Things are difficult to put into words right now...

We are still in shock and somewhat denial that Carol (Blake's mom) has so suddenly passed away. I don't think we can quite describe or express all of our feelings. We do know though, that through all of this, she is in heaven right now and she is filled with such joy. On top of all this grief and mourning all 3 of us are sick. Blake and I have flu-like symptoms and Gavin has a bad cold. So, things are difficult right now..we'll get through it, but we don't know how right now.

Revelation 21:4

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Happy Birthday Gavin!!!

The gag face!!! LOL

He wanted to share his cake with everyone.


Ivey helping out. Every one year old needs an older friend to help open presents!











Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that I forgot to hand out to most people!

I made a scrapbook for him, a photo album chronicling his first year, a baby book, and everyone signed a mat for his birthday photo.

What a great party!! He had so much fun and did so well being up 8 hours without a nap. He loves all of his presents that he got from his sweet friends and family.
Funny moments of the party: He snuggled with Gary and with other students and he usually doesn't do that.
The first bite of cake he gagged on it and the last bite he gagged too. Too much sugar!!!
Ripping open the wrapping paper with gusto and then dancing to the music of his new toy.
Fran mistaking wax paper for parchment paper and burning one of the appetizers 30 minutes before the party. DOH!


Happy 1st Birthday, Gavin!! We love you :)

First Steps

(These are his pediped shoes)

Gavin is walking!! When he wants to. Doesn't he do everything when he wants to?? He took about 10 steps yesterday but he wouldn't do it for daddy when he got home from work. I didn't have time to grab my camera. It was very, very cute and he was so proud of himself as he tiptoed around.

Keeping it Simple...well, trying to....

Keeping it Simple has been our motto for the past couple years. Lately, though, I've had to remind myself of that as I plan Gavin's birthday party and our daily schedule that includes running around, having friends over, going to playdates and getting involved in new (do we really have time to get involved?? of course, YES, because I have a really hard time saying NO) activities...plus whatever other 100 things we did last week that stole (albeit fun and willingly) our time. For instance, the last blog post was 9 days ago and honestly the past 9 days has seemed like a blur. We have been gone almost daily from the house and Gavin's nap times have mostly happened in the car. So, it's time for a "keep it simple" check up. When life is getting too hectic and chaotic here in BranFlakeville we take a step back and evaluate what we are doing and why we are doing it.
Blake recently told me of an article he read that said that people who spend 10 minutes a day meditating and visualizing their favorite vacation spot or the place they feel most at peace have a lower stress level. I haven't tried it yet (does daydreaming count when you are cooking or cleaning?!) but I'm going to! Not that I really have a lot of stress in my life right now (for once)but there seems to be just a lot of to-do. And that, my friends, goes against the family motto!
What do you do to de-stress?

As cliche as it sounds....

Motherhood has changed me. He makes me less self-centered. The problems I used to have no longer take over my life because he does.

Motherhood has made me sacrifice for the good of my family. The things that I may want are put on hold or altogether overruled by him.

Motherhood has brought out the best and worst in me. The best because my little guy has given my life joy that seems to permeate into everything I do. The worst comes out when I'm exhausted, stretched in every direction, and my communication fails when I feel that things are not perfect.

Motherhood has caused me to fall more in love with my husband and appreciate more what he does everyday for us. Not only does he have so much to give to Gavin, but he also shows me true love and patience when I have one of my psycho moments.

Motherhood makes me realize that nothing will ever be perfect, ever. Except when we're with Jesus. And that's good because I need to be reminded of that everyday.

Motherhood has given me more confidence. I don't know if I can pinpoint exactly why yet, or even if it is a combination of things, but I feel more confident now than I ever have.

How has it changed you?

That Blissful Quietus

It's nap time for Little Big Foot, so what does that mean? My house is silent except for the washing machine and the annoying yowl of Dash wanting attention. I can easily block out those sounds. The radio is playing in the background reminding me of the work in the kitchen that still needs to be done. There's a voice in my head that says, "What are you doing sitting with your feet propped up on the couch, writing for the blog? Get up and clean up the mess left over from Hurricane Gavin. You've got meat in the fridge that needs to be taken care of and veggies to chop and speaking of the fridge it needs to be cleaned. Get up and pick up. Oh, by the way, the bathroom's disgusting and there's an ant invasion in the kitchen again, and leftover breakfast on the floor, and have you noticed the flowerbeds??They've turned into flower jungles and LOOK you can't even see the dining room table--so get off you bootang and get it going because YOU ONLY HAVE AN HOUR FOR NAP TIME AND IT'S NOT EVEN GUARANTEED!!!!!!" With this last sentence I run screaming from the house never to return. Maybe this house isn't so silent after all.

Would I change a thing? Nope, not at all, I love it. I don't exactly like the feeling of not accomplishing my 100 things to do list everyday, but I'm working on that. It's easier to let it go than to stress about it.

I think I'm gonna go make some coffee.

Manners and How to Act in Public

This a letter to all those children whose dreadful parents did not teach them how manners, respect or how to act in public:

Dear little children,

I'm so sorry that your parents haven't taught you how to behave. I feel terrible for you because one day, you're going to grow up and have absolutely no idea how to act. Then, you will be in therapy for years because you haven't been taught the proper skills of acting like a normal human being. For instance, if you are on your bike and you run into someone and don't as much utter a proper, "excuse me" or, "are you ok" please don't be offended if I beat the fire out of you. Well, I probably wouldn't do that but I will say, "Hey kid, watch out!" while your braindead parent watches on and says nothing.

Sincerely and most sorry for your upbringing,

Someone that has manners and will be teaching my own child the simple thing known as respect.