pictures with mama, e.t.c.

I only have like two pictures with chloe. and, of course, I don’t like either of them. hence the reason I typically have the back of the camera pressed to my face. well, it dawned on me the other day that I didn’t have many pictures with my own mother. it made me want to be more intentional about taking photos with chloe and not caring what I look like in them. she won’t be critiquing my double-chin or crooked teeth. when I look at pictures of my mother I think she is beautiful – because I knew her.


so when chloe took a liking to my nose the other night – I practically yelled at jacob to grab the camera. we laughed as she was going to town on the tip of my nose – she LOVED it. I am glad we captured this moment. she is at that age where everything is interesting and she is trying to find a way to get it to her mouth.


and just for kicks – I dug up a photo of my mom and I when I was about chloe’s age. LOVE IT!

I am linking up over at the anderson crew for embrace the camera. I love this linky – it challenges me to think about snapping different images and capturing memories – not just events. every day life. head over there and check out the other links.

birthday happys

yesterday was the big day. thrity-schmirty. so far, so good.

here are a couple of ‘things’ that represent wonderful people in my life.


flowers from two people who ‘reappeared’ in my life about 2 years ago. I am so happy to call them friends now. funny, funny girls.

a *super cute* reusable bag from my old college friend. so glad we live near each other and get to see each other from time to time.

a new stone from my mother-in-law, with whom I share a birthday.

a cute scarf from my sister-in-law that I wore to church in the morning.

a few other blessings of this weekend:
a new nephew named Zeke
a chance to hang out with the ‘old and new’ friends (no picture. why do I do that?)
two naps
estate sale-ing
listening to an entire sermon (and processing it)
mexican coke
muddy’s cupcakes
kissing my husband
 
and A LOT of other little things.

looks like 30 isn’t going to be so bad after all.

mommy’s day out, etc

today, I am typing this while not popping a paci back in or holding a little one. today, I am typing this with a tear in my eye.

chloe is with her mimi and she is going to have a great day. her big cousin will stop by to play with her and her gigi, jacob’s great-grandmother, will get to love on her as well.

we are so very blessed with wonderful families. we are especially blessed to live fairly close to jacob’s family. mimi, jacob’s mom, will be keeping chloe when I go back to work in a few weeks until the end of this school year. what a blessing! and I couldn’t think of anyone who could care for her better than her mimi.  



^that is what I wrote this morning. then, I got too choked up to finish. :)

I ended up going to a small local consignment sale for one thing I’ve been hunting for chloe and a consignment store for a couple of clothes for me. it was nice. breathing room. but I missed my little girl like terrible. I only called twice.

jacob got home early and we decided to have a day date. it was unexpected and very nice. we held hands. and pop-kissed in public.

gag if you want.

it was a good day. and now we are settling back into our regular routine.

and hearts will be glowing

Can you finish the line in that song?

Jacob and I are essentially done with Christmas. We will be heading out to his folks’ house later today to have a small family meal. It won’t be anything extravagant.

No worries though. We did celebrate in grand fashion already. All of his family got together last weekend and earlier this week to celebrate.

Jacob’s extended family on his dad’s side all get together every year for a Grab Bag Christmas. Jacob’s grandmother sit has two bags, one for the kids and another for the big kids. Mrs. Claus (Jacob’s grandmother) and Santa Claus (Jacob’s dad) man the bags so there is no peaking. There are always some really crazy gifts and you never know what is really in the box until you open it. It’s great!


This year we had about 45 people and I think 17 of them were GiGi’s great-grandchildren. Three of the cousins are pregnant. so there will be even more next year. Isn’t that amazing?

Then, we had Jacob’s family Christmas Monday night. We really only get the kids presents and then Jacob’s parents. We got the kids flashlights and headlamps. (You can see why back in this post) Taran and his wife brought the best two presents ever though. They made a slideshow dvd of all the old-timey slide pictures of my mother-in-law when she lived in India AND their brand new 10 day old baby girl. Yep, they top as the best gifts this year.

A bunch of pictures from the weekend.


This train set belonged to Jacob’s grandpa. It is 71 years old and still works!
a little premature unwrapping
having a blast on the zip line
uncle jacob with battery duty on new toys

There are so many more I wish I could share. Hope you have had the most wonderful time of the year with your loved ones so dear.

Merry Christmas Eve!

present (in a) moment

My list of things to do this week are ever growing as the week gets shorter. How does that happen? AND only like three things have anything to do with Christmas. Bummer.

Even in the midst of this week’s chaos, I am simply missing this crew.

This is my family two years ago at my sister’s house in Denver. That’s me in the obnoxiously pink jacket. We have never been one of those families that gets all coordinated and such for photos. Nope, we just snap it. Wal-mart bags and all. (See bottom right corner on my brother’s feet.) That’s character folks. And I sure do miss these characters.

This was the last Christmas we were all together.

Jacob and I had flown in from our little rendezvous in NYC where we had just gotten engaged. I went upstairs and crawled in the bed with my dad. I told him I had a secret and then whispered to him that we were engaged. He smiled. He wasn’t feeling well. I couldn’t tell you for the life of me what gift dad got me that year. But I don’t need to, I have that moment.

After this picture, we got in a huge snowball fight. Dad was out there letting us have it. I hadn’t seen him that lively and having that much fun in such a long time.

I wish I could find the pictures from those few moments.

I think about my dad everyday anyway, but I am really thinking about him this week. And the rest of my family.

I’m not sad, just full of thoughts of them. I promise I will write about something more upbeat in the next few days. Cause it’s Christmas and I cannot help but to feel all excited like a little kid.

Hope you are enjoying every moment with your loved ones!

Give Thanks

There are too many things to list. But you had better believe I am counting my blessings and naming them one by one over here!

Here are some pictures though of the people we were able to enjoy for a special day of Thanks. Mostly the little ones. Not that we enjoy them more, but somehow I always end up with more pictures of them!

Uncle Jacob teaching the kids things they cannot
do without an adult.

Making silly faces with Aunt Candace. There are several of these.

Jacob’s grandmother. I caught her with food in her mouth.

Jacob’s older brother opening card with gifts from the parents.

Sister-in-law and me .

Meme getting ready for box trains and probably avoiding wrestling. I love how these kids are much too creative and active to play with just toys all the time. The grandparents too!

We are so very blessed with a wonderful family. Sometimes it makes me miss my family, other times it just makes me incredibly grateful to have such an amazing family right here in town.

A Classic (or the longest post ever written)

As with most of the old things we have picked up along the way, this find has a story. (You know what a sucker I am for things that have a story.) No, we did not pull it out of the trash and lug it home. No, we did not splurge on our estate sale trips and no, we did not inherit it. Jacob did, however, buy it on eBay.

That’s where our story begins. Purdy as she is this truck caused a big stink in our house before we ever laid eyes on her. I got a little upset about the big purchase and I cried. Imagine that….me, crying. Yeah, not hard. At all. Anyway, we got everything worked out and worked out well. I like the way we fight – we resolve stuff.

Then, we had to work out how to actually get the truck back to where we are. It was in Redstone Arsenal, AL and well, we are not. Jacob got all of that worked out with his brother and father helping in big ways. One let us borrow a big trailer, one let us borrow the big truck. I know what you are thinking, “So, where’s the story? This doesn’t sound that exciting.”

Well, our trip down to Redstone Arsenal went well. We had a good ride in the big truck and enjoyed each other. Then we get to Redstone Arsenal and things changed fast. If you do not know, Redstone Arsenal is a military base-thingy near Huntsville, AL. We do not belong to any branch of the military. So, we experienced something new trying to get on base. And by experience I mean we had to get out of the vehicle while they asked us lots of questions and searched the vehicle. Plus, to add to the mini drama of two naïve civilians trying to get on base, we could not find the insurance card in the big borrowed truck. Excuse me, we could not find the current insurance card. We did find five others though.

On base, we found a nice truck in much better condition than Jacob was expecting, a nice military man who owned lots of classic cars, and a hold your breath moment while Jacob tried to pull the truck on the big borrowed trailer. Back on the road, we kept thinking someone was following us until we realized it was Jacob’s truck on our tail. And that made Jacob smile. Big.

Then it happened, just as we called Jacob’s parents to tell them everything was going well. Yep. That’s when it happened. The tread came flying off one of the tires on the big trailer that was carrying the new big truck that is really, really heavy. And when I say the tread came flying off, I mean all the tread on that tire came flying off and took a trailer light with it. Yep.

We were still in Alabama when the tread decided to escape. We rode on the treadless tire for a while at the big trailer owner’s advice. We were okay for a bit, but then we hit Mississippi. Have you ever driven on Mississippi roads? They are not good for regular, good tires much less a tire with no tread on a trailer carrying a 4000lb truck. Nope. Not good at all. See?


But had this not happened, we would not have the story I have been trying to tell you this whole time. You see, Jacob got to the point where he thought something needed to be done about the tire. He pulled over in Union Station, MS and called his dad. They decided Jacob should take the tire off and just ride slow the hour or so left to Memphis.

Then comes Ricky Fiveash with the biggest toothy grin you’ve ever seen. He was excited about Jacob’s new truck on the trailer. His eyes were big as quarters as he was asking about the truck and inspecting it. His hat sat up high on his head. Lucky for us, Ricky knew cars and tires. He lived “just up at the top of the hill” and he had several cars in his yard from which to get spare rims and tires. The Ford tire he brought back first didn’t work. Then he brought back a rim and tire from a 57 Pontiac. It worked.

This part of the story doesn’t even begin to capture the glory of this moment.

Ricky Fiveash was like a 40 year old kid in a candy store as he talked about the turquoise Mercury Comet he had brought the tires in. I wish I had gotten a picture of it. He had an empty old Dr. Pepper glass bottle in the front seat. Ricky Fiveash had an incredibly thick drawl, and I will never forget our redneck Angel and the way he said “Naw” when I asked him a question. I am glad that God blessed us with the tools to get the trailer fixed that night, but I am more grateful that God sent us Ricky Fiveash. He was a joy. He gave this truck a story and turned it into a true classic.


And we even got to see this right after we left Ricky Fiveash at the Union Station, MS BP. It's a beautiful life, isn't it?


Update: I'm back! I was reading over at Chatting at the Sky and decided this would work for Emily's Tuesdays Unwrapped. So head on over there to find more gifts in the everyday!

running behind....

Well, lo and behold, I actually did something besides yard saling, creating more messes (I mean projects), and hunting for a job this week. Hallelujah! I went to visit my best friend, Lindley, over at her new place in Middle Tennessee. She moved this past weekend and I went to check out the digs and help decor-ize (I can make up words if I want to). She has a great new job teaching Physical Education at one of the top schools in our state. She has a great new apartment in a booming little town filled with charm. She has a great outlook on things to come! She needed all this newness and greatness. God has given her a special task to fulfill there - I just know it!

Lindley and I have been best friends since I don't know when, but she claims it was around 4th grade. She doesn't lie and she has a freakishly amazing memory, so I believe her. Her mom is very dear to me also. Our moms were friends back in the days of us growing up. Her mom has kind of always been a second mom to me and I realized this past weekend how much I have missed that. Lindley's mom has the best laugh too. We all get tickled at each other and can just laugh and laugh.

Good times, good times. We even got some cupcake action in there at the last minute. There is a new GiGi's cupcakes open just down the road from Lindley's new apartment. They were to. die. for. Here you can see Lindley modeling her and her mother's selections.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Miss Princess - the name suits her
White cake with fresh strawberries, cream cheese frosting,
topped with pink sugar

I had the Strawberry Short Cake and got the Wedding Cake to take back to Jacob. Yum! Jacob did call as we were leaving GiGi's. The conversation went a little something like this. "Hey, what's up?" Me: "Nothing." Jacob: "Cupcakes?" Me: "How'd you know?" He knows me and loves me just the same.

Here's a pic of the cupcake that I got for him. It didn't quite make it back to Memphis in the same grand presentation in which I had bought it. However, it tasted just as wonderful.

Oh yeah, and about the title of this post.....I've run/walked/elipticaled over 8 miles since I have been back trying to keep that cupcake off my behind!

Wonderful Wisdom

"This is what the Lord says:

'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom,

Let not the strong man boast of his strength,

Let not the rich man boast of his riches,

but let him who boasts boast about this:

that he understands and knows me,

that I am the Lord who exercises kindness,

justice and righteousness on earth,

for in these I delight'

declares the Lord. "

Jeremiah 9:23 -24

Lately I have had some issues with my blog and the purpose for it. Originally, I claimed that it was to get acquainted with the blogging world so as to introduce my sister and her home business. What I didn't claim was that around that same time my grief counselor suggested that I start journaling to relieve the myriad of emotions pinned up inside my head and heart. This posed a bit of a challenge for me. I have never been a big journaler and knew that I would fail myself again if I resorted to pencil and a bound stack of blank paper.

In comes the blog. I had always found blogs somewhat baffling. Why would you want to display your life, your thoughts, even you out there in the never, neverland of the internet? I mean, Facebook, that's fine. It's keeping up with people you know, right? But a blog? Why in the world would you do that?

Well, I found some people I actually knew who had blogs and I conceded. Their backgrounds were so cute and you can stay connected with people you know other than on Facebook. (Go figure, right?)

So, the blogging obsession began. First, it was a story about something little that happened. A funny story that would be worth remembering. And while I wanted to do what my counselor had suggested, I wasn't quite ready to open my heart and my it a true blog-ary. You know with that whole, "Dear Diary, today I...." feel. No, so I thought I would just blog about what I was doing around the house. That way there would be no negative for others' to bear. No, there was enough of that and I needed to know how to deal with those feelings on my own without involving others. That was the whole point of journaling - not pulling others down with my negative thoughts and to release some things that I wanted to tell those that I could no longer talk to.

Well, over the last few weeks, I have felt a nagging at my heart. We are not talking about a gentle pull on my heartstrings. This was more like an elephant swinging from the ropes of my heart making it extremely heavy. As I looked back over the things that I had been blogging about, that's just what they were things. Not many people, not many relationships, not much faith. Just things. It made me sick.

I had been boasting about the "rare and beautiful treasures" that filled our home. And though that they are, there is way more to it. I realized last night, after reading the verse above, that in boasting about those things, I was really wanting to boast about my parents, about how much I miss them, about how when I look at all of those things I see them. You see, those things are not just things to me, they are memories and stories trapped in physical vessels. Those things are not so important to me as what they represent.

My heart has been screaming to tell their story and to boast about how they instilled in me, my sister, my brothers a frugal mind. To boast about how they taught us that the stove is not just a place to cook, but that your children can remember it as the place where you met and kissed and the world stopped for a minute when you saw your spouse for the first time in eight hours. To boast about the white cabinet and how it belonged to my mom's grandmother who took her to church and taught her about God. To boast about how they taught us that the table is not just a piece of furniture, but a place for the family to gather and share time together. To boast about Daddy and how he tried to rise above his early life circumstances and persevered to make a better life for us. To boast about how they taught us that food is not just food, but a blessing from God that should be savored and appreciated.

You see, I don't really want to boast about things, but I want to boast about what those things represent. Love. Good Stewardship. Gratefulness. Of those I am "proud to be in the possession of."

Isn't it wonderful how God provides what we need when we need it? From the food we put in our mouths, to the money in our pockets, to the verses of His word that we read?

last definition taken from dictionary.com

Count your Blessings, Name them one by one

Today has been a blessed day.

1. I got to talk to my mother-in-law for the 2nd time this week. Short but sweet.
2. The dermatologist called to say the mole they removed was normal.
3. I passed the two Praxis tests (with flying colors) that I took in June. Three down, one to go.
4. Was able to buy a small pillow at Target to celebrate the above. Of course, it was on clearance.
5. My sister-in-law called to say that something big with the boys might happen today.
6. My husband is grilling right now.
7. Facebooked with an old friend.
8. Got an email from my favorite aunt.
9. Emailed my student teaching cooperating teacher. Love her!
10. Laughed at my hilarious husband.
11. Had one of our tomatoes with lunch. Yum!
12. This list could go on for ages.......

Life is good!