Precious Memories

It is hard to believe that we have a child in college.  It seems like just yesterday I was the Mama to one and looking forward to giving that "One" some siblings!

Time really does go by so quickly when you have children who grow up before your eyes. Memories become the precious treasures that are life's most important belongings.

My husband is so good about wanting to make and KEEP memories.

He worked so hard on a book to leave on Shae's bed in her dorm when we left after moving her in last August.  He took so much time to compile pictures and look back through his notes from various "talks" he has had with Shae to include in her book.

Here is what she found that night on her bed:

Shae's nicknames are numerous, but the best one she has ever had is,

"The Bootiful One"  it was given to her by her sweet Daddy way back when she was a little bald thing.

Scott took so much time to write from his heart.  I couldn't get through the first sentence without  crumbling into tears.

I can only imagine how special Shae must have felt as she read through this priceless treasure.

I am so thankful for this man who has a heart made of pure gold.

God knew that Scott would be just the guy for the job of raising these three girls! 

He has touched our hearts and made it VERY hard for the "guys" that will have to live up to his example someday!

{and boy is he smart....he has already started to work on Anna's "book" }

Change is Good ~especially in my pocket!

I have been on a MAJOR organization kick.  I guess it was forced upon me thanks to our "new budget". I have tried to concentrate on getting rid of the stuff we don't need and NOT buying anything we don't "need".  I have even embraced "couponing"!

 I did find myself in TJMaxx one evening while I waited for Anna's basketball practice to be over. 

I have been looking for new bedding for Anna's room and came upon this precious Cynthia Rowley set for cheap! ( I called Scott to ask if we could possibly add it to the budget!)

 I spent one whole evening/night cleaning out every square inch of Anna's bedroom while she was away at winter camp. Why oh WHY did I NOT take pictures of the family room during the process??  I literally took a laundry basket into her room and load by load took every.single.thing. out of her entire room and DUMPED it into the family room where I sorted everything while I watched episode after episode of Clean House on Netflix.

 It was so refreshing to have everything organized and clean!  I was so excited to put the new bedding on before she came home from camp and fix everything for her arrival.

 She recently dragged out every trophy she has (from the attic) and put them on display in her room, so I had to work around those!

 Scott fixed up this darling end table for Anna.  It is from Treasure Island, the island where Liberty University's first students lived which later  became the football team's practice location (Scott spent MANY hours there over the years!).  It has since been washed away in a flood, so that little table is quite a treasure!

 Anna actually squealed when she walked into her room and said, "I LOVE it!" What a wonderful thing to hear from my very subdued and non-emotional girl!

Don't be worried about poor Lindsay while all this was taking place...

she is never far away from me...

 All I can say is YAY! for blocks!! (and Go Diego Go!)

Lindsay says that her room is next! (We'll have to talk Daddyboy aka "Dave Ramsey" into that!)

i {heart} you!

How cute are these cupcakes?!!!

Go here to learn how to make them!

(You will find them a few posts down, I am lame and don't know how to link to a specific post yet!)

Happy {heart} day!

Valentines for School ~ check.

Valentine's Day is one of my very favorite "holidays".  I just LOVE making the goodies and trying to come up with something cute and unique for my girls to give their teachers and friends.

The blog world has provided so much inspiration.  What fun to look at everyone's ideas!

I found this picture idea and could not wait to try it on Lindsay!  She is not the easiest to take pictures of, but I still like these, and every time I look at them I laugh!

 Anna was having NO PART of handing her picture out to her friends, so we went with marshmallow pops instead. Easy peasy.

 I absolutely adore the teachers in my girls' lives and I always want them to feel appreciated, so I try to do little gestures for them as often as possible.  I am always on the lookout for their initials and I scored these darling monogrammed tablets for Anna's teachers at Tuesday Morning (one of my favorite stores!) (and these are sewn monograms!)

 Lindsay's class is having a big party tomorrow and I got a note requesting these delicious sugar cookies.  They are a "Luff girl" tradition and all the teachers over the years have loved these cookies! (I will share the recipe later)

 Being in Special Ed., Lindsay has a lot of people to bring gifts to..there are 5 aides in her classroom! Four ladies and Sir John, she adores all of them!  I struggle with "boy" gifts sometimes, but this time John is getting white chocolate dipped pretzel sticks and a Starbuck's giftcard.  Lindsay insisted that "Don-Don" the janitor gets a gift too!

The ladies are getting cute heart dish towels and candy.

 Lindsay's adorable teacher, Mrs. Godfrey, is getting a vinyl "monogrammed" hurricane jar with pencils and chocolate!  I LOVE that Jenn's silhouette cuts vinyl (mine doesn't) so she hooks me up on etching and vinyl projects!

 I have made good use of this new little toy I got last summer. (My Brother 5x7 hoop embroidery machine).  My mom and dad bought it for me!  My mom actually kept telling me "you've always been such a good girl and you have never given us any trouble, so we want to do this for you..." hahaha I guess it does pay to be a nice girl.

( I am so thankful for my parents...they pay Anna's (and paid Shae's from K-12) tuition to Redding Christian School.) What a gift.  Immeasurable. Priceless.

 I have enjoyed making aprons, towels and other odds and ends.  It's so nice to be able to whip something up for a gift.

Anna is going to winter camp this weekend with our church (at OUR camp, so her Daddy will be close by.. haha).  It is her first time to ever be a "camper" so I embroidered pillowcases with their names for her and her two friends!

 Looks like tomorrow I can put my feet up for a bit and visit some blogs to cruise around for some inspiration in decorating, organizing and crafting.  But, the blog I am most in need of right now is written by my friend from high school, Shannon.  Check her out, you'll be inspired.  She's a ray of sunshine and her happiness is contagious!

Happy Weekend!!

 "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassion's never fail.  The are new every morning."

Lamentations 3: 22,23

and boy am I glad that verse is true...

Because mornings with this girl are not always easy!

She talks almost endlessly, she wants to "help" make lunches...

(here she is in Shae's old jeans! Yeehaw! I'm glad I saved 'em!)

 she wants to put her own shoes on... yes, i realize she is supposed to do this according to her OT and PT people but c'mon, it takes for~ev~er, and i have to re do them anyway!

 Then she has to strike a pose and show Daddy "how cute his Binny-Boo 'wooks' today..."

Mornings are, indeed, a challenge around here...so I am VERY thankful for

*This girl*

and the comic relief she brings to us!

Where's Anna?? 

Oh, she's in the hot tub watching The Brady Bunch on the iPad....

Valentine Blog~Swap Goodies from Hannah!

It's SWAP time~ Valentine's Style!
I got an exciting knock on my door on Saturday! My mailman delivered my Valentine Swap Package from Hannah!
My gifts were all tied into the acronym:
H~Heart pancake rings AND recipe for "Red Velvet Pancakes w/ cream cheese glaze"!

E~"Easy on the hands oven mitt" (and it's a cupcake! Helllooooo cuteness!)
A~Apron (it's reversible! Darling stripes on one side, darling cupcakes on the other!)
R~"Ring around the collar"necklace. (handmade and I AM going to copy this!!)
T~Towel (matches the oven mitt and apron...I almost don't want to use it, it's so cute!)

Along with my sweet goodies, AnnaPreston sent Lindsay and Anna some little goodies too!!

They were thrilled!!

Lindsay's gift came in handy this morning while she waited for everyone to be ready to leave for church!

Thank you so much, Hannah! What a fun gift, I love each and every item and it really couldn't be more "me"!

Go here to see everybody else's loot!

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Love, A Stripper and other Randomness

We have been going from one thing to another around here. I feel like a need a secretary or a personal assistant!
I did, however, make time to put out a few little Valentine's Day decorations (Anna and Lindsay LOVE holiday decor) okay, so do I!!


My "Southern Living at Home~ Dress Me Up Plate", is one of my favorite things.
(Thank you, Dawn Smith!)

I couldn't think of a more appropriate verse about "true love" than John 3:16.

The mantle is something I look at every.single.day. so I put most of my little touches there.
(go check your local Kohl's to see if they have any of these precious mercury glass candlesticks on the Christmas clearance section for $2.99 like ours did!)

It's funny how just a few little bits of pink and red can get you feeling all festive.

Our weather has been so beautiful for the past few weeks. It has been in the mid 70's, so Lindsay has been doing a lot of "chalking" outside. Just about every inch of our patio and sidewalks have her little "drawings" (which are honestly usually just scribbles). She ventured to the front yard one evening while waiting for Grandma and Papa to come to dinner and we literally were blown away by what we saw.

I asked her what she drew and she said, "A fwower garden, Siwwy". Duh.

Now THAT, is what I call a blessing.

Another HUGE turn Lindsay has taken is her tolerance at the dentist. Yesterday was the third cleaning she has endured completely from start to finish, including the fluoride treatment AND X-rays! (In the past, we have had to drive an hour to another dentist who puts kids like her under sedation to do the work.)

It helps to have Daddy there.

It also helps to be in charge of your own suction tube thing-y to use whenever you feel like you need it!

Anna got her bottom braces on and her teeth cleaned at the same time. AND, the BIGGEST NEWS is that Lindsay has done so well over the last few visits, that Dr. Petras says she can have braces too!! She is OVER THE MOON about it (until she actually has them on, I am sure!!) Hers will be a limited version of what normal kids would have. We are NOT going for perfection here, I told him we just want to get those"Bucky Beavers" under control! (of all of our girls, Lindsay's teeth are the most crooked~of course. She was also the one with ear tubes. If it CAN happen, it will happen to Lindsay. Poor thing.)
And to think that I was so happy that none of my girls sucked their thumbs, thinking that we wouldn't have to deal with braces...UGH!
Now to figure out a way to pay for them along with Anna's braces AND Shae's college tuition...
uh, the the big space between Shae and her sisters (unintentional) seemed like it was working in our favor for a little while there...

In the midst of our crazy lives these last few weeks, Lindsay got a very special phone call,

from her "Best Buddy EVER" at camp, Micah. He has graduated college and is living in South Carolina with his family...but we are hoping he might have time to come to camp this summer!

Anna's schedule is getting busy too. Basketball is twice a week, which keeps us hopping, but it is fun!

It's fun to have a friend from school on your team, and Aubrey is a fun one!

Anna had another great game last night and received the Jamba Juice giftcard from her coaches for the second week in a row for having the most rebounds!

She's turning into an aggressive little player too! (much to her Dad's delight!)
Speaking of her dad...along with all his other talents,

it turns out, He's quite a "stripper". ;)

My purple (garage sale score) furniture is 1/3 ready to be painted. The bench is completely stripped and sanded (not that I did any of it..I got weary of the whole process after doing one of the flat side pieces...). Scott warned me that it is not as easy as "all those bloggers make it look... blah blah blah" (I stopped listening right around there).

There is a chair AND a precious dressing table still in my garage as of right now (but they live here under the constant threat of "being loaded up and taken to the Salvation Army!") and they are still purple. I'm not sure they will be sticking around here much longer. I am hoping to find my personal stripper (and his change of heart) out there working on them soon though.

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