Blonde Ambition

Today I officially went back to the world of blondes. I am embracing the glories of summer, tans, and freedom from work, school, deadlines, and expectations.

It took four boxes, but that in itself is for another blog.

Anyway, just keeping you up to date on the condition of my hair.

I know you were all worried!

And, no I am not posting a picture because......well, ....because.....well because it is my blog, and I don't have to!

Happy Birthday, Tanner Bob!

Today is this little guy's second birthday!

Things about You at Two!

you wrap your little hand around Aunt Mandy's neck when you hug

you are learning so many words

you go straight to Meme when you go in her house

you think your big brother has the best ideas

you make the same hand gestures as your mommy

you are crazy about your mommy and daddy

you love spi-da-man

you are growing so fast

you are one of my best buddies, and I love you!

This is Me Challenge.....Blog & Scrapbooking

I found this blog tonight. They post a new topic every Monday and Thursday for you to blog about yourself. I am going to start tomorrow. I hope some of you will join me.



I am actually very excited. I have been ultra inspired lately.


Here is so blog candy of my latest creations.

A new "N" for the house

Some framed scripture to cling to!

A new Acrylic called: Pure Love

My Husband!

Oh, guys! God really blew my socks off with this one. I prayed for years for a man who would love Jesus, love me, love my family, make me laugh, and be mine all mine. What a huge prayer! No wonder it took 29 years for God to bring us together. (actually, that is the short, sweet, condensed prayer...my actual prayer for my husband was huge, and got longer as the years and boys went by!)





And now, here we are! My guy is all I could ever hope for and more. He is so much more than I thought I wanted. So much more than I thought I would ever need. God is so gracious.



This is my guy! Sharing his silly ways with our nephews. They love him....they think Munkle J. is so funny!....

I love you, Nabs!

Fridays are the BEST!!!

Oh, the precious word! J. and I absolutely love Friday! It holds so much potential. Last Friday took us to Lubbock.

I love road trips. It is a great time of fellowship with J. and Jesus. We sang praise songs and dodged wild animals. We counted 23 deer (we started counting after we had seen a whole herd of them and we are convinced that there were thousands just standing in the shadows watching us drive). We saw this: This is the smaller of the two wild pigs that we saw. The larger one was HUGE! I didn't have my camera close, or I would show you. J. freaked when we saw the big one because he, brother-in-law, and some friends of our have been hog hunting. He had NO idea just how big and vicious hogs could look. I think he has had a revelation.

The whole goal of the Friday drive was to see these guys!

Such sweet guys! We had a party full of cake, friends, and fun.

Singing Happy Birthday....Tuck liked the attention!

Tucker and Rowdy diging in...well, Tuck is diging into the transformers that were on the cake.

Tanner really likes sweets!

Sweet Cousins!

Friends and playing at the party:

Happy Valentine's Day!

I laugh when I think back over past Valentine's Days. There were years that I hated this holiday. The purely pink, romantic mess would make me want to hurl at couples because I was so lost in my own self induced pity party. I was sad over unmet expectations or missing out on having a boyfriend, etc. I was angry at the thought that I wasn't chosen again for a special Valentine.

One Valentine's Day, when I was in the 5th grade, I was longing to be a chosen girl with a special gift. After school, I went back into my darkened elementary school classroom to slip a candy filled heart in my sack. I looked forward to the next day and pretending that someone had chosen me.

All of the kids would wonder who it was.

I had a plan.

The interesting thing about this story is that I don't remember the next day. Maybe I blocked it out because the kids were mean, maybe I don't remember because I got too carried away with the festivities to make a big deal out of my valentine, maybe knowing there was something special in my sack was enough or maybe the taste of the chocolate candy wiped away all of my longings for a moment. Who knows?

The point is that I was that little girl longing to be chosen. You girls know what I mean. Even if you were noticed in some way by someone, there was a time when you longed.

In fact, I still long. Today, my longing is that when I feel insignificant and want to be "chosen" I remember I am.

I am chosen! I am worth more than chocolate, flowers, or sonnets. Jesus has chosen me. Wow! Let me tell you that is quite a big valentine for this chunky, unpopular girl to unwrap. Amazing!

As I watch my 4th graders discover the popular ones, the "loved" ones, the handsome ones, ....all of the worldly titles. I want to scream....hey, hey, hey......yes, you....little one over there who wants to be noticed....Jesus loves you! Jesus' valentine will last forever, and it keeps on giving!

My prayer is that all looking for love, assurance and acceptance will see Jesus this Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Congratulations, Bubba!

One of the most amazing things about being a sibling is getting to see my brother and sister meet their goals and succeed. It has be a joy throughout our lives to celebrate the highs that God has so graciously given our family.

As an older sister, I also get to brag. So, I am going to take a minute to tell you about the cutest brother anyone could have. He is truly amazing! This weekend, he celebrated with his 100th win as a high school soccer coach. He is such an inspiration to those boys!

Bubba, I am beaming! Thank you for blessing me with your humor, your struggles, and especially your successes!

I love you!

* picture provided by his adorable wife*

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Yesterday was Tucker's 4th birthday!

What I adore about you, buddy:

you smile with your eyes

you still think Aunt Mandy is cool

you are my best buddy

you like to include me in being a power ranger - I think I am an orange one right now
(and we all know that is a big heart because the thought of me in the costume is a bit scary!)

your laugh is infectious

you love your mommy and daddy

you love to sing

you have taught me that bad guys need naps, too

you are my swimming buddy

you are so excited about school

you love your friends

you sometimes like to tell me about your day on the phone

you are one of my best buddies, and I love you!