My Girlie Girl

Today I am dedicating my blog post to my beautiful daughter Tarynn. She is 21 yrs old. She works full time & goes to college full time as well. Her goals are set & she knows what she wants out of life. I love her spirit & drive. Tarynn is liked by everyone. This girl has so many friends we cant keep up. Tarynn is our only daugher & the oldest of all the kids. She is a great sissy to her brothers. Recently she has moved across the country & I am hating it. She was my partner in crime on shopping sprees, my movie partner for all those sappy chick flicks & just my best friend. I miss you so much Tarynn.

T* trendsetter- Tarynn has always been a trendsetter. All the way back to grade school she

never cared what the "in thing"was. She had her own style that has carried through to her adult years. Tarynn would wear something one day and then you would see everyone wearing it after that. She has so much confidence!

A* artistic- Talented beyond belief. She is so artistic. She has designed logos for bands, as well as band merchandise. Her passion is music & it spills out into her art.

R* responsible- Has always made good decisions. Tarynn has never given us a lick of trouble.She was the easiest child to raise. She has always made us proud.

Y* y'all- Hahaha! This word will now be a permanent part of her language. Love you Tarynn!

N* nicknames- Girlie Girl, Sissy, T, Tarini, Tar

N* night owl- She takes after her momma. This girl survives on very little sleep. She will

go & go until she just poops out. She is constantly on the move & searching for new adventures.

Just a little glimpse of our perfect girl. Tarynn you are my inspiration! Love you sunshine!

Me &My Travis

We just got these pictures at school yesterday. Travis & I went to the Mom & Son Superbowl Party. It was a lot of fun. They had a DJ, played numerous football related games, danced & had lots & lots of pizza. They had a woman photographing anyone who wanted to participate. The picture isnt the greatest but it is a wonderful reminder of a fantastic night together.

Travis is my baby (11 yrs old now) & he is getting so big. He looks like his dad & is going to be tall just like him. It is so sad to see them shoot up & lose all the baby fat. He is such a great kid. He is always smiling & never grumpy. This kid is always HAPPY. I love it! I wish all my days were like that. He is a gaming fanatic & LOVES dinosaurs. As much as he loves anything & everything animal related....we are sure he will be in some sort of animal field when he grows up. We are super proud of him! I cant wait to see what life has to offer him.

I am in a motivated mood today. I have decided to finish up my future daughter in laws lil photo album I am making her. I also want to try & work on three dollies. My best friend from high school is coming for a visit. We are going to be quilting the entire time...WooHoo! So I am making three lil dollies to give to all the girls with a goodie bag to remember their trip. I will show them to you all once they are done.

Have a wonderful day & may it be productive & peaceful! Toodles♥

♥Happy Valentines Day♥

Happy Valentines Day to each & every one of you.
I am so excited to say that my son

arrived home from Iraq yesterday. I am counting the days down until we get to see him.

I am at peace now knowing he is safe & sound.

I love this picture of my husband. I am an avid picture taker. Since I scrapbook I can say that there is'nt much that I dont document in pictures. My family has gotten use to it. :) Well, out of the millions of pictures, I can honestly say, this is my absolute favorite. I love his eyes. They just have a sparkle about them. So being Valentines Day I have dedicated this blog to my honey bunny. I love him more today than the first day I laid eyes on him. He makes me happy & so fulfilled. We know we are soulmates & we were meant to be together. I cannot even imagine him not being in my life. With that being said.....Honey, I wish you the happiest of days. All my love till the end of time. I am so glad you are my ♥valentine♥

He Is Coming Home

I am so excited! My son Taylor is finally coming home to the states from Iraq.

He will be leaving Baghdad in the next few days. He heads to Germany then to the states.

We are so proud of him. I know the time he served was not to his liking but he did it & thats what counts. He will be headed back to his base & preparing for school. He has lengthened his

committment to the Army & will be starting college. He wants to go to Officer Candidate School eventually.

Taylor you are our Hero. We could'nt be more proud of you & your life choices! You are so smart & your dedication is endless. You will go far in life. I personally can't wait to see your goals accomplished. We love you Bubba! Counting down to March when we can wrap our arms around you! Love you Mom & Dad

H*E*L*L*L*O

dear friends. It has been so long. I apologize for such a long absence. Life has been so busy & so full. Our household has had so many changes...some good & some not so good. I promise to jump back in & get you all up to speed. I have so many pictures to share too.

I hope this is finding you all well & living life to the fullest.

I am off to make two different chili recipes for a chili cook off at my son's school. I am also going to make some baked items for the cake walk. Should be a lot of fun. I found a recipe for caramel/banana cupcakes. YUM! Will give it a whirl & let you know how they come out.

Have a wonderful day filled with smiles & happiness!

*Toodles*

We're Getting There

It has been a busy week here. Rush, rush, rush! I have been just a running & a running.

Monday Tarynn & I got up early & left for Spokane to watch my son Taylor be sworn into the Army. It was such a proud & yet sad moment in my life. My kids are growing up & flying the coop. :( It was so neat to be able to witness it though. Taylor was on cloud nine. This has been such a battle to get to this point. We are so proud of him...yet scared for him too. I know he will flourish. He has high goals & is highly motivated. He will be leaving for Ft. Benning, Georgia on June 17th. So little time for us to prepare. I am just glad he gets to go home with us to San Diego for a brief visit with family before boot camp. :)

The sale was good. Not as profitable as I had hoped but good, none the less. Atleast I got rid of tons of stuff. I am still working on getting rid of the big furniture items. It is all falling into place though.

I went running around this morning collecting boxes from U-Haul & some of the local stores. I will get to filling those later today. LOL

I promised to share Mothers Day photos. We had such a wonderful day. It was picture perfect other than my honey not being here. :( He sent me the most beautiful roses ever. My daughter Tarynn & her boyfriend Adam took me & his mom to a local restaurant called the Snakepit (pictured in slideshow). It was a lot of fun & yummy too. Later that day all of the kids & I went to the movies. We really enjoyed our day. I think we had more fun playing with the timer on the camera than anything else. Did I say we are easily amused? LOL I know I am late...but I hope you all had as wonderful a Mother's Day as I had.

Well I better get to gettin...lots to do. I will be back soon. Thank you all for all the sweet comments & emails of encouragement that you send to me. It means the world to me. I hope I can give to you as you have given to me. *Ü*

Have a wonderful day! Toodles *Ü*

She Is Alive....Really

Hahaha. Once again I am apologizing for going so long in between posts. Life has kind of taken over the last few weeks. It has been crazy around here.

We got through prom without a hitch. It was so fun! I am adding a few pictures of Taylor & Sam. They had a blast & looked so cute.

Tomorrow is the big rummage sale. I have been weeding through junk for the last two weeks. It is rather refreshing to see some of it go. I will be so glad when this weekend is over & this is behind me.

Two weeks yesterday until my honey is home. I cannot wait! I am just thankful that we have cell phones, computers & other ways of communications these days. I was talking to my mom about how it must have been awful during Vietnam & wars prior for the spouses to communicate. We really are lucky for modern technology is some aspects...not all....but some of the conveniences are most welcome. :)

BIG NEWS!!!! I am not sure if I have gotten into the story about my Taylor trying to enlist in the Marine Corp (being that it has been a life long dream of his)? Well, they turned him down due to his heart condition & he was pretty devastated by the news. He never thought to prepare a back up plan for life. We tried to boost his spirits & offer other suggestions that he may want to try. With that, we went & spoke with the National Guard with no luck. We then decided to talk to the Army. We met the most awesome recruiter (Sgt. Sumner). He has gone out of his way to push & pull strings for Tay. Taylor had to go to Washington & see cardiologists that put him through a battery of tests. Those findings had to be sent to Washington D.C. for review. We have been waiting & waiting for this to go through the chain of command & to get some kind of word. Well, we are excited to say that Taylor has been ACCEPTED into the Army. YIPPEE!! He is so excited & on cloud nine. We are scared but so proud of him. We really feel the military is his calling in life. He is going to excel & go far....I just know it! So Monday we will be heading to Washington for him to be sworn in. Of course I will have photos when we get back.

I also have to tell you that I have met some of the most awesome people online. About a week ago I was the luckiest person to be a recipient of a RAK (random act of kindness). I just have to tell you that it couldn't of came at a better time. Laura of Wish You Were Here sent me a goodie package that was just incredible. She makes the most amazing cards. You have to go sign up for her blog. She will just blow you away with her creativity. Anyways, awhile back she had made this latte card that holds a gift card. I loved it. Just thought it would be the cutest thing to give some of my friends. I mentioned it in blog conversation. Well let me tell you....she sent me two of them....yes two of them. She even snuck a little coffee card in there for me. I was so excited! She also sent me the most gorgeous card along with it. She had a little cheerful pick me up note that did the trick. Laura if you are reading this....I just want to tell you that you made my week & it really was heartfelt & welcomed. We are planning on getting together for lunch on one of my trips to or through Vegas. I cant wait to meet her in person. She is just the sweetest person ever.

The second wonderful treat I received was from Tracy at Eat, Sleep, Stamp. She had hosted an Amuse ribbon swap. Wonderful ribbon by the way! I am in love with their stamps too. Anyways, she had showed a picture of all the empty ribbon spools. Well I am sure you know where this is leading....LOL. Since I had just finished a spoolie album I was drooling over so many empty spools. After emailing her about them...we both kind of got sidetracked with life. She was able to salvage quit a few from the recycling bin (hubby was helping clean up). She was so sweet & mailed me the box of spools. She wouldn't let me pay her for shipping or anything. I just want to say THANK YOU so much Tracy. I cant wait to get settled in San Diego & get back to my scrappin. Go check out Tracy's blog. She is an amazing artist with a lot of talent too. I wish I had her energy. She is always upbeat & perky!

I have so much to share since I haven't been here. I will try & get back in here Sunday to share my Mothers Day pics & some really neat pics I took around town. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. The weather is supposed to actually be hot here. We haven't seen temps over the 60's this year so that will be nice. Cant wait to open the windows & let some fresh air in. You know...get out there & blow the stink off. LOL

Have a great weekend. Toodles Ü