Purpose

After having 5 days sans husband and children, I've spent a lot of time laughing, revisiting old memories and thinking.

Coming home to a clean quiet house was great on Sunday, but as Monday rolled around, I began to feel like I didn't know what to do with myself. Luckily, I had dinner planned with Brea so that occupied my night. We went through boxes of college pictures...cracking up all the way through. For some reason, we thought we had to take a picture (or 6) with food stuffed in our mouths...why, I'm just not sure. Last night, we were just 2 silly college girls again reliving toga parties, white trash prom, lake days and more.

Today, I went to the pool by myself. I took a book and my iPod and just floated for hours. It was a nice, but strange feeling - like I didn't have a purpose. I almost felt hallow without my two sweet girls hanging on to me, asking questions and shouting "Look at me, Mommy!"

I honestly didn't know I could miss them so much! It makes me realize that I was meant to be a mom and a wife, and how blessed to have them all healthy and safe at home with me. I hope that I never take for granted how lucky I am to have them. As school and football nears, I want to cherish each and every moment we have together.

A Necessary Thank You (or two)

I just got home a few hours ago from the 2nd Annual Huffman Scrapbook Retreat. Sweet Kara invited 13 people into her home for the weekend for a 48 hour scrap-a-thon. Not only was she kind enough to have us take over her house for the weekend, she flew her parents in to serve us and pamper us too! Her dad served as our valet parker and unloaded all of our scrapbook stuff (A TON of stuff) and her mom was the chef for the weekend. We all felt so lucky to be taken care of for the weekend rather than doing the caring ourselves. It was a huge success! I finished 55 pages and am 10 pages from being current on my scrapbook. I can't belive it.

My second shout-out goes to Lamar. When I came home from the retreat, I walked in to a quiet and clean house. The kitchen was clean, the laundry was done and he and the girls were out of town. I feel extra special because I had the retreat, plus 2 days to recover from the retreat without cleaning up cheerios, turning on moomee's for Karsyn and Cartoon Neckwork for Landrie. Don't get me wrong, I am missing them like crazy, but I am thrilled for some alone time...especially as football season and school starts up.

So, Thank You Kara & Lamar! You made my weekend!!!

Celebrating Lamar

As our friends have turned 30 (and one turned 40!), they have thrown parties from the simple to elaborate. It can be overwhelming trying to keep up the tradition, but we definitely tried last weekend.

We invited a few friends to Downtown Fort Worth for dinner and then we went to Pete's Dueling Pianos. It was so much fun! It has a very lively atmosphere, entertaining music and tons of people watching (my favorite). We had a great night!!

For Lamar's birthday, the girls and I gave him Guitar Hero for his Playstation 2. It is SO much fun! It's become a family thing for us to do. The girls love to pretend to play and to watch us compete against each other.

I also gave Lamar one other gift... He told me a while back that if he could have any car it would be a Corvette. Obviously that isn't practical for our family, so I gave him a mini-Corvette to admire in the mean time.

Picture Post

I haven't updated in a while, so I thought I would just post some pictures of the last few weeks. Summer is winding down quickly, so instead of spending time on the computer, I'm trying to enjoy time doing things with Lamar and the girls. Football is quickly approaching - 2 weeks - and then our family time will be few and far between.

The girls are little fish at our local water park.

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Landrie went to Adventure Weekend last week for the first time. The theme was Backstage Blast and they helped make a movie, create sound effects and lots of other fun activities. She had so much fun!

Silly Karsyn watching TV with her sunglasses on

Happy Birthday Lamar!

Today Lamar is 30 years old!! It's hard to believe that we've been together since he was 20! He is a wonderful husband, father, coach and friend. We are all blessed to have him in our lives.

Here's to 30 more wonderful years!

Happy Birthday Lamar! I love you!!

Fantastic Fourth!

We had a great 4th of July! It was very low-key compared to the last few years and it was one of our most enjoyable. We had a pool party during the day and then walked to the Boys Ranch for Fireworks. The girls were so much fun--dancing to the live music, playing with friends and watching the fireworks with complete awe!

Family picture - even Lamar is smiling! :)

Dancing Girls!

Channing & Landrie

Fabulous Fireworks

Patriotic Landrie

Bad Luck Dress

Have you ever worn something that always seemed to bring bad luck when you wore it?

For my sister Jordan, it was her bathing suit. The summer she was 5 years old it was rarely off of her body. Unfortunately though, bad things seemed to happen when she wore it. We used to go to Wet 'N Wild (now Hurricane Harbor) 3-4 times a week. Somehow she got lost one day and of course she was wearing the bad luck bathing suit. During the same summer, she was playing outside with tons of other kids and a neighbor came around the corner too fast and hit Jordan with her car. Again, she was wearing the bad luck bathing suit. She was fine thankfully - just bumps and bruises. I'm pretty sure my mom burned the suit after that though.

The girls have had bad luck lately in their 4th of July dresses. First, Landrie puked in our rental car after our Conroe trip wearing her dress and then 10 days later Karsyn did the same. I still can't believe the virus lasted in our house for that long!

Unfortunately, the bad luck traveled to Salado. The girls went down on Tuesday to spend the week with Gigi & Grandpa. Karsyn got sick the night before, but it seemed like a one time deal. She woke up the next morning feeling fine...evidently not. On the way from Hillsboro to Salado, she got sick, but quickly got over it. Gigi came down with it last night though. I feel terrible! I don't think she was planning to have the stomach bug on her week off. So, the girls' trip was cut short and I picked up the girls today. I sure was glad to see them, but I hated the circumstances for which they came home early.

Feel better Gigi!! Thanks for watching the girls! I hope we didn't scare you from doing it again!

Hopefully we'll have good luck in their dresses tomorrow. Happy 4th Everyone!

Happy Birthday Justin!

Today my one and only brother is 26!! Justin and I have a love/hate relationship, but mostly love! :) He is a great uncle to the girls - who love to be picked on by him. He is head over heels for his neices, just as they are for him. We love you Bubba!!

Hope you have a GREAT DAY today Justin! I'm looking forward to a good dinner tonight!

Pray for Zach

Last Saturday night, my friend Lauren got married. Her parents and my parents are best friends from high school, so Lauren and I grew up together.

After her wedding, her brother-in-law Zach (the Best Man) was driving home to Mexia to go on a mission trip with his church. He was very close to home when he fell asleep at the wheel. His spinal cord was crushed. He was careflighted to Temple and is now in recovery. It will be a long, slow process and they still don't know how much he will improve.

If you have the chance - say a prayer for Zach and his family. They have a rough road ahead.

You can visit the sites below for more information.
www.zachscottbenefit.com
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/zachscott

Road Trip

Last week, we traveled to Lake Conroe with our friends. We had a great time and took some cute pictures along the way.

Karsyn "reading" her book.
Silly Sideways Landrie

Karsyn after her bath with her towel like Mommy. She thought she was pretty darn cute!

Confession...

...I am part of a Book Club! Two of my five (regular) readers are also part of this book club, so I shouldn't make fun. I'm actually an avid reader when I have time...or when I'm procrastinating. So far in less than two weeks, I've read 5 books. I've just started my 6th.

My current read is Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber. I've actually read most of her books, but I think this could be my favorite yet, and I'm only on page 67. The idea of the book is to create an "inventory of wishes"--wishes and hopes for the future. It's a little like the movie the Bucket List that came out earlier this year.

Jordan and I have talked about our Bucket List many times and I think I'm going to actually write down my wishes! Some of them are silly and some may be sentimental--I don't know yet. I'll just start with the ones I know for now:

1. Scuba Dive in the Great Barrier Reef
2. See U2 in Concert
3. ??

As the list grows, I'll continue to update. I would encourage you to make a list for yourself too! If you have a blog, link to it in the comments. I think it would be fun to help each other make our wishes come true. Happy Wishing!

PS: Here's the list of books I've read recently. It's a fairly eclectic mix, so there's probably something in there for everyone.

1. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything - Janelle Brown
2. Ricochet - Sandra Brown
3. Sundays at Tiffany's - James Patterson
4. Between Sundays - Karen Kingsbury
5. Double Cross - James Patterson

After Twenty Wishes, I have Sail by James Patterson waiting for me.

Bloggy Break

Last week, I took a break from Blogging. Our church along with many others is doing a series called One Prayer. Last week, we were encouraged to do a lifestyle fast - meaning giving up something like blogging and spend that time with God. I realized that I do spend a lot of time reading other blogs and blogging myself, so it was a good break.

There were many blog worthy moments last week that now all seem to have left my brain. We are enjoying our summer so far. Last weekend we went to Lake Conroe with 10 other families! We had 22 adults and 19 kids -- it was a blast!

I'll post pictures later...

Happy Father's Day!

Lamar is a wonderful father to my girls. When we were in college, Lamar worked at a day care. I remember visiting him one day and walking in to see 10 kids climbing all over him. He was laughing with them and playing along. I knew then he would be a great dad. He loves Landrie and Karsyn like there's no tomorrow! He is their protector and their playmate. They are lucky and blessed to have him as their Daddy! Happy Father's Day Lamar!

Pops and I have so many similar characteristics. He's passed on his love of books, school and music to me. Neither of us are morning people and we tend to procrastinate. He taught all us what a marriage should look like and what a father should be. Pops is also the greatest Pops to my girls too. They love playing with him and teasing on him (as Landrie would say). We LOVE you, Pops!


Grandpa (Lamar's Dad) is missing from my pictures. It seems he never stops long enough to pose for pictures. He has taught Lamar and his other 2 sons to work hard. He is always patient with the girls and loves to spoil them. This past week, he fixed up a swing set and a swimming pool for them. The girls loved it! They love to talk to Grandpa on the phone and to play games with him all the time. Happy Father's Day Grandpa!

Suppernanny to the Rescue! UPDATED BELOW

I haven't posted on this subject in a while - maybe it's denial - but Karsyn's sleeping is still out of control! Shortly after her 2nd Birthday, we moved her into Landrie's room and put her in a twin bed. She gets in and out of bed a minimum of 10 times each night with her falling asleep after 10 each night, but most often after 11 o'clock! That makes for a tired girl and a worn out Mommy and Daddy.

You might suggest that I put her back in the crib, but that's impossible now...we sold it 2 weeks ago! So, we just have to make this work.

Tonight it's Supernanny to the rescue. I'm going to try this technique tonight. I'm praying that this works because I just don't know what else to do.

UPDATE: It's 8:45 and she is asleep! I can't believe it. I didn't even have a chance to try the Supernanny technique. I guess we can pull that out tomorrow if we need it. Landrie's well on her way to sleep as well! A great night indeed!

Happy Birthday Brea!

This time next year, you won't even remember what life was like before baby! He/she will change your life, but it will be for the better! I hope you have an awesome birthday, and remember - You'll be 30 before me! :)

Haircuts

I have been fighting getting Karsyn's haircut for a while now. When she was a baby, we "cut" her hair frequently until she was six months old because it was wild! After 6 months, we didn't cut it anymore except for her bangs. I was so afraid to cut it because of her beautiful curls...until I saw this picture:



Man she looked rough! I schedule her and Landrie an appointment at Sweet & Sassy at the mall yesterday. Karsyn went first and she was so serious!




It turned out adorable, but I couldn't get her to smile for anything! It was like the chair silenced her (which is a RARE event in itself).

Landrie is an old pro at getting haircuts. She just sat still and watched Sleeping Beauty! She was very proud of her new do!

She's just not that into it

Our Potty Training adventure was a short one - just 3 hours! While I was doing the Potty Dance, Karsyn was running away from me laughing. Looks like the joke is on me!

She wants to sit on the potty and wear the panties (or run around n*ked), but she's not willing to do her business on the potty. In fact, she screamed and cried when we'd make her sit there. I even tried to bribe her with fruit snacks. Karsyn's what you would call a strong-willed child.

I'm going to leave our little potty out and hopefully, she'll start to get the hang of it. I'm just not going to push it...yet!

The girls are getting haircuts today, so I'll post some new pictures tonight!

A New Milestone...Hopefully

Exactly 2 months from today, the girls and I along with Pops & Lolly will be on a plane headed to Anaheim, CA. Pops has a conference there and Lolly decided it would be fun to take the girls to Disneyland. Originally, she thought about just taking Landrie because it would definitely be easier that way, but Lolly is the ultimate in being fair, so she decided she would take Karsyn and Mommy too IF and ONLY IF Karsyn was POTTY TRAINED.

So today is the big day! After our microwave repairman left, Karsyn donned her My Little Pony panties and started "training". My plan of attack is to set the timer for 15 minutes and make her sit on the potty when the timer goes off. When it goes off, I run around dancing and yelling "Potty Time, Potty Time"! So far, so good...no accidents and 2 trips to the potty. The trips haven't resulted in anything, but hopefully by the end of the day, we can have some small successess.

I'm sure I'll have plenty to update this week! Especially if Karsyn's PT is anything like Landrie's.

Wish me luck!

Fun Day with Friends

Today we headed to lunch with my maid of honor and her husband. We spent our college years together and still try to keep in touch as often as possible.

Lunch at Logan's was great, but it was even better because of the news she shared---She's joining the MOMMY CLUB! I'm so excited for her!

I know she will be an awesome mom and I can't wait to see what Baby D will look like! I will enjoy passing along what tidbits of wisdom I can and if she has a girl I know where she can find some great clothes and hairbows!

I'll also happily pass down my maternity clothes too because I'm pretty sure this baby machine is closed for good.

Here's to wishing B an easy, healthy preganancy and a beautiful healthy baby! I'll be praying for you and thinking of you!

PS: School's out! Let our summer begin!!!

What's in your car? UPDATED

I'm not sure if I really want to play this game or not. Lolly sent me a link to this "game" and also posted her list. She's admittedly a neat-freak and I didn't quite inherit that gene. I have my moments of being super-organized and neat, but I quickly get overwhelmed and messy again.

All through college and the first 3 years of our marriage, I felt like I lived in my car. I commuted to school in college and once we were married I drove a minimum of 90 miles a day going back and forth to work. Now, I don't drive more than 20 miles on a normal day, but I have 2 little girls with lots of stuff.

BEFORE:


Enough with the excuses though...here's the list:

• 2 carseats
• 1 stroller
• 2-3 (ok, maybe 4) SEVEN pairs of shoes
• several 1 hair bow(s)
• ALL of my scrapbook supplies from my retreat 6 weeks ago (OUCH!)
• my printer
• a nap mat from preschool
• probably 100s of spilled cheerios only 10 cheerios!
• fake geckos (yuck!)
• swim floaties
• beach bag
• 2 diaper bag
• UPDATED: a hammer, my passport, scotch tape, scissors, unmailed Thank Yous from April (oops), cell charger

That's all I can think of right now...I'm sure the list goes on, but truthfully - I'm embarrassed to admit there might be more!

Off to clean out the car!!!!

So - what's in YOUR car? Somebody, anybody worse than me?

AFTER:

Now:

• 2 carseats
• 1 stroller
• 2 diaper bags
• AND that's it!

Much better, don't you think!