Happy Birthday To S A!

Annabelle sang "Happy Birthday" to the USA this weekend! It came out a whole lot like "Happy Birthday To S A!"

Have I mentioned that I LOVE digital photography? And, I especially LOVE the special effects that can be done to make a precious picture awesome!

But, most of all, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the subject of my pictures! Can she possibly get any cuter?

Here is the original picture before applying my fancy new trick. And, yes, I know Grandmama, you like the original picture best!

Is he with Jesus?

"Is he with Jesus?" Annabelle asked this evening.

These words struck a chord in my heart so strong. It is just so hard to believe that an innocent child truly believes there is a Jesus living in heaven even though she's never met this so called person named Jesus (or God). If only we as adults could see everything through the eyes of an innocent child.

Hubby's father had passed away back in September of 1994 when hubby was only 16 years old. I don't think he's ever truly stopped grieving for his Dad, and I know for a fact that he has never forgot him. During a time in our lives when most of us cannot stand to be seen in public with our parents, hubby lost one of his own. I am sure he respected and looked at both his parents in a different light from a much earlier age than most of us. It takes having kids of our own sometimes to truly appreciate our parents, but unfortunately, I think hubby was forced to see the light much sooner.

So, this afternoon, hubby asked me if I wanted to watch the video tape that his Dad had recorded for him, his brother and his mom before he became very ill. He actually had not watched the video himself for the first time until this past December 2008. I had mentioned to him that I wanted to watch it as well. I did not expect him to pull it out the day before Father's Day.

Before we started the tape, I told Annabelle that we were going to watch a video tape of hubby's Daddy. I told her that Papa Leon, hubby's Daddy, was in heaven.

Her response to that was, "Is he with Jesus?"

I don't know how your heart does not skip a beat when your young child asks such questions, but it brought tears to my eyes.

As for the video, it also brought tears to my eyes. I've heard so many wonderful things about Papa Leon, and I wish I could have met him myself. I don't know if he had a script, but if he didn't, he spoke everything so eloquently. It was very clear to see that hubby also learned a lot about love and integrity from not only his mother, but also from his father. I could tell from the video that he loved his family with all of his heart (and then some).

One thing I remember the most from the video is he told his boys that one of the best things they could ever do for their children was "to love their mother." It speaks so true to my heart. I have no doubt that Nonnie loved Leon. He was her everything and definitely her true love. And, after watching the video, I see just how much Leon loved Donnie. You cannot fake feelings of true love, and he truly and deeply loved his wife (and his children).

And, I think the same goes for any family. I think the best thing any spouse can do for their children is to love the other spouse and to show that love to their children. I, myself, am fortunate enough to have parents who love each other dearly. They don't always agree, but I know they love each other. And, I know the same was true for Nonnie and Leon.

I hope that Annabelle will one day grow up to tell her own children the same thing. I just hope and pray that we'll be a good example for her!

Obviously, she has already been a good example for us. Who are we as human beings to question the existence of Jesus and God?

If only we could see everything through the eyes of an innocent child!


This blog entry was read and approved by hubby before posting.

Beautiful Blue Eyes

I love this little girl and her beautiful blue eyes so much!


This picture was taken during Annabelle's first visit to the Atlanta Zoo on May 24th, 2009. You cannot tell from this particular picture, but Annabelle is actually holding her souvenir penny that her Daddy and her made together and staring into space. I guess she was just deep in thought, but it is such a beautiful picture of those beautiful blue eyes.

I was missing you

"I was missing you."

Those sweet little words were spoken this evening when I arrived back from dinner with a friend at 9:30 p.m. and went in to check on my daughter who was calling, "I need to go tee tee in potty!"

I'm not sure if she really needed to go tee tee in the potty all that bad (even though she did). I think she either heard or felt my presence in the house. But, the extra time spent rocking and singing to Annabelle was well worth the way she completely melted my heart when she said, "I was missing you," as soon as she saw me.

I later learned that she told hubby as he started singing songs to her that, "I don't like you. I want Mommy." And, honestly, I somewhat feel bad for him because I know deep down it really does hurt his feelings. But, I only feel somewhat bad because I know my day will come when she no longer wants anything to do with me and her Daddy can do no wrong.

I did learn that hubby was trying to buy a little love this evening. He told me to just go, that he would take care of dinner. As I always do, I asked what Annabelle ate for dinner (because I wanted to know if she ate a good dinner like a good girl). His response: "Yes, she ate half a peanut butter sandwich and a hot dog." Nice! Very healthy, don't you think!

She had already tattled on her Daddy while I was rocking her, and she informed me that she had two cookies. He spilled the beans for me to learn that these cookies were before dinner! She's been having major separation anxiety when I leave her with her Daddy lately, and she cried when I left this evening. Bless her heart! She was crying for me as she waved goodbye as I drove away. It broke my heart! But, apparently, oatmeal spice cookies heal everything!

Dear Annabelle,

You better hope that I outlive your Daddy or you are going to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hot dogs and cookies every day for the rest of your life! I'm not sure that any fruits and vegetables would ever be in the mix.

Love always,

Mommy


Dear Hubby,

If something does ever happen to me, please, I beg you, either hire a nanny or marry someone who is at least as domesticated as me (and that isn't saying much)!

Love always,

Your Dearest Wife

When I get big

Here is a conversation Annabelle and I had in the car earlier on the way to meet Grandmama and Granddaddy at BJ's.

Mommy: "Do you want to get your eyebrows waxed one day?"

We had just left from Annabelle watching me get my eyebrows waxed.

Annabelle: "When I get big and drive, I get my eye bows waxed!"

Oh boy! I'm not looking forward to the teenage years. Perhaps I should stop taking her with me to these fancy salons when I get my hair cut and eye brows waxed. And, oddly enough, I'm not that fancy at all, but I will pay every 12 weeks or so for an eyebrow wax and a hair cut. Sometimes the hair cuts are 6 months in between. I know, very sad, but true! However, I'm thinking of having my brows waxed every 6 weeks. It is amazing how much younger one can look with newly waxed eyebrows.

The Smell from Down Under

Something has died in our crawl space. Yesterday afternoon, the kitchen starting stinking, and I couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from. I thought perhaps it was from the trash can.

I stirred a lot of dust yesterday, so my nose was all stopped up from the allergies. Hubby got home and he said, "Ooohhh! What smells like dead fish?" So, it wasn't just me, and it apparently smelled worse than I thought. He stuck his head outside, and he felt certain that it was coming from the crawl space under the house.

He said he'd check it out tomorrow. Well, I think Annabelle and I may have to get out of this house today. Now, not only does the kitchen stink, but the smell has moved to the dining room, living room and office. Keep in mind, my house isn't very big, so we don't have many rooms to hide from the smell (our bedroom, Annabelle's bedroom, the hall and the bathroom)!

This couldn't be good for us to be breathing either!


Update as of 8:17 p.m. on Friday:

Annabelle and I left as soon as we were dressed this morning. She didn't complain once about the smell. We didn't even eat breakfast at home. Chick-fil-A was calling our name! We spent the day shopping and with Grandmama and Granddaddy. We just arrived home around 7:30 p.m.

Hubby came home around lunch time. He ventured into the crawl space with his pants tucked into his shoes, a long-sleeve shirt, a hat and a bandanna covering his mouth.

The verdict: Yes, something was definitely dead, but it was unrecognizable. Per hubby, it was either a cat or a opossum. Apparently, all that was left was a jaw bone, back bone, teeth and fur. And, of course, it was covered with maggots!

Where is this creature resting right now? Anyone want to guess? In a garbage bag in our trash can! Yuck! Trash day isn't until Tuesday, so I have requested that hubby haul that thing off elsewhere. We'll see if he follows the request.

And, my house still stinks even though hubby doesn't smell a thing!

Chicken Gum

There is a first for everything, and when there is a first, there is a Mommy with a camera.

So, I gave Annabelle her first taste of gum today. Well, technically, it probably wasn't her first taste because she's confiscated it from my purse in the past and took it upon herself to taste it, but it quickly was taken away from her so she never really got to enjoy it for its true meaning.

Today, I instructed her to only chew it and to not swallow it. She followed my instructions with the first piece (which was probably only a fifth of a normal size piece), and she even came to me and said, "Look Mommy!" as she handed me her very first piece of gum. Keep in mind, I had also instructed her to give it to Mommy when she was finished chewing it. And, she heeded my instructions. She probably chewed it for a good ten minutes or so too.

I praised her for bringing the chewed piece of gum to me, and she promptly asked, "May I have a gummy bear?" I guess she thought she deserved a treat for listening. I gave her one.

The next piece of gum, well, let's hope it got swallowed. She came to me again with an open mouth and said, "Look Mommy!" The only thing left was tiny bits of gum stuck to her teeth. I asked her if she had swallowed it. Her response: "Uh huh," as she nodded her head yes.

So, here you have some pictures of Annabelle's first piece of gum. I know you care. She's not looking at me because she's too busy watching Curious George on T.V. since I treated her to a cartoon this morning. I guess it won't be long before I find gum on every piece of furniture that I own!

Oh, and the title, it was granted its name because since Annabelle has learned to chew gum today, she has also learned how to chew every piece of chicken 100 + times. She started this during dinner this evening, and it was driving hubby crazy! It got a little annoying to me as well as bedtime was fast approaching, and she was still chewing away on the same piece of chicken that she started chewing on 10 minutes before.