memorial day

The kids and I have our own traditions for this special day. 
We walk the four blocks to our local cemetery and wander and wander and wander.

Thank you to the men and women who serve our country so bravely to protect our freedoms.

Thank you to our local heroes who protect our community.  Your sacrifices are appreciated.  We honor you.














"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." John 15:13














I know this shouldn't be funny, but it makes me laugh to see how excited my kids are to go into the mausoleum. Is that weird?

Totally funny story - one year on this adventure, Hannah and Eli were arguing over where/how they would handle my death/burial.  Hannah wants a beautiful burial site to visit and decorate.  Eli wants to cremate me because it would be much cheaper and it will be "their" money to spend at that point.  I am loved :)

Either way, my kids will know how to honor their loved ones who go home to be with Jesus.

what a look

I took my boy on a walk tonight.
Eli came bounding out of the house dressed like this...

(Excuse the quality of the pics.  I had only my phone with me.)
Eli - "I can make anything look GOOD!"

Yep, I love that kid.
He can make anything look good.
Even long black baseball socks with shorts and a tank top.
Looks a little like tights and a leotard but he looks GOOD!

My son makes me smile.  He makes me laugh.
I love it that he's so comfortable in his own skin.

He's doing a stand up comedy routine tomorrow in the school talent show.
Original material.
I'm pretty sure he's ready for it.
I'm pretty sure the kids are going to love it.
I'm pretty sure he's MY son :)

miracle

I've learned to be thankful for the little things.
We experienced a miracle at our house this evening.  An honest-to-goodness bonafide miracle!

Eli isn't very fond of his baby sister during this phase of his life.  Matter of fact, he wrote a newspaper article about their relationship for school this year.  His teacher was afraid we would be offended when we read it.
He was brutally honest about his feelings toward sweet Abi.
It made me laugh...and cry.
Abi wants to impress Eli and Eli would like to shove her under the next bus.  I'm not even kidding.

Anyway, back to our little miracle.
Abi wanted to watch a movie tonight but the rest of us wanted to catch American Idol.
Eli offered to watch a movie with her!  He genuinely offered, all by himself.
Yep, that's more rare than a foot of snow in July in Kansas.

I love that kid.  Well, actually, I love both those kids.
When Eli isn't trying to impress his friends, he has a sweet and tender heart.
He's a great little snuggler and it wouldn't surprise me to find my babies snuggled up together by the end of the movie.
Someday, they'll be great friends and it will break his heart he wrote something so harsh about his sweet baby sister. 
Until then, I'm going to hang on to this little miracle.  It gives me hope.

shoes

My sweet mama takes both my sis and I shopping each May for our birthdays.
It's one of our most favorite days of the year.
We shop so well together.  We love the same styles and make a great team.

This year was a little different.
My sister has lost almost 50 pounds since last fall.  We USED to be the same size.  That was way more fun.
Now she's a skinny minnie size 6.  Not only is she much thinner than I am, she's 4 inches taller than I am.
AND she's going to Cancun for 8 days in July.
So, I got to shop for teeny, weeny Cancun clothes with Michelle's money.  That was fun.

I have to admit, I felt very short and chubby most of the day.  I decided to focus on shoes.  I don't feel fat when I'm shopping for shoes.  Shoe shopping makes me happy.
So, this is what I brought home.

6 pairs of great shoes!
That makes me a very happy, chubby mommy :)

I was feeling yucky and fat and short in the dressing room with my sister this weekend and then I heard that Still Small Voice, "My daughter, you look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart."  (from 1 Samuel 16:7)

Oh, yeah...I forgot. 
It just doesn't matter how old I get.  I worry about the wrong things sometimes.

I want my heart to be pleasing to God.  I want to be purified and refined for Him.  I want to not worry about how short I am or how heavy I am.  I want to be healthy.
I want to teach my kids to be focused on heart matters, not impressing others.
I want my life to point others to Jesus.
At the end of my life, I want to hear "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

mother's day

I love being a mommy.
Mother's Day is such a great holiday.  It's a day to celebrate one of the most wonderful of God's creations - moms.

We had a long and relaxing lunch with my mom and sister and our families.  The cousins loved playing together which made the grown-ups most happy :)














Once it cooled down just a little, the five of us played 9 holes of golf.  It wasn't Terradyne but it was a totally fun family time.

The only thing I really, really wanted for Mother's Day was a trip to the Twisted Cow for frozen yogurt.  I budgeted it into my diet for the day and enjoyed quite an indulgence.  The Twisted Cow is a fabulous new serve-yourself, weigh-n-pay frozen yogurt extravaganza.  They are getting ready to put a cow on the roof and they're having a contest to name her.  I'm so pleased they're building a monument to honor me and all my visits and (quite a few) dollars already spent eating this pure deliciousness.  I think they should name her Dani Sue...or Dani Moo.  Either is fine with me :)

my mama

Tomorrow (Sunday) is one of my favorite days of the year.  I love celebrating being a mom.
I will definitely celebrate being a mommy to my gorgeous kiddos but I wouldn't be the mom I am without this gorgeous woman in my life...

My mommy is a very young mommy.  I know she doesn't look a day over 50 but she is.  I love having such a  young mom.
She is a woman of dignity, character, grace and style.
My mommy married young.  She was a big city girl who married a farm boy.  She was an adorable teeny, weeny mini-skirt sportin' baby doll who fell rock hard for an oversized farm boy (my dad is almost 6'5" and my mom is 5'2").

My mama introduced me to this cold world before she turned 20.  She had to learn at a young age how to work full-time, maintain a home and raise a couple of adorable piggy-taled girlies.
She did it all with grace, love, dignity and style.
My mom would make sure we all sat down for breakfast together and then cleaned up by 7:30 each morning.  She would then sit and read with us until the bus picked us up for school (we lived that way through jr hi).  What kind of mother does that?  My mom!
My mom taught me how to drive like a cat on a hot tin roof.  We get where we're going pretty dog gone fast but no one notices how we got there.

My mama has met her fair share of heartache.  Her mom died very suddenly at a very young 49 so my mom has lived without her mom since she was 31.  Her father passed away several years ago and she has seen the devestation of divorce.  But she still smiles.  She has handled all this heartache with more grace and dignity than Grace Kelly ever knew.

My sweet mama is a fairly quiet gal.  She sits in high falootin' board meetings and helps make very wise decisions.  She doesn't offer her opinion much unless it's requested.
That's one of the things I most admire about my mom.  I've made some pretty 'tupid mistakes in my adult life but my mama never scolded me for them.  She has loved me unconditionally and accepted me with all my flaws.

My mom has a sense of style that rivals Sharon Osborne.  (I'm not sure I've ever told you all how much I totally love Sharon!).  She is smart stylish.  She is sassy stylish.  And she is drop dead gorgeous.  She colors her hair and I think she'd be ok with me telling you all that.  I can guarantee you, she will make sure she still looks good and her hair is done even when she's walking the halls of a nursing home.  She's just proper like that.

Most of all, my mommy loves Jesus.  She extends His love, grace and mercy to everyone she meets.  Part of her job as an officer at a local bank is HR.  I know as sure as the sun is shining in that gorgeous blue sky today that the bank employees love working for/with my mom.  She's just the kind of sincere woman who quietly loves people the way Jesus would.

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.  She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.  She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.  Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.'"  Proverbs 31: 25-29

I love you mom and I'm so thankful you taught me how to be a mom and woman of character.  My life is richer for your influence.  You da best!














This may be the only time my baby sis has ever come between my mama and me.  But, it was her 40th birthday and she needed to be the star of the show.  She earned the right for one day :)

salad gravy

I've had a weight problem since I was 8 years old.
I've lost (and found) hundreds of pounds over my lifetime.
I'm doing weight watchers for the 49th time right now.  It's a great program, especially if you follow it.

I love the new program cuz most fruits and veggies are free.  That means you can eat as much as you want.  That makes me as happy as a family of ants at a church potluck dinner!
Here's my problem.  Salad is a pretty good choice for anyone watching their weight.
But, dressing is what makes a salad edible.  I'm not talking about low-fat or fat-free dressing.  Total imposters.
I mean full of fat, totally delicious, rich and creamy, cling to the hips dressing.
I use salad dressing like most people use gravy.  It's really salad gravy.
I love thousand island, blue cheese and dorothy lynch.
And who doesn't love hidden valley ranch?  Everything tastes better dipped in ranch.
Don't you think dorothy lynch should come in a bottle like Aunt Jemima?  She could be a very average looking middle aged woman.  Not a swimsuit model.  That would only cause false advertising lawsuits since swimsuit models don't use salad gravy.  I'd be glad to model for them if they would just ask :)

Ok, so any psychoanalyst could figure out the root of my weight problem if they read this post. 
I have a serious relationship with my food. 
I don't believe skimping on any relationship so I'm not about to skimp on my salad gravy.
I really do believe salad gravy is to salad what the disco ball is to any party.  It's the frosting on the cupcake.  The creamy middle to the oreo.  The fun in funtabulous.

What did Dorothy Lynch say to the refrigerator? Shut the door, I'm dressing!

pucker up

What can I say?  Oh.my.gracious.

I just love this little ray of pink sunshine!
Pucker up.  Mwwwuah!