A surprise package came in the mail.....

THANK YOU, Mrs. Jen!!...I LOVE my new dress and my Mommy loves it too! She thinks you are the BEST!

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My friend Jen sent this adorable little dress to Viv for NO reason whatsoever....what a sweet surprise! I LOVE it so much. She ordered it from IT'S POPPY DIP. Click on the button above to check it out. Sallee is the gifted seamstress that hand makes all the dresses you will see. The fabric is wonderful and the quality is of her work is AMAZING...plus each one is made with a lot of love. Sallee is sewing these adorable dresses to raise money to bring home her 3rd child from Ethiopia.

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I want MORE! :-).

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God takes care of His children!

I am so thankful for God's direction and protection. Many times He leads and guides us where we need to go and we have no idea that He is up to something...and then all of a sudden our eyes are opened and we can see how He has lead us step by step. When we see His leading, His protection, we can then in the midst of the situation have total peace that His hand will continue to guide. We can lay our worries and concerns at the feet of Jesus and enjoy the ride, looking forward to watching His handiwork to completion. I continually need this reminder.

Last week Vivi Jo came inside from playing and her eye was itching and red. Paul and I flushed it out with saline and I gave her a dose of allergy medicine, just in case it might be allergies. I was really concerned about her eye, I didn't know if it were allergies or if she might have gotten dirt in it and had possibly scratched it. That doesn't sound like anything to be that concerned over, especially since I have dealt with extreme eye allergies with Mark. I even woke up in the middle of the night with it on my mind. When she woke up, it was better but still a little swollen, a little red and a little itchy. I called the eye doctor first thing and they were able to work her in that same day. He confirmed that it was indeed allergies. While we were there I mentioned that I was thinking about making an appointment to get her vision checked. I shared with him that she had never complained about not being able to see, she never squinted her eyes, but occasionally she would say her eyes were tired. He said he could go ahead and check her vision while we were there. I was shocked when the doctor said she was EXTREMELY farsighted and has a severe astigmatism. He wanted to give her a week with some drops to clear up her allergies and then check her eyes again. A week went by and the doctor checked her, he said her vision was 20/400 farsighted which means he has trouble seeing close up and then the astigmatism makes it to where she has trouble seeing far away. He said that she should have been put in glasses at about age 6 months and if it had been left untreated for 5 to 7 more years she would have been close to legally blind without hope for correction. I was so shocked because there was nothing that gave Paul or me the indication she could not see clear as day...she never complained at all. The doctor said it was because that is all she knows, she doesn't know things should look different than she sees them. My precious Vivi Jo is going to experience a whole new world. I am so thankful to God for His leading and direction. This afternoon my baby is going to see clearly for the first time!!!

i've got the FEVER....

It's been a LONG time since I've pulled out the ole sewing machine....but I decided it was time to create. I used a junior size skirt I bought at a yard sale (look familiar Bonnie?) and a long sleeve top that I got on sale last year that Viv only wore once and in about 30 minutes I stitched up this little number. You wouldn't want to look at the stitches, they are quite AWFUL but I think overall it's pretty cute but maybe it's the model that makes it so cute. Vivi Jo LOVES it because Mama made it, she was right beside me while I was sewing. I hit Goodwill the other day and they had their ladies skirts for 50 cents each....I bought several and already have big plans for them, this is the first of many to come.

Our Future Concert Harpist

Vivi Jo and her teacher Miss Laura.


Learning how to hold her hands and arms....she looks like a natural to me :-).

She LOVED her first lesson and is already looking forward to next week.

Wordless Wednesday

Walking to church with Daddy

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Paul is a greeter early Sunday mornings before Bible Fellowship (Sunday School). Vivi Jo LOVES to go with Daddy to help greet. On the nice days we walk to church (we live close), both Vivi Jo and Max love that.

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New (OLD) Do

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Your looking at Vivi Jo's new do. I love how it shows off her sweet facial structure. I wanted her hair to look like those photos of our great great great grandmothers when they were a little girls....a lot of times they wore huge bows. I call it a pixie bob. It will also be great for those HOT Texas summer days that we are sure to have!

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Does she look old old school or what.
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I must have sneezed when I took this shot because it is so blurry...hehehe, but you can get the idea.

Little Boy Lingo

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Max and Vivi Jo's favorite CD is Kids Sing it is full of hymns made fun for kids.

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Max sings BIG and knows most of the words to the songs but sometimes he decides to put his own spin on these good ol' classics.

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The song goes like this:

On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand...all other ground is sinking sand.

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Max's version:

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On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is stinky sand...all other ground is stinky sand.

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A couple of weeks ago, out of the blue Max says, "I love my Mom." I absolutely melted! I wondered how he came up with that phrase? Then other day the Wiggles came on and they were playing a song and the song goes, I love my Mom, I love my Mom, I love my MOM. I knew I loved the Wiggles.....that's what I call good children's television :-)

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Now yesterday he says, "I love my Mom, my Mom is cool." WHAT? COOL? We don't have teenagers living here anymore. Where in the world did he hear that? No I am not whispering in his ear while he is sleeping, "your Mom is cool, your Mom is cool, your Mom is cool." :-P

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The kid is very perceptive....hehehe

Princess?.......

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...NO mam, you're looking at the QUEEN BEE!

NO LIMITS!

Max swings like a little "monkey"!

Wordless Wednesday

Boogie On Down

Last Friday, Paul and I took the kids to the zoo, we came home and had a very relaxing evening....early dinner, early bath, jammies on, the kids were watching Happy Feet and I was sitting on the sofa answering emails. All of a sudden Max lets loose and found his own "happy feet". I happened to have my camera handy and I got him cuttin-a-rug. Lately he dances alot, we just have to make sure we give him PLENTY of room :-).

Be sure and turn off my music on the sidebar.

Vivi Jo has had a special someone escorting her to pre-school the last 2 weeks. Daddy has been on vacation and he has been taking her to school and picking her up. She proudly holds his hand as he walks her to her classroom. We are all going to miss Daddy when he has to go back to work.

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Wordless Wednesday

Bedtime Talk

I LOVE having conversations with my Max and Vivi Jo and hear what they have to say. This is one night last week when I was tucking Max into bed. You can tell he is pretty tired but not to bushed to chat with mom a bit before we "snuggle up"...that's his new little phrase.

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I love you sweet boy!

Be sure and turn the music off on my sidebar.




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I'll video one of my chats with Vivi Jo and post it soon...you can bet there will be lots of giggles :-).

Camping with the S fam

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Here are some pictures of our camping trip. We had a wonderful time while it lasted...we ended up having to cut the weekend short due to rain, or shall I say down pour. We enjoyed the S family so much. I think Kim and I would never run out of things to talk about. She and I bonded instantly! The S children are precious and you would have thought our kids were long time friends by the way they were together. And then there is Brad...LOL..he is a hoot! If anyone reading my blog knows him then you are going to LOVE the video below!!!....LOL!!! We look forward to camping again with this sweet family. Click HERE to read Kim's account of our weekend and see her pictures (by the way Kim, I lifted a couple :-).

Saturday morning after a BIG breakfast, cooked by head chef Brad along with sous chefs Mia and Garrett, we went to the park for a little baseball game. Below is a video of Mr. Brad at his best...lol. Seriously, he is a pretty athletic guy, or I assume he is, all his kids are great athlete's...humm...maybe they get their athletic ability from their Mama...hehehe. Brad is the President of the baseball association where he lives...if only everyone involved in the league could see this video :-).

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ENJOY!!

Be sure and turn off my music on the sidebar.

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Good times with good friends....Great memories made!!

Happy Mother's Day ~ 2009

I first want to say, Happy Mother's Day to my precious Mama and my sweet Mother-In-Law, the two Barbara's. I love you both so much!

Today I am full of emotion and thanksgiving! I'm so thankful to God that He knew me better than I thought I knew myself. I ran across a blog header that said, "When I was young, I didn't want children... God laughed". That was me to a T. I bet He was laughing hysterically at me! It's so hard for me to believe I felt that way as a teenager because once I became a mommy I was so passionate about it! I cannot think of another thing in this world I would rather be doing then being a wife to my very best friend, a mommy and a homemaker. I am so blessed and I thank God that I have been able stay at home with all my children.

My special day began with breakfast in bed complete with flowers and gifts. Paul took Vivi Jo and Max to the dollar store yesterday and let them pick out whatever they wanted to give me. Last night while they were in the other room with Paul wrapping my gifts and decorating their bags with all kinds of stickers and making me homemade cards (my favorite kind), Max stuck his head around the door and yelled, "Mama get heart...Mama get heart". This morning I understood....he was having a hard time keeping his gift a secret :-), he gave me a heart key chain, it is so precious...I will treasure it FOREVER and Vivi Jo got me a candle that smelled of Tropical Pineapples. Paul said she smelled of every candle in the store and she definitely had her likes and dislikes! Our home will be smelling sweet thanks to my sweet girl. Another extra special treat was Miss Britney! Britney came home last night, spent the night and we got to enjoy her today. Hayden is working so he didn't get to come home but I did get to see him last week and Mark lives in Lubbock so he didn't get to come home but I got calls wishing me a Happy Mothers Day from both boys. Today has been a wonderful day!

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Vivi Jo & Max proudly showing off their gifts they chose for me.

I am blessed beyond measure!

Friday Funnies

Max cracks me up! He is always doing or saying funny things that make me laugh. Every night he wants to sleep with something in the bed with him...he ALWAYS sleeps with Mimmy (his beloved bear), and he usually wants to sleep with a pair of shoes....when we check in on him before we go to bed, we never know what else we might find.

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Oh how I wish I had pictures of everything he has brought to bed.

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I found these boots at a garage sale while we were waiting to travel for him and even though I am not a lover of cowboy boots, I went ahead and bought them. They have been up in his closet and one night he wanted to sleep with them, I put them beside him and when I went in to check on him, he was sound alseep with them on.

Better Late than Never...

I just realized that I didn't even post pictures of Miss Viv's first Easter dress....what was I thinking, I have to journal her first Easter dress :-). Max came home and started stripping down so I only got a few of him in the midst of his stripping. I will post those within the next 2 months....LOL...just kidding. I am so behind on my posting! Paul is on vacation this week and next week so that is why I have been a blogger slacker. We are really enjoying Daddy!

She really likes the flower...check out the band-aid on her finger....LOL...I love it!

Wordless Wednesday