Freeze Frame

Her personality is as big as these trees.

But it's sooooo cute all squished into that tiny body.

On the road again...

On the road again

Just can't wait to get on the road again

The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can't wait to get on the road again

On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been

Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again

So we have really been on the road lately.

So much so that our girls really have learned some of the lyrics to this song.

It's not that we love being on the road.

We just love "seeing things that I may never see again"...

like 7th birthdays or 1st birthdays.

Not to mention all those split second moments that will never happen the same way again...

like cousins helping to blow out birthday candles or reading books in each other's laps.

Or all those "first" moments with my girls - like going into a cave for the first time or

seeing a beautiful thoroughbred horse up close.

Priceless moments all over the map - Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky.

And for all those moments like these...

For all these priceless moments...

I just can't wait to get on the road again.

More Cousins!

A few weeks ago, we headed down south to see friends, family, and some Alabama football.

It was FUN from the very beginning.

We made a super quick pit stop and got to give hugs to friends we miss.

We got to make sweet memories with cousins we don't see enough.

Tate has gotten so big!

And so very very cute!

A few years ago, Lillianna was the only grandchild on this side of the family.

Poof!  Now there are little ones running around all over.

They had a lot of fun playing together.  If only it were more often!

Big brother Kylen hugging little brother Beckham. 

Two absolutely adorable rascals!

More beautiful memories with wonderful family.

We are so blessed.

Bugs & Slugs

She loves animals. 

But since we don't live in the rainforest, the jungle, a farm or even near a zoo, 

she settles on the bugs, frogs, and worms in our yard. 

 She loves to hold them, talk to them, make elaborate homes for them, and then let them go.

She is cautious around new ones but interested in all of them.

She can catch frogs and butterflies faster than anyone I know.

She can find roly polys under rocks wherever we go.

And she treats them all like they are a warm, fuzzy, kitten.

I have watched Lillianna pass this love along to her cousins and friends.

But her greatest impact has been on her little sister.

Just this week Ellenie sobbed and sobbed when her friend stepped on her new pet, a Daddy Long Legs spider she had been loving on for 10 minutes.

I love this about my girly girl.

My little big girl who insists on wearing a dress each day will get that dress so dirty just to find one worm.

I wonder where this love will take her.

My La La

Couldn't be more proud.

Cutest Cousins Conference

He may be a man of few words...

But he is a man of a million faces.

Little ol' Evan stole my heart on his last visit.

He is happy, energetic, and just a real ham.

 And his precious big brother, Connor, is sweet, very smart, and well on his way to becoming

A superhero!

Ready to fly through the air or

conquer a wild beast.

As always, we had a blast with our cousins!

And this guy just worked hard at melting my heart...with each adorable smile.

House Divided by Three

Around our house, we take Gameday seriously.

Depending on the season (I'm talking football or basketball not Fall or Spring),

we are decked out in red for Alabama or blue for Kentucky.

I have been buying cute and stylish shirts, skirts, and dresses in red and blue for years now.

The girls have cheerleading outfits for both teams

 and have been know to wear both in one day on a few Saturdays.

Never did I dream that we'd be adding a new color to our Gameday rainbow.

Go UC Tornados!

Love that small town school spirit!

Flowers and Frogs

Whatif

What if...

by Shel Silverstein

Last night, while I lay thinking here,

some Whatifs crawled inside my ear

and pranced and partied all night long

and sang their same old Whatif song:

Whatif I'm dumb in school?

Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?

Whatif I get beat up?

Whatif there's poison in my cup?

Whatif I start to cry?

Whatif I get sick and die?

Whatif I flunk that test?

Whatif green hair grows on my chest?

Whatif nobody likes me?

Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?

Whatif I don't grow tall?

Whatif my head starts getting smaller?

Whatif the fish won't bite?

Whatif the wind tears up my kite?

Whatif they start a war?

Whatif my parents get divorced?

Whatif the bus is late?

Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?

Whatif I tear my pants?

Whatif I never learn to dance?

Everything seems well, and then

the nighttime Whatifs strike again!

What if?!

As the girls get older, I find this question filling my brain more often.

Some parents seems to ask this more when their children are babies...

Whatif they don't wake up?  Whatif they choke on that grape?  Whatif they fall down?

Those just didn't pop into my head as much.

But now...

Whatif someone is mean to her at school?  Whatif she doesn't believe in herself?

Whatif she isn't happy?  Whatif?

Luckily, they are fleeting, momentary questions that are followed by a peace.

A peace that our God is good and knows the answers to all these questions before I ask them.

And no matter the answer to each one, God will be there to walk with her through each one.

So I have a peace for my questions.

  I just hope and pray I will be able to pass along that peace

when the girls start asking me their Whatif's.

Fairweather

One day we are hanging on to every last bit of Summer...

and the next day, we are anxiously sliding into Fall.

I really love Fall and can't wait for it to be here. 

 But these days, I'm not wishing away one minute.

Not one adorable minute.

Members of the Tea Party

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis

Or a sock monkey ginormous enough...

Or a table wet enough...

Or a smile fake enough....

to suit me.

Roy G. Biv

 I saw this awesome craft and knew I had to try it.

Wasn't sure how to do it or if it would work.

It did.

We made rainbows.  So bright and so beautiful.

The very next night I had the honor of hearing Maya Angelou speak and she used rainbows as her theme.



 Quoting scripture from Genesis, she shared that rainbows are a sign of hope.

 And then explained that each of us has the opportunity to be a rainbow

to anyone and everyone around us.

We are all rainbows.

I thought of these rainbows that we had made just the day before.

 Each so obviously different.

 Both so obviously beautiful in their own way.

 Just like us.

 We can all be rainbows of hope to those around us.

You never know whose day you might change, whose life you might touch today.

Just by being colorful, wonderful you.