Fat Tuesday Pancake Day

Today is Marti Gras day in New Orleans. This picture was taken of us "back in the day" before the kiddos at a Marti Gras Ball at Statesville Country Club!

Today is also National Pancake Day - now that sounds good to me! I heart some pancakes!!! IHOP is giving away FREE pancakes today until 10pm. Mmmmm...

Blessings

Until next time...

This Is So Funny!!!

This is so funny, I just had to post this!

This is what my 3 year old just told me while I was having fun dancing to some music, "Mommy, you not good dancer. You funny though." Ha! I can't stop laughing! The things our little ones tell us! I thought you might enjoy a good laugh too!

Happy Monday,

Until next time...

My Academy Awards Favorities

I love watching the Red Carpet show before The Academy Awards!

My fav's this year include:
1) Amy Adams' beautiful necklace, hair and skin! Love it!!!
2) Angelina Jolie's emerald earrings! They are stunning!!!
3) And, finally my most fav this year overall is Anne Hathaway BY A MILE! She looks absolutely radiant. I adore her hair, skin, DRESS, and overall style!

What were your red carpet favorites this year?

Blessings,

Until next time...

Happy V-Day!

One of my favorite things about today was hearing Sarah ask me several times throughout the day, "Mommy, is it still "Balentine's Day"?" Isn't that sweet? No, I didn't misspell the word. She says Balentine's Day. She LOVED today so much - all the hearts, love, fun surprises, and just the sweetness of the day!!! She didn't want it to end! Daddy says he thinks Sarah has discovered a NEW favorite holiday, maybe! :)

Today has been a lot of fun! I always LOVED seeing what my mother would surprise us with every Valentine's morning. She was always so creative with what she gave us and had it sitting at our place at the breakfast table so that is where I left Sarah and Elizabeth's this morning.

I wanted to share with you a couple of the things the girls got this morning. Sarah is really into creating stuff by drawing, coloring, gluing, and glittering on a daily basis. Have y'all seen the new crayola markers called Pip-Squeaks? I love them! They are so adorable and easy for small hands to hold. My favorite thing about them is how each one is labeled with really fun names like; chocolate chip, little boy blue, copper penny, inchworm green... I thought since they are small in size they would work well for Elizabeth too.

And for Elizabeth, one of the things we gave her were these really darling hot pink shoes... You're going to laugh, but they're actually made by a company called Wee Squeaks. So we've had a lot of squeaking going on today. Not only are the shoes this company makes so cute but they have a removable piece in the heel of each shoe that squeaks when you walk. It is suppose to be good for babies learning to walk to hear the sound and to put their heal down first as they step. I love them because I can put them on her and I know exactly where she is. ha! :) And, it's fun to see her face light up when she walks. She loves them!

Last night Mike and I went to a beautiful Valentine Dinner Dance that our church hosted. It was really quite a treat! They even provided childcare which was really wonderful!!! Here are some pictures and a wonderful recipe for a delicious appetizer dip! It was so good! I can't wait to make this for us!

I love the name of this recipe!!! Sorry, I didn't get a picture. You'll have to visualize!

Cowboy Caviar

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (4 oz.) can chopped black olives

1/4 cup diced onion

1 clove garlic

2 Tbsp. canola oil

2 Tbsp. lime juice

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

8 oz. softened cream cheese

2 hard-boiled eggs

1 chopped green onion

Tortilla chips

Marinate the first 10 ingredients for at least 4 hours. Drain; save 2 tablespoons marinade. Add the reserved marinade to the cream cheese. Spread the cream cheese mixture on a plate; top with bean mixture. Chop up the two eggs and make a ring around the bean mixture. Sprinkle with chopped onion. Serve with tortilla chips.

Here are some people doing the "Cupid Shuffle". Ha! Our pastor is the gentlemen to the far right of the picture!

Happy "Balentine's Day" Blessings,
Until next time...

Love Through A Child's Eyes

Love through a child's eyes... What does this look like! I'll tell ya!

Tonight I had to be away at a ladies mentoring dinner meeting done through my church. After Daddy put Elizabeth to bed he told Sarah they could make chocolate chip cookies. Isn't that sweet!?! Both girls were asleep when I got home tonight.

Mike told me before Sarah went to bed she told him, "Daddy, you can eat all the cookies EXCEPT two of them. Leave one for me and one for Mommy so we can eat them TOGETHER in the morning when I wake up." Oh my goodness... I was smiling all over! Is that not the most precious thing you've ever heard!?! I just love that she said this and that she thought this!!! :) She wants to share some cookie time with ME in the morning. Beautiful! So... this is what I think LOVE is through a child's eyes! Isn't it beautiful!!!

May you all feel this LOVED sometime during this upcoming Valentine weekend! And, in case you haven't heard this today... I LOVE YOU!

Blessings,

Until next time...

Talking Up A Storm

I only have a few minutes for a quick update. Elizabeth is really talking up a storm these days! Some of her favorite words right now are "puppy", "yeah", "bye-bye", and "ball". Lately she says "ball" everytime she wakes up. Last night she wanted to sleep with her "ball". Daddy LOVES this! :) Here are a couple cute pics I got of her giving Lucy a big hug! She loves her "doggie" Lucy! Aren't these pictures too funny!?! Poor Lucy takes ALOT around here!

Blessings,
Until next time...

From This Moment - February 10,1998

Tomorrow, (February 10th) is a VERY special day for me! Eleven years ago tomorrow my husband PROPOSED!!! . I believe it was then that my life began! :) And, the most wonderful thing was that I was COMPLETELY surprised! And, trust me, I'm a tough one to surprise! :)

I can honestly say I believe with all my heart that my husband is the most wonderful husband, father ("Daddy, Da-Da"), son, son-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, and PGA teaching professional I have ever seen! I can't express to you how much I love and admire him and the life he lives! It brings tears to my eyes and my heart just to think about how much I love and admire him! He loves well and for this I feel so thankful! He is truly one of a kind! I believe the Lord made him to complete me. Thank You Father for blessing me with such a loving husband! You have blessed me with the best and for this I feel so eternally grateful!

*A little side note: He had planned to propose on Valentine's Day (which would have been fun (because I have always loved Valentine's Day), but he couldn't wait that long so he proposed on the 10th instead! I love this about him! I can't tell you how many times he has bought me a special gift and gives it to me days before the occasion or holiday actually arrives! Isn't that sweet!?! He just can't help it!

I love you buddy!!! "My dreams came true because of you."

Happy Engagement Day/Early Valentine's Day! :)

Blessings,

Until next time...