final weekend together in our much loved home

so, tonight begins our final weekend together in our home of nearly 20 years.  

several years ago the youngest girls started a campaign for us to move 

because they had never lived anywhere else. 

 the boys did not agree and mary-catherine was fairly impartial.

well, here we are.  not sure how we all feel.  mixed feelings to say the least.  

taylor and mary-catherine are flying into houston this evening, late.  

i decided a few weeks ago that we all needed this.......a final weekend to mourn the loss of this house and celebrate our new beginning together.

i want it to go so well.  don't want to stress anyone, though.  because that is not fun and i have a tendency to do that.  in anticipation of this weekend i found someone online to paint this for me.  and i have a copy for each of the kids.  

cannot get this to rotate!  sorry.

the only concern i have now for the weekend is that we will repeat the scene when we moved in here.  zack is on an oil spill in galveston and may not be able to get away....ugh.  makes me so sad, but this is the story of our lives.  

poor zack really.  he is going to to be so sad. 

 i'm going to pray.  

final sleepover-part 1

one of the things the girls have requested before we move from our beloved home is to have a final sleepover with all their friends who have enjoyed time with us here.  

after much debate over who would get the "last" available time, it was decided that emma and lily would have their's tonight.  

lily promptly wrote out invitations and passed them out to her friends the next day.  she had four sweet little friends able to come join us for our "last"

--jill, emily, sarah, and caroline.  

emma procrastinated the invites and ended up only having 2 great friends able to participate.  she was a little sad and couldn't quite understand why they wouldn't/couldn't change their plans for her last sleepover in our house!  after all, it was the LAST one!  :)   in our house!  but she was so happy to have aliana and abbie, who have been such wonderful friends to her and our family.  

both girls were super excited that the new movie, divergent, was coming out tonight and they were planning to see it with their friends.....dressing up and all.  but, a couple of the girls lily invited were not allowed to go, so like a good hostess, she changed plans and we went to Prien Lake Park while emma and friends were at the movies.  we had a great time.  it was beautiful out, a little crispy.  there was a horse drawn cinderella carriage parked and ready for a bride we could see in the distance finishing up a ceremony with her groom and guests.  so exciting for little girls.  we waited and played around on the islands around the streams that run through the park.  reminds me that lily is still a little girl and needs to play.  she seems so mature so often and is surrounded by older girls that we often forget that she is only 11 and treat her older, too.  so fun.  filled my heart with love for these sweet girls and for our time here.  

emma was consumed with excitement for divergent, the movie.  she and lily have for several weeks been relating everything around them to these books.  colors remind them of the different groups.  phrases remind them of what someone said in the book.  if they aren't quoting and retelling sections of this book, they are doing the same with the harry potter books.  they are definitely hooked on reading and specifically a few series.  so, of course, emma and friends had to dress to fit in one of the groups.  emma wore all black including a black leather jacket and black combat boots.  abbie wore gray and drew tatoos all over her.  emma had a few, too.  all in the dress up mode, of course!  haha..  

we picked up the girls from the movies and came home for some treats and a dance party.  then the little girls settled in watching frozen in the living room and the big girls watched in emma's room on the lap top.  

fun "last"......... 

sarah beth is next.....

the abbey...........

Oh, what a fan of Downton Abbey I have become.  I love the characters.  I love the accents.  I love the civil way they discuss delicate subject, for the most part.  I love the clothing.  And now I have to watch reruns, for the 3rd time, or wait 10 months for the new season.  That is the way it always was when I was growing up, but now it seems like there are new seasons twice, sometimes 3, times a year.  Interesting.

And Mathew died.  Why must they do this?  I know that the actor didn't want to return for another season.  Didn't he know that when he was cast as the heir that he would be in this for a while?  I can't understand why he would want to leave anyway.  I guess if he was leaving then they did it the best they could.  With Mathew and Mary still loving each other.  And with a new heir.

I got my mama hooked on the show when she was here at Christmas.  She loves it now, too.  We were discussing the show last night and talked about how so much was made of dinner.  So many people worked so hard for so long to get the dinner made, served, cleaned.  And there were so many rules about how it all went, too.  Seems a bit overkill for our day, but we have so much we can learn.  We make no deal about spending that precious time together as a family.  We forget how important it is to have traditions and schedules.  The family would never have dreamed of missing dinner.  Of course, it is all made so convenient when you don't have to cook.  But, you did have to dress.  I would rather cook!  haha.  Makes me wonder how the queen and Prince Philip eat and dress today.  I would really like to know that.

Mama suggested that having all this formality was an effort to civilize a people who previously were not so refined.  The rules and standards the king set were passed down through the ranks and learned by most.  These rules and expectations are good for people.  We should be expected to behave a certain way, and have a little social pressure to do so.  I love Mrs. Hughes.  She expected people to behave properly and allowed consequences to them when they didn't, but she exacted those consequences with such kindness and concern.

Such an interesting time period.  We know where the changes are going, and it seems all a little sad to lose what they had.

See you in 2014..................

HELLO!

Well, both of the BIG girls have started blogging and are getting on to me for slacking on mine.  I love blogs so much and don't know why I don't do it more.  If I could post on my phone I might be more willing to do it.  I just don't have much time at the computer and fooling with the picture download is infuriating!  But, they want me to, and I want to do it, too.  So.....I guess I might be back:)

I have been journaling for several months, though.  I got a recipe box and put in 365 note cards dated with every day of the year.  No year or day of the week, just the month and day.  Every day I write two lines of what I did, learned, or observed that day.  I love it.  No pressure to be a great writer, no pressure to be witty.  Just a little reminder of what we did.  I may use some of those reminders to go back and do a little writing.

I have been  printing Taylor's letters that people have written him on his mission.  I love email, but one of the drawbacks is that he doesn't have time to go back and read what people have written him. So, I got on his email (which is super fun!) with his permission and am painstakingly going through and printing them all out, then putting them in sheet protectors and sending them to add to his binder.

So check out my girls' blogs.  itsmcat.blogspot.com    sb3th.blogspot.com  They are so awesome.  We will see where this all leads!!

Lily's first plane ride! She was so excited and kept wanting to make sure she did everything right. When she got to her seat I heard her say to the flight attendant, "Excuse me....." very sweetly. "Do I need to put this up there?". When she got her answer she softly said, "Ok, thank you:)"

Kentucky Derby Party

We have never been horse fans. I knew pretty little about horse races except to have heard of Secretariat, but who hasn't.

But, Lily has loved horses her whole life. She has been collecting them for many years, has several beautiful books about horses, and this year started horseback riding lessons! She is in love.

So last week I was watching the TODAY show and they talked about the Kentucky Derby coming up that weekend. I was inspired! We should have a Kentucky Derby party.

To GOOGLE I went. Most of the parties were for adults and involved mint juleps. But we were able to come up with our own ingredients for a fun fun fun Kentucky Derby party!! Big hats, included!!

Go, Lily, Go

Lily, Emma, and Sarah Beth went on a bike ride today.  They were so excited and headed off in the direction of Mrs. Gwen's house.  Lily was really motivated!  :)

When they headed home they were paying close attention and soon it started to rain....hard.  I didn't realize it was raining until Emma came bursting in the door....soaking wet.  She had left Sarah Beth and Lily in an effort to get home quickly.  She thought they yelled for her, but she wasn't sure and she wasn't stopping!  We waited and watched for her sisters and then started calling to see where they were.  Soon we saw them come into view out at Maplewood Drive.  Sarah Beth got inside first and was totally soaked.  She said Lily kept stopping and crying for Mama.  :(  Then Lily came in and was drenched.  She came to me for a hug and I told her how proud I was that she kept going and that she did it!!!  Now go get a bath.

After her bath, Lily came in for a hug and whispered that she had told herself while they were riding that she could do this.  "Actually, I told myself, I won't be a wimp!", she said.

No wimps in this house!  haha.

71 and counting................

Ok, today it has been a year exactly since I had lap-band surgery.  I have officially lost 71 pounds!!  I am so thankful that I was able to have this surgery and that it is working for me.  I have changed so many aspects of my eating as a result.  It has been a wonderful blessing to me.  Recently I have started tracking what I eat on an app on my phone and I think it will help me get the next 24 pounds off.

We have had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season around here.  It was so great to be able to talk to Taylor on Skype and to have the other kids all home.  I sure love my family.  We have such a good time together and they are all so supportive of each other.  Boy that sure does warm my heart to see.  THAT is the very best Christmas gift I could ever receive.

Just needed to express my gratitude real quick.  Maybe I'll post some more soon!!

Andrea

This perfectly describes how it has been the past week at my house as I have been sick!!  I think they all remember now, just possibly!

Leggings

I just read an article about leggings on LDS Living website.  Are they appropriate?  Are they a viable option for too short skirts?  I wanted so badly to respond to these questions, but I couldn't figure it out, so you get to read my opinions!  Because we all know my opinion must be shared!

So, leggings.......I grew up in the 80's.  The era of the legging.  I don't have a particular problem with them in the shirt you wear is long and covers your whole bottom region, front and back.  I like them with skirts as long as the skirt is not too short.  I think they are perfect when the skirt is just a little too short to be comfortable.

That said, I have a really big problem with leggings when people wear them to church to make a short skirt modest.  In my mind people are really wearing pants when they do that.  They are not dressing appropriately because their skirt is not doing its job so you are depending on the leggings.....which are P-A-N-T-S!  We do not wear pants at church....nor do we wear pants in the temple, which I have seen before.  In my oh so humble opinion, if you are depending on leggings to make a short skirt appropriate then do that outside of places where you are supposed to wear skirts.

OK, I know you all wanted to know so badly.........I had to get it off my chest.

Freezer Jam

Our little Sarah Beth turned 15 in May.  She is such a fun girl who LOVES to laugh, take pictures and videos, and enjoy life.  

Saturday she started Driver's Ed.  She came home that day with so much new information about driving.  She was detailing out to us the dangers of driving.  She seemed fairly confident that she knew most of what there is to know!  

When she got finished on Sunday her friend Haley had her dad pick them up.  We were still at Mamaw Clara's house eating pizza with her and so they just dropped her off there.  We visited a little longer and when it was time to leave Sarah Beth begged her daddy to let her drive the short distance to our house.  After all, she was an expert golf cart driver and had 2 days of driver's ed.  She was practically an expert!

So, off we go.  Daddy is in the front seat with her and I am behind the passenger's seat with the rest of the girls scattered in the back seat.  

All was well.........until we pulled into the driveway.  As we pulled into the garage for some reason Sarah Beth was going back and forth between the brake and the gas.  

All of a sudden she stomped the GAS!  definitely not the break.  We jerked forward and crashed into the freezer which is directly in front of my parking spot.  

If it looks like the hinges are broken off the door..........that's because they are!!!  She bowed not just the entire door, but the freezer itself, too.  The freezer even crashed into the sheet rock and broke it in the shape of the freezer.

Oh, yes.............I screamed.  Emma and I both did.............loud.

There were tears, promises never to drive again, embarrassment, and refusal to get out of the car. At least she was sufficiently humble:/   

 (Emma went inside with Lily and told her not to ask SB about it and not to laugh....sweet).

After Zack's initial comment, "well that was a nice $1000 drive home........" we set to work assuring her that she would drive again and we did love her.  She might as well laugh because she was going to be teased for a long time!  Zack had her pose with the freezer and write a message right on the freezer.   

She was smiling in short order.  And planning a facebook post!  And what a story we had to tell Taylor in the next morning's letter. 

Here are the comments received on facebook........Zack's is a favorite!

And she did pull the car back into the garage......after an emergency trip to Gwen's to store all our frozen food.  

• • Mary-Catherine Zachary Goood job babycakes

    Sunday at 8:51pm ·  ·  1 person
  • 

    Aubrey Arnold pffttt haha

    Sunday at 8:53pm · 
  • 

    Laura Bennett Gardner ‎(snicker)

    Sunday at 9:02pm ·  ·  1 person
  • 

    Kristi LeDoux Bult Gotta watch those random fridges.

    Sunday at 9:03pm ·  ·  3 people
  • 

    Jenny Laughlin PAHAHAHAHAHA!

    Sunday at 9:06pm · 
  • 

    Matthew Allen Well... you have an interesting story. You weren't driving an automatic, were you?

    Sunday at 9:10pm · 
  • 

    Mary-Catherine Zachary Yes she was ^

    Sunday at 9:10pm ·  ·  1 person
  • 

    David- Zack- Zachary It's not uncommon to hit a deer in a car but SB managed to take out deer sausage.

    Sunday at 9:27pm ·  ·  9 people
  • 

    John Sanders Driving... it just gets in the way when your texting. Ha!

    Sunday at 9:30pm · 
  • 

    Melinda Chapman Andrews Just what are they teaching in that driver's ed class?

    Sunday at 9:35pm · 
  • 

    Sarah-Beth Zachary i wasn't texting...i mistake the gas and brake peddle...

    Sunday at 9:35pm · 
  • 

    Melinda Chapman Andrews Don't feel too bad. At least it was not another car!

    Sunday at 9:40pm · 
  • 

    Michael Nevils a little bondo and some spray paint always fixes it :)

    Sunday at 9:52pm · 
  • 

    Katie Carter haha! this is too funny:) hey sarah beth, try using just ur right foot for both and get used to it so u wont mistake them. my great grandfather was an officer and said the mistake most people that have recks are is when they get in a wreck, they panick and end up using the wrong peddle. if you only use ur right foot, it wont happen..try that! maybe will help;) and btw this is way too funny!

    Sunday at 9:53pm ·  ·  1 person
  • 

    David- Zack- Zachary No spray paint and bondo here.....what you can't see is the door is completely off the hinges, and the right side is cratered. Additionally, the whole freezer was impaled into the sheetrock leaving a perfect outline of the freezer.

    Sunday at 10:19pm · 
  • 

    Susan Duplantis Afraid to ask...WHAT were you driving?

    Sunday at 10:20pm · 
  • 

    Michael Nevils lol.. gota love Sarah Beth!!!

    Sunday at 10:21pm · 
  • 

    Wendy Pass Turner I hate it when solid objects jump in front of me and make me hit them!

    Sunday at 10:22pm ·  ·  3 people
  • 

    Lindsey Hudson Vichitnand Oh no! My sister did this recently too. She hit some shelving and ended up pushing the back wall of the garage almost off the slab, you could see the grass in the back yard through the crack! Hope that is the only thing that got hurt and not any people or cars! Just take comfort in that you aren't the first person that has mixed up peddles! Good luck with the rest of your driving experiences! :)

    Sunday at 11:47pm · 
  • 

    Gwen Dees Pogue I love that the post before this was about driver's ed! This will be a funny story forever and I'm sure your dad will make it better and better as the years go on.

    Yesterday at 12:17am ·  ·  3 people
  • 

    Claire Methvin Darn!! I wish I was in the car with you when it happened!!!! Its on my bucket list to be in a car crash!! haha!!

    Yesterday at 10:39am · 
  • 

    Claire Methvin Oh by the way.. Love your shirt!!!! haha!

    Yesterday at 10:39am · 
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    Andrea Braud Zachary Susan. She does NOT drive the Shelby!

    Yesterday at 11:24am · 
  • 

    Susan Duplantis That's a relief

    Yesterday at 11:33am · 
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    Wendy Pass Turner Andrea, you should let her drive the Shelby!!! Better yet, you should let ME drive the Shelby!

    Yesterday at 1:41pm ·  ·  1 person
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    Karen K Daniels Isn't the pool just beyond the wall of the refrigerator???It could have been a lot worse. You are a real sport SB. You know you are going to hear about this for a while. Good to see you smiling. I think you should practice your pedals in the Shelby.

    21 hours ago · 
  • 

    Andrea Braud Zachary You are more likely to drive the Shelby than SB! Come by....Zack will let you! Haha

    21 hours ago ·