Summer is...

Baseball

Hammocks

Sidewalk chalk

Memories

Snuggles

Friends

Creativity

Giggles

Smiles

The chance to be a kid

Where two or more are gathered...

As I type, the surgeons are prepping.  A father, husband, grandpa is slowly falling asleep under the effects of anesthesia.  And a wife waits.


I first met this family through their hilarious blog Once Upon A Miracle.  They speak of truth, love, and family.  And they became friends. 


This family has gone through too much already this year.  They didn't need this.  But, as a friend so appropriately emailed me today:

Praying for you today, Rachel and Bob. 

30 DPC Day 24: A wish for change

Day 24:  A picture of something you wish you could change


A while back, we played in the river with some friends.

And, as I look back on all the photos I took that day, I cannot help but feel a bit wistful.

When you are a child, summer seems to last forever.

The days never end.

And growing up seems like it will never happen.

I wish I could freeze days like that day.
Even when my kids are being stinky.

Because those days don't last forever.
Kids grow up.

They go from baby dolls to boys far too fast.

And these lazy summer days will only be a distant memory.

Take the long way home today.

Splash in the creek.

Maybe even pick up a bug or two.

Take the time to search for treasures with your child.

Because little ones won't stay little,

But the memories can last forever.

Project 365: Week Something.... 30 Perhaps?

I have not done a Project 365 Post in two months. 


*hangs head in shame*


Rather than try to lump 475 bazillion photos together in one ginormous post to catch up, I am giving myself some grace and starting fresh from here.  Sometimes we can all use a little more grace and a little less self-inflicted perfectionism. 


And, with that being said, here is my week(ish) in photos:



Day 203/365: Bar D Time!

Last Sunday was this amazing young ladys 13th birthday.  She decided, for her birthday, that we were all going to go to the Bar D.  Our evening at the Bar D is going to be a whole nother post, but I thought I would drop this precious shot in here.

Just a bunch of kids being kids. 

Day 204/365: Sisterhood

We got to watch a precious pumpkin this week.  And my girls took to her like she was their own little sister. 

Day 205/365: The New Cooler

Got it on clearance for $9.99, thanks to my smart-shopping friend Jill.  And Madi decided it made a fabulous boat.

Day 206/365:  The Birthday Girl

All day, Madi talked about getting to open her birthday presents.  And then Mom made her take a photo first.  Sheesh!

Day 207/365:  Hmm...

As I put on my F*cebook:

Teaching responsibility or free slave labor... You be the judge!

Day 208/365:  Buddies for life


Madi especially took to the little pumpkin we had this week.  She took it upon herself to instruct LP in all things important, including but not limited to sunglasses and bubbles. 

Day 209/365: Fancy Feet

I discovered, much to my chagrin, that it was less expensive to take Madi and two of her little friends to the spa on Saturday morning for pedicures than it was to have a birthday party.  Big sister went too, and a fabulous time was had by all!  Don't you love these cute little toes?

30 Day Picture Challenge: Day 16

Before I get started on today's Picture Challenge, I have to tell my handsome hubby Happy Anniversary!  I love you babe, and I cannot wait for 60 more amazing years!




Day 16:

A picture of someone who inspires you

This beautiful young lady is Ashley.  We met almost 5 years ago, when she and her family moved here from Oklahoma. She is many things:

• caring
• loving
• generous
• sweet
• silly
• funny
• joyous
• wise
• a survivor

She suffered a massive stroke at 6 months.  You can read the story from her moms words here.  The doctors were certain that if she lived, she would never be able to function on her own.  Then they were certain she would never have the mental capacity beyond a toddler.  Then they were certain...


And every time she has proved them wrong.  She is a fighter.  She is stronger than most adults I know.  She is an inspiration.


*If you would like to read Ashleys take on her life (and continue to be inspired), you can read her story here. I am certain she would not mind a word of encouragement, either.

30 Day Picture Challenge: Day 10

Day 10:

A picture of the person you do the craziest things with

This is my friend Jen.

She is the childrens pastor at our church.

She is my sister from another mister.

We have been known to randomly burst out in song,

Or start dancing,

Or just laugh hysterically for no reason.

We are not afraid to make fools of ourselves for the sake of a laugh. 

Or say things to make our husbands blush. 

She encourages me to get out of my shell, to stop hiding and just have fun!

30 Day Picture Challenge: Day 9

Day 9:

A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

This is my friend Jill.

She is pretty much amazing.

We met when she started dating the youth pastor at our church, and Jerome and I volunteered for the middle school group.

Jill did not want to volunteer with the middle schoolers.  She thought they were stinky or something.

Needless to say, we did not become bousum buddies immediately.

But Jill is still amazing.

She helped me prepare for our wedding - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.

She has walked with me through all three pregnancies.

She has sat with me during the pit of my depression, and danced with me on my mountaintops.

Jill has always, always spoken truth in my life. 

You do not find that very often these days.

And she was willing to dye my hair this weekend.

She really has seen me through everything!

True Story Tuesday: When My Cell Phone Exploded

Nighttime in the hospital is very odd.  It's quiet, but it's not quiet.  The visitors have gone home for the day, most of the patients are asleep, the staff is fewer.  But, you hear the beep of the machines, the moans and groans (or cries) as patients attempt to rest despite their pain, the covered giggles of the night staff as they try to have fun at work without waking the neighborhood.  It's weird.


When we went in Saturday night, I asked Super Realtor (love this nickname, by the way - it just may stick) to bring my laptop.  Of course, I also asked him to bring my exercise pants, a pair of athletic socks, my tennis shoes, a tshirt, and my pajamas.  I got his exercise pants, one of his dress socks, a pair of my fuzzy socks, and a sweatshirt.  Whatever.  At least he remembered the laptop. 


I don't sleep well in hospitals.  Heck, I have trouble sleeping at home!  And I learned from our first stay with Violet that nighttime can be pretty boring for Mama while baby is trying to sleep.  So, while Violet tried to get comfortable and catch some zzzz's between all the beeps and boops and whooshes, I hopped on FB to catch up with the world and let my brain unwind. 


And that is when the trouble began.


I guess it started innocently enough.  Rachel (who is NEVER on FB, by the way), posted about their adventure of the day:

Now, I'm sure you missed the most epic part of that post.  Go look at the number of comments. 


No, that is not a typo.  We discovered how to use the comments as a 5-way IM.  Genius!


Of course, after a long and stressful day, my snarky meter was WAY off the charts:

My other friend Shana jumped in the fray, but her snarky meter was just a little tired that night, at first:

Really, only Shana could say something like that and have it seem completely normal.  But, we still needed to know WHY IN THE HECK THERE WERE TEETH IN HER DRIVEWAY!

At this point, sweet nurse-man Jeff snuck in the room to check Violet's temperature and vitals. 

Mr. Daddy, Rachel's hubby, must have wondered what all the snickering was about, because he jumped into the fray:

And then we discussed the finer points of target practice with 22s:

Seriously, what husband, given that wind-up, would not swing straight for the fences?  Mr. Daddy delivered a home run:

And, we have all learned one thing from the times Mr. Daddy hijacks their blog.  Don't get that man on a roll.  Cause it's gonna be dangerous!

At this point, Rachel was red beyond belief and trying to do ANYTHING to focus the attention away from her:

Oh yes.  Mr. Daddy won a gift card from a blog giveaway.  To Dress Barn.  And, if you would like to see Mr. Daddy "modeling" his final choices, you can simply go here.  Don't worry, I'll wait.  It's worth it. 



So, we all had a good giggle at Mr. Daddy's expense.  And then one of us had to pee.

No, really.  Shana has crabs.  Real ones.  You can look at photos of them here.  And if you're a crab person, they really are quite cute.  But, because Liz hadn't seen the crabs, they became FB friends so that she could see the crabs.  Weirdest conversation ever!

And, really, it didn't seem odd at all that Mr. Daddy randomly chimed in with an outhouse anticdote.  But then Rachel took it down a whole other road:

And apparently, once Mr. Daddy found out that we ALL knew his buttocks were unshaven, he became a spoilsport and made Rachel go to bed. 

Fuddy duddy old man.


Yes, this conversation lasted 2 1/2 hours, had almost 1100 comments, and covered just about EVERY random subject known to man.  I do not remember the last time I woke up with sore abs from laughing.  And my phone, which receives all my FB notifications, refused to work.  Apparently I made it think too hard the night before. 


But, thanks to three crazy ladies (and one nut of a man), my night at the hospital was anything but boring! 






Want to read Rachel's side of the story?  Or more stories that are just so nuts they have to be true?  Go harass visit Rachel and Mr. Daddy at Once Upon A Miracle.  Don't forget to tell them that Saint Poopicus sent you!

Well that was a weekend!

It started out normally enough.  Finished out work, came home and made a nutritious, organic dinner (read: take and bake pizza), and baked a nutritious, organic dessert for home group (read:  soda pop cake). 


What?  You have never made soda pop cake?  For shame!  My bloggy friend Becky turned me onto the Hungry Girl site, where I found the recipe.  All you have to do is take 1 box of cake mix, add with 12 oz soda, mix until smooth, then bake like normal.  Hopefully, your cake will come out looking something like this:

Yes, it is quite possibly the best cake you will ever eat.  You are welcome.  No, it is not the healthiest cake you will ever eat.  Anywho, this one was a combination of devils food cake and Dr. Pepper soda.  I also made a white cake with peach soda for the kids.  All were completely eaten.  Our home group likes food. 



Saturday morning, Super Realtor had to go show houses to some clients, so the girls & I headed into town for some fun.  We started out at the church, helping our friend/ mentor/ children's pastor Jen clean out her office from all the Daddy Daughter Dance stuff.  Then, Madi got to go the the fabulous Pinkalicious birthday party of her friend Kate.  They had a grand time.  You can see the pics, and wish the birthday girl a happy birthday, on her mommas blog here.



While Madi was at the party, Jen and I took the rest of the kids (hers + mine) to a healthy, organic lunch.  NOT!!!  Truth: we bribed them with fast food and a play place so we could have a semi-coherent, adult conversation.  While we were there, I managed to snap this precious photo of her smallest, ornery wonder:

Don't you just want to bite those cheeks?  Yeah, me too.



The entire day, I knew something was wrong with Violet.  Truth be told, she hadn't slept well in about 2 weeks.  Friday night was miserable.  We slept for about 2 hours total.  She was okay when she first got up, but progressively got worse throughout the day.  She tried to sleep that afternoon, but could not stop coughing long enough to get comfortable. 



So, we headed in to the urgent care after Super Realtor got home.  They took one look at her and started calling the hospital.  They started her on oxygen and IV fluids with antibiotics immediately.  X rays revealed what I suspected - pneumonia.  The only way I convinced them to not transport her from the urgent care to the hospital via ambulance was if I promised to drive her immediately there, no stops.  I knew she was bad, but not that bad.



So, Violet & I got to spend the night in the hospital.  Our nurses ( two dad of two kids each) were amazing, and Violet responded well.  They let us go on Sunday afternoon with oxygen, more albuterol for the nebulizer, and the rest of her antibiotics. 



Today we visited with her doctor again.  Looks like we are going to be chasing the leash at least until Friday.

At least she knows how to do it in style.