Thursday's Tex Mex Night

So Thursday was Tex Mex Night at my house. It was so much fun to get together with my girlfriends (and Jeremiah) for some good food and great company. We had Strawberry Margaritas, Tex Mex Enchiladas, Redneck Caviar (made by my good friend, Kimberly) and Con Queso Dip (made by my friend and brain-twin, Laura). 

The guest list included: Pat, the Hardest Working Lady I know (besides my mom); Julie, Ms. Little Cute & Perfect; Laura, the Ultimate Cheerleader & My Brain Twin; Kimberly, Our Little Artist; Ashley, the Beautiful Bride; Christina, the Best Sister a gal could have; and Jeremiah, my FAVORITE Little Person in the world! I am a very lucky girl to have such sweet, talented and genuine friends. I look forward to another little get-together very soon. Maybe we'll do a cheese and wine theme next?  

Kitchen Makeover

My sister, Christina, was kind enough to help me do a little home "sprucing" on Memorial Day. We celebrated the holiday earlier that weekend, so Monday we had no major plans. I was able to con her into helping me paint my kitchen and hang window treatments. Whatta gal! 

We took my plain Jane khaki-color kitchen to poppin' rusty-red eye-candy! ;-) 

Breakfast Nook

I've had this cat picture for forever and a day, but I can't seem to part with it. And Little Buddy loves it, so it's gotta stay now. He points to it and says "Ccaaa". 

This is something I'm proud of... For a more dramatic effect, I hung my drapes about a foot higher than the window, which caused the standard 84" window treatment to come up short. So to remedy this, I bought brown fabric and sewed it to the bottom of each panel. I think it turned out pretty cute.   

And I had this old chair sitting in my garage, so I decided to piant it the same color as my kitchen and place it in my den as an accent chair. It's fun and inexpensive, so when I am tired of it, I can put it back in the garage or get rid of it, and I've lost nothing. 

Just for fun, I did a little rearranging and placed this table and chair in my hallway. I found the table at an antique store in Chelsea (about $70 ) and bought the accessories at Home Goods. It is one of my favorite stores! You can find the best stuff for cheap, cheap, cheap! 

 I love mixing modern and traditional!

Me in my new red kitchen - "Girl, put on some makeup!"

Thanks to my good friend, Laura, for the beautiful photos!!!

For Sweet Baby Parker

When God Calls Little Children

To dwell with Him above,

We mortals always question

The wisdom of His love.

For no heartache compares

With the death of one small child

Who does so much to make this world

Seem wonderful and mild.

Perhaps God tires of calling

The aged to His fold

And so he picks a rosebud

Before it can grow old.

God knows how much we need them

And so He takes but few

To make the land of heaven

More beautiful to view.

Believing this is difficult,

Still somehow we must try,

The saddest word mankind knows

Will always be goodbye.

So when little ones departs.

We who are left behind

Must realize God loves little children

Angels are hard to find.

My Home Projects

I love decorating my home. Adding accents or decor that I created myself and doing it all for a bargain, well that just makes it all the better!  This is one of my latest projects - my front door hanging basket. I bought the tin basket at Lowes for under $10 and the flowers for half price at Hobby Lobby. I already had the ribbon. The total, under $24.00. Cute, huh?! 

I love to sew, drapes, that is. I've never sewn anything else. I love the fact that when you make your own curtains, you have so many more options. Here are some that I made for our house. 

Den

Dining Room

My son's room was one of my most fun projects. Here is his "Wall of Fame." I bought inexpensive frames from Hobby Lobby and 8.5 X 11 scrapbook paper in various patterns. I had black and white (5 X 5)  photos printed at Wolf. I taped the pictures to the center of the paper, which made the paper look like a unique mat. I did it all for under $70. Pottery Barn, who... With your crazy prices! ;-) 

This is my crazy artwork that I painted at Sips and Strokes - super fun; definitely recommend it! Anyway, these lovely painting are hanging in my laundry room. Yes, I am too embarrassed to hang them in any room where guests might actually see them. But they are cute in their own little, non-artistic way, so I had to hang them somewhere. My husband voted for the garage, but I won. ;-) 

Ashley Warren is a Great Photographer!!!

If you are looking for a photographer for individual, baby, family or wedding pics, Ashley's your gal! Check out her website... 

http://www.ashleywarrenstudios.com

Plus, she is super down-to-earth, sweet and fun! 

I am totally excited about this! I am helping out with this year’s “Rock the Block”, a children’s ministry through the Church at Brookhills.  We are taking Back Yard Bible Club to neighborhoods all over the Birmingham area. I’ve never participated in anything like this – I’m super pumped to see how God might use me!

If you live in the Birmingham area and are interested, check out the website. Registration starts May 17^th.

http://www.brookhills.org/local/page_local_min_children_bybc.htm

I have volunteered to help with the BYBC at Pathways.  I can’t wait to meet these cool kids!

http://www.pathwayshome.org

Our Quick Getaway

My husband is in home security sales, which is a seasonal business. He works six days a week during the months of May through September. An upside to this long, hard summer is that he has a lot of free time the rest of the year. The downside is that Sunday is our only day together as a family and sometimes we don’t even get that. But as long as the summer can seem, it is his job that allows me to work part-time and therefore, spend more time with our son.

So knowing that we would not be able to take a summer vacation, we decided to sneak in a quick family trip to Destin. It was great! Besides it being a tad bit too cool to swim, the end of April is a wonderful time to go to the beach. It is between spring break and the start of the summer season, so you can get great deals. 

We arrived Thursday afternoon. Little Buddy was not too bad on the way down. A potable DVD player with video selections from Baby Einstein to Elmo to Word World kept him occupied for most of the trip. My husband, being the “salesman”, got us a great deal on a beautiful condo. It was spacious and had an awesome view. Sterling Shores is the name for anyone interested. http://www.sterlingresorts.com/ The pool was great, the walk to the beach was a breeze and we were right across the street from one of my favorite places – The Back Porch – great food and atmosphere. http://www.theback-porch.com/

We enjoyed a great Thursday evening, just the three of us. Then Friday morning we took it easy and eventually made our way to the incredible pool. Our son was less than thrilled with the water temperature, but after a little while, he decided that it wasn’t so bad.

My awesome sister drove down to stay with us for the weekend. The four of us decided to stroll around Destin Commons and have a bite to eat. The relaxed atmosphere was perfect for our son. He could run around and just be a little boy without being an annoyance to others. http://www.destincommons.com

The next day we played in the sun between naps (of course) and enjoyed the cool breeze and warm sun. Saturday night my sister was kind enough to babysit for us. Jason and I had a blast. We actually had the opportunity to dine at a restaurant, have a real conversation and take our time eating.  It was great – no taking turns entertaining our son or shoveling food in our mouths at warp speed in hopes of bailing before a tantrum erupts. 

After a long, lovely weekend, we headed back home on Sunday. It was bitter sweet. We had this great family weekend full of relaxation and fun, but knowing as soon as we returned home (back to reality), the hard work was going to begin. Jason would be working his butt off selling alarms, and I would be working solo with our rambunctious toddler all summer long.  BUT, I’ve got lots of activities in the works to keep that little booger busy! 

My Beautiful Friends

My Son Grows Up

Life is fleeting, years rush past...
and little boys grow up so fast!
Let me take time out to be
thankful mine is still here with me.
And though I'm busy through the day,
let me take time out to play...
Let me take time out to smile,
to sit with him for just a while...
Let me take time out for walks,
for swings and sports and quiet talks,
for sharing giggles, tickles, and hugs,
for patching knees and catching bugs...
for running races, climbing trees,
for helping with his A - B - C's...
For hatching plots and planning schemes,
for listening to his thoughts and dreams.
Let me tuck him in at night,
hear his prayers, turn off the light.
And when my busy day is done,
let me thank God I have a son.

...Author Unknown

Don't Worry -- Author Unknown

Years ago, I was enthralled as I listened to a pastor who for several years had faithfully served the church. His executive responsibilities had taken him all over this country. As he concluded his message, he told of one of the most frightening, yet thought-provoking, experiences of his life.

He had been on a long flight from one place to another. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: Fasten your seat belts. Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."

As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of the announcer said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us."

Then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightening lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.

The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.

Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat; she was reading a book and every thing within her small world was calm and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity,when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid." The minister could hardly believe his eyes.

It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark,our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.

The child replied, "'Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."

There are many kinds of storms that buffet us:
• Physical,
• Mental,
• Financial,
• Domestic, and...
Many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into apparently uncontrollable movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be at rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky.

Let us remember... Our Father is the Pilot. He is in control and taking us home... so Don't Worry.