hello, stranger...

yeah, i know... it's been a while since i've blogged. i've been a little busy trying to earn the "mom of the year" award. take tonight, for instance...

cherryberry... for dinner... after church... at 8 p.m.

yep... i'm gonna win.

oh, happy day!

mornin' from the ranch...
where the chocolate milk is already on (and mama's coffee, too!), the mayo sandwiches are flowing (yes, you read it right... i asked cale 3 times if he was sure... whateva, boy.), the rain and thunder are much needed, and the sunrise was g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s!

have a happy day ~ anne

time to get pampered!

apparently, real men do get pedicures...

gracie's kindergarted graduation

(sniff, sniff)... well, it's official. gracie is a kindergarten grad! i'm not sure i can even make it through typing without crying. it's so hard to believe. how time flies!
it has been so unbelievable to watch gracie grow this year. she has made so many wonderful friends, her leadership qualities are bubbling over (catch that? it's the nice way to put it!), and she is reading so well! in light of just how well she's reading, watch what you text me. i see such my sweet little baby evolving into a fabulous little girl. what a blessing this journey is! ok, enough tears... i'll stop and just show you the pics.

at the beginning of graduation, each kindergartener was introduced.

then it was time to find mom, but only if you could get past all of the camera flashes!

oh, yes... there she is. 2011 kindergarten grad!

look, she seems older already!

mrs. bowers. i'm not sure i have the enough words to tell you how much we love her and what a blessing she has been to have as gracie's teacher this year.
a-m-a-z-i-n-g!

someday, cale... someday it will be your turn. for now, let's enjoy our today.

happy birthday, bug!

wow. how time flies. first you've got an unexpected positive test. the next thing you know...

bam. here she is... perfect. just what i needed and didn't know it. God did.

of course, He did. on the journey goes...

not only was she what i needed, but we all needed her. gracie has a little sister, cale gets to be a big brother, and daddy and i have another blessing.

a silly little look...

or a big 'ol grin. every day i look at her and am reminded that God's plan is so much better than mine.
happy 2nd birthday, my sweet girl.

what a good saturday!

i don't know what a good saturday looks like to others, but i know what a good saturday is to my babies. it starts with a late morning warm enough to break out the bathing suits and the sprinkler...

get ready...

cause it's c-o-l-d!

sweet little lily didn't think the water idea was as much fun as gracie and cale. i think it was a tad too cold. she mostly watched the fun.

when the sprinkler lost it's luster, we broke out the big guns... slip 'n' slide time!

look mom, i can go backwards!

in case you're wondering... it's still cold.

yay for the warm may day!

check out those muscles!

and if that's not enough fun, we've topped off the day our bff and a movie!

thank you jesus for our good day!

excuse me, ms. carpet-lady...

carpet. i'd like some now... and by "now" i actually mean 3 weeks ago. i'm sure bug would be a little more comfy with it between her and the concrete. i'm also pretty sure the echo in there will sound much less like we're at the grand canyon, and more like it's my little living room.

leave it to me to pick the one carpet that's on backorder. really... backorder?!?! how often are there carpet shortages? did a miss some big run on carpet? so, it's the middle of may, or so i'm told. it doesn't sound like it's that big of a deal now, cause it's may 2nd. however, it's been 3 weeks since i ordered it.

any day now. any day. so, i'm just waitin'...

so, did ya know?

did ya know that if you stick your head in the dryer and squeal really loudly that it echoes?

when there's two of you, it's twice as loud...

and way more fun!

by the way, it was all her idea!

easter 2011

tonight i sit at the computer contemplating an easter-themed blog. i've been trying to come up with the right words to show honor and worship God for the sacrifice of His son. a sacrifice that Jesus so willingly made so that we can spend eternity with Him... but all i can think about is the little voice in the next room yelling at me. it starts out really softly... "mama... ma-ma... ma-ma-ma... mama... MAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and then, i am reminded... i don't need to have an eloquent speech. i don't need to know all the "right" words for someone else. what i need is to teach my babies that someday they won't yell for mama, but to call on Jesus! they not only need to learn it, but to see evidence of it every day. that's my job... to show them God, to teach them of His love, joy, peace, kindness, and to help them understand His mercy and grace. i mean, these are all things i know... and, i'm probably preachin' to the choir... but, sometimes i need a little reminder. this is one of those moments.

so now, let me show you how our easter morning picture taking went...

not so well...

apparently, bug didn't think it was as good of an idea as the rest of us did.

dang. those kids are so stinkin' cute.

awww... bug. ok, i'd better get her before she wakes up cale.

happy easter ~ anne

a couple of weeks ago, i found a groupon for horseback riding lessons. if you know me well, you'll know that it took me about a quarter of a second to jump on that one! i bought all i could... then kyle bought all he could... and then my mom bought all she could. some would call it "working the system". i call it completely worth it! gracie and i had our first lesson today. it was fantabulous (yes, i made that up)!

gracie leading prince in the arena. doesn't she look like she's been doing it her whole life? miss janel made her carry her own saddle to saddle up prince (ok, it was a whole 6 feet, but she seemed so big!).

here she is... first time on a horse. it was all fine and good until the horse flinched a little because of a fly... then she came undone. janel was wonderful... unbelievably patient. she talked gracie down from the rafters, talked her into letting prince take one little step, and finally to...

riding all by herself!

she l-o-v-e-d it! you know it makes my heart pitter-patter.

nice bull...

oh, and then there's blue... i'm in love.

ahhh... the pleasure of a good book!

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,
And all the sweet serenity of books.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

good morning!

good morning from "the ranch"!

i love the morning sunrise. when i see it, i see more than just the pretty colors. for me, it is my morning reminder of the power and awesomeness of God. the sunrise reminds me that God's mercy is new every morning, that His grace is unending, and that His love is unfailing.

have a blessed day!

~ anne ~

what the...

so... i was just cruising through the living room and glanced out the front window. this is what i saw... or see... see-saw...

it's a grass fire. i know it's not the best picture, but it was hard to get a good shot, without flash, in the dark, with a 3 year old tugging at my shorts and whining about being hungry. i feed my children. really, i do. back to the fire... it's a little creepy. kind of cool, but only as long as it stays far, far away.

but, i'm starving...

8:00 is bedtime at my house for the three little people. cale got up once to tell us that his forehead hurt. he wasn't sure what happened but whatever it was, it was an accident. daddy carried him back to bed, covered him back up, and told him good night... again. the second time cale got up was to tell me that he was "starving". now, i know better than that. there are children in third world countries who didn't have four (yes, 4) pancakes for dinner. they are starving. no, i didn't tell him all of that. he's only 3! that'd open up a whole can i'm not ready to tackle. i did tell him that it was bedtime and he needed to go back. then... i heard his tummy. ok, so maybe he was hungry. i'm beginning to think he has a tapeworm. it's all the time with the eating. i know he's a growing boy, but goodness. lucky for my starving boy, daddy came to the rescue... and i headed for my jammies...

daddy and cale had a little snackie-snackie before bed...

this has to be one of my new favorites... cale is the sweetest boy. ever.

at this very moment, that adoreable mug is snuggled with daddy in my bed, reading a book. bedtime? later.

standardized tests are this week, oh my!

gracie and jordan were riding in the backseat last night discussing the woes of kindergarten (because there are so many). i heard gracie tell jordan that this next week, her class would be having "bear tests". the bear tests are the standardized tests that are given each year... or every other year... whenever. you know, the tests that you had to fill in the gazillion bubbles. i don't think they were called "bear tests", and i'm sure the tests have slightly different requirements for kindergarteners than when i was little, but i do remember the "need" for a large number of very sharp #2 pencils. ok, back to gracie and jordan... so, gracie was explaining that there would be three, yes three, days of testing. as if that wasn't bad enough to her, she went on to tell jordan that they would have to draw all kinds of shapes, numbers, and letters... and all the drawings had to be perfect. but, according to gracie, the worst part of the bear tests... wait for it... wait for it... and i quote,

"i think they make you spell chicken... all by yourself!!!"

the tooth fairy was here!

at 4:45 this morning i discovered (thank you, gracie) that the tooth fairy seems to be more exciting at the moment than christmas! she came running in, woke me up, and shoved the five dollar bill in my face. i finally had to explain to her that as exciting as the moment was, i had a few more minutes to sleep. i closed my eyes for a few short seconds... and then the alarm went off. ok, so it was probably more than a few seconds, but who's accurately counting at 4:45 am?

anyway, when she went in to get dressed, gracie discovered that the tooth fairy left her a note! what?!?!? left a note? apparently the tooth fairy wanted to make sure that gracie understood that each tooth will not net her an additional $5.00. what will the tooth fairy leave next, you ask? not sure. depends what's in her wallet, i guess. maybe the tooth fairy should stash some cash for the occasional unexpected loss of a tooth... that would make for a smart tooth fairy.

oh, and in case you're wondering... millie and mollie didn't scare off the tooth fairy. they didn't even bark... i don't even think they moved. some guard dogs.

p.s. i found cale examining his smile in the mirror earlier, and when i asked what he might be doing he said "lookin' for any loosed teeth"!

oh, glorious day!

what a big day this has been! six years (pretty much to the week, if you can believe it) in the making. my baby lost her first tooth today! when she was 11 weeks old, i took her to our old pediatrician and told him i thought she was teething. he, with his many years of child wisdom and me as a first-time mom, dismissed the notion. guess who was right? it's ok. that was my first lesson in paying attention to the "mama knower". you know the whole "it's my child, i know when it's something"! well, that was it for me. anyway, back to the girl... she lost her tooth! ok, let's be honest for a moment... she "lost" it with the help of miss karla. i was really rooting for her to get it out herself, but it just wasn't happenin'. poppy offered to get his pliers yesterday, but she ever so politely turned him down. can't imagine why? miss karla offered "jelly" so she wouldn't feel much of it... gracie hopped in the chair. there were a few tears, but so worth it. she is beside herself with excitement. gracie now joins the ranks of the kindergarteners who've finally lost a tooth! she's not the only one anymore!!!

awww... she is so cute. dang. i know that's my baby, but she is so stinkin' cute! i'll have to let you know what the tooth fairy brings... the real one. she's coming to our house. apparently she's going to leave money. the tooth fairy was given a suggestion of $5 and one for $20... thanks lulu. yeah, thanks a lot.

in case you don't know, gracie met the tooth fairy at school. the real tooth fairy. the r-e-a-l one. just making sure you get it. that's how gracie explained "the meeting" to me. apparently she's real and she wears a big puffy blue dress and she has real wings!

good luck, tooth fairy, getting past millie and mollie.

cale's just on here 'cause he talked me into it. he'd like to lose a tooth just because he wants 100 shiny coins.

i think the tooth fairy can handle that one!

awww... i just thought this was cute. and gracie actually wanted to pose with him. normally she screams 'cause he's near her... had to take advantage of the opportunity!

saturday night dinner

last night i decided it was time (again) for some good home cookin'. nothin' like a little fried chicken (ok, so they were chicken fingers), mashed potatoes, and gravy... homemade gravy.

i love to cook. i love to cook just about anything. it was a 2 1/2 hour meal preparation, but well worth it... if you don't mind that i say so myself! frying chicken "fingers", some good country music in the background, a nice glass of wine, and a little 2-steppin' with the kiddos mid-batches. now that's my kind of saturday night fun!

we sort of snacked our way to the dinner table. little nibbles here and there... and there and here... as i was cooking. yum.

what was the best part, you might ask? yeah, that gravy. it was as good as it looks. that has to be the best gravy i've ever made. let me pause for a moment and thank the best mother-in-law ever for teaching me to make the best gravy ever! thank you. i thank you, my husband thanks you, and my children thank you... oh, and the doggies, too! y'all come over sometime and i'll fix you some, too!

spring break 2011

i remember when i was little and how exciting spring break was. just being out of school was something to look forward to, any spring break activities were a bonus! my favorite times... curled up in a chair with a nancy drew book.

this week was gracie's spring break. she has played with friends, had a trip to the zoo (where she bumped into cale and lily... twice!), and topped the week off with girls' day out.

what does one do for our special "girls' day out"? this is spring break... we can't do just anything. it needs to be memorable. what exactly is memorable to a couple of six year olds?

• bowling? no... gracie doesn't bowl (which, by the way, is another story in itself).
• movies? nothing good out.
• painting the living room? "that's no fun, mom"!
• painting... pottery? yes!!!!

we worked very hard at painting our ceramics. gracie painted a cat, a dog, and a trivet. jordan picked a baseball, a fish, and also a trivet. mama painted a little plate. it was tedious... for me, anyway. they slapped the paint on and were ready to go. not me. it had to be perfect. i wanted to make it pretty and special. just so you know... it's so not as easy as it looks. back to the girls... as soon as they were done, they declared that they were star-ving! so...

we headed for lunch at an old soda fountain! so fun, and the food was yummy! we had such a great time.

this is the first of many fantastic times with the girls!