A Little Dental Bling...

Faith has been beaming about the appointment today to get her braces on. She has looked forward to this day since she was little and thought braces were jewelry for one's teeth.

Before Faith's visit
Love is completely comfortable here. We visit this office so stinkin' much we ought to have a room dedicated to our children :)

During placement

Ta-Dah...officially Be-Dazzled

I have a feeling the excitement of all things orthodontic will wear off pretty soon.

In fact, on the menu for lunch...a banana milkshake!

I feel your pain sweetheart...If only I had an excuse to have such a lavish liquid lunch :)

The Wedding...

The little girls were flower girls in a very dear friend of ours wedding. Cassie is quite possibly one of the sweetest people we know. She also happens to be one of the most beautiful...both inside and outside. It was a joy to have the girls there in her wedding. They both love her so much.

The wedding was outdoors and the backdrop for the ceremony...y'all it was breathtaking. Those pictures are going to be Ahhhmazing! During the ceremony we had sound effects of a gentle rolling thunder and their donkey Jericho. It was fun. The ceremony was very sweet and and everything looked absolutely beautiful. She had the shabby chic theme going...I honestly did not understand it when it was described to me...I think it may have been the prettiest wedding I have ever attended. The little girls did really well - I think. I couldn't hear them from where I was but they sure did look super cute. Love did so well. She and Hope were to stand in front of my best friend Shay. They both love her, so it ended up being perfect. They stood (well, Love jumped up and down a bit and swayed some) the entire ceremony and trotted out right behind the new couple. At one point, Big Daddy went up to do the blessing and pronouncing and Love left her spot. She was headed to Big Daddy. She was probably thinking "Hey, that's my Dad!"

Anyway, the reception was outdoors at their home as well. It was gorgeous. There were so many oaks filled with small clear twinkle lights. It was like something out of the movies. We loved it! We were able to stay until almost 10 so we didn't get to see them off.

They are headed to Mexico! Oh, one more thing that made this wedding extra special...y'all she remained pure until her wedding night. It may be too much information, I don't know, but it is just so rare and such a gift to her husband that I had to share. I love having both Cass and Shay as examples for my girls of how you can honor the Lord by saving yourself for marriage. I just love those girls!!

Big Daddy just pronounced them Mr. and Mrs., check out Love, she and Hope are both looking at their Daddy. I love the look on Pete's face too...think he is a proud husband? :)

These are our people :)

Big Daddy and Kels...I so said I was getting a pic with Shay...she was a busy woman...being the matron of honor is a big responsibility. Next time!!

Rough Waters...

My sweet beautiful daughter...this too shall pass.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

I will take heart in knowing you are not of this world...merely in it.

Rewind...

I am going to play catch up with the past. I have almost fallen off the blog wagon. It is a mess of a life we live...a beautiful mess but a mess no less ;) To say my brain has been in a fog would be an understatement. I can't seem to keep up lately.

I blame it on my low calorie, no results diet. Big Daddy and I have been on a diet since the Monday after Easter. He has lost 13 pounds and he tends to be a cheater. I have lost maybe 2 max. Generally, I don't cheat at all...but this past weekend - I made up for lost time.

Let's see....Mother's Day - We hosted a family get together at our home. We had invited our mothers and grandmothers over for a family style supper. My mother-in-law had just recently had surgery and wasn't able to make it over like she originally had thought. She is still in some pain even now. Poor thing. My grandma Totsie had too many visitors of her own making their way to her house to come over. Well, we had brisket, ribs, coleslaw, yummy cheesy potatoes and baked beans (sort of), rolls and big red cake!! It was delicious and yes, I may have cheated on my diet this day also ;) I received the best gift ever - homemade cards, a special flower arrangement my 4 year old made me and a gift card with cash to the movies!! They love me, they really love me :)

My grandmother won "The Wisest (read oldest) Mother" in church award. She is 87 and had everyone beat. It tickled her so much we are still hearing about it. She just kept saying..."That was so nice of him (our pastor), to do that for me. I haven't had a man do something nice like that in a long time." It was sweet y'all...I'm not gonna lie. She "won" $20 gift card to Cr*cker Barrel. She was thrilled to say the least.

I thought this was a good picture of my Mom and her Mom...or my Ma-Ma :)
And this little squirt...she is going to make one incredible mom some day. She loves little Jace with every fiber in her being. Can you appreciate the joy in her eyes over him? She just hovers over him almost non-stop. She can't help but be near him - it is just the sweetest thing. We spent this past weekend, all three days of it watching Faith in another tournament. The results weren't nearly as good and it rained most of the games on Saturday - she was soaked! See this pic, it makes me smile. The purple girl or "red cleats" as we refer to her, she is usually her teams high scorer. Faith had her number and shut her down every time! This girl towered over her too. I was so proud of my girl. She looks pretty tough, huh? They finally moved "red cleats" so she could get some action.


Yesterday, Big Daddy, the little girls and I all went south to sign some papers. WE SOLD OUR LAND!! Y'all - I am over the top excited about this!! Big Daddy, well, not as much. I will have to say, he completely saved our retirement. He pulled out a lot of stock to buy this land and right after he did - it tanked big time. He is ready to re-invest now while it is still pretty low. I am so thankful to kiss that payment good bye! Yesterday was the first day I have even seen the land. I signed papers for it when we bought it but I never cared enough to see it. It was beautiful. Big Daddy had A LOT of work done on it. Many a deer was shot on that land, sniff...sniff, tear. I know he and the kids will not go without a place to hunt and fish. It is a big part of who they are. They love it.

Can I just say...
Big Daddy, never have I loved you more than when you stopped yesterday on our way home to help that elderly couple change their tire. We were on a back country road, miles from a town, and their trailer tire had gone flat. Big Daddy made a U-turn after we passed them and rolled down his window and asked the woman (who looked like she was about to have a heat stroke) with that big signature grin of his, "Could I help you folks?" And she answered in a relieved tone, "Well, that sure would be nice." Her poor little husband, 83, I think he said, was having a hard time just bending his back to get down to change it much less actually have the strength to do it. Big Daddy came back and just about knew their life story in the 10 minutes it took him. He's special that way. That sweet man tried to pay him but he just wouldn't have it. Y'all, did I already tell you that my love language is acts of service - come to find out - they don't even have to be for me!

Big Daddy is probably gonna have a fit when he sees this. He doesn't want the credit. But, it's my blog and I get to determine what goes in it...I may need this post when he is fast asleep on the couch and I'd rather him be mowing the lawn ;)
I LOVE this pic. Sorry Big Daddy - know you didn't know about this either.

I am kind of sneaky that way ;)

Busy Little Bee...

Our Love...she is something else. There is just not a better way to say it.

She has had a bit of a rough few days. She has been to the pediatric urologist for a repeat sonogram to check on her kidney stones. The first time we had this done about 6 or so months ago, she did great...not a tear one. On Tuesday, she cried, I mean bawled for the entire 20 minutes and kept saying "Owwweeee Mommy, Owwweeee Mommy" and looked to me for help. I kind of blew it off as a painless procedure but she did have some red marks afterward. Would you believe this Momma broke into the "B-I-B-L-E" song and it calmed her for a bit. I think it may have frightened the nurse and he sped up the procedure. I still think she was just scared of the man and the sonogram wand. I wonder if she relates it to the laser treatments...hmmm... doubt it. We have the consultation with the doctor tomorrow to find out the results.

She had some funky bug bite on her ankle. The pediatrician thinks it is an ant or a chigger bite. I am not buying it but anyhow we have medication to help it heal. It got crazy puffy and red and was so itchy. She has had ant bites and chiggers and they have never had two small holes in the center or swelled up about the diameter of a baseball. I guess if the doctor isn't worried...I am certainly not going to be. Love just kept scratching and saying "Owww-sscchhh" You should hear her say that...it is precious...as sad as the situation may be.

Fresh Air...

So, our nephew hooked us up. He brought the kids an air hockey table he got from a friend in his band. Oh, by the way...click here to his myspace to hear his newest song. Pretty dern good, huh? And I'm not saying that just because he's my nephew ;) He actually has 5 new songs...but I don't know how to get to all of them...I will letcha know when he tells me how. We have a cd of the songs...way better on the cd, while he still sounds great on the myspace, really it is no comparison to the cd, much more clear and sharp. He writes his own lyrics and music and does quite well. He is still waiting on the big break. Oh, Matt, if your reading...my mom got chills hearing your songs for the first time...so if your looking to cover the female over 50 demographic...it is sealed ;)

Ok, back to the post.

So, anyhow, we have the air hockey table now up in the game room. The kids love, love, love it! In fact, Big Daddy and I walked in from the dreaded trip to W*lMart and I heard laughter from upstairs. I was thinking...hmmm...who did the kids invite over while we were gone? And lo and behold if it wasn't Hunter and Faith playing a game...and folks there were smiles and laughter. I wanted so badly to run down and grab the camera. I felt like it needed to be documented. It is such a rarity. But instead, I stuck around and just watched. It has been so long since they actually laughed together. I have been told over and over and over it will get better. They are 15 months apart and seriously the most argumentative couple of kids I have ever heard. I've done given it to the Lord...He knows how much this Momma can handle :)

How do I keep ending up chasing rabbits? Focus...Fo-cus.

So, the little girls...they are all over it. "Mommy, can we play hockey?!" I betcha I hear that at least 10 times per day. We have had to make some adjustments...see the pic below for our short stack.But, trust me when I say it does not hinder her game in the least. She can score like the big kids. Hope ran down stairs saying in a thick country drawl, "Mommy, you would not believe what that child just did...she scored a goal on ME." Followed by loud, foot stomping running back up stairs to continue her match with Love.

Yep, she scored...I wondered what secrets Hunter was sharing with Love here..something sounds good to her though.
Hope trying to guard the goal...she found out pretty quickly this isn't tolerated too well...from either side.Yep, Love knocks another one in. Can you see Hope's expression in the reflection? Her mouth is wide open as if in disbelief.
Too much joy to keep contained. I love it!!!

Blog Makeover Give-A-Way!

Now y'all totally know it isn't from me...any of you that know me personally know I am about as technical as a toothbrush.

But, my friend Rebecca at Beloved is certainly offering an Ultimate Blog Makeover Give-A-Way. Click on the highlighted text to visit her blog. It is in honor of her 350th post. Even if you don't want the give-a-way...you should go and check out her photography - AMAZING. She was the person who inspired me to go ahead and get a digital SLR. In fact, I tried to buy one she had for sale but had already sold. On her blog it was labeled sold but I still tried to get her to sell it to me...I was blind sided by the possibility :) She is a fellow adoptive Momma of a precious, precious little boy from China...he is adorable. She happens to have 4 other children who are every bit as beautiful. She even gives great photography tips to boot. But, enough from me...y'all go visit her...she'd love to have you.