Just One Month

Sometimes I forget about the blog or - if I'm being honest, I get too lazy to post to it. I end up posting things that belong here on Facebook instead.  But, it's just so much easier (in my opinion) to hop on Facebook and share things.  It's a little more complicated to get it all together and write it here on our blog.

Here's an example.  On Thursday, January 23, 2014, I was thinking about Madison and her upcoming Birthday.  Jan. 23rd means that we have just one month before her Birthday on Feb. 23rd!  Just one month! And this year, she's turning 16! It's an exciting time. It's also a little stressful - trying to figure out what to do for her on her special day and how to get it all done in just one month.  And, again, if I'm being honest, it's a little heart breaking. I can't believe our little girl is turning 16!  Wasn't it just yesterday that I was kissing her chubby baby cheeks and rocking her to sleep? Sure seems like it.

So, I'm full of mixed emotions. But, one thing is for certain; I couldn't be happier for our sweet Madi! For this special time in her life and all the things that go along with being a free spirited teen.  I want her to have the BEST teen years! I want her to look back and say - "yep, it was an amazing time".  Other than school and making good grades (so that her dreams of going to her college of choice are attainable),  I don't want her to have a care in the world.  Those cares will come in due time, lets not rush it.

So anyway, here's what I posted on Facebook when I got to thinking about this special time...


This is my favorite picture of baby Madi and me. It's hard to believe that in a month my sweet, sweet girl will be 16! What a joy it has been watching her grow and mature into the young lady that she is! Her Dad and I couldn't be more proud! She is truly exceptional - and I am so blessed to be her Mom!

 This is exactly the kind of thing I want to have here on the blog so that one day we can look back and remember these times.  Facebook is nice for sharing things, but all the important things eventually gets buried by all the unimportant posts that come in after it.

One day, Madi will comb through these blog pages. She'll smile, laugh and probably cry as she does.  She'll be reminded of how very much we - Mom and Dad - have loved her and how we have dedicated our lives to making sure her's is an amazing one.  And for that, taking a few extra minutes to post here rather than Facebook is SO worth it!

Madison, we love you! As you're approaching this special time in your life, we hope that you embrace it and that when you are reading these words, years down the road, you'll be thrilled to say "yep, it was an amazing time!" 

Wordless Wednesday | Total Serenity

Look out y’all, I’m on a roll! Well, I figured that since its Wednesday and since I’m going to get back in the settle here, I might as well return to my “Wordless Wednesday Posts”!    

I captured this photo the last time we were at Crystal Lake - 12.15.13. It was early morning and super cold, but it was worth it because I don't think I've ever witnessed a more beautiful sunrise or have felt such total serenity. I'm so thankful that I got to experience it, with my father-in-law by my side, in a place that holds so many memories for Jack and his family.

5K Trail Run - Salado, Texas

Madi and I ran our first 5K - The Bell County Bar Association Paralegals 5k Trail Run -together on Saturday, April 14th.   We met up with some longtime friends, Vanessa, Tony, and Mona, who also took part in this fun charity run.

Here's our group:  Madi, Me, Nessa, Tony and Mona. 

This was my third 5K run for a cause, but it was Madi’s very first.  So, needless to say, when she signed up for this challenge, I was super proud of her courage and determination.  THEN, when she PLACED 3^rd {I’ll get to that in a minute} in her age group, this Momma was overwhelmed with pride!  Her Dad was pretty proud too, of course!


Our group started the race in the back of the crowd of runners/walkers.  I think there were a handful of ladies behind us when the starting whistle blew. 

Personally, I like to start off in the back because 1) I start off pretty slow and build up my pace little by little and 2)  because I like to pass people.  As I pass them, I get a little bit of a rush to continue on forward to pass the next person.  I’m very competitive and so putting people behind me is what gets me through.

Jack took this picture while he was waiting on us to come back around to the finish.

Madi and I stuck together, side by side, for the first two miles. Then, because I tend to go a little faster around the second mile, I had to go on ahead of her {after making sure with her that it was okay} in order to get into a comfortable run for myself.  I think she needed me to go on ahead anyway; later she said I was “talking too much”! LOL - She likes to get into a zone and doesn't like for me or her Dad to talk to her during our runs.  I usually respect that, but I just wanted to keep encouraging her since it was her first competitive run!  I pointed out neat things like a hawk, the brilliantly blue sky and the pretty flowers to try and keep her mind off the actual running.  But, it wasn’t working, I was only messin' with that zone of hers and ultimately it helped her that I went on ahead.

 Here I come, in the orange,up the final, dreadful hill.   I was so mad because I couldn't catch up to the couple in front of me.  Ugh.  Well, they weren't in my age group anyway - they were 10 years younger than me. I guess that should make me feel better, but it doesn't!

I could her Jack cheering me on and I could see in his face how proud he was of me.

I finished the 5k at my slowest time ever for a race (34.17), but by some miracle, I still placed 3^rd in my age group!  I was thrilled that I placed, but I was not thrilled with my time. 

Once I was finished, I walked back a little ways to cheer on Madi and the rest of the group as they came up that final hill.  Within minutes Madi came charging up it!!  

I cannot tell you the pride I felt as I watched her run up that hill - she was so determined and focused! It was a moment I will never forget! Never.  I jogged alongside her (as you can see - over on the left) for a minute, just yelling like a mad woman “GO MADI!”  “YOU GO THIS!” “COME ON, BABY!!”  “ALIGHT, ALIGHT, ALIGHT – LET’S GO, LET’S GO!”  I’m never ashamed of cheering her on – I’m always (maybe to the annoyance of some) vocally supportive (aka - loud) and always very, very proud, of her no matter what because she's my girl!

 Madi-girl is a BEAST!!

Madi did so awesome, that she came in 3rd in her age group!  Woot!  Way to go, Madison!  You did awesome kid!

Next came Tony, looking strong up that final hill...

He has some bad knee issues that he's been dealing with – I have no doubt that he would’ve finished this race waaaay sooner - way ahead of me!  He's a pro at these 5k's!

Next up the hill was Nessa!

I love that after 3.1 miles, this wonderful lady is SMILING!   She's pretty amazing like that!

She even did a little shuffle dance on her way through the finish!  Jack, Madi and I were laughing and cheering at the same time. :)

Here comes Tony and Mona.  After Tony finished his run, he turned right back around and jogged back to find Nessa and Mona.  What a good guy, huh?!  Nessa was doing alright when he reached her, so she asked him to keep running back to find Mona; which he did.

Mona's almost at the finish! 


The amazing thing about Mona is that this is not only her first ever 5K, but it's her FIRST time really running!!  She's not a runner.  She walks for exercise and has recently lost quite a bit of weight in doing so.  But, not until this day has she really run!  So what she did on this day is something truly inspiring!

Mona crossing the finish line as Nessa does a victory cheer for one of her bestfriends!  What a great moment!

Nessa and Mona after the race.




















Madi and me after the race.

All the girls after the run.

Shy ol' Madi getting her 3rd place ribbon! YAY Madi - You should be so proud of yourself!

Our beautiful sweet child!  3rd place in her first 5K!

Getting my 3rd place ribbon!

I laugh when I look at this picture - I look like such a dork, giddy with my little 3rd place ribbon! 

Me and my almost-as-big-as-me yougin' rockin' our 3rd place ribbons!

And this - this is my very favorite picture of the day - possibly my very favorite photo ever!  Nessa took this photo and turned it into something too amazing for words!  I cried when I saw it - I love it dearly and will forever treasure it!! 

I'm so glad to have this memory! I can remember, back when I first signed up for this 5K, writing on Facebook about how excited I was that Madi and I were going to do it together. I just knew we would have a good time and would make some awesome memories while doing it.  There are times when I wish Madi was still a baby or younger - because it seems as if she's growing up way, way too fast.  But, there are also times (like during this race) that I am happy she is old enough (and that I am young enough - for now) to enjoy stuff like this together!  As I had hoped, we did build some pretty awesome memories together as well as with friends, and that makes me very happy!

Hands made for holding mine.

Back in September of last year Jack and I took Madi and her best friend, Carly, to Red River, New Mexico. We had such an amazing time that we were thoroughly depressed for weeks after returning home. Jack still says to me, at least once a week, “Let’s pack our bags and go back to Red River.” I just smile and say, “I wish”.

Anyway, I had big plans to share the story of our trip along with the pictures here on the blog. However, I got discouraged halfway through the 900 {just shy of 900} pictures that I took during our 4 day trip. So, I never finished going through the pictures and after a few months, I just simply forget about them

Well, today as I was editing some photos I took this morning, I noticed my Red River vacation photo album just setting there; lonely and beckoning for me to open it. So, I clicked on it and started reliving those four awesome days in New Mexico. Then, I found what was really beckoning me all along; a very symbolic and special photo.  A photo of Jack and I holding hands while hiking in the mountains of Red River…

It’s been an emotional roller coaster of a week for me {school issues, family issues, as well as friend issues have taken a bit of a toll on me} and unfortunately, Jack has been out of town on business travel all week. I’ve really needed him - his shoulder to lean on (and cry on), he’s hands to slip mine into and his big ol’ arms to hold me.

So, finding this picture - this reminder of who I am, of the life I have, of the love I cherish, somehow healed my aching heart. It’s like a promise to me that at the end of this long, trying week my husband - this wonderful man whose hands were made for holding mine, who loves me (my psycho emotions and all) will be home. He will slip his hand into mine and the worries of the week will be gone.

Geez Louise!  See what I mean?! Getting all sappy about this picture?? I’m seriously an emotional wreck this week! :p

Furry Friends Friday ~ Texas Johnston

I took this side portrait of Tex yesterday while we were outside with the butterflies. Poor guy deserves a post just about him today. Earlier in the week he suffered a pretty grusome injury - he, somehow or another, tore out one of his back toe nails (well, the toenail is still there, but barely hanging on). We took him to our Vet, but he didn't want to inflect more pain or stress on Tex by "finishing the job" so to speak. He just told us to give it time; that the nail would either fall off on its own or that Tex would pull it off himself when it was ready. Yikes!   It still looks pretty gross, but thankfully it is getting better.   He's feeling well enough to go outside again and also well enough to stalk butterflies with me.  So, I think that's a pretty good sign.

I like this picture of Tex so much that I played around with it in Photoshop a little this morning. I just tweaked the colors and played with different effects. My favorite outcome (other than the one above, which was just brightened a bit) was this black and white version.

I'm really picky about what photo's I choose to turn into black and white...I love black and white photo's, but only when they are done right.  My "right" might not be the same as yours or anyone else's, but {to me} it all comes down to the composition of the photo - the shapes, tones, and textures. Shadow's (which is one of my favorite things about this picture) and highlights are pretty important too.  Anyway, with all that said (and getting off my soapbox now) I think this passes all those "picky" criterias for me and I think it makes a really nice black and white photo. 'Course, I think Tex is beautiful and looks great in any color. :)

Enjoy your Friday and have a wonderfully blessed weekend! 

Signs of SpRiNg!

While outside enjoying the sunshine and gorgeous weather afternoon, I witnessed one sure sign of Spring ~ butterflies!

A Black Swallowtail enjoying the nectar of a Carolina Jasmine vine.

I was only able to get a few picture of it before it flew off.

 

This Tiger Swallowtail was just a few feet away on the Mexican Plum Tree.

As some of you already know (or can tell by the pictures above) our Mexican Plum Tree (a.k.a our "Christie Tree") is in full bloom!!

YAY! {if you've followed this blog over the last year, you understand my excitement!}. This is yet another sign that Spring is just around the corner!

Spring is my favorite time of year and I'm so excited that it's almost here! I plan to get out with my camera as often as I can in order to capture it's re-birth.

Stefano Langone | " I Need You Now " | Wildcard Performance [HD]

I don't watch a lot of T.V. and I very rarely share my thoughts on T.V. related stuff on blog posts, facebook stats and so forth.  But, I do (the whole family does) watch American Idol every season without fail and I feel compelled to share this video of Stefano from American Idol singing "I Need You Now" by Smokie Norful.  The power of this song and the beauty of Stefano's voice is AMAZING and I want everyone (or at least the handful of you reading this post) to feel/hear/witness it's power and beauty. 

We've really liked Stefano throughout the competition. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and it is great to see someone like that who is also incredibly talented on TV in this day and age. His rendition of "I Need You Now", in our opinion, was probably the greatest moment/preformance on American Idol...ever. We will definitely be pulling/voting for him for the rest of the season!




Yeah. I know. Beautiful! You can actually hear this young man crying out to God for help in this important moment in his life and God answers, right away, by being with him and helping him to give the performance of his life!

Big doin's...

We had a super busy, but super lovely Valentine’s Day weekend.  As you know, Valentine's Day fell on a Monday this year, but most of our weekend was devoted to Valentine's Day activities as well as Bella’s Birthday. I have a lot to cram into this post, so bear with me here.  I want to make it quick because I have MUCH bigger things to move onto, like Madi's 13th Birthday which is tomorrow!!  YAY - it's exciting and at the same time very, very frightening!

So anyway, I'll try to wrap-up our Valentine’s Day weekend as quickly as possible, starting with Friday, February 11th which was the night of Madison's middle school Valentine's dance. After school  on Friday, I picked Madi and her best friend, Carly up and brought them home to get all dolled up for the dance.  My sister and brother-in-law brought our nephew, Jason, over about an hour before the dance began.  My intention was to take pictures of the kids (together and separately) before the dance. Yeah, that didn’t really work out. The girls (who weren’t looking forward to pictures anyway) took waaay too long to get themselves ready and by the time we got out for pictures, the sun was setting and we didn’t have time to drive to the location I had in mind.

So anyway (sigh), this is the only worth-a-darn shot I have of all the kids... 

Carly is not smiling and I had to make Madi stop making faces...Mom & Dad, I know you are laughing right now!  You get what you give, right?

Jason, on the other hand, was down with the whole picture thing. Or, at least he was kind enough to pretend that he was and never complained.  I got a few of just him.  He looked very handsome I think. Here he is seen, kickin' it outside of "Tiger Stadium".

The dance was over by 9pm and all three kids came back to our house to hang out afterwards. They were all wound up;  Jason was showing Jack and I video’s of friends he recorded breakdancing while Carly and Madi demonstrated their a.w.e.s.o.m.e (hehe) new dance moves!!  I wish I would’ve recorded those!  Jason only hung out with us for a little while after the dance, but Carly spent the night - well she actually spent the whole weekend with us. I feel kind of sorry for her, having to hang out with Madi and her crazy parents for two whole days!  Poor thing, we had her up early both Saturday morning, for a basketball tournament and Sunday morning for Church. 

Early Saturday morning we drive to Bruceville-Eddy to watch Madi’s long time friend, Micaela, play in a girls middle school basketball tournament.

Micaela during the game.



Micaela's little sister, Ashley.  What a cutie!  And super sassy too! 

 

 

Ashley playing with Madi.  Madi has a way with little ones and it was so sweet to watch she and Ashley together.



Micaela’s team didn't win their game, so they did not advance in the tournament.  I know Micaela and her family was disappoint, but those girls played so hard and should be very proud of themselves.   Micaela was really impressive and we think we'll be seeing big things from her in the future.  She’s super talented and such an all around great kid. 

The girls after the game. That Ashley really loved Madi - it was so sweet!


Thank you Micaela, as well and Albert and Melinda, for inviting us to come out and watch the game!  We had a great time with you all!

After the game, we drove home and started baking for Valentines Day!  I was a little lazy this year and decided not to bake sugar cookies.  Instead, I made No-Bake Cookies.

My Mom use to make them all the time for my sisters and I, when we were going up. Not for Valentines day, specifically, but just on a regular basis.  This was my first time making them since I was in 4H back in 5^th or 6^th grade and they turned out just as I remembered – super delicious!  After making them the traditional way (with oatmeal, cocoa, sugar, vanilla & peanut butter) I decided to put my own spin on them and made a second batch with cayenne pepper.  Yum. I have to pat myself on the back for that idea!  Never whoulda thunk it, huh?!  Actually, I wasn't a bit surprised because I've found that a little bit of heat/spice and chocolate can compliment each other quite nicely.  When I told my Mom about adding cayenne pepper to her No-Bake Cookie recipe, she sounded straight up horrified and somewhat disgusted at the idea!  I think its fair to say she'll be sticking to the traditional way.

While I made the cookies, Jack made his 4th annual Valentine's Chocolate Cheese Cake.  This is always the highlight of my Valentine's Day!  I've look forward to one every year since we got married and he never disappoints!  

 

Seriously the best chocolate cheese cake- ever!
Jack shared a few pieces with his Mom and Dad and they both agreed - it's the best.

Once the cookies and cheesecake were done, Jack and I desided to go for a trail run. We couldn't resist, it was gorgeous outside and it would've been a shame not to take advantage of it!  We went to Dana Peak Park and took the girls (all three ~ Madi, Carly and Bella) with us. We didn’t make Madi and Carly run; we ran (with Bella) ahead of them and just before they got out of our sight, we turned back and ran toward them.  Bella, who hates any form of exercise, was in misery, but Madi and Carly seemed to enjoy themselves. I didn't take picture during this run, but I did take pictures during our run the following day (Sunday) out at Miller Springs - which I'll get to later in this post.

Saturday evening, as a Birthday/Valentines day present, Jack made homemade dog treats for Bella...  

Madi, Bella and I are so lucky to have Jack!  He does such a great job taking care of his girls!

and we celebrated her 4th Birthday (which was technically on Feb. 5th) by giving her a few along with a stuffed froggy.

Jack giving his princess her toy.

Madi & Bella playing with Froggy

Bella loves her froggy!!



Sunday was a little bit more relaxing.  We went to church and afterwards we took Carly and Madi out to lunch.  Later, Jack and I went to Miller Springs Park, as I've already mentioned, for a long run.  Miller Springs is just about a mile from our house!  The trails are fun and the scenery can really be stunning.  At this point, if I had to choose between Dana Peak (which is awesome as well) and Miller Springs, I would choose Miller Springs as my favorite place to run.  Anyway, I got some pretty good pictures that I can't wait to share later in the week.  

By the time Jack and I got home from our run, our Sunday-funday was almost over and it was time to wind-down and get prepared for another work/school week.  But, to my surprise, while Madi and I drove Carly home, Jack stayed home preparing my Valentine's day gift.  I didn't know it at the time and it wasn't until a little while after I got home, that I found it.  I went into our bathroom to grab some laundry and right away, this is what I saw...



Knowing how much I love long, relaxing baths, Jack got me all new bath stuff!     

I was so surprised, I teared up!  He had totally redecorated the tub area with apothecary jars (I love the jars!) each filled with different bath goodies, candles, and a sponge in a beatiful dish with little roses that float on the bath water.  He truly amazings me sometimes!  I was thrilled with my gift, but felt very guilty because I didn't put as much thought into his gift as he had mine. :(   

I waited until the next morning (Valentines Day) to give Jack his gift - 

A birdfeeder.
So, yeah...now you see why I felt guilty.


















We also gave Madi and Bella their gifts on Monday morning...

For a Valentine's day breakfast, I fixed eggs and cheese toast for Madi  and Jack mixed Bella's dog food in yogurt (an every morning thing) and placed one of his homemade heartshaped dog treats on top! His girls (Madi, Bella and I) are pretty spoiled like that!  :)

Tomorrow is a pretty important day - it's HUGE - it's Madi's 13th Birthday!  We'll be celebrating her birthday a little tomorrow before and after school, but we'll do the major celebrating this coming weekend.  I plan to write a short Birthday post for our beautiful young TEEN tomorrow, so look for that.

Have a blessed day!