an award

My sweet blogger friend, Gena

at 

The House on Lavendar Hill 

nominated me for this reward.

She thinks me to be hilarious.

Me thinks she drinks.

The rules state that I reveal 7 things about myself.

Well, 7 more. 

Here goes:

1. When I first typed this I called Gena my sweet booger friend.

Luckily I caught the typo.

2. My oldest sister is 12 yrs older. Her husband gave me a nickname when I was little and it has stuck with some of the family.

Said nickname.... Hoopielou. I have no explanation.

3. My middle name is Lou. I always hated it. I imagined me looking like Lou Grant. It is growing on me now that I am looking more like him.

4. I like my iced tea unsweetened. I am a Northerner like that.

5. My dog Reta, has bad teeth and therefore, bad breath. She has a killer bod though.

6. I don't remember the usage rules for commas. 

7. My work-out buddy is ex-Amish. She is cute and a little ornery. Sadly, she doesn't have a buggy.

Now I am passing this reward onto 3 of my fave bloogers

or boogers, which ever applies.

1. The Frat Pack + Me

Suzette cracks me up. She writes about her teen boys and her very funny honey. She is beautiful and funny, and who doesn't

love the name Suzette!

2.Ostriches Look Funny

JoAnn is hilarious. She can write like I want to when I grow up. She has 3 little boys and there is always something funny happening at her place. 

3. Life and Godliness

Rebecca is sweet and witty. Her comments are some of the funniest I receive. She loves the Lord and she makes me want to know him even better.

Thanks again to Gena

for loving my blather and always giving me

an "Atta Girl".

xoxo

214. clean eyeglasses
190. a clean car
162. stars in the sky
89. stuffed ponies and little girls

All I have to do is dream.

California dreamin'...
To dream the impossible dream...
Sweet dreams are made of this...

You may say I'm a dreamer...

I have decided to write only in lyrics.

Ha, not really.

I am a dreamer though.
So much so,
I have a whole category labeled for them.
And I am a star.
Rock star, movie star or both

in my own little mind.

Last week I dreamed I was

in a movie production 

and was in an argument

with one of the stars.

I ended up yelling at 

Tony Curtis,

"You are a bloated, old has-been!"

Nice.

Really pleasant personality here.

What the hello mother, hello father?
I cannot sing or act.

And he is deceased.
Am I the only one who dreams
that they are a celebrity?
Do I need some intervention?

Lunesta? 
Rum and Coke?

I guess at the very least, different television viewing habits
are in order...

Like maybe something a little more current?

For now, I am off to bed.

Ralph Waite and Michael Landon await.

What's up...

Some of us are soaking up babylove

 around here.

And some of us are telling 

Rachel Zoe 

to stuff it.

Joy

I'm thanking you God,
from a full heart

I'm writing the book
on  your wonders,

I'm whistling, laughing

and jumping for joy;

I'm singing your song, High God.

Psalm 9:1,2

140. a surprise bouquet of ditch flowers

156. glitter

78. fat robins

9. Hallmark movies

intentional

This morning I made an observation.

One where I was disappointed in myself.

How many times a day do I choose the wrong one?

More than I care to say, I pick the top item. 

Or the pink one.

Not to mention the laptop.

I am going to make a concerted effort

to pick the best option more frequently.

I leave them out for just that reason 

and yet I seem to fail. 

I have so much to be grateful about

that I pray all day long.

I praise God, I ask for his help, and

I listen to The Message in my car.

But, I need to be in his word.

Busyness is no excuse 

because I have time for all the other options.

I am doing a change-up.

Starting now.

Penelope has arrived.

Our newest baby girl 

showed up for her party at 6:30 this evening.

 

 

She weighed in at a fighting weight 

of  9 lbs. 1 oz.

Her name is Penelope Jane.

She is perfection.

She didn't get her bath while we were there

but I think she looks like a redhead.

Her daddy's brother, her mama and me 

are redheads

so our odds are good.

 

 

I left the new camera with the kids

so I am posting just a few pictures from facebook.

I am going back tomorrow 

to smell her more and more.

I love that fresh from the oven baby scent.

I am planning on kissing her more too.

Tonight was a timed love fest.

Abbie and Tiffany, the aunts 

had stop watches on our times.

Everybody got to handle her a bit

and then we were ushered out

by the Baby Nazi

aka the grumpy floor nurse.

Maggie's best friend's little sister

was Mag's nurse

but there was another crab

who gave us grief about our waiting room crowd.

She was unfriendly in general.

I think she has recently given up cake.

Just a theory...

Thank you for all your prayers.

We are so blessed.

My heart is so full of gratitude.

God is good.

Blessed be his name.

¹ You, God, are my God,
   earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
   my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
   where there is no water.

 ² I have seen you in the sanctuary
   and beheld your power and your glory.
³ Because your love is better than life,
   my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
   and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
   with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

 ⁶ On my bed I remember you;
   I think of you through the watches of the night.
⁷ Because you are my help,
   I sing in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ I cling to you;
   your right hand upholds me. 

Psalm 63: 1-8

 

kids

Yesterday,

I went to Annie's to see the younguns

after Aubrie got home from school.

She has gone 2 days and 

tells us she is betrothed.

Aww  Come on!
I blame her Pa Fox side for this.

However, the best part of that is 

he told her if she married him 

she could have many cats.

 She doesn't remember her intended's name.

If that's not destiny,

I don't know what is.

I forgot my big ball that Ollie needs for therapy

and my camera.

Duh.

I sent Annie to my house to retrieve them.

She did this.

Shenaniganning Goofus.

Ollie worked out some

and then crashed.

There was crafting

and mugging for the camera.

And then one last picture of Penelope on board.

I'll let you all know
just as soon as she makes her appearance.
Pray on people, pray on.
xoxo

116. spooning my sweetie

73. my porches

141. hummingbirds

167. an organized closet

Family Reunion

The reunion was a success.

It was moved inside this year

due to the heat temps.

We have elderly and we have babies.

We have everything in between too.

I did finally get a camera.

Hallelujah, mine couldn't be fixed.

I got money towards a new one.  
I upgraded.
Canon Rebel T3.

I think we both won.
I am clueless about it.

My niece has a new, similar one too.

She is going to teach me.

Yes, you are.

There was tons of food.

My estranged friend, cake was there.
Lovely, as always.

We didn't connect.

I lusted though.

With this many family members 
there are several sets of twins

Me and Jackie.
No pic :(

Our first cousins Terry and Jerry.

Our first cousin Annie's son Stacy had twin girls.

My first cousin Patty, has a set.
 blue shirt..Zach and pink shirt....Zoe.

My oldest sister Judy's daughter Ellen 

(the camera instructor)

has a set of twins.

Sydney and Chase.
My sister Linda's daughter Ashley

has twin sons, Gabe and Jude.

I had my twin sons.
There may be more I am forgetting.
There are so many cousins I cannot keep up.
We gathered Dad and his siblings that were present.
Aunt Rosie from Texas was missing and
Aunt Genevieve(sp?) who is an in-law slipped in.

Dad is in the front with the blue shirt.
He says he is so skinny, he might blow away.
I take after Mom, not so skinny.

Mom is behind Dad in the turquoise.
Isn't she cute?


The first cousins ...
and Dad, Uncle Doc, and Aunt Edith
who didn't realize/want
to move.
I tried. haha

My sisters are in the middle row.
Linda white tank, Judy next to her in the brown.
Jackie is on the right end in front.
I am in the back 
on the right in the orange and grey.
My little brother was a no-show.
His status as Mom's favorite
may or may not be wavering.
Many cousins were missing.
Next the second cousins and etc.
At this point no one knows who is who.

There was a lot of chaos.

And some toad commotion.

I talked to a bunch of folks but missed a bunch too.
I "met" a blog reader or 2.
(hey Anna)
We cousins talk on facebook a lot. 
It is a little weird
because we rarely see each other.
I feel like I am more connected to them now though
than I have been since we were little.
That is a good thing.
It was a very good day. 
See ya all next year.
And some exciting news...
 tomorrow they plan to induce Maggie.
She is to be there at 7 a.m. 
They will do a pelvic exam 
and then probably start pitocin.
I'll keep you posted.
Remember us prayer warriors!

91. big coffee mugs

68. my favorite kind of pen

174. freckles on a face

diet is a four lettered word

Well, I am still off sugar.

I  have had a few set-backs

but I keep getting back on track.

My sleeping is much better.

I have started working out more too.

I really want to be healthier and 

for food to lose it's importance.

For you people who have never fought weight,

maybe you don't get that I have food voices.

After every meal I have a conversation

in my head...

you ate too much, or you ate wisely.

I know it sounds crazy but it is true.

I have been on a diet my whole adult life.

Either failing or winning.

Yo-yoing 25 lbs,

and I am tired of it.

I want to eat without guilt

and be healthy.

I am getting this done before

I start having weight related health issues.

You can hold me accountable.

Tomorrow is the Adkins reunion.

I have a game plan.

I know what I can eat.

Let's just  hope 

I do not do this.

6. raw almonds
37. appreciation for a job well done
69. sheets from the clothesline
77. sun in my window

bingo

I am up early.

I awoke to the smell of smoke.

I sniffed and sniffed.

I started to wake Stuart,

but he has no sense of smell left.

I hurried towards the stairs.

I saw a flash of light 

and wondered if it was lightning.

I walked all through the house.

Nothing.

Nada.

I looked outside.

No burning bush.

No rogue camp fires.

Hmm. 
Was the flash of light actually
the pole light being reflected in the mirror? 
 I decided to look on the web 
for an explanation.
I went to bing.com

wondering ...

Am I having a stroke?
 At this point I didn't smell smoke.

Actually I  hadn't smelled it since I left my bed. 

Bing.com said 

1. Phantomasia...phenomenon of smelling odors that 

aren't present. Check.
It could be you have a sinus infection.

No, I don't have that.

2. Olfactory hallucination...smell perceived but not there.

Well, yeah.

3. Paranormal... really?  smoking ghosts?

After consideration,

I have come to some conclusions of my own.

1. Don't bing.com anything medical.

There is a lot of stuff that pops up and 

crazy theories come out of the woodwork.

2. Don't try to blog without a camera.

You start being desperate for topics.

3. I tend to dream I am a celebrity or am friendly with them.
All in the day of a rockstar, ya know.
This is more likely the reason I smelled smoke.
I was hanging with him.

I do love me some Bing.
For your listening pleasure...
Dream a little dream of me.

1. Stuart's morning phone call to just say hi.

14. Sisters

25. gifts from UPS trucks.

33. a message that speaks to me.

Thankfulness

Back in March I blogged about

a very popular book.

The book is written in a style

that I do not love.

The author though, I do love.

I love her blog and her thoughts.
She shows the beauty in every day life.
She loves Christ and 
she speaks that love.

A friend described this book as "meaty".

It is.

I read the book in spurts.
I have never finished reading it.

But, I kept a gratefulness journal all along the way.

My friend Becky

from Farmgirl Paints

started ending her posts

with entries from her journal.

I told her I was stealing the idea 

and she said go for it.

So at the end of each of my posts

I plan to leave a couple of my journal entries.

Get the book and read it for yourself.

It may be your cup of tea.

Me... I like coffee.

136. the numbers on the scale dropping

41. friends who pray

101. friends who make me laugh so hard, I pee a little

82. pink Easter grass

what you are dying to know

Well the title is a lie.

I have nothing.

A few things that have gone on in recent days...

• I went with Maggie for a pedicure.

The lady in the chair next to me

was reading an article with a title in very large font.

 "75 Things His Ex-wife Wouldn't Do In Bed."

Seriously.

Who writes that stuff?

And even more troubling who reads this 

while getting a pedicure 

with a "nosy neighbor" in the chair next to you?

•  We celebrated birthdays.  

Ev turned 4.  

sob.

Caroline turns 2 on Saturday.

• Miss Ollie went for her post surgery check up. 

She checked out great.

Prayers answered!

I stole all the birthday pictures from Annie's facebook 

because my camera is still being repaired.

Apparently, from scratch.

The rest I took with my phone.

• I have guests this week.

Kevin.

and Rudy.

They reside with Jackie, but she went to see her son in Vegas.

They are here to give Harley 

a run for his money with the ladies.

I may or may not claim to be burning a candle

 named Farmhouse Dog.

Truly, it only reeks of dog because

the candle is burning.

•  I visited the neighbor's honor stand.

• I went to see The Help

with my friend, Esther,

my sister, Judy, 

 and my sis in law Jamie.

We loved it.

I had forgotten parts

because it had been so long since I read the book.

Now, I want to re-read it.

I would see the movie again.

Loooved it.

The sets are great.

The actors were perfect for the roles.

• We are in a holding pattern for Penelope.

Mag goes Monday and

they will discuss inducing labor

if nothing happens in the next few days.

Pray that dern camera gets done.

Or not.

There is a Best Buy on the way to the hospital

I will stop and shop.

If anyone is still reading...

hmm, anyone?

Carry on.

I'm out.