iota

You guys know what a party-planner I am...I love Anna and Blue Paperie for ideas! I got an email today from them...introducing me to "Iota"... Cute name;) check out their blog for a super fun giveaway! And see their cute items!! http://annaandblue.blogspot.com/2012/02/giveaway-iota-giveaway-3-categories-3.html?showComment=1329880211685#c3860991579575655474

Heritage Church skate party

We had 125 In attendance at the skate "kidventure" party last night!!! Our church is so alive and it excites me every week!!!!! I can't say enough good things about the leadership that God has placed in our church!!! Amazing!!!

Robyn Wright took this picture...and sent it to me!  Paige LOVED walking around the rink!  It was nice since it was only HBC people there...so I didn't have to worry about her getting run over ;)

Tonya Byrd, our children's director, in the big skate, surrounded by the kiddos!

Karrie, Trenton and Madilyn...skating!!

She would stop for a moment and dance and clap to the music!

Trenton!

Marci and Belle

Belle Lewallen and Marci met for the 1st time today! Belle's dad, Waylon, and I went to school together-from grade school to graduation! ...and now...my mother-in-law and Waylon teach together at Spring Hill High School. We have said for years that we needed to get the girls together. We just knew that they would have a lot in common, being the same age and all ;). Well...long story short, we made it happen today. Waylon's wife, Pam, and I got them together finally! They did hit it off! Marci opened a fortune cookie...and it said " you will find comfort in a new relationship"...coincidence? I think not ;)
Ps. Belle has a little brother, Reagan, who is the same age as Paige...they hit it off too...so much we couldn't get them still enough for a picture. Hehe

Valentine's Day

Marci and I started brainstorming a while back on what we could come up with for her friends for Valentine's Day! I remembered years ago, I had made a "stress ball" by putting flour inside a deflated balloon...I don't know what made me think of it, but thought we could use it to our advantage! And what better than a pun to make it even cuter! "give me a squeeze" ...I know, I know... ;)

This takes some patience...getting the flour into the balloon...

We stamped an image and colored them...and tied them around the balloon....

Slightly out of order...but this is the beautiful card that Marci made me for Valentine's Day!

These lipglosses are for Marci's teacher and Paige's sitter....Had to come up with a "pun" for this one too...SHINE was as good as it got...it was getting late! LOL

Marci and Nonnie went shopping last week and bought me a valentine present...Marci has been so excited to give it me...and tonight she couldn't wait any longer. She insisted that I open it!! She got me this cup and some yummy chocolate. The cup is so special because it symbolizes a life that was taken so early by SMA(Spinal Muscle Atrophy)...Miller McNeil Woodruff...his initials form 5 peaks when put together in a continuous flow...MWM...and when Marci and Nonnie(my mom) saw this cup...they thought of Miller and knew how special he and his family are to me...and decided to get it for me for Valentine's Day.  If you don't know of Miller's story...go to www.imwithmiller.com  It's a cup that I will cherish!! 

Paige's sitter and her husband worked for 3 hours making cookies for each child and their siblings(Marci even got one)...Laury, knowing that I don't allow Paige to have sweets(other than fruit), begged of me to allow her to have a piece...so I did..just a little bit...and she loved it! Thank you LALA! :)

Marci had a manicure after school today...and "Emma Grace" got her nails done when we got home!  Marci's friend, Maddie Radford, got to take a trip to the American Girl Doll store in Dallas and picked up a few things for Marci...one of which was nail polish stickers that stick on the doll's nails! Thank you Maddie!!

Jamie and I got Marci and Emma Grace matching Pajamas!! and Nonnie made Emma Grace this cute Pom Pom necklace!

ps....Trace got a cool watch...and candy...etc etc etc...our kitchen looks like Cupid exploded! It's just not cool to take a pic of a GUY on Valentine's Day...but he accepted the gifts with stride! LOL

Paige 15 months

20 lbs 6 oz (2-15-12)

Paige had her 15 mo check up and shots with Dr Mark Wright at Collom and Carney Clinic on 2-24-12. She weighed in at 20 lb 8.5 oz (13%).
Length was 29 3/4" (24%) she's got those short genes ;). And head circumference was 18 3/8(70%).

Milestones: Finally tall enough to edge her way up on the couch!
Points to her nose when asked!
Loves puzzles and books! And enjoys the humor behind the bouncy ball!! She equally enjoys stuffing small-piece toys anywhere that has a slot! Hahaha. She is adamant about holding her toothbrush and NOT wanting to let it go!! And she is a wiggle worm. Loves snuggling with her daddy and then "wallering" him to death!! She pats our legs to get our attention when she wants to be picked up! Still loves to eat!!! Follows simple commands and heads right to the high chair when she's asked "are you hungry?" she is a bundle of pure joy! We all love love love her so much!!!

Spoons...or forks

Craig and Judy Forand invited us over for some yummy food, fellowship, and a game or 2 or 10 of spoons...well actually forks...we improvise!! Daniel and Karrie joined in on the fun too...I don't know who is most competitive in this group!! Lol.

Hunter's Sr night

We took a trip to Spring Hill, Arkansas on Friday for our nephew, Hunter Clayton's Senior Night and basketball game!! We had fun watching him play!!!

Super Bowl Celebration!

The Conways invited us over for Super Bowl Sunday!! Shane has been Jamie's good friend for as long as I can remember. They moved in next door to us a couple years ago and we "live it up" being so close to each other! He and Jill are the hostesses with the mostesses;). It was also Shane's birthday...so it was a dual celebration! The guys cooked fish, chicken, homemade fries, hush puppies, and the list goes on and on...completed with desserts galore!!!
We had a fabulous time!!!! Thanks again, guys, for having us!!
Ps....Madonna still "has" it...she was very impressive in her half time entertainment :)

Shane built a "Man Cave" in the backyard last year...and filled it with all kinds of nostalgic knick-knacks, posters, clocks and a LOT of Razorback stuff ;)  He found this coke machine...and when I saw it, it immediately brought back memories from my childhood at FBC, Hope....In the Stairwell, there was a coke machine just like this!!!!!!

Here's an inside pic of the MAN CAVE...this thing is decked out!! :)

Paige was in love with this little chair...in fact, she screamed and ran back to it when we started to leave ;)

Of course, everyone gathered around the tv for Madonna's performance...it was the only part of the Super Bowl that I got to watch...or that I WANTED to watch!!

The guys fix up some good cooking! :)

The Heart of a Servant

It is purely amazing how God places you in situations that connect you with people, that otherwise, you'd probably never come in contact with. That is exactly what happened in this situation...we met the Alamond Family last year, through a mutual friend, Mandi Cruz! Since then we keep in touch on Facebook! The Alamonds are photographers whom are very talented...check them out on Facebook at Alamond Photography.
Here is where your heart will be touched: Karadyn Alamond has a heart of a servant at the young age of 7! You see, instead of a birthday party, she wanted to serve the homeless of our town with cupcakes! AND instead of gifts for her, she asked people to donate blankets, coats, hats, etc for the homeless also! AND instead of goody bags for the kids, she wanted goody bags to go to the homeless!
I was so touched by this, I asked her mom, Kelli, if we could buy things for the goodie bags! You should've seen the eyes that looked my way with all the bunches of bananas, water, etc that I had in my buggy. Lol
Soooo...the party was today downtown at Kidtopia(a park that happens to be close to the shelter). This is the part of town where all the homeless hang out. I prepared Marci on the way there, with the pep-talk of "these are nice people...they may smell different...their clothes may be dirty...but they are God's children too...and we need to share the love of Christ with them" etc...I tried to cover all bases :)
The weather called for rain...but God calmed the rain clouds! It's been very warm for Jan and Feb but today it was sooo windy and cold!! Seeing that we can sometimes take for granted the fact we have blankets and jackets, I think it was a humbling experience for all of us! It was not by accident that God sent that cold wind! We all need a wake up call at times!
The kids put on aprons and decorated cupcakes, served them to he homeless people that stopped by and handed out blankets and goody bags to them! The smiles on the faces were priceless!
On the way home, Marci commented on how nice the people were! It thrills me that she had the experience today!

Sorry...the pics are out of order...they downloaded at their own pace, I guess.  AND...pardon the quality...I forgot the camera and had to use the cell ;)

Paige had such a good time swinging!!! She laughed hysterically!!

Karadyn is the one right directly in the center of the pic, sitting down...such a sweetie!!

Here are the kids decorating the 200 cupcakes!!!!

Marci and Iliza have fun at Kidtopia!!!

Paige is enthralled in this HUGE dog that came to visit at the park!

This is Dutchess...a mix b/n a Standard Poodle and a Golden Retriever...aka GoldenDoodle.  She was a massive and a hit with all the kiddos!!

Just a few of the 200 decorated cupcakes!

This was the goodie-bag-assembly-table! Water, crackers, bananas, poptarts, animal crackers, koolaid!!

This gentleman was able to help put a coat on one of the fellows that stopped by.  He was cold and very appreciative of the used jacket!!

The lady in the sleeveless shirt made me tear up when she told Karadyn what a BIG heart she had to do something so self-less!!  I could have just balled...but I held my composure and kept my sunglasses on! ;)

Little did we know that we would know so many of the people that were there!  We ran into Peri Seward and her twin girls!! This was Paige's first SLIDE experience...and she cackled each time she went down!! Weeeeeeeee.......

Kidtopia is an amazing park!! :)

As I mentioned before, the weather was soooo "If-y"...chances of rain...wind...cold...but an hr into the party....the sun peeked through the clouds to provide this beautiful sky!!! Thank you GOD!

Marci...decorating cupcakes!

It was unbelievable how many homeless people there are in our small little town :(

The guy in the middle was a reporter/photographer with the Texarkana Gazette.  He heard about the story and came to take some pictures....be looking for it...it could possibly be in tomorrow's paper!(Sunday) :)