Shabby Chic Horse Birthday Party

Last Sunday we took a road trip to Lafayette, AL to celebrate Turner's friend McKenzie's birthday.  The party theme was a shabby chic horse party, but it appeared the weather was going to put quite a damper on the celebration.  Thankfully the rain held off for the most part and the kids were able to ride calm and mostly agreeable horses.

Oh the drama…you should have heard the accompanying "Yeehaw!"

More drama…where does she get this?!

Such a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Spring Break 2014

The start of Spring Break was a bit different than we anticipated.  Last Saturday morning Turner woke up with a fever and seemed a bit lethargic.  Looking back on it I should have taken her to the doctor then…but I waited and then she kept a fever for over 48 hours.  Finally took her to the doctor on Monday and she was diagnosed with the flu!  We enjoyed some lazy time at home on Monday and Tuesday and she was as sweet as she could be.  She rested a bit then would get up and want to do something like bake the "Berry Shortcake" she found on a Strawberry Shortcake app.  So bake we did!

Wednesday morning we headed out on a rather long car trip, first to Andalusia, then to Pensacola to pick up my sister who flew down from Boston, then finally arriving in Destin mid-afternoon.  This crew below was happy to be together and even celebrated BB's birthday a bit late.

We had a few good hours of swimming in the heated pool and Turner couldn't have been happier!

Just about the time my feet hit the warm water, one of my crowns popped off my tooth! What in the world!?  Thankfully my dentist also happens to be a good friend of mine and a quick text and phone call later and I was sticking this bad boy back on with some toothpaste.  He told me to come see him when we got home and we'd cement it back down.  Thank goodness it has stayed put the rest of the trip - but seriously the flu and then this??

Thursday morning turned out to be partly cloudy, but we headed down to the pool anyway to catch a few rays of sun prior to the impending rain storm headed our way.

Evenings this week we've also enjoyed some March Madness since we are basketball fans at our house…this is Turner's rendition of an updated Baylor cheerleader uniform!

Friday we experienced a torrential downpour with rains and high winds much like a tropical storm.  And to top it off, I woke up feeling horrible and had a fever! I was certain I had caught the flu from Turner…  It was going to be a wash of a beach day, so we started making plans to head over to a local mall to enjoy an indoor bouncy fun room and an arcade (and do a little shopping).  I did make a stop by Urgent Care in the afternoon and did not have the flu but rather an Upper Respiratory Infection. A steroid shot and antibiotics later and I am on the mend.  But again, what in the world kind of craziness can happen with regard to our health on Spring Break?!

Saturday was just perfection.  We woke up to what was supposed to be a partly cloudy/partly rainy forecast…but as you'll see below it was an absolutely beautiful day.  Sunny, warm, beautiful all day.

Sharing a shaved ice with my best buddy.

It's amazing what children imitate!  She laid down beside me and pulled that swimsuit right up!

We were on the beach/in the pool from 10-4 and were all exhausted when we finally came inside.  Turner fell asleep at 6:45pm for a mid evening nap!

We have had a wonderful time with family in these last four days in our happy place, but I will be happy to see my husband tomorrow as well.  He is such a sweetheart - spent the day today shampooing our carpets at home while I was down here at the beach.  I am a lucky girl.

Back to the real world tomorrow...

Scenes from March

March brought a few warmer days and we took every opportunity to get outside and enjoy!  One particular Saturday we had a good laugh at all the static in Turner's hair...

Turner and Anderson took advantage of warmer weather and made a fishing trip down to the creek behind our house.

Turner's wonderful teacher, Mrs. Harris, sent us this text a few weeks ago.  Turner had been telling me about a "extra project" that Mrs. Harris had assigned for her.  Turner picked her subject, learned how to use Google images to download a picture, and found four facts about her topic to teach to her class.  Turner picked King Cobra as her topic and worked so hard to complete her poster.  She taught the class about her findings and was so proud.

I cannot tell you how happy it made my heart that her teacher provided this learning opportunity for her, and also how happy I was that her teacher was kind enough to share these pictures.  We are blessed to have Mrs. Harris!

Pajama day at school - studying the letter "P".  Nothing like Christmas reindeer pajamas in March!

I had the privilege of making several sweet treats for Turner's school's Teacher Appreciation Week, but on the same evening I needed to make some treats for my school the following day.  I had planned to make two pans of chess squares, two loaves of banana bread, and a Butterfinger trifle.  Midway through the this process we ate diner and then as Mark bathed Turner I continued to bake.  I was admittedly in a hurry…and the following result is a pretty good indicator of what happens when I bake in a hurry.  Needless to say our leftover meatballs and gravy had an unusually sweet (think yellow cake mix) taste.

Turner's friend Aubrey was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in early March, so we spent a couple of evenings at the hospital playing and visiting.  They are sweet friends for sure.  Turner was dead set that Aubrey needed these lovely pink fake flowers that we found at The Dollar Tree.  I thought that was silly…but Turner knows best - Aubrey LOVED them.

A few days ago, Turner came inside and said she was going to get muddy.  I told her that was ok but not to get "too muddy" since we had to meet Mark at CWE Flapjack Fest in about an hour.  I found Turner, Anderson, and Owen in our freshly plowed garden which had been nearly washed out over the weekend by a torrential downpour…basically the biggest mud puddle these kids have ever seen.  They said it was Turner's idea, but that Mr. BJ from next door had helped them roll up their pants which automatically granted them permission in their opinion.  I heard Anderson exclaim, "This is the LIFE!" I can't tell you how much fun they had!

Pictures with Mrs. Carrie

Mrs. Carrie is a friend of ours from church who was diagnosed with breast cancer back in the fall. She has a very special relationship with several kids in our church.  These children (and their families) have been praying for Carrie for months now and this prayer request sheet from church one Sunday is such a treasure to me.

Carrie is so grateful for these sweet souls and happened to mention to me one day that she feared that her bald head would be "scary" or intimidating to these little ones.  She mentioned wanting them to all have matching beanies with her to perhaps help lessen the shock of this major appearance change for her.

I happen to have a really talented friend who has started crocheting beautiful creations and she agreed to make 10 different matching hats for this special operation.  The wonderful result was captured below at a special lunch after church a few weeks ago.  The two older girls on the ends are Carrie's daughters, but the rest of the kids represent 4 families who pray for Carrie and are fortunate enough to call her friend.

Another friend from church who takes pictures as a side business came with his whole setup to take the pictures for us and offered to snap a few extra pictures of families while we waited on lunch.

I love that Carrie had this idea and that I had a friend who could make this reality!  We love you Mrs. Carrie!