Birthday Pictures

This past Saturday I took Madison to get her birthday pictures taken. She got a haircut and then we ran to the mall to The Picture People. We were there about 15 minutes, the photographer got a couple of good shots, and we went across the street to Melody's Choices while we waited to see the proofs.

Let's just say that The Picture People are really good at marketing their products. When we returned 15 minutes later, this is what I saw...

They had blown it up to a 10 x 20 portrait, and placed it in a matted frame. It looked like a Vogue Model Photo shoot....... They only wanted $150 for the portrait. Stan was pleased that I settled for my free 8x10.

Here are a couple of other pics that really do capture her personality. She insisted on the sassy black and white with her hand on her hip. She actually posed this way on her own and asked the photographer to take the picture. There were many more shots to choose from.... but I was happy with my $22 TOTAL purchase. (so was Stan....)

Happy Birthday Madison~

The Best Dozen of All

Today our sweet Madison turned 12. I have done the math, and today is the first day of the last year in my home without teenagers until the year 2024. How's that for an eye opener???

Madison Victoria- 12 years and 1 hour old

(this picture was taken at 11:16 p.m. after being up since 6 am)

Madison is growing into such a neat young lady with the best personality ever.. To celebrate her special day.. here are 12 of the many special things about Madison.

1. She is fluent in saracasm (which is my native language)

2. She has an amazing memory... which works to my detriment many times.

3. She is an A+ speed reader.. and she loves to read! She can finish a novel in a day or two.

4. Her intelligence is scary! She's never taken an IQ test, but I'd bet it's sky high.

5. She loves to dance, and she's very graceful and pretty in ballet.

6. She makes friends easily, but isn't into the "girly popularity crap". She can take a crowd or leave a crowd. She's not afraid to march alone.

7. Her musical ability is one of her favorite qualities of mine. She started playing the violin this year, and has a pretty good feel for it.

8. She is passionate about what she believes in, and will stand firm in that.

9. She is a risk taker and daredevil. (Not sure where that comes from....)

10. She is very polite and respectful to those around her.

11. She has a very wide vocabulary, and is very descriptive in her language (verbal and written) She uses phrases and words that make me laugh on a daily basis.

12. She has a very tender heart for others.

Madison~ you are a treasure, and so much fun to have as a daughter. It's hard to believe that you are now a pre-teen. I am so proud of you and the person you are becoming each and every day.

I love you my Moose girl~

Mom

Angel Babies

As you can see, I've added a couple of links on the left side of the page. Two sweet families in our church had their first babies last week. Both of the babies were air flighted to different hospitals- one to Tulsa, the other to Little Rock. Both Harper and Brayden are making remarkable strides in their recovery, but they still need our prayers. I remember our best friends, Jack and Michelle Doshier, going through similar circumstances with their oldest child, Will. He was Angel Choppered out of Fayetteville to the Children's Hospital in Little Rock. Those days seem like ions ago. Will received the millions of prayers for his recovery 6 years ago, and here is the result of those prayers.....

Michelle and Will Doshier

So keep remembering the Stamps and Wileys and the healing of their babies.

Discovery

** You can buy a new bed and bedding.

** You can paint murals all over the walls.

** You can buy new furniture... nice new furniture.

** You can decorate it as fancy as you want

And on any given night, a 5 year old boy will choose an impromptu camping trip with his sister in the living room floor with old blankets.

Roasting hotdogs on a night light?? There are marshmallows on the plate for later. Makenzie missed out on the fun tonight, because she had already fallen fast asleep.

Nightmare!

Those of you who know me probably know that I take great pride in the way my children are dressed. Some might think that is shallow...... but before you judge take into consideration that I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, or gamble. I actually prefer to call it therapy to shop for my kids' clothes. So anyway, you get the idea that I am pretty particular about how my kids look. Here are some examples through the years to refresh your memory.

That was a fun stroll down memory lane over the past several years huh??

So you can imagine the HORROR I felt when I walked into Mason's school this afternoon and saw THIS.............

BURNT ORANGE LONGHORN SHIRT????? What the heck??? I truly thought someone was playing a joke on me since I'd been hoopin' it up over the Hogs basketball win this week. Well..... you know what they say about Teachable Moments........

Gotta run... we have a bonfire to build and a shirt to burn.

Happy Winter

This replaced the Christmas decorations in our entryway. Maybe it'll bring us some really GOOD snow days.