Fun in the Sun and Rain

What a fun weekend!! We started at Panoply Friday night. We always have so much fun! Abby is a craft QUEEN, so it is right up her ally! We liked the new layout, but didn't figure out that a lot of the crafts and the always loved drum tent was on the other side until about 5 minutes before it started raining!!! Needless to say, we banged a few drums and ran out without the Dipping Dots. No worries - we found plenty of ice cream later at Dairy Queen :)

Speaking of Dairy Queen - Did you know there's only 1 left in Huntsville?? Gracious! That was a childhood staple at my house! It was such a special treat! My Granddaddy would always take me and get the "nusual". That would be the three year way of saying the "usual" which in my book was a giant peanut buster parfait!!! He never tried to talk me into getting something smaller or less expensive. The "nusual" was just fine with him. Sweet, simple memories!!! I think we (or at least I) try WAY to hard to create "scrapbook worthy" moments for the girls, I don't know who I'm kidding - I've never scrap-booked or at this point will ever have time too, so why worry?? They remember the smallest, simple trips to the park with a Happy Meal in hand much more than those crazy, high-ticket EVENTS I convince myself they just MUST go to - complete with a coordinated outfit to go with it! No wonder I'm stressed - I'm doing it to myself!

ANYWAY - back to Panoply! LOTS of fun wandering around. The weather was great (until the rain), and we ran into several friends!
Kensley & Keelie - Isn't Kensley's hair coming in just too cute!! You should see the curls in the back! I'm SO happy to be her Aunt Steph and Uncle Stewie :)
We also ran into Lillee. I think this was on the run trying to get to the drums before it started raining!

Sunday, Mom came to visit the girls (and maybe me and Stew, too). They have been gone on a trip for a week, so she was having Mimi withdrawals. We just ate KFC and played on the swingset - FUN!!!

Simple....simple.......I'm trying my best to remember! :)

Busy days ahead - lots of end of the year school events, birthday parties, Daisy Scout events, violin recitals, gymnastic showcase, AND I have to go back to Montgomery next week for more training! At least it's just ONE week this time!!! Be on the lookout for lots of pics to come!

March for Babies 2010

Another March for Babies in the books! What a great day with awesome weather for many to come out to support a great cause and remember why we were walking! This event started as a way for me to remember Olivia in an outward way. What happened was a large (and ever-growing :)) group of friends, family, and colleagues gathering together, each with our own reason for walking! It means SO much to us every year. Here are a few - oops, LOTS - of pictures!

Time...

Time heals all wounds, time flies, no time like the present......

We've all heard these cliches about time. For some reason, time has not been a friend to me lately. Not in the usual not enough time in the day, always running late way, but in a higher, unmeasurable way.

Olivia has been gone for 2 years and 5 months. In one way, that seems like an eternity. In others, it was only last night. Some days I'm happily caught up in our more pressing daily details, some days I can't help but dwell on what could have been. Most have moved on, many still remember, few understand the freshness of grief that is ever present in a parent's heart.

I think what brought this on was seeing a certain beautiful little girl this past Sunday at church. There is a couple who we see on occasion who had a sweet little girl born on November 20, 2007, at almost the precise time we were having Olivia's graveside service. The only reason I know is because both the mom and the baby were in great distress during delivery, and there was some discussion of it that day. They are a SWEET family, and I am SO glad the Lord graciously looked down and touched both of them that day and allowed them to be healthy. But, at the same time, that sweet little girl is the constant reminder of what could have been. We have seen them at different times over the last couple of years. The first time was only a few weeks after she was born and her sweet family tried to shield me from even seeing her, as to not upset us. (That's just HOW sweet this family is!!)

Most times when we see them, I just try not to think too much. But for some reason, this time, I couldn't help but stare. In my mind, Olivia is still a newborn. I think that's why I had such a hard time when EK was a baby. It seems like I have bonded so much more with her since she has gotten older and grown into her own precious (but feisty) self! Seeing this little girl bee-bopping around, going from person to person, snacking, playing with babies, etc. made me really stop and think about what Olivia would be like now. How would our lives be different? What would she look like? Abby and EK couldn't look any different - would she have looked like one of them? What would her personality be? Abby was always a pleaser - EK only pleases herself :)

This morning as we were leaving for school, EK was exceptionally happy and kissing all over Abby and making goofy faces. Abby looked at her and said, "EK you are the cutest little sister I ever had". She immediately looked up at me and almost apologizing said, "Well Mommy, you know I never got to see Olivia. I'm sure she's cute too. I bet she looks like that little girl that sat in front of us at church Sunday". I told her I was sure she did..........as I tried to hide the tears.

I've cried tears today that I didn't know I needed to cry, but all the same our life is as the Father intended it. In that I will place my trust.

Guess what - time doesn't heal all wounds, but thankfully we have a gracious savior who is there to cushion us from the fall and hold us until it doesn't hurt as bad. Time does fly, but the BIG moments in your life will always seem like they were yesterday. There's no time like the present - now more than ever I want to cherish and remember every day, moment and time with my girls. The Lord has given us these blessings to cherish (even on the days where they scream and cry in the car seat for 2 hours)!

SASSY

Life with girls - it's ALWAYS sassy! At least it is at my house!! That was what Abby called this outfit - "sassy" - OH ME!

Here's EK - She was born sassy! Notice the headband - it only lasted 5 seconds thank goodness!
Here's Abby with her new idol - Karen Peck. Only my child would go up to a professional artist and sing to her - HA!

Last but certainly not least - here she is shaking her GROOVE THANG! Tonight was the Kindergarten PTA program. I have many more cute pictures, but they have LOTS of other kids in them. I won't invade their privacy! The theme was Love Our Earth and it was TOO CUTE! You can't see them in the picture, but she has on bell-bottoms that Mimi just whipped up yesterday before leaving for work! What would we do without Mimi??

A Night With the GIRLS!

BAHAHAHAHA!!! That's all I can say about tonight! A few friends got together to celebrate the "re-marriage" of our besty, Marty. What happened next, only us and the poor waiter will ever know! The stories that were told are still making me chuckle (although chuckle is NOT the word for SOME of those stories - HAHAHA!!) Everyone needs to laugh, and laugh we did!!! Let's do it more often GFs!!

The guest of honor - it's just TOO hard to explain!


Me and Marty :)

Drea & Holly being - well - Drea and Holly!

A few of the MANY Kelly girls!!

MORE Kelly's (and a should be Kelly :)

Ann Marie, Jackie and Me

Alicia and Dana

Momma Suzie was there to "chaperone" - whatever!!!


POOR KYLIE - That's all I can say! Coming to a "my momma's getting married to my daddy, again :)" shower and hearing some of her own grandmother's comments may have very well sent her into YEARS of very pricey therapy.

New Car!!

We have a new car!!!!

Since I'm not at school, I thought I'd drive a mini-bus!!!! Sorry - Stew says a land yacht! Seriously - I LOVE it - room for everyone!! (It's so big the back end isn't even in this picture!) And of course notice the color - Stewart made sure it perfectly matched the crimson red on the Alabama tag. I'm calling it the Saban-mobile!
Did we really MEAN to get a car now - NO!!!! We had a perfectly good Volvo SUV - or so we thought!! That was before we discovered that our cute little white, European, supposed to last forever vehicle was infested with MICE!!!! Yes - go ahead - scream!!

Now imagine driving over the mountain and hearing it, but not seeing it! Imagine driving all the way to the Smokies only for your husband to tell you AFTER you get there that he found evidence that they were so bad they had eaten a hole in the car seats!! Imagine still, a grown man, a service manager at a local car lot screaming like a little girl as he jerked a trap with a RAT still alive out of your vehicle that you had just sat through the car line with your five year old! Now imagine all the technicians at the before mentioned car lot coming out to laugh as the rat drug the trap across the parking lot!!!!!

Alfa to the rescue! Filed a claim, got it fixed and TRADED IT IN!!!! I don't want to turn this into a car bashing session, but if you think you own the same type of vehicle, I'll be glad to pass more details along in a private email.

YIKES!

Happy Easter!!

Here are some pictures from our Easter weekend. Right now I'm trying not to hurt Blogger, so they are in no particular order!! We had a great weekend full of class parties, church activities and egg hunts (complete with a bloody knee mishap for Miss Abby during the mad egg dash!) and Easter Sunday with family. I NEVER seem to get a good family shot on Easter, but I promise - we were all there and with coordinating outfits, thank you very much!!










Easter is everything to a Christian - it defines what we believe, and why we continue to believe in the darkest of hours. A dear friend of ours, Alvie McKenzie, penned a song many years ago that says it all - it's worth 30 seconds for you to read. No one could say it better :)

I wasn't there on that morning when my Lord was crucified.
I wasn't there in the evening when He bowed His head and died.
And though I haven't seen the tomb where they laid Him long ago.
I believe that He arose again and He's living in my soul.

I can feel that holy power. The same that rolled the stone away.
I can feel that precious spirit that gently woke him on that day.
Though the world may not believe it, I know He's still alive today.
For I can feel that holy power, the same that rolled the stone away.

Sometimes Satan comes against me and tries to make me doubt.
Saying this will be the trial, oh you'll never make it out.
But if the spirit that raised Jesus in my heart, it still abides.
There's not a mountain I can't get over for I've got Jesus on my side.