Photo Tag

Here are the rules:

*Open your first photo folder.

*Scroll down to the 10th picture.

(if you dont have 10 in that one, then go to the next folder that does).

*Post that photo and the story behind that photo on your blog.
*Tag 5 friends to do the same.

This picture was on Easter 2007 when the Princess and her cousin were both just thirteen years old!

My Hero's family has a house in Ozark, AR that his grandmother's grandparents lived in. Through the years, the house has stayed in the family, most recently owned by his uncle Milton since around 1970.

This little truck has been driven by my Hero and his brothers when they were little kids! I have seen pictures of them sitting on couch cushions on top of the driver's seat! The boys were allowed to drive to the farm about 5 miles away from the house.

All the grandkids, the Princess included, has driven this little truck around the large one acre yard since they were young!

I'm so thankful for wonderful Parents!

Even being thirteen hundred miles away from my dad and heaven and earth away from my mom, they are still there for me no matter what.
I have the best step mom anyone could ask for. I've learned so much from all of them. Each one has touch my life so deeply and taught me things that are unique to them.
Mom taught me to be a mother. Dad gave me advice passed down from his father: to help others and make their jobs easier. Kim taught me to have fun and work hard.
I'm just so blessed to have them!

My Hero. My Sweetheart. My Husband.

Words cannot express how thankful I am for my wonderful husband. He treks all over with and for me, from trips to Wal-Mart to trips across the country. He cooks, he cleans, he fixes, he makes calls when I’ve had too much. He rescues me.
He’s finishing up the small touches on the bathroom project, repaired a water main break, put a new motor in the washing machine that was way too new to be worn out, worked in flower beds with me, and held my hand when my I felt like my world had ended.
At Grandpa’s funeral luncheon, my Hero sat at the little girls table and played with them.
The Princess’ sweet sixteen birthday party would have been a total flop if it weren’t for him keeping everyone entertained as Vern (his alter ego).
He didn’t freak out when we learned that if we turned on our heater we would die from carbon monoxide poisoning and made arrangements to have the whole heat and air package unit replaced.
Even though our cars are as old as the hills and we started shopping for a newer one in July, he hasn’t just bought the first one that came along. He wants to make sure that it’s something that we both want to drive.
He encourages me to go for walks and to eat less fattening foods and makes coffee for me almost every morning!
He keeps me smiling with his fun sense of humor and sometimes gives up his Sunday NASCAR race to spend time doing things that I want to do.
He is a nurturer, giver, and my best friend.
My Hero!

November means Gratitude!

I’m learning all the new ways I can be “Thankful” this year. After reading a friend’s recent blog of all the things she is thankful for, I think that I too can commit to posting some of my own gratitude throughout this month.

First and foremost, I’m deeply grateful for unanswered and answered prayers. So far, this year has been a big leap of faith. I’ve had to trust God to show me the way, listen and be patient when the answer was no. It’s hard to be understanding when you know all the way down to the pit of your stomach that an answer to a prayer is no. When a yes got sent down I had wonderful elation! Each answer is a blessing. Somehow. I’ve learned a lot about faith and for that I’m so very thankful.

You're Having Chocolate Cake For Breakfast?

So, the pants are a little looser, but now I’m just in between sizes (grrr). I guess the chocolate cake breakfasts while my parents were visiting didn’t really pay off for the diet program. But oh how I absolutely LoVeD having them here and spending time together! We visited the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, ate lunch at the River Market, drove through the self guided Civil War Battle Site tour at Pea Ridge, went junking on Van Buren’s Historic Main Street and ate out every night! The trip wouldn’t have been as exciting without going to Toad Suck, AR and having our picture made with the sign just to prove that it really does exist! We went, we saw and we bought the t-shirt! All the fun couldn’t end without going to The Big Dam Bridge! The walk was a total of 1 & 2/3 mile round trip! At least I got the exercise in!
I enjoyed every minute that they were here and can’t wait until they visit again when we can explore other sites of the state! Hey, maybe next time we can go to Smackover!

The Presidential Library looks like a huge single wide, but it was cool to see.

Too pretty a scene to pass up at Pea Ridge

My Cute Folks!

Civil War Cannon at Pea Ridge.


Me and my Hero


Arkansas is amazing in the fall! It's a blast of color!

Toad Suck, AR really does exist! We found it!


Had to get the full experience!

Chapter One

…And so begins a new chapter in my life. It may not be as I would like it, but it’s what I have to do. I’ve been trying to figure out what in the world to do with myself since for the last sixteen years I’ve been on “mom duty”, running here and there, getting this and that, trying to keep up. Now? Nothing. I don’t HAVE to do anything except go to work and come home. The problem with not having to do something (anything) is driving me crazy.

I’ve thought about writing a romance novel, or taking a yoga class, or painting my bedroom…but what I have done is made flower beds in front of the house with my Hero. We bought some of those decorative concrete border blocks from Lowe’s. What a sport that was! Both of us are perfectionists and so we both took turns standing back looking to see if each row was nice and even and level…it took about eight hours! My poor bottom and knees hurt from being worked (and I might add here that I don’t work out. I sit on my toosh in an office all day and when I come home I sit it on the couch until it’s time for bed!). Even though the next day, my body complained with every move, it felt good to do something that had a pretty reward. I’ve been trying to decide which plants will best suit each side of the house and I’m happy that I have two good months to dedicate to it.

Together, my Hero and I have also decided to change the way we eat. We lost our appetites over the summer anyway, so we decided to continue to reduce our calorie and fat intake. So far my Hero has lost 10 lbs! Me? As a rule, I don’t weigh myself. If I’ve lost any weight at all, I will not know until my clothes don’t fit anymore. So far they still fit great (dang!). This evening after work, we went for a walk instead of sitting on my rump in front of the TV. I’m hoping that we can continue on this streak of doing things that are good for us and make us happy.

My Princess called me yesterday to tell me that she was asked to a homecoming dance at her new school. I’m excited that she gets to experience the Utah tradition of being asked out in a fun and unique way, but I’m also pretty sad that I didn’t get to be there to be a part of her excitement. At least she called me to share the experience with me. That meant the world to me. I’m also super sad that I won’t be there to scrapbook her Junior Year and all the fun dances and activities she will participate in, but I can’t dwell on that. I’m just trying to get through this the best I can.

Mourning

My summer was turned upside down when My Princess called me from her dad’s house in Utah to tell me that she plans on staying there to finish high school. I did not agree to her plan. I felt horrible. Summer was ruined, because my daughter is my whole life! She is my only focus, the reason why I do anything…

The day that she was supposed to fly home, she didn’t. Her dad didn’t even take her to the airport. He told me that he could not physically put her on the plane and he wouldn’t make her.

It turned into a legal battle.

The police department there would not enforce the law that protects custodial parents from the other parent keeping their kids, all because she is sixteen. I guess Utah law enforcement officers think that sixteen is the new eighteen!

In the end, my attorney and I put together an agreement for a year. The first day of school came and she wasn’t here… I’m still in shock. I’m just so hurt.

In a matter of two months my life has changed drastically and I know that it’s not going to be the way it was ever again.