Thankful

I love being a Mama. And I love being a Mama to these two girls!

Pumpkin Pickin'

Pumpkin Pickin', Food and Fun, we had a great time becausee you could come!!

Thanks friends for coming to my girls 4th birthday party at Berry Patch Farms. What a great day it was. My girl had 13 of her little friends at her party. How special is that??!! I was worried about her leaving all her friends back in Cali and it taking awhile to meet friends here in Georgia, but it has been great. We have met some very special friends here and are so thankful for them.

All the kids rode the hayride out to the pumpkin patch where they all picked out a pumpkin and then came back and decorated their pumpkins, went to the petting zoo, played on the playground and ate cake. It was a great day and we LOVE the pumpkin patch.

Fancy Nasty

No I did not mis-spell the title. Recently my daughter got a Fancy Nancy book from her Grandpa and Nini for her upcoming 4th Birthday. She loves Fancy Nancy. She loves that she is so "fancy and frilly." The funny thing is that she calls Fancy Nancy "Fancy NASTY." I fid that so funny. In fact while shopping lately, she saw a Fancy Nancy boardgame and yelled out, "Look Mama, It's Fancy NASTY. Fancy NASTY She's my favorite and so NASTY." What could I do.......I just laughed!

Blue Ridge, Georgia

So we packed up the girls and the car for a last minute trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was gorgeous. The trees were changing colors and the air was crisp. We rode the train to the TN/GA border. The kids had a lot of fun.

Proud. Just plain, proud.

Today is "voting day." The day I have the right to walk into my precint and cast my vote. Some may say that a single vote doesn't count. I don't believe that. In fact, I believe the opposite. Each and every persons vote DOES matter. Today as I drove up to my precint which happens to be at the Club House in the subdivision where I live I saw a line. And then I saw where the line began. I looked back at my 2 and 3 year old and thought, "Whew, what am I doing??!! This is not going to be a good experience." So as I parked the car and walked up to the end of the line I looked around. Looked at my watch. Wondered how long this would take. Gave my girls the third degree to be good. Stay out of the parking lot. No running around. Etc., etc., etc. Then it hit. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I have this privilege. The privilege to vote in America. Like so many other countries, people can't voice their choices and opinions. And I'm proud to live in America where I can voice my choice. As I stood there in line watching my girls holding hands and running around a tree, the tears began to flow. I thought to myself, "Instead of standing here in line upset because I have to wait a few hours to cast my vote and I know meltdown time is right around the corner, I'm going to be glad that I even have this opportunity." The opportunity to vote. To be proud to be an American. As I stood there with sunglasses on, and tears covering my cheeks I thought about my brother. I thought about how he is sleeping on rooftops in Iraq and how he sometimes sleeps in abandoned homes with rats and mice scurring around him and how dangerous the conditions are in which he lives in. I thought about him. And thought about him. And how thankful I am for him and all the others fighting for our freedom and for others freedom. Because of them, we have our freedom. We have choices. So today, as I stood in line, I made a conscious choice. Instead of being upset because I knew I was going to have to wait in line for hours, I choose to stand there with my head up high and thankful that I was given this opportunity. The opportunity to vote. The opportunity to voice my opinion. The opportunity to show my girls what their "Uncle Jonny" is fighting for.

Nice Girl

We were at the park today and I overheard (ok, I was really being nosey) my daughter and a group of about 4 older boys talking under the slide. They were playing in a fort for awhile and then I heard this:

Boys- That girl (pointing to my daughter) is going to be the "Sea Monster."
My Girl- I'm not a "Sea Monster." I'm a nice Girl. And Jesus likes nice Girls.

Oh, how that made me proud. And more proud that she spoke up to the older boys. And even more proud that she wants to be a nice girl for her, Jesus!

I just can't take it off!

My brother left for Iraq on Tuesday and I got this shirt when my mom and I were visiting him in TN last weekend. And that's right. I just can't take it off! The letters that spell A-R-M-Y just are a little reminder of him and what he is sacrificing for. More on my visit with him later. And some more pictures too!!