Summer Sandbox

Finally Finally I had a small break today!

I've had my face stuck either in my camera

or behind my computer screen for almost 3 full weeks now.

This is always my busiest time of year.

And every year I forget how the time crunch of

Graduation looms overhead

while I try to get all

the Senior pictures taken, cropped, edited,

and invitations made, ordered and delivered.

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I finished getting almost

ALL my WORK done

by 2 o'clock today and

decided to take the rest of the

afternoon off and play with my guys

who were already on a MISSION.

The BOYS had set aside today to

get Brady's summer sandbox built and ready to play in.
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My sweet Brad.....

who can build absolutely ANYTHING in the world

took Brady to Lowes and bought LUMBER and SAND.

They got home and quickly got to work. space

In LESS than an hour...

The sandbox was made and the hole

was being dug to set it down in.

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Of course...

Brad had a little extra HELP

from a small, barefooted, toddling worker.
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YET somehow still managed to get it

ALL DONE...

Looks to me however

like there was a LITTLE Bribery going on.
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After a few kisses and 600 lbs of SAND..

The SANDBOX was ready

for a shovel and a little man.
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As you can see from the SMILE....

The sandbox was a big success...

and now as my life is about to slow down some...

I can promise that we will all have a little

sand between our toes.
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May we NEVER get so busy that
we can't take a moment to
STOP and remember how much
fun a Little Sand can be.

NEVER Trust a Magazine

Yesterday I tried on my Bathing Suit

for the first time this season..

I only have ONE word to say about that

GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSS !!!!!

Then while I was in line at Wal-Mart

(looking at all the magazines)

I quickly realized that I am

sooooooooooooooooooooooo GLAD

that I am not famous

and people aren't snapping pictures of me in my bathing suit

and putting them on the covers on magazines.

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So... I though I'd do a little demo

to show all of us REAL women

who hate our cellulite .... but learn to live with it

THAT... all those PERFECT women on the pages

of the magazines we all read

ARE NOT REAL !!!!
I quickly did these in Photoshop CS3 to show you

NEVER TRUST A MAGAZINE !!!!

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IIn the above photo...

I made myself about 8 months prego

with a little J-Lo booty

using the Bloat Tool in Liquify Filters

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Then I went the opposite route and gave

myself a slight starved look with some

Pamela Anderson BOOBS..

Notice I even added some bigger boobies to my assistant.
I also did this in Liquify using the move tool

and the Pucker tool.

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Here is the original picture...

Scroll back up and see what can be done

in about 2 minutes...

So.... the next time you see some poor

Celebrity whose butt they have plastered

all over the cover

showing how much weight she's packed on.....

DON'T BELIEVE IT !!!!!!!!!!

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Here's another quick example using the same

Liquify Filters....

This one is the straight out of the camera shot.
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Then I removed about 20 pounds.

From my legs, arms, waist, and hips.
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Then I added about 20 pounds
to all the same places ...
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So... women of the world.....
GIVE Yourselves A BREAK...
There isn't one person out there who is perfect.
Yes their butts may be tighter or smaller...
but I can promise you that
IF they are in a magazine
they've been airbrushed and LIQUIFIED...
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May we stop comparing ourselves
to things that
DON'T even Exist.

Heavenly Hair

Just in case any of you were mistaken....

NO THIS IS NOT ME. haha

BUT... I would love to have her hair...

I'm not sure if it is

1. My age

2. My hormones

3. My hereditary genes

4. My plain ole' Bad Luck.....

BUT my hair is getting thinner.

It seems to be falling out WAY WAY more than it used to.

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I've had blood work done... and all came back just fine.

So... I'm going with the theory of the age or hormone thing.

IS anyone else out there in the mid 40's range having HAIR DRAMA ?

I would LOVE to know any secrets

to getting that big ole' fluffy mound of hair I used to have back.

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TThen there is always the CUT or NOT TO CUT question.....

I bounce back and forth with that one on a daily basis..

and.........

I'm I the only one who seems to think that some times

your darn hair looks better at night

right before you go to bed than it has looked all day long.....

EVEN after you fixed it...

WHY is that?????

HELP Blog World....

my pony tail is getting so small

that my hand wears out wrapping

that little band round and round...

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May we all appreciate a head of FABULOUS hair..

and if you don't have it... then appreciate great hair spray.

Looking for CALM

Ok... this week I have been having a series of

shall we say "moments"....

I know it is mostly because of the "TOO MUCH" going on my life.

But... never the less it is still a MOMENT.

When I get in FRAZZLE mode

my mind starts searching

for PEACE and CALM.

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(Brady and I on the beach in Galveston)

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In my search of CALM I start getting RID of everything

that I do not absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE.

SO... I made my self sit down and figure out WHY.

I decided it is because my head seems to know

way before the rest of me figures out

TO SIMPLIFY...

I thought I'd start by digging through

my stash of magazines & home decorating books.

The pictures I was drawn to most every single time

were the simple clean lines, & the tone-on-tone white ones.

HUMMMMMMMMMM....

(Not exactly the Look I've got going)

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This is the view out my window from our River Property..

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Being there is the best CALM in my WORLD.

SO....... when I get home from my busy weekend out of town

shooting Senior Pictures

I am going to get busy

working on building some CALM/SIMPLE in my house.

I will have to work on the WHITE part

since I have a house FULL of COLOR.... but

maybe I can slowly blend in the WHITE

with bits of Fabulous EYE POPPING

WOW WEE color thrown in

and of course a few polka dots...

Here are a few places that are inspiring the CALM in me.

If you have time....

Take a LOOK !

http://www.fadedplains.blogspot.com/

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http://www.prairiehome.typepad.com/

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http://www.younghouselove.com/

(go to their home tour)..... It's a total WOW!

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May your weekend be filled with

Bliss and Blessings,

and of course a few DOTS !!

Some Kind of HERO

This Weekend we ALL went to watch

BRENT play in Midwestern State University's

Spring Football Game.

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I can not tell you how excited I was to get to see him PLAY again.

His transition from college Baseball to college Football

has been a long, hard, uphill battle.
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I am so proud of him for holding STRONG to his dream

even on the days when he felt the sparkle fading.

He hung in there and remembered that

most every GREAT someone starts at the BOTTOM.

It's the climb that builds the character

that no one can take away.

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He's #32.

I am 100 % certain that I have NO CLUE what

he was doing, or what anyone else was doing.

I only know that he looked perfectly wonderful doing it!.

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Monk Monk... (Brady's dearest WELL loved friend)

who was such a fabulous fan......

Also thought Brent looked incredible.

He plays Wide Receiver,
and I do know that most of the time a receiver
is a blocker while they wait patiently for
THE LONG BOMB PASS
when they get to score a touchdown.
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I just could not get over how much BIGGER
he looked in PADS than the last time I saw
him in them during his last High School Game.
WOW..... he's gain 21 pounds
since he moved from baseball to football..
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It must be a "GUY THING",

because I would have a Hard Time calling this FUN !
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BUT.... HE LOVES it.....
AND I LOVE seeing him do anything that he LOVES..
and most importantly of all
I Love seeing him Happy !!!
That's pretty much all a mother can wish for.
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After the game was over all the parents and fans

got to go down on the field to meet and greet

the players and coaches.

Somehow amongst the sea of players...

Brady spotted his bubba and took off.

I couldn't see him and almost panicked

until I spotted this !!!!!
I'm pretty sure it is one of my favorite pictures EVER !

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There was just something about getting to his brother,

and putting on that helmet that caused a little fellow

to feel just as big as the guy we all call BUBBA.

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Brent has No IDEA the impact he has upon us all.

He is the always quiet HERO we all lean on, love on, and look up to.
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There is no greater THRILL in all the world

than seeing a smile on the faces of MY CHILDREN !

Every time I look into their eyes I feel like

I've been given a GIFT I did not deserve.

I am so thankful that I am the one they call Mom !!
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May we NEVER take a single day

with our children for granted.

If you treat them as though there is not

a single person in the WORLD like them....

Then there WON'T BE !

Under The INFLUENCE

Sorry to all My BLOg buddies..

I have been in a whirl-wind of STUFF the last couple of weeks.

But... as I have learned with ALL the other

tough moments in my life

This too shall PASS!!!

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Those of you who have been reading my BLOg for very long

know about our ongoing battles with the High School Cheerleading Sponsor.

Truly I can not even think of one nice thing to say about her.

So... for the most part I will leave it at that.

It has made me appreciate ALL THE MORE however

the competitive team she also cheers for.

The coaches there have been the most wonderful people

to be a part of their program.
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This is one of Brook's very favorite coaches at the gym..

Mr. T.... has been such a motivator, and such a fun man to work with.

Brook has always been a pleaser and has been my child who

triples her effort for a little praise.

T must have figured that out early and Brook

just thought he was simply incredible..
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WE had our last competition and ended it with a BANG.

The girls won high point and got another Jacket...

She's been cheering since she was 6 and I must say

we have gathered lots of jackets along the way. haha

But... this one was special because it was her last time

to cheer in Fort Worth.
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After lots of thought, pros and cons list making,

many many prayers, and a meeting with one strangely evil woman...

who will not allow Brook to cheer for Southwest High School next year

because (I summarize) she doesn't like ME.

Mind you... I have had ONE conversation with the woman..

She doesn't think that she can be fair to Brook!!

WHAT ?????

I wasn't aware you could do that in public school.

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BUT... I refuse to let whatever MUST be wrong with that woman

push me anywhere near the edge of NEGATIVE..

I have secretly cried several buckets of tears, and

wondered how in the world someone like that can be

in charge of teenage girls.

BUT... one night as I lay in my bed wondering WHY..

I felt a strange sense of peace knowing that

MY CHILD... My one and only GIRL

will no longer be under the influence of

a woman who (in my opinion) has NOOOOOOOOOO

business being in a position of leadership.

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Teenagers have a hard enough time

making it through this world we call LIFE...

and MAYBE it takes a GIANT push from a source you

never expected to realize that sometimes

it's just NOT WORTH IT !!!!

After a ridiculous meeting with the principal of Southwest High School

she assured me that this decision was in the best interest of MY child.

As I left her office in tears I wondered HOW.....

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BUT... now I know

we have decided that it would be best for Brook

to go back to Snyder for her Senior Year.
She, Brady and I will be moving there the first of August

for her to start school in a place that

even after being gone for 4 years......

STILL feels a lot like HOME.

I know it won't be easy only seeing Brad on weekends,

but... it's ONLY for 10 months...

people in the military do it all the time.

Men and Woman all over the world make

sacrifices for their children.

We only have one shot at raising them...

and all we can do is our BEST..

So... to all of Brook's friends

who will be trying out for cheerleader tomorrow

at Southwest High School without her...

We do wish you the very best of LUCK...

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May we all realize that God promises us

ALL things work together for his good.

Not some things, and NOT only the things we expected....

But ALL things !!!

Thursday Thoughts

I can't believe it's been a WEEK...

Everyone in our house has been trading being sick this week,

and the last one to get it was my Little Man..

And when he feels bad... nothing works but

MOM being attached to his every move.

I have to secretly say that...

I do pretty much enjoy those moments..

He doesn't let me sit and rock with him much any more.

SO... the last couple of days sitting in our chair

with lots of snuggles while we rocked was

truly a tad bit of pleasure for me...
This morning however... he woke up and

wanted to go OUTSIDE....

So we grabbed our bucket of animals and headed out.

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Brady is not a big toy playing kid...

He really only plays with his monkeys, dinosaurs, books,

and most of all...

HIS bucket of animals..

(some of which were Brent's, and are now 20 yrs. old)
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Today while we were playing he disappeared

and went back in the house..
He came out with his Noah book,

and said "Read it Momma"
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I giggled (sometimes out loud) as he started
acting out what I was reading..
Here he is building his arc..
Pretty good work I think for only pliers. haha
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We loaded our animals on 2 by 2..
It amazed me that he matched up his little critters.
And if he had 3 of something then....
sorry to say they didn't make our arc.
He only took the "mom and baby matches"
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You have to stretch your mind a little to follow our story.
Unless maybe every one's Noah wears a Safari suit,
and their arc looks strangely like a dump truck. haha
But... I've gotta say that's what made our story
Most Fabulous !!!
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Once he had all this arc loaded up,
he drove it all around the yard
"it was a short rainy season" haha............
then he took all his matches off of our "boat"
and placed them safely on dry land.
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I don't know for sure....

but I'm pretty positive that God was looking down

today at one little fellow ... smiling

Because I was certainly looking at him today thinking.....

that he is the very best of each of us

and I am 100% sure that I smiled...

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May we never forget that right in the middle

of an ordinary day...

God can smile right straight down on you !