Easter Fun

"The Bunny" actually came to our house on Saturday morning because I had to be at church so early on Sunday. We had no plans for Saturday, so we made a day of coloring eggs and hunting them. The weather was ideal for this on Saturday too. Anyway, Sage was super excited to see what awaited her. As you can see, she was very pleased.

A basket full of goodies and a "belle" princess dress.
Look at her face when she came around the corner. Isn't that great?
"I have to check this out!"
"What I've always wanted!"
How cute is that?
Squishy ball with a bunny inside. I secretly love this.
One of her ballet steps.
Yea!

Partners in crime

Sweet Justice

Marriage is full of ups and downs. One of the downs for us...well ME, is the fact that Travis is a heavy, which is an understatement, SLEEPER. Like I have been literally yelling his name in front of his face to wake him up and he doesn't move. If someone broke in our house to do harm, he'd wake up in eternity before he would ever wake up at home.

On more than one occasion, I've been out later and come home with my hands full. The doors are locked and I could've used a hand to at least UNlock the door. When I finally do get the door open, there he is, 5 feet away, dozing on the couch. A few years ago, right after Sage was born, I worked in a doctor's office that didn't close until midnight. I came home, went upstairs to go to bed and our BEDROOM door was locked. I was beating on the door, half screaming his name because I could not get in. Who did it wake up? My mom. Oh, and then there was the time that I was in LABOR with our CHILD in the HOSPITAL, and he was out cold on the couch. My MOTHER couldn't wake him up to help her help ME. So I've always had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about this.... hahaha....fast forward to last night.

Travis is working late, really late. I stay up for a while watching the ultimate search for the next coyote ugly, to see if I TOO have what it takes, and finally decide I've had enough. It's almost midnight. I roll over to go to sleep. I didn't sleep that well, I guess because he wasn't home, and I want to make sure he gets here safely. So occasionally, I would look out the window to see if his truck was there.

At about 2 am, I hear this tapping sound from downstairs. Chanel is still confined to the downstairs bathroom, so I'm thinking it's her, having just woke me up doing the same thing a few nights ago. I'm kind of in and out of consciousness, when I keep hearing that sound. I look out the window, and Travis's truck is home. So I'm thinking, "Goodness, Travis! Can you make her stop?!" I sleep for a little while LONGER. Finally, when I keep hearing it, I get out of bed, open the door to go downstairs, when I see the source of the taps, which is not Chanel. It is....drumroll.....wait for it.........TRAVIS with the door a centimeter open, or however far it is that the safety latches at the top allow, tapping as loudly as he could to wake me and not Sage. He was begging Mayer, who was watching helplessly from the kitchen, to bark. I knew I locked that one, but apparently when I went out to get Mayer, I had locked the back one too leaving Mista Spence with no way inside. He said he'd been out there for 30 minutes. I should feel bad about laughing at it even now....but I do not. Because I know if that were me, I may as well go to sleep in the car because he NEVER would have even woke up to see if I was there, much less hear me knocking. Until next time!

A Night Out

Yesterday, Chrissie and I got all dressed up to surprise our friend, Kelli, for her birthday. We don't get the opportunity to dress up often, so we had pictures taken! I think we cleaned up really nicely. Though the night ENDED in a way that made us forget to take pics with the birthday girl, it was still a fun.....hmm.....yes, it was still a fun night.



Look at her sweet baby belly. (it's a girl!)

Lovely Day

On Thursday, the high was 74, so Sage and I headed to Oxford Lake! She, as always, had a blast. Travis and I used to live right behind the lake there, so it was kind of nostalgic for some reason. Anyway, it was so pretty that I wanted to be outside all day. We ended the day with dinner outside, trampoline jumping, and a bonfire with our friends and neighbors, Karl and Renea.

CHEEEESEEE!
This is how she walked through the park--hands on hips.

I see so much of ME in her right here.
Baby you can drive my car.
HEEYYY Ducks!
So cute.
I love my "big girl," as she demands to be called.
And that she is.
Jump high!

An Ode to Chrissie

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

A friend is someone who knows the real you and likes you anyway.

A friend loveth at all times. Proverbs 17:17

When I moved to Alabama almost SEVEN (so hard to believe) years ago, it was obviously life changing...and difficult. I left everything and everyone I had known. Ironically, the people I moved here with moved back to Kentucky and I remain, which lets me know that God had it all set up for me. I met my husband here, had a daughter, bought our first home, found a great church, graduated college...lots of milestones in life.

For many of the years I lived here, I lacked something which made it difficult to call this home: friends. Yes, I have Travis, but I still needed FRIENDS. I have several that I call that now, thank God! There is one in particular that is closest to my heart....

I was 7 1/2 months pregnant. No one knew me other than that "Christina Aguilera looking girl that sings good." I was waiting for Travis at the back of the church when this bouncy, skinny, beautiful girl with long brown hair goes, "HEY! I'm Chrissie! I just wanted to introduce myself. You're pregnant?! Oh my goodness, I hate YOU! You're tiny. We'll have to get together sometime." Not thinking much of it, considering pretty much everyone I met said that, I smiled and walked away. A few weeks later, she had a Christmas card for me and my family. A few weeks later, Sage was born. She had a gift for me. It was an outfit that I had seen and loved but never bought at Gymboree complete with matching hat. She had no idea. SOULMATES.

That's been years ago, and if I'd known what a jewel she'd turn out to be, I would've taken in each moment more than I have. She will find something amazing in a store full of junk. SHE always looks amazing, though she'd deny it. She has a flair for decorating and creativity that I secretly covet. And cooking?! Wow, amazing. If her blog wasn't private, I'd send you a link to some of the meals SHE has made. We can have fun together doing nothing, but we usually add to that by shopping and always eating. She can bargain and talk a deal like none I've EVER seen. I can honestly say she's one of the most thoughtful people I know. She's always listening, noticing things about others and then doing something for them in a manner they will appreciate.

She's always taking time to help me with whatever I may have going on. After already tagging her own TWO kids' clothes for a consignment sale, she helped me. She is always on the lookout for the best deal for me, best coffee maker, best bed...best whatever I'm looking for at that time. When I have a problem, she's trying to help me solve it. And that is the truth. And most currently, I've been really sick with an ear infection from hell...part sick, part anxiety...and she's listened every time and helped me through, what's been for me, a very difficult time. She is my friend in spite of the fact that I'm psychotic all or most of the time. Thank you, my friend. It is my privilege to call you that. I love you, and I hope I can give HALF to you what you have to me.

"The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them."
- John 15:13

Miss Priss

These were still taken at the party, but they were so sweet, I thought they deserved their own post.

Birthday Party

This past Friday night, Sage was invited to a birthday party of a friend, Alivia. It was at Party Cenral, where they have tons of inflatable toys for the kids to climb on. Needless to say, Sage had a blast. Check her out.

weeeeeeeeeeee!
Peek-a-boo!
Head first!
Bubbles!
Silly faces!
I don't know what it is with this kid and her tongue!
Sage and the birthday girl
Having a blast!

This was how she did the limbo...hahahaha.
I have identical twins. Did you know? Look closely.

One of my favorites.
Me and Cate.
Sage and Cate. How sweet is that?

Art Fun!

One of Sage's favorite things to do at school is to paint! I knew how much she loved it, so I thought it'd be nice to have our own set of washable paints for her. I held off on this idea for weeks because of the possible messes that could occur, but then I reconsidered. What's a little mess for this face? I think I made the right call.

She takes this pretty seriously.
Green was her favorite to start.
But she added some more for the finished product. I have a little artist!

Picnic at the Park

Being the thoughtful person that she is, Chrissie saw the beautiful forecast for today and suggested a picnic at the park in Pell City, which is the half way point for us. What a fine idea it was! Today's weather was absolutely amazing. I'm not exactly an outdoor kind of girl, unless we're talking a drink by the pool, but this was exceptional. Sage was soooo excited to get to see Harrison and Isacah. Chrissie's mom, Mary, even spent the day with us, with fresh, cracked pecans for all. Yum.

Unfortunately, the nice water front park we planned on going to was closed, and we had to go to the..."ghetto park." It wasn't bad though. The kids didn't seem to care a bit. They had sand, swings, slides, bubbles, and each other. Throw in some juice boxes and fruit, and they were good to go.

I think Isacah kept saying, "yee haw" or "yippee." I don't remember exactly, but it was really funny.
Sage riding Toucan Sam?
Harrison on a horse.

Harrison didn't want to get IN the swing, but he liked pushing Sage.
And she thought that was pretty cool. :)