weekend randoms

1. I might have went four days this week without wearing makeup. Or fixing my hair in anything other than a ponytail. And I defintely stayed in "easy clothes" aka yoga pants & tank tops or t-shirts.

Not cute ones, either.

2. I have spent WAY too much time on Pinterest this week. I have a baby shower coming up in October that I'm helping to plan and I am getting so many good ideas!

Can't wait to share the finished product with ya'll.

3. Today we are going hiking in Pine Mountain and then over to the beach at Callaway Gardens. I'm hoping to get some good pictures of the girls -- it's been a while!

4. As of the end of August, I'll officially be a college student. :)

5. I'm one of THOSE moms who judge other parents for letting their children run around a restaurant. I totally get that your kid isn't going to be quiet the whole time you're in there. My two definitely are not, either! However -- I believe you can make them sit in  highchair, your lap, or a regular chair.
Don't let them go running up to random peoples table.
This really happened.

6. I'm already planning Sara's birthday, and it isn't until the end of September!
I think I'm going with a milk and cookies theme -- it sounds boring, but is so cute! We're trying to do just a low-key party at home this year. I found princess cookie stick molds last night at Michaels, so we'll still be working princesses in there somewhere. :)

7. I have made it a goal to NOT eat out ONCE this weekend. Hopefully I will come back Monday and be able to say.....WE DID IT!

8. On a side note, I have always loved eating out on Sunday afternoon after church. However, by the time we get out of church around 12:00....the girls are cranky as all get out because it's an hour past nap time. And the're hungry. We usually end up going home for a sandwich and then sleeping the afternoon away...which is kinda nice, actually.

I hope ya'll have a wonderful Saturday! See ya'll Monday!

fill in the blank friday

Today I'm linking up with The Little Things We Do for Fill in the Blank Friday. I love these little quizzes -- go on over & link up, too!

1. My favorite color is

Yellow. And green. But mostly yellow.

2. My travel destination of choice is

THE BEACH! I would be there every day if I could!

3. My favorite food is

Mexican. Ask anyone in my family. I could eat it four or five times a week!

4. My happy place is

The beach.

(I told ya'll I loved it!)

5. My favorite saying is

This one has me stumped. I don't think I have a favorite quote....I do say "Lord Almighty" a lot, except it comes out "Lordamighty" with my accent. ;)

6. My dirty little secret is

I don't wash my hair every day.

Cringe.

I know, right? I wash it every other night or every third night. Hello -- I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. I'm lucky to get a SHOWER most days!

7. Something friends might say about me is

Umm...I don't know? Probably that I always have ridiculously huge bows in my girls hair!

what i'm playing thursday

It's time for my favorite link up! Ya'll head on over  Sarah Elizabeth's and check out all the great music! I'm sure you'll find something new to love. :)

This week I'm loving:

1. "You Probably Ain't" by Craig Campbell

2. "Hell on Heels" by Pistol Annies

(I LOVE this group!)

3. "It's a Shore Thing" by Luke Bryan

Ahhhh.....now I want to go to the beach!!

Hope ya'll have a most wonderful Thursday -- I'm working this morning and will be spending the afternoon with my girls in the pool!

didn't i walk on the water -- jeremiah yocum

As I kneel in the darkness in the middle of the night

I’m praying for assurance everything’s gonna be alright

Lord I see another battle out in front of me

I’m afraid I won’t be able and I’ll go down in defeat

The day we found out she had a grade 3 IVH -- praying for hours everything would be okay

And He said, I walked on the water and I calmed the raging sea

I spoke to the wind, it hushed and I gave you peace

Didn’t I run to your rescue didn’t I hear you when you called

I walked right beside you just so you wouldn’t fall

Didn’t I leave all of Heaven just to die for your sin

I searched until I found you and I’d do it all again

My first miracle baby :)

He said, do you remember where I brought you from

Just take a look behind you at how far you’ve come

And everytime you asked me, didn’t I deliver you

So why would you be thinking that I wouldn’t see you through

Hours after birth -- thinking this would be our only picture of her

 

Now she’s talking to her father in a house that was once a home

She said my bills are coming due Lord and six days is not that long

She hears a voice so still and low

It says I’ve moved like that before

And I’ll do this little thing and I’ll give you so much more

First time my mama held June -- 2.5 months old

Just discovered this song and I'm in love. Like a lot of songs, it reminds me of our time spent in the hospital with June and it also reminds me of the season of life we're in now.

 

No matter where you are -- no matter what you've done -- no matter how bad your future looks -- there's hope. Your life could be in shambles, but still know there is One who can begin to heal it all in ways you never thought could or would happen.

lazy evening out -- and a surprise

The other night we met some family at this little resaturant halfway between us for supper.

Cock of the Walk is one of my FAVORITE restaurants ever, especially local!

They bring you pintos & cornbread, cole slaw (which is awesome and I don't even LIKE cole slaw!) and other stuff to your table while you wait on your meal. Your food comes in tin plates & cups & it's just so cute. I always get the grilled catfish & shrimp....yum! Anyway -- this is what you see when you drive up....who wouldn't want to eat here with such a beautiful view?

Then we headed over to the local strip mall to do a little shopping. It's very unfortunately for this Crimson Tide fan that we live in the deep heart of War Eagle country. At this particular strip mall, they have a few huge fake tigers....guess who just HAD to have her picture made with the AU tiger?

When I tell ya'll that she poses ALL THE TIME....I mean it! Here's proof of what she did with the mirror in Old Navy:

And as a bonus, here's what Homer so sweetly did for us while we were away:

Yay. We're going to have loads of fun fixing that one. :/

featherlocked -- and a bunch of randoms!

Okay, first things first. Friday, I did something that's REALLY out of character for me. I love it when people do unique things to themselves....hair, makeup, tattoos, etc....but I have a super hard time committing to it for myself. That said, I went to get my hair cut Friday. I told her my usual -- long, lots of layers so I can tease it to be the size of Texas, sideswept bangs, etc. But then.

THEN.

My cousin convinced me to get featherlocked!

Proof:

See it? It's purple! I love it! I told her I wanted it to be easily hid because I wasn't sure if I was going to like it on myself or not....but I LOVE IT! My cousin bought the tools to do it (she's awesome at stuff like that) and I got a dark turquoise one to go with it. Now I wish I had put it on the top of my hair! Go get yourself one, you'll probably love it too! BTW -- if you live in the Montgomery area, Missy at Garbos Salon is AMAZING! Thanks, Missy!

Secondly. I was browsing around in Bed, Bath & Beyond (better known as BBB to me) I stumbled upon this little gem:

 Supposedly this takes the place of regular soda. My cousin said she tried it once & it really did taste the same -- it's supposed to be cheaper and it's less calories, etc. I think the machine was about $90 (give or take a few) and the refills are $6 each, I believe. They have every flavor imaginable, even coke zero!

I kind of want one now.

 Yesterday we had a birthday party to go to....miss Aubrey Nicole was turning THREE! I can not believe it. I remember the day she was born. I remember helping her mama (who was only 16 years old and has since become the most amazing teenage mother I have ever met -- at 19 years old she will be graduating in four weeks with her Associates Degree and I am SO proud of her!) breathe and push her way through a natural childbirth. I don't have any pictures from her party because I left my camera at home (go me!) but I did get this one on my cell before we left:

Yes, I really do get that pose every single time we take a picture.

And please excuse the long grass -- it was cut while we were at the party. :)

I hope ya'll had a great weekend! I am exhausted and ready to take a nap..and it's only 8:30 in the morning!



a love like mrs. ruth and mr. lewis

I've mentioned here before that I take an elderly family friend to see her husband in the VA nursing home twice a week. They pay me a  generous amount of money, and it allows me to continue taking June to therapy three times a week. It's a win-win for all parties.

Plus, I really enjoy my chats with Mrs. Ruth on Tuesdays & Thursdays. :)

Well, I've been paying attention to Mrs. Ruth lately. She's a wonderful woman of God and she LOVES to talk about her life. I love that she's chatty like that. :) I have been noticing the wistfulness in her voice when she talks about Mr. Lewis. She will say things like,

"We used to travel so much, but now that Lewis has lost his mind

(he has Alheizmers), that season of life is over."

 It makes me so sad for her, but at the same time

 I am so happy that she was able to experience so many years with someone she loves SO much!

I've been noticing lately that every Tuesday and Thursday, she brings him a treat. She double checks twice on the trip up there (it takes 45 minutes to drive one way). She has to make sure Mr. Lewis has his treats. She takes him a sucker each time and a brownie or cookie.

She goes in and spends about two hours with him. She eats lunch with him and visits.

When she comes out, she always thanks me for waiting and she aplogizes for taking so long.

I always tell her it's my pleasure.

I ask how he's doing.

Sometimes she will happily smile and say that he's having a good day,

he ate all of his supper, and they had a good visit.

Other days, I see the pain in her eyes as she looks down and says he's having a bad day.

He's ill, he didn't want to eat,

"I don't even think he knew I was there" she'll say.

Those days, my heart breaks for her.

Usually if he's had a bad day, she will reminiscence on the trip home.

She'll tell me how Lewis was such an intelligent man in his youth.

They raised two beautiful children, he owned his own barber shop

and then he taught barber school at a local college.

"I just never imagined it would be like this.

 I never thought he would be in this condition when we were younger.

This is not anything like what I had pictured our last years to be like."

Those days, I hide my tears. I encourage her. I say things like,

"Hopefully next time will be better."
"I'm sure he loved his sucker."

"Did he like his cookie/brownie/pie/etc?"

But I can't say what I REALLY want to say.

What I really want to do is cry and say how unfair life is.

Then she'll say, "If I had known it would be like this, I would have cherished him more."

And that, my friends.....it hits home every single time.

Alheizmers is a horrible, ugly disease (this I know because it took my Grandma)

but the truth is -- you never know what could happen in the future.

Cherish what you have because you just don't know

what tomorrow holds.