Happy Birthday, Kelly!

Happy Birthday to my 2nd Born! !

32 years have just zipped by like its their job.

It seems like yesterday (really 5 minutes ago), the moment you came into my life. Quiet, soft, sweet and tiny. I am thankful God gave you to me. And He did you know, give you AND Jenny to ME.

I love you! ! !

MOM

Happy Birthday, Erica Ryanne! ! !

Well, Little Lady,

You turn 8 today!

I remember the first time I saw you - no bigger than a minute - and you had black hair with white "chunks" in it. I thought that was so cool, because when you were born, that was one of the hair crazes at that time and you didn't have to pay for it! ! !

You are growing into a beautiful Little Lady, and I'm proud to have you as a grand daughter!

I love you very much!

Happy Birthday ! ! !

Love

MOM-MOM

oxoxox

My "Ah-hah!" Moment

I have been having some "issues" with my Little Ladies and other things and I have unloaded on Heidi. In "chatting" back and forth she reminded me of my own blog. Ouch! Then . . . the nerve of her :) . . . .she suggested something that I should have thought of a long time ago, all by myself. I just couldn't see the trees for the forest. She suggested a devotion with the girls and gave me the name of a couple books she sent to her niece. Now as if that wasn't enough "salt in the wound", the verse on my side bar just added to my guilt. It was Matt 19:14 - ". . . Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of Heaven."

That was yesterday.

Today I was reading a blog I am following and was rebuked again.

As I am thinking on these things - I realized I have not allowed these girls their time with God, and that was just a bitter pill for me to swallow. Nor have I allowed me my time with God. No wonder there is chaos in our worlds! ! ! So . . . I've ordered the devotionals, and promised myself to spend MY time with God as well. After all, as was stated on the blog I am following: Jesus is waiting for me, waiting to talk with me, waiting to advise me. I just need to be still long enough to hear Him. After all, it is a two way conversation! !

Friendship - As I See It

I must say - Christie's blog really spoke to me. Having things "bottle-neck" in your brain is not much fun, especially when it feels like hundreds of ideas are roaming around.

Friendship has really been weighing heavy on my mind lately. I know how I feel, but all those feelings are "bottle-necked" in my brain - just trying to get out.

One of my favorite quotes is on my side bar. Simply stated - friendship is risky business. It's not an easy task sitting quietly while your friends' hearts are breaking. You just want to get in there and take care of the problem, fix what's broken, hurt the ones who hurt them. Bad thing is. . . .you can't always "fix" the problem, and it's not our place to take matters into our own hands on their behalf. Good thing is. . . . you can pray for them, listen to them, be there for them and most importantly, love them.

I know I have "dumped" a grand load on my dear friends. They may at times have thought I had lost my mind, but they didn't say that. They probably thought at times I was a little on the loopy side, but they didn't say that, either. What they did say was: "I'll pray for you." And, you know, I knew they would, without a doubt. And knowing that, was more comforting than "fixing" me. Only God can mend our brokeness - Amen on that, because I'm not sure others would benefit from my mending skills! LOL. We just have to tie our burdens to His "stitching post".

On the cheery side, I feel like I could burst when I read "happy thoughts", hear good news, or am able to share a quiet scramping day/evening with my friends.

As I see it, friends are in your heart by choice. They stand there amongst the goop of life and cheer you on. They don't mind getting slimy on occasion, and even help you clean the slime off yourself.I praise God for those soldiers I call friends, because without them - I would be a TOTAL mess - no pun intended.

My particular core of friends range from "young" new moms, seasoned moms, moms in the thick of it all, moms that are grand-moms and sisters :) ! ! What a library of info and wisdom I have at my beck and call! How could one ask for much more?

I know I am speaking specifically of women, and I know there are men out there that make wonderful friends - but the depth of the emotion and the strength of the bond among women is like the depth of the universe and the strength of iron. Its just the way we're made :) and I like it like that! !

In the Summer Time

In the summer time

when the weather is fine

You can reach right up

and touch the sky

In the summer time

We've got swimmin',

We've got swimmin' on our minds :)

Happy Birthday, McKenna! !

You are turning one year old today! What a big step - especially for mommy and daddy!

You are such a cutie pie.

We love you, sweet thing :).

Love,

Uncle Bob, Aunt Crickett & Ben

Rease & Helena

Alicia, Sarah, Hope & Erica

xoxoxoxo

"Scary Movie"

Ok - I can't resist posting about this. The "scary" movie was a welcome quiet time for me, but watching the girls watch the movie was way too much fun. Rease and Helena have just really started watching it this past spring - because it was "too scary". I know you must think I have lost my mind by letting these girls watch a "scary movie", but let me tell ya - it was all well and good - and I got to post earlier this afternoon because of it. I did check on them from time to time to make sure they hadn't fainted - lol ! ! ! As you can see by the intensity in the faces, it was an attention getter! Are you curious - do you want to know what they are watching -
well. . . . . .its just the scariest kid's movie around - and one of my personal favs -

I highly recomend it for general family entertainment and bonding time - just look how close these girls are sitting (they are the ones that are catty, moody and crazy). If this doesn't do it - nothing will.

Give up?

It is. . . . . wait for it. . . . .wait for it. . . . .

EARNEST SCARED STUPID! ! ! !

The Wonders of Medicine!

Well summer is obviously in full swing everywhere. It is NOT a good time to break your arm, but that is exactly what happened to Rease last Sunday. She fell when a wake hit the boat she was in. She was in an ace bandage until yesterday. Thankfully, they have "waterproof" casts now! ! ! Halleluia! ! ! Can you imagine being 8 years old, having 4 of your cousins here for the summer and not being able to swim or go to the beach? ? Kudos to the modern miracles of medicine, one being: "THE WATERPROOF CAST"! ! !

It's a Wonderful World

I haven't posted in a while. For those of you who don't know, it's because I have a house full of "little ladies"! ! Can't hardly find time to sneeze, let alone get on my blog. But that's okay for now. By the time I get some kind of routine going, they will be gone and back in school. Whew - goes too fast!
So. . . . I will try to steal a moment here and there to let ya'll know what's going on in my world.
It is, by the way, a wonderful world. Sound like a movie, don't I? ? ?
You wouldn't believe how much "wonder" 6 girls can bring to the table !!
But - the cool thing about these girls - is they love to learn new things - girly things - and I love to teach them (we have to wade thru the cattiness, moodiness & craziness first! ! ).
Well. . . .
Catch you on the flip side! ! !

Happy Birthday Corrinna!

Happy Birthday to a beautiful, bubbly gal!

Hope your day is as wonderful as you are!

Much hugs and kisses! ! ! !

Love,

AC, UB, Ben, Alicia, Sarah, Hope, Erica

Rease and Helena

oxoxoxox

Holes - N - Boards

Now, I know this sounds like a "game"of sorts and perhaps it is for those that may have been watching ( praise the Lord, He was the only one that saw me), but. . . someone forgot to tell me the rules! ! ! ! Watch out for the holes! !

As I look back, I can see I was cheap entertainment for my loving family! No pity here, no sir.

The chain of events went something like below - this is my original prayer request to Heidi.

1. Just a small prayer request - no laughing allowed until AFTER you pray! ! !
2. Ben is building me a deck. He won't use pressure treated lumber. He has already dug the holes for the posts to sit in.
3. He has already put the "frame" in the holes.
4. Since he won't use pressure treated lumber, I felt the need to waterproof the frame.
5. I am walking around, (I did remind myself about the holes), minding my own business, brushing on the sealant, when it happened. (Actually, I wasn't minding my own business - I was aggressively arguing with Ben in my mind!)
6. I stepped into (no, I plummeted into) a hole, hit the frame with my side, and in my horror and instinct, grabbed the plank I was brushing and pulled it down on my leg. Not just your run of the mill plank, mind you, but a 2"x10"x8' plank.
7. Needless to say - thought I was gonna puke, couldn't move, found it funny, and had a good laugh with Ben - who - started the whole thing by not putting down pressure treated lumber in the first place.
8. Now, here I sit with ice on my leg (really hurts)- my side's not hurting as much, spilling my guts (no pun intended) to you.
9. Now, pray
10. Now , laugh! ! ! !
PS - do think I will call doc - swelling on leg size of dessert plate

That'll learn me to think ill thoughts of my kids, even if I "know" I'm right ! ! LOL, LOL

Happy Birthday Little Sister! ! !

Well . . . .Happy Birthday to YOU!!!

Does it feel like you're 31 already? LOL

I can't believe you're almost my age! ! ! For sure, you're catchin'up! !

That little one you're holdin' is up next & life just keeps rollin' on.

Praise the Lord for that!

Love ya much

Your Big Sis

"Hole-y" Board?

Okay - while at the family reunion, we were introduced to a new "board" game. It's called Holey Board (I chose to spell it this way because I'm sure it's not Holy!). It was a really neat game. There are two boards facing each other, each with three holes in them -hence - holey board :).

You stand on the end w/o the holes facing the other board and try to throw washers into one of the holes. Each hole has a point value - 1st hole - 1 pt, 2nd hole- 3 pts, and the 3rd hole - 5pts.

The object is to get to "21" without going over before your opponent. If you go over 21, you have to subtract that amount from your running total and continue until whoever gets to 21 first. We were told it was invented by some race car driver (Nascar, maybe) out of boredom.

It's not as easy as it looks or sounds. I got slaughtered! Greg was the undefeated champion in our little group (Greg, Donna, Ben and me). Ben came the closest to beating Greg. Must be a man thing - green board, washers, - kind of a golfy, tooly, thing! LOL.

Even though I stink at it, I think I would like to build this game for my yard - and you know what they say about practicing - can't let those guys get the best of us gals all the time! ! !

LIVE, LAUGH, LEARN - my motto for today! ! !

Everybody Has A Story

All families have stories from their past. Good, bad, ugly or routine, we have them. They may not all be grand or famous, but they are our stories, none the less.
As adults we need these stories from our past, our childhood, our yesterdays. They teach us love, patience, laughter, caution, and determination. They are the memories we will use as tools to make our way thru life.
Most of our stories create themselves. We help the plot to unfold whether we know it or not and it’s only when we look back , that we see the story as a whole.
As Christians we have a guide, a co-author of our stories . One who sets up the chapters and allows us the choice to write them. He loves us, protects us, and guides us thru those emotional, unknowing paths we walk. Sometimes its hard to know which path to take. But whichever path we choose there will be a story - good, bad or indifferent.
Our stories, like books, have a beginning, a middle and an end. Some of the chapters (paths) will be long, tiring, and painful. Others will be smooth sailing. God is ultimately the One who will bring us along. He is the “Friend”, the co-author, the confidant . He is the One who will boldly guide our steps along that sometimes scary, sometimes unknown and sometimes complicated path. All we have to do is ask. Sometimes we have control of the outcome and sometimes the outcome has control of us.
It’s wise to look back on all the stories of our lives. Many lessons and values are to be learned from them. I have a tremendous treasure trove of stories in my head. There are funny stories, scary stories, happy stories, sad stories. There are stories of love, loss, adventure, pain and fear. I have little stories, big stories, mundane stories, stories of interest, of success and of failure. My stories aren’t gender, age or race specific. My stories include family, friends, co-workers, strangers and people I know of, but have never met. My stories can continue from day to day, week to week, month to month, or sometimes year to year. Some stories are just fleeting moments in my life, but they have left their imprint on my brain just the same.
But, in all my stories there is a constant. I may not always be aware of that constant - by choice or by ignorance, but It’s there just the same. It is our wonderfully awesome God. He is there thru the thick and thin, the highs and lows, grief and joy, the ugly and the pretty and the funny and the sad.
If I have chosen to listen and make the wise choice, my story will be so much more enriched. If I chose not to listen, then it becomes a lesson to be learned - hence, “The Moral of the Story”.
Unfortunately, all our stories won’t be happy ones. Life doesn’t work that way. How are we to learn to lean on someone if we don’t have a reason to lean? How are we going to learn to be compassionate if we don’t need compassion.? How will we learn to discipline if we aren’t disciplined ourselves? And how can we love if we never experience someone’s love for us?
God will open our eyes to the stories of our past so we can hopefully make wise decisions and embark on the journey of creating our own stories for our future generations. And the beauty is : it’s just that - our own stories.
My stories will end some day, but hopefully I will have left behind enough memories for those who will need that road map to follow. So they can learn to lean, be compassionate, be disciplined and mostly, embrace love.

Happy Anniversary Junior & Jessie!

Love is a bond that you two share.
It's evident in your lives that both of you care.
I pray you grow stronger each passing day.
For you love is one that is here to stay!

Walton Family Reunion

This is our first Walton Family Reunion, that I am aware of. Not many descendants of my dad's siblings, but it was nice to meet up with cousins I haven't seen in over 30 years! And to meet their children. Too many names to remember on first visit!
I was thinking about families. We love our own little core group. We probably do just fine in that comfort zone. But. . . I realize there is something comfortable about knowing family beyond our immediate clan. Jenny says its like a sense of security. I agree. We may not always be around our cousins or aunts and uncles, or even our grandparents, but there is something to be said about knowing you can if you want. That is a good feeling. We do share a lot of similar genes - and that makes me smile - actually, chuckle. "Walton Women", as most of the menfolk in my family call my sisters and me, can be slow getting out the door. Try as we might, we don't usually get somewhere right on time. We try hard though, but if it weren't for the menfolk in our lives, we might not make it at all! LOL! ! I really need to work on that. Can't promise it will get better, but, I WILL try!

PS - We can be a little hard headed, too! ! !