Remembering Nana...

My Nana passed away during the night last night. She had been suffering from lung cancer since the beginning of this year. I have a lot of memories with her and my Granddad and she will be missed. And for all you out there that want to know what tree I fell from...it was hers! Love ya Nana!!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Memorial Weekend Re-Cap

So what did we do Memorial weekend?!?! We FINALLY got to celebrate mine and Tina's birthdays...mine was April 20th and Tina's was May 18th. The hubby's took us to the Cheesecake Factory for a night without the kids. It was nice to be able to enjoy adult company with no kids! Thanks honey!!

Saturday morning was Stamp Club which is always a good time. The new catalogs will be out in July and I can't wait. One year we even had a watch party for the UPS man. Corny, I know...but it was fun! My mom goes to SC with me and I enjoy spending that time with her. Saturday evening the fam relaxed at home and rented Taken. That was a great movie. We give it 10 thumbs up!! Hehe!!

Sunday afternoon we had a softball game with some church friends. We had a great time. It wasn't just the adults but the little kids got to play as well. Olivia got up there and hit the ball and that girl can play!! She sure showed me up...it was humiliating. Let's just say we played where you kept swinging until you got a hit. I NEVER hit the ball. It was awful. I love spending time with my church family irregardless of my athletic ability. Check out the slideshow of pics below.

Monday my mom and the kids and I went to visit my Nana. She was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year and wasn't feeling well. For as long as I can remember we've had a Memorial Day cookout at their house and since she wasn't feeling well they had to cancel it. Phil and I ended up hosting a cookout with our parents and my brother and sister and her family. We had a nice time...nothing stressful. That's just the way I like it. But it was a little sad not having our usual cookout at Nana and Granddads!

Here is the softball game slideshow!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Junior Hospitality May Give Away

Nicole - Sizzlin' Savages - invited Becky, Jeana, and myself to the 2009 JH May Give Away last Thursday at the beautiful Skirvin Hilton Hotel in Downtown OKC. This was my first time to see the hotel and it did not disappoint. May Give Away is when JH awards a program with a grant for the year.

Nicole mentioned to me several times about joining JH and this meeting was the perfect opportunity for us to see what it was all about. Junior Hospitality is a non-profit women's service organization focused on providing friendship and volunteer opportunities to it's members and service and support to the local community.

I really enjoyed myself and felt welcome. I was especially touched by the presentation of the grant to The Children's Center. Heather represented The Children's Center and was so moved by the ladies from JH and their service that she announced she was going to join herself. That spoke volumes to me. So over the next few months and lots of prayer I'll be making the decision whether to join or not.
The Skirvin Hilton Hotel

Our dinner was very good...

Jeana, me, and Becky

Nicole, Kelly, Becky, and Jeana

Shabby Souls--Jeana, Kelly, Becky, Natalie, Kelsie,and Nicole! Whop! Whop!

Soccer Life

Parker has been playing soccer since he was 4. He tried several other sports but always went back to soccer. Phil and I, and the granparents, have had to learn this sport over the years and have really enjoyed watching Parker.
This last year Parker went from playing at Southlakes for 2 years to playing in MWC. After feeling like he wasn't progressing we decided to try something different. We were recommended by a friend to a coach that would be coaching in MWC so that all seemed to fit. Parker really liked the coach and we felt like this was going to be a positive change for Parker. Halfway through the season that coach was replaced. We were disappointed by the change and unsure about the future of the team and Parker's participation with this team. We decided to finish out the season. We learned that the replacement coach graduated from Oklahoma Christian and knows BPlumb and Ben, ministers from our church. This was totally a God thing. Matt, Parker's coach has truly shown an interest in these boys and wants them to improve. We can see that they have gotten SO much better in just the last four months that Matt took over the team, even though the weather has not been on our side. I can't wait for the next season.
Love this look...

Prize-winning pic

Soccer Kicks

End of School

The end of school is always a hectic time but there is something about
3 kids + 3 binders full of papers = chaos
We are definitely going to have to come up with a system for next year. I'm not sure how many things the kids have missed or almost missed because a note was mixed in with all the papers. But I think we finally had the straw that broke the camels back this week.

Monday morning was crazy already. Olivia was tired that morning, she cried and whined all morning. In order for me to be able to fix her hair she has to be out of the bath and dressed and ready by 8:15 at the latest. This is nothing new to her. I continually remind her of this and it just makes her more angry. Well, it got later and later and I finally told her I wouldn't be able to fix her hair. She went to school not looking her best and not in her cutest clothes.

Fast forward to 3:45pm. I walk through the door after work and Olivia walks up to me, "Mommy, why didn't you dress me up today? It was my program." WHAT?? Oh, I felt SO awful!! Ugh!! This is one of those "you've-failed-as-a-parent" moments! After I got over the shock and disappointment I apologized to her and told her how awful I felt. Then I got to thinking...she was more concerned about why I didn't dress her up and not "why were you and daddy not there?" Which is kinda funny! Silly girl. Later she dug it in a little more and said a lot of her friends got flowers and she wanted flowers. What do you do with that? I guess I'll have to get her some flowers to make it up to her! One more time, I'm sorry sweet girl! Your mommy and daddy love you very much and are so sorry we missed your kindergarten graduation.

However, we did make it to Easton's 1st grade picnic and awards presentation. We had a nice picnic with his friend Alyssa and her parents. Dad picked up McDonalds and we ate out near the playground. The weather was perfect. I took a couple of pics but I'll have to post them later. Easton got a lot of reading awards. He's our SUPER-READER. He was disappointed that he didn't get the perfect attendance this year. We'll try again next year though! Parker's program is next week so we'll post that later.

Scrapbook Retreat

This past weekend I went to a scrapbook retreat with a few girlfriends, Pam, Becky, Misty, Jana, and Susie. Shannon arrived late Friday evening and was only able to stay for few hours when a family emergency came up, we missed ya ShanCat! Phil stayed home with the kids and from what it sounded like they had a pretty full weekend. Thanks honey for taking care of the kids!!
I should have known how my weekend was going to go but really I feel like I'm generally a positive person. On the way there my nose and throat started itching...not a good sign for me when I take allergy meds on a regular basis. As soon as we set up all our stuff the sneezing hit and DID NOT stop. It was a long night with not a lot of productivity. Pam and Susie took me to Walmart in Weatherford (it's been along time since I've been there--and Pam I still want that dress in the window) to get me some Benadryl. I was desperate for relief. I didn't last very long that night thinking that if I went to bed that would help me. It didn't. My nose was so sucked shut that I hard a hard time breathing through the night. Okay, here is where I tell on myself a little, and yes I'm embarrassed. When I woke up the next morning to take my daily meds I realized that I had not taken my allergy medicine the night before. Did I mention how miserable I was? Ugh!! I'm still not really sure what happened with that, all I can do is blame it on feeling so awful. It's like I couldn't really concentrate on anything. After I took a shower I did feel a little better. We went to breakfast (a whole other story there) and then back to the cropping room. The sneezing and itchiness started again! So I went looking for my "unopened" box of Benadryl I'd bought the night before. Couldn't find it anywhere. What the world!!!!!! Things were not stacking up for me this weekend. After attempting to scrapbook some I decided after lunch to take a nap so I slept for about two hours. When I woke up Pam said she had looked in her room and in her car and with no luck finding the Benadryl. Unbelievable!!! Sunday morning came around and I was feeling better, after I finally got my allergy meds in my body the night before. We packed our room up and of course what did I find...the Benadryl, under the bed where I looked several times with Becky as my witness. That box is still not open BTW. Sunday I FINALLY felt productive but we packed up and headed home about 1:30. I was ready though after not feeling well all weekend.
Here are a couple things I accomplished at the retreat!
This is a baby gift I finally finished for Parker's soccer coach.

Some of you may recognize these pictures...they're of when Olivia cut her own hair December 07. Good times!

I actually was able to get more than this done but I just wanted to give you a taste. I have many more pics developed so there WILL be more to come!

Yay Me!!! Finally!!!

So I finally finished the Twilight series. After all is said and done, I LOVED it!! I read the first book, Twilight, with no problems but I will say I was a little nervous to watch the movie. Typically the movies are never as good as the book and I'd gotten so many mixed reviews about the movie.

I went into the second book, New Moon, with some hesitation since so many had said this was definitely the slowest. I think that must have helped me through because I really enjoyed it and didn't feel it was slow at all.

On to the third book, Eclipse. Sheesh! This is the one I struggled through but I knew I'd made it this far I couldn't quit now. Also, with a little goading from my good friend Nicole I caved under pressure to keep going!

Finally, I made it to the fourth book, Breaking Dawn. Holy Cow!! I didn't want to put it down. Then I came to the realization that it would eventually end so I started taking my time reading it. The fourth book made the entire series SO worth any slow parts. It was after I started reading the fourth book that I watched the movie...loved it too!! I'm looking forward to the next movie that will be coming out in November...I see a girls day ahead!!

I'm sure most of you have read these books since they have been on the Best Seller List for almost 3 years, but if you haven't YOU NEED TO.

Crazy Hair Day

Today was Crazy Hair Day for Olivia's class. Here's what we came up with...


I think she looks more "cool" than "crazy"! Whad'ya think??

Ear-resistible

Since he was a baby, Easton has always had a thing for ears...his ears, my ears, Phils ears, anyones ears. They've been somewhat of his security blanket and we've always thought it was so sweet.

He's probably going to be an Ear, Nose & Throat doctor...wait, I take that back, he can argue your "ear" off so maybe he'll be a lawyer. Whatever he'll be I'm sure you can find a way to link ears to it somehow.

I'm honoring Easton today with this post and his sweet obsession for ears. We love you E!


He's getting more creative...he can tuck his ear into his ear! Now that's talent!! Hehe!!

Tag You're It!!!

I was tagged by fellow blogger & friend, Jeana at Keeping up with the Sorrells. I guess I've procrastinated responding because I'm not sure I'll be able to come up with enough things to fill in all the blanks...but here goes!

This is called 8 things...look below...I tag 8 people at the end!!

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Heaven
2. The baptism of my children
3. Phil being able to get a new vehicle...he SO deserves it
4. Vacation with my family
5. When my kids respect me
6. My next book--even though I don't want the one I'm reading to end!!
7. The trip with my girlfriends to see Wicked!!
8. The next Twilight movie--New Moon

8 things I did yesterday:
1 Worked
2. Went to Target--twice
3. Cooked dinner
4. Read Breaking Dawn
5. Laundry
6. Watched Livie at Gymnastics
7. Downloaded freebie digital designs
8. Honestly I'm surprised I remember that much!

8 things I wish I could do:
1. Travel to Italy
2. Sing
3. Buy my parents a house
4. Hire a maid
5. Paint
6. Be more organized at home
7. Take my kids on more vacations
8. Phil and I take a vacation

8 Shows I watch:
1. Greys Anatomy
2. The Office
3. Private Practice
4. Heroes
5. Dancing with the Stars
6. American Idol
7. Lie to Me
8. Friday Night Lights

8 friends I'm tagging--Come on Ladies:
1. Becky
2. Pam
3. Catherine
4. Jill
5. Shannon
6. Nicole
7. Whitney
8. Jennifer M

First Grade Field Trip

Easton had his first field trip of the year last Friday. He really wanted either Phil or me to go, which we both thought was really sweet. Well, Thursday before the field trip came around and we hadn't yet really decided who would go with him. After school Easton came home and told me that we would be in charge of him and two other boys. Then Easton said, "I told Aaron to be good." What?? That did it, Phil was going. I told Phil he was more equipped to be in charge of a bunch of boys like Easton. Ugh! I could feel my blood pressure going up just thinking about it. Phil, being the awesome dad that he is, went without hesitation.

The entire first grade went to the Martin Nature Center in NOKC, a haven for 1st graders. I think Phil had a good time but Easton made it all worth it when he said, "Thank you dad for going on the field trip." Ahh, now that has to warm your cockles. Phil also did a fabulous job with the camera. Enjoy...

Here's the group Phil was in charge of. Don't you see trouble all over?!?!


Bird watching...


Nature walk...


A little further down, Easton fell into this creek. Yep, you read right!! Crazy boy!


Look-out below, serioulsy!!

In Honor of Earth Day...

You guys are going to get used to me being late on things...it's just how I roll. Usually things just sneak up on me and by the time I get an idea the day has passed.

Even though Earth Day 2009 has officially passed it's never too late to take care of the world God has blessed us with. I want to honor the person in my life that demonstrates that the most...my mom!!

We tease her a lot because she is constantly getting after us to recycle things, picking up behind us, and at times getting things out of the trash that we've thrown away...sometimes we do that on purpose!! Hehe!! It's all in good fun but she truly is going above and beyond most people to keep God's earth beautiful.

I took some pictures of her and my dad in action...
I thought this was so pretty. This is what you'll find as you walk up to their porch. It's only one of many things they've planted. My parents are always out in the yard and really do enjoy gardening...even though my dad would say he didn't!! Ha!!


I laugh at my mom because she has a fetish with dishes...I tell her she has "dish-ues". Here is one more bowl she has added to her collection. It is actually called the Rachael Ray Garbage Bowl. She uses this to put her recyclable food. I remember when she bought it, she was so excited. We're a lot alike in that way, we get excited over simple things.


Every couple days they take the bowl to the backyard where they have a compost. The kids like to help with this and it's a great thing for them to learn. As you can see from Livie's expression it doesn't have the greatest smell!


Here's a closer look inside...


Then my dad has to get in there every few days and "stir" it up.


And over time, out from the bottom...


...you get soil! Pretty cool. I'm needin some of that in my flower bed so I'm hoping dad will wheel barrow some on over to my house


Okay, so I couldn't do a post like this without adding a pic of moms famous oak tree in her back yard. Dad and Phil are always threatening to cut the branches but as you can see it really is a beautiful tree. You stand your ground mom!! Love you!

Happy 6th Birthday to Our Sweet Girl

Today at 4:11pm, Olivia will officially turn 6 years old. I've teased her over the last few days that we weren't going to celebrate her birthday because I didn't want her to get any older...if only that could happen. Needless to say she DID NOT like that idea. She's been planning here birthday since her 5th birthday party ended. I'm not sure where she gets that from!

Livie is definitely a gift from God. If you know the story surrounding the year before she was born you'd know that to be entirely true. It was God's plan for her to be in our lives and she is our bright sparkle.

Happy Birthday Sweet Olivia! We love you!!

She wanted me to put a candle in her crescent roll this morning and then we sang Happy Birthday to her...so silly!!


Sassy Six...these are her "fashion" glasses!!

Birthday Breakdown

The older you get the less important you seem to feel your birthdays are but this year ended up being a nice birthday. If it were up to me I'd have a birthday "week", that's how I tend to celebrate others birthdays ;). I received calls, emails, texts, and even blog posts from family and friends wishing me Happy Birthday, that was fun. Nancy, my m-i-l, called to take me to lunch; just minutes after I hung up with her Phil called to see if he could take me to lunch--two-for-one, that doesn't happen very often. We went downtown to eat at La Luna...yummy! It's been years since I've been there and it did not disappoint. Later that evening Phil decided (notice that Phil decided--that was the best part) to take me and the kids to Red Lobster for dinner...another yummy! Needless to say I don't think I can eat the rest of the week. While we were there Elvis sang Happy Birthday to me. If you have never experienced a serenade from Elvis at Red Lobster you are missing out; it's worth eating there just for that. After we got home my parents came over with strawberry shortcake...should I say it...yummy!! Someone sent me a VERY SPECIAL message and I am so proud of it I want all of you to see it...check out my s-i-l's blog The Princess and Her Peons and see my gift. I LOVE IT...or should I say HER!!

Thank you again to all my family and friends!! Love you!!

Newest Creation

I made Catherine a canvas for her birthday with the help of Phil and Becky. Since Cat said she was going to hang it in her living room I'm going to assume she likes it!! I put Jeremiah 29:11 on it, it's one of the verses she has posted on her blog. Sorry to all of you that have been waiting to see the finished product...here it is.

Happy Birthday, again, Catherine!!!

Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. Our Oklahoma weather was not the greatest Easter weather; it was rainy and cold all day. The egg hunt at church was moved indoors which made for an interesting hunt! The Easter Bunny still managed to visit the kids inspite of the yucky weather.

Sit back, have a nibble on some Easter candy, and enjoy the slide show!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Yard Work

We FINALLY got out and worked in the yard Saturday. The weather was Be-U-tiful so we took full advantage of it. Phil and Parker took care of the yard while me and Easton and Olivia cleaned out the flower bed. We haven't planted any new flowers yet but everything looks SO much better.
I'm embarrassed to say this is a before pic of our yard. I don't have an after pic yet, I'm waiting until I get some things planted. Watch for that to come.

The kids showed me EVERY root of EVERY weed they pulled. They were so proud of their accomplishments.

Easter Egg Hunt

Olivia's class had their Easter egg hunt Friday and Phil and I were able to volunteer to hide eggs for her class. I was excited because I haven't been able to do many of the kids school activities. We were able to meet a few of her friends as well. Coincidentally, her teacher had her baby the night before so she wasn't there but Liv has been looking forward to the arrival of that little baby boy for a long time. Congratulations Mrs.W.
Here are some pics of Liv with her friends at the egg hunt.


I was so proud of Olivia. Her friend fell as they were running after the eggs and Olivia stopped to help her and make sure she was ok.

Produce Pointers

I get emails from Oprahs fitness guru, Bob Greene. Earlier this week I got an email that talks about picking out produce and since it's spring and fresh fruits and veggies are always yummy I thought it would be a great thing to share.

Use the following tips to help you get the most of your produce purchases.

Before you pick a watermelon, slap its side. Hear a hollow thump? It's ripe and ready to go.

When shopping for a grapefruit, it's not necessary to avoid fruits with green on the skin, as the color does not indicate ripeness.

Small bright green Brussels sprouts with compact heads are your best bet; the smaller the sprout, the better the taste.

For raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, avoid containers with juice stains; they may be a sign of crushed, moldy, or overripe berries.

Skip scallions that are a translucent green. The lack of opaqueness means they have been sitting in ice for too long.

Always store tomatoes at room temperature. Putting them in the fridge can make them mealy and flavorless. Ditto for bananas.

Potatoes need to be stored in a cool, dark place, but don't refrigerate or they will develop a hard core and an undesirable taste.

To make your herbs last, snip off the ends and submerge them in a glass of water. Cover with a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator.

Mangoes, plums, peaches, pears and apricots ripen faster at room temperature in a paper bag.

Keep your bell peppers dry. They rot faster when exposed to moisture.

Happy "Healthy" Eating!!