On my mind...

1. Don't be a butt.

2. Appreciate people. Unless they're butts.

3. Love God

4. Be honest

5. Be kind

6. Respect peoples wishes

7. Allow endings

8. Fail openly

9. Have an amazing haircut

10. Enjoy the moment

11. Pay Attention

12. Love Unconditionally.

13. Dream.

Occasionally I make a mental list of wonderful things I’ve experienced recently. It sounds crazy, I know, but it has made me so grateful and aware of my beautiful life. There is nothing particularly special about me… and yet everyday my blessings and joy grows.I think they were there all along, I was just was too busy worrying about what I thought I needed to notice how much I already had.

P.S. If you think that good things don’t happen to you… consider redefining what “joy” means. Rediscovering your favorite sandals that were shoved under your bed or finding strawberries buy 1 get 1 at the grocery store, or jumping on a trampoline with your 3 year old, are the very sort of everyday occurrences that should be counted.

Laying in a cold room, under warm cozy covers with my hubby, watching House

My early morning chat with my father in law on the way to work

Lucas’ sweet early morning hugs and “good morning mommy”

Pink grapefruit lipgloss

Weekend with my bestie

My church family, that loves unconditionally

Granny

Fresh picked Texas wildflowers

Shoulder rubs from the hubs

Bubble baths

Chad Jackson in my speakers

Road trips

BBQ Cookoffs

Lucas riding his bike – with no training wheels! So proud.

To My Lucas...

Lucas, today you…

Are 3 years, 5 months and 25 days old.

Weight 35 lbs.

Talk about super heroes, ninjas, Jesus, and fast cars.

Love Daddy’s truck – its super loud.

Like to sleep in boxers…only.

Love your friends.

Have almost mastered riding your bike – with no training wheels!

Love PIZZA.

Want to fly to California to see Uncle Chad & Aunt Tree, Buzz Lightyear, and Lightning McQueen.

Have invincible faith in GOD.

Love sleeping with Papaw and Nana.

Like to sing – anything, anywhere at any volume.

Want a baby brother SO bad.

Are convinced that Daddy has super powers.

Love to say, “Let’s book it”, “You got it dude”, and “You won’t like me when I’m angry!”

Love to talk.

Want to preach.

Enjoy animals and dirt.

Think you need to be outside as long as the sun is up.

Are such a boy: a ride in the Jeep, a fishin’ pole and some mud = a great day.

Want your own dog named Bolt.

Call me ‘your bestest sweetest mommy’

Can count to like 35.

Are the best block building and playdoh making buddy ever!

Give the sweetest smiles, warmest hugs and biggest sugars.

Are Amazing
Adorable
Hilarious
Smart
Caring

The best kid in the whole universe.

Why Does Growing Up Require Glamour?

I'm sure everyone has seen the articles, and I'm also sure that there has been more than one blog post written about the topic. Good or bad, it seems like every preschool aged female cartoon character is suddenly growing up.

Strawberry Shortcake (before and after)

The cute, childish faces are gone and replaced by prettier, slimmer, and definitely older masks. Even Miss Holly Hobby, whose quaint, homespun look graced my first plate and bowl as a child, has been made over into a sassy looking preteen.

This concept of a toy makeover isn't something new -- in fact, Strawberry Shortcake has gone through several makeovers, as marketing teams have tried to create a version that would appeal to the current kid generation. But, her newest look is definitely the least child-like of all.Gwen, over at Context Blogs, wrote an interesting article hypothesizing the purpose behind these new, slimmer, less-childlike make-overs. Are the new looks marketing to a generation quickly growing up . . . or are they for us? Wait, us? Yes, the collective "Us" -- the nostalgic parents who remember our first character plate and remember the sweet scents of Strawberry Cupcake and Lemon Meringue dolls.Maybe. While I can understand companies trying to revive failing character lines of yesteryear, and appealing to parents in order to do so, I'm not sure that's the case for all of the recent makeovers. I simply can't wrap my mind around the concept of Dora growing up. She's the spunky preschooler -- the tomboy who thrives on exploration and discovery.

Dora the Explorer (before and after)

How does a slimmer, fashion-conscious girl, in ballet flats no less, plan on going through jungles and various terrain? How does creating such a "hip" character equal something better for our little girls? Wasn't the great thing about Dora her unabashed interest in science and the world around her? She wasn't caught up in trends and fashion. Even though those are fun topics (I admit it -- I love clothes and celebrity gossip), she focused on something special -- something our kids don't get on a daily basis from radio, music stars, or movies. She was aware of the world around her and she made sure everyone else was too.It's obvious to see I'm not keen on the idea of a transformed Dora. No longer is this adventurous little girl being put forth as a role model for my toddler. . . it seems she's moving on to compete with Mylie C. for the devotion of the tween crowd.Seriously? Dora really needed to grow up? It's going to be interesting to see how Dora's story lines change with her changing face and body. I sincerely hope the powers that be don't revamp her message and purpose as well.

Wordless Wednesday

Puddles and Peanut Butter

Puddles and Peanut Butter

A page from any given Mommy appointment book would likely appear to others as a multitude of unending tasks with too little time to do everything. There are activities for the children like preschool and soccer, and a few activities for herself. But my appointment book doesn’t include the other things I’m responsible for, like cleaning, cooking, shopping, bills and laundry. No wonder I feel frazzled!
My son’s day reads much differently. He spends his time playing, experiencing, exploring and testing. He doesn’t have any concept of time except when he’s bored or hungry. He doesn’t need to be constantly busy. He doesn’t have a list to check off. His perfect day is filled with his bike, the park, Spiderman, ravioli and not napping.
I often get impatient with my son because he just doesn’t seem to understand that we’re on a schedule. But, one day I stopped and watched my son play in a puddle. Maybe he wasn’t the problem. Maybe my schedule was.
His laugh was contagious as he tromped in a puddle; for that moment all he wanted to do was have fun. It didn’t matter to him if we were late or didn’t accomplish everything on our list. He just wanted to enjoy the moment.
Later that day he ate a few bites of his peanut butter sandwich, and proceeded to make balls out of it. Again, the look of accomplishment and his intense desire to make the perfect sandwich ball was enough to squelch the words, "Stop! You’re making a mess!"
Sometimes we need to let puddles and peanut butter get in the way of our orderly, scheduled lives. We need to let our kids be kids and not fall in line with our plans. We should schedule in more time or realize that messes and delays happen.

Updates....STUFF

Well, I haven’t blogged in a while. I did the 100 question thing a while back, and just copied and pasted it to my blog on Friday. Finding the time to devote to sitting down long enough to blog has been difficult. WE have had a unbelievable amount of STUFF going on, some happy & some sad:
I guess I’ll start with Heath’s birthday! He turned a whopping (lol) 34 on Wednesday the 25th of March. The Saturday before though, I threw him a surprise party at Margaritas. The biggest surprise was that I pulled it off without him knowing too much of what was going on! If I remember correctly, there were 44 of our friends and family there to celebrate. (plus 9 kids) He was very excited! He hadn’t seen some of the friends that came into town for the party in about two years! We had a great time chatting and hanging out with everyone that came. I have a few pics (before my camera battery died) that I will upload at a later date.

Then, Sunday we set our new church in order. The evangelist that preached the tent revival was there to ordain Dad and Mom as ministers in his organization, as well as a few others from our congregation as Christian Workers. He then said that there was someone in the congregation that had been called to preach, and if this person was also feeling that calling, and feeling that tug, the they should come to the front right that minute. Without hesitation Heath went to the front! I think everyone was a little surprised, but so happy!! Deep down, I think Heath is happy about it as well. Bro. Corley then also asked that if anyone else felt that God was calling them to be workers, and leaders in the church that they too should come to the front. More than ever in my life, I felt that calling. Myself, along with a handful of others went forward. We are so excited, but are definitely doing some major praying for direction and guidance as to where and what God wants us to do.

In the middle of our excitement and celebrating, we got a phone call that a close family member was in the hospital and not expected to live much longer. He had been sick for a while and on a respirator. He asked that the respirator be removed and that God’s will be done. Although I was not related to this man by blood, I have known him my entire life and have always considered him family. He was actually my cousin Lauren’s grandfather:

Mr. Claude Bueil “CB” Rightmire was born on May 8, 1927 in Groves, Texas. On July 21, 1927, he baptized at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Port Neches. Mr. Rightmire was the second of four brothers born to Dewitt C. H. and Zula DeVellier Rightmire. The family later lived in Houston where he attended Jeff Davis High School and starred on the football team. On April 5, 1945 he enlisted in the US Navy and served on destroyer escort USS Acree. After the war, he met and later married Olive Marie Harbison on July 8, 1950. Mr. Rightmire and Marie had three sons – Mike, Robin and Jeff. In 1967, the family moved from the city of Houston to Houston County Texas. After a lengthy illness, Marie passed away in 1988. In 1991, he was married to Eunice “Sissy” Dickey. The couple lived and worked in Houston County until he passed away on March 22, 2009 at age 81 years, 10 month, and 14 days. For most of his adult life, he was a carpenter and building contractor. He worked as a millworker and finish carpenter on many of the homes in the River Oaks area of Houston. He built three homes for his family in Houston and Houston County. After 1967, he built many homes in Houston County and neighboring counties. He loved the craft of creating with wood. He was a master mechanical tinkerer and could build or repair almost anything. He enjoyed the outdoors and the camaraderie of hunting and fishing in Texas and Alaska with his sons and many friends. He was a good Father, grandfather, husband and neighbor and we will all miss him greatly. Survivors include his wife Sissy Rightmire, of Grapeland; sons Mike Rightmire and wife Evelyn, of Plano and Jeff Rightmire and wife Kelly, of Mabank; grandchildren Lauren Rightmire, of Lubbock, J. J. Rightmire, of San Diego, Joshua Rightmire, of Washington State, Brandi King, Vanessa Petters and Megan Melson, all of Palestine; brother Donald Rightmire and wife Tommie, of Calvert. Preceded in death by his wife Marie Rightmire; son Robin Rightmire; brothers Robert Rightmire and Jerry Rightmire; and parents Dewitt and Zula Rightmire. Funeral Services for Mr. C. B. Rightmire were held Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. in the Callaway-Allee Memorial Chapel with the Rev. Eddie Atkinson officiating. Interment followed in the Evergreen Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Macular Degeneration Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 531313, Henderson, Nevada 89053 or American Stroke Association, P.O. Box 15186, Austin, TX 78761.

“Papaw CB”, as we fondly called him, will be remembered always and loved. While we were saddened by this loss, we are also comforted by the fact that we know Papaw is no longer sick, or in pain. After the visitation at the funeral home, we went to Aunt Gayle and Uncle Bill’s for dinner. We had a small birthday cake for Heath, and sang to him ( he turned red of course) A few pics from the evening:

After things got back to normal, for the most part anyway, we finished up our work week and welcomed the slow pace of the weekend. Yesterday morning at church we voted on the name for our ‘new church’. We are now Remnant Faith of The Trinity. Nice ring, eh...well, it's growing on me anyway... This coming Wednesday we will hold our first official business meeting, where we will elect deacons and other officers.

Of course, I can’t post without giving a little update on my Lucas. As usual, his wit and sense of humor impresses and cracks us up daily. You never know what to expect! He learned the hard way this weekend though that an attitude in combination with a smart mouth will get him grounded from playing outside! Our little boy is growing entirely too quickly. He is such a Jackson, from looks to personality, and ATTITUDE!