Lunch with Aunt Sherry aka Lolly

Lolly and Uncle Roger's in town! They came in yesterday afternoon. I think they are ready to get home and see their kids and grandchildren. It was so good to see them again. Unfortunately, they won't be able to stay for Katie's Birthday Party next weekend. I think they are leaving here, heading home, Thursday. We got to see their new dog, Princess. She's 7 months old and the sweetest thing. A few of us (Sherry, Mom, Maryann, Natalie, Whitney, June, Katie and myself) met for lunch today and had a great visit. I got the Chicken Salad on greens plate - oh, so GOOD! Sherry had to try a little bite to see how it tasted. After she tasted my chicken salad, she told Mom that they would be coming back there tomorrow for lunch just so she can have the Chicken Salad on greens. I was too full to get dessert!

After lunch, Whitney came by the house to play with Katie while I did some house cleaning. I appreciate her coming by because I was able to get a lot done. Katie has gotten on a "Alice in Wonderland" kick. Whitney and Katie ended up watching "Alice in Wonderland" twice today. Her and Natalie are suppose to come over Wednesday to help decorate for the party. I'm pretty much leaving all the decorating ideas up to them. Susan mentioned she might be able to come by and see Katie while we decorate. Of course, this all depends on if she can either get her paint project done or she needs a break.

Doug has asked for my help with his Statistics homework. I just had to create some charts based on the data analysis - histogram, Pareto, bar, pie, box and whisker charts. When you haven't done something like that in a while it's kinda hard getting started. I almost forgot how to create a chart. Ugh!!! Once I got started, it all started coming back to me. It wasn't long before I started burning the keys getting the data analysis and creating the charts. We started on his homework after church yesterday and I finished as soon as I got home from my lunch date. I tried to explain Statistics to my Sisters, Aunt, Nieces and Mom, but all I got were blank looks, except for Whitney. She took Statistics at school and she knew exactly what I was talking about, so I got to connect with her on the subject. While Whitney and I were talking about Statistics and different charts, I could tell we were boring everyone else because they soon changed the subject. In fact, my Aunt Sherry moved from sitting by me to sitting by Maryann. It may be boring, but I like analyzing data. It was exciting to talk to someone else with the same interest.

Please keep in your prayer list a lady in our Sunday School Class, Patty. She is probably in her late 40's and is having to have a double and a possible triple by-pass surgery. Her surgery is scheduled for the 25th of July and she (of course) is scared about the healing process.

Katie Filing Daddy's Nails

Katie decided to give her Daddy a French Manicure. She found my nail file and started filing her Daddy's toe nails. We couldn't get over what she was doing and she did it so well. Too cute!

Katie's Baby Doll Cradle

This is the baby doll cradle Mom and I refurbished. Katie picked out the material, Shasta Daisies. I thought it turned out cute. Mom told me today, she nearly has the crocheted blanket finished.

Katie playing ball with Spike

The neighbor's little dog, Spike, comes every day to visit with Pat, June, Mom and Dad. The 4th of July is no different than any other day, to Spike. In fact, he had a blast with all the kids and dogs to play with. We found out that Spike likes to push a ball around the yard. When he discovered Katie's little play balls, he had so much fun playing with them. While Spike pushed the ball around, Katie would chase Spike around the yard. Poor Spike was wore slap out by the end of the day and went back home.

Fourth of July 2007

We celebrated the Fourth of July at Pat and June's this year, by the pool. Katie had a blast swimming around with Jodie, Jessie & Nicholas.

Sassy's Summer Cut

Sassy feels so much better! I finally got her an appointment to get a Summer cut from Melanie's (pet groomer). Poor Sassy cried all the way to Melanie's in her pet carrier. It was as if she knew she was either headed to the Vet's or the Groomer's. Either way it wasn't going to be pretty. I told Doug I thought it would be best if I took Sassy once every 6 months instead of once a year. I try my best to groom her and it's just not working. Before it's all over, I end up with a headache and stressed and Sassy ends up either gappy hair or in a worse condition than when we first began. At her age, I think Doug is hoping now nature will take it's course and Sassy will pass on. Well, she looks much better with her Summer cut.

I've been looking every where for the jeweled color (pink) Solo grip plates. I found 2 packs of 12 a while back and I knew I needed another pack. No, problem! I just knew WalMart or the Dollar Tree would have to stock it later. Well, I've been keeping eyes open ever since and I was beginning to panic because I never saw any more since that day. After a great search today, I finally found the plates at Food World of all places. Because I've had such trouble finding these plates, I got 2 packs instead of 1 pack.

Tomorrow, Doug and I are planning on staying at home. Maybe then I might be able to catch up on all my videos and photos. I also need to clean out the carport and clean Katie's outside toys again. I'm to the point where I'm thinking about putting all of the Katie's outside toys inside the carport just so they will stay some what clean. I have to clean the crazy things at least once every two weeks unless it rains, then it's just about every day. The mud washes up on the toys and mold collects on it. Ugh!!! I wished I had a storage building! Also, I'm not finished cleaning out all the flowerbeds. I still have three small beds to clean out - weeds, remove dead flowers & oak tree seedlings.

I got several great notices today in my email. Books a Million was having a great sale on a couple of their "Miss Spider" books. It just so happens they are both Christmas books, but one book I got 65% off and the other I received 75% off. You can't hardly beat these prices and I believe they are hardback books as well. It's rare to find "Miss Spider" books cheap. I got them for Katie when it gets closer to Christmas. Anyway, her books shipped today, so we should get them pretty soon. Speaking of BAM. Katie and I went to BAM the other day, looking for good bargains. Well, I couldn't find the bargain books I was interested in for her that I found online. They did have several coloring books for $1 each. Katie kept hugging a princess coloring book. I found "The Lion King" coloring book and I thought she would like it better. Nope! She wanted both. She needed a new coloring book, so I didn't see any problem with getting both. In fact, I thought it would make it easier for her and Alise to color if there were two instead of just one. Or should I say, for Mommy to color. I do the coloring and Katie likes to look at the pictures. She may scribble a little here and there, but mostly she just likes to look at the pages. My second good news is Rags Land Clothing Store http://www.ragsland.com/ has their Spring Collection 50% off. They have some really cute outfits. I found one A-Line Dress Katie could possibly wear next Spring and a couple of Fall sweaters from last years line in Katie's size. I got them in the shopping cart, but haven't bought them yet. I'm still undecided. My third piece of news today is Photosite is discontinuing their services as a photo provider. They suggested I switch to Snapshots by HP. All of this will be in effect by midnight on September 27th. I'm sure I was sent an email by Photosite, but I'm so quick to delete stuff. I'm sure that's what I did. I received an email from Laura to bring it to my attention. I'm currently transferring all of my photos from Photosite to Snapshots, so please bare with me as I get all of this under way.

Katie and I woke up yesterday sneezing. Today, her nose has been like a leaky faucet. On top of all that, we both have been so cranky. I know she is just tired, but she is so whiny. I've had a few sinus headaches and with my newly removed wisdom teeth, it feels like my jaw is about to fall off. I took a sinus pill and several Advil pills today to try and relieve the pain. Doug thinks I may have to go back to the Chiropractor and he maybe right. I've got knots all in my shoulders and neck. I guess it's been a little over two years since I've seen a Chiropractor for my back. I went to him for my terrible headaches and back pain. Man, did he help! I didn't have a headaches for months. Now, I'm just one big knot! Maybe when everything calms down a little, I'll be able to make an appointment with him.

Take care!

Baby Doll Cradle is Finished!

Mom and I have been working on Katie's baby doll cradle for the past couple of days and finally finished it. I'll try to show pictures tomorrow because I didn't have time to take pictures today. The cradle turned out so cute. I cut out the patterns for the bed skirt & cover, while Mom sewed it together. I had some extra material left over, so I made her a little pillow to go inside the bed. Mom told me she came across some pastel yarn she had at the house, so she is going to try and crochet Katie a baby doll blanket for her doll bed. I thought that was such a nice idea and it would be something Katie can cherish for a long time. I love doing projects together with my Mom, building memories. We kept catching ourselves being a perfectionist and we had to remind each other we were making this for a two year old. I know enough about sewing to be dangerous. The communication between Mom and myself was hilarious because I couldn't remember the sewing terminology. Mom would look at me so confused and ask "what?" I kept calling the pattern a template because that's what you would call it on the computer. Then she would say something that I didn't understand, so I would ask her to explain further. I'm slowly catching up with all I have to do.

I had such a good day. Of course, Mom came over this morning to finish the doll bed skirt and a friend of ours, Debra, asked to come over for lunch. I think Debra and Mom are both planning to join water aerobics at our local hospital rehab center. A while back, I explained to Debra about Mom's lower back and hip problems and she asked me, if Mom would be interested in joining water aerobics with her. I honestly didn't think Mom would go, but to my surprise she seems excited and up beat about it. Today, Debra explained more about it with Mom. Before Debra and Mom left my house, they got their plan and schedule down pat. Yes! Thank you Debra, we all appreciate it. We are all hoping this type of therapy might help Mom.

Natalie called earlier this morning, sounding all bored. I told her when Whitney got out of school, if they wanted, come over and visit with us. I was glad they got to come over and visit, even though they really came over to see Katie - tehe! Katie loves playing with her "Weeby" (Whitney) and "Mat-Mat" (Nat-Nat). We had to get on to Katie for being so rough with the girls. She was having so much fun jumping, walking on & hitting the girls. She was just a little too rough. It's always good to see them and to find out what's going on in their world. Oh, I have good news! Recently, Whitney got accepted to Nursing School at the college she is currently attending. Isn't that great?!? We are so proud of her and her accomplishments.

Take care and God Bless!

Kid's Play Day

Our church hosted a Kids Play Day at a local park. The little girl's face in the camera is one of Katie's church friends, Sophie. Katie had so much playing at the park.

What A Day!

Wow! What a day! We have been gone all day long. We took Katie to Portrait Innovations today and had her two year old pictures taken. She was in such a good mood and she did so well as you can tell in most of the portraits showing above. The studio was running a little late and we arrived there 10 minutes early, so needless to say Katie was ready to run around. Luckily, there was a Legos table were the kids socialized. Katie was busy moving Legos from one net to the other net. Before we started taking pictures, I promised her she could have some gummies if she was good and took some good pictures. She told me, "okay, Mommy." She had a blast running all over the studio photo display set. We had a hard time getting her to wait before running back on the set. As you can see, she had to have her picture made with a Lion they used as a prop. She kept playing with this crazy thing between set changes. The photographer asked if we would want a picture made of Katie & the Lion. Sure, why not? We didn't order any of the Lion pictures - I didn't think they turned out too good, but Katie had fun posing. After it was all done, I couldn't praise her enough. This experience was a lot better than her one year old pictures last year. Ugh! I get a headache just thinking about last year's pictures. By this time, she needed some down time. While I sorted through all the photos with the photographer, I suggested that Doug take Katie outside and eat some gummies. Of course, I couldn't choose just one pose so we didn't get the $9.95 special. Doug gave me the "that's not a bad price," which tells me I've got the go ahead. You would not believe the pictures we got for the price! I was pleasantly surprised! They don't charge sitting fee nor edit fee. They don't pressure you to buy more. What I really like, while you cancel out the photos you don't want on the computer, it keeps a running cost as to what you will pay. Plus, you get your photos in 30 minutes and a disk to keep for your records. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYONE. They are located all over the country. Here's their website: http://www.portraitinnovations.com/index.html

While we waited for our pictures to be developed, we ate at Zoe's Kitchen. I love their chicken salad, so good! Katie was so tired and whiny. Laura, I think you're going to love shopping around Patton Creek. I haven't been there in quite some time and they have some neat looking shops. Of course I was with Doug and on a mission (Bama hair bows), so I didn't get to shop around today. Laura, Bama Fever is having a problem keeping their small hair bows in stock. One store owner told me, they haven't been able to recover since the A-Day game. I did get the last hair bow that Bama Fever in the Galleria had in stock. The salesmen called the Huntsville store for me and they had one hair bow left. It might be a little different, but I asked it they would hold it for me. We will try to get up there tomorrow and buy it for Alise.

Doug heard about Tutwiler Farms, so we went to check it out. I was sort of disappointed because I thought it was a real farm. I thought we were really taking Katie to something neat with farm animals. Nope! It's a big shopping center which includes: Chico's, Belk, New Balance, Bama Fever, Accessories Heaven, The Loft, etc. Personally, I think I like The Summit better and besides it's much closer than Tutwiler Farms.

I hate to say it, but after today I'm beginning to hate "Snow White." There should be a limit on how many "Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho!" you can listen to. We had to watch it over and over from the time we left the house to Portrait Innovations, in between and on the way home. It's cute to hear Katie sing "Heigh Ho!" She actually tries to whistle. Of course, only air comes out. If she keeps up the good work, she might actually learn to whistle.

We got home safe and sound around 7:45 p.m. tonight and very tired. I washed Katie up, put her PJs on, brushed her teeth and put her to bed. She was so whiny and tired. Take care and have a great weekend!

Happy 4th of July!

I had to capture this moment between Katie & Her Daddy. While I was cleaning up the Kitchen - Supper dishes - Katie and Doug were spending time together by playing princess & watching "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Katie was having so much fun jumping & bouncing around on her Daddy.

Last night, we invited Millard and Peggy over for Supper. We had T-bone Steaks, baked potatoes, Chef Salad and Strawberry Shortcake with Cool Whip for dessert. I have to say, I was stuffed. Of course, I was the last one to get up from the table. I knew it would be a challenge for me to eat my steak, but it was well worth it! We didn't get to eat until late. Doug wanted to stop by the funeral home on the way home from work last night, to pay his respects to Theresa's family. He left work around 5:30 and called me at 7:00 on his cell phone, saying he was still in line to view the body. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to get home until around 8:30 because there were so many people and the line was barely moving. Millard and Peggy came over to the house around 6:00, so Doug told us to go ahead and eat without him. Since I had already put the meat on the grill at 6:45, I knew he would have to warm his Supper up when he got home. In between flipping the steaks ever so often, I went outside to get the steaks because I knew they had to be done. Unfortuately, we ran out of gas! I cut a small piece on the meat to see if it was done and I wouldn't worry about changing the tanks. Nope! No such luck. Still too raw! Millard and I got the tanks changed out and we were back in business. The steaks were ready to get off the grill by the time Doug drove up in the driveway - at 8:30. I just knew the steaks were going to be tough, but to my surprise they were tender. Katie was wild last night. She was in her usual giggle mood. She would make a face or say something and follow up with "that's funny" and start giggling. She had lots of fun with Grandma Peggy & Paw-Paw Millard. Millard couldn't play too much with her because he was a little under the weather. He had to sit back and watch Peggy play with her. In our salads, Peggy brought some bell pepper and cucumbers. I love bell pepper and cucumbers in my salad. Yum! Doug has even started eating more cucumbers. Anyway, I ate some in my salad and I have paid for it all night long. I guess you would say that I didn't sleep well at all. In fact, I've been up since 2:00 this morning. I heard Katie about 3:30 crying a little in her bed. I didn't think much of it, I figured she had a dream. Then it dawned on me she had cucumbers as well. By 4:30, I couldn't take it anymore, so I got up and checked on Katiebug. Bless her heart, she has a little gas too. Her and I were both taking medicine this morning. I'll have to remember from now on not to eat bell peppers and/or cucumbers late at night.

Today, I plan to wash the outside windows and do a few things around the house. I'm not going to kill myself, like I've been the past couple of days. Later, we'll go and visit my family for Supper. Katie will probably want to go swimming in the big pool, if you call it swimming. She basically likes to hang around the steps of the pool.

We hope all of you have a safe and wonderful Independence Day! Take care and God Bless.

Almost 100%

Well, I guess Dr. Doug was correct on the pain pills or his method seems to be working thus far. Today, I'm full of energy and had very few headaches. Right now, the discomfort is in the sinus cavity just above my left eye. Every once in a while it will let me know that it's there. It's more aggravating than painful.

With my new found energy and spunk, I was able to knock out quite a bit on my "To Do" list. I washed up a couple of Katie's chair covers, cleaned up Katie's room, started on her 2 year old slide show (like I did last year), updated my mailing for the week, made several phone calls to catch up on the latest and get things organized for the big party in 3 weeks. As some of you may know, I've been refurbishing a baby doll bed for Katie. I bought the material last week, Katie picked out colorful Shasta Daisies (pink, lavender, yellow). Today, I had the chance to spray paint the frame of the wooden bed. I have to say, it turned out really good. I even found a little time to gift wrap some presents. While Katie watched Mermaid this afternoon, I washed a couple loads of laundry.

From time to time, I've been trying to teach Kaitlyn how to pick up her toys & books that she strews throughout the house every single day. Today, I guess you would say I had enough picking up her stuff. I had to stop myself to notice that I couldn't get certain things done for picking up after her. Well things are going to change around here, by George! I had to start out by showing her to put things away and then I stood over her like a warden and made sure she did it. Yes, I had to spank her on the leg a couple of times because she would rather play than pick up. I promise you I picked up her book/stuffed animal case twice today alone. She gets in her room and pulls everything out of her bookcase and strews it all over her room. I know she prefers it that way, but we will not stand for that one bit. The third time she did it today, I took her back to her room and made her pick everything up. I kept cheering her on because I knew she could do it. It just so happened when she finished her Daddy came home with her new favorite cookies - Strawberry Newtons Minis. I have to say, all the work she put into cleaning her room, she deserved those cookies. I continued to praise her by telling her she was Mommy's big helper and she was a big girl now. She was proud being praised! "I help, Mommy." she said. After cleaning all day, she'd see the toys or blankets strewn all over the place and say "Mommy, mess!" She wrinkles up her whole face just to say mess. It's cute, I have to fight back a smile when she says it. Her new thing this week is: She'll either come get me or holler to me, "Mommy, come here!" and say "Mommy, come play in room." This means, she wants me to play with her in her room. Mostly, she'll pull out her puzzles for us to put together and she's gotten pretty good with the 4 piece puzzles. She has one 5 piece Chimp puzzle, she struggles a little with it.

Please keep in your prayers a family from our church that just lost their Mother/Wife this morning after fighting a good hard fight against Leukemia. Theresa in her late 30s, left behind a supportive husband, two beautiful young daughters & loving and encouraging extended family. I'll tell you one thing, this little lady was ready for a battle. She had her ups and downs, but she never let her downs get in the way of her faith in God. She could really be in a lot of pain, but she kept a smile on her face and would tell people God is in control.

Please continue to pray for the family of my friend, Toni that passed away over the weekend. Last night, I said my last goodbyes to her at the funeral home. It was very hard to realize that she is truly gone (for a while). Last night as I was saying my prayers and talking to God, I thought of all the good times we had and the nice memories. When you think of the good memories it seems to make the grief a little easier to handle. A smile always seems to slip in while your crying. I've tried not to cry so much because of the headaches, don't want to make them worse. It's been hard! I can't stop putting myself in her shoes. She is so young and leaving behind three young children, not knowing how they were going to accept her being gone. Do they truly understand? Do they blame God? I can't imagine leaving Doug and Katie behind. What's so bad is knowing you would be leaving them behind - knowing it for close to 10 years. I know you're not suppose to think this way because the Almighty God will take you when He is ready and He does allow things like Cancer & other diseases to come in our path for a reason. Some of us won't know the reason until He comes face to face with us. I don't mean to preach, but my heart is bursting - I ask you today - ARE YOU READY? Some NonChristians ask - Why? What do you mean? Hey people we are not meant to forever live on Earth! We are all on a journey through this cruel and evil world. We ALL will die, maybe not like Theresa or Toni, but we all will be gone from here one day. We will ALL stand before the Creator/Father, Savior, and Holy Spirit. Some NonChristians say, why do I want what you have because you are no better than I? My friend, we have all sinned and in many different ways, but until you have our Savior Jesus Christ there beside you come Judgement Day, you will be looking at an Eternal Hell. I don't want that for you because I love you! Jesus Christ loves you as well and He wants the very best for you - happiness, peace, joy, hope - the list goes on and on. By no means is being a Christian easy, but the hope and faith in Christ Jesus - He will get you through any brick wall, mountain top, road block, etc. God created us to worship and praise His Holy Name because His Love is Eternal for you and me! If you feel, you are in a pit and can't possibly get out and don't know what to do - CALL UP ON THE LORD! If you think so lowly of yourself right now. You don't feel worthy enough to call upon the Lord. Shout out loud! "God, I need you!" "God, I have sinned and don't want to sin anymore." Confess your sin right now. He doesn't care how large or small your sin is. It could be murder, drug addiction, child pornography, alcoholism. It could be just a small white lie. He wants you to come to Him and accept His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Do you believe that Jesus Christ came down to Earth in flesh, walked this Earth & died for our sins that we might have eternal life? Please read in the Holy Bible - John 3:16 - "God so loved the World that He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Don't think for a second that church or worshiping God at church is just for the worthy Christians. Church is a building for all sinners (yes, that means you!) to gather, thank God for His ever goodness in your life, a place to ask His forgiveness for your mistakes and a place to listen for His Calling. Church is a building to start the healing in your life, no matter if it is physically, emotionally or spiritually. God heals ALL who come to Him - maybe not physically, but in His own way. He heals in His own time for His own purpose. For further reference, I recommend you read "Get Out of that Pit" by Beth Moore. I can't apologize for this out burst because I believe God lead me to write this message. Right now, I'm shaking and my heart is bursting. I believe someone out there needed to read this message. God Bless You!

I Love "W"!

Okay, by now you should know I'm a Republican! I have to say - I LOVE GEORGE BUSH #43! I love the President's bleeps and blunders. Enjoy!

I Need You by Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

I thought I would share this video with you. I don't consider myself a huge Tim McGraw fan, but I do like Faith Hill and I think this is a pretty song. I hope you enjoy it.

By the way, I'm doing better every day. Still dealing with the headaches, but Dr. Doug took me off my pain medicine - thinking it might be making me worse. For some crazy reason, he seems to think I'm allergic to the pain pills. I've replaced my pain pills for Advil.

Take care and have a great 4th of July week!

Headaches!

Well hey, it's me again. For those of you who have had your wisdom teeth removed or any teeth removed might understand why I haven't been in too much of a writing mood. Today, I've experienced more headaches/face aches then yesterday. I've been trying to take it easy on my pain pills because I don't know how many more days I'm going to have these headaches and the pills knock me out. Yesterday, I tried to be brave enough to touch my stitches and holes with my tongue, but they were too sensitive. Touching my gums with my tongue caused my stomach to flip. Yuck! I'm so weak. Today, my gums are not as sensitive, so I've been feeling my gums again with my tongue. I didn't get sick this time, so that's a big plus. When I eat, it feels so weird because I've always had those teeth back there and I never imagined how much I really used them. I'm still hanging in there and hoping each day that goes by will be better than the last. I want to thank all the people checking in on me. I've had so many sweet concerned people calling on me and I want to let you know that I appreciate it so much.

I have some sad news to report. Toni, the one I've been asking for special prayer, passed away this morning at the age of 49 years old. She had been fighting Parkinson's Disease for close to ten years and now has gone to be with her Lord, Jesus Christ. Who was Toni? What kind of person was she? When she was well, she loved life itself. She always had a smile on her face and loved to make other people laugh. If she knew you were having a bad day, she would do little things. There have been days where I would find a piece of Special Dark Chocolate candy with a special message stuck to it on my desk. We really helped each other out when it came to a good ear or having to get a project done. Like most Mother's, she lived for her three children. She tried to set a good example for them to live by. She talked to them about the hardships of life and listened to their problems. She was a dear sweet soul with a heart of gold and she will be dearly missed. Thank you so much for all your prayers and God heard every one of them. She is now free from the disease that destroyed her appearance, but not her spirit.

Among The Living

Yes, it's me. I made it through my teeth extraction surgery. I feel pretty good, I'm just a little sore in my sinus region and jaw area. The document I had to sign before the surgery stated I might have TMJ problems or my TMJ condition may worsen. I hope it doesn't, but right now I can't open my mouth very wide - too stiff & sore. Under the circumstance it was a nice experience at the oral surgeon office. The doctor and his staff was so considerate, understanding and sweet to me the whole time. All I remember is talking with the doctor's assistant, she is due (pregnant) on the 25th of July, all of the sudden I got really dizzy and I was trying my best to tell them what I was experiencing - LIGHTS OUT. The next thing I remember is them helping me walk from the surgery room to the recovery room. They brought Doug back there with me to help me wake up. At the time, I was so drunk that I was seeing double of everything. I remember, I started laughing. Doug was laughing at me the whole time. Here I needed consoling and he takes my pictures because I looked silly in my condition. I didn't care, but now he's threatening to put it on the web. tehe! There is no telling what I looked like, but I'm sure it was funny. I want to thank you for all your prayers, they were definitely felt. I'm so thankful to God for such a smooth transaction.

Millard & Peggy were nice enough to stay most of the day with us and help take care of Katie. I made them all a big pot of roast beef, potatoes, carrots and onions. Peggy brought some of her famous Mexican Cornbread to go with the meal. Me, I got to eat Strawberry-Banana Apple Sauce (Yummy!), Chocolate Pudding and juice. At first I tried sipping on some Chicken Broth, but I could tell real quick that it was going to make me sick if I ate anymore.

Poor Katie couldn't understand what was going on. I tried to explain to her a little bit before I left that I was going to the doctor to get a shot and Grandma Peggy was going to look after her for me. Of course, she had to repeat everything I said, so I knew she was listening to me. When I got home, I was still really drunk feeling and she knew right off the bat something was different about me. She kept coming over to me in my recliner and touching me. I tried to explain to her that Mommy was sick. She was concerned enough about me that she wouldn't leave me alone for a minute. She would break between playing time with Grandma Peggy and check on me. She is so sweet! There was even a time or two when she told me to "get up Mommy." I let her crawl up in the recliner with me off and on to rock with me.

I think Doug is going in to work late tomorrow and just work for a few hours. Meanwhile, my Mom will be staying with Katie and I. She is excited to come over and play with Katie. I hope Katie doesn't wear Mom out and get too rough with her.

Happy Birthday Aunt Mary!

First, I would like to wish my Great-Aunt Mary and very Happy 97th Birthday!

Please keep me in your prayers! I go in the morning to get all 4 of my wisdom teeth taken out. Yuck! Luckily, I'm suppose to be drugged and taking it easy. I've got my pain and nausea prescriptions filled and ready to go. YES! I've got the apple sauce, jello, pudding, fat-free ice cream & juice stocked in the fridge. I went ahead and restocked the napkins, toilet paper, and the paper towels are accessible. I hope everything will run well without anyone wondering where somethings at. I asked Doug tonight if there is anything he needs to know and he just looked at me like - why, where are you going? I told him depending on how I feel, I might be out of it from the meds.

Today, Katie and I went to WalMart to get some groceries for the next few days - something simple for Daddy to whip up. I got Katie all prepared - pizza, chicken, chips, fruit parfaits, and juice. By the way, Katie was very good at WalMart today. Of course, I gave her a talking to at the house (before we left) and I talked to her again in the truck before we went inside the store. This time, I loaded up her silly sac with all kinds of snacks. I quickly found out that her and jelly beans don't mix. She loved chewing them and she had a blast shoveling them into her mouth, but she didn't know what to do when they stuck to her teeth. She soon started pulling them off of her teeth and placing them on her floppy. She, her floppy and I was sticky all over. I had to stop, get the wipes and clean off everything. What a mess!

Katie's new things are: She likes to wear her Princess Dress Up Skirt only and one play shoe around the house. Now I'm waiting for the day she insists on wearing this outside the home. She has a new saying: "That's Good." I know I say it, but I didn't think it was that much. I've noticed her saying it more today then in the past. It's so darn cute when she says it.

Lots Done Today

Sorry, I've been out of touch for a few days. Katie is feeling much better, but honestly I don't know how we are handling the terrible twos. I'm to the point to where I'm afraid to get out in the public, she is so embarrassing! Right now, people outside of our little home probably think we are raising a Katiestein (Frankenstein). When it is just me and her, she just loves all over me and is as sweet as sugar. If people come to visit or if I get her out into the public view, Dr. Jekyll comes out of her and I'm completely shocked how she acts. Today, we were at WalMart and as I was looking at material for her doll's bed (I'm refurbishing), she had a complete come apart because I put the material she really liked up. She flung her head back and the alligator tears were just a pouring. I had already given her two previous warnings because she was wanting everything she could get her little hands on. I got the buggy over to the side (hardly any traffic) and slapped her little leg a couple different times because of her behavior. She still wouldn't let up, twisting around in the buggy to where she could get her seat belt off and snatching everything. Earlier (when she was good), I picked up some bubble bath for when her and Alise take a tubby. On the bottom shelf was some tub toys and Katie saw a rubber fish that looked like Nemo. She really wanted the Nemo fish, so I didn't see a problem with it. Yeah, I didn't see a problem until she started acting like a little brat. I gave her two warnings to either straighten up or no Nemo fish. Needless to say, she pushed too many buttons with me and back went the fish. She had a complete meltdown. I don't know if me doing that actually taught her something or not. I hope it really connected with her and her behavior because she really wanted that fish. I hated doing it to her, but I felt it had to be done to show her bad behavior cost her the toy. I felt so bad, I thought it was a good to time to explain to her exactly what had just happened. I kept asking her if she knew why I took the toy away from her. I hope she understood because she wouldn't talk to me. Oh, it doesn't end there. Oh, no! I put her in the car and she was fighting me to buckle her in. Thinking she might be hungry and tired, I asked her if she would want some chicken and fries. "Yes," she said. Okay, here we go. Chickfila is next door to WalMart, so we went in the drive through. On Katie's car seat there's snack holder, so I put a piece of chicken in the holder. She starts, "no, Mommy!" Trying to be patient, I told her that I thought she wanted chicken. Again, "no!" Well, I just left the chicken in the holder, thinking she might change her mind. Sure enough, after she calmed down she ate the chicken. When she seemed to be ready for another piece, I handed it to her. She took the chicken and threw it. I had enough! Yes, I told her "No!" and spanked her leg (not hard). She ate another piece of chicken. I asked her if she wanted a fry and I thought she said "yes." I handed her the fry and she slapped my hand to where the fry went flying through the air. Well, the child not only got another slap on the leg, but a piece of my mind. I gave a 2 mile lecture on our bad behavior problem and how she needs to straighten up or she may not get a birthday party. In her defense, she was tired. As soon as we got home, I put her to bed and she was out like a light, but it is no excuse for her behavior! What do I do? She can be so lovable and sweet, but the terrible twos are destroying my baby!

I have to tell you this story. As you know, we've been talking up the whole big birthday party event with Katie. I name off all the things we are going to do and all the people that are coming to the party. She loves me naming off everyone and she makes sure I don't leave anyone out, especially Grandma Peggy, June & Pat. To back up, Katie has picked up the phrase, "that's mine!" I can't stand to hear children/kids say this phrase; even though, they are going to say it. I figure she's picked up the saying from the children at church. Knowing this, I've been talking to her about Alise coming to visit her on her big day and how Alise will want to play with her toys. I'll ask her, will you let Alise play with your toys? So far, she'll answer yes. What hasn't gotten out of Katie's mind is Alise is coming to see her and play with her toys. Tonight, every time she heard a vehicle drive down the road or the dogs started barking, she thought it was Alise coming to see her. She'd ask me, "Mommy, Alise?" I'd have to tell her, no that's not Alise. I'd remind Katie, "Alise isn't coming today. She's coming for your birthday." When Doug drove up she asked again, "Mommy, Alise?" I'd have to tell her "no, honey that's not Alise." This went on and on, Doug and I thought it was funny. She is so excited to know Alise is coming to see her.

Doug is taking a couple of days off after the 4th of July and he mentioned to take Katie to get her pictures made at Portrait Innovations. I made sure he still wanted to do it and after I got confirmation from him, I made the appointment today. Now, I don't know whether to just take her birthday dress or if I should take a change of clothes with us.

I was going through the Katie's Birthday list. Yes, I have a list. tehe! I went through the list and started wondering about the cake. How much time should I give Publix in advance (so they will make sure they have the kit) to order the cake? I called them up and asked if they could make the cake. Thankfully I called because they didn't have the kit. They would have to order the kit in order the do the cake. Shoo! They went ahead and had me place the order, so I can just pick it up early Saturday morning. I'm glad I got that done.

I got a hair appointment scheduled and tried to get Sassy an appointment from the pet groomer, but Melanie wasn't in today. Getting the cat's hair cut will be the last appointment have to make before the party.

The lady that cuts my hair knows Toni, lady with Parkinson's Disease. I wanted to make sure she knew about Toni being in the hospital and she said she spoke to Toni's ex-husband. He said he found a "Living Will" and he was going to take it to the hospital today or tomorrow and have them remove the ventilator. I have views about Toni's husband, so we won't get into that subject. Hearing this new information today, made me very curious. I called the hospital since I really can't rely on any of her family members (messing situation). Of course, they can't give me any information because she is in the Critical Care Unit. The Receptionist forwarded my call to the CCU waiting room and as expected no one from her family was in the waiting room. I called another friend, Debra, she had not heard of the ex pulling the plug. Even though, it might be best to remove the machines because Toni seems to be in so much pain. Please keep her in your prayers.

Katie Still Sick

Well it's official, Katie has some type of virus. Yes, I said virus. This morning, baby girl got a bellyache (if you know what I mean). Fortunately, it didn't last long, but she still has the high temperatures (100.7 - 102.8 degrees). Yuck! Bless her heart! I felt so bad for her because I know she didn't feel good. We just curled up on the couch today and watched movies. Her new favorite movie of the month is "Beauty and the Beast." I got so tired of watching it three times yesterday that when she wanted to watch it for the second time today, I suggested to watch Bambi. Lucky for me, she liked that suggestion just as well. Since tomorrow will be the third day of this stuff, hopefully she'll be feeling better. Please note: It's amazing how kids bounce up and down when it comes to being sick. Right now, she is bouncing around on the bed with us. She is playing with her Daddy and won't go to sleep. Yeah, I tried putting her in her bed, but she kept crying and carrying on that she didn't feel good. She loves playing us and she does it so well.

Ya'll are going to think I've bumped my head! On eBay, I've been watching the DVDs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Beauty and the Beast." I'll tell you one thing, these people that buy up the Disney movies (keep the wrapper on them) will make some money, as soon as the movie is taken off the shelves. I've seen a "Beauty and the Beast" and "Sleeping Beauty" go for over $40 a piece. After several tries, I finally won bids for both "Snow White" and "Beauty", just don't ask me how much I paid. tehe!

I called Portrait Innovations today and scheduled an appointment for next month to have Katie & Alise's picture made together.

I got so aggravated about the table and chair set I ordered for Katie. I was expecting to have it here in time for Katie's party. I ordered a Step2 Lifestyle Folding Table and Chair Set from the Step2 Company. I received an email from Step2 a week ago Wednesday stating, they had shipped my order via FedEx and I should receive it in 3-8 days. It's been 7 days, I got a little excited so I thought I would check the tracker. FedEx was saying online, it was not a known number. What? I called FedEx in hopes there was some mistake. Nope! There was no mistake. I called Step2 to find out what's going on and it's a good thing that I checked into this because they said my order never made it on the truck. What? They gave me an option to either get a full refund or have them send me another and they would refund my shipping cost. Yes, I want the order! This lady said she would send me an email next Tuesday or Wednesday with the status of my order. I hope they can get it to me as soon as possible.

I got an update on Toni this morning. The nurses can't seem to keep her fever down. The high temperature wants to stay around 104 degrees. I've been told this isn't good. I know nothing about the medical world, so I have no idea what a constant high temperature like this will do to your body. I've also been told, she is basically letting the breathing machine breath for her and I know that's not good.

Hope everyone has a good weekend! Take care and keep us in your thoughts as we try to get Katie through this virus.

Special Prayer Request

My friend, Toni, is in the Critical Care Unit at a local hospital. She was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease a few years ago at the age of 41. It is very rare for someone at that age to have Parkinson's. She has lived nearly 10 years suffering from this disease. She has gone from every drug on the market, severe brain surgeries, in and out of hospitals to eventually the Nursing Home. Her disease has taken over her life and family. It is so sad and painful to watch! Yesterday, one of the nurses at the Nursing Home found her non responsive in bed. At first they thought she had a heart attack, but it was ruled out by the time she reached the hospital. June and I went this afternoon to see her, but it was hard to bare seeing her. She was hooked up to all of these machines - life support. I was afraid to touch her for fear I might disturb a wire or tube some where. I tried stroking her finger and talking to her. I wanted to let her know we were there and just wanted to see her open her eyes. She kept making these faces like she was in pain. I don't know if it is a good sign - making pain faces - with her being basically non responsive. Doctors still don't know what's wrong with her, but do feel she had a seizure at the Nursing Home. Please keep her in your prayers. I don't know how to ask you to pray - to survive or die. God knows how much suffering she has had to bare and I don't know if she can handle anymore. Only God knows! Sometimes, I feel she would be better off going on to be with the Lord and leave this world and pain. June and I really felt this was probably the last time we will see her again, but God may have another plan for her. I know God's Will will be done. I just hate to see her suffer anymore than she has already.

Also, please remember Kaitlyn as well. As some of you already know, she's been fighting a bad cold she caught last Sunday (Sunday School Class). Last night, she had bad diarrhea before bedtime. No problem, I immediately took her off milk and juice. I had Doug go to the store and get her favorite yogurt and some Pedialyte. Fortunately, he came back with Propel water as well. She hates the favored Pedialyte, even if you add Sugar Free Cool Aide with clear Pedialyte. Last time she got sick, she would drink the plain clear Pedialyte without the Cool Aide. Unfortunately, the clear Pedialyte wasn't going to help me this time. She took one sip and she made this awful face. Yuck! She wouldn't touch it and she begged me to give her milk. I felt terrible. During the night, she woke up crying. I couldn't calm her down and the more she cried the more she gagged. So, I picked her up, wiped off her tears and we went to the Living Room and rocked for a little while. Rocking her seems to calm her down pretty good. About an hour later, I put her back to bed and she drifted off to sleep. Bless her heart! This morning, she seemed to be doing better but she had a slight temperature. Ugh! I knew if she didn't feel better by this afternoon, I was going to have to cancel going with June to the hospital. I put some Tylenol in her and put her to bed. She went right to sleep, which isn't like her at all. I knew she didn't feel good. After she woke up from her nap, she felt much better. No temp, no diarrhea, she ate two hot dogs for lunch and ready to go outside to play. Okay! Everything looked good enough for me to go with June. Mom came over and stayed with her, while I was gone. I explained to Mom what's been going on and she agreed with me that it might be just a little bug. By the time we got back home, poor Mom didn't know what to do. She said Katie started acting like she didn't feel good. They went outside to play, but they didn't stay long because Katie wanted to go back in the house (not like her). Mom said she kept coming over to her and cry a little bit. Mom said she felt hot, so she gave her some Tylenol. Doug got home just in time to help out Mom. He took Katie's temp and it was around 101 degrees. I felt so bad for both Mom and Katie. I shouldn't have left when I knew she hadn't been feeling all that great today. I'm a bad Mom! When Mom and June left to go home, I put Katie in the tub. I put some Vapor in her tubby and just let her play for a length of time. She was having a blast! A tubby always seems to help lower her temperatures. I let her run around in her diaper until it was time to get ready for bed. Doug went out and got us some more Motrin, Tylenol & Gatorade for Katie. While he was gone, Katie sat in my lap and ate two tubes of yogurt and a stick of cheese. I don't know if it gave her a bellyache or not because when I put her to bed, she kept rubbing her stomach. Every once in a while, she would start crying. I asked her if it hurt. She'd say "uh, huh." I eventually got her back out of the bed and we went to the rocker. Doug seems to think she was playing me because her stomach ache went away. She was so tired because as soon as I put her back to bed, it didn't take her long before she was out. I'm hoping she'll feel much better tomorrow.

Maddie in Grandma's Flower Garden

My niece, Liz, sent me these photos of her daughter, Maddie. I can't get over how big Madelyn has gotten just in the past few months. The pictures were taken in my sister's (Liz's Mom) flower garden. I thought Liz did an excellent job taking these photos. I tried to post these pictures on my Photosite, but I don't have the program on this computer. I thought this would be the second best way to display Maddie's cute photos.

Proud Papas!

These pictures were taken on Father's Day! Katie is riding a toy horsey that once belonged to her Daddy. When we visit her Grandparents, she has to see her horsey. Of course, this doesn't mean she wants to ride it, she just wants to make sure it is still there.

Shop, Shop, Shop!

I got the cutest Lion outfit for Katie to wear for our zoo trip. Gymboree has a bunch of these little tank tops on sale right now. I got this shirt & a matching pair of orange shorts for $12. I didn't think that was too bad. Since Katie loves Lions, we had to get it. It was hard for me to keep my hands from grabbing the Zebra & Giraffe shirts as well. Oh, they had a cute pair of denim Safari Shorts (Zebra & Giraffe). I was tempted to get them, but didn't. Since we're going to the zoo next month, I was afraid she would be too hot in the denim shorts. I also bought the matching corkscrew barrettes. I like Katie's hair up in pig tails, so the corkscrew barrettes work best. Since we were at the mall, we had to stop by the Disney Store. Katie & I love the Disney Store. We just have a field day! She likes to look at all the toys and characters, while I like the sales. They are trying to push the Summer Tiki wears (shirts, plates, silverwear & glasses) out, I guess to get ready for Fall. I had bought Katie an Ariel Tiki plate a while back for around $3. Well now, they had just about everything for $1.99. I went ahead and grabbed a Nemo Tiki plate & plastic glass and Minnie Mouse plastic glass. They also had several select t-shirts on sale for $4.99. I picked up Katie a Minnie Mouse & Ariel T-Shirts, they are cute as can be. Before we headed back home, I needed to go pick up another pack of invites for Katie's party. Would you believe she remembered the store, we bought all of her party supplies? At first, I didn't know what she was talking about. She kept saying something about Mermaid. Then it dawned on me, she remembered buying her Mermaid/Princess stuff here. I put her Teddy Bear harness on and I'm glad I did because as soon as we went inside the store, she went crazy. I couldn't keep her hands still. As soon as I found the invites, I handed them to her and thankfully I did because it kept her hands busy. Right now, Sam's Club is selling a wide selection of Dr. Seuss hardcover books for $5.97 or you can get 4 small board books for $12.97 (approximately). I can't remember the exact prices on these. I wanted to start introducing Katie to Dr. Seuss books. I've checked out several Dr. Seuss from the Library in the past, but she never seemed that interested in them. I couldn't pass up this offer, so I got her "Put Me In The Zoo." I figured with her love for animals, she might like reading the story. I guess we'll see.

Rain, Glorious Rain!!

I want to take this time and Praise Our Dear Heavenly Father Up Above for hearing our many prayers for rain. It rained most of the day mostly soft and silent, but we have a few welcomed down pours. Needless to say it was a perfect movie day. Katie insisted on watching "Belle" aka "Beauty and the Beast." She not only wanted to watch it once, but twice today. I have to say watching "Belle" was a tight race with "Snow White" because Katie couldn't make up her mind. After Supper, she wanted to watch "Belle" again. You would think she would be tired of "Belle" by now. She gets so excited when the beast is mean to Belle's Dad and takes him to the tower. She'll tell me, "Beast get Paw-Paw." She calls Belle's Dad "Paw-Paw." She calls him that because he has white hair. I know this because any white haired man she comes into contact, she calls them "Paw-Paw." We had to have a tea party with all the stuffed animals and dolls on a pallet in the middle of the Living Room floor. Katie loves playing tea party. Hopefully, she will learn how to play tea party a little better when her table and chairs come in. Right now, when I get everything set out and ready for the party, she'll get right in the middle of the party. I mean right in the middle, on top of the tea pot, cups & plates with play food on it. I've tried to show her differently, but I don't think she comprehends what I'm talking about. To end the day, we read stories and sang songs as well.

I'm in love with a new ice cream! Have you tried Breyer's Double Churn Fat-Free Ice Cream? I picked up 2-1/2 gallon containers, I bought 2 because I wanted to make sure I had some when I have my surgery. I bought the chocolate flavor (of course) and it is so good and creamy. If you haven't tried it, it is a MUST and don't let the little words "Fat-Free" scare you because it is delicious!

Start Potty Training Again?

Okay, we are going through the sporadic potty training phrase. What do you mean, you ask? Well, there are days or most of the time, moments, where Katie feels she must announce to the world, she has "Poopied!" For a little while back, she'd wake up in the morning hollering "Mommy, I poopied!" She obviously can't tell the difference between poopy and pee-pee. She calls it all "poopy." She likes sitting on her Dora the Explorer Potty Seat. There are times when I catch her sticking her leg or hand inside the potty, as she is sitting on her seat. I'm hoping to get her broke from sticking her body parts in the potty. This morning, she came and told me she had to go poopy in the potty. Okay and away we went to the bathroom. Not expecting anything, I left her on the pot to get her another diaper. I took my time, straightening up her room and she started hollering "Mommy, Mommy, I poopied in the potty." Still not expecting anything because this has happened before and nothing has ever happened and sure enough as I'm walking down the hallway, I could hear her pee-peeing in the potty. Hurray!!!! Her eyes were huge with pride and she was so excited, she had to tell me 4-5 times that she poopied in the potty. I was so proud of her, we started hollering and I couldn't praise her enough. She had this big grin on her face. I really didn't have anything to give her at the moment as a reward for her effort. The last time she pee-peed in the potty, we went to WalMart that afternoon and she got a prize. So it was easy at that moment, but I wasn't planning on going any where today. I went little overboard on the birthday gifts this year, so I let her have the Snow White doll, she wouldn't let go a month ago from WalMart. I explained to her why she was getting a prize and her little face lite up when she saw Snow White. She kept saying "Snow White, Snow White" over and over. I asked her if she liked her and she responded, "uh huh, Mommy. Snow White cute." Cute is one of Katie's new words, she likes to say a lot. If we go shopping, I ask her if she likes something and I'll get "uh huh, Mommy, cute." I've been teaching her to say "pretty," it's cute hearing her say it.

When Katie got her Snow White doll this morning, she insisted we watch "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs" today. She loves the dwarfs, she thinks they are so funny. She held her doll the whole time she watched the movie and every once in a while, she would tell me she had Snow White. As most of you know, she's been getting over a bad cold. Bless her heart, I don't think she was feeling too good today because she really wasn't in her usual rambunctious mood. In fact after her nap this afternoon, she was a little clingy & whiny. All she wanted was for me to hold her and Snow White. I felt bad for her, so I let her watch "Beauty & the Beast." This movie along with "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs" is one of her new favorite movies. She has so many favorite movies, we now have to stand in front of the display case and decided what movie we are in mood for. She's her Momma's girl - LOVE MOVIES! I've been looking at eBay for Snow White, Beauty & The Beast & Sleeping Beauty DVDs. Wow! I could kick myself now for not getting the DVDs when they were out on the shelves a few years ago. I have several Disney animated movies on VHS, I've been collecting since 1992. My VHS videos are shot! I don't know if it is the heat in the entertainment center or from old age, but everyone of my videos are in terrible shape. I never took the wrapper off "101 Dalmatians" until just recently and would you believe it had places in it in terrible condition. I've been watching some auctions for these movies and I finally had to delete my watch on a few because the bids would be as high as $30.00 or more per DVD. Oh my gosh! I found a few sites from Canada & Malaysia selling these videos, starting bid at $.099, but I felt nervous about these sites. Lord willing, I'll be able to get one or more DVDs for Katie some day.

Take care and have a good day!

My Light!

Laura - I did it! I tried the Slide website you sent me the other day and it is very simple to do. You should try it sometime.

Take care and see you soon!

Happy Father's Day!

I wanted to wish all the Daddy's a wonderful Happy Father's Day! I took a picture of Katie, Doug & his Dad today. I will try to post it tomorrow. We had a real good Father's Day! We started off visiting our Heavenly Father. I know I've mentioned it before, but I tell you again. Katie loves her Sunday School Class. You know, I was hesitate to move her up from the 1 year old class a couple of months ago. Now, I think we did a good thing. I think it's because not all of the kids in the 2 year old class cry and carry on like one year olds. She can't handle the crying because she feels she must chime in. This morning when I dropped her off, she went right in like she knew exactly what she was doing. She seemed disappointed I came back to pick her up. There were approximately 6 (2-3 year) children in her class at the time. I tried several times to get her to come on. After the fifth time of "Katie lets go," she got the message and had to tell everybody (individually) goodbye. I was cute! All the kids were telling Katie "Bye, Katie" and of course, she would say bye back, everytime they said bye. As you can imagine, this took some time for them to get their "byes" out. There were a couple of children that had to say "bye" two or three times. The Terri, teacher, and myself just laughed because it was the cutest thing. After church, we went to Millard & Peggy's for lunch. I was so glad Katie took one of her two hour naps at their house because I knew she wouldn't have taken a nap at June's house. We had a real nice visit. Henry & Keisha came by for lunch and visited a little while. Keisha is doing good. She is still working at BTB and is still single. I think Henry likes it that way! tehe! Around 5:00, we headed back home to reload the truck and head to Pat & June's for supper. Thankfully, Leslie still had on her bathing suit because Katie was bound and determined to go swimming in the big pool. We suited her up and she basically stayed around the stairs. This was a good thing because June, Mom and myself sat around on the edge of the pool where the stairs are located, talking and watching Katie. Katie kept wanting to put her face in the water. There were a couple of times where she got too much water up her nose, but she'll learn. I told June how she does during tubby time, she lays on her belly in the tub and likes to put her face in the water. Fortunately, she doesn't get a nose and mouth full of water. June says it's a good thing because then she won't be terrified of water. I know when one of June's nieces (on the other side of the family) was around 4-5 years old, it took forever for her to warm up to getting in the pool, she was terrified of the water until she got older. Katie loved having all the attention. She threw rocks with Aunt Sue-Sue, which was right up her alley. She went swimming with Jon and Leslie. She was chased around the yard by Leslie, Grandma Jerry, Ryan, Sue-Sue & June. She had a ball! She also stayed busy by giving ice to the dogs. Maryann & Kevin brought their two dogs, Mom had her dog & the next door neighbor just bought a Jack Russell puppy. The little puppy has taken up with Pat & June's house, so he comes over everyday around 4:00 because that's when June, Pat, Mom & Dad like to sit outside and talk about their day. It's a cute little puppy and just as friendly and sweet as he can be. Katie had a field day playing with those dogs. I don't care for her messing with Mom's dog or Jack (Maryann's - Chihuahua) because they are older mean dogs, but now I love Lala (Whitney/Maryann's - Longhaired Dachshund). By the time we got home, Katie was wiped out. At bedtime, we had to relive the whole day. She had to name off all the people she played with today - a few times.

I hope you have a great week!

Portrait Innovations

Do you have one in your area? They have a special package offer for $9.95. The only catch is you have to pick just one pose per family. You are not charged for sitting fee and you can pick your portraits up the same day. Check it out: http://www.portraitinnovations.com/special_offers.html
We have a friend that takes his little girl to this group. They love the pictures they receive and especially for the price. Doug and I are thinking about taking Katie to have your picture made. The only problem I have is, what if I like more than one pose. What will the price be then?

How to Use Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0

The following instructions will show you how to edit your movie clips in Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 and prepare them to be uploaded into Google Video for posting purposes into Google Blogger.

How To Use Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0

Insert your Mini DVD into the disc holder & copy the disc onto the harddrive. Make sure it is copied to your specific place.

Open Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0

Open the video clip in Adobe

1. Select “Get media from:”

2. Click on “Files & Folders”
3. Browse to find file
4. Open the actual clip you want. This will take some time of load.

In order to create the video clip.

1. Under “Media,” click & drag the clip into Video1 below timeline. This will probably take awhile depending on the length of clip. Note: Your Audio should show underneath the video.

2. View your movie, if you don’t know where or what you want to split and cut out. Note: Watch your length of the finished movie, you want to show on the blog. I would recommend no longer than 4 minutes.

How to cut out or split a video clip?

Go to desired area, you would like to start or stop. In the preview screen, notice the button in the bottom left corner. There is a button named “Split Clip.”

Click on Split Clip. You will notice a marker created on the video timeline below.

If you want to delete a section of the video, select the clip on the video timeline. Make sure the clip you want cut out is highlighted. Right click on your mouse, select “Delete and Close Gap.”

Your Ready to Upload to Google Video?

Save your video as a different name onto the desktop.

Click on “Export.”

Select “Windows Media.”

Select “OK.”

Name the file again. Doing this will save the file as a .wmv. Google Video will not accept an Adobe Premiere Element file (.prel). Maybe this will change in the future.

Open Google Video. Read “How to Post Personal Videos onto Google Blogger from Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0.”

How to Post Personal Videos onto Your Google Blog?

I've had a couple interests as to how I posted my personal videos onto my blog. I typed up some simple instructions and I thought it would be nice to post them, in case someone else has the same question. There are two separate instructions because some of you may not use Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0. I do use Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0, maybe your video editing program will be similiar to Adobe. If you do use Adobe, I will create a separate post with instructions on how to edit your movie clips. I just hope they help. If you need these instructions emailed to you for printing purposes, please let me know (by comment). I will glad to send them to people I know.

How to Post Personal Videos onto Google Blogger from Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0

Open Google’s Video https:http://video.google.com/?tab=wv.

Select "Upload Your Videos." Don't be surprised if you have to sign in. Since this is a Google Program, you use your Google Account Sign in name & password.

Under the Google Video Upload Program, click the link “Upload Video”

Click the button “Upload Your Video”

Under the section: “Video file,” click the “browse” button

Find where your video is saved on the C: drive and open

Type in a “title”

You have to type in a very short “description,” in order for it to take

Select “Genre”

Under “Access,” you must select “Unlisted”

Agree to the Google Video conditions and terms

Click the “Upload Video”

It will take awhile for the video to be uploaded, this is because Google has to approve your video before loading it onto their video program

After it is approved, it will take you to a screen to where you can email the video to someone. You can preview the video, if you wish

In order for it to be posted onto the Google Blogger, you must have the embedded code

Click the link that says “Embed this video on your . . .”

Highlight the embed code, right click on your mouse and select copy

Sign in to your Google Blogger

Select “New Post”

Make sure you are under the “HTML” and not “Compose”, in the body of the text right click on your mouse and paste the code. If it worked, you will see the code on the body of the text. If you would like, type in your text underneath the code

You may have to publish your post in order to make sure the video is there. I don’t think you can preview the video under “Compose”

Don’t be alarmed if at first on the blog the box is black. You may have to select play to buffer and play one time before it will show a picture

Good Luck and Have Fun!

Surgery is scheduled!

Today was my consultation with an oral surgeon. I mentioned a while back, I would have all four of my wisdom teeth extracted. I'm having them pulled because during my regular dental cleaning, the hygienist found a cavity on the back of my top right wisdom tooth. It should be a no big deal procedure. The surgery will be done in two weeks. I will be sedated (thank you very much) and Doug will bring me home after the procedure. The nurse assured me, I would feel better in a couple to three days. Katie had a great time this afternoon, getting to play with Grandma Peggy & Paw-Paw Millard. They stayed with her while I was at my meeting. Please keep me in your prayers. Thanks!

Did you remember this Sunday is Father's Day? I didn't think about it until June called me yesterday, asking if we were coming over this weekend. What? This weekend, what for? Oops! I forgot about Father's Day! Sorry, Dad & Doug. I've just had a little bit on my mind - having my teeth (I've had since I was 19 years old) yanked out of my head; trying to get Katie over her cold & going over party stuff. I have to do a few errands tomorrow, so maybe we can get some shopping done during that time. Our plans are going to Millard & Peggy's after church for lunch, visit for awhile and head over to Pat & June's for Supper. My Dad loves chocolate covered peanuts. He has been hollering for a little while for Sue to make him some of her delicious homemade choc. covered peanuts. Sue told June, she was making Dad choc. cover peanuts for Father's Day and June got upset because that is what she was going to do for him. I told Sue, wouldn't it be funny if we all three gave him choc. covered peanuts. I think it would be a good gag gift. You have to know my Father! If you buy him something (apparel, gadgets, toys, etc.), he'll throw a fit - "Why did you buy this?" "That's hard to digest!" "You need to put your money away and not spend it on me." This continuous lecture could last for a couple of minutes, depending on what you got him. One year, for Christmas, I thought it would be funny to buy him nothing but food (items he likes to eat) because it is easy to digest and wrap them individually. He had like 6-7 presents from us. After the third gift, he unwrapped from us, everyone was laughing and jokingly asking "What could it be?" "Uh, food, again!" I'm very tempted to do it again, but this time for Father's Day. We will have to see.

I saw Laura's blog and I so excited about the princess party this July! I love either one of the dresses, Laura has picked out (on web). I think Alise will look adorable in either one because they are both blue. I think she looks so pretty in blue, I think it's because of her eyes being blue. Like Laura, I hope the girls will be willing to wear their princess outfits for a little while during the party. Maybe everything will work out! I asked Sue what Leslie was up to the Thursday before the party. I explained to her I was going to need some extra hands. I think I'm going to ask Natalie & Whitney as well, to see if they can help. I've never been too good with streamers (crepe paper), but you can't have a princess party without lots of streamers. I plan to have streamers all throughout the Living Room, Dining Room & Kitchen. Who knows, if the girls go crazy with it, we may have streamers in the Bath Room. tehe! I probably won't have that much time Saturday morning to blow up balloons & I'm not blowing them up myself, like last year. This year, I'm buying two tanks of helium and we will have them blown up that way. I got a terrible headache last year from blowing up so many balloons. We had balloons for nearly two months after that party. I think this year, we might attach a note to these balloons and let them go during or after the party to see where they go. My question is: If I blow the balloons up with helium on Thursday night, will they still look good by Saturday evening? Please let me know what you think? I don't know what time we'll be home Friday night. If we get home at a good time, maybe I can get most if not all blown up that night. I don't know. Oh, I didn't know what to do about Katie's two year old pictures. I haven't scheduled it because I didn't know how this surgery would work out with our schedule, plus we are trying to plan a quick trip to Atlanta with my sister & her family. I know I wanted to get Katie's pictures made by Scrappy Frogs (free sitting fee), but I think it would be wise for me to get a price list from a few photographers. I got to thinking the free sitting fee from Scrappy Frogs may really not save me any money. I may have to wait until after her party to get them made & just mail them out when we get our order in.

Cinderella - Beautiful

This video is especially for Alise from her Aunt Mirya! Love ya!

Katie Plays Outside

Katie and I hung out one day last week. It was a nice hot day to get out the baby pool and chill.

Katie Goes To The Beach

First time Katie goes to the beach. She had so much fun & didn't want to leave when it was time. We had to carry her back to the car. I felt so bad for her having to leave the big sand box and water. She had fun picking up shells and putting them in the ocean. I'm excited for her when we get to go back.

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith

This is for the girls! Count down to the big birthday party has begun. tehe!

Remember When - 1988?

Remember when this commercial was on national television? Where were you and what were you doing? I was new to the high school scene, in 8th grade. Yes, normally High School starts in 9th grade, but my school had to move the 8th grade class into the high school building. It was scary, yet exciting! Remember when Michael Jackson looked like this? Pre-crazy Michael Jackson - pre-nose job; bleaching his skin and hair weaves.

Play Day at the Park

Our Children's Ministry Director from church scheduled a "Kids Play Day" at a local park. It was today at 10:00 this morning. I really wanted to put forth the effort to get Katie and myself to the park in order to meet new people. I've tried to get a little more involved with church jobs, so I can meet all kinds of people. I sound pretty pathetic because I really don't have any close friends. It's amazing, when I was single my close friends got married; therefore, I was a third wheel. I got married and the women my age were having children - out again. Now, I have a toddler, the women my age have older children. Ugh!! I've basically become a social friend, but no real close friends (this statement doesn't not include husbands). I've always put family first all these years and that's all I know. Well, this thought process isn't helping Katie in your social skills. Yeah! I know, she'll develop friends when she gets to school or in some activity. God knows my heart is sad about this situation I've put myself in. I've been talking to Him about it and then I saw the notice in the announcements Sunday about the Kids Play Day. Thank you God! At least I'll put forth the effort to meet people and hopefully I'll either rekindle on old friendship or ignite a new one. More importantly, Katie will get to meet and play with children her own age. At first, I was scared because when I'm nervous, I can say some pretty stupid things. WHY?!? Of course by the time it's out there and I try to reel my words back in, I'm getting the dreaded silence and strange looks. So before I got out of the truck, I took a deep breath and asked God to watch over me and my tongue. I was just going to take it easy and go with the conversation. I have to say I had a good time. Right off the bat, I saw a few ladies I knew. Two of the three women, I was in their Sunday School Class a few years ago. They are real sweet girls! Their children are (of course) much older than Katie, but it was nice to get to know them once again. I didn't get to fully catch up with their lives, but I didn't want to seem badgering. The other lady, Sash, has a little girl Katie's age, Sophie. I've mentioned Sophie in my past postings. Sophie and Katie (or "Soapie" as Katie calls her) had a good time trying to keep up with the older kids. The park we were at has a small water area (sprinklers & water gun). I'm glad I took Katie's swim suit because those girls went running back and forth between the slides & playground and water area. I got to video a little bit of it, but I was having too much fun talking and laughing with my company. I'm so glad we did this. Unfortunately, Sash is a teacher (works full time) and just an acquittance. Lord willing, this might be a start to a new friendship. I kept telling the girls this was such a good idea and I would love it if we could do this again. They all agreed, so hopefully they were not just saying it. I did learn a few things with the girlies. If we ever decide to build a house, I have the name of a contractor. It's strange because I know the contractor, I went to school with him & go to church with him and his family. The only thing is I didn't know he was a contractor. Laura, the girls told me of two different condos we have to stay - "The Lighthouse" and "Phoenix." The Lighthouse is newly refinished because it was destroyed by Katrina. Delaine & her husband always liked to stay at the Phoenix. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/special/promo/genericPromoLandingNav?id=Q407FreeDineNavPage Sash & her husband are going to Disney World this fall with their children. They found this really great deal and she said children under 3, eat free and won't be charged the extra fee. I told her about Doug and myself wanting to take Katie to Disney World, but we felt she was too young to know what's going on. She disagreed. She told me once Katie saw all the characters from the movies, she would understand and remember. She said it was hard to pass up such a great deal. Above is the link and it does sound great. Delaine, Julie & their families went together last year and they loved it. I don't think Doug and I can take advantage of this great deal right now, but maybe you can. I nearly hated to leave my company, but we stayed there for two hours, Katie was getting tired and we had to stop by WalMart before going home. It was so sweet, Katie had to tell everyone and I mean everyone "Goodbye!" She had to tell some "Goodbye" twice before she was comfortable leaving.

I had a video ready to post - our short trip to the beach, but Google's video site is temporarily down tonight. Hopefully, I'll get it and another video posted tomorrow.

Take care and God Bless You!

Alexandra Musical Doll

This doll is similar to the one we bought Katie. It definitely has the same face. It's named "Alexandra Musical Doll" and it plays "Fur Elise." There are several to the collection - Swan Lake, Cinderella, Happy Birthday, Tooth Fairy & more. I think they are a precious keepsake!

Our New Little Addition

See our new baby! Liz sent us this new picture of her and baby boy. She looks so cute pregnant. I think she looks good compared to when I was pregnant with Katie. I was huge and swollen every where.

Aunt Sherry wrote me and hopefully they will be coming up the end of July. I wrote her back and asked them to come over for Katie's birthday party.

Katie and I went Father's Day shopping for Paw-Paw Millard. I can't tell what she got him in case he might read this, but hopefully he'll like it. While we were close by, I stopped by the shop that has the little Happy Birthday musical dolls. They had two brunettes and one blond Birthday dolls left. They did have a couple of Cinderella & one Swan Lake dolls. The Happy Birthday dolls are still my favorite. I had the clerk wrap up the brunette birthday doll. Katie was upset at me because I wouldn't let her hold the doll. Isn't that awful of me to purchase the child's birthday gift in front of her and then not let her play with it? Bad Mother! In my defense, I rarely get to go shopping without her. Next Christmas and especially next year, I will have to be more careful to not let her see her gifts. Doug is the champion when it comes to knowing everything he gets for Christmas. He is the biggest snop! Of course, it doesn't help that I can't hide things very well. He always "accidentally" finds all the presents from me.

Happy 12th Anniversary - Baby!

Happy Anniversary Baby! I've got you on my mind! I would like to wish my wonderful, thoughtful, sexy husband a very Happy Anniversary. We have shared 12 wonderful and memorable years together. Hopefully, we'll share another 12 more wonderful years together.

Millard and Peggy picked Katie up to spend the night with them Friday night. Again, Doug and I didn't know what to do. Sometimes I have to ask myself, what did I do when I wasn't a Mom. We went to Johnny's for our Anniversary dinner. I had to stop by Books-a-Million and pick up some cards. Guess what? In one of my past postings I mentioned the children book series called "The Froggy Books." Well, BAM had one of the Froggy books on sale for $5.97, "Froggy rides a bike." I had to get it for Katie's. I just wished some of the other Froggy books were on sale. There are quite a few Froggy stories. It is so cute! Another series of story books I would like to add to Katie's library is the bear books - "Bear Snores On" is one of the books. We have "Bear makes a friend" (something like that). Anyway, I think they are precious story books. We've read almost all of Eric Carle books that's Katie's age. There are two or three Eric Carle books, I feel are for more advanced reading. I checked out "Mister Seahorse" by Eric Carle from the Library this past week. Katie seems to like it, but nothing like "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and "Polar Bear, Polar Bear." I bought her "The very hungry Caterpillar" and "The quiet cricket" a couple of months ago to add to her library. She's starting to warm up to them.

Do you find yourself not knowing when to stop buy things for your child's birthday or special occasion? Ugh!!! Sometimes, I feel like we are going broke buying stuff for her. Of course, they are things that we would like to get her for her special day. I don't think we are going to get her table & chairs in before her birthday party. I ordered them through the Step 2 company. I was wanting to go through Toys R Us or WalMart, but Step 2 was much cheaper then either one of these places. I couldn't hardly believe it. Doug and I wanted to get the Lifestyle Collection folding table and chair (for easy storage) from Step 2. We saw one on display at Toys R Us and Doug didn't want it right then. Instead, he wanted me to just order it from home for her birthday. Well, the set I wanted was the tan instead of the colored. Apparently, this set is in high demand because Step 2 had them on back order. I'm hoping to get it before the party because Alise is coming and I think this set will make it easier for the girls to play and eat at a table their size. I'm wanting to get Katie this musical doll, like we got Alise, as a keepsake. I think these little dolls are so precious! They have the windup on the bottom and their little heads move while it plays the music. I haven't even gone back to the store that I picked Alise's up to see if they have anymore. Lord willing, when I go back they'll have them in stock.

Yesterday, Doug & I did a few small chores around the house. We took Millard and Peggy out to dinner for his birthday. He wanted to go to Logan's. Ever since my Mom's Birthday party this past February, Millard & Peggy have been hot for Logan's. tehe! I didn't know it until last month, but Peggy had never been to Logan's until my Mom's party. I had their Southwest Chicken, it was juicy good. Katie doesn't like sitting in a highchair in restaurants, so us getting a booth helped a lot. Katie sat between Doug and myself and was showing out! I sure hope my friends are right when they said she'll be out of the terrible twos soon.

As some of you know, I take care of the 2 year olds once a month. Katie moved up to the 2 year old class a couple of months ago. Because of Ryan's Graduation & Decoration Day, I've had to get a substitute for my class. Today was the first day, I got to be in Katie's class with her. I don't know if this is going to work or not. I told Truett, I would see if it would work. I hate dropping the class because he is so short on help with the preschoolers as it is. If anything, I guess I could move into the 3 year old class until Katie moves up. I'm hoping why she was grumpy today was because she decided to get up at 6:30 this morning. She was tired and whining. At the playground, all the other children were running around and playing. Katie saw me holding Harrison and she didn't like it at all. She kept it up until I put Harrison on one leg and Katie on the other. She tried her best to push Harrison off my lap. Well, Harrison is a year older then Katie and a big boy, so she wasn't making any headway. He just looked at her. I explained to him that she is jealous. When we got back in class, she finally got over it and continued playing with Claire and Sophie. I think Claire and Sophie are her close friends because she would just hang with them. Claire is a little older, almost 3 years old, but she is like the big sister to Katie. She really takes care of Katie as far as playing and taking up for her. Preston, in Katie's class, is a little girl crazy boy. He likes to get in the girls face and act funny to get their attention. Some little girls think it's funny, but there are some that find it annoying like Kaitlyn. I had to tell Preston to stop aggravating Katie. Everytime he got in her face, she would get mad. First she hit him and then run away from him yelling. I guess he did that a couple of times to her and another girl before I had to tell him to stop. I was afraid he would get hurt. Sure enough, he pushed too many of Sophie's buttons and he fell and bumped his head.

Auburn Graduate

This ad was sent to me today and I thought it was cute! Sorry, Auburn fans!

Katie playing in the mud puddle

Okay this is the last video for today! I've just had too much fun doing this today. I explained this story on the video, so I won't go into details. It was one of those moments that you had to be there to see her. My little stinker winker!

Katie at the Park Video - March 2007

Some of you have already seen the pictures on Katie's website of her at the park. Now that I'm learning how to post these video clips on my blog, I thought you would like a little clip. Because of a few youth baseball tournaments, kids were every where not to mention it was the weekend. Katie had a blast being around the other children. Some of the older kids really took up with Katie and helped her out. She loves going to the park, it is our special treat.