Summer Randomness

Here are a bunch of random pictures from my phone.

Bennett was taking pictures with my phone...these are his superhero crocs

Bennett and me waving my Union Jack flag during the London Olympic opening ceremonies.  I got this flag at a parade in London in 2004 when they were trying to get the bid for the 2012 Olympics.  It's funny how in 2004...2012 Olympics seemed so far away.

We've loved our weekly summer lunches with Aunt Becky.

Bennett and his swim teacher, Miss Taylor (he loved her!)

At Gymboree a couple weeks ago Bennett got something in his eye. He couldn't even open it to let me look.  He stayed this way for almost an hour.  We went to Quick Care and waited there for 30 minutes, paid co-pay, and then his eye magically opened.  I was glad he was OK, but boy was it a long afternoon!

Shopping at Kroger sure is fun!

Leslie and I with our "Back the Bid" flags

Please pray...

Dear friends and family...

Please pray for my friend, Fiona.  She is the sweetest person with the biggest faith in God ever.  She collapsed 2 weeks ago and was later diagnosed with a brain tumor.  She just had her first sweet baby boy, Zachary four months ago.  I just can't get her off my mind and I thought if only 2 people saw this that would be more people praying that if I didn't post this.  Please pray for a miracle..I believe in them!

I met Fiona at Bible study a few years ago before I was married.  She is from Australia and married a guy in the air force.  They lived here while he was stationed at Barksdale.  I still have the recipe and letter she gave me at my recipe kitchen shower. They moved to Germany for two years and are now in Virginia.  What a cool, jet-setting life they lead.  Fiona is one of the neatest people I know.  She always has a smile on her face and has the nicest things to say.

Check out her story here:  http://zevandfi.blogspot.com/

Love you Fiona!

Days 15-17 of me

Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play: PASS (I don't have music on my iPod)


Day 16- Another picture of yourself

me with naan bread in Dallas

Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why


The only person I would want to switch lives with for one day would be a movie star.  The only reasons are because I could just get massages all day, shop at really expensive places, be pictured in a magazine, travel to wherever I wanted that day, and basically just live a day of leisure.  If this question would have said "switch lives with forever" I would have said "no, thank you I would keep my own life because it is pretty darn good!"

Bull Buteau Skeet Shoot-Out

Once again we had a great time at the Bull Buteau skeet shoot.  The location was fabulous with A/C and a big back porch. It was so fancy for a skeet shoot.  They put so much time and energy into planning this great event honoring Trey's brother.  We hope to be there next year for the 4th annual!

The team: Andrew, Neil, Richard, James, and Hunter.  Neil and Andrew tied for terrible with 55 and Richard won with 69!

Bennett loves Brown (and Briggs)

G kept trying to get B to take a picture with her but he wanted Grandad.  I took one of G all by herself and that made her happy!

Yay!  Leslie came in town!

As the Methodist Children's Home Chairman of the board, Richard gave a little speech!  Way to go Richard!

Days 13 and 14

Day 13: A Letter to someone who hurt you recently: PASS (I will leave something like this for my private life.)

Day 14: A picture of you and your family

Church Easter egg hunt

Day 12: How you found out about blogging and why I made one

I found out about blogging back in 2008.  Leslie told me about Beth Moore's blog so I started reading it.  I always loved getting a nice word from her on a daily basis.  She always linked to "famous" bloggers so slowly I began to read Bigmama and Boomama and Kelly's Korner.  I never really thought I would have a blog, much less have anything to write about on a blog.

A few months later, my friend Amanda started her blog, The Daily Sweatpants. I was so excited that she started it but I was still on the fence about making my own. But, as Bennett started getting bigger and I realized I never remembered to write anything in his baby book...I started my blog.  I started it when Bennett was about 2 months old.  I still wish I would have started it earlier because I am so sad that I don't have any of his milestones recorded for his first 2 months.

Now, I use my blog as my memory.  Most of the time I have a great memory.  Just ask Amy.  I can't remember a lot now though.  If someone asks me about an event or just a regular day...I can usually go back to that day on the blog and tell you what happened and who was there.  Because of this I have sort of turned in to a "blog advocate."  I am constantly promoting blogging.  I want everyone to have a blog because of the memory keeping.

You will not get a lot of fancy photos here or eloquent writing.  I stick to the facts and add pictures to go with the stories.  I've said it before and I'll say it again...this blog is my online scrapbook!

Sky VBS

Since Bennett is 3 and potty-trained he was able to attend Vacation Bible School.  VBS was always one of my favorite summer activities so I was thrilled that Bennett got to go.  I opted not to help this year and I felt guilty everyday for leaving him and not helping.  It also felt really good to go and do things with just Henry though.  

Bennett came home everyday singing: 

"You don't have to be the strongest, you don't have to hold your breath the longest, you don't have to be a star...YOU, YOU, YOU can trust God!" 

 He was loving his songs and I was too!

Drew and Bennett on the last day

Bennett loved his teacher!  She has 3 year old twins and guess who was in her lap? Bennett! We loved Mrs. Lauri.

Me and my big boy!

B and B

Yay!  I am so glad Bennett loved VBS.  We will be going to 2 next year.  Yesssssssss.

Days 9, 10, and 11

Day 9: Something I am proud of from the last few days:

• I am proud that Neil and I got a night away to celebrate Erinn's birthday. 
• I am proud that I have not missed 1 Monday Bible study session this summer. 
• I am proud that I've gotten us unpacked, clothes washed, and meat thawed for dinner tonight.

Day 10: Songs I listen to: I pretty much listen to K-LOVE the entire time I am in the car.  I sometimes change it to country music.  I don't really ever download music unless it is for my classroom.  I'm not one of those people that has headphones plugged into their iPhone at all times.  In fact, I have never plugged headphones into it!  I have also never used an iPod.

Day 11: Another picture of me and my friends:

 

My 30th birthday celebration

Erinn's Lake Weekend

We got to celebrate Erinn's birthday at their camp this past weekend.  5 couples went without kids and it was a ton of fun.  They all went for 2 nights and we went for 1.  It is amazing how no stress it is without the kids there.  We left Ruston about 8 am on Saturday morning to head to the lake.  It rained on us the entire way down there.  I sent Emily a text to see if the weather was nice and she said it was a nice day.  They said that 15 minutes later the bottom fell out and they had a down pour.  We arrived in Jonesville to a monsoon.  It was fun because everyone was still in their pajamas when we arrived around 10.  We decided to play cards, eat, and chit chat while we waited for the rain to let up.  It finally let up around 2 and we totally made the most of our day.  Everyone that tried to ski/wakeboard was able to.  One of my favorite things to do is ride around or float on the lake with country or rap music blaring.  It must be a southern thing because that sounded really redneck!

I am pretty shocked that I was able to ski.  I haven't skied in a few years but I got up on the first try!  I am not a big risk taker so being pulled directly behind the boat is enough for me.  I am not one of those that wants to weave in and out of the wake.  No thank you.

I had to post this pic because Emily, Erin, and I were loving having our hair braided.  Thanks to Erin for making us so stylish!

We floated in the water until around 8-9 pm.  We didn't eat dinner until 9:30pm!

Days 6, 7, and 8 of me

Day 6: I don't watch comics nor do I know what any of them do.  You can ask Neil.  I asked him if Hulk was nice or mean and looked at me like I was cray.  Anyway, I don't have one.

Day 7: A picture of someone that has had the biggest impact on my life: my grandmother, Gammy.  She was always the person I looked up to and the person that I wanted to be like.  Everyone loved my grandmother.  I can still go back to the church where I grew up (where she attended) and people will still tell me how much they miss her.  No one had a relationship with her like I did.  But, I think she made everyone feel like that...like you were the only one she was thinking about when she was with you.  She made me feel special and loved me unconditionally.  She would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it.  If you were at her house and you saw something you liked...she would say "take it home!"  She gave selflessly to her church and to anyone in need.  She was the type of person you could look at and say "there is a believer in Christ right there!"  I love her and miss her.

me with my Gammy in 2002 (I was a sophomore in college)

Day 8: Some short term goals for the month.

• Take my kids to do fun things during our last couple weeks of summer
• Get my classroom ready for school to begin
• Prep everything I can for Henry's birthday party
• Shop for back to school clothes for me and the boys
• Pack for our trip to the beach!!! :)

Day 5: A place I've been to

Leslie and me at Stonehenge

When I thought about all the places I've been I immediately thought of this picture of Leslie and me.  This was our favorite picture from our England stay.  I thought Stonehenge was so neat.  It rained on us while we there but that didn't stop us from walking about the whole place.  We even bought Stonehenge earrings!  

Henry likes Italian Casserole!!!!

It's no secret around here that one of my favorite meals is Italian Cassrole. It just makes me happy to see that Henry enjoys it too!

Day 4: A habit I wish I didn't have

Here we are at Day 4: A habit I wish I didn't have...hmmmmm...

I think I will have to go with I wish I didn't always feel the need to be doing something.  I feel like I need to be cleaning, folding laundry, wiping down counters, grocery shopping, picking up after people, taking the kids somewhere, or anything else.  It is very hard for me to sit still.  I must have Martha syndrome.  I need to take a lesson from Mary for sure.

After typing this habit of mine Psalm 46:10 came to mind.  I really need to take time to sit still.  Talk about God meeting you where you are.  I start typing and I have a revelation!

Day 3: A picture of me and my friends

Here are a few pictures of me with my friends.  If you have been reading this blog for long...these people are always on here.  They are special people and ones that I talk to on a regular basis, see a lot, and can confide in.  I am so happy to have wonderful friends.  There are lots more people that I wanted to put pictures of, but it is late and I am tired.  Love to all my other friends not pictured.

me and Leslie

Amy and me

The Chucktown crew

Day 2: The meaning of my blog

The main reason I have my blog is to keep my memories and pictures organized. I was an avid scrapbooker and I have lots from high school, college, and years after. I stopped scrapbooking after I had Bennett because I realized that I didn't have 2 hours to sit down and create a couple pages with a few pictures and lots of stickers!

I decided to start blogging to keep up with our lives.I like that blogging makes me "write" down what happened because I hardly ever journaled in my scrapbooks. I always thought I'd remember everything about my boys or every detail from previous trips. That's just not reality! It makes me so happy to be able to look back and see how many teeth Bennett had at 11 months old...I would have totally not known he had 6! So anyway, I blog to scrapbook our lives and so far I have thoroughly enjoyed the past 4 blogging years. Now, I print my blog into hard back books each year. I hope my boys treasure these books of memories when they get older.

I got the name of my blog Louisiana Livin' from my cousin, Abbie's blog. I just couldn't come up with a cool blog name. At the time she lived in Louisville and her blog was called Louisville Living. I asked her if I could borrow it and mine became Louisiana Livin'. Not real profound it's just how it happened.

30 days of me! (Day 1)

My cousin, Carrie found a blog that has a great idea...30 days about me.  I am going to try to do these and probably keep them light and fun and I probably won't do the hard/tough ones.  People know enough about me as it is!  I will pick and choose my favorites.  I think it will be fun for you to do it, too.




Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 02- The meaning behind your blog/site/user name
Day 03- A picture of you and your friends
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to 
Day 06- Favorite super hero and why 
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you 
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why 
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about blogging and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14- A picture of you and your family 
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Who wants to join us with a couple of these fun facts about YOU?

Day 1: A picture of me and 15 interesting facts about me:

Here I am!

1. I really enjoy my Sunday School class and love being around people that have similar goals for their families. I love our church and am glad we feel at home there.
2. I love my 3 boys more than anything in this world Neil, Bennett, and Henry you are my loves.
3. I cannot stand a mess.  I don't like messy beds, rooms, kitchens, food out, clutter, etc.  It makes me crazy.  I am learning to deal with this since I have the 3 I mentioned in #2.
4. My favorite color is turquoise.  I recently changed it from green.  This totally threw Bennett for a loop because it is a big deal to declare your favorite color at age 3 and changing it is just plain CrAzy!
5. I've only owned 3 cars in my life.  My first car was a Be-Boppin' Saturn, then a Jetta, and I have a 4-runner now.
6. I have lots of pet peeves: toilet paper on the roll wrong, when people don't capitalize the B in Bible, and crumbs on the kitchen counter. (I'm so weird, I know.)
7. I love having a sister-in-law because I never had a sister.
8. I worked in London after I graduated from college for 3 1/2 months with Leslie.  We traveled around Europe on the weekends.  My dad and Neil even came to visit me.
9. Amy and I got the bright idea to become summer nannies in college.  We worked with families in the northeast and they treated us like total servants. 
10. I loved college.  I loved being in a sorority. I loved the parties.  I love that I met my husband there.  I loved my roomies.  My biggest college regret is not trying out for Orientation Student Leader.
11. I do not want to miss any special event in my kids lives.  I don't even want to miss not-so-special ones.  I want to be at every school party, play, and first day of school.
12. I love the fact that if we haven't seen each other in a while, my family will just pick a mid-point city and meet for a meal.  I don't mind driving 2 hours to see the ones I love.
13. I am very un-coordinated.  I trip a lot.  I cannot dance or even learn choreographed moves.  I tried out for cheerleader once and after a week of practice I still didn't know the stuff so I just stood there during the try-out!
14. I think the subject I teach, Family and Consumer Science is the best.  I think that is teaches life skills and provides a well-rounded education.  And I probably enjoy it because math just ain't my thing.  After typing "ain't" I guess English isn't either!
15. I love to bake, be crafty, and plan parties.  Once I get a color scheme in mind for a party...it's all I can think of! 

What are 15 random things about you?  I'll admit that is was a little hard to come up with 15.  I might change them as I think about them longer. 

Bennett's Day 'O Fun

We decided that Bennett needed a day just for him.  He has been acting out and we just thought he could use some mommy and daddy time.  He really has been best big brother but we could just tell that he needed 2 on 1 attention.  I did feel like we were ditching Henry a little bit, but you gotta do what you gotta do for your kids.  Neil and I have been so excited to plan this fun day for Bennett.  We've been planning it for a few days.  

We woke up this morning and Bennett was not in a chipper mood.  My aunt posted something on Facebook this morning about watching the Spiderman movie with Cal last night.  The nice Spiderman wears the red suit and the not-so-nice one wears a black suit.  She said that Cal woke up in the black Spiderman suit.  I could totally relate.  I sent her a text saying Bennett woke up in his black suit. We had a little laugh and carried on. 

We were a little worried that he wasn't excited for his day.  But, we got to our first stop of Gators and Friends and he was good to go!  He totally bounced back and ran around the animals like crazy. Red Spiderman suit was here!

Neil, Bennett, Socks, and me

We saw lots of animals and fed them too.  I was shocked at how nice a zoo in Greenwood could be! I was sure to carry my purse after I heard about someone's car being broken in to.  Can't ever be too safe!

Our next stop was Kiddie Mia's.  This is Bennett's most favorite place ever.  He asked at least 26 times if we could go to Kiddie Mia's.  We killed 1 hour and $6 and walked away with a sports pencil and stickers.  He doesn't really care about the prizes...he just likes to play the games.

Bennett and Neil really get into the games

Our next stop was the park.  We brought a little picnic along with us and enjoyed it at the tables.  Bennett loves the peaches that Nana brought over from Ruston.  We ate, played, and took pictures...my idea of a great picnic.

Neil lounging during the picnic

Bennett couldn't believe I climbed up and surprised him at the top of the slide!

He sat on a little bench at the top of the playscape and I took these pics...my little ham.  He is such  a sweetheart!

Our day was so much fun.  We just took time to enjoy our oldest boy.  He was so good, eager to obey, and just had fun being a big boy.  I hope we can do more days like this in the future with both of our boys.

Lastly, we stopped by Carolyn's to wish her a happy birthday with a few cupcakes and a little gift.  Bennett, of course, needed to enjoy one of her cupcakes and she let him.  Happy Birthday, Carolyn!

Family Meet-Up

I love that when we haven't seen each other in a while that we just pick a day and a time to meet and we do it.  We met for lunch on Sunday in Nacodoches, TX.  I love these people!!!  Carrie got lots of pictures with her new camera...check them out.

Carrie and the boys

My Auntie and me

Sisters: mom and Aunt Carolyn

My Henry is 11 months old???

This was an attempt at a July patriotic photo but you can't really tell that there are stars on the background fabric.

Wow.  How did Henry get to be 11 months old?  I cannot believe that he will be 1 next month.  How did this happen?  Time has flown.  Everyone says it goes way faster with the 2nd child and they weren't lying.  What is Henry up to these days?

• size 4 diaper
• 9-12 month clothes and some 18 month clothes.
• You are into more now than you were at 10 months.  You are opening cabinets and crawling in.  You even opened my drawers and pulled all my underwear out!
• You can pretty much eat an entire Puffs can in about 2 days.  You enjoy mum mums, bits of table food, and pretty much anything we will give you.
• You now have 2 teeth on the bottom.  Dr. Crittell says that you are going to be getting your eye teeth first...my little vampire!  I just went back and read about Bennett at 11 months and he had 6 teeth!  It's funny how much you forget.
• You love to clap, give high fives, and have just started waving bye-bye.
• You are such a happy baby!
• You are "talking" and mumbling WAY more now that you have gotten tubes.  
• You put everything in your mouth. You will find the tiniest thing and put it directly in your mouth and just go on about your business.  
• One of your favorite things to do it to throw a ball and then fetch it.  It is so funny to watch!
• We are working on signing the word "more" to you.  You think clapping is "more."  I am about to give up on the whole signing bit.
• You eat 3-4 6-oz bottles a day plus baby food for breakfast and dinner.
• You love to play with Bennett.  If Bennett is around you want to be next to him.  Your favorite place to play is his room.
• You pinch a lot.  I know you don't know you are doing it but your tiny fingers are so grabby...it hurts!
• You've only stood on your own 1 time and it was for about 5 seconds.  You don't like to "walk" holding our hands like Bennett did.

This is how hard it is to get a picture of an 11 month old on the go boy!

Bennett had to get on the action too!