Want some fries with that shake?

Today we got a new ride!!! Well not exactly...this lovely Dodge Journey is a loner. It is not a van or an SUV it's a crossover. Why are we sporting this new crossover you ask?
You see, the day before my surgery, we were headed home from church and someone (they shall remain nameless, but the person is in one of the larger families at our church) rear ended our precious, precious mini van. We were quite stunned and the rear bumper and back door were smashed pretty badly. Thankfully, none of us were injured. And sweetly, about 20 of our lovely friends happen to pass by and pulled over to check on us.
Anyway, fast forward to today and Penn and the girls went over to Hoover to drop off the van to be repaired and the Enterprise people dropped off the lovely loner. The lady was tying to tell Penn all about the rental and showed him how the seat had an ice chest in it. She said it is great for tailgating. Thanks great~it's May~I don't think there are any tailgating parties going on!
So tonight, since I have been pretty much homebound, I thought it would be fun to go for a ride. Besides, I wanted to check out the new wheels. I thought it was very cute and cozy. The front seats are really close together, great for holding hands with my sweetie!
And since I have been watching plenty TV, I have seen the Sonic commercial for 99 cent shakes about a million times. You know the one with the two girls and the driver says, "You want some fries with that shake?" And the passenger is like, "Yes I would!" So funny to me for some reason!!!
We decided that we must have shakes.
At the Sonic window, I ordered peanut butter, Daddy had chocolate and vanilla mixed, and Brooke had strawberry. ~FYI, they have banana shakes and pineapple too. Sounds good to me. We may have to go back and try all the flavors.~We played musical shakes and all shared with one another. Sweet huh? Well except Bailey. She passed on getting a milkshake and just enjoyed the ride and eventually had a little snooze.
On our tour, Hubs showed me the Mosque in our neighborhood. I had never even noticed it before. Did you know that there is one so close?
It was too much fun drinking our shakes and touring around the town!
I know people, it doesn't take much to entertain me. Keep in mind I haven't left the house for a week now!
Anyway, my point is go out with your family and/or friends and get you some 99 cent milkshakes!
Hey, want some fries with that shake?
(You gotta move your head around in a circle when you say it!)
But I don't think it is necessary to rent a car to do it~you can just take your own, KAY!

~Memorial Day~

Today we had a quite different kind of Memorial Day Celebration. We had to take it easy due to the surgery I had last Monday. We were not able to go to the pool or cookout with friends, but we did spend a nice quiet day at home.
Penn took Bailey to Walmart bright and early (while Brooke and I slept in) and picked up a few things for dinner. The rest of the day was spent napping, hangin' around, and playing outside where we enjoyed seeing our neighbor's new American flag above their door.

Brooke spent lots of time basking in the sun and riding her new green power wheels 4-wheeler (thanks to a great Grammy) and Bailey and Daddy got in on the fun too! It was great to watch them.
For dinner, Penn grilled deer burgers and made some fries and salad. It was pretty yummy. We ate out on the porch and the temperature outside was just perfect.
As far as my surgery, it was no picnic!!! I am still very sore and not able to stand upright yet and the antibiotics I am on are terrible. Unfortunately, I have all the fonky side effects that some patients get when taking them. We are scheduled for a doctor's appointment in the AM to get a drain and some bandages removed. I can then post an AFTER picture. I am hoping for the best! I am just so thankful that the ailments I am suffering with today are temporary and not like what others have to go through on a daily or long term basis.
I am also thankful that on this Memorial day I am not having to memorialize my friend, husband, father, or son. I haven't ever had a loved one off to war, so I really don't know what it is like to go through that. I just know that I do appreciate those in the armed forces and all the sacrifices that they make to enable us all to live free lives. Lives where we are free to worship and love Jesus.

God Bless the USA!

(When you listen make sure to play the "air symbols " near the end of the song! That's my favorite!!)

The Real Recital~Corky Bell Dancing Across America 2008~and the Perfect Princess Day!

Brooke's Dance recital was scheduled to start at ten and we were supposed to arrive by nine fifteen, but a few of us decided that, that was way to early. Instead, we arrived just minutes before it all started. We found our seats in the balcony and watched a few numbers. After a while, we decided to head back stage and get ready.

On the way to the dressing room, we saw Michelle G. and we waited a few minutes to watch her and Gigi do the mother-daughter number. They are great dancers and their costumes were super cute too!

We finally made it back to the dressing room to get Miss Brooke in costume. Thank heavens the teacher purposely picked one that wasn't itchy cause my girl does not do itchy!

Let me check myself and do a little twirl in the mirror. Yep I'm looking good...oh wait don't forget my feather, mommy!

Now I am definitely ready!

~Mrs. Robin~ their teacher, giving a pep talk right before lining up on stage.

Watch Ballerina Brookie up on the big stage. (She is the 2nd dancer from the right.) She did GREAT if I may say so myself! Her Mommy and Daddy are soooo proud.

Here is Brooke getting her bouquet of roses after dancing so well! Thanks to Mrs. Sarah for picking them up at Cosco and arranging them so nicely. Aren't they beautiful?

The girls sitting on the stairs of the BJCC waiting for daddy to bring the car around. Dancing sure makes your feet tired and makes you hungry too. How about some lunch?

Back in the car, the dancing fairy left a special present for Brooke because she danced her best at the recital. It was a "Ballerina Barbie" and of course she LOVED it!

After the recital, we headed to Brookie's favorite lunch spot~Chick-Fil-A~ We finished just in time to go over to Carly's Perfect Princess Party at Sweet and Sassy. Here is Brooke getting her hair and make up done.

Brooke has never been to a big girl 5th birthday and she didn't know quite what to think about it all. The makeover, runway show, and the line dancing might have been a little much for her right after her recital.

She did love dressing up like a princess, but her favorite thing at birthday parties is ALWAYS the CAKE! It was a chocolate from Edgar's...YUM!

You would have thought that we had enough partying for one day, but later this evening we had to have a Pink Princess Party for Mimi's belated birthday celebration. We made Princess crowns and had Turtle ice cream cake.
Brooke & Bailey gave Mimi a new 6 piece set of American Tourister Luggage for her present. She has never had luggage that piggy backs and has wheels. WOW!


And Daddy even got in on all the princess fun. Shhhh don't tell anyone! (Notice his crown says Mommy~Pretty appropriate considering his role in the coming week!)

Special note to Wendy***It was a full day of fun, but one thing we did not get to do was go to Alivia's Shower! We were so upset to miss it, but we just had a time conflict. We are very excited about her arrival and can't wait to give her and big sister Abby a special gift very soon! :-)

~Bailey Seven Months Today and Brookie Ballerina Rehearsal~

Today is my Bailey's 7 month birthday! She is such a sweet baby girl...have I mentioned that I just love her to pieces. She continues to do all types of amazing baby stuff, but she is always adding a few new tricks. She has been able to hold her bottle for quite a while, but insist to do it every time now. It is so cute to watch her feeding herself. She is such a big girl!
She is also quite the "talker!" She is rarely ever quiet and loves to say, "Ahhhh da da da da bbaaahh1!" I think see has a real future in communications. I am also working on teaching her how to patty cake, and say bye-bye, just to name a few. Unfortunately, she is now teaching herself to rock back and forth on her hands and knees and could start crawling at any second! That is something I am NOT encouraging...remember I like my babies content riding on my hip or sitting on the floor playing. Mobile babies are so exhausting!
In honor of Bailey's seven month birthday, we had a full day planned. ;-) It was Brooke's last day a school, so we dropped her off and headed downtown in the pouring rain to a doctors appt for my stomach surgery. After being 30 minutes late and waiting almost 3 hours, we left the hospital without even seeing the doctor. It was not the most exciting or relaxing way to spend my last mother's day out or a very fun way for my baby to spend her 7 month birthday morning either. Oh well!
After we picked up Brooke, we headed to run an errand or two and then we met up with a few of her dancing friends to drive BACK downtown. Brooke's dance recital rehearsal was scheduled for 4:00PM at the BJCC.
We arrived downtown to daddy's office without a hitch and then he walked us over to the rehearsal. He got us settled in to wait our turn to dance and he went back to work. Little did we know that our wait would be a deja vu of this morning! Being that Brooke and the girls in her class are the youngest in the dancing school, we thought that her routine would be first, but NOOOO, we were number 17A. That means they had about 45 dances before Brooke! Each dance lasted about 1 to 2 minutes, so that put us waiting for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours! At first, I was really ill about it, but after things started rolling it was kind of fun!
Brooke and her girls got really into watching all of the routines and danced along with each number! Daddy came back over after work and was just in time to watch the "I'm Special" number. It was finally time for 17A and my girly was so ready! Here she is dancing. She gets distracted towards the end as usual, but she finishes big! Watch here: (Brooke is the 2nd from the right~ big red bow)
After our number, we jetted over to Jim and Nick's on 11th Ave and got a table for sixteen. We had some yummy chow (as Penn would say) for dinner and some nice fellowship with a few dancing friends. So fun! A great time was had by all. Even Bailey thought that it was a great 7 month old celebration for her as well! We got home after nine and I rushed the girls off to bed. We all have to get some rest cause we are scheduled to be at the zoo tomorrow at 10:00AM with our playgroup.
The real recital is scheduled for Saturday, so I will post after. Stay tuned...

The Last Monday

Today we didn't know what to do with ourselves!!! You see, our regular Monday routine of story time, out to lunch, and dance came to an end last Monday...
We have been attending story time every week for two years now. When we started the program it was officially for 2's and 3's, but we snuck Brooke in when she was only 18 months. Brooke has always been a big fan of story time. She loved singing songs, listening to stories, and doing crafts, but her favorite time each week was ALWAYS the Bean Bag Rock! She just loved Shush Puppy, Mrs. Christy, and all of our story time friends. The fun program worked on many different theme-based topics as well as how to sit still, listening skills, how to take turns, and how to follow directions. Bailey has been visiting story time since October and has become quite a fan herself! At 1st she would just sit in her pumpkin seat, but lately she was able to sit up on her own carpet square and enjoy the show. Too bad she won't get to go back with her big sissy anymore!
We have visited MANY story times at MANY different libraries across town and the North Shelby Toddler Tales was the best by far. We are so sad that our time there is now over. It's so hard getting big! ;-)
Now, we will have to find something just as great to fill up our Mondays in the fall. Any ideas?
Also, we finished up with Brooke's 1st year of dance. This week will be her dance recital rehearsal and her ballet dancing debut at the BJCC. It will be so special to see her twirling up on the big stage!
We will return to Corky Bell on Mondays for dance next year...Until then, I guess we will spend our Mondays at the pool!

Locks of Love!

When Brooke was around 6 or 7 months I got a whole 12 inches cut off my hair for a charity called Locks of Love. It was a nice change and not too totally traumatic for me. Well it must be something about a baby that age (they get really grabby) because as soon as my Bailey turned 6 months, I was just tired of my long locks!
So today at 8:45AM, I went out and got my hair whacked off again to send to Locks of Love. Now don't get too excited...you must know that with my natural curls, my frizziness, and my thin and fine hair~ I just can't get all stylish. And don't forget that summer is so humid especially in Louisiana. So I opted for an all one length to the shoulder look . No layers or inverted backs this time. I can wear it up or down. And I can even wear it straight, curled, or scrunched. I think that Dana did a GREAT job on the cut, a few natural highlights, and the styling. Thanks Girl! ;-)

And can you believe it...I didn't even CRY!!! Soo without further adieu. Here is my new do...

Before

After

Juuuuust Kidding....this is Clay Aiken and his new do!
OK so SERIOUSLY here's mine!

Ten Inches!!!

It's been a long day, so I am off to put my hair up in a little tiny pony tail for a short nap before dinner!

Afternoon Tea Times Two

Today we went to have a picnic and tea party at the Botanical Gardens with some playgroup friends. It was really a gorgeous day for being outside. Evidently everybody else in town thought that it would be a good day to go to the gardens too, because the parking lot was packed! In spite of all the cars, it wasn't really that crowded at all. We waited for all to arrive and it was time for a flower tour.
First, I thought we could use the beautiful rose garden for a fun photo op, but my big girl did not want to cooperate.

After that we went on an "adventure " as the kids were calling it. We saw lots of flowers and trees. A favorite activity was visiting the Koi pond where we watched the fish swim and the turtles sun bathe. We even went rock climbing. ;-)

The stroller girls weren't too interested in the Ol' garden adventures. They hung back to plot their future. HOLLYWOOD here we come!

Exploring sure makes you hungry! Sooooo, we found a nice shade tree to sit under and eat our lunch. After our picnic, we had a totally terrific tea party. The sweet raspberry tea and "goodies" were quite yummy. Cheers!

Hey...where is my tea and goodies? Bailey had fun playing with an empty cup and plate. (Poor little thing. She is such a good girl that I forgot to feed her. She went from 7:45AM to 2:30PM before she even made a fuss.)

After we had tea, Jackson and Brookie disappeared! After searching high and low, we finally found them way over there, sitting closely~right in the middle of this beautiful arbor!

We're betrothed, didn't you know!

It was getting late, so we decided we better get on home! On second thought ~HOLLYWOOD CAN WAIT~ cause we need a NAP!!

Brooke passed out seed packets to everyone, so that they too could enjoy beautiful flowers at home! We headed to the house to rest, but instead Daddy came home early and Pop came over. Brooke insisted and so we had yet ANOTHER tea party. Two in one day...YAY!

Tonight I was planning to go to "Crop Until You Drop", but I was having so much fun with the fam I decided to skip it. Instead, we went out to eat and did some shopping! We bought the rest of the electrical stuff to wire up our new outdoor fan and we bought 2 new big girl swings for the swing set out back. We also picked out some concrete pavers for the patio I am trying to get hubby to make me for Mother's Day!

(Note to Hubby: Hint Hint! ;)

~Let Us Pray~

***Updated****
This was my Elizabeth Elliot Devotional for today and I thought it went great with today's post.
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Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference:
Pray with Jesus
Because I am "of the earth, earthy," I find that my prayers for the people I love are mostly bound by very earthy concerns--Lord, help P. to find a good wife, show G. which college to attend, provide money for W.'s house and E.'s car, help T. with his book, give X. a better job. It is meet and proper to pray for such things, but not to pray only for such things. There are prayers of far more lasting import which we must also learn to pray. We can find words for those in the prayer of Jesus for the people He loved:
that they may be one;
that they may find his joy completed in themselves;
that they may be kept from evil;
that they may be made holy by the truth;
that they may live in Christ;
that they may grow complete into one;
that they may be with him;
that the love which God has for Christ may be in their hearts.
If we learn to pray that kind of prayer, it will perhaps amend the "lesser" prayers.
Lord, teach me to pray. Open my eyes to see beyond the earthly to the heavenly. Let my primary concerns be heavenly ones, that your kingdom may come on earth, your will be done in me and in those I love. Teach me to pray with Jesus, for his sake. Amen.
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I love reading her stuff. I just pray that I can be an example for Brooke and Bailey as they learn to fellowship with our heavenly father.
Brooke is learning to create her own prayers as well as memorizing many others. I had never videoed her praying before and now wish I would have back when she was first learning. I finally remembered to tape her the other day. Here she is reciting the Lord's Prayer in Observance of the National Day of Prayer...



"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'
Mattthew 6:6-13

I know it makes God smile when we pray His word back to him. This little girl is such an inspiration. Maybe I will work on this next with Brooke...
Also, I have been looking for a good book on prayer and came across this one. Know anything about it? Any other books you could recommend?