing announcements all without me there. To Bryon, I give a huge "Saluuuuute!"
It is a rare occasion when I get a good picture of the three kids together. It just wasn't going to happen yesterday morning and I wasn't going to push it after only having 1 1/2 hours of sleep. I had to settle for a good one of the boys and ME by herself.
I cooked a lot of the day on Saturday and there was no point in letting it go to waste, so Mom, Dad, Michael, and Jilinda came over for dinner last night. We were all feeling zombie like but we had a great time! The kids always loving having M and J over and Matthew enjoyed the never ending game of backyard baseball Saturday and Sunday night with his granddad, dad, and uncles (Josh of course begged out of last nights game.)

I think that is about it. I am waiting to hear from L and J as to what time they will be home. I am going to go over and take a few pictures of them coming home to close out the album. Then I will leave the new family to enjoy some home time.

I always thought that I would know whether I wanted a fourth baby when Lauren had her first. Is he adorable in every way, shape, and fashion? Yes! Do I love him like crazy? Absolutely! Does his arrival make me want a fourth? Not a chance! Pretty sure we are passing the baby torch off to Lauren and Josh!

Day 2

I just left the hospital and will spend a few minutes blogging while the next 70 pictures download!

Lauren seems to be recovering beautifully from the whole ordeal. She and Josh seem so peaceful and happy.

James is absolutely gorgeous! He is such a combination of L and J. Straight on, he looks like Lauren's newborn pics. His profile is all Satty.

The kids got to meet James this afternoon after church. ME couldn't stop kissing the top of his head and sqealing with delight. She kept pointing to Lauren and saying "Nanes!" Nanes isn't in Aunt Lauren anymore, ME!

Thomas, who says all the time that James is his best friend, couldn't wait to hold him. He kept saying how much he loved his cousin.
Matthew's first question to Lauren was did she have to squeeze as hard as Shawn Alexander has to squeeze a football!

Everyone is taking a nap but me. Think I'll join the fam. Will blog more later!



My parents' 4 grandkids!

Lauren Update

11:06 p.m.- Lauren is at the hospital. She is having good strong contractions but is only dilated to a 1. It is going to be a long night!



Ladies and Gentlemen....We have labor! Baby James will be an Easter baby!

Heading into the holiday

We are still in a holding pattern with Lauren. She amazes me. At this point, I would have done ANYTHING to go into labor. She is much more patient about the whole thing. She has now officially carried a baby longer than I ever did.

James was very kind to listen to me and wait to come while I was in Las Vegas. Is it too much to ask him to either come before Easter so I can still make Easter dinner or hold off until after dinner? Hmmmmm...

Today was fun. Matthew had the day off from school b/c they never had an inclement weather day. Thomas and ME still had school, so Matthew and I had a fun 5 hours together. We ran lots of errands and got in a few chapters of James and the Giant Peach.

I have been meaning to say for a while that if you are looking for a great show to watch, tune in Wednesday nights to Criminal Minds. It is an hour jam packed with psychological drama. It is one of our favorite shows.

A sweet story from this week: Our nightly routine has added another element. ME loves to snuggle with the boys for several minutes before bedtime. The boys ask us to leave and when we peak around the corner, they are usually playing dinosaurs or scratching backs, etc. After we put ME down on Tuesday night, she cried for a long time (thankyou DST). She kept yelling, "Mama, Mama!" Finally, Bryon and I decided to get her out of bed for a while as it was apparent she wasn't settling down. I picked her up, touched that she was calling my name, but then she went boneless and dove to the ground. She started running into the boys' room yelling, "MaaMaa! MaaMaa!" which is what she calls Matthew and I guess what she was yelling the whole time! I am glad that she loves them so much!

I am so glad that this week is over! We had activities every night of the week and it is starting to drain me. I am looking forward to a wonderful 3 day weekend to reenergize.

Happy Easter everyone, and I will keep ya'll posted on Lauren and James.

Spring Lakes Broccoli Salad

It occurred to me that it has been a while since I posted a recipe.

Here it goes:

This recipe came to me via my dad who attended a conference at Spring Lakes. They had a recipe for a broccoli salad that everyone went gaga over. I think it is incredible and I fix it a lot in the summer usually with a simple grilled meat. The dressing takes a few minutes but it is worth it! Also, my kids love it and it is a good way for them to get fruits and vegetables!

Dressing:
1 lg egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 t. cornstarch
1/4 c tarragon wine vinegar
1/4 c water
1/2 c mayo (always use Hellmans)
3 T butter, softened

Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan. Gradually add next 2. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thick. Stir in last two and chill.

In a salad bowl combine:
4 C broccoli florettes (raw)
2 C mushrooms
1 sm red onion
1 can mandarin oranges
6 clices of cooked bacon crumbled
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C slivered almonds, toasted

Pour dressing over salad immediately before serving.

Use your imagination with the salad. Add or take away desired ingredients if you choose! I think I will make it this week!

Tuesday

ME had her big urology doctor's visit today. Everything went well. The plan is to keep her on antibiotics this year, and if she isn't back to normal by this time next year, she will have surgery. He said that while it is unusual for little girls to grow out of grade 3 reflux, she was so young when we caught it that it is possible.

On the way home, I got a call from the school nurse that Matthew lost the filler on his tooth again. At least we made it past 8 days this time! Back to the dentist...

On the way to piano lessons yesterday, Matthew informed me that he would probably be the worst in class today. I was curious what he meant by that and that my super competetive child would admit to it.

"I have been spending too much time working out to practice this week." says Matthew matter of factly.

He has two parents who don't work out so I am not sure where this came from!

Yesterday, I was in the kitchen and called into the next room, "Who wants to go outside?"

ME ran into the kitchen yelling with her hand raised, "Meeeeee!" I think this is the first time she answered one of my questions with words! Usually she nods or shakes her head.

I am spending this afternoon chilling with my super pregnant sister. I am making her walk and climb stairs much to her chagrin!

I think that is all for now. Have a great Tuesday!

Weekend in review

I have to say that this was a great weekend! It was blissfully uneventful. I cooked a big meal each night and we sat on the patio all three times! I love the time between bitterly cold and hellaciously hot where it is comfortable to eat outdoors. We take advantage of it as much as possible.

Bryon took the kids out several times during the weekend which gave me the opportunity to clean, cook, and read. I finished Secret Life of Bees and I really enjoyed it. The next book I am reading is a woman's diary from the end of the 1800s. It is about her life in the Arizona/New Mexico territory and by all accounts will make me thank the Lord that I was born in the time that I was born in! We are reading the follow up for book club in May so I need to read this one first.

Yesterday, I took the boys to a birthday party. I think this is a new trend. I have been to 4 parties in the past few months on Sunday afternoon! It was at a martial arts place and the boys enjoyed breaking boards, etc. Then Bryon and I worked in the front yard for the remainder of the day.

Has anyone else's nighttime schedule relaxed this week? I am such stickler for 8 p.m. bedtime, but it is nearly impossible during DST. It seems like we don't get around to eating until 7, we start getting ready for bed at 8, and Matthew is still reading in bed at 9 or later! It is even hard convincing ME that it is time for bed when the sun is still out!

I mentioned that we have been eating late. This is something that was NEVER DONE when I was growing up. Dad came home at 5:15 and we ate at 5:30. We still eat early when we eat with my parents. I remember growing up and hearing my cousin say that they ate dinner at 7. I remember my eyes got really big and I couldn't believe ANYONE ate that late! Now we are guilty as charged. No one seems to be hungry before that especially when the kids have a snack after school. Oh well, I hope I am not corrupting them too badly!

I feel refreshed and ready for a great week! We have activities every night this week, Matthew has a three day school week, and hopefully my nephew will make his appearance!

Livin' for the weekend

I have decided that I don't enjoy coming home from a trip midweek! It has thrown off the entire week and I feel like I am playing catch up. I am looking forward to the weekend to try my hardest to get caught up and ready for next week!

This will be our last weekend before school gets out that we don't have two baseball games on a Saturday so we are going to try and get lots done. I am going to try and convince Bryon to build me another bed for the backyard to house the rest of my veggies. (He doesn't know this yet!)

Last night I went to a ladies night at church followed by coffee with some of my favorite people. I have sort of abused the whole "Mommy going out at night" thing these past few weeks. I have gone out three times since last Sunday night not including our trip! Matthew gets pretty upset with me when I go out and last night was no exception.

"Don't go, Mommy! I am desperate for you!" Talk about making me feel guilty!

He has a running joke with one of my friends who I go out with on a regular basis. I wrote about this last year, but one day, after I told Matthew I was going out with this certain friend, he got a hold of my cell phone, found her number, and left a message on her machine unbeknownst to me that I didn't want to be friends with her anymore therefore I wasn't going out with her! This morning, I woke up and Matthew had made a contract out for me:

Mommy is never going out with M.K. ever again.
Sined ______________________________________

He made me sign it and said I could go out with her in 2008 so he has two years with Mommy. Gotta love a man who knows what he wants. What a mess!

Changes

Several things changed in the three days I was gone.

My crepe myrtle and oak tree now have leaves. My spirea which was full of white blooms when I left is fading. And, my daughter went from being a baby to a little girl.

Kids, as we all know, change so gradually. You just look up one day and realize how much they have changed!

All of the sudden ME is talking up a storm. She will walk down the driveway at night yelling, "Daddy HOME!" She starts stripping in the bathroom and saying, "Ona Bat!"

She has more personality than she knows what to do with. I think it is her personal mission to make people, even strangers, around her smile. Whether that is by hugging or kissing them (which she freely gives) or by sticking out her lips, closing her eyes, and dancing up a storm, she never fails to elicit a smile or a laugh! Most of the time, the people she is most drawn to are men. She loves men and they love her back. She is already learning at a young age how to get what she wants!

She would live outside if we let her! She stands by the door yelling, "OuuuHiiiii!" She loves driving the boys car and playing ball, but most of all, she loves to swing. Not the baby swing, but the big girl swing. She hangs on for dear life with a thousand watt smile and lets the boys or me swing her as long as we can.

She loves shoes. One of the only ways I can get her to stop her from climbing on everything is to put shoes all around her. She is entertained for quite a while trying on my shoes and will hand them to me when she is done. "Shoe!" "Boot!"

I mentioned that she likes to climb. She just likes to move! I would never describe her as hyperactive, just always busy. From the moment she gets out of bed (which is still a while after she wakes up b/c she sings to herself for at least an hour) she is on the go!

I call her Scarlett O'Hara. She is a bit of a drama queen. Funny, that was my nickname too.....

Life is never better than when she has a cookie in her hand. Poor thing has inherited my love for the chocolate chip cookie. The boys will take them or leave them (especially my health conscious Matthew) but ME will stand in the kitchen and squeal, "Cookie!" until I give in or have to take her out of the kitchen to get her mind off the craving!

She is rarely upset. Almost always is smiling. The one thing she has started doing since I got home that is funny is when she is upset with me, she comes over, looks me in the eyes, and growls like a bear! This is her way of telling me that something is upsetting her! The boys have taught her all kinds of boys noises and she loves talking deep in her throat like the boys do from time to time.

There isn't a prissy bone in her body. She is a rough and tumble little girl who loves to wrestle and play with her brothers. They adore her (Thomas calls her "My baby") and she adore them back. Yesterday I watched while Thomas hugged her and she kept rubbing his hair. So sweet!

I can't imagine how much bigger she will look to me when James is born! She will no longer be the baby of the family.

I could go on, but this is probably boring to everyone. Just wanted to write down a few things about my little girl who is no longer a baby.

Las Vegas

I got home yesterday afternoon and hit the ground running! Life is back to normal with kid pick ups and T-ball practices. I collapsed on the couch last night after a very long day!

Like I said yesterday, this was definitely my favorite trip to Vegas. It seems to be becoming a hipper place and many swanky restaurants and shops are now there. I didn't notice quite as much seediness as in trips past. That isn't saying much--the town seems obsessed with the female anatomy, but I didn't feel like I was walking the streets of Sodom and Gomorrah like I have in years past!

Bryon picked me up at the airport on Saturday. He actually went on Thursday because his favorite group, Train, was playing in concert. When we got back to our room, Bryon had scheduled a manicure for me. This was much needed after my hours of gardening earlier in the week!

After this, we went to dinner at Bouchon. I have the cookbook for this restaurant and was eager to try the food. It was great and I even tried marinated olives! For someone who loves cooking and eating as much as I do, I am an extremely picky eater. One of my resolutions this year was that I was going to try and enjoy different foods. I had never tasted an olive in my life. These were great! Oddly enough, they tasted like olive oil which I could drink by the glass. Ha!

Off to see Barry. Wrote about that yesterday. Fabulous. In the gift shop, they had a black shirt with simple white letters asking the question, "Ever wonder why your parents named you Mandy?" How many people our age could wear that shirt!!

The line to catch a cab back to the hotel wrapped around the corner so we decided to walk back to our hotel. In "French Women Don't Get Fat style", I thought, "Why wait in line for an hour to catch a cab when we can walk back to our hotel in an hour while wearing 3 inch heels?" OK, so I didn't think that last part through, but I am still glad we did. Bryon and I had fun making fun of all the freaky people walking the Las Vegas strip on Saturday night. I am sure they were all making fun of Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver as well! ;)

Sunday was shopping day. I was completely content to sit in our hotel room gazing at the snowcapped Sierra Nevadas while drinking coffee. Bryon was itching to take me shopping. I am pretty sure we have switched bodies!

Every year, B has lots of luck at the sports book and I helped him pick lots of winners this trip. He was going to place a bet on UCLA. I told him to put it on Florida. Ca Ching!! Usually he brings his winnings home and buys me a gift for watching the kids by myself all week. This trip, he wanted to get me new clothes and eat at great restaraunts while we were out there. We had lots of fun shopping and just walking around being a couple. We even saw Pete Rose signing autographs. Great memories!

Saturday night, we ate at Drai's. Kristen recommended it. Bryon had eaten there twice with friends but I had never gone. It was one of my all time favorite meals. I just kept laughing at each bite because it was so good! Thanks, Kristen!

After dinner, I was exhausted from lots of walking and a great meal. I decided to read in bed and Bryon wanted to go downstairs to see the opening of the new poker room at the Venetian. If only I hadn't been so tired! Apparently, stars were everywhere. Alex from Grey's Anatomy, Drew Barrymore, and Heather Locklear. Of course, I asked Bryon why he didn't wake me up!!!! He said I looked so tired that he didn't want to bother me. ARRRGGGGHHHHH!

Monday, Bryon started his conference. I kissed him goodbye and hurriedly walked back to my room. I had just started the book, The Lovely Bones, and I was anxious to start reading. Other than going out for lunch with B, I spent most of the day reading the book. I highly recommend it. It has a devastating premise, but it is a page turner. I read almost the entire book on Monday and finished it on the plane.

Dinner that night was at Michael Mina, another Kristen recommendation. Since I picked Florida to win, we decided to go all out and order the tasters menu which was a 5 course meal of the things they are known for. Another menu full of things I had never tried before. Bring it on! Over the course of the meal, I tried tuna tartare (raw tuna), sushi, cavier, truffles, and foie gras. I enjoyed all but the foie gras-all the rage in fine restaurants. Seriously, how can someone enjoy devouring fatty duck and geese liver? By the end of the meal, I started feeling like a contestant on Fear Factor when they are trying so hard to keep stange food in their stomach. My only thought was that I can't throw up the most expensive meal I have ever eaten! Fortunately, I did not, but was so full that I couldn't enjoy the dessert that Bryon assured me was fabulous.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and watched the water show at the Bellagio. This was featured in the movie Ocean's 11. It was beautiful. We stayed to watch two of them.

And then it was time to get ready to come home. Three days seems like a great amount of time away. I was ready to see the kids, but not desperate to see them like I was when we were gone for a week. Bryon and I had a wonderful time reconnecting without the every day busyness putting demands on our time. All in all, a successful trip!

Today will be a day to play with the kids and unpack. Looking forward to the slowpaced day.

If Lee Corso can be a Fanilow, you can too!

Well, I got in a few minutes ago and need to go get the kids before too long, so I will write more later. We had a great time. Definitely my favorite Vegas trip! Here is one funny story before I go....

Since I have been telling people that I was going to see Barry Manilow on our trip, I got two reactions:

Men-"My wife loves Barry. I tolerate him because of her."
Our cab driver on route to the concert.."My ex wife made me go to his concert and miss the Superbowl. That is one reason she is my ex wife."

Men, very sarcastically singing, "Ohhhhhh, Mandy!"

Women-"I just love Barry Manilow! I tried to drag my husband out and he wouldn't go so I had to take a friend instead."

"I love Barry! I know every word of every one of his songs!"

Women singing passionately, "Ohhhhhh, Mandy!"

After we sat down in our seats, Rick Patino walked by. I am not a huge basketball fan, but apparently he is a great coach and Bryon was fairly impressed.

Me: "See! Rick Patino is a macho guy and he is watching Barry!"
Bryon: "His wife probably drug him."

A few minutes before the show, in walks Lee Corso with his wife and sits directly in front of me separated by a row!

The show was fabulous and worth every penny. By the time Barry started belting out Copacabana, L.C. was singing it at the top of his lungs and waving his glow stick in the air with as much passion as I was, which, according to Bryon, was almost embarrassingly quite a bit!

So, all you macho men out there, if the face of College Game Day can be a Fanilow, you can too!

Love means never having to say, "I understand!"

Being surrounded by it, I have come to adore the mystery that is "Little Boys". However, loving it and understanding it are two different things.

Case in point: Matthew has a good friend and teammate who broke his arm a few weeks ago goofing off. Now Matthew and his friends are convinced that breaking an arm is the coolest thing. "You get to have everyone sign your cast!"

Now, Matthew is jumping from the tree in our backyard and saying things like, "I wonder if this will break my arm?"

I have tried over and over to convince him how much he would hate not being able to use his arm for 6 weeks and there is a good chance that goofing off could result in a broken skull. Still, I have spent much of his 6 years trying to keep him out of the emergency room and once Matthew sets his mind on something...

Wish me luck!

OK, I feel like a bonefied pack mule. Bryon hauled dirt well into the evening last night into my vegetable bed. There was a HUGE pile left over. He told me last night that he would put a tarp over the rest and we could finish the job when he got home. He recommended I leave it alone.

This morning when he left, I asked him why he didn't put a tarp on the dirt. He winked at me and told me he knew me and knew that the milisecond he drove off, I would be working on getting that pile of dirt into my flower beds! Oh, he knows me too well!

Six hours of hard labor (thankfully the kids were at MDO for some of it), every muscle in my body on fire, several outbreaks of poison ivy, bruised shins, beginnings of blisters on my hands, and 4 sliced up fingers later, I finished the job! Perhaps not the smartest idea, but once I get my mind set on something...I am so going to regret that decision in the morning!

Last night and this morning

Well, I watched Nancy Grace last night and was extremely disgusted by it. Ironically, I wasn't so disgusted by her. She acted like a feminazi with an agenda, and I would hope that most people didn't put much stock into what she was saying.

What really got to me was listening to Baptist preachers talk about the church of Christ. Calling it everything from unbiblical, unethical, and even cult-like. I grew up in what I would call a progressively minded family. Dad has always been that way and my mother grew up Catholic so things like music in church or women in leadership roles weren't quite as shocking! I was a senior in high school before I ever heard someone ask me if we thought we were the only ones going to heaven! I thought that was the craziest notion I had ever heard. I guess some whacko somewhere stated that is what he believed and our churches have spent decades trying to recover from it.

When I was listening to these men speak, I wanted to shout, "We are not the enemy! We are on the same team! We all believe that Jesus is the Son of God!" I couldn't help but think that Satan was somewhere listening to this exchange with a grin on his face.


On another, MUCH LIGHTER note, I planted my vegetable garden this morning! I love gardening and try to learn something new every year. This year, it is vegetables! Bryon built me a nice raised bed to put on the back of my garden. I went to a local nursery yesterday and bought a truckload of dirt and manure to put in the bed. When they came to deliver the dirt, they could only get as close as my gate. They dumped a truckload of dirt and manure on my driveway and bid me farewell! Bryon and I spent the better half of last night and early this morning hauling dirt into our garden. I couldn't help but wonder if there was a rancher out there laughing that I just spent $100 on cow poop!

I am starting out with tomatoes, jalapenos, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, and squash. Wish me luck!

A disgusting start to an otherwise great day.

This morning, I awoke, sent Matthew and Bryon on their way, and sleepily walked to Thomas's room to check on him like I do every morning. When I got almost to his room, I stopped frozen as pain ripped through my foot. I felt to see what the pain was from and saw a thumb tack firmly embedded in my bare heel. Thomas had been tacking up some of his NASCAR cards in his room and failed to use this one. It took a tug to get it out and I spent the better part of 15 minutes shaking from how gross the incident was! My foot still hurts and I am crossing my fingers that I don't wind up with a tetanus infection on my trip!


The big news last night is that we got tickets to see Barry Manilow! I know this might not thrill everyone, but I am a huge, HUGE fan. He was actually my first celebrity crush. My parents had one of his tapes, and I distinctly remember being 5 years old and kissing this album cover! I still love all of his music, listen to his best hits cd often, and feel incredibly lucky that my first night there happens to be his last performance in this set. Bryon, who amazingly doesn't share my crush has graciously indulged me with great seats. I am so excited!

Last night was Thomas's first T-ball practice. I have said it before, and I will say it again. Watching kids learn to play sports is perhaps the purest form of entertainment! The kids were huddled up with the coaches introducing themselves. Rob and Robby introduced themselves as the coaches. Matthew, who begged me to allow him to "help" interrupted and introduced himself as "Coach Barnhill"! I am excited to watch Thomas learn how to play T-Ball and just as excited to hang out with all my friends on the sidelines!

I am feeling more accomplished today. Most of the laundry is done, bags are starting to get packed, food is in the fridge. Just a few more days!

I just sent in my comment. You should too!

This story has made me sick all day. I am posting the forward I received earlier:


If you were watching CNN Headline News last night (3/27/06), you witnessed a vicious attack on the reputation of the Church of Christ on the "Nancy Grace" segment of the news.

Nancy Grace is a former prosecutor and current host of a CNN Headline News show every weeknight.

Her topic for last night's segment was the shooting death of Matthew Winkler, the Church of Christ preacher in Selmer, TN. She interviewed and showed film clips from various people associated with this distressing event.

Included among her guests was a Baptist preacher, Tom Rukala, who maliciously maligned the Church of Christ. I have attached an excerpt from the written transcript on CNN's website (See attachment "Nancy Grace.doc"). If you would like to read the entire program transcript, the web address at the top of the attachment page.

I'm writing this to encourage you to email CNN and/or Nancy Grace to express your feelings regarding the unfair characterization of the Church of Christ portrayed by her guest, Tom Rukala.

I feel it is reasonable to request that she has an interview with a Church of Christ preacher/member who will have the opportunity to give a rebuttal to the false characterization presented on this program.

I personally feel that her program has many positive elements. She is a "victim's rights advocate" who insists that criminals should be prosecuted. Unfortunately, the individual she chose as her "special guest" to inform her audience about the Church of Christ was extremely prejudice. As a result, the listeners were blatently misinformed.

At the bottom of the attachment, I have included two sites designed for feedback; one for CNN, the other for Nancy Grace. You may have to copy and paste the addresses into your web browser.

Feel free to pass this email to those whom you feel may also wish to express their sentiments regarding this public defamation.



Ken Stegall


EXERPT FROM TRANSCRIPT:
“GRACE: A well-respected and much beloved minister in the Church of Christ, Selmer, Tennessee, gunned down in his own home. His wife, according to many reports, has confessed to police. They say whodunnit is not the issue, it`s why she did it. That is the question.

I want to go to pastor Tom Rukala, joining us tonight, a special guest, a Baptist minister. I`ve been researching the Church of Christ. I don`t know that much about it. What can you tell me?

PASTOR TOM RUKALA, BAPTIST PASTOR: Well, the Church of Christ is a relatively new church. It was started about 150 years ago by Alexander Campbell (ph). And it`s, unfortunately, a very legalistic sect, and they tend to use methods of intimidation and pressure tactics. They claim that they are the only ones going to heaven, and all other people are condemned to hell. So in case...

GRACE: Uh-oh, I`m in trouble. But I already knew that.

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: Now, wait a minute. What more can you tell me?

RUKALA: Well, they claim that if you`re not baptized by one of their ministers, that you`re doomed to hell, even if you`re a believer in Jesus Christ, which, of course, breaks completely from the traditional Christian view that all those who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved because we`re saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and rose again. For the Church of Christ folks, that`s not enough. You have to be a member of their narrow sect. It`s a very exclusive group. And if you`re not a member of their sect, you`re condemned.

GRACE: You know, Pastor, you keep saying "sect." "Sect." You make it sound like a cult.

RUKALA: It kind of is a borderline cult, unfortunately. I don`t want to make it out to be some kind of Hare Krishna group, but it has cult-like characteristics and...

GRACE: In what sense?

RUKALA: Well, in the sense of the exclusivism, the attitude that they are the only ones who know the truth. The tactics that they use are sometimes just -- not only un-biblical but unethical, and they can be very ungracious, unfortunately.”

Send emails to:

CNN FEEDBACK

Or to

Nancy Grace

Leaving a fun weekend, heading into a busy week!

Well, this weekend was full of fun and lots of activities! Lauren's big baby shower was this weekend and members of our family and Josh's family came in for the event. I had everyone over for dinner on Saturday night which is one of my favorite things to do!

Michael and Jilinda came down for their first visit home since the wedding. Unfortunately, Jilinda got food poisoning and was incapacitated for the weekend! We hated that she missed the shower.


Sunday afternoon was the shower. Lauren got some great things. It is amazing what they have come up with in baby things even since I had Matthew! Now, she has everything but the baby! He just needs to hold off 10 more days....














I topped off the weekend with a book club meeting last night. We were discussing The Friendship Cake. It is fun being with a bunch of women who are as passionate about food and books as I am!

Side note: Am I the only one who gets slightly depressed when I look forward to the next Grey's Anatomy all week only to be disappointed with a rerun? And, I think they were deceptive last week when they had previews for the "next two weeks on Grey's Anatomy". What they should of said was "Coming in two weeks". Step off soap box....

This week starts a new chapter in my life. I am now going to have two kids on different baseball teams. Matthew starts coach pitch on a team made up of most of the kids from his basketball team and Thomas will be playing T-ball with a fun team full of his best friends from church. I am looking forward to watching both of them, but between two practices, two games, church, and Matthew's piano lessons, I don't think we are going to be home much this Spring!

We are also busy getting ready for our trip this weekend. I am trying to think of everything Mom, Lauren, and my MIL will need to make the weekend a success. I am stacking up books that I want to read while I am away and planning what we will do with our time. I can't wait!

The end of this week.

As far as weeks go, this has been a pretty good one! I got to eat breakfast with friends on Tuesday and coffee with a good friend who I hadn't seen in a while today!

One of my new duties on Thursdays is to pick my grandmother up from her beauty shop appointment. She was told last week that she shouldn't drive anymore and Mom has had so much to do to help her (this is her mother-in-law---what a saint!). I decided that I would contribute by taking her home from her appointments. When I picked her up, I took her to Drug Emporium which is her favorite shop in town. She picked up lots of sweets. Won't it be fun to be 83 and not have to worry about a waistline?! It is shocking to me how confused she is getting. She has changed so much this year.

Matthew and I were sitting down at the table going over math last night. He is interested in multiplication so I drill him every now and then. I asked him what 7X3 was. He thought about it for a minute and said, "I guess that would be 21 since that equals three touchdowns with field goals!" Who would have thought sports would help Matthew in math?!

Bryon and I are heading to Las Vegas next week! This will be the first time in 2 1/2 years that Bryon and I have spent the night away from the kids (we have never left ME!) and I am looking forward to the trip. I am not a huge fan of Las Vegas, but Bryon has a conference there and frankly, I would be happy going to Tijuana Mexico just to get away with Bryon for a while!

My mother in law and parents are going to pinch hit with the kids. I am flying out two days after Bryon and coming home earlier than him because leaving all three kids is a lot to handle and I hate being away for too long! The only kicker is that Lauren is due two weeks later. I am so worried that she will go into labor when I am gone! I told her she is to put her feet up and not to move for three days!

Lauren's big baby shower is this weekend and I am looking forward to that and seeing all the friends and family who are making the trip here. We also have tons of yard work and laundry that will keep us busy for most of the weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Two conversations with the boys yesterday.

"Thomas, when you are playing T-Ball, I am going to cheer for you and say,
"Go, Thomas!"

Thomas wrinkled up his nose and said, "Just don't do it too loud."

"Why?"

"Because you might annoy everybody!"

*************************************************************************************

"Matthew, why didn't you bring home an AR book today?"

"Because, Mom, I am retired from AR books. Come to think of it, I am going to retire from everything hard in kindergarten!"

That boy is going to have a hard 16 years ahead of him in school!

Aunt Lauren and Uncle Josh

In honor of my sister and her husband, Josh, who are about to be parents in a few weeks, I dedicate this post to the incredible auntie and uncle they have been to my kids.

Lauren came over after school yesterday and stayed through dinner. Both of our husbands were working and we had a great time together. She has less than 4 weeks to go in her pregnancy and she is starting to feel it. We have all been there. It's pretty miserable!


Last night at dinner, the boys were discussing with each other the relationships in our family. Matthew told Thomas, "Aunt Lauren is Mommy's sister. That makes her our half mother!"


This might sound absurd in other relationships, but it is fairly true in ours! Lauren became an aunt to Matthew when she was 19 years old. Although it took a tiny bit of time for her to get used to the fact that she wasn't the baby anymore ;) she has been an incredible aunt for 6 1/2 years!

Lauren loves to be at my house and adores my kids like they were her own (after all, she is their half mother!). She laughs at their antics and she helps me out in a pinch. Lauren is always there. Thomas looks more like Lauren than me! My kids' childhood memories will be full of times with Aunt Lauren.

Josh became an uncle to my kids when Matthew was 2 1/2 and Thomas was 6 months old. I met Josh when Matthew was 18 months old. He was a seasoned veteran of unclehood with his sister and brother's kids and I feel like he now loves my kids like his own nieces and nephews.

Uncle Josh teaches my kids strange and hilarious things! For instance, Josh is a huge Georgia fan. He taught Matthew the Georgia fight song, and I believe Matthew sang it upwards of 1,000 times all during football season and beyond. I would get Matthew's school work home and written all over it would be,

Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
And ppppppppppppp to Auburn!

Two weeks ago after church, Josh and Lauren took my grandmother home from church. They asked Matthew if he would like to come along for the ride. Josh got in his car, opened his mouth, and a bug flew in his mouth! He said something along the line of, "Oh, well! Bugs are protein!"
Matthew is really in to eating healthy. He will say things like, "God make apple trees, he didn't make Twizzler trees!" The whole "bugs for protein" thing really stuck with him. All throughout the next week, Matthew would catch june bugs and tell Thomas that he really needed to eat one because they were full of protein!

On the way up to Dallas the other day, Matthew was asking me questions about the Civil Rights Movement. We saw a sign for MLK boulevard which sparked the conversation.

Matthew said, "Do you know that when a black man marries a white woman, their kids are, you know, sort of brownish/whitish?" I thought that was interesting!

"Matthew, where did you hear about that?" I asked.

"Uncle Josh told me!"

Who else!? I found out later that Matthew was asking lots of questions about people's races to Josh. I guess he saves interesting questions for him!

Thank you, Lauren and Josh for being incredible to my kids. They adore you! I can't wait to return the favor with Baby James!

A Day at the Farm

All the excitement of Sunday overrode the events of Saturday. I will go ahead a write about those now!





About 4 times a year, Bryon and I take the kids to Aunt Bernie's farm. I have written about A.B. before. She is Bryon's great aunt but is more like a grandmother to him. He and his siblings spent many weekends with her. Some of his greatest memories as a kid were at Aunt Bernie's.
Aunt Bernie is 84 years old. She still runs her cattle farm. Just a few weeks ago, she hand delivered a calf! She bales hay. She has a vegetable garden. She is amazing! She walks around like a woman half her age. Other than the wrinkles courtesy of spending most of her life outdoors, you would never guess how old she really was!

Saturday was ME's first time to really enjoy herself. She came in October but was not so aware of her surroundings. Not this time! She adored the cows. She mooed at them. She kept talking to them in her really high pitched voice. So cute! My in laws met us at the farm and we all had a great visit.

The boys had fun like they always do. Give them trees to climb, cows to feed, walking sticks to travel, and a tank filled with water and sometimes frogs, and they are good to go for the day!

Everytime I go down to Aunt Bernie's I think we should do it more often! Her property is close to College Station and the roads are lined with oak trees and bluebonnets (Yes, I saw my first ones of the season on Saturday!).

By the end of the day, we were zonked and it was time to come home. The next time we go, we are hoping that the tank will be full and stocked with fish. I love to fish and am excited about fishing with the boys!

Our Dallas Underwater Adventure has come to a close!

I am home, safe and dry this morning! We decided last night, that trying to brave the roads when it was dark was too risky, so Matthew and I got up at 6 a.m. and headed home. I have never been so happy to see roads that weren't covered in water!


This picture was taken last night when I realized that the road home was not passable. It wasn't taken with a telescopic lens. I was that close to floating cars! I have always seen pictures like this on the news, but never up close. Six Flags was underwater and someone died fairly close to where we were when she got caught in the rising water.

Overall, we had a great time and the flooding was just part of the overall picture. I enjoyed my class and am excited to try my hand at vegetable gardening. I better have GREAT tomatoes after all I did to learn how to grow them!

We also ate at a fabulous place called EatZi's. There are only 5 of them in the country and it is more like a European market than a restaurant. Being that I am a "Foodie" and all, I marveled at how beautiful the displays were and struggle to decide what to eat. I have dedicated my next 5 trips to Dallas to eat different things at EatZi's!

It was also fun to hang out with the newlyweds. Matthew adores my brother and now adores his new wife (I do, too!)! It was fun reliving the wedding.

Overall, a fun day. We went to Bryon's aunt's farm on Saturday and I will write about that tomorrow!

Stranded in Dallas!

I've got to admit that this Spring Break was a little boring. By the end of the week, I was ready to get out of town. I had seen a brochure for a class on how to grow tomatoes at my favorite nursery in Dallas and I thought that Matthew and I would make a fun day of visiting the newlyweds, going to their church (which Matthew adores) and taking the tomato class.

That is when boring went out the window!

On the way to Dallas, it started pouring. When I mean pouring, I mean torrential downpouring. I could barely handle Bryon's big truck which I drove so Michael could move things into his new apartment.

It poured, and poured, and poured. A small creek near where we ate flooded and the trees were underwater. There was standing water on the road. I finally chickened out and left my truck at a restaurant so Michael could drive me around!

When it was time to leave, I said a prayer and Matthew and I headed out.

We got about 3 minutes down the road.

All the underpasses on the way out of town were flooded with cars floating by. Police tape was everywhere. I took a picture of it that I will download when I get home.

I backtracked and found Michael up the way a bit. We drove around for a while trying to find a way out of town. Police cars/fire trucks were everywhere.

We weren't leaving town.

I called Bryon and told him that we were going to have to spend the night. Matthew erupted in the backseat, "Thank you, Jesus!"

He might be a little late on his first day back at school.

I hope that I will be able to write more from HOME soon!

Happy St. Patrick's Morning to ya!

You haven't have had to read my blog for too long to know what Matthew's favorite part of St. Patrick's Day is. Yes, my friends, Matthew has been on a "green" hunt this morning to see that everyone complied with the wearing green rule today!

Poor Thomas didn't stand a chance. He got ready for it last night.

"Mommy, I am going to wear my Star Wars underwear to bed because they have green on my bottom. That way when Buddy wakes me up, he won't pinch me!"

This morning, Bryon and I were talking in the kitchen and out Matthew flies out of his room like greased lightning to see if we were wearing green.

Bryon wasn't.

Bryon got pinched!

I realized that I wasn't wearing green so I ran the other way into my room to throw on a green sweat shirt.

Thomas got out of bed and came into the kitchen.

"Thomas, you aren't wearing green!" said Matthew, gleefully.

Thomas turned around and started shaking his tail feathers at Matthew to show him that, in fact, he was wearing green.

"Thomas, underwear doesn't count! Deedah (my dad) said last year that underwear doesn't count!"

His memory continues to amaze me! Apparently last year, Dad wasn't wearing green and Matthew had asked him if his socks or underwear were green. He didn't want to risk the "double pinch back" if he was wrong. Dad had told him that there might have been green on his underwear but it didn't count.

Matthew pinched Thomas.

Thomas had a melt down.

I told Matthew that, in fact, green underwear counts if that is all you are wearing. I lightly pinched Matthew's arm because "technically" there wasn't green on it.

"How does it feel, Matthew? Do you think Thomas enjoyed you doing that to him?"

Matthew, with tears in his eyes, ran back to his room and told me that he didn't want to help me make Irish Soda Bread this morning.

This all before 8 a.m.

Happy St. Patrick's morning!

My many different names

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name)
Smokey Trails

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandmother's maiden name on your mother's side, your favorite candy)
Gray Butterfinger.

3. YOUR "FLY GIRL" NAME: (first initial of last name, first two or three letters of your first name)
B. Eli

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite animal, name of high school)
Hummingbird Midway.

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Ann Montgomery.

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name)
Bar Vanmag. (Don't have a pet currently. I just used my last pet!)

7. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your father's middle name spelled backwards)
Nna Nala.

Irish Soda Bread

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day this week, I thought the recipe of the week should reflect my Irish heritage. But first a brief history:

My mother grew up on Long Island in one of the first little towns off the Long Island Expressway outside of NYC. My mother's neighborhood was not the American melting pot. Here, it was more like vegetable soup! Everyone clung fiercly to their heritage. Many of my mother's neighbors were first generation Americans. I went to her neighborhood full of tiny/closely spaced houses several years ago and my mom and aunts told us cousins the names of all their neighbors and where they were from (Italians, Poles, Swedes, Germans, Irish, etc.)! This seems so funny to me because where I live, the only ethnicity that people know about each other is, "Born in Texas" or "Not born in Texas"!

All of the tiny houses on Mom's street had families full of kids. My mom and aunts joke that all the neighbor kids wanted to go to their house and play because there were only 4 kids in it!

The Sullivans were the Irish family. In fact, all of my mother's 8 paternal great, great grandparents were born in Ireland! Yes, my grandfather, Francis Joseph Sullivan was definitely Irish! His grandfather's last name was O'Sullivan, but they dropped the "O" when he came through Ellis Island. Both my maternal grandmother and grandfather grew up in Rhode Island but moved to Long Island when my grandfather was transferred there by the Navy (Grampy was a captain in the navy during WW2). They originally lived in Pawtucket, RI because many of the Irish and English immigrants at the time were sponsored by textile companies in New England.

Although my grandmother's side of the family were recent immigrants from England (her grandmother, Elizabeth Ann who I am named after, spoke with an English accent!), many of my grandfather's favorite Irish dishes made there way to her table. One of the recipes was for Irish Soda Bread. My grandmother made this frequently and so did my mother. I will be making it on Friday! It is good with coffee in the mornings!

Sidenote: My dad's ancestors came from Edinburgh, Scotland. Dad, and the rest of us, are huge Scotland lovers. There was always a friendly debate in our house on who has done more for the advancement of civilization, the Irish or the Scots! The book, How the Irish saved Civilization helped Mom's cause quite a bit! ;)

This is my great grandmother's recipe. It is called soda bread because bread was traditionally made with soda rather than yeast in Ireland.

Irish Soda Bread

3 3/4 C. flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 C sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 C raisins
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
Mix dry ingredients

2 beaten eggs
2 T. butter
2 c buttermilk
Mix wet ingredients

Mix wet and dry ingredients until thick batter.

put in 2 loaf pans or iron skillet
Make the sign of the cross in the batter (like any good Irish Catholic!)
bake 45 minutes or until done at 350.

Eat fairly quickly because it tends to dry out. Also good toasted with a little butter!

Why I am wanting time to slow just a bit

I never said life with three kids 6 and under would be easy, or even a lot of fun at times. Nothing like an extended weekend trip 7 hours away to make me realize that life will get a lot easier in a few years!

However....

I am really enjoying the ages of my kids right now. There is just something really special about a 6 year old, 4 year old, and 18 month old!

I can say without a doubt that although I love to visit the memories of my precocious 2 year old Matthew, I have never enjoyed an age with Matthew like this one. I have said over and over again that I adore kindergarteners, and I have enjoyed every minute of this age with him. Did I say every minute? OK, most minutes!

He is fun to talk to. He has interesting questions about life. I can take him everywhere and anywhere and know that he can handle it. He loves to read and I have enjoyed watching this passion of his develop. This morning, he woke up before me and was sitting in the living room reading a Magic Tree House book about the Titanic. A boy after my own heart! He is a good brother to Thomas and ME. Sometimes, I miss the days when he said hilarious and new things every day. I miss his baby teeth and baby fine hair, but he is starting to look, act, and talk like a school kid, and that has its advantages as well!

There is something so sweet about the kindergarten year. The kids don't have tons of homework. They get to learn how to be students. I will be very very sad when Matthew is no longer a kindergartener! I have a mental picture of Matthew being a 2nd or 3rd grader and talking about kindergarteners being "babyish". For now, though, he is my special little kindergartener, and I want to enjoy every second of the last 10 weeks of this magical year.
Sometimes, I look back at pictures of my curly/tow headed little Thomas and miss him being an 18 month old. But, the kids' pediatrician has even said that 4 is a magical year! Thomas continue to gain independence but is incredibly sweet. He is able to do just about anything that Matthew can do which thrills his soul!

One thing that I have appreciated about my second child is that I realize how quickly the preschool years go. I am savoring hearing him squeal with delight when Dora or Blue comes on, because I know when he hits school, Dora will no longer be cool. Thomas is learning how to read, and how to draw. It makes me sad thinking I only have 1 1/2 years left until he starts school! I am trying to enjoy every moment.

I believe I have more pictures of each of my kids (or at least more favorite pictures) at 18 months than any other age. OK, she technically turned 19 months yesterday, but still. In many respects this is a dangerous age...all of the mobility and none of the reasoning. On the flip side, it is also enjoyable that ME is very mobile and continues to gain more and more independence. She can feed herself and she can tell me what she wants for the most part.

She is coming up with new words and phrases daily. Today at lunch, we were eating with friends and she said, "Ona Go!" She is also saying "Hold me!" I know that her baby face won't last forever and I try to memorize every square inch of it before the chubby cheeks start to vanish. And, since more than likely she is our last baby, I want to savor every second of this year.

I just wanted to write this down for the ages. The first few years of parenthood for me went by so slowly. Now that we are on a school schedule, I can't believe how fast the time has gone! In the years that come, life will possibly be a little less chaotic and I will face new challenges as the early challenges begin to ease. But for now, I want to enjoy my children as 6, 4, and 1 1/2 year olds!

A beautiful weekend

Life is good right now.

I feel like I am coming out of the dark in terms of sickness and busyness. I have always tried to live intentionally and enjoy the gift of life that God has given to me, but lately I admit that I have been living on autopilot. Just going through the motions, always happy when the end of the day or the end of the week arrived. I made a consious decision this weekend to start enjoying the simple pleasures in life again and to not wish time away. That is why this weekend was so beautiful!

Yesterday, Bryon helped run a forum at church on what worship is. He helps head up the worship planning ministry at church and the purpose of the meeting was to see where members of the congregation were in terms of their definition of worship.

I helped by making breakfast for the crowd of about 40 and arranging lunch. I did get to sit in on a little and was so encouraged by what members of my church were saying. Hearing what others were feeling was energizing to me and I couldn't wait to be in worship this morning. Our church seems to be in a prayer revival lately and I am so happy to be a part of it!

This afternoon, I spent a great deal of time outside working in the yard and playing ball with the boys. I also grilled out tonight and enjoyed the sights and smells of cooking outside. I made grilled asparagus for the first time in months and loved it! The weather couldn't have been more picture perfect.

Afterwards, Bryon took us all on a surprise drive (one of my favorite activities) to our lot. It was right before dusk and the drive out to the property is beautiful...especially this time of day, especially this time of year. I just took it all in. We were able to talk with several friends out there, and we enjoyed not having to rush back home for our strict 8:00 on a school night bedtime policy!

A beautiful night, a beautiful weekend. Life is good.

Great day!

What a fabulous, beautiful, fast paced day this has turned out to be! There is nothing like feeling of coming out from under a nasty stomach virus to make you feel like you have a new lease on life!

I drove the kids over to the dentist first thing this morning. Matthew's tooth is again fixed and the dentist reminded Matthew to try hard not to bite any food with that tooth. Ummmm...OK. Matthew told him, "But that is my biting tooth!" We will keep our fingers crossed that this one lasts longer than 8 days.

Next, we took Matthew back to school and participated in a walk for juvenile diabetes. Since Matthew knows a little girl with this disease, he worked like a madman raising money for the walk. He told my brother-in-law that if he gave $10, Matthew would "vote" for the Georgia Bulldogs all next season even if they were playing Baylor! How big of him!

We had a great time at the walk, and when it was time to go, Matthew gave Thomas a big hug and told him he would see him after school. When I backed the car out of the parking lot, Thomas kept looking in the rear window and told me how much he was going to miss Buddy today while wiping the tears from his face. Break my heart!

Next, it was off to meet my mother-in-law half way between our houses (about 1 1/2 hours) to exchange cars. We drove their Yukon to Oklahoma and they had our Avalon. We had a nice lunch together and it was off to pick up Matthew! What a whirlwind day!

I enjoyed the drive so much. I guess after working in home care, I have a great love for country roads. I always choose them over the interstate when I have the time to do so. There were tons of redbuds in bloom. I keep waiting for my first bluebonnet. Maybe next week?

I am taking a break from playing outside with the kids to write this. It is a gorgeous day and after riding bikes, playing basketball, and swinging kids, I am pooped!

Yah!!! It's Spring Break! I am looking forward to having no set schedule and just enjoying the kids all week. Have a great weekend!

Today

Well, I am home this afternoon enjoying a few quiet moments before going to get the kids. After the wedding, my cousin got a bad stomach virus, my brother-in-law got it on Monday, and guess who got it last night? Me! I was up most of the night throwing up, etc. It was hard getting the kids out the door feeling so dehydrated, but a bag of popcorn, diet coke, and 4 thin mints have seemed to rejuvenate me! I really crave quiet home time and today has been a blessing to me.

While resting this morning, I got a call from the school nurse to inform me that Matthew's new bonded tooth fell off. Well, that lasted a whole whopping one week! Off to the dentist again! The dentist told me that it might need to be fixed about once a year. Do you think this is the "once a year" that he was talking about? I am just so glad it didn't fall off last weekend.

I will be watching my carpool buddy's little girl today as she is out of town for her sister's wedding. We have so many things in common and I have enjoyed getting to know her this year. Isn't it strange that both of us had siblings get married one week apart!?

I am busy getting summer vacation plans in order. We will probably go on one week long family trip, a trip to the hill country for an extended weekend, and a romantic weekend trip with Bryon to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I love planning events and have had fun these last few days mapping out some ideas!

I am always sad to see winter go, but this one has been particularly hard on us healthwise. We have been so blessed in years past with good health. I am guessing that Matthew starting kindergarten and dipping into a new germ pool hasn't helped. Bring on the warm weather!

ME's kidney report

Thomas, ME, and I spent most of the day at the hospital in the next town over. Since ME's doctor was concerned that she had a kidney infection so young, she wanted to see if the infection was due to a structural problem or just a fluke, so she had to endure two tests today.

I am so glad that she did! We found out that ME has kidney reflux. Basically, some of the urine that is in the bladder goes back up the ureters and into her kidney. It is just on one side, but the radiologist said that on a severity scale from 0-5, ME was a 3-4.

I talked for a while to a friends whose daughter had the same problem starting at 18 months and got lots of good information from her. I still haven't talked to ME's pediatrician but we have some decisions to make in the near future. See if she grows out of it and keep her on constant antibiotics, a noninvasive procedure that usually helps kids with a severity of 1-2, surgery, etc.

This is yucky stuff, but ME had her catheter put in in the pediatric oncology department of the hospital. You don't have to spend too much time there to appreciate all the blessings in life. This is a minor problem in the great scheme of things! One that can be fixed. I just want my sweet girl to be healthy and to keep her kidneys working the way they are suppose to!

ME and Thomas

Pictures are now trickling in from family. I loved this one of ME. After she walked down the aisle, a church member got her and took her to a rocking chair. She said ME was out in minutes! This picture was taken right after I picked her up.


I didn't know a picture of this existed! Thomas was showing off his sweet dance moves and was too hot to wear his shirt! I put it back on after he cooled off a bit!

Spring

Ok, anyone who reads my blog knows that I am much more of a winter weather gal than a summer gal. Give me a cold, gray, blustery, snowy day over sunshine anytime. It isn't so much that I don't like spring- I acutally love spring. Its just that I know before I blink my eyes, the sun will be scorching, the mosquitoes will be out, and I won't be able to walk to my mailbox before beads of perspiration form on my brow!

It is here though. Winter came and went without giving much effort. We went out in the backyard and played quite a bit yesterday and had a great time. Here are a few things I am looking forward to in the next few weeks:

*My first bluebonnet sighting! I love when our highways are dotted with bluebonnets and indian paintbrush. When I first see this, the pressure of getting the perfect bluebonnet picture creeps into my mind, but this is a whole other post.

*Not having to search for matching socks. We live in flip flops for the next 9 months!

*Starting to garden again. I adore working in the yard until about mid-July. My Bradford Pears are starting to bloom. (See picture)

*Looking at my kids legs in shorts. I forget how cute they are in the winter!

*Fresh fruits and veggies again! I spend a lot of time at the farmers market starting in a few weeks.

*Spring break! Can't wait to have Matthew home with me for a week.

*Bryon coming home before dark.

Spring--What's not to love?

The wedding through the eyes of my kids

MATTHEW

Matthew proved again why I feel like kindergarten is a magic age for kids. He did beautifully at the wedding. Of course, I am not ashamed to admit that quite a bit of bribery was involved! We promised Matthew that if he was perfect, we would get him some baseball cards and some Magic Tree House books. Nana promised him a 10 dollar bill. Right before heading to the church, Bryon took the kids to K-mart to pick up some dress socks that we forgot. Matthew found a shirt that he wanted and he begged Bryon, "Daddy, can we throw this shirt into the deal, too?"

When we got to the small town in Oklahoma, Matthew found out that we were only 15 minutes from Kansas. Matthew loves geography and wants so badly to add to the number of states that he has travelled to. This added to the bribery.

"Matthew, if you don't start behaving, we aren't taking you to Kansas!"

This worked like a charm! On the day of the wedding, Bryon took all three kids to Kansas. You would have thought he was taking them to Oz the way they were going on and on about it! They went to a gas station in Caney, Kansas. Matthew said that he had to get a souvenier of Kansas. The gas station attendant gave him a Christmas card that said "Seasons greetings from Caney, Kansas!" It is amazing that they didn't sell out of those months ago!! A person in the gas station asked the boys where they were from. Thomas told her that he used to live in Texas but now he lives in a hotel.


Matthew was very clingy to Michael during the weekend. He didn't want to leave his side. Matthew and Michael have been best buddies since Matthew was a newborn. Any time Matthew accomplishes anything, he first wants to call Uncle Michael.

During the wedding, Matthew was perfect. He stood during the entire ceremony. He even helped us fluff Jilinda's vail after she walked up to the alter! During the recessional, Bryon's hands were full of sleeping Thomas, so Matthew stuck out his arm to escort the bridesmaid who Bryon was supposed to escort!

At the reception, the Matthew I know and love took center stage. I had asked him to be calm and good for far too long and now it was time to party. He loved dancing and as I mentioned yesterday, he enjoyed pretending like he was a figure skater. He kept crossing his arms over his chest and spinning. He got himself good and dizzy and threw up while Michael and Jilinda were cutting the cake. Fortunately, it wasn't a whole lot, and it was cleaned up within moments.

Matthew had a fabulous time and I couldn't have asked any more from him.

Thomas

And the stinker award goes to.....Thomas! The night before we left, he had 104 degree fever and I am fairly convinced that he had a virus on top of that. Being on antibiotics, feeling yucky, a long drive, out of routine, sleeping less than normal, playing 18 holes of golf with the guys, and all the hubbub took its toll the worst on my little guy. He was clingy to me, not his normal sweet self, not cooperative with cameras, and a little stubborn.

He fell asleep leaning over a chair at the rehearsal dinner. He slept any chance we would give him. I felt guilty that he wasn't home in bed, but what could we do?

One thing I will always remember about the wedding involved Thomas. We realized the night before the wedding that Thomas would not be able to stand during the wedding. He was far too out of sorts for that. After the kids came down the aisle, a member of the church grabbed ME. Thomas did not want to go with her. Bryon escorted him to her and took his place at the alter. Thomas followed him back! I discreetly pulled him over to where Bryon and I were standing. Thomas kept leaning on me and we finally told him to sit down next to us. We were in the back so I don't believe he could be seen. He was still holding Bryon's hand while he was sitting and during a prayer, I hear him snoring! He was sitting down, holding Bryon's hand fast asleep. I started giggling and I got worried that I would have the giggles during my song. Bryon picked him up and he stayed laying on Bryon's shoulder during the rest of the ceremony. Bryon had a long drool stain down the back of his tux!

He did perk up for the reception. He was very much at home next to all the food. The only time I had to get on to him during the reception was when he took all of his clothes off but his pants! He is so hot natured and it often takes everything in me to make him keep his clothes on!

He had a great time getting to know his second cousins. My cousin Matt has two kids, a boy, Matthew who is Thomas's age, and a girl, Emma, who is ME's age. Thomas fell in love with Emma and kept saying, "I love you, Emma!" We are all going to the Cape at the same time this summer so I am looking forward to their budding friendships!



Mary Elizabeth

What can I say? She had one mission: to walk down the aisle without crying. She accomplished her mission! She only stopped one time at the end of the aisle to pick up a few rose petals but she walked without crying out for Daddy or her Bibi.

ME also enjoyed getting to know her cousin, Emma. The two of them spent lots of time hugging and kissing at the reception.


ME loved all the attention she got from our extended family. The charm was turned on and she flirted with anyone who would let her.

She slept all but one hour of the 7 hour drive back!

I am exactly where I want to be!

I have been looking forward to this moment for weeks. We are all home safely. All the kids are in their beds. We had a fabulous time. My pictures have been downloaded!

This weekend, I felt every emotion that I could feel.

I laughed at my kids crazy antics.
I cried listening to my brother's heart felt words to my Dad.
I was sleep deprived.
I was humbled by all of the friends and family who came from great distances and went to great expense to be there for my brother and Jilinda.
I was relieved when Bryon was able to come.
I was so proud of my brother.
I was proud of my kids.
I was disappointed that Thomas didn't feel great.
I got the giggles when Thomas fell asleep during the ceremony and started snoring! (More on that later).
I was annoyed with Matthew for acting like a figure skater, spinning around and around, and throwing up at the reception. (More on that later!)
I was nervous singing in the wedding.
I was relieved that I didn't forget the words.
I enjoyed my extended family.
I was so happy to welcome Jilinda into our family as a new sister.
I danced my heart out at the reception.
My heart ached with happiness for my brother and nostalgia that somehow it won't ever be the same.

I have many great stories that I can't wait to tell. I need a hot bath and a good book first. I'll write more tomorrow! I have posted a few pictures. A few more might be trickling in later.

We made it!

We are here in Oklahoma! We headed up yesterday morning and were here by 4:00. The kids were great and Matthew even had time to read his first chapter book! Thomas was excited when we drove over the Red River. Red is still his FAVORITE color!

Kristen, I thought about you when we entered OK. The last time I was here was when we came with your parents when I was a jr. and you were a soph. in high school. That was so much fun!

The only drawback yesterday was that ME refused to sleep. She didn't sleep a wink on the drive and she didn't fall asleep until 10:30 last night. Ughhh! I remembered last night why I hate hotels with little ones. Mom and Lauren helped a ton and the boys ended up sleeping with Lauren and Josh.

The best news of all is that BRYON IS HERE! He surprised me and showed up at 1:30 in the morning. Everyones prayers were heard and I am pretty sure that Mrs. Judge had a "word" with Judge! Bryon said he had a complete change of heart yesterday and called him at 7 p.m. He told Bryon to hit the road!

The kids feel great. Matthew started complaining that the space that used to occupy his tonsils was hurting. Before he completed that sentence, I shoved an antibiotic in his mouth! I am so glad that we had one perscription extra.

Will blog more soon!

National Lampoons Wedding

Well, Thomas is feeling much better today! I feel so grateful that he got sick last night instead of today. What a relief! Gotta love antibiotics.

I am feeling much better today. Bryon has never let me down before and I know he will do everything in his power to be in OK as quickly as possible.

Matthew has his class picture first thing this morning. We are picking him up in a few minutes.

We are packing a Yukon with my parents, grandmother, three kids, me, and almost everything we own. Look out, Oklahoma, here comes the Griswolds!

So weary

Today has been difficult.

I was feeling great all day because I finally had most of the packing done, all the errands run, hair highlighted, etc. My mother watched the two younger kids while I was at my hair appointment. Everything was fine. I got the kids in the car and headed home. On route, I looked in the rearview mirror and noticed that Thomas looked a little funny. When I got home, I realized he was burning up. Before I even took him out of his carseat, I called the doctor and got him in immediately.

Thomas had 104 degree fever...

This is the child who has never had to get a prescription filled at our pharmacy...

This is the child who has gone through the winter sick season completely unscathed other than throwing up once...

Now, he is the child who got strep throat 15 hours before heading to OK.

Fortunately, we caught it early. Fortunately, the doctor gave me enough prescriptions to hold on to in case anyone else gets sick.


Please say a prayer that we all make it up to OK safely and in time for the wedding and that no one else gets sick. Thank you.

Today

Well, Matthew's smile is fixed! I took him out of school yesterday and got his tooth bonded and that stubborn baby tooth pulled. It was overall a painless experience and Matthew was only in the dentist chair for 5 minutes. Afterwards I took him to get a haircut then out to lunch before heading back to school. We had such a great time together! I adore spending one on one time with each child and yesterday it struck me how big Matthew is getting. We had a great conversation and it made me so proud of the little man he is becoming.

I have been running errands and packing all morning. Thomas and even little ME got a haircut. I am going this afternoon for a cut and highlight. After that, just a little more packing and we will be ready to go! Every day I get a little more excited and I can't wait to see all of my family and celebrate the wedding of my brother!