A Few More of Amy

Amy came by last week to look at all her Senior pictures. She found a few more that she liked. She did a great job picking out these. They are beautiful!

Bracket Buster

My weekend started on Thursday. Once the NCAA tournament starts you can basically find me on the couch from Thursday-Sunday. The first Thursday and Friday of the tournament are great. It is a solid 12 hours of basketball.

My bracket was looking good on Thursday and Friday. Then Saturday and Sunday happened and now I don't have a bracket. At least I am not the only person. I feel like not many people have brackets anymore. Who could have picked all these Cinderella teams?

My new team is Saint Mary's. They have five kids from Australia so it is tons of fun to listen to their post game interviews. I love their accents. They are also pretty good and lots of fun to watch. I didn't see the Cornell game, but I enjoyed their post game interview as well. Maybe next week I can see them play. It probably won't matter because I don't think they can beat Kentucky.

So much for my bracket, how does yours look?

Going Home

I am headed home today. It has almost been a month since I have been home for a extended period of time. A couple of weeks ago I went home for the weekend and then headed back to Lubbock. In some ways I am happy to be going home and other ways I am sad.

These are the HAPPY:

- So ready to sleep in my own bed.

- Ready to see James for more than two days at a time.

- I need to get back to working out. I eat really bad when I am in Lubbock.

- Will be great to get back to Bible Study.

- It will be nice to get back to the shooting and editing side of my business instead of paperwork.

- The weather in Lubbock is crazy. I never know what to expect.

- It will be nice to have all my clothes in one location. I didn't pack very well for the snow one day and the warm temperatures the next day.

- I miss my friends in San Antonio and I am ready to see them.

- I can't wait to catch up on my sleep.

These are the sad:

- Not ready to leave Ann and the kids.

- I love seeing all my family everyday and it will be a change not to see everyone.

- I love being able to get anywhere in Lubbock in 15 minutes.

- Eating meals with the family is like old times.

- I haven't done my own laundry in a month. Mom has been doing it and I love it.

- How will I survive without kisses and hugs from John and Caroline everyday.

- I have gotten a massage once a week since I have been here. Heaven!

- Hanging out with Doneece and basically doing nothing has been great.

- Going home to do James' laundry is likely to kill me. He has not done any laundry. I did his laundry two weeks ago, so I have two weeks worth of laundry waiting for me at home.

- Going to the grocery store will be a nightmare. James has not gone to HEB, but for bread.

It is time for me to go home. Things will be fine here without me. I am just so thankful that I have been able to be here the past few weeks. I am blessed to have a husband who totally supports me to up and leave him for a few weeks. I love you James!

Happy Birthday Dad

Yesterday was Dad's birthday and we had a little party at the house for him. After church we headed back to the house for finger sandwiches. Everyone was there.

Caroline and John love balloons! Of course they each got a balloon for Uncle Dennis' birthday.

My sweet Caroline and James. Aren't they so cute?

John John with his Grandpa. Doneece and I have started calling him Grandpa Uncle Darrel. We figure it covers all the basis. John loves putting puzzles together. He has gotten really good at them. It is so sweet to sit down and do a puzzle with John. I am really going to miss this.

Uncle Dennis, Caroline and John. Mom made Chocolate Chip Pies for Dad for his birthday. We put a candle in each pie so both Caroline and John could blow out a candle. John took a practice run. As soon as Doneece got the candle lit John blew it out. We re-lit the candle and actually made it through the song before he blew it out again. Caroline knows the drill and got it right.

John and Ann. Such a cute picture of the two of them. Love them tons!

Caroline thinks it is hilarious to stick out her tongue for pictures. Of course she doesn't have to do much to convince James. The hard part was getting John on board. They got him on board, but he just opened his mouth and forgot to stick out his tongue. The boy is so funny.

He finally got it.

After lunch was over I braided Caroline's hair. I took this flower out of her hair and added it to mine to hold my bangs back. Mom thought it was so cute she made Doneece take a picture. I think the flower looks better in Caroline's hair.

Happy Birthday Dad! So glad James and I got to spend your birthday with you. Thanks for being such a wonderful day. We are all so blessed!

Sweet Boy

This sweet boy is coming to see us this weekend. I am not sure who is more excited, me or Caroline or John. I guess all that really matters is we are all excited to see him and spend the weekend with him.

A Day With John John

We had a fun day yesterday, but it was super busy. Mom and I picked John up at Noon. The boy can not stay at daycare during the afternoon. If he takes a nap at school he is up till 10:00 or 10:30 at night. It is total craziness.

We picked up John so he would not have a nap. We spent the rest of the afternoon running errands and trying to keep John awake. Poor John just wanted to go home and watch "Max and Ruby." We went to see Dad at work and Doneece at work. We made a quick stop at the mall where John got ice cream.

We also got John a haircut. I was really unsure about the haircut. He kept telling me NO HAIRCUT. I of course was the best Aunt I know how to be and bribed him. He took the bribe hook line and sinker. He was a champ while getting his haircut. He was totally cute before the haircut, but somehow he became cutter after the haircut. Don't you think?

We had a play date last night with Ashley and her sweet kids. Caroline and Carley had a great time playing with all the toys and watching "My Little Pony." Corey is so cute and so happy. I never heard him cry. He just laughed and talked.

Carley found a medal in Caroline's room. She has really been wanting a medal so Caroline gave her the medal. It was so sweet. Caroline was so generous and Carley was so excited and thankful for the medal.

It was a really fun night and John made it. I was so worried he would fall asleep during dinner, but he didn't and he was in a really good mood all night.

Star of the Week

Caroline was Star of the Week last week at school. This is a really big deal in kindergarten! Caroline has been looking forward to this week for a long time. The main events of the week are you get to be the door holder, have someone read the class a book each morning, have someone join you for lunch and make a poster about yourself.

Caroline did all. Everyone morning someone read a book to her class. She loved picking the book for the class and having someone read. John even got to listen a few mornings before he went to school. Of course someone took her lunch everyday. Our family spent a lot of time at school last week. Doneece and I took her McDonald's on Friday. I forgot how crazy elementary lunch rooms are. It was so noise I couldn't even hear myself think. Caroline was the envy of all her friends. I think Caroline is the most popular kid in her class. All her classmates love her!

Caroline and Ann did a great job with the poster. Caroline had a hard time narrowing down the pictures, but she chose some really good ones. The poster turned out so cute!

On Friday night Caroline got a special surprise. Her sweet cousins, Madeline and Jake, sent her a cookie bouquet. They sent Caroline stars and John dinosaurs. The bouquets were super cute and super delicious. Everyone enjoyed them especially the kids.

Caroline is the best Star of the Week I have ever seen. She is my Star of the Week every week. Love that girl tons!!!

Honey Do List

We have been working on the Honey Do List at our house. Only problem is you are suppose to give your honey the list and him take care of it. It doesn't really work that way at my house. I make the list and take care of it. It I can't handle the task I call a handyman or wait till Dad comes to visit and make him do it.

James' parents got us a ceiling fan for the kitchen for Christmas. Our kitchen windows face the West, which during the summer is HOT! We had a ceiling fan in our kitchen in Corpus, but not in the new house. I really missed the ceiling fan. I unfortunately do not know how to install a ceiling fan and James definitely does not so I called the electrician. It is up and wonderful! We haven't really used it much yet, but I am sure that will change soon.

Also on the Honey Do List was to hang my new canvases. I ordered two canvases of the pictures from our Christmas card. I love them and they are so easy. No frame needed and they come with a wire already attached on the back. My friend, Brandi, came over to help me hang the canvases. We were going to move the old canvases to another wall and hang the new ones where the old ones were.

That isn't exactly how it worked out. We ended up putting all four canvases on one wall. Brand thought of it and I never would have. I am not a creative decorator, but she is. I love what she did!

When I said "we" have been working on the Honey Do List I guess I should have said I have been working on the Honey Do List and now it is complete.

Amy - Senior - Smithson Valley High School

I had a great time with Amy Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day, but a little windy. It was actually warm and sunny with a beautiful blue sky. Amy is a senior at Smithson Valley and next year she will be attending TEXAS TECH. YEAH!!! I had no idea she was planning on going to Tech until she told me one of her outfits was a Texas Tech shirt. I was so excited. I just love fellow Red Raiders.

Thanks Amy for hanging out with me Sunday afternoon and letting me take your senior pictures. You are a natural in front of the camera. Good Luck at Tech next year. You are going to LOVE it!