The-Minivan-Tales: Cats out of the Bag...

The-Minivan-Tales: Cats out of the Bag...

Shame ON ME!!!

Happy Summer Y'all!!!!

So, I am sitting here enjoying a lazy Sunday and decide that I will go check out some blogs.  I always go to my daughter's blog Becauseofbeckham+Blogger  first because that is always the one that I want to read first and I notice that she has not blogged since April 20!  I think..... "Shame on her cause I know that there have been lots of things going on since then".  Then I take a peek at my own blog and it seems that I have not written a word since April 18.  Oops!  Shame on me too!!

Anyway, I have no excuses... well I have some, but they are not very good so I will just say "sorry" and move on!

I made a conscious decision before the end of 2013 that I would work on repairing some of the frayed edges within my own family.  I think it's safe to say that I have done well with that resolution.  I can happily report that even though summer vacation is only beginning Johnnie and I have had countless opportunities to spend some quality time with family from all over the place.

Daddy's 75th birthday was really nice.  The weather was perfect and it was a great day to be with family and friends.  I think everyone had a nice time.  I know we sure did!

Next up was a much welcomed visit from our family from Texas.  That was really special since we'd been trying to get them to come and see us since we first moved here!  Again, the weather was fabulous and we got to have some fun on the boat and even a crawfish boil!  Johnnie and I had been saying that we  thought that our new outdoor entertainment space would be the perfect place for a party and boy was it! 

We also got to participate in a real first for Johnnie (AKA Papa).  He went to his first dance recital.  That was a blast!!!  Our Laci-Beth was FABULOUS!!!!!  Perhaps she got her dancing skills from Papa, Hmmmm?

We also got to be the location for our sweet Baylee's birthday party!  She wanted to swim and ride in the boat and that's exactly what she got! I am so glad that we are finally at the point in our renovation that we can have company come over and enjoy our place.  We absolutely love living here and are so thankful that our friends and family can enjoy the lake with us!!

We had plans to have another couple over this weekend, but the weather didn't want to cooperate.  The good news is that we didn't actually cancel, just put it off for a little bit.  Hopefully the weather will stabilize a little bit and we can try again in July!  This also gave us a little chance to catch our breath until the next round of celebrations.

And there's still a bunch of fun to be had!

Next weekend I will get to go and spend some more quality family time.  A couple of cousins and I have been planning a girl's get together at my aunt and uncle's camp.  I was already looking forward to seeing everyone and getting to have a little girl time, but we are getting an added bonus!  My grandfather's sister is coming from Florida and I think she is bringing her daughter with her!  I don't think I've seen them in about 5 years or more.  I am really looking forward to a low key, relaxing weekend with the girls!!!

Summer school will kick off in a couple of weeks as well.  I'm teaching summer classes for some of my little ones.  I am blessed to be working with some great ladies and looking forward to seeing some of the little ones during the summer.  It's only 2 1/2 days a week so it won't even really feel like work!

Johnnie and I also have a few trips planned for the summer.  First a little weekend in Lafayette with some good friends.  Good food, drinks and a little scooter riding and swimming are gonna be some GREAT summer fun!

I am still on the countdown til our 10th anniversary.  Only 19 days until our BIG summer trip!  A drive to Dallas, flight to Seattle and then an 8 day cruise to ALASKA!!!  I am so excited about this trip I can hardly stand it!  I know I was excited about last years vacation up the east coast but this year I am even MORE excited!  I didn't think that was even possible!  I can't wait to post photos.  I probably won't blog along the way because I plan on being really busy enjoying the sights, activities and our anniversary, but I will definitely share the experience when I get back!

Happy Easter!!

Today is Good Friday.  This starts the last little break from school before we push through to the end of the year.  Thankfully that end is only a few weeks away because I am seriously running out of steam!  It seems like the years fly by faster and faster.  I need to keep reminding myself of that, especially when I feel like the walls are closing in on me like I did during the beginning of this year!!

There are lots of happy things going on this weekend.  Hopefully the last of our living room furniture will come in so we can get the room set up the way we want it.  I am also going to take a trip to see Katie and Beckham for Easter.  She has to work on Monday and since I am off I will get a little one on one Yaya/Baby time!  I think that some baby-kisses are much needed!!!

He is growing like a weed!  He looks like a little boy and less like a baby these days!  He is so smart and independent!  I know that should make me proud, but sometimes it makes me sad that those baby-cuddling days might be behind us.  I told Katie I didn't care and that I was still going to rock him and sing and baby him for as long as he will let me.  I just hope he will let me!!!  She says that there will be no new babies until they get into a bigger home.  The grown up in  me knows that that is the wise decision to make.  The Yaya in me is crying, "BOO!!!!!".  Anyway, I guess we will wait for our little family to grow.

Our house is coming together really nicely.  Johnnie managed to get a large part of the remodel done while he was transitioning to working part time.  Our deck looks soooooo great!  He finished the rails around the deck and even built some gates to keep the little ones from falling down or running off.  He was smart enough to save a really nice bar top we had when he was doing the deconstruction.  He then built an outside bar with some reclaimed wood we had.  It looks FABULOUS!!!  I still want to add some hanging baskets with some colorful flowers and then it will be ready for the busy Summer season!

This will be a very active Summer season.  I looked at my weekend calendar the other day and, with the exception of a couple of weekends, it looks like we have something planned for every single weekend of the Summer!  I am trying not to freak out about it too badly because I know it's going to be really fun, but DANG!  Anyway, it's all about family and fun so I say, "Bring it on!"

This is a really important and special weekend for Christians all over the world.  I find it very difficult to say "Happy Good Friday", since it commemorates something really horrible.  I have found myself looking around all over this continent saying, "I can't believe that anyone could look at this sight and not know that it is from God!".  From the beaches of Mexico to the magnificence of Niagara Falls and everywhere in between God was visible. 

Cut to today.  It's the Friday before Easter Sunday.  It is the day that Christians commemorate and act of love that was so great it's hard to even comprehend!  To think that God sent his only son, WHO WAS WITHOUT SIN,  to be crucified on a cross so that a sinner like me can be forgiven.  I know me.   I know how flawed that I am!!   I can't help but think that I am sooooo not worth it, but God said, "Yes you are!"  I am so thankful for that!

So, I am looking very forward to this Sunday and what it stands for!  It commemorates the promise that God made to his children.  They killed my savior on that cross and placed him in a grave, but that's not where the story ends.  On Sunday we will celebrate how he conquered death!  The stone wasn't rolled away to let him out.  It was rolled away to show that he was NOT THERE!!!  And, that's not even the best part of this story!  I believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ!  I believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  And, here's the best part of this story...... HE IS COMING BACK AGAIN FOR HIS CHILDREN!!!  Thank you God for keeping your promises!!!

Spring Break Update

Well, as I sit here begin this blog entry I am looking at the end of my Spring Break.  As usual it's gone by way too fast!!!  I have to say that I was looking forward to and needing this break even more than Thanksgiving or Christmas breaks combined. 

Lots of stuff has been going on:

First, we've nearly completed the remodel of our house!!!  We have the kitchen and living room to a point where there are only a few little tweaks left and it will be totally done!  My new sofa sleeper came in and it is BEAUTIFUL!  I have to admit it was worth the wait!  The bed is pretty comfortable too.  I do want to add a little temperpedic top and then it will be GREAT!!!

We are waiting for our matching chair/ottoman.  They should all be here by the end of April and I can NOT wait!  I'm waiting until then to post photos.  I want to show what the whole room looks like.  That means no more pictures taken until I have all my furniture in and the walls and stuff decorated the way I want them.  I'm really excited about it.  It's going to be a real grown up house!!!  It's been a little while coming, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

I am glad that my Katie and Beckham came to spend the night with me during Spring Break.  Our breaks were at the same time so that made it nice.  I was so glad to see them both.  I know it hadn't been that long since I had seen them, but it felt like FOREVER!!!

Beckham is growing like a weed.  He's the cutest and smartest little boy I have ever been around.  He is so attentive and observant.  Sometimes it's like I can see the little wheels turning inside his head.  I love watching him try to figure out how to do things.  He has persistence that I think will serve him well as he grows, although it may drive his mommy and daddy crazy!!!

He did he most amazing thing while they were here.  As I said earlier, my house has been a construction zone for a while now.  I have just gotten to the point where I can begin to take out some of the little things I have been gathering over the past years.  One thing that I had taken out was a photo of my parents.  I don't have a whole lot of photos of my mother and this one is a particularly good one. 

Anyway, he was playing in the living room floor and he walked right up to the photo and pointed his little finger and said "Mamaw, Mamaw, Mamaw".  He pointed at my dad and said "Papaw".  I was kinda stunned at first because I knew that he had never seen that picture before.  Katie was telling me that she didn't have any pictures of her out either, but that she knew that they had already met.  It was just one of those situations when all you can do is look up and say "Thanks for that little gift God!"  He definitely knew who he was talking about.  I was so glad to get to witness that. 

I had said that I wanted to "lay up" this whole break, but life happened and so I was a little busier than I had originally planned.  We got a lot done in the house.  The ceilings are painted and the living room is ready for the next round of furniture.  I cooked a huge pot of my mom's spaghetti and meatballs and was able to send some home with Katie.  I put up a couple more bags for my own freezer and will be bringing some to a friend who just recently had surgery.

I also cooked a GIGANTIC pot of sauce piquant to take to an event next weekend.  It is a delicious little spicy stew that we will finish cooking over an open fire with our cowboy cooker.  It's a taste of South Louisiana that always reminds me of home!!!

I made a huge fresh fruit salad that I have eaten on and replenished all week. I love this salad because it is very low in weight watchers points and it always reminds me of my mama!   I am still trying to diet although I haven't been as successful during the break.  Sometimes I wish I didn't know how to cook or enjoy good food.  I will think that to myself and then shake it off and say... "Nah!  What we gonna cook now?"

We got our boat back from Johnnie Richard's and got the new radio in it and are getting it ready to hit the water.  We are all looking forward to a really fun summer!!!

So that's what's going on in my world!

This and That

Well it's been a while since I have sat down and blogged.  So many fun and exciting things have been happening in my world.  The month of February has really been a fun one this year.  I got o see and spend time with a number of people who I love very much!  I was reminded of how things were when I was growing up and I can honestly say that I really needed and appreciated the memories.

I don't know about the rest of the world, but I think I am ready for Spring to get here and STAY here for a while.  That's weird coming from me because I usually really love Fall/Winter.  Maybe my change in attitude has to do with some other changes that are going on in my world. 

Johnnie has finally entered into his semi-retirement.  The only real change that I can see is that he is now working in the house full time instead of a police car.  He's trying to get our remodel completed and I am really excited about it.  I got to thinking the other day about how I don't know if I have ever had a real "grown up" house.  You know the kind where the furniture matches and there is some color scheme or theme in play. 

We've lived a kind of Gypsy life for a while.  For a few years we lived in a Class A motorhome while we tried to find out where our place in the world would be.  It was an adventure for sure.  About 3 years ago we traded in wheels for roots.  We bought our place on the lake.  It was definitely a diamond in the rough, but it's really starting to shine like a diamond now!  As I type this my sweet husband is steadily working at the other end of the house.  He has remodeled the kitchen and made it really nice and super functional!  He installed beautiful French doors in the bedroom so that we can look out over the lake right from our bed.  It's so nice to go to sleep watching the water.  Because of the way that our house if built it almost feels like we live in a tree house. 

We are finally to the point in the remodel where we are choosing color schemes and the style of furnishings we want to have in our home.  It's taken a while to get here, but it's so exciting!!!  I can't wait to share the photos!

I'm also still working on getting healthy.  I am still not smoking.  I have not had a cigarette since August and I have not had a diet Coke in almost a year.  I've really been trying to work on getting healthy.  I think that getting healthy may be an ongoing thing and I am really trying to stick with it. 

I am still trying to diet and be mindful of what I am eating.  I have to be honest and say that some days are better than others.  I have added morning smoothies to my diet starting this past week.  What I can say about smoothies is so far so good.  I like the fact that they are portable.  They are also a good way for me to have some kind of breakfast since I was never really a breakfast kind of person.  I'm hoping that my doctor was right about how eating something within an hour of waking up will help speed metabolism. 

The smoothies I make have fruit and leafy greens and almond milk.  They are really pretty yummy.  I have even bought some frozen smoothie stuff that has chocolate and cookie dough flavors for when I need that little sweet boost.  I can report that I have lost 4 lbs since starting adding the smoothies.  I have a feeling that this may be as slow going as the remodel on my house.  I hope the results are just as beautiful!!!

 

Conflicted But Grateful

So I am sitting here at 11:26pm on a Sunday evening and I can't sleep so I decided to blog a little.  I feel like I am in and out of my element at the same time, if that makes sense. 

Johnnie and I, and some friends came down to south Louisiana to get away for the weekend and then my friend and I stayed for a conference that is going on the first part of the week. So anyway, I am in south Louisiana, which is probably one of my most favorite places to be.  I have so many happy memories of carefree days when I was young.   I never pass up an opportunity to head south. 

When I was younger I separated the two halves of Louisiana according to the color of the dirt. The red clay found north of Alexandria meant "going to the country", and grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins.  On the other hand, gumbo mud from the Atchafalaya all the way to New Orleans meant home. It's a funny thing how I have lived in north Louisiana for more years than I did south Louisiana,  but south still means home.  

That's what a lot of this weekend was about. There were sights, sounds, smells and tastes that all had some history attached to them.  It was absolutely wonderful.  It was so great it left me with a major conflict. 

Johnnie and I were riding around and I made the comment that I would move south again in a heartbeat. I genuinely meant it. I even asked him if he ever considered living in south Louisiana and he said he wouldn't mind it.  Then, in the very next sentence he said the words that brought my dream to a dead stop. 

He said, "There is no way you would move away from that baby (Beckham)."  I tried to be all big and say that it would be ok and that I could do it and that I would get to visit him as much as I do now, but that's not the truth and I knew it. So as much as I would love it, short of a miracle that would move us all south it looks like I will be staying put for now.  I did decide to pray about it though. 

I do believe that this is one the best times of the year to be in south LA, although I couldn't really say when a bad time to be here would be. What's so special you ask? Well it's after twelfth night and so carnival season has begun. Crews have chosen their royalty and parades are being planned.  Parties like you couldn't imagine will be taking place.

 In the stores there are all sorts of decorations styled in purple, green and gold!  The traditional pastry of a Mardi Gras, the king cake, can be found in boxes in neighborhood markets as well as in bottles of flavored vodka in local liquour stores.  

The air feels different down here. It always has to me.  Everywhere we went this weekend I heard that Cajun accent that has always sounded like music to my ears.  It's like I was being reacquainted with a dear old friend.  Sadly I will only be here for a short while and then it will be time to head north again.  I will make it back to the red dirt and then I will wait til it's time to visit home again. Both places are full of laughter and tears and I want them both.     

I don't like the either, or situations. I want to have my king cake and eat it too. So the conflict remains. I don't know how the story will play out, but I am going to raise the dilemma to the top of my prayer list. 

 

Exciting 2014

Whew, I almost let January get by me without a blog entry!  Sometimes it seems like time just goes faster and faster.  I heard that said when I was a little girl and I didn't really believe it.  The older I get the more I realize just how true it is!

So many fun and exciting things will go on in 2014.  Some of it Johnnie and I have been planning for a little while.  Some of it is just as surprising to me as it is exciting.  I am really hopeful as to what this year holds in store for me and my family!

I have always said that the second semester of school seems to fly by.  As I sit here and think about my upcoming calendar I can see that it will be true this year too!  I'm excited that I am getting to go to south Louisiana next weekend to play and that I will be there for a conference that I have wanted to attend since I began teaching school.  It's a statewide conference for special educators.  I can't wait to see what kind of new ideas and information I can bring back to the babies that I serve!  That will pretty much wind up the first month of my new year.

Other fun stuff is planned for February too.  I am super-excited to see what's coming up!  I'm not saying a lot about it right now, but I can't wait to share the adventure once it's done!

OH and since I always have some kind of countdown going on, here's the latest:

Hmmm about 17 weeks left of school!!!

154 days until our Alaskan Cruise

157 days until our 10th wedding anniversary

That's some fun stuff to look forward to!!!