Chinese, anyone?

Grandma sent us some chopsticks and chopstick holders last week, so we ordered Chinese for dinner. Upon Gena's glowing recommendation, we opted for Hong Kong Chef. I have to say, it was pretty good! The rice really is perfect for chopsticks. It can't beat Panda House, but nothing can. I miss that Chinese Mafia ran restaurant. Seriously wasn't the seating area a little small for the size of that building? And one time Josh and I saw a man walk into the long 2 way mirrored hallway with a suitcase handcuffed to his arm, well, I saw it anyway...ah, but I digress.

So Piper gave it a valiant effort. She held the chopsticks with her right hand, picked up her chicken with her left, stabbed the chicken on the stick, took a bite and declared success.

Brenna really liked the idea of trying out chopsticks,

but found it a little frustrating,

And eventually got hungry and gave up!

Just for the record, there were only two sets of chopsticks, so Josh and I used forks. :)

Informal poll

Do you like the green background?

I can't decide...i kind of think i don't.
______________________

Ok, the more I come back to look at it, the more it has become clear I don't love it. But feel free to leave your opinion. I nothing else to post these days!

_______________________

Poll is closed.
I hated the green this morning.

Consider this your personal invitation...

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

This month is my birthday

Yup, that is right, I am claiming the whole month. My mom has done it for years, so I can too!

So, I have had a fantastic birthday.
I'm 36.
Wow.
T.H.I.R.T.Y. S.I.X.
That is a whole other post of it's own...

So, I have had a fantastic birthday.
I have been given many wonderful gifts.

• My talented sis-in-law made me some beautiful notecards and packaged them with a Starbucks gift card.
• My favorite Aunt Jaye gave me a elegant cake platter. (This is the second or third white serving dish she has given me and I REALLY like them!!!)
• My parents are feeding my scrapbook addiction with Cricut cartridges and a little (a lot) blow money.
• The friend I have known longer than I haven't gave me a cool necklace & earring set.
• My in-laws gave me a magazine subscription - in addition to keeping the girls at their house for the entire week of Spring Break.
• My girls (with a LOT of help from Grammy) bought me an amazing necklace & earring set.
• My sweet husband took me shopping (AT THE MALL-without looking at his watch once!) and bought me three shirts and a pair of shoes.
• I also celebrated with a shopping day with my cousin-in-law/friend, a lunch date/spontaneous trip to Guthrie with a treasured friend, dinner with some high school buds, some glorious sunny days, an excuse to thank my parents, some great rainy nights, and some quiet time to regroup and refocus.

And I still have seven days left!!!
Thanks to everyone who used technology to send birthday wishes. Facebook, texts, emails, and phone calls were all great additions to my celebration!

Hairdon't

I got this email from Josh a little bit ago...

I tried braids today-- it didn't work out so well.
--Josh

I was laughing before I even got the attachment open, knowing the potential of what was to come.

For those who don't know, Monday is Daddy Daughter day at our house and has been for years. Josh does a great job with everything including hair, clothing, entertainment, naps, etc. I can't imagine a better Dad than the ones my girls have. They are blessed because of him (me, too) and someday they will have the capacity to comprehend that, but for now, they just have fun!!

Sorry to showcase the 'Don'ts', but this really is too funny not to share. And also know that the headband was most likely Piper's idea!

Our house is so quiet

We talked to the girls last night. Piper had just gotten out of the tub. She told us she missed us and was having fun. When we tried to find out what she had been doing, she said she needed to go get dressed. That was the end of that.

Brenna was still in the bathtub and is living such a life of luxury this week that she was handed the phone to chat amongst her bubbles. She was happy, and excited to talk to us. She told us she made us several cards. Then the conversation went like this...

Us: What have you been doing with Grammy and Granddaddy?
Her: Uhh...today I got to do nine special things.
Us: Nine? Wow!!! Tell us 5 of them.
Her: Well, we got to play in Granddaddy's truck twice, go to McDonalds, go down the laundry shoot, went to...

I have no idea what her last thing was because I was laughing so hard. Yes, you read that right, they went down the laundry shoot!!! I guess that is pretty special!

Oh, how I love and miss my babies. But clearly they are having a great time without us.

We'll chat again in Thursday. I'm sure I'll have another story to share.

It's that time again

These precious girls are about to spend a week with Grammy and Granddaddy.

I have a long list of things I want to do while they are gone. Important stuff.

scrapbooking...finish the three novels I've started...organize closets...shopping at the mall...Barnes and Noble...going out for a nice steak dinner...not picking up or tripping over toys...

Like I said, important stuff. And I will try to squeeze it all in between bouts of crying on the couch because of loneliness and despair. teeheehee

our weekend road trip

We went to Coleman, Texas (down near Abilene) by way of southeast Dallas. It was nice to spend time with Steve and Keitha, but unfortunately we got there late and they had places to be the next morning, so the visit was short. They have a lovely, comfortable home. Thank you for letting us crash. We hope to see you again soon!

And here are the girls with Aunt Mary and Uncle Donald. I can't tell you how much my girls loved them. Piper instantly took to Mary and sat in her lap and stuck by her side. This morning she told me she misses Aunt Mary. I know Bren will remember this trip for a quite a while. ...maybe because they got to go to Dairy Queen and meet the Fun Bunch, or maybe because they got to eat whatever they wanted, or maybe because they had full run of the large full cable television. But I think it will really be because they knew how much they were loved and enjoyed while they were there.
Thank you for a wonderful visit. We'll come again!

The Fun Bunch

The following story ran in the Texas Country Report in November of 2008. It is lengthy but worth watching.

The beautiful woman in the cream colored suit is Josh's Aunt Mary. She is an amazing woman from whom I can learn a great deal. After seeing this and hearing her talk about her "Fun Bunch", I realized this is what I crave.

Why do we fill our lives with busyness and not take time, real time, to cultivate friendships that last a lifetime? Our generation and community do really lend themselves to this kind of bonding, as great as our technology and resources are. Blogging, Instant Messaging, Facebook, email and texting just doesn't compare to nor create these friendships.


Untitled from Josh Bailey on Vimeo.


So don't be too surprised if you get a call from me asking if you want to meet for coffee some time. And know that if you call me, I will do my best to make myself available for it!

Eleven years ago today...

Josh and I sat on the front porch of Granny's house in Coleman, Texas. We sat and listened to the swing squeak and the neighbor kid bounce his basketball. He was far enough away that we heard the bounce when he hand touched the ball. The breeze was just right. The clouds were building gently above us.

Josh told me he loved me. I told him the same.
Comfortable silence.
Josh told me how happy he was I was in his life. I told him the same.
Comfortable silence. Maybe even a little nap.
Josh told me he wanted to spent the rest of his life with me. Before I could tell him the same, he pulled out an amazing diamond ring and asked me to marry him. I, of course, said yes!!
We hugged and kissed. I cried. We sat in the swing a little bit longer.
It started to rain a sweet gently spring rain.
Josh offered to dance in the rain with me, an expression of love his part.
I declined the offer, an expression of love on my part.
More comfortable silence watching the neighbor boy bouncing his ball.
Then we went inside and told Granny. She was delighted to be the first to know.

And today, I am in Coleman, Texas for the wedding of a cousin.
Irony? I don't know, but I have enjoyed the strong memories it brought back.

I love you, Josh, more today than that day. And I sure loved you a lot back then.

Our budding author

Brenna wrote this book entirely on her own. She drew the pictures, stapled it, then asked me to write the words for her. My first instruction was to draw an exclamation bubble!

I love this book. But I absolutely LOVE this girl!!

click pictures to enlarge

Teeth are falling out left and right

literally.

Oklahoma Sky

Did anyone else witness this night? It was amazing.

I wish my little Sony digital did it any justice at all.

Only God can do something like this. I see it as another blessing in my day.

And while I am at it, this is the full moon the morning of February 10th. I was heading out for a walk and ended up sitting and watching this for a while.

Puss Ann Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

Puss Ann Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

This photo shoot location reminds me of our barn in Tennesse as a kid.