The Simple Things

We've been having fun . . . lots and lots of fun!

The weekend was great, for the most part, for all of us.

Friday night was "Girls' Night" for some of the young girls from my church. We try to get together once a month just for some chill time. We all bring food, we eat, we fix each others hair, we give massages, we tell embarrassing stories on ourselves, we eat some more and we just have a really good time. So, I did that on Friday night while Scott and Isabel had a "date night" together at the high school football game. It was a yucky night but all was well when Scott took Isabel shopping for rain boots and a poncho before the game . . . . boy, were they a hit!! She and her daddy stuck it out for the whole game, in the rain, and had a great time. They even dined on pizza and skittles . . . . . now that's what Isabel calls fun!!

Saturday morning, Isabel and I woke to the wonderful smell of "panny cakes" that daddy had cooked for us. After breakfast we headed to the farm to feed Mr. Darryl's goats and cows and to go fishing at his pond. By the way, does anyone have any idea just how long a cow's tongue is?? Yeah, well, neither did I until I walked right up to the cow and began to give her a piece of bread. Holy cow (no pun intended) that cow had a long tongue and I was quite grossed out when the slimy thing touched my hand. But no fear, I quickly learned how to lay the slice of bread on the tip of her nose just right so that she could get it with ease. It was quite fun and Isabel had a blast!! Grady, on the other hand (our springer spaniel) wasn't so sure about the farm animals at first but he did warm up pretty quickly and he, too, had a ball. I wasn't so thrilled that he enjoyed walking and rolling around in all of the horse poo that was everywhere. Oh well, he enjoyed it none the less.

We also went fishing and though this mommy absolutely despises buying crickets just so that they can be attached to the end of a hook and sacrificed to the fishies, it does do my heart good to watch my precious darling shriek with delight each and every time she reels in a fish. It was great fun and Isabel was thrilled to report to her mimi and poppy, immediately after leaving the farm, that she had "fished better than daddy" because she did, in fact, catch more fish than him. And is it a bit ironic that we snacked on fried fish as we were fishing?? Funny, huh??

Anyhoo, friends came over for a visit Saturday afternoon and played in the tent . . . in the living room. They did leave just in time for my ugly stomach bug to show up and torment me with a vengeance until about 4 am Sunday morning. Ugh. It was awful!! Scott and Isabel slept in the guest room as I was up and down, barfing, all night long. At least it didn't last very long and I was still able to cook a delicious roast for Sunday lunch. Lance, Toto and Claire joined us for lunch and after we finished eating we released the lucky crickets that escaped death on Saturday and then it was time for our nap. Oh, the joy of Sunday afternoon naps!!

All in all, it ended up being a pretty good weekend!!

Today, we've played at the park and the girls are now down for a nap so its nice and quiet . . . . for a little while anyway. But oh, I wouldn't have it ANY OTHER WAY!!! And tomorrow we have a swim date with friends. Yay!!

Enjoy the pics (although none are from the farm b/c I totally forgot my camera!!),
Angela

Life . . . . . .

Life is good! We've spent our days playing, feeding the ducks, reading books, learning to write our name (that would be Isabel), having play dates, building tents and just loving the last days of summer. And as you can see from the pics, we've spent a few nights playing in our tent . . . . . in the living room! Fun, fun times and priceless memories. We are looking forward to the cooler weather so that we can put our tent to use in the great outdoors rather than in our living room. Won't that be fun??

Scott took me to dinner this past weekend to celebrate my birthday. We went to a local Japanese restaurant for sushi and it was delish. After dinner we headed to Quakes for some yummy frozen custard to top off our date night. Isabel was at my brother's but we ended up having to go get her by 10:00 that night because she was crying for us. Though its a slight inconvenience to drive to Ocean Springs late at night, it is nice to know that she would rather be at home cuddling with mommy and daddy . . . . . . . and I love it!!

On our way home from dinner on Saturday we saw the most beautiful rainbow! It was incredible! I was in awe of God's creation, I mean, how in the world can you explain something like a rainbow?? How can anyone deny that there is a God?? I was sad that Isabel wasn't with us to see it but I did take a few pics, which do it no justice at all.

My mom will be here in a couple of weeks and I am so excited to get to spend some time with her during the days . . . . . . yay for moms!!

And thanks to Shellie for bringing a fabulous birthday dinner including corn on the cob, which Isabel LOVED!! Love you Shellie!!

For now, its time for Claire's morning nap, Bible story time with Isabel and then breakfast clean up . . . . . . . so,

Have a wonderful day,
Angela

Booked!

Yes!! Our 2011 Disney vacay is officially booked . . . . . 2/11 - 2/18 we will be eating with Mickey Mouse and Cinderella and we are so very excited! I absolutely can NOT wait to see Isabel's face and hear her shrills as she sees the incredible and oh so magical sights at Disney World. Now, all we have to do is wait, wait, wait! Isn't that the fun part . . . . ha!

Precious Minds

So last night, I'm sitting in the living room and Isabel walks up to me and says, "mommy!!" while pointing to her panties. She had teeteed in her panties, uh oh! I said, "Isabel, we aren't supposed to teetee in our panties, we are supposed to use the toilet." To which she so sweetly replies, "weeeeellllllll, God wants me to teetee in my panties." Okay, seriously, how was I to keep a straight face?? It was hysterical . . . . . . oh, if I had taken a picture to capture the look on her face as she tried to convince me that God really did want her to teetee in her panties. It was simply adorable. Even more precious than her words, to me, was her heart. She really thought that it would be okay that she had teeteed in her panties if she could get me to believe that it was what God wanted her to do. Yes, I understand that she was "telling a story" and I did explain that to her but the fact that her 2 year old little mind can comprehend that there are things that God does and does not want us to do was, well, is incredible to me.

Never underestimate the mind of a child!! They understand much, much more than we give them credit for and there is no better time than the present to teach them about God and what His plan is for our lives. Isabel knows, at 2 years old, that God has a plan for each of us and that we are to do what He instructs us to do . . . . . . even as simple as teeteeing in our panties or on the toilet!

Oh, those precious little minds. May we be reminded that they are absorbing everything that we say and do.

Have a great Tuesday!

Post of Pics . . . . .

This post will be mostly pics from our weekend. We had a great time and we enjoyed celebrating Reid's 1st birthday with him . . . . . fun party! We used to call him Baby Reid but we can't do that anymore. Anyhoo, the pics are mostly for my friend Cissy, Reid's mom, so enjoy.

Aside from the party, we dinner at Chef Scott's Noodle House on Friday night topped off with some frozen custard and sno-balls from Quakes. On Saturday, before the party, we got started on the "Great Sullivan Home Organization Project" of 2010 . . . . . long overdue and I'm so happy to be on our way to a neatly organized home! Oh, the things that make me happy . . . . . I'm OCD like that. And then we had some great services at church on Sunday. Scott preached at a local church for both services and he enjoyed that as well.

Enjoy the pics . . . . . some are of Isabel ready to help her daddy on Saturday morning, some of the party and then some of Isabel and Claire saying the blessing this morning.

Have a great Monday!

Many Thanks!

While I've already posted this morning, I was struck as I sat here at the computer and heard the sweet voice of my precious 2, almost 3 year old daughter talking to her babies in the living room. I am soooo very thankful for her life, for her health, for her happiness but most of all for my Lord and Savior who allows me to spend these moments with her. I acknowledge the fact that there are so many parents who would give anything to celebrate a 3rd birthday, cheer on as their child "teetees" on the potty, clean yet another mess, comb rats out of hair, comfort a cranky toddler . . . . well, you get what I'm saying. And for all of these seemingly mundane tasks, I say thank you God! Thank you for the breath that you allow me to breathe and for the little eyes that are watching everything that I do . . . . may those eyes see a glimpse of you in ALL that I do and may I be blessed enough to watch as she grows and discovers who you are and the plan that You have for her. Motherhood is such a gift and I am sooooo incredibly thankful for the little hands that are patting me on the leg as I type and the little voice that is begging me to help her poopoo on the potty.

Thank you God Almighty for your incredible gift!

The Happenings . . . .

Its been a great week this week but I am also glad that today is Friday, even though it is Friday 13th. Why am I paranoid about that? Could it be because my brother and I always watched those horrible horror movies when we were growing up?? We would sneak into the living room (because we didn't have televisions in our rooms) late at night on Friday the 13th with snacks and we would stay up late watching the silly movies. Okay, so it was a little fun, but I now I really don't like Friday, the 13th!! And today has been incredibly yucky with lots of rain, thunder and lightening . . . . ugh! Oh well, its games inside today with 2 precious little girls.

So far we've had a good week . . . . . kinda slow but good. Our good friends Cissy and baby Reid came over for a play date on Tuesday and the girls had a great time. While here, we discovered that the Disney site had published the new 2011 rates so we were able to get some quotes on our upcoming trip. We are planning a big vacay to Disney in the Spring with the Ormon family and all of my family . . . . . should be lots of fun. If we can get the right price that is. We'll see! I'm already soooo excited. And then on Thursday we spent the morning at Monkey Joe's with some other great friends and it was a lot of fun. After jumping, we headed next door to Chef Scott's Noodle House. That was our first time there and it was really yummy. I think we may head there for dinner tonight . . . . . yummo!! All in all, its been a great week.

My highlight for this week was when I was getting breakfast ready for the girls and I turned around to see Isabel holding Claire's hands and trying to teach her how to say the blessing. It went something like this, "Thank you God, for, for, for, Claire, thank you for blessing, amen". Isn't that just wonderful??!! I love it! I can't even begin to imagine what God has planned for these 2 precious children and I can't wait to see. Soooo exciting!

Well, currently, while I type this post Claire is screaming her head off because its almost time for her morning nap. So, I need to run put the sheet back on the crib mattress and let this little blessing get some rest.

Happy Friday the 13th to everyone!

Summer!!

It has been a fabulous summer so far but where did the time go??!! It doesn't last long enough but we did at least make some great memories.

Isabel and I traveled to the lake in June with Toto and Claire to meet mom and Aunt Linda for a few days of "chill time" and it was great. My cousin Staci met us there with her 3 boys and we had a blast tubing, swimming, boating, etc. I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to visit and relax.

In July, we went to the beach in Perdido Key for a week with all of my family and oh man, it was wonderful. The weather was gorgeous, the water was breath-taking and we all really enjoyed the time together. While there, we went "goofy golfing", had ice cream and snow balls, shopped, had dinner and even went on our first sail boat ride . . . . fun stuff and pics are below. Not only did we have a great time but we were able to get some great pics, possibly even our Christmas card pic for this year, in the adorable outfits that mom made for the girls. And oh, how blessed are we that my mom is so very talented and giving of her time to make so many incredible outfits for our girls! Thanks mom!!!!!

Besides the trips that we have taken, we have also spent our days jumping with friends at Kangarooz, bowling and shopping at Target and swimming.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to stay at home with Isabel and spend so much quality time with her. She is such an amazing little girl and I don't take one minute with her for granted.

Oh, and starting today, we are keeping "Claire Bear" each day for my brother and his wife. Let me just say, life is very busy but oh so fun. Watching Claire and Isabel interact is very entertaining. They adore one another and I just pray that they stay as close and lovey as they are right now.

Enjoy the pics and we'll be back soon . . . . . . .