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So glad it's Summer!

So glad it's Summer!!!!!  Leaving the school schedule behind, we are sleeping later and the house is a mess due to lack of routine. I love it.  I am up this morning getting things back in order but before I do I just wanted to say Im glad it's Summer.  We have embraced it full force. We went camping with my WHOLE family, about seventy bodies all together I think, at Tyler State Park.  A somewhat annual event.  I took not one picture.  I was too busy swimming, resting, playing board games, chatting with my family and eating food I didnt cook.  It was fabulous.  Landon is off to church camp and I have the whole week to have an only child, Anna.  I told her that we are just going to "chill" at home today, starting our week of mother daughter only child bonding.  Our air conditioner works, the pool is at our disposal and camps, road trips, summer weddings and visting friends and family is in our near future.  So glad it's Summer!

miss usa

Miss USA!

I have an annual Miss USA party and I must say this year did not disappoint.  For those who are unfamiliar, I post a pic of all the contestants on a button and stick them to a styrofoam board by the TV.  When the contestants come out and announce their names at the beginning of the show, you have you "call" the one you want right then and pin her to your sash, a pink one!  You become that contestant for the night.

I print out their bios so you can check 'em out and read about them before the show starts.  See above^ Mallory discussing with Laura who she'll pick....later we found out that she snagged Miss Missouri out of turn, cheating.......tsk tsk......we righted the wrong but she wasnt happy.

Guests bring food that we eat during commercial breaks, Courtney brought a cookie cake!  YUMMM!!

It gets pretty intense......when your candidate gets up, you get up, when she walks the stage, you walk the stage, when she's interviewed (thanks to TIVO TECHNOLOGY) we pause the tv and listen to your answer first then compare it to what she says.   

Here's Mcall during the interviewing process, her candidate appeared crosseyed for some reason, so she tried her best to imitate her........

Guess what???? In the five years that Ive been having this party, I always get Miss Texas by default, host priveledge....and she won!   So I won, and even though I shared my roses, the runners up didnt appear too happy.

Later, someone stole my crown.....

Mallory did a drill team pose to try to cheer me up...

Laura took her little dog and left, I was so glad she came and brought a dang good cheese ball...

A small fight broke out and a leg injury occurred....

But overall a good time was had by all.

Thank you to all who came, I hope you come back next year!

The overall theme included in the before pageant speech Proverbs 31:30-

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Trip to Bonham

I'll start out by explaining that I didn't know where Bonham was.  I only knew that I offered to drive Landon there.  His Sunday school was having a camp out there and rather than miss the whole thing because he had to work, I offered to drive him there EARLY in the morning so he could spend the day and then drive him back that night so he could go to work. 

 When I got there, I was served Blueberry pancakes, okay I mooched them, but they were offered to me and it was a nice breakfast that I didnt have to cook! 

 Rather than interfere with the camp out bonding and rather than drive all the way back home just to turn around and come back, I decided to see what there was to see in Bonham for the day!

First, I went to a Thrift store............. 

gross....leftover Bonham is not pretty. 

 Next, antiquing. Wonderful antique store / coffee shop where I was invited to sit down with  a couple of local ladies and shoot the bull...ahem, excuse me, I mean, discuss the days events.  Wonderful. I spent an hour there and bought a pretty medicine box.

Next off to a book store where I bought a BIG coffee table picture book about America.  The gentleman that runs the book store is growing tomaotes right now and selling them by the side of the road.  In case you wanted to know.

                                                              

I enjoyed my picture book while eating ribs at a local eatery where comic book and other lively characters are spray painted on the wall!  A group of bikers came in and I eavesdropped on their days adventures until I worked up the nerve to ask if I could take a picture with them....it didnt come out right....very disappointing.

This is where it gets interesting.  I started driving around.  Before I knew it.  I was going over a large bridge.  Being directionally challenged and afraid I was getting lost, I took a picture for reference, (notice the slanted angle of the picture achieved by hanging my camera out of the window)

I later realized I was crossing the Red River and had entered into Oklahoma territory.  (observe Texas sign)

The Red River was very high.

As I was realizing where I was, I happened to notice some sort of ramps and four wheelers below me. When I followed the trail there, I met a nice man who told me that for ten dollars I could bring any thing I wanted to drive onto his acreage and go wild!  While eating a hot dog that he gave me, I told him I wish I had a four wheeler.  At this time a little boy named (Mustard?") i dont know what, said that I could ride his.  Before I knew it, I was on a four wheeler attempting do-nuts!  Observe pic of ramps etc.

Well, back to Texas.  I found a long trail in Ivanhoe (sp) that at one point got so dense I could not see the end of it or a clear view of the sky.

Amazing.  At the end of this was a clearing with flowers. 

It led me to a local vinyard and a woman named, for real, Darcus.  She and I were the only ones on the property and she gave me a wonderful tour.

Time to go back and pick up Landon.  He had had a wonderful day at the camp out.  

And that was my trip to Bonham.

 

AI...oh my

David Cook- laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaameeeeee

you are better than that

Syesha- you are fabulous, my mother in law thinks you just found out who you are i regards of race ..."so to speak"

Lets see.....Tina Turner (black) and Sam Cook ...(VERyyyyyyy black)

you rocked the heck out of both of them...I wish there were obvious white songs that I could sing to represent my race.......You are awesome, Ive liked you from the get go....i am so sorry Randy bursted your happy bubble, that wasnt neccessary .....what a jerk....im okay that you went with the ugly cry....I love you

David ArchYUCK a- you are frozen in a high school musical 

you are fab and i am sick of you at the same time....sigh....eye rolling

D O N E....i hope you go home and i am sick of you fiegning humilty

"really? You think im great? What? I dont..??? I just????"  (vomit)

Jason

Jason, Jason, Jason

I really wanted to have Jason Castro Day in Rockwall, I wanted to go to the parade...

NOT gonna happen my friend

I dont care, you were in your element, you were comfortable and out of the stupid AI box they keep trying to put everyone in

SING BOB MARLEY!!!!!!!!   SING BOB DILLON!!!!!!!!

YOU WERE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

I voted for you and text voted for you for two hours.....(secretly I dont think its gonna help)

I hope you win

A note to my mother in law:

Youve been coming to my house for several weeks now for AI

Keep on comin, even if youre not a Jason fan......I love you

An excerpt from Mexico mission journal.....

I just came across this today and remembered that day...another heart song straight from the Father ...

 On the day that we left,  a liitl girl named

Erika came to me and hugged me.  She looked up at me

and said "I want Jesus in my house".  During the week

that we were there, Erika helped us translate to her

nieghbors and friends who did not know English.  She

smiled ALL the time.  She laughed more than anyone

else.  She offered to help carry things and was never

short of kisses and hugs for everyone.  I would guess

that she was around 10.  

On the last day when she came

to hug me, she wasn't smiling.  She said "I want Jesus

n my house".  I felt so helpless.  She knew we were

leaving in a few minutes.  Leaving Mexico.  Going back

to America.  She was hanging on to me for dear life. 

She buried her face in my shirt and started to cry. 

We had ministered to so many.  A construction team had

worked non-stop on the church while we were there.  We

had shared bible stories and the good news of Christ. 

We had given supplies and toys and crafts.  God had

used us so much.  

Still, as I held onto Erika, all I felt was fear and 

hopelessness.  This was the last real moment of trust 

God had in store for me.  I had  to let her go.  I had to trust Him. 

He was the difference maker.  I held her as long as I could as

tighly as I could.  My three sweet highschool girls

that I roomed with noticed us and gathered around us. 

Toghether we prayed for Erika and for God's plan for

her life.  This is our prayer to Him, though Him, for

Erika.  Later, it became my heart song for missions.

  When I see and feel the pain so deep,

  I want to lend a  hug to heal the hurt, 

  the pain that is so real to me. 

   

  I want to be washed and clothed and soaked in the

blood,

  the Love the lasting Love,

  The healing blood. 

   

  As I wrap my arms around them, Lord... I pray

aloud...

   

  I pray…..

  Let my arms be your arms,

  Let my heart that breaks with your mercy gift,

  Be healed by Your embrace not mine

  Make me an instrument of comfort

   

  As I hold Your Child whose brokenness I cannot mend,

  With a servants heart I won’t pretend 

  to have the answers I know You know

  But, let my tears fall down in honor of the healing

that begins with                

  this prayer.

   

  Let my arms be your arms,

  Let the love that passes between our embrace

  Be the Love passed down from You

   

  Let me be Christ to them   

Pop that Corn

So our microwave broke.  When getting ready for a movie night last week, my daughter "discovered" a fabulous way to make microwave popcorn in a pot on the stove top!  She was amazed  ;) "Look Mom! We can do it like this!"

Who knew you could make microwave popcorn on top of the regular stove?!?!?!?!

Ahhhhh....innovation and memories equals love.

Mud People

So Anna made these mud people after it rained.  Some had curly hair, some had mohawks, some were sicking out their tongues.  She used all natural ingredients and materials.  Shells, mud, grass, sticks and the like.  I thought they were pretty cool.  

Mud Boggin!!!!!!!!!

So when I was in middle school, I wen to this thing called a

  Mud Bog!

From what I remeber, it involved a loooooooooooooooooooooong  muddy pit in the middle of a big field somewhere, deep enough to drive a monster truck through.  You fill it with mud and invite people to some and see how far their vehicle through it to see how far they can get.  The one who gets the farthest wins.  There were lots of baseball caps, smoked turkey legs, cold beverages, people kicked back in the back of pick up trucks, watchin and hollerin and havin a good time.  For some reason there were alot of little dogs runnin around, too.  More than a few folks wearin some sort of camoflauge and of course a whole lotta mud flyin around.  

I remember it being fun.  So when I found out that they started a mud bog in my area I had to go.  I took Anna and her friend Danni.  They had never heard of such a thing and seemed to really have a good time.  It was just as I remembered.  Muddy and redneck and turkey legs and a great way to kick back and enjoy an afternoon.  Never heard of a Mud Bog? Well, maybe you wouldnt go every weekend but you may wanna go once and check it out.  Besides, they only have them once a month.   

Yeeee Hawwww Get Muddy!

If you wanna find out more abut the Mud Bog you can visit their myspace page at www.myspace.com/rockwallcountymudbog....check it out

Bottle Tree

DID YOU KNOW? Bottle Trees are a Mississippi favorite, a tree (a wooden stick covered in wooden dowels) covered in bottles to catch evil spirits before they could reach your home. It is believed this practice originated in the Caribbean on the island of Haiti and was brought to the mainland by slaves from Africa.

Actually, bottle trees can be found in people's yards all over the world.

My grandmother has a bottle tree.  Its beautiful.