Regret

Living with regret is an aweful thing. Life has a way of leaving one with regrets, and  the realization that there usually is not much one can do about it. I have several regrets in my life. Some I try not to think about. Some that are t that major. And some that reshaped my life. Sometimes regrets aren't that big of a deal. Like when you go to Sams and see the neatest little rocking horse you would like to give your child for Christmas, but its only May, so you say "I will get it next time." But of course its gone. But they can also hurt you. One such instance happened to me recently. 

    I have several friends here in Town that I know love caramel cake.  Every  time  I make caramel cake or my now famous cupcakes, I always think of them. Just a few weeks ago I was making the cupcakes and I thought, I could run a few by my old neighbors houses. But, I didn't. No time. Out of the way. But now, I have regret. One of the neighbors died Sunday afternoon. I cant take her one anymore.  Cant give her something to help her smile in her bedridden state. Regret. As soon as I heard the news I thought of it. If only I had done it when I thought of it..... Its too late now. But I just hate that I didnt do it.  Ugh. 

Moral of the story...just go ahead and do whatever it is that keep popping in your head to do. Its like the Bible teaches, life is like a vapor. Here today Nd gone tomorrow. We dont know what is in the future. So live now!!  No regrets...

Lost...???

No, friends, not lost or forgotten! We had to move suddenly, so my life took a little detour and there hasnt been much free time! But i am still here. There hasnt benn any sewing ir new baking recipies. But Go has been real in the last month or so! We are still with out a church. But God has kept Lee busy filling in and we have been to some really neat places.
God has continued to supply our every need. He is so awesome!! A sweet family gave us the use of their little rent house. We are camping out in one bedrm with wall to wall mattresses! And we are learning how to manage with one, yes, one toilet!! I believe living with out all the stuff may be a good thing! Simple life. Ahhhh.....
We also added a puppy to the herd. His namr is Dozer. He is an AKC boxer puppy. His daddy is almost a champion. He has championship pedigree. He is a lively boy, and we love him. He isnt hyper at all. And very smart. He is doing well in puppy kindergarten, too. Finn likes him, but Dixon cant stand the sight of him. Lol. He has grown so fast too. He is almost 4 months old. I will try to get a picture soon!!
Im going to make an effort to et back into the blog world!!

A little piece of Heaven

Sometimes in life, you come across something good. So good, in fact, that you just HAVE to share it. well, my friends, I have found just such a thing. It is a most wonderful, fabulous perfectly balanced cupcake you have ever eaten. I found it on Pinterest. Sorry it wasn't my own creation. I can't blog about how I played around with the reipie til it was perfect. I just make the chics recipie and fell in love. It was so wonderful,  had to put it here. Enter on to the scene: drum roll............
                                          Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Sorry this isn't the prettiest one. Those got snatvhed up pretty quickly. Most of them had a wonderfully huge swirl of goodness. I Used a

catch up

So I have been MIA for a little while. Have no fear, everything is ok. God has been taking care of our needs everyday. He never ceases to be so good to our family. We havn't been late with a bill or missed a meal. And He has even provided for some wants!
     So I have still been sewing. My friend put in a n n order. She is the sweetest. thing! She didn't even get frustrated with me when I would brain storm and come up with another cute thing that wasn't on her list! I had a wonderful time sewing for little Emery! She is Gracelyn-Joys friend. Emery also has 6 brothers! I think that is too cool. Anyways, I will leave you with a few pictures to catch you up. Nothing amazing, but cute.
I laid awake one night dreaming up this boutique set. The dress has an adorable pocket with a friendly crab hanging on. There are matching flip flops and headband also. I made a set for Gracelyn-Joy, too. Too cute for her not to have one!

This outfit was a combo of a ought pattern and my genius. (HAHA that was a joke. I saw a top like this and came home and tried to make it. I bought this fabric for next to nothing. I got there on the moment the lady was really NOT wanting to put it back on bolt. She gave me the fabric so cheap!

 This is so adorable. The reverse side is grey swirl with a panda head and a bow. really different and cute.

I made several other things but didn't get pictures. Thanks Erin! you are my one and only customer. lol. And I am ok with that. You are the best!! I love to sew for em an gj. So much fun.

 

 

Sewing frenzy

In the past month or so I have been on a sewing frenzy. A friend of mine bought some things I made and gave me a little bonus!! YAY! so that I could buy some fabric. SO, of course I took advantage of that. I am still working on one more. SLow go on that since havn't had time to sit and smock lately.

 I just love brother sister outfits. These seersucker ones are so comfy!

 This bishop is fab! I love the coral and peach and citrus colors. IT took 8-12 hours to smock this bishop. LOVE IT.

a moment....

Any of you moms seen the best movie ever, Mom's Night Out?? That has to be one of the best movies ever. Allie has to be me made over. Every thing she says and does is Cristen. Maybe that is why it is so hilarious. And one of my favorite parts is where she talks about having a "moment". I am giggling now. Her moment is when the bomb goes off and she feels crazy and nearing saying things she shouldn't. MY, how I can relate. Can't you?? Do you ever have a "moment'? When the stress levels with the children are getting to the blowing up point, and the baby is crying and only wants YOU, and the two smallest are fussing, and the oldest is having a TEEN moment, and daddy is gone somewhere??? Well, my friend, there is help. Jesus is here for us. We just have to take time to seek His face. Pray for strength. Honestly, sometimes I do this, and still fail. But I am a work in progress.
   If you haven't seen the movie, its definitely worth buying. It will make you laugh a lot, and really has a good message. Being a mom IS crazy hard. But its the best job in the world!

Happy Birthday Brennen

Happy Birthday, my sweet baby boy!
   I can't believe that you are one year old today. As I write this, I am thinking about that day we met you. Right now I was laughing and talking with your daddy, Grandmother, and Grand pop. At 10:30 am I got out of bed and started walking around the room. Immediately the contractions kicked in. You came into the world at 11:30. IT was one of the most awesome days ever. I wanted to have you without pain meds, and I DID IT! I was very proud of myself. I had planned and prepared for your birth the entire pregnancy. I had determined to do it naturally. I really don't think many people thought, after 7 epidurals, that I would do it. But I did. God gave me everything I had prayed for. I asked him to give me a safe, fast, fairly pain free birth. And that is exactly what I got!!!
     I am so proud to have you. my little snuggle bum, as a son. You are the sweetest little baby. You don't cry very much at all. You have stayed a little baby much longer than most of your siblings. You still aren't walking, and that is just fine with us!
     I prayed for you so much. I wanted another baby so bad. I was so afraid God had closed my womb and there wouldn't be any more. I was very excited and thankful to welcome you into our family.
     I pray that you will always be sensitive to the Lord. That God would always be first in your life. That you will never stray from the path He has for you.
     Lord, thank you for this small arrow that is such a huge part of our lives. Thank you, Lord, that we didn't say no to one more gift from You. Help me be a good mom so that Brennen can grow up to be a great soldier for You. That he will be brave and strong and never tire of serving You all his days. Thank you so much for the honor to raise him. Help me and his daddy to always point him to you, and raise him the way You would want.
                                                               In Jesus' name,

                                                                     amen.

Cubbie

Time flies so quickly. My sweet baby boy, Brennen, will be a year old tomorrow. I can not believe it has been a year already. We had his party Saturday. The house was full of friends and family. (maybe a lot full!) My friend, Sidra, and I had spent many days planning and preparing decorations for his big day. (Thank you pinterest!) I used my Cricut machine and stamps to work wonders. Sidra graciously came and burned the midnight oil. Big thanks, my friend!!!
     It took three tries to get his outfit just right. The first time I didn't like my thread choice. The second timeit was waaaaaay too big. The third time it was just right.
I chose a koala theme. MY kids made up this game years ago called Hangy's Pets. Caleb(hangy) is the owner of a petshop and all the other kids are the animals. So Brennen was named Cubbie and he is the koala cub since he has always grabbed oour shirts and held on. So Cubbie stuck. And a koala theme was born.
    Koalas are really cute. And they were everywhere. Pictures will tell the story. We had a great time and above all, Brennen seemed to really enjoy his first big day.
   

Little things

Our life has changed a lot in the last two weeks. My husband resigned from the church, and now we are unemployed with a large family. We need to e moving from the parsonage by mid June. The boys have started playing baseball, too. But the Lord is faithful when you follow His path. He will provide for your needs, and more often than not, give you lots extra. I wont bore you with all the ways God has provided already, this past week or so. But one hing I thought was really neat happened yesterday. But I didn't even realize it until this morning.
     I had several dresses I didn't need, so I had two friends I was going to sell the different things to. One set had a couple of smocked things Nd an appliqued dress. The others were nice dresses. I was going to drop off that set then pick up my check with the other set. At the first stop, I really felt I should just give them to her. After I got in the car I told her I wasn't going to cash the check. The next stop w the fancy stuff, I dropped it in the mailbox. She told me she had written check for a few extra dollars as a happy.
      It didn't dawn on me until today that God had given me even more than I had given up! Ain't God good?? And that was just a little thing. He really will take care of us!!

Easter 2015

Easter. The most wonderful time for a Christian. Spring is in the air, flowers are blooming, the birds are singing again, and the air is fresh after the rain. (I won't mention the pollen that covers everything like frosting on a cake.)
    It's the time we Christians remember what our Lord did for us. He came down to earth, grew, then began a wonderful ministry on earth to show His love for us. After 33 years of life, men nailed Him to an aweful cross, where he hung there, between Heaven and earth. He did it for us! He died for me. And you. How amazing it is to think He could do that for me. I am so thankful.
    This year I wanted to do some things to celebrate spring, and Easter. We took the week off of most of our school, and played and did fun things. MOnday morning we took our pups to the park and had a picnic. We hid plastic eggs, we played outside, and we had a few snacks.

One night we had Bunny pancakes for supper.

On Thursday we had Calebs birthday meal and I made bunny garlic Resurrection Rolls. Got that idea off....you guessed it......Pinterest.
You need crescent rollds, marshmallows, butter, and cinnamon sugar. you unroll the rolls. I talked with the kids about how the roll represented the grave. The marshmallows represented Jesus. We talked about why Jesus had to die on the cross. I drove home the point that because they didn't obey me, were hateful to their brother, or snuck candy, that Jesus had to die because we sinned. we dipped the marshmallow in butter. Then put cinnamon sugar all over it. Then we tolled the marshmallow up in the roll like the wrapped Jesus up in graveclothes. Then we put them on the pan and baked them. I told them while they were in the oven that it was like Jesus being in the grave three days. The aroma was sweet. Isn't that just like our Jesus??? Out of the oven they came. We talked about that first Easter Sunday, the women went to the tomb but it was empty!!! (At this point in the discussion, I was about to cut the roll, and was praying it had turned out and I didn't look like an idiot!!) I took a roll, cut it open, and there was nothing but empty space inside. Woo hoo! it was a really cool visual. And tasty too. And even Jack, 5, and Gracelyn-Joy, 3, enjoyed it and answered questions.

FUN 14th

We all went to the Ole Miss baseball game for Calebs birthday gift. We took our friend, Sidra, and another family form Dumas came, too. It was suppose to be warm and small chance of rain. But about the time we sat down it started to drizzle. It was cold too. oh, well. The Rebels palyed well, and beat Florida. We didn't stay for the whole game. We were all miserable. We had lunch at Wendys before the game, and went to Rebel Rags after that.
Now, Rebel Rags is worth mentioning. Imagine driving up in the parking lot to a little store front. We open the door, walk in, and your senses are flooded with OLE MISS everywhere!!! I mean, they had everything you could ever think of with the logo on it. Banners, shorts, dresses, pillows, key chains, glasses, yard decor, bedding, stickers, pencils, lipstick, raincoats, bows, etc. It was very over whelming.

Finns up, guys!!

Happy Birthday Caleb

Yesterday was your 14 th birthday. I still cant believe it. Just. Few months ago I held you in my arms, rocked you And read you book after book. You were a chubby blonde haired lil boy with smiling blue eyes. And now, you have grown into a handsome, smart, thoughtful, Godly young man. I'm so proud of you! You do great in school; I never have to fuss or beg or plead. You just get your work done with out a word. You love to learn, and thats so great!
     You are a good role model for your younger brothers. If they would listen and follow, they would be wise. Not that you are perfect. But you do strive to live right. Keep it up! God is proud, i know.
     The sweetest thing is seeing you care for your baby brother, Brennen. He loves you so much, and you have really learned how to care for him. You change diapers, rock him to sleep, entertain him in the car, and tell him all about the Ole Miss Rebels. Lol.
      My prayer for you is that you will always love the Lord. That you will always have a soft heart, and stand strong. You have already read the Bible through once, and on your way through it again. Keep His Word in your heart. I know the Lord has a great plan for your life. I cant wait to see it unfold. Im so proud that God sent you to us and that I'm your mom. Im proud to say you are my oldest son, and I love you so much! Happy birthday!

Happy belated birthday, Reece.

Well, I'm only a month and a half late writing you your birthday letter. I decided sometime last year this was something i wanted to start doing. Then I began this blog and knew I could wrote it here and save it forever! Sorry it is so late.
    Happy Birthday, Reece. I cant believe it has been ten years already, since you were born. We got to hold you three weeks early because of a kidney stone. You were such a surprise, with a head FULL of soft black hair. You were tiny. Leas than 18 inches! Such a sweetie. Now you are a big boy. Double digits! You are the family clown a lot. You love to laugh and make us laugh at your crazy antics. You like to sing with this funny deep gravelly voice. Sometimes we dont appreciate your humor though....
You are doing very well in school. I dont have to fuss at you much, about getting your work done. I am grateful for that. Now baseball season is about to begin. All of you boys love to play. I hope you do your best this year.
     Reece, I know God has a special plan for you. Somethimg great that only you can accomplish. I hope as you grow older, tht you will always love Jesus, that you will try to serve Him, and never forget what your dad and I have tried to teach you about God and how we should all live. I pray you will grow up to be a soldier for the Lord. Brave. Strong. Determined. May you never care what the world says about you. May you always allow the Lord to guide you and listen to His voice. We love you Reece!!!

Day 6 all things come to an end...

Today we travelled northwest. Originally we planned to drive to Atlanta and spend the night. But we decided that winter weather heading west was a problem. So we drove 668 miles northwest. We drove through four states, stopped about 5 times, and was in the vehicle more than 10 hours!! Where in the world are the Dillard's? If you guest back in northeast Mississippi, you win the game!! we made it safe and sound, and sane! The kids were mostly very good the whole way. I was proud of them. Lee did a fantastic job of driving and I didn't go crazy in the back seat entertaining babies...well..., mostly! ha.
I've enjoyed this little game with you all. Thanks for playing along and reading my entries! Hope it was a little bit of fun.
The excitement for today included a fun stop at Bass Pro Shop, seeing all the wild dead animals that are stuffed there, and  the boys played the laser gun shooting game. And, when we got home the heat was out and it was 52 degrees in here! YIKES. Thankfully, a man in church was able to whiz on over and fix it very quickly.yippeee. Now, for a decent nights sleep in my own bed. Hoping baby sleeps better too.  It's suppose to snow a bunch tomorrow. we shall see......

day 5

our last day was wonderful. we spent the morning at the beach. The boys played football, looked for sharks teeth, and shells, and talked to the sea gulls.  Had  a late lunch a mc ds, and then back to the motel to pack up and shower. That night we ate at red lobster. not much action really. lol. We also really cheated and had ice cream for dessert. Oh, well. We can eat healthy another day.. hehe.

Here are some pics of the kids enjoying 78 degree weather at the beach.

And Brennen was having so much fun sleeping. What a sweetie!!

Jack Frost

I hate winter. Sure, if you live in a place that has snow, or Christmas all year, it might be nice. But, here in the south, we don't get snow that much. We get cold dreary weather, with lots of cold rain. or ICE. ice is awful. It causes wrecks, power outages, and slippery sidewalks. Dangerous business. I am a warm weather gal, I inherited my dads cold feet. So the whole winter is spent looking for signs of spring. I wish the days away. Thankful each one is getting more and more sunlight.
     But even I know beauty when I see it. So I will share some of it with you. It really was a pretty sight, even though its not my favorite thing.

And, also, I saw some daffodils the other day..................

Gracelyn-Joy turns three

My baby girl is getting so big so fast. Here are a few pics from her party. only a couple of friends were able to come this time. Family was all sick. But all the weeks of planning and hours of cooking and prep were still worth it. I got most of my ideas off Pinterest. isn't that a wonderful idea place??? btw, the strawberry cheesecake bites were incredible!!!! I made the yummy cake and made the little strawberries with marshmallow fondant. a chore, but worth it!!! I also made her cute dress. She loved her special day.

day four

well, today was Sunday. It was absolutely perfect weather. Since the website said the beach was just a mile down the road, I decided during nap to take the four oldest boys to the beach so they could play football. well,  that mile was more like two!! But we made it safely. The sun and clouds and cool breeze and 70 degrees temps made it fabulous!! Everyone hit the beach today. wasn't hardly room at all to sit. I looked for awhile for a sharks tooth, but no luck. We found a few neat shells. The boys played some football, too. Then Lee texted that Brennen was missing me. So we headed back. My knee was out, ,and I had a few bunions on my feet by the time we got back.. But I hope it worked off a few of the pounds I have gained since being off my diet. UGH.
        We also had our very first from -the -tree -to -our -mouth ,perfectly ripe ,Florida oranges! They are soooo juicy and wonderful. Nate made OJ with his.
Here is a pic  of my room this morning. Sweet. QUIET.

 Neptune Beach, FL.

Tomorrow is our last day at this spot. Then it is time for some back home excitement!! I am ready to get our fur kids back. I sure hope they remember us. By now it has been an eternity and they don't think we are coming back. sad.

Day three

I am laying in bed now. Next to me is a sweet 9 month old baby boy, breathing softly as he sleeps. In the  other bed Nathan and Andrew are asleep. Today was busy. We bought some shoes this am, then headed to the beach. The boys played football, Gracelyn-joy happily found shells, and i laid back and  soaked up some warm Florida sunshine. It was great...until GJ rubbed her eyes with a sandy hand, and Brennen face planted into the sand too! Thankfully no lasting problems.
     We ate a late lunch at Tonys brick oven pizzeria. Fab food! We have eaten there before. Fantastic. They throw the dough up in the air, cook it in a brick oven,(bet you couldn't have guessed that), and it is wonderful. I had the veggie delight calzone. Its HUGE! Filled with veggies and ricotta And mozzarella cheeses. Dip it in sauce and you have a taste of heaven on earth!! Needless to say, I ate every bit of it.
pic a little blurry. lol.

      We came on back to the motel and stayed. I took a little nap. We had supper in the room. Now all is quiet. Tomorrow is the Lords day. It is suppose to be a wonderful day. We will really soak in the warmth. Going back to Mississippi will definitely be a bummer after this. Especially with all the winter weather.
       Now its time for sleep. Another day awaits!

The fur kids

 

We had a photo shoot to capture how the boys are growing, and how handsome they are getting. The brothers, Finn and Bubbles, are 3 months old now. Going to puppy kindergarten, and stealing the show there while getting lots of attention.

 

 

 Finn

Dixon is almost 6 months old now. He is doing good. such a cutie. Reeces' little friend.

 

Bubbles, the newest member. My friend bought him when we got Finn. But after two weeks realized she wasn't home enough for these people loving dogs.

Happy Birthday Boys

Andrew was 7 Nov 28, 2014, and our Jack was 5 Nov 30. our first costume party. It was so much fun. Andrew was an awesome black jaguar, complete with tail and ears. Jack was a policeman, and Caleb was his bad guy. Caleb was a good sport, making Jack so happy.

Gracelyn-Joys costume was easy...a princess, of course!! I was a Queen, complete with white long gloves from my wedding, and my tiara....to match Gj .

Nate was an indian, his dog, S'mores, was a flower. Even pregnant Breeze was a butterfly!! Brennen was a Koala cub. Cute little Cubbie . Such fun we had. Happy birthday, BOYS!!

day two

This morning, we woke up, and packed up, and headed to breakfast. And, of course, if you see a Shoney's, stop and eat!!

We laughed at breakfast, because Caleb, almost 14, got a kiddie cup, but was charged and adult meal price!!!!

After we stuffed ourselves, we headed East, mostly on Interstate 10. We travelled 294 miles. On our way we stopped at our first gas station that had 3 restaurants  inside. This one had a Wendys, Dairy queen, and Subway. Who couldn't find something to eat there??? we were the side show to some peoples lunch, In a good way I guess. An older man couldn't quit staring, counting the kids, and smiling some more. He said we were the prettiest family he's seen in a while.
The only excitement today was Gracelyn-Joy had to potty on side of road. LOL. So, any ideas where we landed today? You guessed it. Right near Jacksonville, FL. It's called Neptune Beach. We found more cheap rooms at a Days Inn about a mile from the beach. Can't wait to hit the sand tomorrow. It is suppose to be 70 degrees. Can't wait to locates some shells and sharks teeth!!

First day

We left our house about 8 am Then we took our three fur babies to the vet to be boarded. Bless them. Then we headed south. We drove 432 southeast. We ended at a motel called Sandpiper Beacon Beach Resort. Thanks to trusty hotelcoupons.com, we had GREAT walk in rates. We actually go the last two rooms!!😳 it was about 5:30 pm. Then we ate at burger king, got a few things at wal mart, then headed back to the motel. What a place it is! In summer, it is really hopping. There is. Huge blowup slide out in the emerald green waters, beachfront playground, outdoor pool and lazy river. Face painting, smores, and even outdoor movies! Are you getting any ideas about where we are yet???
     But for cold day, they had a super heated indoor pool and lazy river. The steam rose off the water. The boys had a blast. Sadly, the room wasn't heated. So I, clad in my coat and two towels wrapped around me, watched them play. Teeth chattering!!
The return to the room was a mad dash in 30 degree weather! Lol. We had ice cream, of all things, then wat hed some tv and went to sleep!
    Have you figured it out yet??? If you said gulf shores, you'd be wrong!! We were in panama city florida!! Just for the night! We are on the move again.  Stay tuned...⛵️🚙

Where in the world are the Dillard's?

Life has been a rollercoaster lately. Burn out. Stress. Life. So, what does a body do when you get to feeling like you can't think straight? You go to the beach! WHAT!! In February?? Absolutely. Escape the cold icy winds and flee for refuge in the sunshine state! So I packed us up today, and we are leaving in the morning. Only one day of planning. Crazy, wild fun. So we will be heading south in the morning. Keep a watch here. I will be trying to post each day about the happenings our family comes across in the next few days!!! Along with catching you up on birthdays, christmas, and our puppies.

Stepping stones

Ive been thinking about Gods will lately. So many things seem to affect it. It seems mans option to choose seems to stand in the way. Other times it seems that what you thought was Gods will, turns into a crazy winding path that doesn't resemble any thing you thought it would. Sometimes in my life, I have been so sure of things. I knew without a doubt what God wanted me to do. But then circumstances changed and things didn't turn out as I thought. It was painful instead of  glorious. It was disappointing instead of exciting. Does this mean  I missed God? No. It doesn't mean that at all! IN fact, sometimes things change because there is something God needs to teach us before we are ready to go to the next stepping stone in life. And, after all, everything we do and very where we go are just stepping stones , taking us  one step closer to where He wants us. Steps closer to Home, in fact.
      Boy, some of the stepping stones are slick. Some are jagged. They aren't  all  pretty and ornate. They aren't all beautifully decorated for all to enjoy. Some are not fun in the least!!! But because our Lord knows everything, and has a perfect plan, each stepping stone on our path of life was lovingly placed at exactly the right place. Its the exact stone we need at that moment. Whether its an ugly, crude stone designed to make us call out to God for help, or a pretty stone that is full of beauty and happiness, we can trust that God has placed it there for us. Plans to make us better. Plans to prosper us. Jeremiah 29:11  Keep trusting Him.

The dogs in our lives....

We broughtt Finn home yesterday. Boy is he soft and cuddly. So far he just wants to cuddle. Yay! His puppy pad aim needs improvement. But I'm sure he will gee better.

Then there are the schnauzers. We still have one pup available. Poor cookie..... we haven't told he she hasn't sold, unlike her siblings. She is happy and I don't thing there is any reason to disrupt her happiness. They are growing and getting very playful.


NIA and Stormy, chilling out.

 Below is cookie. She still needs a home. Who could resist this face?????

Breeze is going to the vet next week, along with Dixon, and getting fixed. Then she will be ready to go to her new home. In about 2 weeks the pups will be old enough to leave!