My Girl

Just thought I'd share a picture of the face I get to kiss and love on every day!


(photo courtesy of Sarah K.)


Which brings me to another topic...
who "birthed" her tail? Mom
who is her sole source of food? Mom
who changes 90% of her diapers? Mom
who holds her all the time during the day? Mom
who is with her 24/7? Mom
who does she absolutely light up for as soon as she sees him? Dad

What happened here??? I mean, I knew there was this special father/daughter thing, but I didn't know it happened so soon! That's OK I guess - as long as Daddy stays the most important man in her life until she's at least 35!! ;)

He's in the doghouse...

...Jacob, that is. And having a blast. My initial instinct is to say "eww...yuck, that's so icky" - but I remember doing the same thing when I was young. We had a dog named Greggor whom we adored. Every winter Daddy would get several bails of hay to make him a dog house. Brad and I used to LOVE to get in it and play with Greggor for hours at a time. There is a picture of us in it at my parents somewhere...I'll have to find it. The days of innocence! Now on to the next generation playing in the doghouse...



"I am sooo out of here!"

Bang!

After getting all sappy Sunday I figured this would be a good time to post something I find absolutely hilarious. Hope you do too! It's about a husband who gets "revenge" on his wife...with Blackcats (fire crackers). What is it with Blackcats anyway??? My brother used to love to scare the heebie jeebies out of me with them. I think it has something to do with that "Y" chromosome...it seems like all "boys" (not matter what age) looove them. When we were growning up Mom and Dad would let us pick out a FEW things from the fireworks stands at New Years and 4th of July...I always got a box of pretty little sparklers and Brad always got as many packages of Blackcats Daddy would allow. (There we go with the Y chromosome again - it was Daddy who took us, not Mom.) ;) I'm getting off the path here...back to the video, I've watched this a million times and laugh like it was the first.

NOTE: There is one offencive word in here - it's after the husband gets his revenge and the wife is a bit frustrated with him. I didn't hear it until I watched it 10 times but I'm just warning you in case there are little ears around. Just turn the sound down and you won't hear it.

My Sentiments

So…I’ve been feeling a bit sentimental lately. I’m thankful for this “blog world”. I’m not sure what I did (well, wrote) to deserve all of you who actually read my blog, but I’m thankful for you. I certainly don’t feel like I write as eloquently as some of you or live as exciting of a life of some of you, but this is the life I live so it’s what I journal about. I’m happy where I am and never cease to be amazed at those of you who care enough to read what I write and even leave comments. (And to those who don’t comment, thanks for telling me in person that you “check in” on us every now and then – I appreciate that too.) I feel like I’ve gained so many new friends and “old” friendships have been rekindled. Those of you who are bloggers, thanks for your blog too. Through each one of your blogs we get a little glimpse into your life – the ups, the downs, and the “all arounds”. We enter into each other’s joys and pains. We laugh and cry with each other. While I was contemplating what I would write in this particular post, there were specific blogs that came to mind I thought I might mention…but I’ve decided that’s not a good idea as I would hate to leave anyone out and my list got quite lengthy!! So I’ll just generalize…some of your blogs I love to read because you make me laugh on a regular basis, some of your blogs are more serious and make me think deeper about life and the preciousness of it, some of your blogs are quite educational, some of you have young kids at home that I’m loving to watch grow up and read about their antics, some of you I’ve know personally all my life and some of you I’ve never met in “real” life, but I feel I know you just the same. I’m saying all of this to say (yes, that is a direct quote from my Dad)THANK YOU – and keep on blogging!

(And yes, I know there is a serious run-on sentence in there!!)

Papa's Hand

I love this photo...Lia was upset so Papa reached out to her. I used to be his only "baby girl", but now I think I share that title. That's OK though, I don't mind.

Something gross to make you laugh (I hope)

DO NOT READ THIS JUST BEFORE YOU EAT

Jeanifer, aka Patty, was my best friend in college...she's now the mother of a charming little fella - as you can tell by reading THIS.

(Love ya Patty - just doing my best to let others swoon over the talents of you son!)

A New Love

So...the LAST thing we need is another mouth to feed...BUT...how do you say "no" to this??







One day this puppy just showed up at our garage door. He acted scared to death of us initially, but he soon got over that. Could it have something to do with the food and water he all of a sudden was getting?? We live directly across the street from a church and think someone may have dropped him off there in hopes that some suckers (like us - OK, OK, OK, ME) would take him in.

You can't tell by the pictures but he's about 2 inches tall and 6 feet long. That may be just a wee bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. He looks like a cross between a black lab and a weenie dog. Things that make you go hummm..;)

"But he's such a good dog Daddy. Can we keep him please please please?? I promise to feed and water him every day. And Murphy (our other dog) needs a playmate. And Jacob just LOVES him...and he loves Jacob too. And his name is Gonzo by the way. And. And. And. I love you." (bats eyes)

Do you think David ever had a chance of finding another home for him?? ;)

Murder Mystery Dinner

Halloween night found us at a murder mystery dinner. It was supposed to be a serious occasion, but we were all so confused as to what we were SUPPOSED to be doing that all we could do was laugh at each other. Sorry Kristen A. - next time we promise to do better. ;) But we all had a great time which was the main point anyway - of course there were a couple of "Super Sleuth's" who figured out who was committing the murders (yes, David was one of them...no, I was not).

(Note the yellow buttons that are on Popeye's shirt...that's the first time I've EVER "sewn" anything...oh, I've tried, but it hasn't worked out so well. And yep, David showed me how do do the first one. To say that I'm not "sewing inclinded" is an understatement. But now that I've done 3 buttons I think I'm going to ask Santa for a sewing machine. ;) Think I could be making dresses like the ones for the "Queen's Coronation" that I blogged about a couple of weeks ago by spring??)

Now for the good stuff...pictures of the characters.

Popeye & Swee'Pea


oh my..."woman", "man", "2 girls - Tracy & Casey" Brad, Lesha, T&T


the vampire and woman are trying to get information out of the priest (who was the murderer BTY)


Popeye and "man" discuss facts as Eugene (Popeye & Olive Oil's dog) and "Casey" play on the stairs.


Kristen A. - a ghost


oh no...it's a dead fairy (Dorlene A.)


Popeye and his Mother-In-Law discuss clues...those two are TROUBLE when they get together!!


King Aurthur and Popeye (do you get the idea Popeye may have been one of my favorite characters there??)


woot woot....(singing) "Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharped dressed man/ woman/ what is it????" (end of singing)


awe...there we are...Popeye, Olive Oil, and Swee'Pea...Eugene the dog was to busy playing to be bothered with a family picture


Greek person ??? (Andy A.) looks reeeeeally pleased to be sitting by that um...beautiful?? lady


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Shelly A. and her favorite little character of the evening...she taught him some moves....


...as seen here. Yep, he's pretty cool!

Mt. Peak

These are just a few shots from our last convention.

4 Generations


Nanny with Great-Granddaughter #13


Jacob having lots of fun on the sidewalk.


Kayleen, Lia, Caroline, Allie - the 4 TX Great-Granddaughters


Trace & Trevin thought the stroller was a lot of fun to play on.


David's uncle from Atlanta was working in TX for a couple of weeks so he was able to come up for Sunday. It was great to get to see him.
Tio, Jacob, David


Giving Tio "5's" - he's pretty cool that way. ;)

"Make-a Me Keem"

yeah - Brad used to say that when he was little...but the point is Blogger is making me scream!! I haven't been able to upload pictures for a couple of days now and I'd really like to put up a couple of posts! One of these days all of you will get to see our smiling faces again...you may or may not recognize us.

Rose Parade

Last Saturday we went to the Tyler Rose parade with B,L,T&T. Tyler is the "Rose Capital of the Nation" - bet you didn't know that. For about 6 months of the year you can buy roses for $2.00/dozen on many street corners. Every October there is the Rose Festival in which a new Rose Queen is chosen. Now, this isn't your ordinary "pageant". There is no talent portion, no interview, no beauty contest, no nothing except who’s Daddy pays the most money to get his daughter chosen as the next queen. I kid you not. To even be able to "apply" to get to be queen you must pay $100,000. That's just to get the "judges" to read your application. Then after that it's a matter of who can ante-up the most. IF your daughter is chosen you then get to buy her the gown for the Queen’s Coronation - those usually run another $40,000 or so. All this for what? To get your picture in the paper, ride on a fancy float in the parade, and stand in a covered platform in the Rose Garden. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I can think of a few other things to spend my money on.
(All this being said, we did enjoy our time watching the parade. The boys especially seeing the dogs, horses, tiny jeeps, and motorcycles. They weren't especially impressed with the fancy dresses for some reason.)

Without further ado...


Rose Queen 2008 on her float


The Queen's train...think I could get a dress like this to wear sometime?


The Shriners mini jeeps...was quite entertaining.


Commoners Lesha, Brad, Trace, and Trevin


Commoners Jacob and David


The real queen...and her Mom. As you can see, Queen Lia was taking in all the sights with much excitement! Yep, she slept the entire duration of the 2 hour parade.

This is how...

I spend a lot of my time.


No wonder there's a lot that needs to get done around here. Oh well, my babies won't let me hold them forever. And the other stuff can just wait.

Texarkana

We just got back from our annual convention. Many wonderful thoughts were shared and I have a lot of "work" to do. Now it's back to reality...and many loads of laundry!! Also tending to Jacob's "souvenir" he brought home...a cold. ;(

Texarkana has a sandbox that all the little kids LOVED to play in. At first I didn't think I wanted Jacob to play in it and get all dirty, but then I decided that was ridiculous as the other kids were in it and they were all having a ball. Besides that, it worked off some energy, was a great "babysitter", and I was able to enjoy visiting with the other parents.


Jacob kicked back and relaxed in the sand box.


Bryce V. having a good time.


This is only a fraction of the kids that were playing. They all had a great time.


Hanging out in the V's camper.


My sweet baby doll. ;)


Cousin Caroline and Lia.


Cousins Allie and Jacob having a great time. They're only 2 months apart.


My sweet babies.


Yep, they've both got me wrapped around their little fingers.


First convention as a family of 4.

My Baby Daddy...

and my baby...

they make me smile!

A Plug for Our Uncle

So I'm following my Aunt Susan's lead and doing a little "advertisement" for David's Uncle Jorge's blog. Simply known as "Tio" to us. David's Grandparents, Mom, and Uncle came to America from Cuba in 1966 - his Mom was 15, his Uncle 13. Tio has also written a book chronicling their voyage from Cuba to the US. It's very interesting and makes one appreciate what freedoms we enjoy in our country. (At least for now.) ;) Tio wrote "We left everything behind: family, friends, and earthly possessions. We now had to start all over again. It was a new beginning but we were willing to give up everything for the opportunity to be able to dream again with freedom and without fear. We knew that if we were willing to work and to strive with every ounce of our strength, we could succeed again because we now had the freedom and opportunities to do so. Our destiny and our failure or success now depended on us". It would be nice if more people had that attitude!

In this post Tio tells about when he was asked to speak at a naturalization ceremony in Atlanta. He recounts his speech.

In this post he recaps the trip he made back to Cuba for the first time in 38 years. He got to take that trip with his 2 children and Father.

I enjoyed this post as it "features" David, his brother and 2 cousins. I realize not everyone will appreciate it like I do, but it is fun to look back at how styles have changed since 1973. I also only know what David looked like with hair through old pictures as he hasn't had any since I've known him. In the first pictures Tio and David BOTH had hair, now neither one of them do. Oh well...I've always heard "God only made a few perfect heads, and the rest he covered with hair". ;)

Enjoy Tio's blog...and leave him a comment if you venture over there. I know he would appreciate it. He's a really nice guy and won't bite. ;) And it's always nice to know someone took the time to read what you took the time to write!