Happy 65th Birthday Aunt Pat!

Aunt Pat (momma's sister) turned 65 today....and mom had her a surprise party tonight.  It was so cool....she was super surprised...showed up "to come see Lane, Bo, and Kate" in her flannel shirt!  It was a good night for her to have friends and family all in one place:)

sisters

My dear friend, Christi Cranford did this masterpiece for us....and if you only could have a bite.....it was as delicious as it is beautiful!! It was chocolate and strawberry and this picture doesn't do justice to the details.  Thank you Christi!  (I think I'll go have another piece of the leftover now that I think of it!)

so sweet

mom had pictures of Aunt Pat from birth all around the house and had a great DVD of her old pictures playing

When I think back about all of my memories of Aunt Pat, there are so many things that come to mind....

My childhood memories include spending the night with her (often with Tory and

Amber, "cousins" on Uncle Dolph's side)...we loved the box of toys she kept under "our bed" where we slept when we were there (this is the bed that is now my "Lane's").  I remember the cream eyelet bedspread on that bed.  I also remember loving to use her "waterpick" in the bathroom (I had never and still have never seen anyone else with one of those)....it just squirted water in your mouth ....I think to act like a toothpick!  What I didn't love about her house was the way she "whipped" my food together.  She would stir the corn and peas into the potatoes before she gave me my plate....I did NOT like it, but was too afraid to tell her.  I also remember that yellow step ladder in the kitchen. She was also my softball coach in dixie youth for several years.....she made my super soft self maybe a little tougher through her honesty and competitive attitude!   Moving on to my teenage years, softball still stands out....she came to most of my games, and between her yelling (at me anyone else she thought needed some instruction) and Chad's "umpiring", my family was certainly not "sitting quietly on the backrow"!! Aunt Pat, momma, and I went shopping most Saturdays....usually one Saturday she'd buy something (usually at Marshalls and TJ Maxx), then the next Saturday, we'd take most of it back...then the next week, she'd buy, the next week take back!  Her meeting Rob is a story she loves to tell...let's just say he was a junior in high school, somewhat shy, very reserved,....and she's NOT, so she embarassed the mess out of him and the two of them will not forget that day!  Then, I got married.....and we needed a place to live as newlyweds as we waited on our house to be finished.  So....we lived upstairs at Aunt Pat and Uncle Dolph's house.  Such sweet memories of our first weeks there.  I am grateful for having her in my life and that now, I can share her with my children.  She never had kids of her own, but there were plenty of us to go around and she was always willing to spend time with us and I am grateful to have had such a good relationship with her.  She is also my mom's best friend and I am thankful for that as well.  

A MESS!

I found Kate in the bathroom yesterday with Bo's toothbrush in the toilet, going from toilet to mouth...'brushing her teeth"....lovely....all I can say is yes, the toilet had been flushed!  This child is wearing me out.  When I found her, I turned to Lane and Bo and said "Be SURE you flush the commode these days....and by the way, the two of you NEVER did that!"

What's up with us....

I have not been a diligent blogger lately...but, I never promised to be:)  I primarily blog to keep our photos logged in one place and record memories, but I realized I have been slacking on the journaling part.  I want to do better (after reading my friend, Nicole's post, about being able to look back and see what I/we was/were going through at each stage of our lives.  I usually keep it positive, but I am no different from anyone else, there is good bad and ugly!! 

 Sometimes I feel like I live in a blur or cloud and life is just moving around me. If you know me, you know I often run around like a chicken with my head cut off ( I think I get it from my mom...it's hereditary).  I like to be busy...I like to go...(I KNOW I get that from my dad!!)   However, lately (like the last few months), I feel some much needed clarity and a little more peace.  I even like to be at home a little more.   I am learning that God will give me clarity if I stop to get it.  When I make time to have more of a relationship with Him and study His word, he will give me peace and understanding.   Rob and I have started a young adult Sunday school class at church and this has challenged me greatly.  I told our pastor the other day that I was glad to continue leading the class, but he needed to find a new teacher!!   Anyway, teaching an adult Sunday school class has challenged me to put my faith to action in the form of studying God's word.  I think God knew the only way to get me to slow down and make time for Him was to trap me into it! He knows I love our church and love people...when we saw a need for this class, I was very open to getting it going.....never thinking about the actual teaching part.  Afterall, I am not shy or afraid to talk in front of people...so I'll just lead us through a book, right.  I was so excited about getting this group together, I think I leaped before I looked!  So, before Christmas I was really struggling with how I was going to continue to lead this class with such little Bible knowledge (I think I missed the Bible 101 class somewhere along the way).  I knew bible stories and biblical truths, but I just couldn't put it all together.  God heard my pleas for help and sent the Tipton County Chronological Bible Discipleship my way!  This will be week 3 of this study (daily bible readings to read through in a year) and I just know it is exactly what I needed.  Our class is doing "30 Days to Understanding the Bible" which is a very abbreviated walk through the bible as well. All of this to say,  God has given me more clarity and has spoken to me and worked in my so much in the last month and I am excited about what's in store. We had a class attendance high of 21 today....I love these folks they keep coming back....even if it's not my teaching, but more  for the mission projects and social events...but hey, we are together in God's name and I am so thankful to God for that and for the work He is doing! I pray for His strength to carry me through when it's not easy to make time for daily study, and I know it will take my dedication but that ultimately I will rely on God. 

Other than that, we are busy as usual, yet I am constantly working to slow down and take it all in.  I am training for 2 half marathons this spring...and enjoying that...even got Rob to run 4 miles with me today.  Lane is in gymnastics 2x/week and has made so much progress.  She is as proud of herself as I am of her.  She can do a backwalkover and is starting to work on back handspring skills.  (Bo is actually joining her instead of sitting and watching for 2 hours a week) in gymnastics for strengthening - he's not working to perfect his cartwheel!!)  He is playing UPWARDS basketball, which is loves dearly and it is such a great program.  I don't know how Oak Grove does it....they are dedicated to that ministry, and God is truly blessing it. Bo is also enjoying the Wii he got for Christmas. Kate is approaching turning 2 this spring and growing so fast...some new things for her are:  she likes to say "momma/daddy, guess what?", she often calls for "Lane Riley" or "Bo Dawson", she loves to play "Just Dance" on the Wii, tries to "flip" with Lane, hides when she has done something wrong, continues to run everywhere she goes and climb on everything.  We still go to most of the Tiger basketball games, and that continues to be up and down...dealing with some injuries now that aren't helping the situation:)

I found a couple of pictures from the fall that I thought didn't need to be left out of the scrapbook...

Lane, Addie, and Ms. Jackson (their 1st/2nd grade teacher) on their field trip to the Botanic Gardens.  

Kate at the Atoka Fall Carnival...she LOVED the horse

Baby boy had a surgery in November and thankfully, everything came out perfectly and he was nervous for no reason.  He said it was WAY better than getting a shot!!  

Squirrel Season

 I would be remiss if I didn't post a few pics from Rob's squirrel season (there may be some more to come since I think there are still about 6 weeks left in the season).  It is a big part of his life and now....even more of a family event:) I was able to go with the boys a couple of weeks ago (Lane was shopping with Gigi).  We got 7 that day...not too bad, but not as good as Rob has been doing. He said he killed 95 over his Christmas break from school.  He hunts with "BB", his "finished" dog, and "Tarzan" (BB's son) a 2 year old dog his is "training".  This was a hunt with "Tarzan", who is Bo's dog.  

We first tried Rob taking the pic of Bo and I....clearly his dog doesn't listen to me like he does Rob. I ended up on the ground, eventually rolling in laughter.  It doensn't help that I was trying to hold the dog still with the 7 dead squirrels in front of him...a little antsy!!

Sweet Lane has been begging to go...she got her chance yesterday!  Rob and his brother took Lane and Bo and even took out the new puppy "Tank" (another BB pup).  She was so proud and had a great time....says she's going back.  I really  thought it would be a one time event.

I have to admit that I used to be somewhat resentful of Rob's "hobby"...but over the years, I have grown appreciate it more...to use my time wisely (whether with the kids or getting some things done in the house) when he is away but I am always glad when he is home!  I do wish squirrel season wasn't so long (for you deer and duck hunter's wives...squirrel season is much longer!)

New Year's Eve....(with the "new" couple")

U of M had a basketball game New Year's eve......and Rob's bother (and our new sister in law) have season tix with us...so we took advantage of the downtown night and had dinner at South of Beale (it was an AWESOME $40 Prix fixe meal!!!)  We had a great salad/soup, filet, and creme brule.  The food and company were both great.  The kids were at home with their fav babysitter!! His other brother David would ususally have joined us, but he was in NYC at Times Square...hmmm, jealous:)