Arrivederci!

As I sit and type this, Melody and Justin have just arrived to their new home for the next 9 months- Italy! We got to send them off in style this weekend at my aunt and uncle's new house. Here are the highlights!

Honey loved on the babies! This is Caleb, Luke's second cousin:

After dinner entertainment:

L'antipasto:

Happy Host and Hostess, Uncle Tommy and Aunt Kay's first party in their new home:

Luke likes spumoni!

One last picture of the cousins... at this point Luke was saying "Momma... GO!" with an authorative point toward the door! Even he was done with all of the pictures :)

Send off Pedicures!

Matching flip flops :)

Bye, Me-Nee!

We love you both!

Try this on for size!

I just broke into my SECOND can of spray starch since I've been married... that is five years, if anyone is counting.

How To Pray For Your Child- July

Growing up, I took comfort in knowing that my parents were praying to God on my behalf. They still do! My mom sent me an article (from BSF) that breaks apart 12 ways that I can specifically pray for Luke this year.

Desire the right kind of friends, be protected from the wrong associations, and be hedged in by God so that he does not find his way to wrong people or wrong places and that wrong people do not find their way to him. (Psalm 91:9-11; Proverbs 1:10-11, 15; Hosea 2:6)

Heavenly Father,

My prayer is two fold this month- prayer for protection and for right associations.

Every day I turn on the news, I shudder at what I know Luke will inevitably face in a society where black and white has turned to grey. That you would command your angels concerning Luke to guard him from trouble is my comfort and joy as his mother. When I watch Luke talk to a stranger for the first time, get on the bus for the first time, drive with his friends in the car for the first time, I will remember your promise and your protection. I will claim 1 John 4:4 over Luke "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than he that is in the world". Knowing that you have all authority over the evil in the world around Luke will help me sleep at night when I send him on his first trip without Mom and Dad or when I hear him walk through the door after a late night date.

I pray Luke chooses associations that will build him up and encourage him. It is my prayer that he deal with peer pressure in a healthy way and avoid friendships that are fake, selfish, or destructive. Lord, if Luke is to make gains in his sin, I pray you strip his gains away and teach him the cost of his choices. Please guide Luke in his profession that he choose a company he is proud to be a part of and give him coworkers and managers that are forgiving and promoting of his work. Design in him integrity that points to you as the source of his right choices, even if those choices are unpopular.

It will be such a blessing to watch you go before Luke and direct his path. Thank you for guarding your children.

Sniff, Sniff

Luke graduated to Walkers II at day care today... this was our big boy ready to go to Skoo, sporting his new back pack that my sweet friend monogramed:

The same sweet friend who also told me about All About Bundt Cakes for his Walkers I teacher gifts (she's been around this block a few times!)... aren't they sweet?!!

The Men Return!!! Hallelujah!

Welcome home Daddy... we missed you!

Nothing like some consistent parenting! Thanks, Brent, for showing Luke how to play with bugs... this on the heels of me showing him spider webs and yelling DANGER all week so he won't mess with said bugs :)

Doesn't he look OLD here!

Grandaddy stayed the night and loved on Allie... man, she was needing attention in a bad way too!

Glad ya'll had fun and glad you are back... we prayed for your safety every night and God answered.

Safari Park Play Land

Luke and I went on a date to the Safari Play land and had SO MUCH fun! This was a great indoor option for a momma who wanted her boy to have fun while Daddy was away!
Luke's favorite was the trampoline... no surprise there since he LOVES him some bounce houses!

Riding the train:

A pretty steep incline!

Crawling through tunnels:

Riding on alligators:

I am pretty sure I scored "cool points" that day, and all for the bargain price of $9.99!

When Daddy's Away, the Kiddies, They Play

We drove down to Houston with Brent last weekend to send him off on his Man trip... Luke and I stayed to visit with Granna and Pops.

Luke only had eyes for the outdoors... it was pretty funny! Breakfast is over and Pops is taking Luke to get on his swimsuit:

Playing in the sand- burrying Granna's foot:

Adult Swim: Patiently waiting for Pops to clean up the sand for round 2 swim time :)

Reading "Baby Animals" to BOTH Horsies:

Playing with cars:

Luke kept going to the front door saying "Buddy, Buddy"... I finally realized he was saying Bunny so he thought it was fun to pet the bunny in the window :)

Last night, we were eating dinner. I had cut up bit sized apples with the skin off on Luke's plate and left the other half on my plate... Luke decided he wanted to eat the big slice... this crazy boy eats his apples skin side up- what a goof ball!

Stay tuned... Momma and Luke have a play date at the Safari park this weekend :)

Lady Gaga

The Lady Gaga Monster's Ball was SOOOOO Fun! I felt like I was watching a young Madonna!

But let me first rewind to give you the back story... here are my favorite work friends, Kathy and Jennifer. Jennifer is the one with the 1 inch feather eyelashes and the mastermind behind getting our tickets and driving us there in high fashion limo style!

We have been anxiously awaiting the concert due to the fact that Jennifer would send us Gaga Daily News updates every day for the last 4 months! So, after a trip to Sam Moon and many bedazzles later, we were ready to go to the "Ball"!

The fishnets were a last minute addition ;)

Some adoring fans:

Tight security! LOL!

And a flaming piano:

15 costume changes:

And a 7 foot woMan

It was a crazy night to remember!

What I would like to forget, however, is this: I spent the night at Jennifer's house so I wouldn't have to drive across town with the crazies... she let me sleep on her temperpedic with her (Insert plug for temperpedic mattress here! Awesomeness!)... in the middle of the night I felt eyes on me, so I peeked and not 3 inches from my face I was being stared down by one of these little monsters...

Drewcilla was so close, I could feel warm kitty breath in my face. I used to have a cat, so they don't freak me out per say, but they do put me slightly on edge because no two personalities are the same-- most kitties are pretty moody, so I just resign to stay away. I slowly turned so as not to disturb the judging kitty, then kicked another at my feet... Jennifer failed to mention I was sleeping in the kitty spot. How convenient ;)

Men vs. Wild

Brent is hiking across TX and CO this week with his dad before he turns into a Horned Frog in August... here is a message I received:

Guadalupe Peak is a cruel mistress. We started up the mountain around 12:45 and got off to a great start. We weaved our way up the mountain. But as we progressed clouds started rolling in. We soon found ourselves literally in the clouds. But we pressed on. As we reached about 3/4 the way up the mountain it started to thunder. We were still in clouds and could not see which direction the storm was moving. We went a little further and heard thunder again, this time closer than before. At that point we decided to turn around and make our way back down the mountain, a little upset that we got so close but did not reach the summit. At the bottom I cursed the mountain, vowing to return. We reached the campsite in time to warm up some chili while fighting off swarms of gnats of biblical proportions. We finished just in time before the skies opened up and poured rain upon us, also of biblical proportions. Needless to say we slept in the car.

I talked to him last night and they had made it to the Brewer condo without any bear sightings! He was looking forward to a shower after 4 days... yuck!

Coupon Queen

I am no coupon queen, in fact, I would NEVER have a coupon if my MIL didn't mail me some or let me raid her Sunday paper every now and then.

So, I am left to my own devices of finding off brand products that I like just as well. Here is a list of off brands that we love around our house:

Toothpaste: Ultrabrite- this is made by Colgate- it is paste (I hate gel) and tastes minty clean, not all baking soda-esc, just plain old yummy toothpaste. It's $1.00
Tortilla Chips: We go through tortilla chips like water in our house, so we have tried most brands... we LOVE the Walmart Great Value white tortilla chips! They are crunchy, have a little corny to them, salty and dippable. It's under $2!
Coffee Creamer: Walmart wins again... the Great Value Chocolate Caramel Creamer is just as creamy and dense as Coffeemate (International Delight is a watery looser for me!) . It's $1.44!
Dog Treats: Poor Allie gets whatever is on sale... just recently we have had to switch her to an all Venison and potato diet, so we will no longer be taking advantage of cheap treats :(
Paper Towels: Anything... it's paper... it goes into the trash, not my body, so I REALLY don't care about this one! When they get too lotion-y, they make streaks when cleaning mirrors, etc.

Industry standards in the food area are comparable and most off brand products are co-packed (meaning Mrs. Bairds may produce hamburger buns for another company), so where there is low risk, it is easy for me to switch around.

Try them out and see what you think!

Here are the items I will not compromise on:
Salsa: A Brent fav-- Joe T Garcia's Medium Salsa. Too hot for me, but he loves it!
Laundry Detergent: Tide Period. If I can't stomach the price, I will occasionally settle on Cheer.
Dish washing Detergent: Ivory Liquid-- this goes back to my Granddaddy when we used to catch fish with Ivory bar soap I think... My mom has always used it and it just cleans grease better than Dawn or any other brand.
Meat: I DO NOT buy meat at Walmart... I will not go into details here, but I interviewed a girl who did her thesis on Walmart meat, so she let me in on many secrets after I was already on the fence from a college microbiology class. Just don't.
Diapers: I am a Pampers girl through and through-- they had me at Swaddlers.

What are your fav's?

Tax Cuts

How the Expiring Bush Tax Cuts Will Affect YOU. Click HERE.

Bubbles with Granna

Doesn't Luke look old in his muscle t-shirt that Granna bought him! Summer time is so fun!