Jake and Jessica – A Happy Day!

Earlier in the year, we received this “save the date” card, mounted on a magnet (how smart is that?):

Jake is Robert’s nephew, the oldest of the Mayo clan.  Alan was home during this time, and since Nestlé was still with us at the time and we needed someone to be home to keep an eye on things, I had a little begging to do.  Alan had wanted to go to the wedding, too, but was kind enough to step back and let me be the one to go with Robert (Robert and Alan went to visit Susan and the family at a later date).  It was already pretty exciting (Jake and Jessica truly were made for one another), but when I found out that they had asked Paisley to be their flower girl, I was even more excited!

You see, we were there when Jake’s parents were married those years ago….

…And Mandy was one of their flower girls!

Jake's wedding was held at a beautiful venue, and the whole place was buzzing with excitement.  Paisley’s mother managed to get a few pre-wedding shots…here is Paisley hanging out and gearing up:

Before too long, it was going to be time!  Paisley was armed and ready with her basket of petals:

Soon, the big moment arrived!  It was Paisley’s duty to prepare the pathway for the beautiful bride, and she took her job seriously!  While Jessica and the rest of the wedding party were all smiles and giggles, and even danced their way down the aisle, Paisley was not going to succumb to all of that frivolity!  This was serious business – she had a job to do! -- and her stoic countenance and stern concentration were certainly reflective of this solemn, blessed occasion:

It was a really special ceremony – Jake and Jessica were married by the same preacher who had married Jake’s parents.  (How many people can say that?)  And as I said earlier, Jake and Jessica really are a good match and we hope they have a wonderful life together:

I have to say, though, that of all of the wonderful things that I witnessed that day, I was most inspired by Robert’s sister, Susan.  Susan is now battling her third round of cancer (this time it’s lung cancer).  The day would have been strenuous for any mother-of-the-groom, but I can only imagine that for someone right smack in the middle of cancer treatments, it had to be absolutely exhausting.  Despite this, Susan donned her wig, her gloves, and her pretty dress and was there for her son for the whole day.

Susan, Paisley, and Grandma Lynda:

Mandy’s favorite picture (and I must say, mine, too) of the whole event was this touching moment of Susan dancing with her son:

Susan is such an inspiration to me, and whenever I’m feeling whiny about some goofy thing I’m miffed about, I just think of her and immediately stifle myself!

My second favorite photo is this one:

It reminds me of a picture I took behind the scenes when Mandy’s flower girl, Avery, was a little scared about going out in front of all of those people, and Mandy gave her a little pep talk:

The cycle of life and love continues, and we were grateful to have a bright spot to celebrate so early in the year!

Bluebonnet Beauties

In Texas, spring time is heralded by the arrival of the bluebonnets.  Families everywhere park on the side of the road or search to find some little patch of those beautiful flowers so that they can take family pictures.  It’s almost like a rite of passage, and lucky for me, Mandy and her little family is no exception.

In fact, this is one of my favorite pictures of the kids together – not just because of the flowers, but because it shows each of the kids as I have come to know them.  Paisley:  Oh-so-quiet, oh-so-serious, oh-so-obedient.  Fox:  Not-so-quiet, not-so-serious, not-so-obedient!  (So very different, yet we all adore them both!)

Here are a few more pictures of all that’s beautiful:

Happy spring, ya’ll!

A Lesson in Egg Shaking…

In addition to the butterfly exhibit and general hanging out, Alan and I accompanied Mandy and the kids to an event, just before Easter, at the local mall.  Each month the mall has some little activity for the kids and this event was all about Easter.  Apparently, Paisley hadn’t been all that excited about going, but when she learned that the Easter Bunny was going to be there, she decided it might be pretty fun after all!

I have to say, this thing wasn’t some cheap little thing…it was quite nice, especially for a “freebie”.  There were little baskets with a stuffed animal for each of the kids, and one of the activities was decorating a little planter with a face, after which each of the kids received their own plant.

Paisley did pretty well with that…and then came the activities.

A really sweet young woman in a striped shirt did all that she could to make sure the kids had a good time.  She sang, she danced, and she led the kids through a whole string of “follow-me” activities (whatever they pay her an hour, it isn’t enough!).  Paisley needed a little nudge to get out there, but she finally did go and gave it her best shot:

The Lady in the Striped Shirt passed out Easter eggs filled with rice (taped shut, of course) and led the kids in shaking their eggs to music.  She was even nice enough to give one to Boyfriend!  Paisley shook her egg for a small bit.  However, after a while, she came back to sit with us.  No amount of nudging or coaxing would get her to go back out and play with the other kids.

We couldn’t figure out what the problem was.  Was she scared?  Was she shy?  No…as it turned out, the problem was that all she could focus on was seeing the Easter Bunny.   All of that dancing and singing and egg shaking wasn’t what she came for…where was the Easter Bunny?

Finally, it was time for the Easter bunny!  Hooray!  Paisley’s face lit up with anticipation…and then promptly fell.  It seems that it was not the Easter Bunny who was visiting (he was still busy in the workshop, I guess); instead, it was Mrs. Easter Bunny, and Paisley could tell the difference, and Paisley didn’t really like the difference.  All of that wanting, and all of that waiting, and when it finally came…it was a total letdown.  Paisley didn’t even want to go see that bunny, but we talked her into it.  Her enthusiasm is evident:

Do you want to know who actually did have fun?  In fact, the most fun of anyone there?  That would be Fox:

That kid had the greatest time!  He smiled, he giggled, he flat-out laughed out loud!  And snuggled and cuddled and cooed with Uncle-Vinnie-Who’s-Never-Even-Changed-A-Diaper-Nor-Made-A-Bottle (yuck!).  Oh, and Fox shook his egg….and shook his egg…and shook his egg.  He didn’t care about the Easter Bunny, nor Easter baskets, nor any of that.  He was just having fun in the moment...shaking his egg.

Mandy and I were having one of our daily phone chats and discovered we had both been thinking the same thing:   How many times do we miss out on all kinds of fun because we are so fixated on the Easter Bunny coming?  How many simple joys of today are we missing because we are waiting for some future event?  In my desire to move to the mountains and pines, am I missing the forest for the trees?  And even when my Easter Bunny comes, if it’s not exactly what I’m expecting, will I be crushed?  What would happen if I quit fixating on the bunny and just followed the girl in the striped shirt and shook my egg?  A little something to think about…

A Gift of Love…

If I do say so myself, I think that my daughter had the most beautiful wedding gown that I have ever seen.  Not only was the dress pretty on its own, but I thought it was absolutely the perfect dress for her.  She looked beautiful!

So I was quite surprised when she told me that she was giving her wedding dress away.  “Giving it away?” I asked.  “Why would you want to do that?  Don’t you want to save it for Paisley?  You can’t get rid of the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen!”

Mandy then explained that she was giving it to an organization that takes the wedding dresses and makes specials gowns for babies that are lost while they are in the hospital.  This is a cause that is very close to Mandy’s heart, and it certainly is worthy, so how on earth could I argue with that?

“Besides,” Mandy told me, “Not one of my friends ended up wearing her mother’s gown.  I’m pretty sure that Paisley won’t want to wear mine.”

( If you would like to learn more about the Angel Gown program, click here.)

Before she took her gown to the organization, she took a few photos:

Now she can say that Paisley has had a chance to wear her dress, and some little angel will have a beautiful gown to wear.  Well done, daughter…well done!

Catching Up – Now!

If you’re wondering how I finally found the time to catch up with my blog posts, the answer is:  the weather!  As I stated earlier, Alan left for Montana on Thursday, and within a few hours we were hit with the worst winter storm that we’ve had in quite some time.  If he had scheduled his flight for late afternoon or early evening, he would have been stuck here.  It’s true that Texans are quite wimpy when it comes to winter weather, but this was really something!  The pictures below are not of snow…that is sleet that has been compacted and is now pretty much ice!

Here’s an overview looking out of our front door:

Here’s a picture I took of the road that runs in front of the house (Pretty slippery!):

In a weird (and lucky) twist of fate, our heater went out just a couple of days before the cold snap.  We had a new unit installed about 6 or 7(?) years ago, and it was a total lemon from the day we got it.  I’ve lost count how many times we have had it repaired, and this time it was going to cost quite a bit (again!).  It seems they quit making that model (I wonder why?), and parts are hard to find, and this fact makes them cost a lot.  So a command decision was made to just replace the whole unit.  We got a Lennox this time instead of Amana and are hoping it lasts much longer.  Even though it hit our purse pretty hard, at least we are warm, and ever so grateful that things were fixed up before it got so very cold.

I used the first couple of days of our “snow days” to catch up on some laundry and general housework.  Church was cancelled today (quite unusual), and I didn’t want to do regular chores, so I decided to catch up on the blog.  I also fired up my bread machine.  My mother-in-law gave it to me many, many years ago, and it’s still working!  The bread turned out so well, and it was so easy, I found myself asking, “Why don’t I use it more often?”  Just dumb!  I will certainly crank it up more often in the future.  Here’s the recipe I used for the bread I made today.  I really like it because I have quite a few cans of potato flakes in my food storage arsenal, and I need as many uses for them as I can get!  It’s also just plain good!

Crusty Potato Bread

3-1/4 cups bread flour

1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes

1 tablespoon white sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons butter

1-1/4 cups water

2 teaspoons instant yeast

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select White Bread Cycle; press Start.

Note:  This recipe was originally found on the “All Recipes” website – to visit the site, clickhere. 

Since I didn’t want to break my neck trotting back and forth to the chicken coop, Opal Chicken has been sleeping in her dog crate in the craft room.  I have taken her outside a few times to let her stretch her legs, as well as to show her that it really is awful out there and she should be glad to be inside!  She also has spent some time in the mud room (the floor is covered in newspaper) so that she can eat and drink and stretch some more.  Nestlé Bunny has also been stranded inside, but she has so much fun chasing Toffee around the house that she doesn’t care.

That’s pretty much my life:  keeping fur and feathers alive, aside from doing yard work and such.  I am hoping it clears up soon because I have a date this week with this little girl:

Paisley (aka:  “Stink-A-Tha”) is growing to be quite a little lady.  She loves going and doing things, and is definitely into her weekly dance lessons.  Since Fox has been born, she has also gone to an event to meet Doc McStuffins, and she went to a little theatre play showing “Blue’s Clues” and got to have her picture made with Blue.  In an effort to make sure that her events are not spoiled by her baby brother melting down, I actually have spent more of my time with Fox (aka:  “Boyfriend”), keeping him home while Stink-A-Tha goes out with her parents.  Even though it has been for her benefit, I think she might be feeling a little neglected by her Old Lolee.  Therefore, I am looking forward to picking her up some morning this week, doing a little shopping, and then taking her to lunch.  I never want my girl to feel less than wonderful in her Old Lolee’s heart!

As for Boyfriend, he’s growing bigger and wants to walk so badly that he can’t stand it!  He has already been scooching across the floor (that was last month), and I anticipate that he will be quite the go-getter.  Mandy says that he will be the one who destroys her house.  But here’s the thing: He has this crazy little crooked smile that he flashes that just melts your heart.  I have a feeling that it won’t matter what he does, or how much destruction he causes -- he will get out of all kinds of trouble with that little crooked smile and those big, blue eyes.

So that’s it!  Pretty much caught up for now!  The Christmas season is upon us, and there will be fun times ahead!

Paisley Turns Three!

It seems like it was just yesterday, but Paisley actually turned three a little while back.  Once again, I have not been timely in my posting, but I want to share highlights from Paisley’s party any way.

Mandy warned me early on that with a brand new baby, she would not have the time, nor the energy, to throw the blow-out birthday bash that she gave for the first two birthdays.  For the life of me, I don’t know what she was talking about…it was darling!  The theme came from Paisley’s favorite things:  Favorite colors – yellow and pink, and favorite drink – lemonade.  Thus, the Paisley Pink-and-Yellow-Lemonade-Party came to be.

There were decorations:

And Refreshments:

And Cake:

The World’s Most Beautiful Girl even had a dress with lemons on it:

Fox was dressed for the occasion, too:

Paisley had fun hob-knobbing with all her guests (shown her with her cousin, Joshua):

And of course, PRESENTS:

And singing and candles:

Grump-Pa and Dee Dee were both sick and were not able to make it.  However, Robert’s mother, “Grandma Lynda”, came for the event and she and Paisley had a great time together:

Grandma Lynda was a big help by manning the kiddy-treat table…Mandy had those little plastic cups with the decorative inserts that allow the kids to decorate their own cup as the party favors.  Grandma Lynda helped everyone with those:

In fact, I must say that Grandma Lynda was quite appreciated all the way around.  She helped me shop for some upholstery fabric for an upcoming project, helping me to figure out what is suitable and helping me understand what I needed to be watching out for.  Also, since Fox was right in the midst of his colic/reflux woes during this time, she offered to spend the night at Mandy’s house to help out.  She stayed for two nights and Mandy told me that Lynda was a real pick-me-up for their spirits and brought a great sense of calm to their home during this time.

I think Paisley’s party was wonderful.  Actually, although Mandy had been worried about whether or not it was “enough”, she later told me that she ended up being more that satisfied with it, and was able to truly enjoy it, because it wasn’t quite so much and was less hectic.  I think that a sense of peace might be the best gift of all!

Fox at Home

Fox has been a different “Grandma” experience for me than Paisley was.  I think part of that is due to the fact that Paisley was the first grandchild (and child for her parents), and also because I stayed over at the Lackey house for a couple of nights or so in my effort to help out.  The Fox experience was complicated by the fact that I was okay for a few days after he was born, but then I got sick.  While I felt like helping, we all knew that a sick baby and/or toddler was the last thing they needed over there, so I stayed home until  we didn’t think I was contagious.  Even at that, most of my “helping” has consisted of taking Paisley for little outings or hanging out with her at home, in an effort to provide her with a little special attention and to give her mother a chance to concentrate on Fox.  Poor Fox has had problems with “colic” – later diagnosed as reflux – and just some general digestive issues which have been causing distress for him and loss of sleep for his family.  All of the pictures I have are pictures which I have pilfered from Mandy; however, it’s probably good since she takes much better pictures than I do!

Paisley has been generally taken with her new brother – except for the part where he keeps everyone awake at night.  Paisley found it a little hard having to share her parents' attention at first, but she has been a real trooper as of late.  I believe these pictures were taken when they first brought Fox home:

 

Mandy has taken quite a few pictures, as time has allowed.  I had really thought that Fox would simply look like a male version of Paisley.  Not so.  So far, he reminds me of Mandy when she was this age.  But really, he just looks like his own little person:

 

He has the most incredible feet, and I find myself “gobbling” and kissing them every chance I get (although I don’t know how many years that will last!):

 

The family had a photographer come to their house not too long ago and take pictures.  They are beautiful:

 

 

I guess the thing that has surprised me the most is how much I love this little guy.  I had worried that there would be no way that I could love another one as much as I love the World’s Most Beautiful Girl, but somehow… it happened!   He is wonderful!