~~ Chillaxin ~~

After a busy day at school and gymnastics it is nice to be able to come home and just relax on the back porch with your brother and enjoy a popsicle.

~~ Swim Lessons-Day 2 ~~

Another day of lessons and well, my boys might just be turning into little fish. They are just loving the water and they are so excited about swimming! Jesse wants me to get him one of these red belts. I'm hoping that by the end of next week his instructor will have him trying to swim without one. Michael told me after his lesson he went under 3 times. He was so proud!

~~ Swim Lessons-Day 1 ~~

I was so impressed with how well the boys did in the water this morning.

We actually go to the pool on a regular basis being that 1) it is so close to the house 2) it is 100+ degrees outside and 3) it is free! Jesse has really gotten brave this year. He has started wanting to go under, jump in and tippy toe to the deep end. It is the combination of all 3 of those reasons that they both need to take lessons. Michael doesn't care to go under or have the water in his face, but he tends to eventually do what his big brother does.

They did take lessons a couple of years ago, but I was in the water with them and the instructor. This year I get to watch from the lounge chairs on the side of the pool. They go everyday for 2 weeks and I am excited to see how much they will learn!

~~ SummerFest 09 ~~

~~ Where Have All The Bloggers Gone? ~~

Okay, not ALL the bloggers, but my real life bloggy friends over there -----> in the side bar. It is summer and I know you ladies are super busy enjoying life with your little ones and your hubby's, but I miss you all terribly.

I know, I know, it has been weeks (3 to be exact) since I posted anything either. So here goes! I'm going on a posting spree......

~~ The Long and Short of It ~~

I did something today that I have gone back and forth about for a couple of years. It has been miserably HOT for many months and the last month of soccer and 100+ temps convinced me that this needed to be done. So, without further ado......

THE LONG.....

THE SHORT.....

~~ Saved ~~

Today was no ordinary Wednesday.

Today was a special day.

Today my sweet baby boy accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. My sweet friend Jeany hosted a Backyard Bible Club and the boys and I were able to attend a couple of days. I am so glad we did. Above is a picture of Jesse praying to receive Christ with two of the students that taught the lessons and lead the meetings. They asked him if he knew what sin was and he said yes and told them it is anything you think, say or do that does not please God. The prayer he prayed was a simple one, as simple as A-B-C

A-he admitted he was a sinner

B-he believes Jesus died on the cross for his/our sins

C-he chose Jesus as his forever friend

I am so blessed and proud and excited and glad that I was there and able to be apart of such a BIG moment in his life.

~~ 4th of July ~~

What a day full of fun and friends!

We started by heading down to the neighborhood park to watch the bicycle parade. We weren't real sure about the parade details, but next year the boys will decorate and ride their bikes and be in the parade. Uncle Tony came too! We spent some time at the park enjoying music, games, and a train ride.

After a short nap, we headed over to P-ville to celebrate with some old neighbors. First we stopped by Brian & Kady's. They had a little crawfish boil and OH, BOY! They also have the most beautiful and one of the biggest backyards I've ever seen. The boys loved playing a little t-ball, swimming in the hot tub and running through the sprinkler.

Next stop, the Moore house--more great food and great friends. The kids enjoyed splashing around, laughing and playing.

It was a busy day, but oh my goodness, it was fabulous!

~~ Happy Father's Day ~~

We Love You!

They sat still long enough for me to snap a couple of pictures after church. They are all eager to get out of their church clothes. By the way, it was a total accident that their shirts matched. Jesse had spent the night at OMA's and I didn't even remember what shirt I packed. Breann was able to make it over for dinner. Phillip wanted oysters, so we ended up at Hooters. The kids love the burgers and salads there. It was a great day with family.

Soccer Star

Michael had his first soccer game this morning. It was at 9:00, but it was already hot. They started out strong, but only a few of children lasted the entire game. The 3 year olds kind of come and go as they please. (It is like this at practice too.) The coach tried to keep 5 players out there the entire game. Michael, bless his heart, was one of them. He was so hot and really, really was ready to be done, but he was a team player and kept going. He was amazing, going after the ball and nearly scoring several goals. I was so proud of him! It is going to be a long, hot 8 weeks of soccer, but it is going to be so much fun watching Michael, his team and his coaches play!

Basketball Star

Jesse had his first basketball game at the Y. He has only had 2 practices and they were both at the same time of Michael's practice so I had not seen all his moves until this morning-I was totally impressed. I wasn't sure how it was going to go with 5 on the court at once and how they were going to keep them all going in the right direction and dribbling and shooting and passing. It was so cool how they matched up the players from each team, they had each player wear a colored wristband and the player on the other team wearing the same color was the player was who they guarded. I was so proud.....he did awesome! His teammates and his coaches did awesome too! It is going to be a great 8 weeks!

~~ ABC's of ME ~~

I saw this on Faith's blog and thought it would be fun to do.

A - Age: 38

B - Bed size: King size actually getting a brand new one any day now, just waiting on delivery.

C - Chore you hate: Cleaning bath tubs!

D - Dog's name: Kaki

E - Essential start your day item: COFFEE!!

F - Favorite color: Green

G - Gold or Silver: Both

H - Height: 5'6"

I - Instruments you play: I played the violin many, many, many years ago. I would love to learn to play the piano now that I have one.

J - Job title: Mom and Fulltime Student

K - Kid(s): My boys-Jesse-5 and Michael-3 and my girls Brenna-21 and Breann-17

L - Living arrangements: Recently bought a house that my sweet hubby and boys are super excited to call home for a very, very long time!

M - Mom's name: Judy

N - Nicknames: Jenn

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: A few years ago when I had my gallbladder removed-it was a day surgery turned into overnight.

P - Pet Peeve: I have a few, but people parking in front of my house for long periods of time. Mainly neighbors or their company, especially when there is space in their own driveway or in front of their house!

Q - Quote from a movie: from Some Kind of Wonderful--Keith: You can't tell a book by its cover. Watts : No, but you can tell how much it's gonna cost you.

R - Right handed or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: 1 sister

T - Time you wake up: It a depends really. Some days it is 6:30, some days it is 7:30-8:00. Things will be much, much different at the end of August.

U- Underwear: Not really sure what the right answer is here-yes or no?, size?, color?, cotton?, old lady or fancy? Moving on......

V - Vegetable you dislike: The slimy ones.

W - Ways you run late: Not giving myself enough time to get myself and both boys ready and out the door on time. Trying to remember everything that needs to go in the car with me and the boys. Procrastination :~)

X - X-rays you've had: ankles, teeth

Y - Yummy food you make: Phillip is the cook in our family! However, I do my fair share. Phillip is crazy for my meatloaf and mashed potatoes and the boys love a good chicken or garden salad.

Z - Zoo favorite: Zebras, Cheetahs, Giraffes.....Lion, Tigers and Bears, OH MY!! They are just all so beautiful.

~ College Bound ~

Congratulations Breann!!

~ Class of 2009 ~

Yesterday was a BIG day for Breann

Graduation Day!!

She made it through 12 years of school and finally graduated from high school last night at 8:30pm. It was crazy that the ceremony was so late, we didn't get out of the Erwin Center until 10:55, but it was special night. My only complaint is that because it was so late afterwards we were rushed taking pictures which is usually hard when there are two families anyway. I could go on and on, but this isn't the post for that. I wasn't able to get a picture of just Breann in her cap and gown or a family (all 6 of us) picture.

Here is what I did get:

I must admit it was a little sad. It went by so fast. I know that she is so excited to be moving on to the next stage of her life---COLLEGE---she will be going off to Texas Tech in Lubbock next fall. Congrats sweet girl, we love you!

All or Nothing

It is sad, but true......I am an all or nothing blogger.
I haven't posted anything in over a month. I realized that I start a post, then I get side tracked and/or I want to add pictures that I haven't downloaded yet and/or I have to get off the computer to feed or do something for or with the kids. What it comes down to is I have too many posts started and I never go back and finish them so I can publish them. Before I know it, I have another half finished post that I don't want to post until I edit and post the post before it. Does that even make sense? It is almost summer and it is fixing to get busy around here. My goal is to post more regularly, but there will probably be some old posts popping up randomly here and there. Just giving ya the heads up.

Backsplash....Completed

I was suppose to start AND finish this over Christmas break.
That did not happen.
I started school in January and planned to tackle the job over Spring Break.
That did not happen.


Two months later, it is finished! It was the first time I have ever done a tiling project. There were definitely some challenges, but it is finished and I love how my vision has been brought to life. It's exactly as I had imagined. The idea came to me because of my Fiesta dishes. I love all the different colors. My all new black appliances also help tie it all together.

Eventually I want to pull up the tile and if the concrete is in good condition I'd like to stain it, if not I might retile it.

Also, these cabinets need some help. I'm not sure what to do with them, but I think they need some color. Any suggestions? Maybe I'll just add some handles or knobs. I just don't know yet.

My Pig

Michael's class did their version of the 3 little pigs

and my baby was pig #3.

Isn't he cute?

Getting the bricks for his house.

The big bad wolf knocking-let me in.

Not by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin.

He is Risen

I remember this performance at the CMA awards and they would play the video on CMT around Easter every year after that. I absolutely love the song and I hope you enjoy it too!

Good Friday

These pretty girls stopped by to have lunch with us. They are busy teenage girls, so we don't get to see them enough. We usually get lucky around the holidays. I was reminded that I/we made a sort of resolution that whenever all of us are together I will get out my camera. Well, I didn't get a family picture, but I did get one of all the kids.

It was a pretty casual lunch, notice the t-shirts and shorts, but Brenna had a big date with a new car at 2:00. Seriously, she fixed her hair and make-up and got all dressed up because she was getting a new car that afternoon. She's been driving around in her Durango for years.

Remember your first car? I sure do remember mine, but I'm going to save that for another post.

Hail Storm

I was at school when this storm came through about 5pm, thank goodness. I haven't been able to park in my garage since we moved, but after this storm I will be doing some cleaning/organizing. These are a few pictures I took when I got home, about 2 hours after the storm passed and the sunshine came out. What you can't see in these pictures are all the leaves. This storm stripped the leaves off of the trees so bad that as I was driving home the road was covered, just green. I've never seen anything like it.

My front yard:

Close up of the many different sizes of hail:

Some of the larger pieces, Jesse saved for me:

The insurance companies will be busy tomorrow for sure!

One Mile, Minus One Minute

Today for the first time in a very long time I ran a mile. I ran the ENTIRE mile and as a result I knocked off a whole minute. Now my goal is to keep running the entire mile and slowly work on knocking off a few more minutes. Maybe it is my new shoes?

Weekend Project

We bought a fixer upper last October and this past weekend I finally tackled one of the many major projects--tiling the kitchen backsplash. I was suppose to get this done over Christmas break, but it was easy to avoid with the holidays and all. I had someone come and give me an estimate and that was crazy. Can you believe $450.00? I thought, no way, I can totally do it myself. I wasn't really totally completely confident, but I refused to pay that much for someone else to do it. I could use that money for one of the projects I can't do myself. I knew what I wanted, I had all the materials (since January) and I was ready to rock. It took most of the weekend, but I wanted to take my time and get it straight and even. My inspiration came from my Fiesta Dishware. Here are a few pictures of the progress.

I almost finished there is just a little bit around the top, around the outlets, and around the window. I am hoping to finish up this week and do the grout next weekend.

Here is the almost finished backsplash:

Girls Night Out

Tonight was my night to get out of the house for some much needed time with my girls!

We decided to stick with Mexican food, so we met at La Margarita in RR. It was my first time there and it was yummy!

We missed Melissa. She ditched us to go to the rodeo. ;-).

Jenny joined us, though and oh boy!, it was great to have her. We had a great time talking and laughing and eating and drinking!

Daddy's Day

! Happy Birthday Sweetheart !

! We ~~ LOVE ~~ You !