Tea Party

We celebrated Alexis' birthday last Saturday (26th). She likes to have her parties at her Granny's in her back yard. Last year she had a "Build your own Sundae" party, which was alot of fun. So, this year she wanted to have all her girlfriends over for a tea party. It was a beautiful day, thank you Lord! The girls wore their pretty dresses and then we decorated "floppy hats" with flowers, tulle and feathers. I made the little paper purses and put candy necklaces, ring pops, and some other little girly things in them. The highlight of the party was when the only boy, Harrison Wright, showed up (goes to school and church with Lexi) to seat the girls and serve them their tea. When he walked out the back door all the girls yelled "Harrison" and clobbered him with hugs (poor guy)! He is the sweetest and funniest kid, we just love him. Such a gentleman, as well. He pulled their chairs out for them, poured their tea in their tea cups, and passed around some peanuts. It was great! The girls actually loved the tea (or should I say sugar with a splash of tea). No, they really liked it and wanted seconds. They also ate strawberries and cupcakes. I can't believe I didn't get a pic of the cupcakes. A very talented friend of mine makes the most beautiful and delicous cupcakes. They were chocolate with chocolate icing and pink flowers on top. It was a great party. What a memory.

The setting


The table


Bunch of floppy hats hugging Harrison


still hugging Harrison, notice Eli in the background, he's thinking he's glad it isn't him

Harrison seats Genna

Waiting for the tea

Alexis, myself, and Ansley (her cousin)

Opening cards and presents

Happy Birthday, Alexis!

Today Alexis turns 6 years old! I really can't believe it. I look at these pictures and can't believe how she has changed, yet, I can still see that same sweet face from six years ago. My first baby, and only girl. I still remember how I felt the first time I held her. I literally would not put her down, I think I even upset some Grandmas over it. I was the most territorial new mother, and I am sorry to whomever I may have offended ( I got a little better with each one?)! I love all these pictures of her, because they really reflect all of the many complexities of her personality. She is serious, sweet, charming, cautious, smart, and sometimes a little bit dramatic. We love how she looks after her brothers, how she hugs us with her whole self, how she picks dresses by the "twirl" factor, how she gets teary at night when she feels sorry or sad about something, how she puts on shows and/or plans a party just about every day, how she is not afraid to let you know when you have offended her in some way, and how she never misses a thing! ( I think I love those last 2 things?) She melted our hearts six years ago, and she continues to do that everyday. Happy Birthday sweet girl!

P.S. I forgot to mention that both Alexis and Eli came down with pneumonia this past week! They are both doing ok, I just can't believe both of my April birthday kids were sick on their special day! But we are all gonna party when everyone is better!

Tagged!

My sister-in-law, Melissa tagged me to answer the following questions. Here are the questions and my answers.

What was I doing 10 years ago?:

Ten years ago, I was living in Searcy, AR, going to school. I really enjoyed living in a little bity town where everything was 5 miles away. I lived in a little old house with yellow carpet with my cousin who made spaghetti almost every night. I took care of twin baby boys and spent my free time with friends and actually exercising.
Five Snacks I enjoy:
in a perfect non-weight gaining world
1. chocolate chip cookies
2. Twizzlers
3. Ruffles potato chips/french onion dip
4. Hershey's bar with almonds
5. Andy's frozen custard

in the real world:
1. oats n' honey granola bars
2. chips n queso
3. crackers with pepper jelly spread
4. dry cereal
5. peanut butter and banana

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. pay off all debt (thank you D. Ramsey)
2. buy a little farm or land, and put some horses on it for Kevin
3. support many causes--MVule Project, water wells in Africa, Books for Basoga, just be able to give to whatever and whenever
4. go to Africa every year to teach my children what poverty truly is
5. tip big

Five jobs that I have had:
1. waitress at J. Christophers pizza ( I still miss that pizza)
2. Mountain Hideway sales assoc. (first girl to ever work there)
3. Outback Steakhouse server (houston,tx)
4. Insurance clerk for Ozarks Optical
5. mom

Three of my habits:
1. biting my lips (thanks mom)
2. doodling (when you have children, this sounds like a gross thing, but what I mean is that I love to draw and play around on paper)
3. losing my keys

Five places I have lived:
1. Houston, TX (actually Spring, TX)
2. Lubbock, TX
3. Searcy, AR
4. St. Louis, MO
5. Springfield, MO (home)

People I will tag:
Ashlee Chism
Bonnie Howard
Kelly Julian
(my favorite blogging in- laws)

What a weekend...

Thursday afternoon, which was my birthday and the day before Aaron's, we celebrated Aaron's birthday at the home of Chuck E. Cheese. I am not the biggest fan of the place, but my son is, and well, that is where he wanted to go. For all who are interested, 4 o'clock on a weeknight is a great time to have a party at C.E.C's. We had cake and played games with a few of Aaron's closest friends, Avery and Ethan. At the end of the party we noticed Aaron becoming aggitated and weepy, and sure enough he was warm with fever. He spent the next day in bed with pretty high fever and after some signs of feeling better on Saturday, he suddenly went downhill. Sunday night Kevin and I both felt like we needed to get him to the ER, and by 3 a.m the next day they admitted him for pneumonia. He was in bad shape. But by 9 o'clock last night the doctor was so amazed with his progress, he let him come home. He told us that he expected Aaron to be on oxygen another full day, and was surprised that his O2 levels stayed above 90 when they took him off the oxygen. He's a strong boy, that Aaron. He had a rough day today, he coughed all day long getting all that junk up, and the steroids they put him on have made him a little more than irritable. He has thrown things, kicked at us, called us names like "stinky," yelled "I don't like you Mommy," about a dozen times, and then after his fits he would cry and say, "mommy, why am I so mean, I don't want to be mean!" I just tell him "it's not you, buddy, it's the yucky medicines!" I hate medications, I will admit, because of side effects like these and various other reasons, but they pulled him out of a rough place, so I guess I am grateful. We hope that he will begin to eat again tomorrow and get his strength up. We thank the Lord that our boy is in our bed peacefully sleeping right now. Anyway, here are some pics of the whole ordeal.

These are the beautiful flowers my mom and mother-in law gave to me on my birthday, thanks you moms!

Before the party started (he was so excited)

His "bestest" friend Ethan waiting a turn

Eli and Granny

Lexi playing whatever this game is called (air hockey?)

Blowing out his 4 candles

I had to get in a cute Eli pic

Sunday, about a couple hours before we took him in

All he wanted to do was sit by the window, so they gave him a long O2 cord and he would just sit and watch life go on from the 7th floor

I got a smile...

and then he got a little grouchy

Aunt Marilyn (Papa's sister) came and sat at the window with him

by the way, the pediatric wings at the hospital today are sure better than when I was a kid. They brought him teddy bears, coloring books, any movie he wanted to watch (we picked Toy Story) and they even had a real neat toy and snack room for the siblings to play. But, it wasn't enough for any of us to want to stay any longer!

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday, Sweet Aaron

Today is Aaron's 4th birthday! Unfortunately he is spending it in bed. He is fighting a virus and is getting rest. Good thing we celebrated last night (I will post pics later). We are so blessed to have Aaron in our family. He brings us so much joy. I love his tender heart, his sweet voice, his protective and loyal nature, and how he loves to snuggle and give big hugs. Just this morning we were talking about going to the toystore so he could pick out a toy, and he said that he would just pick out something little, so Lexi could get something, too. I pray he will always have that un-selfish spirit. We sure do love this boy!! Happy Birthday, Rooster!

saying goodbye

www.ethanpowell.com

Today the little boy, Ethan Powell, that I have been praying for these last several months, died peacefully in his mom and dad's arms. I don't know this family personally, just through others, but I feel as if I lost a member of my own family. He was not yet 16 months old. Fighting leukemia is all he has ever known, until now. Now he knows what it is like to laugh, run, dance, and be in his Savior's arms--with no pain, no tubes, no medications. I sit here and think of this precious boy with this big grin running to Jesus and how completely perfect he is at this very moment and I smile at the thought. And then my thoughts go to the ones he left behind--2 parents who have been living and breathing Ethan and this battle for 16 months--and my heart just aches! How do these parents walk away from their sweet boy's body to never hold him again? This was their only child. 2 weeks ago they were rejoicing because he beat the leukemia, and now they are in agony because his immune system was just too weak to fight a virus. Millions of people were praying for this baby to survive, but the Lord had a different plan, and though I can't possibly understand His reasons or ways, I know His glory will be evident. It takes great faith to believe the Lord will heal, but greater faith to praise Him even when He doesn't, and I am thankful to be one of millions who have witnessed their faith in this storm. I have held my Eli all day long and am grateful that he has let me. Please pray for this family to feel overwheming love from our Lord surrounding them as they face tomorrow without their son. Their loss is so great.

Little Rock

We went to Little Rock to visit my sister and her kids for Lexi's spring break, while Kevin worked there in town. We stayed at a hotel (or 'hotowel" as Lexi so sweetly says it) at night and visited with them during the day. I didn't get many pictures because everyone was too busy playing, but here are just a few. The kids were GREAT! We had a great time and really liked Alyssa's new house.

The big hit was the 9th floor window from the hotel room over the Arkansas River.

I love this picture, he looks like a little old man giving directions!

Lauren, Kevin, and "baby E-why"

blowing bubbles

Happy Belated Easter!

I love Easter! Our family tradition on Easter Sunday morning is to have a special breakfast complete with Bunny shaped pancakes. The kids really love it and look forward to it. I decorate the table the night before and then get up early to start the pancakes. They have a easter egg hunt after church, which I did not get pics of because I neglected to bring my camera. I tried to get a picture of all 3 of the kids but wasn't successful at that either. We had a great Easter meal at Bill and Fran's house with Kevin's brother's family and our friend's the Fouts. It was a good day. Thank you Lord for our risen Savior! He is good! Spring is coming!

Happy 1st Easter, buddy!

Temporary set back

Well, we are getting somewhat back to normal after our basement dilemma. A couple of weeks ago our basement flooded due to torrential rains! I was home with the kids and Kevin was out on business. I put the kids to bed and went upstairs to watch the rest of American Idol. When I came back down to do my normal "check on the kids before I call it a night" routine, I found their beds in about an inch of water! I walked into the family room and sure enough water was quickly rising! I was in a state of panic when I called Kevin, and poor guy, what can he do 200 miles away? He called his dad, and in minutes, good ol" Papa Bill was at the door to rescue me in his nice dress pants and leather shoes! But he didn't think twice, he just dove in and started helping me put all the furniture on stilts (paint cans and Aaron's wood blocks)! The sump pump finally clicked on! Anyway, after a couple days of craziness, we got all the water out with some help from wonderful friends and family (oh and a dehumidifier), and after cleaning the carpets and washing all of the wet laundry, there is not a hint of water ever being in our basement. This basement went 25 years without flooding, and hopefully after we declogged the sump pump, it will go another 25 years! So, that is most of the reason we haven't updated anything for a while, that and a spring break trip to Little Rock to visit Alyssa.