A Little Longer...

Our son loves football.

Especially now that he actually goes and sits in the stands. 

He loves to scream, "Go Blue!" 

He loves to hear the sound of bodies crushing other bodies. 

He loves the screaming fans.

He loves the noises, smells...

He loves to buy an occasional funnel cake...

... just saying...

When we are at home, he is in constant motion.

Ball in hand, toss, throw, jump, fly, hit, run...

You get the point.

Mama has a hard time keeping up with him.

Nearly every day, he will grab that football and say, "Let's play!"

So I do.

I just can't maintain the same energy level that he can.

I wear out.

Then he says, "Galen likes football."

... and I sigh...

and play a little longer.

Summer's End

Summer is officially over.

Not just on the calendar, but on the weather map.

I love these crisp days, though.

The leaves blowing around.

The colors on the hillside.

The breeze blowing and making everything feel somehow new... or old.. or different.

We had a very busygreatbigchange kind of summer.

I am glad to see it come to a close and get on with this new chapter of our lives.

As a friend recently reminded me...

Change is NEVER easy.

It is possible, though.

And...

It is possible to do it without completely losing my mind...

...partially, but not completely.

Learning...

It is chilly today.

Fall may have officially arrived in our part of the country.

The other day, however, the sun was still blazing and the kids were out and about.

Pay no attention to Aubrey's hair.

This was crazy day at school...

and she knows how to do it right!

I guess every animal on the farm came for a visit...

or that is what it felt like everytime I was called outside to see their newest find.

I did NOT take a photo of the snake that I "nicely" told them to get away from me...

I'm sure you can understand.

This little boy thought I was honestly going to let this turtle sleep in his bed!

No Way on EARTH!

He carried that poor thing around forever!

I finally had to make him put it down..

and then he wouldn't leave it alone.

I sent him off to do another task and that poor turtle moved faster than any turtle has moved in the history of the universe.  He knew he had his chance and he took it!

Raising country kids is hard...

when you have always been much more of a city girl than you realized.

I am learning, though.

No Photos... Just A Goodbye...

Today, my beloved Raider will leave us.

He is going to live with my brother in Arkansas.

I will spare you all of the gory details, but he likes to chase birds and... well, sometimes chasing isn't enough.

He hasn't assimilated to being a country dog as well as we would have hoped for.
He needs someone to let him curl up at the end of the bed.
He needs someone to let him hide in the bathtub when the thunder rolls through...

He has been my constant companion for 7 years.
He has been my protector.
He has been my friend.

I will miss him... greatly.

Goodbye my big sweet baby.

Very Quiet...

Growing up

Quickly

The body always seem to get ahead  of the brain.

Either way, it is always to soon for a mom and dad.

I want to keep my babies... well, babies.

Sydnee is off on her first official youth trip this weekend.  Thankfully, her older (wiser) sister is along for the ride as well.  This seems to be the point when a little girl starts changing into a young lady (hopefully).  I know they will have fun and get some good solid training in the Word.

I just miss my baby...

hmmmm...

What is that I hear?????

I... can't... quite... put... my... finger.. on... it.......

Silence.

Without my chatterbox girl here... it is VERY quiet.

Homecoming Parade...

Friday was Homecoming...

and therefore, the Homecoming Parade.

Now, I know that some of you live in areas like I used to...

where you think your school has some spirit...

and you think your town isn't too bad...

I am declaring that people around here are HUGE supporters of their school and their town.

There is pride in their community.

They love it here and so do I.

Miranda participated in building her classes float.

She spent many, many hours down there putting this thing together.

She is sooo tired, but glad that she was a part of it.

The kids who helped put the float together were allowed to be a part of the float.

This is such an important thing for a kid who is new to the community.  You have got to be out there getting to know people... because every other person around has know EVERY other person in town since conception!

The middle school chose 20 kids to ride on one of the fire trucks.

Somehow, Sydnee managed to be #19...

Lucky girl.

Anyone who knows Syd, knows that she was over the moon!

Which means that this already talkative young lady NEVER shut her mouth from the second she was chosen until she had told us about 500 times what it was like to ride up there!

And even then...

I had to tell her that we had already heard the story and could probably tell it ourselves since we were there!

As usual, for our family, we arrived  a little early.

We managed to snag a parking spot right on Main Street and let the kids hang out on the street and in the back of the van.  They loved it!

I kept taking pictures from our spot...down the road to where the parade would begin.  If you notice, there are a lot of cars, but not people at first... and then it gets busier and busier.

I think the picture below was about 5 minutes before the parade began...

People are just coming out and getting serious about finding their spots.

I loved how everyone just stood along the side of the street and talked with friends and family.  No one argued over their spots or felt like there wasn't enough room

I was really surprised by how many people were there.  It felt like 2000 people where standing along that road.  Maybe more!

This is the High School band.

12 kids.

They sound really good!

Football players, Galen...

Football is serious business around here!

You don't mess with football in this area.

If you don't like football...  You keep it to yourself!

The firetruck was pretty close to the front of the parade.

Syd was there with a huge smile on her face.

She threw us tons of candy...

just like she had been instructed to do.

LOL.

Candy in the face?

Oh, yeah!

Ouch!

The kids have a bike decorating contest.

I loved the kids who were dragging bears behind there bikes.

We were playing the bears that night.

Last years homecoming queen and her escort....

I happen to play in the worship band with both of them.

Hey Katelyn and Travis!

Anyone want to play

Whack a Bear?

Here comes  Miranda!

She is one of the dice walking alongside the float.

They did an amazing job with the floats.

I loved that the alumni from years gone by had a float and they carried signs that showed their graduation year.  It was cool to see how proud they all still are of their hometown and school.

... and would any post be complete without some pictures of my crazy munchkins?

That's how it works...

Aubrey tries to "control" the situation...

while Brysen and Ari wreak havic...

and Lily tries to wreak a little havic... but not get caught.

Brysen and Ari don't care if they get caught.

They just think its fun!

Oh...

By the way...

We did NOT win...

but that doesn't dampen our town spirit a bit!

Engraved...

The other day, the kids were cleaning up cookie crumbs and for some reason I thought that would make a great photo...

Yeah, still not sure about that...

Anyway, when I was looking at the photos, it got me to thinking...

No matter where I am...

No matter what I'm up to...

No matter what I'm thinking...

No matter how alone I feel...

God is with me always.

He never lets me go.

He never abandons me.

 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.

Isaiah 49:16

I think I was supposed to take those photos...

to remind me that He loves me...

even when I feel unlovable.

Homecoming...

Today is HOMECOMING in our small town.

I have never seen a town get more ramped up, excited and go all out!

Today is a parade....

for homecoming.

The whole town has decorated and I have been told to come early because everyone attends the parade and the game!

Miranda has been working on one of the floats for the parade and she said she was amazed that you can call up any store around here and ask for Cabool Bulldog blue paint...

and they know exactly what you are talking about...

and they keep a steady supply of this color on hand.

So cool!

So, tonight I will be sitting on some very uncomfortable bleachers (if I can find a spot) and scream and yell to support my team.  I wouldn't be surprised if I have a bit of a sore throat later... afterall, I am that kind of gal.

All 3 schools get out early today so they can prepare for the parade and the game.

The kids are loving that.

Sydnee gets to ride on the fire truck in the parade...

Which has her so excited she can hardly contain her middle school self.

Miranda will be with the float she and her classmates have been working on.

She is equally excited, just better at hiding it.

I will be there with the camera to "capture the moment", of course.

The following photos have nothing to do with homecoming or the parade.

They are just of a beautiful little girl with a thousand emotions running across her face...

What a blessing!

Loves to Tell the Story...

Growing up is hard to do...

Besides all of the hormonal issues, there are just a lot of things to learn and experience.

Miranda has been on overload the last couple of weeks.

She has been very busy with a homecoming project at school and has been getting home late.

She is tired.

She may not be hearing everything I say to her.

We had a very specific conversation about exactly who was riding home from church with her last night...

She may or may not have been listening when I told her that she would be giving her younger sister a ride home.  Do not forget her, I clearly said......

We arrived home...

followed a few minutes later by Miranda.....

alone.

There was not a soul in the car with her...

Her dad immediately sent her back to the church to pick up her sister...

as the phone rang with a very tear filled Sydnee telling me she had been left at the church.

Thank goodness for a wonderful church family who loved on her a bit until Miranda was arrived.

They offered to give her a ride home, but Miranda was already on the way.

Poor Sydnee may be scarred for life!

Miranda, however, will never live this down.

We have been telling the story of losing Chey... twice... once when she was  a year and a half old...

We were at a car show and I stepped away for about 30 seconds...

Daddy swore that he would keep an eye on her...

She was gone, lickety split!

Thankfully we found her, but that traumatized me big time...

And then, the story that Chey hears at least 30 times a year...

Chey was with Bampa at Marine World when she disappeared on the way to the bathroom.

I think Bampa was traumatized because he loves to tell that story!

I think we may be telling the story of Miranda and Sydnee for years to come.

It's a good thing we were able to laugh about this...

after putting some fear into Miranda.

He Loves Me...

There has been so much to do.

Some days, I feel like I do nothing... and that is probably true.

I feel overwhelmed.

I get so much going on in my head that it is hard to move at all.

Other days, I feel like I get a ton of things (even if I am the only one who can see or recognize them) finished and it feels good.

My sweet husband has been very busy.

Besides the little things that I need him to do...

He has bee doing plenty of things that will keep his family safe and warm and fed and...

Well, you get the point.

One of his biggest fears is the firewood.

He and my dad have been hard at work getting those huge logs hauled up here and then chopping it.

The kids have been helping to stack it.

Again...

my back fails me and makes it impossible to do this kind of work.

Thankfully, my family jumps in and gets this work done.

Yes, we could rent a splitter... but where would the fun in that be?

Mark is proud of the muscles he is building by doing it the old fashioned way.

I am proud of anything he does that shows he loves me.

Sister...

A sister shares childhood memories

and grown-up dreams.