Summer feet

I just had to post this, as gross as it may seem. My kids have been pretty much barefoot all summer long. This wasn't the case in Bham, b/c our yard had stickers, and we just didn't play outside as much. With our flatter, smoother yard, and great driveway, they are outside at least half of the day. So, the other night I glanced at O's feet and thought she had blisters.....well, they aren't blisters. They're callouses! That's what I call a "well-traveled" summer.

I'm also posting pics of our Pre-Cotillion graduation. One thing they learned was to "sit pretty." O is doing a lovely job of it, even sitting on the edge of a stage, but notice E's legs, just sprawled out without a care. Not sure how deeply she comprehended the week, but maybe I'll see results some day. The girl loves a microphone, though. Thank goodness she wasn't wearing a mini-skirt.

A picture of the Well-Mannered family.

Good manners and visitors

This week, instead of sending O to camp at the Country Club where she would swim, play tennis, learn golf, play games,etc, etc, I, for some reason, chose to send her to "Junior Cotillion Camp." I know, sounds harsh, doesn't it? I just didn't know if she would be able to make it all day long at the other camp, and, selfishly, I didn't know what to do with E while she was gone all day.(it wasn't offered for her age) So, this "manners" camp is just for an hour and a half, and E goes to the class offered earlier in the day. I figured, hey, it definitely can't hurt! Although I feel like I've drilled manners into them from day 1, I think my voice just comes across in that Charlie Brown teacher voice to them, you know, Waaah, waaah, wah, wwaaah, waaah. They do not hear me lecture anymore. I am totally blocked out. Anyway, the girls seem to be having fun, and learning, but not yet applying. I am looking forward to some application. Drew and I visit class on Thursday, so I'll post on how it goes.

We also had a fun visit today from Nana, Papa and cousin Hannah. Nana got a fancy new car (looooong past due) and they all wanted to see our new kitty, Belle, and get H on the new playset. They all had a ball, H didn't want to leave, O and E didn't want her to leave, and Nana and Papa sufficiently took up my whole afternoon so I didn't have to clean my house. These pictures show all too well the shape my playroom was(still is!) in. Papa, you are not afraid to get beat up by some grandaughters. What were you, E's horse? giddyup.

Father Daughter Ball, 2008

We had the Daddy-daughter dance tonight. It took an hour and a half to get them all fancied up. They partied with their Daddy and 4 cousins and uncles and had a great time. They arrived home around 9:00 with a bag of loot, and a few exhausted tears(E) Here is a sequence of pics from the night. They look a little too old for me. Dear Lord, help me when they become teenagers...

Haircuts and kitty cats

I am certifiably an idiot. I got it in my head that I wanted to "trim" M's hair, as she seemed to be growing in a little blonde mullet. So, I searched for my tiny sewing scissors that I used to cut the other girls hair when they were little with, and I couldn't find them. So...I got my shears. M wouldn't be still, but I started "trimming." I guess angling shears doesn't do much for a haircut. The poor girl had a "weight line" across the back of her head. (will post pics). I tried to clean it up, but made it worse. I rushed her to the beauty shop, and a girl fixed it for me, but it's still mighty short. It looks pretty pitiful, in actuality. I just have to laugh at it or I will cry! She looks like Peter Pan.
We also got a new kitten today! My brother found it in the back yard, and we volunteered to take it. I used to not be a cat person, but in the last few years i've encountered a few cool cats, and I thought an outdoor cat lounging on my back porch would be pretty peaceful. Something about sitting on a porch stroking a cat's back is calming. We could use calming around here! The girls are ecstatic. M is the funniest...she just follows it around and makes cooing noises to it. Precious.

Who's really in control?

I ask this question, knowing full well the answer. But I tend to fool myself into thinking I'm in control some of the time, when, I absolutely am NOT in control. However, it always takes a tragedy to bring it closer every now and then.
One of my best friends from high school's dad died on Monday after a motorcycle accident. He was in his early 50's, and very strong, and active. The suddenness of it all is just shocking, especially to his family. It's like, we just truck along in our lives, just taking for granted all of the little moments, and then, BOOM, we lose everything. I'm sure many people will say that God did that to my friend's father, or that it was unfair, but this is what I know. God loves us with a passion that is inconprehensible to us, and in the painful, gut-wrenching tragedies of our lives, He loves us even more, and has GREAT compassion on us. This world is broken, broken, broken, and He so grieves that is so. He yearns to make things right, and the joy is, He will! One day there will be no tears, no death, no sorrow!
But for now, we deal with the brokenness. And it hurts.
You know how a child just says it best? Here's a "funny" from E. She's at my sister's house tonight, and watching Evan Almighty. All of the kids start discussing the movie character of God (played by Morgan Freeman, who, by the way, I enjoy watching) and asking if it's really God. Well, here is a quote from my little precious uninhibited E: "God was just speaking to me, and He said that's not really Him, and His beard is longer than that, and He's telling me He loves me very much."
Oh, that we would all have the confidence to know how much He loves us.

Father's Day and my husband, the champion DAD

I always get teary-eyed for Father's Day. I'm not sure why, I don't get that way on Mother's day. It never fails, every church service just gets me...I get a lump in my throat, I look at my sweet husband and what a terrific Daddy he is to 3 girls, and I get choked up. Yesterday we got up and drove over to Amory for church with my Mom and Dad. After lunch and gift-giving, we headed back to Tupelo and prepared for dinner for Drew's parents. The girls were waaaay hyper all day long, because their Daddy just finished building this massive, incredible playhouse/swingset for them. I mean, it is REALLLY nice. O thinks Drew should change jobs and become a builder. She says he deserves an award for what he did. I agree! E says, "it's just what i always wanted!" (complete with dramatic facial expressions and hand motions). M is just bound and determined to climb all over it with the big girls. Is a 15 month old really supposed to be able to climb a rock-wall? I think we may have our future athlete in the family, Drew. Of course, at the end of the night, M had fallen off of the playset, O was continually getting overexcited and being too physical around her sisters,(I quote E, "She could have killed me!") and E was just plain GONE. I mean, she screamed for almost an hour last night. It's been a long time since she's done that, and Drew and I still can't believe it happened. Kids are exhausting. So, I'll post some pics soon of our last couple of weeks of adventure. I'm looking forward to a nothing sort of week, where we have little to no obligation.

Summer weekend

I love summer! Everything is so relaxed, and I don't even have to rush my kids to bed. However, it's becoming a problem, because the girls arent' getting into bed until around 9:00, and then that only gives Drew and I about an hour to veg out in front of the tv, and visit. For this reason, we're staying up a little later and it's killing us. Especially these last few days. M has "hand, foot and mouth," (blisters on her mouth, feet, and hands, and a fever)and she feels terrible so she's getting up at about 5:00am. Oh, sleep, will you ever come?
Our cookout went well. I was so proud of our girls. I don't know what they're taking, but they've been on their sweetest behavior these last few days. I guess I'll stop wondering why, and just enjoy it.
The cookout was fun, but it made me so homesick! I really miss our friends, and wonder when, or if, we'll find the same niche we had in Bham.
E and O are at Bible school, and sick M is napping. We're off to violin at 11:30. Why in the heck do I torture O and myself by making her go? Must reevaluate these lessons in the fall.

Am I cool enough to blog?

I was informed by a friend last night that the new "cool thing" for moms to do is to have a blog. I scoff at that, in a way, since I tend to reject things that I'm not familiar with, and act like it's a dumb thing to do. However--here I am, blogging, hoping it will give my girls some sense of history one day, since I absolutely refuse to scrapbook. This one's for you girls.

We're having a cookout at our house tomorrow night, so, in the usual fashion, Drew and I work like dogs when we're put under pressure. I have worked in the yard like I've never worked before. It looks good-Drew is a master when it comes to the lawn.

M's asleep, O is watching a movie on sharks, and E is being a baby. Drew is also laying on the floor like a baby and E has covered him with a blanket and given him a bottle. Oh, life with girls, what a joy. Poor Drew.