Color Me Happy...

I'm on fire!! I have added new paintings to the Color Me Happy site, www.2colormehappy.blogspot.com! Please visit and take a look! I am going to be a vendor at the Mt. Laurel Spring Festival on April 18th! Mark your calendar and come say hi!

Who needs toys?

Seriously, who needs toys when you have dog food???? Jess took each piece out and arranged them on the floor. Then she had to put each back in the bowl one by one. Tucker sat by her and looked on with an exhausted look.

Mickey's New Name...

Jessi loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse right now. Dinah bought a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse video for the girls. Jess is obsessed with it. For the longest time, she called Mickey "Monkey". Now when she wants to watch the video she says, "Mickey is a ho!" I am not sure where that came from!! However, it makes me laugh every time! I hope Mickey is not offended!

Painting Palooza...

I am so excited! 16 of my paintings will be on sale tomorrow at the Birmingham Moms of Multiples Consignment Sale at the Zamora Temple in Irondale (off of Grants Mill Road). When I dropped off my paintings, I got to look around a bit. WOW! Talk about a ton of great stuff! If you have the chance to go on Saturday, go for it! The sale is just from 10:00 to 1:00 on Saturday for the public.

A Sweet Treat...

We had to have a sweet treat on the way home...
a chocolate chip cookie! The girls were in heaven!
Can you tell who enjoyed the cookie more?

Sisterly Love...

"A sister is a friend at heart."

Slipping and Sliding...

We went to the park today to play! Jessi was a little nervous about the slide at first. After she did it herself, she couldn't stop sliding. She definitely has her own style of doing things. Try, try again.

Laney is spending the night with Dinah...

Laney called me tonight to tell me the highlight of her night at Dinah's house...she "tooted bubbles" in the tub. Why is that such a joy at that age????? Sometimes I miss the silliness of just being a kid. You know the days when you could truly appreciate bubbles in the bathtub, knock knock jokes, spinning around in circles, dancing like no one is watching, singing at the top of your lungs (and actually sounding exactly like Cinderella), etc. OK, OK so I still do some of those things...only when my sidekicks are watching. Do you really think they would rat me out??? They won't if they ever want to see cookies again!

Glad to see February go...

I am glad to see February come to an end. This has been a rough month. I am asking for your prayers again. My best friend, Lisa, lost her Grandfather early this morning. Please pray for her and her family to find peace in this hard time. I am not ready for the phase of life where this kind of thing happens frequently. I am not ready to be reminded that life is too short. I am not ready to face the fact of letting go...these things make me realize that you have to appreciate each moment; however, it also makes me want to hold on with all of my might to those I love.

The Browder Bistro

Breakfast at the Browder Bistro...
These two crack me up at breakfast. The conversation is just plain silly. Of course, today it was followed up by a milk fountain spouted by yours truly, Jessi.

Busy Weekend...

We have had a busy but fun weekend. Cousin Steven came to stay with us Friday night and Saturday night. Laney and Jessi just love Steven! Steven slept in the "pink room". Laney was thrilled to sleep with Mommy and Daddy. It was so sweet to snuggle with her (except at 2:00 in the morning when she could not sleep)! She would reach over and touch my face or play with my hair. This little voice said, "I love you bunches, Mommy!" In the morning, Laney could not wait for Steven to get up. She kept saying, "He hasn't even eaten breakfast yet!" It is so hard to understand that sleeping in is a good thing! On Friday night, Laney, Lisa, and I went to see a friend dance. Laney was mesmerized by the ballet and hiphop. She loved the costumes! She was so pumped afterwards. I am trying desperately to find her a dance class for this summer that works with our schedule. She would love it! On Saturday night, we went bowling. Laney loved the first 4 frames and then was over it. Mommy needed Laney's bumpers. I am terrible! Jessi loved running everywhere and seeing the kids play arcade games. She made Lisa run up and down the bowling alley 50 times. Great cardio! Despite running back and forth, Lisa managed to whip Keith. Tee hee hee!

Father Daughter Dance

Laney and her Daddy went to a Father/Daughter Dance at Church. Isn't this picture just the sweetest thing? GG made Laney's dress so it was extra special. Daddy said that Laney wanted to dance with her friends more than her Daddy. Typical! Get use to it, Daddy! We have a long road of that ahead of us! A special thank you to Daddy for taking the picture for me. The Dance happened while we were in Montana! I was so sad to miss them getting all dressed up together!

A Day at the Zoo (and I do not mean my house...)

We spent a great day at the zoo! We saw lots of animals and had the best time playing with our friends, the Franklins!

Poo Happens...

Well, they say that things happen in threes. Jessi is on a first-time "poo" roll...
1~ She "pooed" in the tub on a first night in Montana.
2~ She put her hand in her pants after "pooing" after we returned home.
3~ Today she stuffed her socks in her diaper and then "pooed".

Needless to say, we lost a pair of socks today!

February 9, 2009...

My Grandma would have been very pleased with the memorial service. It truly was a celebration of her life. The morning started with a fresh snow. My Grandma loved a fresh snow. My Grandpa said, "It makes the world clean again." Jessi was in awe of the large snowflakes floating down. She watched out the window in amazement. For the graveside, the snow continued. It was beautiful. I have to say that it was very emotional...hard to leave her there. The family huddled together for the prayers and inspirational words. We then went to the church for the service. My Aunts wrote the eulogy. The words perfectly told the story of my Grandma. We laughed and cried. The music was moving. All in all a beautiful day...it is still so hard to believe though.

Jessi Phone Home...

Jess missed her sister tremendously. We called home everyday (almost) to talk to Daddy and Laney. Of course, Jessi does the "drive by" talking. She might say one or two things and then run away. We practiced saying Happy Birthday Daddy! She wouldn't say it on the phone though! AHHH!

Jessi is in love...

We were so lucky to see family! Jess also met her "Great" Aunt Linda and Uncle Jerry! Jess took to Linda right away! Lenny taught her to push on her cheeks to make a funny noise! She did that on the plane all the way home! I wish we could see you guys more often! It was so good to see you! Thank you so much for making the trip!

Where O Where Has My Reilly Gone...

Jessi met her cousin Reilly for the first time! She absolutely loved playing with her! Reilly was the highlight of the trip. She watched out the window for Reilly. Reilly rocked her world!

Daredevil Stunt #768

If Jess could not go outside to run through the snow then she had to find another way to work in the daredevil stunts. She loved the stairs. Grandpa had to rig up a gate to block her from going up by herself. She tried very hard to overrule his system but lost. After lots of begging, Jess coerced one of us to go up and down the steps at least 1,000 times. Ahhh, the fascination of a 19 month old.

Who was that?

And there she goes! Eight days of chasing Jess! I am worn out. Dinah and Papa are worn out too!

Cousin Andrew visits...

Jessi met cousin Andrew for the first time! He read a book to her. She was amazed. Andrew is into wrestling now. I am hoping that he does not show Jess any moves! I have a hard enough time containing her as it is!

Dinah and Jessi

I just love this picture! Two peas in a pod!

Snow????

Jessi wasn't sure what to think of the Montana weather. She was shocked by the white stuff on the ground. She touched it and said, "Cold, cold!" She loved running up and down the sidewalks. We had to watch for ice. The daredevil seemed to head straight for all the ice patches she could find. There were also dogs everywhere! Very dog friendly place. Jessi was in love around every corner. There was even a dog at church to greet people.

Jessi's First Trip to Montana!

Here is Jess at the Bozeman Airport. She fell in love with the bears immediately. She enjoyed the airports. She ran around like a crazy girl! She did well on the plane all things considered. She got up at 4:00 and only had about 1 1/2 hours of sleep chopped up during the day. Quite the trooper!

Life is short...

In loving memory of my Grandma Gettie...

Today my Grandma decided to embark on a new journey. As I told Laney that Grandma Gettie had gone to heaven, she said "But who will she play with? When will she be back?" Ahhh, the sweet innocence of a child. It makes you stop and realize how precious each moment is...what is important to you...what should be important to you...letting go of the small things and seeing the bigger picture. I couldn't help but think of all the good times with my Grandma...walks at the cabin, roasting marshmallows, picking raspberries, lunch with just the two of us, shopping for school clothes, donuts at the coffee shop, visiting the MSU bookstore, going to the pool, I could just keep going. My heart feels so happy to know that my girls will have so many special memories with their Grandmas. They have no idea how lucky they are to be so close with their Grandparents. There is one gift that I will forever appreciate from my Grandma...my Dad. I feel truly honored to be his daughter. In a sad time, I look to find the meaning in the situation. Deep down I know that the meaning for me is to love and appreciate my parents for as long as God gives me the chance. They are a gift...just as children are to parents...parents are to their children.

Jessi's first storytime...

Today we went to Toddler Tales at the library. This was Jess' first time to go. Laney was out of school so she went with us. She is a pro at Toddler Tales and was excited to show Jess the ropes. Jess enjoyed it; however, she wanted to be up moving rather than sitting on the carpet square. When Laney was in Toddler Tales, we couldn't get her off the carpet square. Isn't it amazing how different your children can be? Jess absolutely loved the snack, Beanbag Rock, and bubbles. She sat next to her love, James. He had a great time too. She brought him all the stuffed animals.