Easter 2011

Easter turned out to be a nice event for the most part. These are the only pictures I managed to get, but it seems that I am always so busy now on Holidays- it's hard to snap photos! I took these pictures just before we left for church. I tried several times to get Griff to smile or even look at the camera. He was not cooperating...

After church we went to Grandma's. We had a wonderful meal and unfortunately had to do our egg hunt in doors. It was a pretty wet and soggy day. It's always harder to have an egg hunt inside. It's crowded and the kids can't run or spread out to hunt for eggs. It's also tougher to get pictures, but we made the best of it and they didn't complain much after they had their baskets full! Griff did great at church. He napped in the nursery so I figured he would do great for the afternoon but he didn't. He was very grumpy and fussy the entire day. I know he's fighting a cold, but he was really difficult to handle. Pat and I had to just take "shifts" with him all day. Mac ate and ate and ate. He had a huge plate full at dinner, 3 helpings of Momma Mississippi's banana bread pudding and ate just about all his candy after the egg hunt! I told him to take it easy and all I got was a "whatever Mom" look...well on the way home we had to pull over and let him throw up on the side of the road. Maybe, just maybe... next time he will listen to me??
Hope you all had a Great Easter!

A visit from the tooth fairy! A first for Lilly...

Friday night Lilly had her first visit from the Tooth Fairy. As most of you know...this is a BIG deal to most 5 and 6 year old's. Lilly has been very patient and has waited and waited for the chance to try to stay up all night and catch the Tooth fairy in action. She most definitely gave it a good try...the Tooth Fairy had to make several attempts before she was able to leave her gift under the pillow! The Tooth Fairy was very generous, she left Lilly $4.00!! Yes, it's a lot and Mac complained that he never got that amount of $$ for his teeth-
There is a very good reason for it...

Lilly had to have both of her bottom teeth pulled. It was awful. I expected it to go a lot smoother than it did, but it really was out of my control. She had to have them pulled because her permanent teeth have been trying to come in for a few months and the baby teeth were not budging at all. They wouldn't even wiggle the tiniest bit!! In the picture above you can actually see part of her permanent teeth poking through her gums. The dentist said it happens sometimes and that they really needed to pull them because it was damaging her permanent teeth. They numbed her up really well and she didn't cry at that point. (which is a bit painful because it's done like a shot) I thought that since she didn't get upset with the numbing part, we were going to walk out of there without any big upset.
I couldn't have been more wrong!
After they checked her for numbness, he started pulling, yanking and wiggling on the first tooth. It looked awful from where I was was...her teeth must have really been "stuck" because at one point he had to stand up just to give himself more strength to get her teeth out! When he stood over her and used all his might to get the tooth out, she flipped. I am not sure if she could feel anything other than pressure at that point, but I know everyone in that office could hear her screams! I felt horrible and couldn't calm her in anyway. She had to be held down to get the second tooth out. I may never get her back to the dentist, which is obviously not a good thing...especially when she always gone without ever being scared or nervous before! I guess I should have requested that she be given enough "gas" to make her sleep, but she always gets sick after she wakes up, plus she has never freaked at the dentist before. My bad. She was pretty upset with me. A visit to the Disney Store and a generous gift from the Tooth Fairy didn't help as much as I had hoped! I just hope that the rest of her baby teeth aren't as stubborn and Yes, Daddy will be taking her to the next dental appt!

April Birthdays with the Family

On Sunday we celebrated April birthdays with all of the family. The weather was awesome...first time in a very long while that we have had sunshine! The kids played outside all afternoon. I made Lilly, Catie Lynn and Tarver's cakes. Sherry made Heidi's. We had lots of great food and lots of cake! Yum

Heidi's cake that Sherry made is a traditional cake that their Grandma always made. It's a good thing that Kathy and Sherry can make it because every time I have tried, I have failed. I can't get the icing down...

We pulled out the bounce house and took it with us. It was a hit! We bought it for Lilly's 3rd birthday and it has been put to good use.

Alec and Mac.
I can't believe how big Alec is!

Mac spent some time driving Griff around on the 4-wheeler. Griff loves that sort of stuff.
It was a great day with family and friends!

Italian Dinner and Dance

Saturday evening we went to an Italian Dinner and dance. Pat's family is Italian and the event is put on by an Italian Club. Our family/group took up two tables! The food is always delicious and everyone always has a great time.

Momma Mississippi is visiting (Jimmy's Mom) and she got out on the dance floor and cut loose! I know she had a great time!

Pat and I had a good time too, but I was feeling sick. I was going to meet up with my gals after this party was over and continue the night with them in downtown Portland to celebrate Kristi's birthday. My plan didn't work out. I had a really sore throat and my sinuses were killing me. I ended going to the Doc on Monday to find out that I had strep throat and a sinus infection...no wonder I felt horrible! Anyhow, I made the best of the dinner and dance and wished my gals a good time. Thanks to Momma B for coming out and staying with the kiddo's!

Laughs...

Make sure you have your volume up for this one...

So funny...maybe Griff can put on some skates and be in a commercial some day!
Thanks Elyse for sending this to me. Too Cute!

Fire in Fort Davis, Texas

Make your own free slideshow

This is an album of the fire that devastated my family's town. I am so grateful that they are all OK. It was a very close call for many of them. I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH...wish I wasn't so far away. Please, if any of you viewing this can help with donations, they are very much needed. God Bless.

Soccer Season is here!

Soccer is in full swing and Lilly is kicking some butt!
She is really enjoying all her practices and games.

Griff enjoys cheering her a long!

Go Lilly!

Miss Lilly's Birthday!

Our baby girl is now 6 years old. It's amazing how fast time is flying by! I sat up in the wee hours of this morning and reminisced on the day she was born...really doesn't seem like 6 years ago. I do love her so...

Anyhow, we had a party with some of her girlfriends on Friday evening. We had a house full and they all had a blast! I enjoyed watching her celebrate with all her friends. She was one excited, wound up kiddo! Thank goodness Momma B came to help me out with this group. I was definitely out numbered! HA-

She is very much into the Power Rangers right now. Not many of the girls even knew who the Power Rangers were, but they do now! I had a hard time tracking Power Ranger items down...but I did find a Power Ranger cake pan on Ebay! When she saw her pink Power Ranger cake, she FLIPPED!!

We played games, made bracelets and bookmarks, opened presents, had pizza and then did cake. It was an action packed party!

Griff helped out with the bracelet making activity. These lil' gals were in awe of him and gave him lots of love...he soaked up every second of it!

In the picture below, Lilly was in her Power Ranger costume. She put it on as soon as she opened it. She is so funny...

We sent Lilly a rose and balloon to school today. They delivered it to her in class. She was so excited. I had decided to not take cupcakes to school and take up the kids' class time. Their schedules are already so tight. I also thought Mrs. Evers would really appreciate a "no sugar high" today. LOL..Lilly didn't mind at all, she loved her rose and balloon!
Happy Birthday Baby Girl. We love you very much (:

Fire Update...

I just talked to Dad, Rayleene and Nonna...they were all in the cook shed celebrating "HOME", having some supper and a few drinks after their long couple of days! The fire is about 40% contained and their homes appear to be in the clear. There are small fires around them, but all seems under control. We hope it stays that way. It is still windy and very black and smokey. Hopefully the wind will not cause the fires path to change it's direction again.
I will post updates as they come in and also have some pictures coming my way, so I will get those up too. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming!
Also, you can click on the Marfa Public Radio Station link in my earlier posts for updates.

West Texas Fire Update

I have been on the phone with everyone...the fire came VERY close to Dad's house and Nonna and Pe-Paw's, about 40 yards! Dad's house is now in the clear and in about another 15 mins or so, Nonna's house should be too. The fire is now headed towards Limpia Crossings. (a lot of houses there) They expect it to be there in a few hours. Pray for all of them!
Again, here is a link to the Marfa Public Radio Station- it talks about battling fire on Barry Scobey Mountain which is the mountain my dad's home is on.
http://www.marfapublicradio.org/

Aunt Myrt and family are waiting for Hwy 17 to open and they will head Dad's direction.
Will update as I can.
Also, here is another link to a site that is talking about the fires-
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/wildfires-leave-fort-davis-looking-like-the-newsreels-1390774.html

Say some prayers...

I am not sure how many of you know about the huge fires in West Texas. They are really bad and burning up a lot of the country that my Dad and family live. I have been on the phone with them as much as possible to keep tabs on everyone. Fort Davis is a very small community and it has been hit hard. My Dad and Nonna and Pe-Paw have packed up what they can as of this morning and are just hoping and praying for the best. Dad just called and is standing a long the highway watching the firefighters try to keep the fire away from their houses...I talked with him until his phone lost it's signal, I feel helpless! We are drowning in rain here and they are literally burning up down there. It's so aggravating...I would give anything to send them a down pour right now!
Here is a link to the Marfa Public Radio website, it's the best for updates at the moment. The fire actually started in Marfa and devastated Fort Davis. Dad says it looks like Armageddon.
http://www.marfapublicradio.org/
Dad just called again, the fire is about 50 yards from his house, but firefighters are on scene and trying to change it's direction. It looks like it is going to miss his house and move back up the mountain but it's headed towards the observatory. He is very thankful to them because they have been spraying retardant and water around thier property for 2 days now.
Please keep them all in your prayers...
I will update as I can.

She's 6...

Happy Birthday to my Baby Girl.

I am so proud to be her Momma!
She is such a sweet and kind soul. She makes us all smile and laugh every day.

We had a birthday party for her on Friday evening with some of her friends. They were all so cute and Lilly had a great time. I will post more info and pics later, so come back soon!

Oregon Trail Primary Academy Japan Tsunami Relief Sale

Hi All,
Mac and Lilly's school will be hosting a Community wide "Upscale" Garage Sale event on Saturday, May 7th. Both of the kids are very passionate about finding a way to help the people in Japan recover from the terrible tragedy that has devastated their country. I promised both of them that we will work very hard at gathering donations for this great sale/event.

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE WILL BE GOING TO MERCY CORPS based in Portland. Please visit http://www.mercycorps.org/ to see what they are doing to help Japan.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE look around your homes and donate any items that you will not miss or are planning to get rid off. I will come by and pack it all up in my truck and haul it away for a good cause! You can also drop any items off at the school or at our home or Pat's work...just whatever is convenient for you!

Ideas of things to donate: working electronics, musical instruments, bicycles,sporting equipment, tools, books, gently used clothing, toys & games, furniture, video games & game systems, small appliances, collectibles, etc.

OTPA staff and volunteers will price the items, but feel free to suggest a price to help us out.
Also, PLEASE come to the sale on Saturday, May 7th at the OTPA Gym and do some shopping...you may find lots of stuff you can't live without (:
Cash Donations are appreciated as well.
Please call or email me with any questions or to schedule a pick up time for your donations!
Thanks so much