shel makes 2nd chair at prearea!

woo hoo!

next stop, area at commerce in january!

let's plan a WEDDING!

meeting with the owner and taking a tour

walking down the 'aisle'

the bride and groom!

where has november gone?

our whole family was able to be off for five days together...

and what a huge blessing it was!

everything slowed down and it was SUCH a relaxing time!!!

we've also been searching for a wedding venue...and were able to tour our second one

over the break, and this one we love! (what's money, right?)

we felt very at home at this site...but still plan to tour a couple more.

shelby is also quite the photographer and took some great photos

on this beautiful saturday after thanksgiving!

I have only uploaded a few!

If the Lord wills, we will be having a wedding here in 2010!

Fall may have FINALLY arrived around here~

and what better way to enjoy it than with some Friday night football (cookies)!

yummy

by 6:30 a.m., the cinnamon rolls were risen and ready to bake!

by 7, mmm, yummy breakfast-ness~

mmm, homemade cinnamon rolls...

beginning with my sad, ancient mixer...but still going oh so strong!

then, dough that's so soft and silky and taking a rest...

next, it's a few scrap cinnamon rolls I managed to save for my family

and the big ones that james will deliver to his work...

all we need now is for them to rise, get baked and then

smothered in some cream cheese icing! mmmmm....

a new chapter

on saturday, october 3rd, a new chapter began in our life.

I wonder if anyone is ever REALLY prepared

to marry off their daughter...

oh the proposal was too sweet, the planning was/is fun,

seeing how God brought two people together is awesome,

but the fact remains...that you are on a path

that leads to a wedding ceremony!

we are currently on the hunt for that perfect venue

to have this little fall shindig next year...and it IS a hunt indeed

--- as we will not be joining the $27,000 club

(the average cost of a U.S. wedding)!!!

melody has been collecting ideas for quite some time...

and as soon as that location is reserved,

the carrying out of those ideas can begin.

I must say it already feels a bit overwhelming at times...

the ideas, all of the details and the accomplishing of those

are two different things!

oh, how I wish my mom were here!

I am really wondering how on earth we will ever pull this off

without her!

And how will we do it for two more daughters?!?!?!?!?!?

oh, calgon, take me away!

james' 45th bday celebration with tom & brenda....

and about to partake of seared cow flesh, mmm!

the birthday blur

birthdays, baking, blogging, bovines and boars!
not sure which swine visited here...but it hit our youngest daughter the day after my sweet husband's 45th birthday...we just happened to be out on a double date (photo coming soon)...to 'eat seared cow flesh'...I believe were james' exact words...we happened to make a grocery store stop on the way home and loaded up on some meds...so glad we did because the little piglet left rudy with fever, nausea, sore throat, headache, cough and exhaustion. guess you could shake those symptoms up in a bag 10 times and come up with a different 'flu' each time. she was such a good little patient though and stayed very hydrated! the poor child began eating saltines (a total of 3 stacks to be exact), then she graduated to toast (more than half a loaf of bread I'm sure), and now is wanting sour and non sour gummy worms (I believe at last count this evening the total was 4 bags)!!! I believe she's on the mend...but the tiredness just lingers on.....

throw into the past weekend, a failed attempt to chaperone my daughter and others competing from her school to the all-region tryouts an hour away...I was able to make it there at a later time....just in time to catch up on the days happenings and to hear the results!!!...(announced one at a time, by voice part, in a cafeteria full of anxious kids that had been at this school for at least 9 or 10 hours----on a saturday!) but all of shelby's hard work paid off...she made 2nd chair for the all-region choir (concert will be in november)...her hard work is not over though...making the choir qualifies her to go to the next level----pre/area...if she makes that, she will qualify for area...if she makes area, she's made one of the all-state choirs! I hope she stays confident and relaxed and just continues to work hard (p.s.- she made the all-state choir last year!)...and our oldest daughter melody made it to area last year as well...which leads me to another birthday! melody's 19th birthday has officially begun! let the parades and parties begin!!!!! I'm thinking we'll probably be enjoying her favorite bday meal for dinner.......roast with potatoes and carrots cooked 'with it'....and who knows what dessert will be....we'll let that be a surprise!
squeezed into all of this was a monthly bday celebration at my mother-in-laws...for paw paw's 70th, james' 45th, and melody's 19th...(was michael included in that too? hmm)....us 'all-region' travelers barely made it...but after all, we were bringing the cake-if not, everyone would have left! :) there was a house FULL of mimi's offspring...and mimi had cooked so much incredible food it was insane!

around here, there's 'spring' cleaning going on and a painted floor treatment about to commence as well (no more carpet! yay! boo to berber! boo!) oh, and then there's our payin' jobs too...just not enough hours in the day! (now I REALLY sound old!)...goodnite!

whew!

we seem to have had a bit of rain relief today...but I must say a few days in a row of it has been nice! it seems to make us slow down and rest ---which we never seem to do in this fast paced merry-go-round of a life. (but, to see the sun and a bit of blue sky today was a real treat as well!)

I should apologize to some who might see this and may have had it up to their eyeballs in seeing crayon drawings of our daily life...(I should have posted those when I first began this blog)....but life is crazy sometimes...and things get a big mixed up~

so, time to run for now...revved up tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwiches to consume, homework help, a bit of laundry AND I should see what 'the haydenator' has been up to today...ta ta!

a drawing I did yesterday on my day 'off' :D

our family vacation to florida

the title, because everyone kept saying

'when am I gonna get to be in THE BOOK'

the exact spot in new orleans that I received the infamous phone call from my boss saying
'all you need is a big chief tablet and a box of crayons!'






REALLY needing some coffee when we hit mobile!

wow, craziness going into destin...the usual saturday thing for the rental folks!

daughter shel's drawing of breakfast (mimi's 'homemade' oatmeal)


shel's 'pet'

mimi tossin' in some 'sssrimp' into her homemade gumbo...
with rudy, caitlyn and aidan lookin' on!

and yes, he marched to the beach...across scenic hwy 30-a...in a kilt, to play the bagpipe on the beach at sunset..........it was pretty cool!

our good friend ronnie, a fireman, AND bagpipe genius!

hope my 'snoodyville' sign doesn't offend anyone...seaside beach was AMAZING...but it just didn't seem too friendly...with the exception of the bookstore....hopefully it was the crowds of 'other vacationers' :) that gave it the unfriendly vibe and NOT the locals of seaside

...because it was TOO COOL!

this pic is a bit out of order...but it's of rudy, trying to pack it all back up!

the sugar shak @ rosemary beach....think I could live there for sure!

well, you have to be blood kin to hear 'the story'...that, or either

go on a family trip with us! ha! and, brandon is the only one that can tell it....

AND pawpaw has to be present...because he likes it more and more

each time he hears it!

brandon got a splinter....andrew got it out...wooo! (it was tiny, tho)

a day trip to the AMAZING naval museum in pensecola!!!

let's just say one day isn't enough to see this incredible place, seriously!

my best friend and love of my life for 24 years!

james, literally asked shel to open the door while we went into the tunnel

in mobile bay to 'see what it sounded like'...and when she did, she heard someone

way ahead of us hollering, 'wooo, hooo!'

note to self, you CAN drive the length of bourbon street, hmmm, interesting.

ended up driving the LENGTH of bourbon street....

all because we wanted some coffee and a beignet! thankfully,

it was only 4 in the afternoon...but we still had to make rudy close her eyes

numerous times!

a traffic jam because of a GATOR in the road as we went thru

baton rouge!!!!!

flipped pic of rudy sayin' goodbye to florida :(

ike, the cat...INCREDIBLY happy to see us (shelby)

labor day camping

rudy...checkin' out the campsite!

jason...on the fishin' pier

our family...coolin' off our feet in the waters of caddo after a short hike~

simply, a nice day

...mmm, brownies on a rainy day!

(awesome photography of shelby taylor)

Simple Beginnings...

Wow, a BLOG?! I can remember first hearing that word and learning what it meant! And here I am...a 40 something year old, semi-competent on a computer, mom of 3 redheaded girls, living in an amazing digital age that offers SO much there just aren't enough hours in the day to see or learn it all.......yet we long for those comforting things of our childhood as well...sitting in a lawn chair under a huge oak tree on a hot summer day shelling peas.....a homemade pie cooling on the counter or coming home from church and before you can even get into the house, the smell of roast cooking, mmmmm......I feel deeply that we must pass on to our children (and the next generation) these simple things as well.
I've been very blessed to have been born and raised by a Proverbs 31 mother! She was truly a Martha Stewart and then some! She was a seamstress, an amazing cook, decorator and craftperson. During my early married life, I had the privilege of working with her when she owned a tea room and taught folk art painting classes....I was able to learn many of her secrets! I also get all of my 'stirring' skills from my dad....(who is a great cook as well), but would make my mother crazy sometimes lifting lids, peeking and stirring in every pot!
I was also influenced in my early married life by Public Television.......I would faithfully watch Julia Child and Jeff Smith...they played a HUGE part in showing a more 'professional' or 'advanced' way of cooking - before the days of Food Network and HGTV for sure!!!
And here we are....in a wonderful age as well.....SO many talented people....I stumbled upon the blog of Bakerella several months ago and have been inspired once again to bake....the Etsy website has inspired (or intimidated) the creative part of me.....
On our recent trip to Florida for our summer vacation I was led to create an illustrated book of each days events. It was spawned from my music minister boss saying that instead of photos, we should just let each family member 'draw' a picture for the day....because after all....'all you need is a big chief tablet and a box of crayons!'........and so 'big chief designs' was birthed.....I am now working on a 'comic' style book for my great nephew - as the 'haydenator'! Who knows where that will lead........
God has been so incredibly gracious to have given me and my family such gifts and talents! It is not only therapeutic, but incredibly fun!