Thursday, February 28, 2008

I will miss you, my friend....


I found out this morning that one of my dearest friends from high school passed away. His name was Robert Presley Black and he made me laugh. He made me cry. Most of all.......he made me laugh!!! :)


We lost touch after high school when I married and he moved away. Now I have found that he was living near me. I never knew it. I didn't know he was sick.


Robert, I will miss you! I pray that someday I will see you again.

Rest in peace, my friend.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Waiting for Daddy!

Daddy had to go out of town last week. The girls were so excited to go and meet him at the airport. They anxiously waited for his return. His plane was late due to some yucky weather so when we finally saw him coming toward us Bailey just couldn't help her self. She zooooooooooomed right past the security guard and ran as fast as her little legs would carry her straight to her daddy. She was so happy to see him! Brinley was too but she didn't try running past security to get to him.
Daddy brought them quacking duckies from the Peabody Hotel. This is a photo of them on the way in to the airport to meet daddy. They had snacks in their Panda Packs just in case we had to wait.

Josh got a haircut!!!

HOORAY!!!



Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Funny...

Quote of the day:

I made homemade cinammon rolls today.

Bailey watches me smear the gooey frosting over the warm cinammon rolls and says in an excited voice, "Mama, I can have a Cinderella?!?!"










Cinammon Roll Recipe

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup warm milk
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons milk


DIRECTIONS
In the pan of your bread machine, combine water, melted butter, vanilla pudding, warm milk, egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, bread flour and yeast. Set machine to Dough cycle; press Start.
When Dough cycle has finished, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 17x10 inch rectangle. Spread with softened butter. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over dough.
Roll up dough, beginning with long side. Slice into 16 one inch slices and place in 9x13 buttered pan. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. While rolls bake, stir together cream cheese, softened butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk. Remove rolls from oven and top with frosting.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

It's A Zoo!

After church Sunday we went to the zoo. The kids had a blast! The weather was a bit cool but that didn't stop the kids or the animals from having a lot of fun!!!

We thought Bailey would like the farm animals that she could pet but she just shook her head and said, "Nooooooo, don't like it."
After the zoo Brice was able to visit his absolutely favorite store. He was ecstatic. That boy loves tools!
Ms. Jan, Brinley LOVES her new Panda sweater! THANK YOU!







Thursday, February 21, 2008

Quote Of The Day



























Today Bailey came running to me and said, "Mama, Binny HIT me!"


Me to Brinley in the other room, "Brinley, did you hit her?!"


Brinley walks into the room and indignantly announces, "No, Mama, I mashed her."


ROFL! HUH????



Never a dull moment with these two! ;)

Monday, February 18, 2008

One Of My New Favorites

Okay....since we aren't adopting again anytime soon, I have started refocusing my attention on our home. I must admit that during our "adoption cycle" I was not focused on much more than bringing our girls home. Well, Bailey has been home for about 7 months now and things are beginning to settle down a bit with her adjustment. (THANK YOU, LORD!) She's had a much harder time than Brinley but thanks to my friend Rachelle's advice in dealing with her multiple daily meltdowns things are improving! (Thank you, Rachelle!)


I just love going to this site: Rate My Space


I am finding so many great ideas for our home! I am just not an organized person but as I look through the photos on this site I get ideas for things to do in our home. Very exciting! :)


This foyer looks very much like ours could potentially look with a bit of paint and some rearranging.

Lucky for me, I have one of those handy-dandy husbands with a big workshop, lots of tools and a love for building things. :)
We are about to get started on our bathroom. Our house is built around Marty's grandparent's old farmhouse. We've never finished our bathroom. We don't even have a vanity yet.....just some little tables beside a sink. I'll have to take before and after photos. I'm so excited about working on our home again!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Cupcake Recipes?





Bailey's greatest love.....other than her family and her baby doll is CUPCAKES! I am going to have cupcakes for her very first birthday party in April. If anyone out there has a scrumptious cupcake recipe, please send it to me! We want her day to be totally yummy! :)


Sharon

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!!!
Our "littles" have been busy girls! Yesterday they made yummy cookies and decorated them. We made special ones for daddy. We gave some to Ms. Wendy, Granny & Boss, CaCa and Miss JoElla. Brice and Keith had some too. We'll have to make some special ones for Dee when we see her again!

Brinley and Bailey also made pretty Valentines for Daddy. They were so excited to make them "aaallll by meself" as Bailey proclaimed proudly.

Today Daddy took us out to eat lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant. Since they didn't get to wear their new clothes for Chinese New Year we decided to dress up pretty for our date with Daddy. They were so excited about going to Daddy's office and going out for a Valentine lunch.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, SHELBY & KATIE! ;)



Saturday, February 09, 2008

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Truly Touching Video

I just saw this video on Lori's blog tonight and I had to share it with all of you. Please watch it.



Congratulations!!!

Huge CONGRATULATIONS to Phil and Angie who will soon be traveling to China to bring home their son Joshua! They finally have their LOA! We know what a long wait it was for your family and we are just thrilled that your son will be home soon!

Also...
CONGRATULATIONS to our friends Kim and Greg who are waiting for their PA for Cate. Cate is the lovely Lu Feng Hong who waited so patiently on her list for her mommy and daddy to find her. We are thrilled that Cate is coming home to be a Cavalier girl! :)

To our other friends who are waiting (and you know who you are) HANG IN THERE!
I'll be here waiting right along with you! Everytime I see your phone number pop up on my phone I wonder if it is news of your PA. It's coming! All in God's time....... :)

Monday, February 04, 2008

Need Bows, Jewelry.....or a Tutu???












If you're in the market for Easter bows, dazzling jewelry or a sassy little tutu be sure to check out my friend Tonni's site! Tonni makes the bows, Melissa makes the jewelry and Dawn is the Tutu pro! Click on the 4 Princess Bows logo to check it out!


Melissa also sells on etsy so check her out there too! Just click on her logo below!

She Still Loves Her Tire Swing



























Back in October, 2006 I took some photos of Brinley on her tire swing. Here is a link to them if you'd like to see them all. Brinley October This is one of those photos.





















































Last week I took some more photos of her on her swing. She still loves it just as much today as when her daddy made it for her back in 2006! She swings on it almost everyday.




Bailey likes to swing too but she still prefers her "dolphin swing". Brinley still likes to swing in her "baby swing" from time to time, too.








































Of course they are both still in love with their Jeeps. Bailey calls it her "heep".