Waiting in Expectation

Friday, July 9, 2010

Presley's Scrapbook

I'm sorry, but this deserves a blog post all on its own. I am D-O-N-E...done with Presley's first year scrapbook. Wahoo!!! I am so excited to be finished. I can now relax all day with my girl and not get side-tracked at night once Joey gets home from work. I have been going strong since December...taking classes on line and learning all that I possibly could. I put way too much time into this book and I am happy to be finished. ;-) I didn't do a lot of journaling in her scrapbook because I have her blog book that captured her entire first year. I focused on a book that was filled with memories, family, and Bible verses....all of the verses are ones that have stuck with our family over the years. I think from the moment my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer to the years that followed was when the words of the Bible became my soul source of comfort. It was then and the years following her death that these words became alive and precious to me. I wanted Presley to have these verses in a place where she could find comfort at any time. I also put a page about her Grandma Victoria in the book :-) My next project is creating a book about my mom. ;-) I expect it to take a year or so, because of all the pictures I will have to sift through. My sisters dont know it yet, but they are going to help me with this ;-) As most of you know, the hardest thing for me is Presley not knowing her grandma and what better way to share her life!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Snake, Tanks, and Sparklers...oh my!

We had a great 4th of July Weekend. It was very busy and filled with great fun. Saturday night, our church put on a 4th of July celebration of its own. There were bounce houses, games, food, movies, fireworks, and lots of water...mostly from the rain that fell a few hours before the festivities began. It was still lots of fun. Presley wasn't too interested in the fireworks. She was more interested in playing with cousin Reid's hair and giving him a head massage. lol.

Fun with Daddy!

Putting on Nana Jean's bracelets..

Early Sunday morning Joey and I went to Roanoke to buy fireworks for the kids. I always remembered doing fireworks as a kid so we thought it would be great fun to get some for all the kiddos... especially now that they are at the age where they can really enjoy them. I had to follow Joey around the store to remind him that we were there for the kids and we needed to focus on "kid friendly" fireworks. ;-) hee-hee! Presley was fussing at one point and he made the suggestion that I go wait in the car with her and he'd finish up real quick...ummmm, I was quick to turn down that offer. ;-) We left with tanks, chickens, snakes, glow worms, colored smoke balls, giant colored sparklers, snap poppers, and a few others that Joey snuck in...jumping jacks, and black cats which still sit upon our counter. ;-) Sneaky Man! Later that afternoon we headed over to Sara's house and had a great time! We started off the afternoon with pool time and some fun in the sprinklers.

Brian was the grill man again ;-) He is a great cook and made delicious fajitas. yummm!!! Presley doesn't usually like meat, but she loved Uncle Brian's grilled chicken...probably because it wasn't processed. ;-) ha ha!

Corbin, Cousin Ellie, and Reid

We also celebrated cousin Logan's birthday who will turn a year old this July 15th! I still remember all of the events that unfolded the day he was born. I remember the fear on my sister's face (and her husband's). I saw them reach out in complete faith by putting their hope in the One who heals. Little Logan has come so far and he is doing great...beating the odds daily. Logan was a little overwhelmed by all the chaos, but he enjoyed all his new toys. It's amazing how fast these little ones grow!

Ah mom...do I have to wear this thing on my head!

Yay...A new toy!!!
We ended the evening with snakes, tanks, and sparklers...oh my!

this would be a NON kid friendly fire work ;-)

Grandpa doin his thing

snakes everywhere...great childhood memories ;-)

A Sparkler Parade ;-)

The fourth of July ended, but the weekend continued ;-) Joey had Monday off so we headed over to Elizabeth's house in the morning for Grandpa's pancake breakfast. After breakfast, we all went to the neighborhood Spray Park. Presley loves the water and pretty much has no fear! She absolutely loved the spray park! It was a fantastic weekend and I was completely worn out come Monday night....probably what helped spur on my migraine that night ;-( grrrr.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Presley's First Swim Lesson

Cousin Reid loves Presley. Every time we see him he runs up to her and asks, "do you want to pway wit me." Of course, Presley doesn't answer :-) which leads Reid to ask again and again until Sara or I say, "yes Reid, Presley wants to play with you." He usually starts off by giving her ALL of his toys and then by the end of the day they are right back in his loving care. He doesn't quite understand why she doesn't answer him when he asks her a question or why she doesn't follow his directions very well. I can't wait until she is able to communicate with him and they are actually able to "play" together...although, I have to remind myself that it will probably be a few more years before she is able to talk like her cousin Reid. He has the vocabulary of a 5 year old! lol. Anyhow...on the 4th of July, Presley finally "obeyed" Reid when he came up to her and asked if she wanted to go outside and swim with him. Presley was quite excited to have a pool buddy, but she definitely wasn't expecting her first swim lesson. And this is how the conversation went...

Presley: testing the waters.

Reid: "you can do it, you can do it, you can do it...clap, clap, clap, and repeat...

Presley was not following his directions very well.

Reid: "here, let me help you"

Reid: "this is how you swim Presley...you lay down like this..."
Presley is watching Reid carefully, but still not following his directions.

Reid: "watch me Presley...you go like this"

Reid: "you need to get wet...splash, splash, splash"

Reid was DETERMINED to get Presley in the water...by whatever means necessary.

This is the picture that came shortly after the one above...notice that she is all wet and OUT of the pool ;-) Yah, little Reid tricked you too, huh? Looks can be deceiving ;-) Nothin like a good grip from a hug that can give you the power to throw your client into the water. No pain, No gain, my friends...

And there ya have it folks ;-) Presley's first swim lesson...compliments of Reid Cummins.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Henrietta Creek Orchard

When I was little my Grandma and Grandpa Cose used to visit Fredricksburg, Texas every year. While they were there they would always pick up some peaches and bring them back to us. Awhile back I watched a documentary called "Food Inc." It was actually quite disturbing and ever since I watched it I have been buying organic meats and dairy. Sometimes I will buy organic fruits and veggies, but usually I just get them from a farmer's market here in Flower Mound called "Sprouts." I am by no means a big organic fanatic and I rarely buy anything packaged that has the term "organic" written on it. Anyhow, on "Food Inc" they interviewed a few small companies (private farms) that used organic methods...Horizon and Stonyville Farms. Soooo... this led me to the internet where I looked up local farms that owned farmer's markets here in town. I happened upon a website called http://www.pickyourown.org/. This website is awesome. I researched all of the local farms where you could pick your own fruits and veggies or visit their local farmer's market. The farm that appealed to me the most was Fall Creek Farms. However, it was in Granbury, Texas and too far of a drive since we had just gotten back from SA the day before. So, I called up Sara and told her about a farm just minutes from her house. Two Saturdays ago we packed the kids and husbands up and headed off to Henrietta Creek Orchard. It was VERY hot, but it was still lots of fun and quite a learning experience. We met farmer Sue who showed us the orchard grounds, let us feed the chickens, and pick veggies straight from the earth. The peaches we picked were like no other I have ever tasted. She didn't use any type of pesticides...now I know why organic food can be a little pricey! Who knew wasps burrowed in and lived in peaches? We still picked a ton of peaches and it ended up being much cheaper than going to the grocery store. Henrietta Creek Orchard pretty much grows everything that is in season....next up, apples! She grows 8 different types of apples and has over 700 dwarf apple trees. I can't wait until September!! Here are some pictures of our day at the Orchard...note that this activity was perfect for our 8 year old nephew, Corbin. The poor little ones were a little hot and overwhelmed. Mr Reid caught his finger in a beak and a cactus in his leg, but he was still a trooper.