and here i sit.....

at the genius bar.....

for the first time.....

and i think i'll be back.....

for those of you who don't know, the genius bar is basically the tech support at the apple store. and all of a sudden i love these people.

my appointment was at 3:45. the appointments last 15 minutes. it's 5:58 and i'm still here. and they are still helping - with smiles on their faces, i might add!

no, i'm not having a problem with my computer, phone, etc. i just had some questions. and since our internet (even though it IS dsl) is so slow at home, i was unable to download new updates because it would always time out.

so since i've been here, we've done 15 updates and are installing the new 3.0 software to my iphone now.

my iphone has not been synced to my mac since i got it because it needed the updates, so this is SUCH a big help. i've had nightmares that i would lose my phone/break it/etc and lose the 465 or so numbers in it. now at least they are backed up.

so are the some 900 pictures that i've taken with my phone.

and now i'm ready to go on and sign up for some classes to help me learn how to use this thing better.

seriously - the customer service/tech support is even more of a reason that i love my mac.

thanks for reading this blog written out of boredom!

a fun day!

again, a post with no pictures.  i'm sorry!!!  i'll change that soon...

i'm glad that today is over....monday's are just never much fun.  

this morning when we passed renaissance on our way to ja/work, mary peyton asked if we could go to barnes & noble after i picked her up.  i told her that if i picked her up and she didn't have marker all over her and was halfway clean, we would go.

as soon as i picked her up this afternoon, she showed me her hands and said, "mommy?  see?  i'm not messy!".  so we went straight to barnes & noble.  she wanted a frappaccino (go figure) and i got a iced caramel macchiato.  i looked at people or us weekly while she looked at a miley cyrus magazine.  it was such a nice break.

after this, we walked over to anthropologie.  i've fallen in love with this store - but can't afford hardly anything in there - UNLESS it's on sale!  so mp and i went to the sale corner and that's when i saw it.  

now i don't know about many of ya'll, but i will search and search for the PERFECT purse until i find it.  and i will do without.  but here it was.  sitting in a bin with 2 rather unfortunate looking purses just waiting on me to grab it.  and it was on sale.  

i looked on the anthro. website and couldn't find it, so i searched ebay.  i couldn't find it there, either.  so maybe i'll take a picture of it soon so that my few readers can see it!

after mary peyton was so good at b & n and anthro., she asked if we could go get toys.  of course we could!  she had a gift card from rivers & kimbell from her birthday, so off we went.  

we headed home, had supper, and have just hung out watching t.v.  

now that's a good day to me.  fairly uneventful at work, a great few hours with my favorite girl, and dinner at home.  what more could we ask for?

hope you have a great week!

all words, no pictures...

so i started to title this one "things to do/know before you go" but it didn't seem right...

anyway....after edgar butler/kim/e.b./emily were all killed in the wreck, i started thinking about lots of stuff.  so if you are not a planner, you may not want to read this blog post....

tommy and i had a will done right after we married.  with us both being only children, it was important to me to have everything "mapped out" the way we wanted it.  especially concerning life insurance policies, etc.

i always thought that an attorney had to prepare a will for you.  tommy talked to one of his friends/customers who is a lawyer and he said that that isn't the case!  so ours is just typed up!

after mary peyton was born, we revised that will and we now update it about every summer.

in it, we have 3 scenarios:

1.  the death of one of us (parents)

2.  the death of both of us (parents)

3.  the death of all 3 of us (us and mpb)

i know this sounds morbid - and i know tons of people who have never even thought of a will.  please let me encourage you to do so!!!  and set out all of the scenarios because you never know which one will have to be used.  it's a sad thought, but so true - as our family found out almost 2 weeks ago.

but don't stop there.

once you make up your will, show it and explain it to someone who DOES NOT live in your household.  let them know where you keep it in case it is ever needed.  if i told tommy and then we were in a fatal accident and we had kept that information between the two of us, it would be a mess...

here is more about what we have in our will:

1.  because we are both only children, we have mary peyton's guardian named in our will.  it is not automatic that your family gets custody of your child if you die.  this was of utmost importance to me.

2.  material possessions:  i have certain ways to handle things in each scenario and all of these are mapped out in our will.  i have pieces that have been inherited from one side of the family or the other, so i have a "liason" named from each side to handle this situation.

3.  how we want insurance money distributed/handled in case we all die at one time (a scholarship set up, our church, individuals, etc.).  i also have our insurance agent's name and the different policies that we have listed.  we also have any investment information listed.

4.  where we want to be buried (we have had this for a while but have not purchased our plots - we are doing that in the next few weeks...)

5.  information concerning our lock box

6.  the attorney that we want present with our families to discuss the will if it is needed.

i now need to go through and want to put down aspects of our service that we want.  yes, this sounds morbid.  but it's a part of life!  music, pallbearers, etc.  i want it all down.....it is less that my family will have to think about if the unexpected happens...

anytime we go out of town on a vacation, i take a box with discs of all of our digital pictures (and the external hard drive), a copy of our will, our lockbox key, and jewelry to someone in town just in case anything happened.

i'm sure edgar butler and kim thought they would just be back in inverness in a few days, but as we all know, God's plans were not theirs.  if that happened to us, i just want things lined out with our wishes....

i'm alive....

it's just been a busy 2 weeks.  but i've got pictures to download from my camera and then upload to the blog.  and several posts that are going through my head......

hope all of my 2 readers had a great 4th of july!  we are so blessed to live in this country!!!

a face with the names...

above is the family that so many of you have been praying for.  

kim, edgar butler, emily, and e.b.

for those of you who don't know, e.b. had muscular dystrophy.  i am glad to know that he does not have to be in the wheel chair anymore and is now walking in Heaven.

if you are reading/seeing this and have NO CLUE why i have this picture, please read the post below.

we now know arrangements...

sunday, june 28th

1:00 - visitation

2:00 - funeral

Indianola Academy Gym

Mortimer Funeral Home in Indianola is handling arrangements.

please continue to keep our family in your prayers - it means more to us than you know.

***by the way...sunday would also be edgar butler's 38th birthday....***

Please pray.....

I know that some of you have heard this from my facebook or from twitter, but I did not want to leave out anyone who would pray for us....

My daddy woke me up this morning with a phone call. My first worry was my grandmother. But he said that my Uncle Edgar (his brother) had called him and that my cousin, Edgar Butler, and his family (wife - Kim, son - Edgar Butler V, daughter - Emily) were in a wreck last night in Magee.

They had been to Wal-Mart (and were headed to Petal) and pulled back onto hwy 49. They were stopped at the red light when an 18 wheeler rear ended them - killing all 4. I went to www.mageenews.com (thanks for the link, Jessica) and it said that the lady driving the 18 wheeler said she didn't see the vehicle....

Daddy was going this morning to get Uncle Edgar to take him down to Magee to get their belongings. No arrangements have been made, obviously.

Please remember our family - especially Uncle Edgar, Aunt Dianne, and their daughter/her family - Elizabeth, Daniel, and Rett.

We are now on our way home from the Delta. Every time we leave, Tommy and I both agree that we are ready to move....if we could just move our church, friends, and jobs with us.... But that's not happening...

We had a great Father's Day. We went to church at my home church and then went to Grenada with my Daddy to eat.

After we ate, we decided to just ride out towards Grenada Lake. Mary Peyton loved looking at the water and talking about going to the beach. We rode and talked for about an hour and a half. It was so relaxing and nice to just be together doing nothing.

When we got back to Grenada, Daddy and I decided to take Tommy and Mary Peyton to get ice cream at Spencer's. It was SO good!!!

We stayed at Daddy's a little longer before going to Greenwood to see Mama/Jimmy and Key/TC.

It was a perfect weekend.....until we had to leave!

Hope you all had a Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

it's hard to believe that the year is half way over and that Father's Day is already here! of course i couldn't let the day go by without highlighting some (not all!) of the fathers in our lives.....

this is my grandaddy and me when i was about 18 months old. i love this picture - it was taken out beside our house in minter city. my grandaddy died 6 1/2 years ago and i miss him every time i get to come home.....

this is my pap-paw chrismond. i don't know his exact age in this picture, but i'm guessing about 18 months or so (i'm on an 18 month kick, huh?). i just had this framed on wednesday and i can't wait to hang it. such a sweet picture of him. he died a few months before i turned 2 years old. i wish i could have known him and had memories of him.....


this was this past Easter of me, mpb and my daddy. in my home church. i love going to church there and just soaking it all in. the wooden ceilings. the old pews. the stained glass windows. the pulpit. the lanterns hanging from the ceiling. it all brings back floods of memories that are precious to me. this is the church that my daddy and i both grew up going to.

my daddy is still precious to me and i am so fortunate to have him in my life - as a daddy and as a friend. i love you, daddy!

and this is my precious father-in-law. billy (as most of you know if you've been reading my blog for a while) lost his battle with cancer 6 1/2 years ago (just a month after my grandaddy died...). he was an incredible man and he/tommy were so close. there are still nights that tommy and i will just start crying and it's because we wish that he was still here.

and this is the youngest daddy of those on my list! tommy is such a good father to mary peyton. i could go on and on about how much he helps (and has always helped) with her, but those of you who know us already know that.

he said from the beginning that whenever we had our first child, he wanted a girl. and he got her. she is the apple of his eye and can melt his heart with a smile. she is daddy's little "monkey" and she has so many characteristics that are very much from him. o.k. - and some from me, too. but she will fight you down for her daddy and he would do the same.

this picture was taken at one of THEIR (yes, she loves it as much as he does!) places - oxford - during double decker this year.


we have so many other fathers who have been influencial in our lives.....and we are thankful for all of them. we are who we are because of you.

happy father's day.

our girls get-away!

mary peyton and i had so much fun almost two weeks ago on our "girls trip".  i'm sorry i'm just now getting pictures downloaded and added to the blog - but i hope you enjoy!  above each picture is a "commentary"!

this is, obviously, at the alluvian.  tommy and i gave this to mary peyton as her birthday present.  i mean seriously - she doesn't NEED anything, so why not make some memories, right?  and we did just that!

this was part of our room.  it was so big and comfy!  or in mary peyton's words, "mommy, our room is hooge!"

another view of our room......as if you couldn't tell!

i told mary peyton that on this trip, we were going to act silly, stay up watching tv, and jump on the bed a little if she wanted.  so that she did!

this was one side of our bathroom.  there was also a tub....and two windows that (if the blinds were open) looked straight across at the spa!

we were happy to be there!!!

this is looking out at the spa from our room.  the spa is on the second floor (for those of you not familiar with it...)

the next morning, we had the amazing breakfast that is served in the terrace room.  when i was pregnant, i was given a shower that was held in this room, so it was neat telling mary peyton about that, too!

she insists that you have to drink the milk out of your cereal - - - she gets this from her daddy!

out on the terrace looking up and down the street.....

i LOVE this picture.  we had 3 windows like these, so i told mary peyton to climb up in one and just look out the window.  then she didn't want to get down!

nan working on mary peyton's toes.  it was so precious seeing her get the pedicure.  she just sat still and watched.  she LOVED putting her feet down in the bubbles and having her toenails done!

we only scheduled a pedicure, but because it was a child, nan said that she had enough time to do a manicure, too!  mary peyton was so excited.  she sat there and just let nan do whatever!  it was precious!

waiting on the polish to dry.  i let mary peyton pick out the polish that was used on her and also the polish used on me.  she chose a silvery/purple color for her - really pretty.  and pink for me.  i kinda wish it would have been opposite!  =)

that wasn't all.....since nicole (who is amazing!) wasn't through with me, nan asked mary peyton if she wanted to go have her make-up done!  so off they went!

and here's the princess afterwards!  she was SO proud!!!

can't leave out our toes pictures.....

before:

after:

o.k. so you can't tell a huge difference....but believe me - it was there!

and i think the faces in this picture pretty much sum up how we felt when it was time to check out of the hotel....uuuggghhh....why do the good times go by so fast???

we went with my mom to eat at another favorite of ours - the blue parrot.  i could eat there every single day.  no joke.  the salsa is homemade and so hot that it will set your mouth on fire.  and it's not chunky - really runny....i.  love.  it.

oh - and mary peyton loves her sweet tea!

another picture of mary peyton in the blue parrot.  she wanted a fruit tart, so we got it.  i mean, really - it was our girls trip!  no is not a word for those 2 days!

we had so much fun.... as we were in bed watching cartoons on thursday night, mary peyton looked at me and said, "mommy....i love you.  this is so fun.  how 'bout we do this when i turn 5?  is that a deal?"

yes, sweetheart, it's a deal.  i can't wait til next year.

FINALLY!!!!!

mary peyton and i have been looking forward to tonight for a little while!

since every time a child is born, a mother is, too, she and i are going here for our "birthday"

and we can't wait!!! we are going to leave as soon as i get off work and pick her up. she is so excited about going to greenwood and i am too!!!!!

we are going to eat at the crystal with my mom and some family, then mary key is going to come spend the night with us!!!!

tomorrow morning, we are going to sleep late, get up and ready, and head to the spa for this:

ok, not really this, but kinda. we aren't getting manicures - we are getting pedicures!!! my mom gave them to us as part of mother's day and mpb's birthday!

YEA!!!!!

mary peyton asked me on the way to JA this morning, "so mommy? when the lady does our 'notails' (for some reason this is what she is calling toenails), are we going to wear shoes again?"

i told her, "no, mare. i've packed our flip-flops and we'll put them on so we don't mess up our toes!"

she replied, "oh...good. i don't want my notails messed up. i want daddy to see them!"

now if 5:00 will just get here.......

MPB is 4 years old!

it's hard to believe that 4 years ago my life changed forever.  o.k. really 4 years and 11 days....but i'm just now getting pictures for you blog friends of mine to see!

here are some pictures from our big day (all except the ones of the last day of school and i've already done a blog post about it!)

this is when we woke her up.  she was so excited!  i asked how old she was and this was the response!

after a half day of work for me and tommy and school for mpb, we went with gran-gran, sarah, tabitha (sarah's mom), and caden (sarah's "baby" brother) to bon ami for lunch!  we had so much fun and decided to take sarah home with us for the afternoon!

but really, what birthday would be complete without a stop by coldstone?  these girls had a ball!

when we got home, i had to get to work on the cake!  this was what i was matching.....her "official" 4 year birthday outfit and the outfit that will be worn for her 4 year portraits!

and here's what i came up with to go with it!  i was pleased!  and thought it matched pretty well...

mpb being the hostess with the mostess with bryce and sarah at her party.  um....future bride/groom with the maid of honor?  ha

what party would be complete without our baula?  she made the trip down just for the party and, of course, to shop some!

mpb all smiles before we lit the candles!

i had these cookies made at the viking cooking school to give as favors.  of course, they matched the flower on the "official" outfit!

we had her party at different strokes in ridgeland - a pottery painting place.  it was perfect!  they do a plate for the birthday girl/boy and i had sent them a picture of mpb's outfit so they incorporated those colors in her plate!

the food table.  this was the first time we have not had her party at our house.  i had to add my mccarty to the party somehow!  

opening some presents!

after this, we released the balloons (as you've read already) and headed home!  mpb was asleep before we got on the interstate (and the pottery place is just on hwy 51!).

it was a fun and busy day!!!!

A few friends...

mary peyton was blessed this year to not only have incredible teachers, but some precious friends!

SHE requested that i put this picture up of her, sarah, and emily from sarah's birthday party (the week before mary peyton's).  

are these some cute "fish" or what!?!

Baula's graduation

it's hard to believe that baula has been "in the family" for over 4 years now.  we have been blessed beyond measure with having her in our lives!

a few weeks ago, she graduated.  it was the end of one of our chapters - baula and a few of her friends are truly some of the role models for mary peyton.

she won't be going too far - just to ole miss...so we know we will see her in the fall!

the dress mary peyton has on (that you can't see that well!) i had made.  there is a cute little store in cleveland called fox road and the lady in there designs and makes a lot of the clothes in there.  she also names them!  well, when i was there, i found a dress that i wanted, but it was a size 2 and i wanted a 4.  she told me that it wouldn't be a problem and that the fabric that it was made out of was a vintage fabric and she had enough to make me one in a size 4.

i got so excited!  it was probably the most reasonably priced article of clothing that i have gotten her!

then she said, "so you want the stella dress in a 4?"

i said, "the what?"

she said, "the stella dress.  that is what i have named that dress."

so considering pillow's colors are green and gold and we were going to watch stella, i thought it would be very appropriate for her to wear it to graduation!

we love you, baula, and are so proud of you!  thank you for the person you are and how very special you are to our family!

{side note:  a few days ago, i was about to e-mail stella and i asked tommy now her address is "maloufstella@.......", right?  mary peyton piped up from the backseat, "MOMMY!  we don't call her stella malouf.  it makes her sad!  but if you call her baula, it will make her happy!"  we about died laughing!}

Balloons for Pap-Paw Barnette

each year after mary peyton's birthday party, we release the balloons from the party and say that we are sending them to Heaven to her pap-paw barnette (tommy's dad who died of cancer 6 1/2 years ago).  here's a picture from each year!

the first year, we just let them go and didn't take pictures.  bad...i know.  but really, this is when we decided to start the tradition.  so since i don't have a picture of letting the balloons go, i thought i would include this one of my angel digging in!!!

2nd birthday:  mpb still doesn't quite know what is going on, but she did let them go.  some tears were shed, but it's o.k.!

3rd birthday:  she understood and watched them until they were gone.  she really didn't have a complete understanding about who her pap-paw was, etc., but i wanted to keep this consistent.  so we did.  and this time WE cried.

4th birthday:  she completely understood.  she knew that she would let it go and it would go "way up to Heaven with God and Jesus - and pap-paw barnette!".  i love this girl!!!

tommy videoed until it was going far.  then they held hands and looked for it.  this picture makes me cry.  knowing how much tommy wants his daddy here to see mary peyton grow up.  for those of you know did know billy, you know how completely rotten mary peyton would be if he was here now.  seriously - it would be bad!

but sometimes tommy says that he knows it was all part of God's plan (as hard as it is).  he didn't know his daddy's dad, either, so he had to know him through stories, pictures, etc.  mary peyton is to that point.  she wants to hear stories.  and she loves looking at pictures.  she knows right off who her pap-paw is and says that she can't wait to get to Heaven to see him and give him a hug.

i can't wait, either, angel.  you will both be able to praise Jesus together.  what a better way to meet.

JA - K3...Fish!

my angel's first day of school.....

and her last......

i cannot say enough about how blessed we were with this school year.  the first week was kind of hard.  she was used to us taking her into daycare/school and all of a sudden, we pull up and they get her out.  

after that week, it was smooth sailing.  she made new friends, precious children with sweet families.  babies were born to her friends, but she still insists that "we don't want any babies at OUR house, do we mama?".  no, sweetheart, we don't.  and thank you for being in agreement with daddy and me on that!

she learned (or polished off) her colors, days of the week, months of the year, letters, sign language, the pledge, numerous songs, Bible verses, and i could go on and on.  she colors inside the lines, can work most every puzzle that is put out for her, and wants to be in charge (wonder where she gets that - ha ha).  

God specifically blessed us with the most amazing teachers for her.  really, i could not have picked them out any better than He had planned.  

her teacher was mrs. katrice hadley and her assistant teacher was mrs. holly collums.  katrice was already a sweet friend of mine, but she holds such a special place in my heart now for the love and encouragement that she showed my baby this year.  i had heard of holly (katrice's boys had her last year!) and had met her at the open house, but just a short encounter with her does not do justice to the precious person that she is.

katrice and holly learned that mary peyton is a prayer warrior.  seriously.  and those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know this.  she will pray for anyone anytime anywhere and for anything!  i love this about her and am challenged by it daily.  well, one day i get a text from katrice that says something to the effect of "holly said that they just had church on the playground".  someone had hurt something and mpb said, "we need to pray!".  she would stop at the table and pray for friends, too.  and i love that both katrice and holly would encourage her to do so.  

because of this, i sent a little happy one friday (olay body scrub and a loofa sponge) and put on it, "i PRAY you have a wonderful weekend!  love, mary peyton  1 thes. 5:17"

yes, because of her actions, i claimed another verse for mary peyton:

"KEEP ON PRAYING" 1 THES 5:17 (some versions have this verse as "pray without ceasing")

i can't begin to explain how wonderful this year was.  because the teachers put my mind at ease, it was such an easy transition.  and yes, i am dreading her going to the "big preschool" building, but i know that in the K3 program, they did their part to help me to "train up a child" and God is going to honor this.

yesterday was her first day in the big preschool building (she's still there for summer stuff....even though she won't be there all of the time!).  she was so excited.  when i picked her up, she introduced me to a little girl named madilyn who is going into the first grade.  with a big smile on her face, she said that madilyn had been her very best friend all day!

well, when we got in the car, she said, "mommy, i told madilyn that she could come to church with me sometime if she wants to".  i teared up and was so thankful that my baby is already doing her part to reach her own generation and invite them to church!

today when i picked her up, she was again with madilyn.  as we were getting in the car, she looked at her and said, "madi?  thanks for being my friend".  madilyn looked back and with a big smile said, "you're welcome!".  

i can't wait to see what God has in store through this little angel as she continues to grow.  i am humbled to be given the responsibility to guide her through the time that i have her and pray that she stays as focused on the Main Thing as she is now.

{thanks, again, katrice and holly.  we love you both so much!}

I'm here!!!

i'm sitting at barnes & noble hanging out for a little while and just downloaded pictures.  the internet is so much faster here (for uploading pictures, at least), so maybe i can get some stuff done......

The birthday day was so much fun! We are on the way home-I will download pictures and try to post some soon!

Happy Birthday, again, Mary Peyton! My life is better because you are in it!

Ok. It's 1:22 am and Tommy and I are still up. Cakes and cupcakes are baked. Stuff is somewhat together. And I need to go to bed.

Why???

Because I am now the mother of a 4 year old. There. I said it. And yes-it hurts. I mean-1,2,&3 sound innocent enough, but 4 is just a kid. No baby. Not much of a toddler at all (except in clothes!). Nope-a real kid. <sigh>

And her last day of k3 happens to be on her 4th birthday.

So we have a big day ahead of us. Those who follow me on facebook or twitter will know things sooner, but I will update with pictures soon-I promise.

Happy Birthday, my sweet angel. You have brought more love and laughter to my life than you can imagine and I love you more than you will ever know!

Just a test! I just set up my blog to where I can post from my phone but I don't know how it is going to work. We'll see!!!

a bug today...

tommy had an appointment with me to get his teeth cleaned this morning and of course mary peyton was with him.  she decided to actually get in the chair and let me clean her teeth!  i had polished them before with her just standing up near me, but she did ALL of it today!

she had one little spot that i didn't like, so i got dr carter to zip it out with a bur (shallow enough that she didn't have to have a shot!).  she did SO well!  i haven't decided exactly what we are going to do special for this, but i'll come up with something!

and i don't know that masks are that flattering.................

My new best friend...

yes, this is it.  Red Bull.  my friend.  who helps me get through the day.  well, at least since last week.

here's my last week in a nutshell.  i'm tired thinking about it.

last week, i had to bake 21 layers of cake.  now there is a difference in baking/decorating 21 CAKES and 21 LAYERS.  those 21 layers turned into 12 cakes.

anyway, most of that was done, we went to oxford saturday (pictures will come when i download them!) and got home around 11:00.  sunday was church and then going home to finish cakes, a party at 3:00, a conference at church from 4:00-7:00.  monday was work and then immediately leaving to go to greenwood for baula's senior play.  we got there in time for it to start and then didn't get home until about 11:30.  tuesday was work again, bon ami for dinner (thank you for giving in, tommy, i REALLY needed it!), and then to JA for the showchoir spring show.  9:15 getting home.

so tonight i just came to barnes and noble after church to just sit and play on the computer.  it's so relaxing to me.  just listening to my ipod and surfing the internet - checking facebook, emails, etc.

OH - and i didn't add that last thursday our dental assistant quit.  or the fact that our main lady up front, peggy, had back surgery 3 weeks ago and is still out.  so guess what that means?  i'm wearing many hats at our office.

yep.....Red Bull and i will be very good friends before too long.......

Um....Easter pictures finally!

Easter weekend, we went to the Delta.  FINALLY.  other than running home in early February for a friend's wedding, it was the first time we had been home since Christmas.  

now for just anybody, this is no big deal, but for me, it was pure torture.  i felt like i had seen people from home because of basketball tournaments, etc., but it's just not ever the same as going home.  i treasure these times.

so anyway, we had planned to go to the Easter egg hunt at renaissance and then head out towards home.  well, when we woke up saturday morning, tommy and i both changed those plans quickly.

we were home in time to eat at one of our favorites, the blue parrott, shop at sweet pea just a little, and go out to my  mom's church for an Easter egg hunt.  it was such a good day!

tommy and i decided to take advantage of having someone to watch mary peyton, so we went to eat at lusco's.  a real date night.  wow!  that's a rare occasion!

my sweet girl at the Easter egg hunt:

me and my angel!:

that night we went out to Minter City - REALLY home.  ya'll, if i could just stay out there away from all things city, i probably would.  yes, i love the conveniences of the city, but (as i sit here an my ipod just randomly shuffled to bon jovi's "who says you can't go home?") home is home is home.  i would love to be able to ride 4-wheelers with mary peyton and tommy whenever we wanted.  for her to come home from school and play out in the yard - a BIG yard.  or walk across to her grandmother's house and have "coffee" like i did.  only my "coffee" was coke in a mug and mpb's would be the real thing!  =)

i love home.  and the older i get, i want to be there more and more.  maybe God will have that in His plans one day, too!

oh - an aside - now the ipod just shuffled to daughtry's "home".  coincidence?  =)

so anyway - on to the story - the Easter bunny came and saw mary peyton at my daddy's.  and filled up the same basket that he used to fill up when i was little!  i'm glad my mama saved it - i'm way too much the sentimental type!

here are the goods!:

we then got dressed - mary peyton all in her beautiful new dress that was a gift from jeremy.  i can't wait to have her 4 year portraits made in it - i know they will be great!  we headed out in my daddy's new truck (that we LOVE) and went to my home church - Minter City Methodist.  

i love going in this church and just looking around - reminiscing.  i love the stain glassed windows.  the light fixtures.  the beautiful stain glass piece behind the pulpit that has a light behind it and is lit during church.  the wooden ceilings.  the pews.  the needlepoint pillows on the altar.  the record board that tells attendance, etc.  the 3 chairs that are behind the pulpit.

i just love this little church.  

we sat on the pew that is marked "edgar b. smith family".  i don't know if the "jr." is on it or not, nor does that matter.  to me, it shows my family's part of this special place.

oh - "from dixie with love" is now on my ipod.  yep - i wish i was in a land of cotton - old times there are not forgotten.  i grew up in an island surrounded by cotton fields........

here is a picture of mary peyton right before we went in church:

our family Easter morning:

i love this next one - the light in her face as she was holding the door open.  of course what you don't know is that she was talking to mrs. annette mize - another precious influence on my life.  her daughter, molly, is one of my oldest friends.  annette was our girl scout leader and just always a positive influence.:

this is priceless to me.  the hands of 2 angels in my life - my sweet grandmama and my mary peyton.  one day she will treasure these pictures like my heart does already!

Elise is here!!!

Mary Peyton has another cousin! Tommy's step-sister, Kate, and her husband, Brook - and don't let me leave out their son, Brady - welcomed Elise to the world today at 12:11 p.m. She was 8 pounds and was 20 1/4 (or 21 1/4) inches long.

I am so glad that I was able to be there! When Brady was born, Tommy and I were in New York on vacation. I told Kate before we left to PLEASE not have our first nephew while we were gone, but she did anyway. We were on our way to the city when Brook called my cell phone to say that she was in labor, etc.

Mary Peyton was so excited this morning that she was going to get to go see baby Elise after school! I will post pictures of that later!

Welcome to the world, Elise! We love you so much already!

sweet, sweet girl....

mpb and i were in the car the other day just listening to our Easter music from church.  she knows all of the songs and requests specific ones - mainly "praise God" and "holy holy".  no, these aren't the names of the songs, but some of the main words in them, so that's what she calls them!

anyway - she quit singing and got quiet for a little while.  all of a sudden she said, "mommy, when i go up to Heaven, i don't want the clouds to get in my eyes..."

i assured her that Jesus would take care of that and that the clouds wouldn't get in her eyes.  she then got worried about the stars and moon.  how precious.  that is just innocence.

{note - today she told me that she wasn't worried about the clouds, moon, or stars because "my Jesus is going to take care of all that stuff"}

the same day that she asked about all of that, she sat in the back seat drawing on her magna doodle.  i looked and said, "oh mary peyton!  what a good mat-man!".  she said, "mommy, this isn't mat-man!  it's my pap-paw barnette who lives in Heaven!  when i go up through the clouds i'm going to get to hug and kiss him and Jesus!  did you know he is up there with Jesus?"

i teared up and grabbed my phone to take a picture.

her pap-paw barnette would be smitten with her.  she would be even more rotten than she already is.  but i would give anything for him to be able to know her.  to see her sitting on his knee with him reading her a book.  for us to have pictures and memories.

but that was not a part of God's plan.  so instead tommy and i are starting to show her pictures.  i want her to recognize him when she sees him - not wonder who the man in the picture is.  i want her to know how precious she would be to him and how much he would love (and spoil!) her if he was here.

anyway - here's mpb and her picture of her pap-paw.  i love this one.

A good Friday.....

i can't remember a friday lately when i've been this relaxed.  cakes are in the process.  didn't have to deliver one today.  things are just going well.  do i need to knock on wood?

not long after tommy and mpb were gone, i was up and almost ready.  soduku had been played and about 45 minutes of the today show watched.  i teared up again listening to susan boyle sing.  she is incredible.

i ran by and paid our water bill, went to kroger, and got to an estate sale when it started at 9:00.  i love when God allows the day to flow smoothly!

there were so many pretty things at the estate sale - i got a piece of my sterling flatware (they only had 1 piece), an old coin from 1871, a mini muffin tray, and this pin:

i love it!  sorry the picture isn't so clear - with my phone, you need to be a little further back for it to be clear, but i wanted to be able to see it!

i left the sale and called tommy all excited about my purchases.  his response was that he had something to tell me.

and it was good!

he said that he had taken it upon himself to do something for me without asking.  i'll admit - i got a little worried - then excited - wondering what he had planned.....

he told me to clear july 18th on my calendar because he had paid for me to go to the ladies' football forum at ole miss.  

seriously?????

i am SO SO SO excited!  i had told him the past few years that i would enjoy going to this, but never in a million years would think that he would surprise me with this!

so here's a little of what i'll do that day:

~have a picture with coach nutt

~get a "free" t-shirt (um - it was paid for in the registration)

~listen to 6 former players speak

~learn more about the game and the different plays

~tour the indoor practice facility

~tour the locker room

~go through "the tunnel" from the locker room to the field

~run out on the field with coach nutt

i'm really looking forward to this!  oh - and since this is my first year, i'm considered a "1st year freshman".  this is the 9th year that they have done this - women who have been every year are "all-sec".  how funny!

so i was on cloud nine and still had time until i had to get mpb.  so i decided to go to old navy to return some shorts i got tommy.  too bad - it was 9:30 and they didn't open until 10:00.

no problem - i'll just run to hudson's and hang out until the antique mall opens at 10:00.  too bad again - hudson's doesn't open until 10:00, either.

ok, ok.  i'll run to pay the deposit on mpb's birthday party.  i got there at 10:05.  it said that they open at 10:00.  the door was still locked.

yep - i was 0 for 4 (it would be 0 for 5, but i knew that the antique mall opened at 10:00...) - at this point i knew the antique mall would be open, so i just headed back there to walk around by myself.  

before i had mpb, this was one of my favorite things to do.  tommy would call barnes & noble and the antique mall my "therapy".  it really was my "me" time - and still is sometimes.  i love just browsing and looking without having to answer to anybody for just a little while!

i left there and was the first in line at carpool.  i love to see the look on mpb's face when i AM there that early because she comes out ALL smiles!  today, she climbed in the car and said, "mommy, i sure do love you.".  if she could only imagine how much i love her...

we went to lunch at our usual - bon ami - where my sweet friend heather joined us.  we went to the pine cone to browse for a few minutes, ran by old navy (since they were open =)  ), went and paid the deposit on the party (since they were open, too!) and headed home.  

thank goodness mpb fell asleep on the way......now maybe she will be in a good mood!

tonight is going to be exciting as we meet our new pastor, jimmy meek, and his wife, beth ann.  we will go to another reception for them in the morning and then just hang out this weekend.  

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend (and sorry for the long long post!)