Ode to Billy Mays

Mark has always loved Billy Mays. So understandably he was way more upset about Billy's death a few weeks ago than the deaths of Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett the same week.

So it came as no surprise to me last week when I walked in the bathroom and saw Kamdyn dipping her washcloth in and out of the bathwater talking about how amazing Oxiclean was. I had to laugh out loud because she was delivering a hard sell for some Oxiclean laundry detergent... stains disappear, etc. We don't even use Oxiclean which made it even funnier to me.

I've heard her doing her little commercials several more times since then. I guess Mark was right about Billy Mays after all. And who knows? Maybe Kamdyn has a future in TV.... QVC or HSN, maybe?

Bounce House and Horses...

I'm trying to catch up on some of my blogging... mainly so I can record our summer because I drink too many diet cokes to be able to remember it all!

We recently had a family fun night at church where the kids got to ride horses and play in a bounce house and obstacle course. Kamdyn refused to ride the horses and Cooper wouldn't even go near the gym with the bounce house.

His fear of inflatables begain about 3 months ago at Kamryn's birthday party. Cant' remember if I posted those pics or not...We walked in the party place and the first thing we saw was a HUGE inflatable dinosaur on top of one of the bounce houses. It was over then! Cooper spent the entire party hiding in the party room under the table.

About a month later, we went to another birthday party at a different jump place and it was pretty much the same thing. I had to stand outside with him while he played with those stupid gumball/sticker/tattoo machines the whole time. So it occurred to me when we were pulling in the parking lot at church that this might not go over too well and I was right. Mark had to actually walk him outside and around the gym (rather than through the gym w/the bounceys) to get to the horses.

Pretty girl Hannah volunteered to ride with him. We weren't sure he'd stay on by himself.
She wasn't going to let him fall.
That is a grin you see on his face!
He loved the horseback rides and did not want to get off.Braxton, on the other hand, wasn't as keen on the horses. That's Cecilia riding with him...
I did what I do best at these things... I stood and talked while Kam jumped. I'm sure I see her standing in line somewhere there! We had family movie night last night. My kids only lasted about 45 minutes through it before they got restless. Cooper had eaten 4-5 cinnamon sticks for dinner from the Pizza Shack right before we went so I'm really not surprised he couldn't sit still! We left early (after swiping a cookie for Kam...otherwise, she wasn't going to let me leave) and went home to play outside and burn off some of the sugar before bedtime!

Fishing in Heber

I keep mentioning that my camera is broken, but I don't think I've mentioned that Mark lost my memory card with 600 pictures on it. I think I'm even more upset about it than when I lost my wallet 3 weeks ago. I'm still hoping that both will turn up eventually.

I borrowed Mom's camera a few weeks ago when we went to Heber for the weekend. The kids have been dying to go fishing so Mark and Papaw Sonny took them to Uncle Sprout's pond. It was at least 100 degrees but they were insistent on going... I toured Heber and found a great place to get a pedicure while they were gone.

I don't think Cooper actually caught this fish, but they tried to get him to help reel it in.
I predicted before they left that someone would get a hook in them somewhere and I was right. Mark got one in the thumb courtesy of Cooper.
Kamdyn and Uncle Sprout... she looks like she's just taking it easy while he does all the work.
Mark took these pics but I imagine that my kiddos are jumping up to run when Papaw Sonny brought that fish near them...
I think this pic probably sums the afternoon up... the kids sat under a tree in Uncle Sprout's lap while Papaw, Mark, and Sprout did all the fishing...
After the fishing expedition, we went to visit Nannie. Now Nannie loves all her great-grandkids but we tend to think she is partial to Kamdyn... she calls her the "little princess." LOL! However, she now has another princess in baby Kennedy and Kamdyn is happy to share that title!
Stephen told Mark the last time they visited Nannie that the first thing she said was, "where's Kamdyn?"
Cooper giving me instructions on how to take a picture...
Kamdyn and Aunt Dorothy....
I love Aunt Dorothy. The first time I ever met her was at my wedding shower in Heber. Mark came up to her, gave her a big hug, and asked how Uncle Mack was. She just looked at Mark laughing and said, "Mark, Uncle Mack's been dead a year." I think Mark could have died on the spot but she just laughed!

There's also the story of her bringing two goats to Courtney's office for a wedding present... that one never gets old!

I'm Still Here!

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything new. It's been crazy busy for me lately and my camera is broken so I've not gotten good pics lately. I've been on vacation, to DC for a work training, and I'm leaving Tuesday to take 45 students to NW Arkansas for 3 days. I said all that to say that I promise to post new pics and stories as soon as I get back later this week. I know my 5 faithful followers will be glad to know this! :)

Through the Eyes of a Child

I've noticed lately that Kamdyn talks about Jesus a lot. It doesn't take much to prompt her. Twice this last week, she began talking about Jesus while sitting in Mom's lap and playing with her necklace. The first time was a cross necklace so that was easy... the second time Mom had on a big circle necklace that looked like a flat shell or, in Kam's eyes, the stone that laid in front of Jesus' tomb. Over dinner at Landry's she told Mom, in detail, the story of Jesus dying on the cross and the stone being rolled away. I think Mom was a little blown away by the details that she knew.

She also will occasionally pick up her little NT Bible she got at AWANA and launch into a story about Jesus going up into the clouds and Troy and Graviola (Gabriela from High School Musical) ... it's pretty funny how she mixes the two.

Mark and I have talked about how she seems to be spiritually sensitive which makes me happy thinking about it. I hope she will have a relationship with Jesus one day.

It's as easy as A-B-C:

A - Admit you are a sinner.
B- Believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross for your sins.
C- Confess and call upon Him to be your Savior.

My prayer is that you too have this relationship with Jesus Christ!

At My Wit's End...

Note: I drafted this post over a week ago thinking that I would post it when I could download the picture of my cut and black eye to go with it. I've been off work, we've been on vacation, and my camera is broke now (another story for another post!) so I'm posting this anyway.

As I was putting my makeup on and trying to conceal the place where Cooper stabbed me with a pen and then the black eye he gave me Friday night, I realized I am at my wit's end with his hitting. Really. I don't know what to do about it now. It's more than a blood sugar problem...

Friday night we were laying on the couch watching "High School Musical" with the lights out. Next thing I know I've been clocked in the eye with a car and I've got blood running down my face. I was so stunned and it hurt so, yes, I did cry. In fact, I jumped up and ran to the bathroom. Mark comes out of the bathroom just in time to see the blood running down my face and he thinks it's coming from my eye. I couldn't talk for a few seconds to even tell him what happened. Did he do it on purpose? I don't know. I just know that I ended up with a small cut and a black eye. Never thought I'd get a black eye from my 2-year old!

Advice, anyone? Everyone says it's just a "boy thing" but I think it's more than that. I know it's a problem when he picks up any object, raises his arm, and Kam starts running and flinching for fear she's going to get hit. We just never know. We've tried timeout, taking his favorite toys away, spanking, etc. What next?

By the way, he is still as sweet and lovable as ever when he's not on one of his hitting sprees. That hasn't changed!

Another note: Cooper was so much better with the hitting while we were on vacation! Thank you, Lord!!!

Me and My Peeps Do Dallas

Friends Don't Let Friends Shop Alone!

My friends and I took our annual marathon shopping trip to Grapevine, Texas earlier this week. We had the best time and it came at a time when I definitely needed some girlfriend bonding. We do nothing but shop, eat, and stay up all night giggling like teenagers. I agree with my friend Leah who said that she hoped we never get too old to do this.

Here we are at the end of day 2 getting ready to head home:
Mary and Sherri at the end of day 1...
Sherri, Kristen, and Jackie... bright eyed, bushy tailed and ready to shop!
Leah doing what she does best... talk!
Leah, Me, and Jackie.... As you can tell, the back of the van was packed full. Thank goodness Mary's van had one of those cameras where you can see without actually looking back there.
I'm sure I ate enough to gain 5 pounds these two days; however, I think I laughed enough to burn the extra calories. We made it home late Tuesday night having been pulled over only once and I think we are now referring to ourselves as "The Seven Dwarfs" or "The Seven Smurfs"... I'm not sure which. That's an inside joke that no one but us will understand. :)

I must say that we all have the best husbands (and mothers) who always keep our kids so we can get together several times a year. That should earn me some brownie points and another outing, huh?

You guys are the best and I love ya! Already looking forward to our next trip!