Fun times

After a fun trip to Austin and back, Aaron's home! Anna is very happy about this. She now has someone to pick her up at her every whim. I shudder to think what she is going to be like when he leaves. As if she's not already spoiled enough.
Today there were 7 kids at my house. My 3 girls, Aaron and the boys from down the street. They brought their slip-n-slide. Fun times.

The yard sure got watered.

oh my

Didn't she just start crawling just day before yesterday? How can she already be standing in her bed? Please wake me up from this nightmare of days passing by so quickly that they bleed together in one big blur and all of a sudden everything has changed. WAKE ME UP!!!!!

"The Wall"

The traveling Vietnam War Memorial Wall was in Arlington this weekend. I saw the preparations for it's arrival on Tues. morning. There was alot of police and motorcycles and American Flags. When I said alot of motorcycles I mean as far as the eye could see. I was amazed.
This will give you an idea of the size of the wall. It is very big. It's about 3/4 the size of the real one.
This is my brother-in-law Paul's finger pointing to a fallen friend's name. Paul is a Vietnam Veteran.
When I took this picture inside my head a voice said "put this picture on the blog". I don't know why but maybe it will mean something to someone. I hope it does.
I don't know if you can read this but if you can it's a moving story. If you can enlarge it to read it, it's worth the trouble. If not, I'll try to copy it into a regular e-mail if you're interested. Just let me know.
This is a picture of some people finding a name they are looking for but also of things people have left as memorials.

There is a sign when you are entering the memorial that says it is Sacred Ground. I feel priviledged to have been there today. It is a sight to see and if you were able to go, great. If not, I'm sorry you missed it.

Wheeeee!

Please keep your hands and feet in the vehicle at all times.
Rides at Six Flags should be so safe. Just look at the safety belt Madeline has created out of "noodle" used at the pool. She's a creative one. Safety first.
"Yeah, the ride's over!!!!" "And I survived, thanks to Madeline's safety belt!"
This is what I got to do today. Go see "Les Miserables". Boy, those poor people's lives were miserable. That Jean ValJean could flat sing. When he sings "Bring Him Home" it was BEAUTIFUL. I don't think I've ever heard that much applause for that long in the middle of a play/musical ever. He deserved it. What a treat. Thank you, Uncle Ernie. Just another cute pic of Anna and Mads. I thought the look on Anna's face was priceless. "What am I doing in this car with this maniac?"

The big pitcher, part deux

Last night was just so much fun and I can only post 5 pics at a time so I thought I'd give it another day.
I'm thinkin' they had a good time. Or...well, I can't come up with anything else. How about this... Don't they look like angels---yeah, they're asleep.
Father Joe amongst his "peeps" or his flock. Which ever you prefer.
Anna with Ann's (the pianist at MBS) mom, Lorraine. Anna really liked her. Anna had her first taste of sprite on this momentous occasion. When we got home, I put her in her high chair and she had a tremendous amount of energy and it's only just now kickin' in why.
The new bishop! Bishop Kevin came to the game. He's the one in standing wearing black - not the one with khaki pants on - the one to the right of him. This is as close as I got. He left and came back a few minutes later with a Ranger hat on. It can only help the Rangers to have the Bishop on their side. (I think)

The big pitcher - oh I crack myself up!

Today was finally the big day. The day all us MBSers (Most Blessed Sacrament Church for the uninitiated) have been waiting for. Today Father Joe would be throwing out the first pitch at the Rangers vs. Padres (get it? Father Joe - Padre?) game. I don't think he knew that 620 tickets were sold to parishoners for this big event.
This is the man himself, Father Joe, talking to my Mom. When I first saw this picture, it gave me the willies the way they're looking at each other and all. But now I see it as the best picture I have of the two of them.
OK, if you look in the middle of the picture...there's a man with a whiteish shirt on and khahis with his leg crossed over the other one, that's Father Joe acting like "this ain't no big thing".
This is right after he threw it. Sorry they're not closer pictures, I did the best I could.
Our fearless Choir Director...hmmmmm, no wonder she's fearless....
I swear to you this is what he was saying to me when I took this. "I'm not drunk, It's just those 4 beers and that shot of whiskey". He cracked me up. But what a great job he did with those tickets. He was in charge of that part of this event. Thanks, Greg!!!!!

Beauty can be painful

Sadie wanted to do my hair today when I got home from church. Had I known it looked so bad, I'd have let her do it before I went to church. She needs a little work on the brushing part, it was a bit painful.
It's baaaacccckkkk! The hair we grew to love is back on Anna. At least for the evening.
Still in "the chair". Beauty also takes time.
Finally...the finished product. You probably can't see the little pink pom-pom pony-tail holder holding the top of my hair up. It's still in my hair even as I write this. Sadie's so proud.
Anna couldn't care less.

What did you get your mother?

This is what I got my mother for Mother's Day. OK, I'm a month late. But it's something she wanted as opposed to something I wanted her to have and she kept just because I gave it to her. Sister, what did you give Mumsey? (that was for Pamela)

Anyway, it's useful not only in the fact that she will be able to listen to the radio while walking which will prolong her life. But, and I don't know if you can read it, in the yellow banners at the top right and left underneath the radio it says that it comes with a free walking guide.

I guess that's just in case you've forgotten how to do it, this will get you right back in the groove of it. Now she doesn't have to ask a perfect stranger, she can just read up on it. See how much I love my Mumsey?

Are you ready for this? I'm not.

My worst fear. My worst nightmare. 3 mobile kids.
"Dear God, make me a bird so I can fly far, far away from here."




All you musical people...get ready for Anna!

Two days late

Clear your mind....go back to Wednesday...June 14th.... you there? Good, yes that's it. Nice

Happy Flag Day!
This is the flag that hangs in the VA hospital. I love this flag. It's huge. It's patriotic. It's there for all the brave and wonderful veterans. It's in this space between two buildings and on the wall to the left of it is this...
It is pictures of flags and people with flags and the Star-Spangled Banner written on those red and white striped parts. I love it. It makes me feel proud to be an american when I see it. I just want to stand and salute something.

So there's my Flag Day blog. I've been waiting for flag day for 3 weeks now to do it and I can't believe I missed it.

You may go back to the present now.

Some features run in the family

You know how you can tell some people are related? I'm guessing these two are.

Those full lips...

my award

I can't believe I forgot to tell y'all I won an award at the reunion. How funny is this?

The people I grew up with

Here are some of the people from the reunion. I will use all maiden names as I can't remember married names.

This is Donna Davis, yours truly, and Kim Sammons. I would have known either of these two had I seen them anywhere. They look exactly the same.
This is mom at the end of the evening. I was still trying to say "goodbye" to everyone. Doesn't she look like she's having fun? I promise you, she did her fair share of visiting.
This is Mr. and Mrs. Hoffpauir. I used to date their son and he was one of my best friends. He also took me to my prom and on about Monday or tues. before the prom I went to his house to tell him that I wasn't going because I didn't have a dress. He wasn't there and his mom asked why I needed to talk to him and I told her. She said that she would make me a dress. And I'll be darned if she didn't make me the most beautiful dress I'd ever seen. When I saw her, she told me she still has a picture of it. I told her that I still have the dress. I'll try to pull it out one day and take a picture for you. She's a miracle worker.
This is Bro. Jim Brooks. He is the preacher who baptized me. This is his daughter Jan who had disabilities and was denied education at La. colleges. She came to Texas, went to college, and is now teaching children with disabilities. What a wonderful success story.
This is Geraldine Sheppard. The single most influential non-family member in my life as a child. I was in a marching group called "Cherokee-Ettes". We marched in parades in Shreveport, Natchitoches, Coushatta, Dallas. If there was a parade, we were marching in it. We won award after award. We were good. It is wholly due to the diligence, knowledge, perseverance and patience of this woman. I am who I am today in part because of the confidence she had in me, the patience she showed me and the encouragement she gave me. I am not the only girl that can claim this. I know she's touched hundreds of lives and I hope one day she understands how wonderful we think she is.

It was amazing to see all the people who used to live in this neighborhood. The parents, who always seemed so old to us kids, hadn't changed. The kids while growing up, still looked like themselves. And no one spit nails at anyone else or had any unkind words to say, what a great group of people.

The place where I grew up

I went back to my hometown this weekend for a reunion of the neighborhood I used to live in. I lived in this neighborhood (Cherokee Park) from before I could walk until I went to live with my Aunt during my third year of college. I lived in 4 different houses in this neighborhood and I have put the pictures in this blog. The pictures of people will be in the next one. I guess you'll read that one first so there was no real point in putting that in here.

I know y'all know by now that I have no control over the sequence of the pictures I put on here so that explains the order of the houses.
This is the second house I lived in. 1117 Graystone. This is the house we lived in when my parents divorced. I don't think it was the house's fault. Let's not hold it against it. I loved it. I remember having a room upstairs and one downstairs (not at the same time). This is where we lived when I walked into the chainsaw and had to get stitches in my foot. Ask me, I'll show you the scar. The bushes weren't there when we lived there. We also built a big "shed" out back for my Daddy to build stuff in.
This is Cherokee Park Elementary School. If you lived in the neighborhood, you went here (unless you went private). It seemed so much bigger when I was a student.
333 Mayfair. This is the first house we lived in and the house my Daddy moved back to when he and my Mom divorced. While we were driving by this house this weekend my mother told me (for the first time) that when I was little I was rocking in a rocking chair and rocked and rocked and rocked myself right out of the big picture window there in front. I don't remember that and it was the first time I had ever heard that story. I am so surprised that that story doesn't live in infamy in our family.
This is the house we lived in after my mom married Henry. 420 Indian Trail. Those big pine trees in front are what got rolled with toilet paper one night and Henry made the boys who did it clean it up that night. I was SO embarrassed. He said to them "in my day, if we liked a girl, we'd bring her a cake". They brought him a cake the next day.
This house is next door to the house we lived in with Henry. It's where we lived just prior to them getting married. 424 Indian Trail.

What a great neighborhood. And so many people who came to the reunion. I was amazed. I wasn't the only one who loved where I lived.

Bathing beauties

First activity after getting out of school? Swimming, of course. This picture was actually taken yesterday. This is as active as Madeline got. Not too long after this picture was taken I laid down to rest and Madeline soon joined me. She fell fast asleep. She got up once and came into the room I was in completely naked (she was naked, not me) and I asked her what she was doing. She said she was going to get some clothes on. That's the last time I saw her awake. All her plans...movies, roasting marshmallows, flashlight tag, staying up all night...gone. She slept through the whole thing. I took her temp. at one point and it was 100. I felt so bad for her. When she got up this morning she still had a fever but didn't feel too bad. We had plans to go to a little waterpark with some friends and they said they would take Sadie since Madeline, and now I, couldn't go. I told Sadie and in a very uncharachteristic show of sisterhood she said she wouldn't go since Madeline couldn't.

So last night, Sadie stayed up until midnight, played flashlight tag and celebrated her independence from school with all the neighborhood kids and others. We had a great time (except the worrying about Madeline).

So tomorrow (Saturday) we're going to Shreveport. The neighborhood I grew up in (Cherokee Park) is having a reunion of people who lived there in the 70's and 80's. I'm so excited. I will take lots of pics and post them on Sunday.

School's Out!

This is Sadie gettin her "amazing student" award. I took pics of her getting all of her awards except the "good athelete" award because I was caught completely off-guard by that one. She's on the A-B honor roll and she got a citizenship award . I'm so proud.
This is her desk. Last time she'll sit there!!!!
Anna, taking her nap after the awards ceremony. I thought it was funny that her legs were sticking out. She seemed happy and asleep (that's the key word, asleep).
The future of ACA.

School is out!!!!! I'm so excited. I've told the girls they can stay up as long as they want tonight. We're going to have a neighborhood flashlight tag party and order pizza and they want to roast marshmallows and who knows what else. Should be fun. At least we all get to sleep late in the morning. Woohoo!