Family Weekend

This past weekend Keith and I and all the girls along with my parents made the journey to Springhill College in Mobile, Alabama for family weekend with Christopher.  First of all I can't express how nice it  is when I have all of my children with me.  However, I must say that the most moving part of the weekend for this momma, was realizing that my son has become a Man, and a good one.  He is beginning to realize all of those lessons we tried to drill in his head when he was at home.  The value of money, the value of hard work, managing your time and resources, cleanliness and most importantly the value of family.

He has fit into the family of students at Springhill very well- everyone knows him and stopped us throughout our visit and would talk to us or the girls.  He is doing well in his classes and even secured an internship with the contractor that will be filming the Varsity Basketball games.

We were able to watch him play 2 basketball games while we were there,  He did soooo well and I am so proud of him for working so hard.

It is bittersweet watching him grow up.  But my heart is so full knowing what an amazing, kind, hardworking and compassionate man he is growing into.  This mom couldn't be prouder!!!!!!

It was so good to see him and I hated to leave, but we will be seeing him again this weekend for his first basketball game.  Let's Go #42!!!!!!!

After we left Lizzy told us that he Tweeted "Parents are the best!"  :)

Maddie is 5

It is so hard to believe, but Maddie is 5 years old.  We celebrated her birthday surrounded by family and   friends at Chuck E. Cheese (My favorite place - NOT).  Her classmates from school came and played with her and made her birthday extra special.  She had a great day and overall great birthday!  The only thing missing from her celebration was her brother - although she did get a special phone call from him.

Let the Party Begin!

My Happy Birthday Girl

My beautiful Girls!!!

Best Friends

Enjoying some Pizza - Yum!

Make A Wish!!!!

Maddie, her friends and Chuck E.

Maddie had a wonderful day!  It warms my heart to see her so happy.  Time has flown by and my little girl is already 5.  Maddie is looking forward to the future and told us last night that now she is almost 6 years old.  

The Power of a Touch

As imperfect humans we tend to rush through life and not cherish the small things in life, those things that are intangible. The smell of your grandmothers kitchen, the joy of the holidays spent with family, the excitement of personal triumphs and the comfort of your mothers touch.  Life is spent rushing from activity to activity and those small, yet wonderful moments get rushed through and ignored.

Having taken some time off of work with Mia I have had time to "decompress" and let my world slow down a bit.  I am learning first hand how important some of these things are.  For instance, Touch is quite important to Mia.  It brings her comfort, security and gives her a sense of love.  Think about how big that is - all those things accomplished with just a "touch".  Many nights she will wake up and cry.  I will go and sleep next to her crib and rub her hand or foot and she instantly knows that she is ok, her mom is there and goes back to sleep.  During the day, we spend alot of time snuggling, and yet there are many things in the house and in my business that are left undone, but I know those moments with Mia are more important than anything else.  This time with her will be go by in a flash and I want her to move to the next phase of her life having felt the love of her mother - unrushed, uninterrupted and totally focused on just loving her.

Mia is healthy and happy and is very loved.  She fits into our family just perfectly!  I will hate to return to the rat race and not be able to see her every minute of every day.  I only hope that once I return to work that I stop to enjoy the small, sweet things in life with my girls.

My beautiful Mia

Just wanted to share some amazing pictures of Mia.  She is such a sweet baby!

Many things.....

It has been quite a long time since my last post.  Our lives have been topsy turvy and very busy lately.

Lizzy is turning 16 this year and I have been very busy planning an amazing birthday that she would remember.  She has been such a big help to me with both Maddie and Mia I wanted to make sure it was a special birthday she would always remember.  I surprised her with a trip to New York City during Fashion Week along with front row tickets to the Couture Fashion Show.  We did the usual things that you would expect a 16 year old would do in New York - SHOP, SHOP and SHOP some more.  We had a wonderful time and were able to spend some quality mother daughter time together.  She is such a great kid that she is so enjoyable to be with.  I enjoy spending time with my teenager.

The next step for Lizzy is getting her drivers license.  She has been counting down the day until she can drive for about 3 months.  It's finally arrived this week.  She has been given my Volvo to drive.  I just ask that all my friends and family please pray for her as she ventures out alone in a vehicle.  I'm a little nervous to say the least.

Keith's mother passed away recently.  All of my children gathered around their father to support him at his most difficult hour.  Christopher came to Shreveport and joined the rest of us for a celebration of her life.  It was heartwarming to have my family together.  I caught a glimpse of my older kids character when this happened.  The love, sympathy and compassion for their dad was heartwarming.

Homecoming festivities for St. Louis High School was in full swing last week.  Keith graciously offered to build the float and have it ready for the parade.  The parents were responsible for decorating it.  Maddie got to join in the fun and ride on the parade float.  She threw candy and had a blast!  What an arm she has! The homecoming dance finished up the week's activities.  Hair and makeup appointments were the tasks for the day.  All her friends and date showed up at our house for a few pictures and then off to dinner and the dance.  She looked beautiful - absolutely beautiful.

In between all this activity I am having to drive our family dog (Pressley) to LSU Vet Clinic in Baton Rouge, La (which is 2 hours away from where we live each way) every week for Cancer Treatment.  For those of you that don't know - our family absolutely loves Pressley and are completed devestated that she is sick.  We are hopeful that we can at least extend her life a little bit.  Dogs add so much joy to your life.  We can't imagine ours without Pressley.

I am still off on Leave of Absence with Mia.  We spend most days just snuggling!  She has adjusted well and has the cutest personality.  We have definitely seen her blossom!  She is walking (running) and getting into everything.  She evens has a tendency to walk on her tip toes - so cute.  She loves playing with Maddie and gives her hugs and kisses.  Maddie is doing much better with Mia although we are still working on the "Sharing" concept.

I am so thankful for all my children!!!  I'm so glad that they will all be home for the holidays this year.  Next big event in October is Maddie's birthday - She is turning 5!!!  So hard to believe she is already 5. They grow up so fast.