Swim Lessons and Best Buds

For the past 2 weeks Audrey and I have been taking a "Mommy and Me" class with a couple of friends through the City of Longview (http://www.ci.longview.tx.us). We had so much fun and saw steady progression.

The class was 30 minutes long and consisted of 3-4 songs, which included much splashing and dunking, practice time and shallow water play time. I think Audrey's favorite time was the singing and splashing time. We really enjoyed getting to take the class with our friends Luke and Ryan along with some new friends. Audrey seemed to be a great inspiration for our boy friends. Luke only blowed bubbles to show Audrey and Ryan really loved doing "Motor Boat" with Audrey. To tell you the truth...I think she could have cared less. I hope you enjoy these great pictures.

Trying to do Scrapblog...

Hey...to all of you who saw my blog in a shamble...please ignore what you saw. I have been playing around with Scrapbloging. I was working on it earlier this afternoon, wasn't sure what I did wrong, left it and went shopping and to eat pizza. Then when I got back home I realized how fast people check blogs by 2 comments posted on my lousy attempt at Scrapbloging. So hopefully now it looks mucho better. Let me know what you think...I'm asking for it *smile* *wink* and *all that good stuff*.

God-Mother Got Hitched

Congratulations to our sweet Amanda! We met Amanda right after we got married. She is Audrey's unofficial Godmoma. On Saturday we got to go to her wedding in Waco. It was beautiful, well-planned and a little hot. She took some time out at her wedding to come over and say hi to Audrey, how sweet. We are looking forward to getting to know her new hubby better and hanging out as couples. God Bless your future...have fun in the Bahamas!

Family Fun on Fourth

(My Aunt Cheri, Aunt Kathy and Mom)

What an awesome 4th of July we had! It has been a couple of years since we have had such a great Independence Day. We felt truly wanted this year because we received several invites from friends to hang out.
For some time we have had plans to go to my Aunt Cheri's house in Aledo. We wanted to have a mini-family reunion. When I was younger we lived in the same town, all of my family (aunts, uncles, grandparents). As kids grew, people moved away and it has been several years since I have gotten to be around everyone.
We drove over to Aledo on Thursday evening. The next day I was in charge of breakfast and we had Sopapilla Cheescake. We had a relaxing day which entailed going to the big Firework wharehouse and buying a lot of firecrackers and reading a lot on the couch.


The main meal was around 4ish and we enjoyed a nice dip in the swimming pool before and after the yummy food. I had picked blackberries a couple of days before and was able to make a pretty awesome Blackberry Cobbler, if I do say so myself.


(Uncle Steve, Uncle Joel, Mom, Aunt Cheri, Aunt Kathy)

Then that evening we all went out in my Aunt and Uncle's front yard and set off all the fireworks we had purchased. Audrey was not a big fan of the fireworks but maybe next year she will enjoy them better.
Fireworks outside!

The best part of the day was that my mother's oldest brother, Uncle Steve and his two sons came to celebrate with us. I have seen him and his family about 5 times in my whole life. So it was an answer to many prayers the great visit we had with his family.

Berry Blessings!

What a fun morning Audrey and I had today. We got to go Blackberry picking at Martin's Berry Patch. We invited Grammy and Alli to go with us. So the four of us rode out there (past Hallsville) to go pickin'.

Grammy and I told Alli and Audrey to take their red baskets and go find the "Black" berries and not to pick the "RED" ones. Alli had done this before and she was real good, Audrey however was more interested in holding the red baskets.

We found that the biggest, and juiciest berries were in the middle of the vine under the leaves' shade. After picking for about an hour the two little ones got tired and hot and were not having so much fun any more (the two big kids were tired of messing with the two little ones : )

Grammy and Alli totaled in at 3 1/2 lbs. worth of blackberries and Audrey and myself had 3 lbs.

We got done at just the right time to head off to get a bite to eat before the lunch crowds. Grammy was kind and generous to treat Audrey and I this morning with the berries and lunch.

To tell you the truth...it is at the end of the month for us and things are tight, so I wasn't exactly sure how we were going to swing things but we are truly thankful for our Berry Blessings and how God provides even for our wants!

Mazal tov!

Audrey and her PaPa

Okay...so this weekend we went to a Messianic Jewish wedding. My brother-n-law got married this weekend and our whole family was asked to be in the wedding...how fun!

One of the bridesmaids and 2 of the groomsmen

Now the only wedding I have been in was my own and I am very particular about having a plan and knowing where everything/everyone should go...not my sis-n-law. She is a fly by the seat of her skirt kind of gal, which can be fun if it doesn't matter what you think...and it didn't.

It was supposed to be an outdoor wedding but it rained : ( so we were forced indoors.

Bridesmaid, My Mother-n-Law and my parents

In the brideroom we pushed, prodded and poked ourselves into our respective getups. We used tape, safety pins and everything we could get our hands on (*smile and wink*)

Audrey got to be led out to the front by a sweet pre-teen (that was her part in the wedding? I am not sure why). Then the bridesmaids, myself included, swayed down the aisle along with the jewish music and clapped occasionally when the beat was right. I am not versed in Jewish weddings or Messianic Jewish weddings but I think Mazal tov is something to be said loudly and often.

Matthew and a childhood friend enjoy singing together.

Overall we all had a great time seeing family, eating and dancing. Audrey's favorite part of the night was the "Chicken Song, Dance" as she likes to say.

Surprise!

I think he has a slight glow of surprise.

Thank you to everyone who could join us for Matthew's 28th Birthday Party at Pizza King. We had a blast. The pizza was great, the company was awesome and Matthew was totally surprised.

Matthew in his element.

When I asked Matthew what he wanted for his birthday he said he would be fine with nothing. I saw the nothingness as a challenge to go all out. So, I planned a Surprise Party at his favorite place to eat. Little did I know that when you ask friends out for fun and pizza they will take you up on it. I thought we might have at the most 10 people...no...we ended up with 32 to be exact. Matthew feels truly blessed this year by all of your well-wishings. Thanks a bunches.

Emily's Graduation!

We are so proud of Emy'!

Mom looks on with Matthew and Uncle B.

A couple of weeks ago my baby sister graduated from High School! I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. It has been neat to watch her grow up and blossom. We went down to Waco to watch her graduate and had a great time.

Swimmin' with Friends

On Monday Audrey got to have a play date with Luke while his mommy went to the doctor. They had a lot of fun playing and trying to share...that is still a new thing for Audrey.

Then when Merrisa came back we had lunch. The kids were encouraged to eat all their food so that they could get some cookies!

The best part was the blow-up pool that Audrey and Luke got to cool off in. Luke is a pro and showed Audrey how you take it easy! Both of us mommies enjoyed cooling our tootsies in the water and eating cookies as well.

The Splits=Scraped Knee

Okay so this week has been hard getting back into the swing of things after being on vacation. Each day this week has been crazy for both me and Matthew but especially for Matthew. I have been doing some major cleaning along with a lot of catch up with my work.

So I have been doubling up on working out so that I will get back into the swing of things...right : ) ! Well yesterday I got up bright and early, thanks to my personal alarm clock, Audrey. I went to my Yoga class which normally is not too strenuous for me but I was sweating buckets. Then I ran home to shower and change so that we could go to Story Time at the library. As I was running late, as usual, I scooped up Audrey off our deck and headed to the car to put her in. Well my intentions were good but as I stepped onto the grass my foot kept going and took me on a ride to the splits. The grass must have been damp and I did not realize it. It was in slow motion; the pain, the sliding and the splits. When Audrey and I finally reached the ground, she bursted out in tears even though she was fine. Me, on the other hand wanted to cry and grab my knee in pain. My leg had scrapped along the gravel as I was trying to break our fall.

I don't remember the last time I had done the splits or scraped my knee ; ( ! You would think that after doing Yoga I could do the splits but my tragic decent reminded me of how unflexible I still am. I am however enjoying the sympathy and bandaids that I get for having a scrapped knee. No skirts/shorts for a while I guess. I can't shave around my hurt knee...it hurts too much. Okay no more crying/whinning.

Kokopelli

Hi to all my loyal fans who have been giving me a hard time about not posting EVERYDAY (*ahem*).
Matthew and I have been in Santa Fe, NM for 7 days, 6 nights, celebrating our 5th year anniversary and my birthday. My parents were sweet enough to take Audrey and they have been loving every minute.
(On the "High Road" to Taos)


It has been so great not having to be anywhere, go to bed at a certain time or wake up at a certain time. We have eaten wherever we wanted to and whenever!
On the first day we arrived we checked into our hotel and took a 3 HOUR NAP, we haven't done that in years! The rest of the week has been a blurr of fun intermixed with head-colds. We have not allowed our stuffy noses to keep us from having fun.

(Buying Turquoise Earrings on the Plaza)
We have...shopped on the Plaza, had some pink margaritas, gone to 3 museums, brunched at a chocolatier/bakery, shopped, took a road trip on the High Road to Taos, shopped at the outlet mall, had my ears pierced, watched 2 theater movies, ate a whole lot of Mexican food, visited the Taos Pueblos (the oldest continuously inhabited community), went to 2 historic Catholic Churches and Shopped some more!

(Matthew in Front of Basilica de St. Francisco)
We have missed Audrey so, so much! We are looking forward to getting home and getting back to our normal, responsible selves.

(By the way: Kokopelli is a Southwestern American Indian icon that represents music and fertility and is everywhere you look in Santa Fe!)

Easter Eggstravaganza!

(Audrey at Daffodil Gardens, 18 mos.)

Easter had such a big effect on Audrey that...

1. Every time she sees an egg of any sort she says: "Ap-en" (open)


2. If you show her a picture of a Rabbit she will say: "Bunny...Hop, Hop".


3. From the moment she wakes up she says: "Dan-dy, Dan-dy, Dan-dy" (candy)


4. She does not have a preference to any sort of candy...it's all good!



(Jelly-Beans, yum, yum)


The week before Easter we went to the Daffodil Gardens in Gladewater, TX to have Audrey's picture taken in her Easter Dress. We had a basket full of empty plastic eggs except for one. That egg had 4-5 jelly beans in it and Audrey found it right away. A lot of the pictures of her are of her in mid-chew.


(Ah, this looks like some great sand)

From then on she knew what to do with a plastic egg! We were invited to a Mom-kid Easter play-date on the Thursday before Easter. All the kids/moms had a blast playing outside. They had sidewalk chalk, bubbles, a swing-set and a sand box all ready to play on. So at this Easter hunt, Audrey knew what the eggs were for but she was content to stop at the first egg and Ap-en it.


(Ap-en?!)

Then on Easter Audrey got a big basket full of "Dan-dy" and outside toys (bubbles/chalk). I let her have 1 piece of candy before breakfast and before I knew it she was trying to eat the chocolate easter egg with the foil wrapper on it still.


Later on that day we went to our friends house, the Woodens, for an awesome lunch and Easter fun. We ended up joining their neighbors, the Rineharts, for a awesome egg hunt. I wasn't going to let Audrey participate because she already had so much Dan-dy but Ms. Christy would not have any of that. She was of the mind that "All girls need more candy!"
(Dan-dy?)

The next day Audrey and several others were real cranky from their sugar crash. We had a blast.

That's Life...

Christmas 2007 at our house

Hi to all who have been checking this blog but seeing no new postings! What can I say..."I Forgot"! To tell you the truth I have been so busy that I forgot about my blog. I got on Facebook and that was fulfilling my internet fix for a while.

The holidays came and went with a blur and I can't say that they will be memorable. I took a 10 day trip through Texas to see some old friends and family (not that they were all old). I decided that I needed to go back and remember different parts of my growing up years. I had not been back to Lubbock since my grandmother, Gran passed away. Since her passing the house that she and my grandfather had lived in for all my life was sold; another grandmother (Chick) of mine had moved away and passed on; family grew up and apart. I know one thing... that I don't want that amount of time to pass before reconnecting with those people again.

So much for looking back...

Our Family Picture!

Currently we are looking at several changes in our not so distant future. We are debating buying a house, Matthew going out on his own and me getting a part time Interior Design job. Not in that particular order but somewhere all jumbled up. We are ready to take root somewhere, especially now that we have Audrey and want more kids.

Audrey update: I am walking/running everywhere I go. I love bubbles, balloons, storytime and going outside. I am very much a typical redhead with a temper that mommy and daddy don't know what to do with. I know over 30 words and like to sing.

Audrey's 1st Birthday!

Can you guess what the theme was?

Thanks to all who helped us celebrate Audrey's first year of life. It is so amazing how quickly a year flies by, and especially the first year of your child's.

Audrey's birthday was on Tuesday. We really did not do much for her that day except...Matthew and I woke her up with our singing of "Happy Birthday" ( she was none too happy about that). We met up with some dear friends later on to watch an awesome volleyball game. Then when we got home, let Audrey have her very own strawberry shortcake. She seemed to enjoy it.

Two of a kind!

On Saturday we had her big party with 20 of her friends and family. We really enjoyed getting to see everyone. Audrey was not sure what to think of all the attention and comotion. She really liked the balloons and the cantalope. She was not real interested in the best parts though...cake and presents! Please leave her a Birthday wish that we can print out and let her see later on in life (when she can read of course).

Labor Day Weekend

(Audrey and I front of Metals, Petals, and More...)

This past weekend was Labor Day and we went down to Houston to visit the in-laws along with the out-laws(my parents). We had a fun-packed weekend full of great food and company.
(Papa and Cousins) (Four pooped shoppers and pooped photographer)

On Saturday we went to Old Towne Springs to shop at the cute little stores. It was fun as well as long and draining. We got some cute pictures of Audrey and her cousins, Trystyn, Caleb and Kylie along with Papa.
(Beach Babes)
Sunday we went to Galveston to go to the beach. This was Audrey's first visit to the beach. I think it was a success! She really enjoyed the way the sand felt on her hands and squished between her toes. Being able to share the "Firsts" of someones life is pretty awesome. Who knew ordinary things could be so exciting.
(Cool...Sand)

Play-time

Audrey is learning the fun world of "Play-time"! I will put her in her baby-proofed room for 30 minutes or so at a time and she can do whatever she wants.


It is so neat to sneak up on her and see what she is doing. It is almost always the cutest moments. Some of her favorite past times are: reading her books, looking outside and banging on the window, and pulling all the books off her shelf.


Recently, after one of our many walks with the dogs, Audrey realized how to make the panting sound that dogs make when they are really hot. I was buckling her into her car seat, the dogs were sitting next to her on the seat and she turned to me and started panting herself. She got the biggest kick out of those dogs! Now whenever we ask her, "What sound do doggies make?" she will start panting. How cute!

Talk about a Hiatus!

So sorry to all our loyal followers...what can I say, we've been busy? Life has definitely been hectic for us this summer! What with moving from one town to another, running after a toddler-want-a-be and keeping my business going...I have been exhausted.
This summer has comprised of:

1. Our move from Tyler to Longview- it seemed like we looked at about 20 different places to live until God brought the right place to us! It is a lot less than our last place allowing us to save some money!?

2. Audrey's first over-night stay- with my business (Premier Designs Jewelry) Matthew and I went to the National Rally/Conference in Ft. Worth. The Rally was a cross between a Big Tent Revival and The Price is Right, high impact is all I have to say about that. Audrey got to stay with Grampie and Gramie for two whole days and she did great! Mom and Dad missed her more than she missed them.

3. Oh, yeah, duh...Unpacking (I think we have 1 box left)

Audrey Update (10 months): I am now crawling all over the house! I am standing and moving from one object to another. I love eating solid foods and especially love ice cream! I have two bottom teeth and I am all legs and arms.

So much happening...

Four Generations

I know I haven't written in ages but we have been so busy. In the month of April we went to Overland Park, KS twice. Once during the Easter break to visit my granmother and then about two weeks later to go to her memorial service. God sure knew what He was doing with timing! We had a good visit with her during the Easter weekend and she got to meet/see Audrey for the first time. Audrey is her very first great-grandchild!

First Easter

The day we left for Kansas the second time...Matthew got a job offer for a job in Longview. So, not only did we have to take Audrey on her first plane ride, attend a Memorial service, we also had to decide whether or not Matthew should accept to job offer. Well, he did and he has now completed his first week at his new job. It seems to be going really well.

Longview, TX is about 35 min. from Tyler...so not too far to commute but not something that we would want to continue. We find ourselves looking to move AGAIN for the second time in less than 2 years. House/apartment hunting has got to be one of the hardest things to do!

My business has been going pretty well and I had my first $1,000 show this month! God is truly blessing us at just the right timing.

I'm Hungry

Audrey's Update: She is on the verge of being another Columbus! She is days away from crawling and wants to touch everything and be in the middle of everything. We are really having to start watching her. She is also eating three solid meals a day in her high chair and is learning to feed herself cereal.

March: Roaring like a Lion

Audrey is chewing on her bunny's ear!

Audrey is 6 months old and in the midst of exploring! I can honestly say that we are in full swing with babyhoodness. Audrey is rolling over, sitting up, walking in her walker, talking up a storm, eating all kinds of vegetables and cutting teeth! Matthew and I are loving every minute with her and think that parenting is wonderful! Who knew that such a messy and demanding little thing could be so much fun?

My Premier Designs Jewelry business is still going full steam ahead and I am continually improving my home shows as well the business end of it. Most of my home shows have been out of town, so I have been traveling alot. Audrey has been my little travel buddy and she does pretty well.
Recently, Audrey and I went to Aledo, TX to get together with Aunt Cheri and my Mom for a craft weekend. Mom and I were learning how to quilt from my aunt. I did not realize how tedious and difficult quilting is. I have an appreciation now for quilters and especially quilters who do everything by hand.

Matthew is still working doing document review with his temporary job but he is still looking for permanent work. This has been a good oportunity for him to make a lot of quick and easy money. The job is pretty dull though and does not have any benefits or security. (What job does though?)

For Easter we are all going to go see Golden Chick! We are really looking forward to the visit but not the drive. This will be Audrey's first time to see her Great Grand Chick!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers, especially for safe travels.This is our little Tyler Rose