VBS

Have you been wondering why I haven't been posting as often ... or why my posts are so simple ... or worse, why I've been such a bad friend and haven't been to visit as often?

VBS = Vacation Bible School at church ... I'm home for maybe 10 minutes (if I'm lucky) and then we are off to VBS.  I LOVE VBS!!!!!  There are some of my favorite summer memories, and I hope one day they will be my girls wonderful medicine too!  Well today, I remembered my camera!

We went into the sanctuary before everyone came ... dinner was taking longer than usual.

When we made our way to dinner, Leah at her chicken fingers and Audrey at my cup...

and then Leah was off to VBS ... an old pro at this whole 'leaving mommy' thing ... you know she's been doing this for 3 days now, lol!

There is an adult bible study during the kid's VBS, but Audrey was a bit fussy so we went for a stroller ride around church first ... and of course since I had my camera, I just had to take some pictures of ...

flowers ... I love them!

the sun and the Tennessee mountains ... aren't they amazing!

I call this "abandoned playground"

my church ... I love the cross made from the stained glass windows

We went back to bible study and Audrey ate dinner.  People held her, but she wanted to ride again, so we went to the prayer garden

Here are some of the angels in the prayer garden

What is it about statues that makes them seem kinda creepy?

We went back inside for the closing songs

Leah was so proud of her flower bracelet

and then we went to go get Daddy ... usually we walk around Office Max for about 45 minutes, but tonight Leah was so tired she fell asleep in the 5 minute ride from church

So I took a new self portrait ... and like 200 pictures not shown here ... and now I'm going to sleep!  Night!

Linked up at:

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Swimming!

Good Friday Morning!  I am taking a triple scoop of meme's today!

--I'm so excited for this weekend!  Not only is it a long weekend, but we are going to Birmingham to spend time with my parents!  yippee!

--My mom has apparently planned the world's best weekend this weekend, lol.  She has scheduled a time with her hair-dresser to color and cut my hair (YAY!), and a pedicure too.  She has also gotten in touch with my two best friends and apparently been communicating via email about this weekend ... oh and they aren't allowed to tell me what's going on.  hmmmm....

--My parents also joined a club so we get to go swimming there this weekend!  I've picked some pictures to share with you for swimming fun!

--These are part of Amy's Family Friday and Parenting by Dummies' Old School Photo Fridays!

This one had a date on it ... 1988! Which would make me 3 years old. What is my mom doing handing a gun to such a small child, hehe.

If I had to guess, I would put this picture at 1990 ... me at 5, my sister at 2.  Blow up pool in the driveway ... the summer doesn't get much better than that!

gotta have that floatie!

The lake!!!!  oh I love the lake!  I was seriously like a fish, all I wanted to do was swim in the lake.  I mean you didn't even have to get out to pee ... hehe

I'll just end with me modeling my swimsuit, lol!  Check out those sandals!

--I'm so excited it is summer weather!  I love swimming and being outside!  Last year we had Leah's b-day party at the lake.  It was fun, but she hated the water! Look at this face...

August 2009

but she loved this 'splash park' that she went to with her daycare!  I want to take her this year!

These pictures were taken by Crystal

July 2009

and here's a fun picture I scrapped from these!

--so I just heard this news report on the radio:  "Nashville police is looking for a criminal who was accidentally released out of jail.  He was awaiting trial for a murder and is considered armed and dangerous."  umm...what?  'accidentally released' wow...

--I can't wait to share my pictures from this weekend with all of you!  Have wonderful memorial day weekend ... and don't forget to thank anyone you know who serves for protecting our company!





Thanks for visiting Friday Followers!  Please leave a real comment ... if you have something copied and pasted ... well, just move onto the next blog :-)

Leah's Fragments

I started this blog with the intent of sharing funny Leah stories and such, but I find that it's hard for me to remember unless I write down right away what just happened.  Oh well...this blog has now turned more into a personal journal for me, and I'm cool with that too!

But just for fun, on this Friday ... here are some Leah fragments!

--Leah is potty-training and doing wonderfully! (thank goodness) We are kinda in that in between stage with using the kiddie potty that can be moved around to using the big people potty.  The other day she was sitting in the living room and going poopy.  She looked over at me and said "This is the biggest poopy ever Mommy!"

--Leah woke Andrew up one morning at 7:45 saying "The sun's up Daddy, time to go to the park!"  Although they couldn't go because it was about to rain.  Leah got a serious look and said "We need to get an umbrella to go to the park."

--Leah wanted me to bounce on the bed with her ... so I went and laid on the bed.  She told me to jump with her ... so I kicked my feet a bit.  Then she found out how much fun it was to climb over me.  It was then she told me "Your butt is like a slide Mommy" and then she slid down my butt.

--Audrey has started babbling so of course I'm sitting there telling Audrey "Say ma-ma.  ma-ma" (b/c this one's gonna say mama before dada) Leah says "No. not ma-ma ... mommy."

--real conversation between Leah and her daddy:
L: "Daddy, I have an idea.:
A: "Yes."
L: "I have a plan."
A: "What is it?"
L: "Daddy, you want to watch Wow wow wubzzy."

So, I mentioned that Leah's potty training, right?  and that we are trying to get her to use the 'big girl' potty instead of the 'princess potty'?  Well, I'm totally cool with her using the princess potty because trying to use the potty with a toddler seat on it is like target practice for girls...and I'm realizing I'm not that good with it.  Why don't I use the other potty you ask?  Because it's broken.  It flushes just fine, no water leaking out of it ... it has NO seat.  For real, the seat for the potty is sitting next to it.  Now if I can only remember to call maintenance...

Of course none of this bothers Andrew.  He's used to 'target practice' and doesn't need a seat to pee.  Arg... at least I haven't fallen in the potty yet.

I'm sure I have so many more amazing stories of my sweet oldest girl, but I just can't think of them.  Maybe I'll carry a recorder around with me :-)

now...off to go write a post about all the sadness right now for #missionmonkey and Daffy.

Fragmented Randomness

Warning ... I think this is going to be a long post ... but then I'm just starting writing it, so you never know?  Oh and I'm totally going to make a list too, lol!
Linked my list here!



#1. I've been watching Kelly's Korner meme for a while and I really want to join today!

Today is sharing names for your kids:

Leah Grace -- 

Leah well because we liked it and it is pretty.  We wanted a name that not every little girl would have.  Grace because she taught us about God's grace.  We are blessed with her through the grace of God.

Audrey Anne -- 

Audrey ... well pretty much the same as Leah, we liked it and wanted a unique name.  Anne because it is my middle name, my mom's middle name and my mom's mom's first name.

and possibly one day

Luke Thomas --

Luke because we like it (see a theme going on here).  Thomas because it was my Papa's name.

Trent Issac --

Just had to throw this name in...thought of it in high school, but hubby's already shot it down.  Maybe part of it will grow on him?  lol!

#2. A Leah story!  Last night it was time for Leah to go to bed.  We went through our bedtime routine and I told her its time for bed.  She looked at me and said "It's not fair!"  wow...didn't think I would hear this before she was three, lol!

#3. Have you heard the story of the boys in California who were sent home from school because they wore American flag shirts on May 5th?  Because they might offend the students of Mexican heritage?  Yeah, true story.  Well I'd like to quote a talk show guy here in Nashville as my opionion...

"If you are offended by the American flag than get the hell out of my country!" -Phil Valentine

#4.  I am still blown away by this flood to my home in Nashville...oh wait...no my home personally, I mean my home-town.  We are fine (and on a big hill)  This We are Nashville post fills me with pride.  We have been here for going on two years in June.  Its been weird a bit when people ask where I am from.  I grew up in the same town for 18 years and stayed in the same state for college.  I have lived in Alabama for 23 years ... Tennessee for 2.  Through this flood I have realized the pride I really do have for this wonderful city and state.  I love Alabama and will always tear up when I hear "My home's in Alabama" (yeah, yeah, call me a dork), but I love Nashville too and would be happy to grow old up here!

 check out these awesome shirts!  Click the link to go to the site ... I totally want one :-)

#5.  Did you know Taylor Swift gave $500,000 to flood relief?  I'm telling everyone to go out and buy her cd, even if you just turn around and re-sell it (lol).  My friend Allyson is helping Nashville from Alabama ... read about it here: Pay it Forward: Nashville style.  I volunteered on Wednesday.  I want so badly to write about it, but I just can't find the words.  I stood there and cried with a woman who had lost everything ... I didn't know what to say.

#6.  Today would've been one of my best friend's 26th birthday.  Happy Birthday in Heaven Matt.  I love you and I'm praying hard for your mom today.

RIP my dear friend May 7, 1984 - January 16, 2010

#7.

 Today on Family Fridays I'm doing a flashback!  Where OpryMills mall is (under water) but there used to be a theme park there.  I loved it!!!!!!  We went there all the time as children.  It was where I rode my first loop-de-loop rollercoaster.  My mom sent me some old photo albums and I found these two pictures of me on the kiddie ride at Opryland:

If you know my family is doesn't surprise you that often I rode the roller-coaster rides by myself.  But it's very rare that you are the only person at all on the ride!!!!

I'm in the purple shirt and my little sister is in the pink shirt.  She's holding on for dear life, and yeah ... I think the ride had stopped, lol!  and no, I have no idea who the chic smiling in the back is, lol!

Thanks for reading my long post!  Have a good weekend and please pray for all the families who will be returning to their homes and the volunteers helping them.  (FYI ... any Nashvillians wanna volunteer, let me know...I'll be going on Saturday!)

Friday Fun Time

The Country Music Marathon is here this weekend.  It's tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be horrible, like storming, but today is beautiful!

Just back from a walk around Vanderbilt...I am holding onto my statment that every girl who attends Vandy is skinny ... and beautiful ... sigh... 

I got pollen in my eye while I was walking and now its twitching.  And I sneezed a few times.  I'm ready for some rain!

I'm pretty positive I saw someone famous.  Two rock-star looking people were standing outside their tour bus as I walked down West End.  I heard the manager say "blah, blah, blah and the crowd will love that...".  I wish I was better at putting faces with names so I could know who I just walked by.  Kinda wanted to stop and ask the glammed up rockstar dude who he was and if I should know him, but I guess that kinda seemed wrong.  There was some big concert going on on campus...maybe there's something about the bands playing somewhere...

hold on...I'm going to check it out...

You will never guess what I just found!  There is a rock concert going on at Vandy this weekend?!?!  What?!?! I totally missed this one.  Where was the memo...am I living under a rock?

The website even said I could've gotten discount tickets!  Ok, so I don't really now anyone there other than Ben Harper, but still...  It looks like I walked by this band called Two Door Cinema Club except that the website says they cancelled?

It could be another band, but they don't play until tonight and these guys play this afternoon.  Plus they are a brand new band (no cd yet) and they were getting a pep talk from someone who looked like a manager.  So, I'm sticking with the website is wrong and I walked by the guy with the big fohawk.

So, no I shouldn't have known them, lol!  Makes me feel a bit better about never being able to recognize anyone...not like I would've known them if they were famous...

Back to what started this post...Mama M's Five Question Friday!  Yeah!  If you wanna play just head over her way, grab the questions, answer them and link up.  Much easier than trying to recognize famous looking people on the sidewalk.



1. What was the first car you owned?

I've never owned a car...but I can tell you about my first car!  My family went out car searching a few months after my 16th birthday.  We went to a used car lot that a friend from church worked out.  We test-drove a 1994 two-door cherry-apple red Honda Civic.  I loved it!  It was sporty, but not too sporty.  And the windows were already tinted to the legal max.  My dad loved it because of how it drove.  And by that, I mean...all four of us were in the car.  I was driving, my mom shotgun and our church friend and my dad in the backseat.  You had to go up a pretty big hill to get on the interstate, and the car kinda creeped up the hill.  I guess dad saw that as I wouldn't be flying around the interstates, lol!  That car had a tape player and roll down windows.  Great car!!!!

2. What song are you embarrassed to know the lyrics to?
Ummm...The Fresh Prince of Bel Air?  I've Got Friends in Low Places?  Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid?  Every song on Sound of Music?  I don't know...I'm not really embarrassed by the fact that I know lots of silly, crazy, kiddy, fun song lyrics!

3. Have you ever had stitches?
Twice.  Both after the birth of my daughters.  I have stiches from a C-section with my first and from a tear with my second.

4. What was your first job?
Ummmm...define job?  Babysitting was my first paying gig, mostly with the kids around the neighbor hood.  Being a camp counselor was the first job I ever paid taxes on.
5. Who is your favorite Sesame Street character?
Abby Cadabby

Isn't she a cutie!  She has magic powers which sometimes work like she wants them too.  Plus Leah calls her Abby Dadabby, hehe.

Check out Half Past Kissin' Time for some more randomness: