We're getting our own boy!

This little fella is Brandon, isn't he adorable?  He and Violet are buddies, just like their mommies have been most of their lives.  Well, we found out on Wednesday, Violet's 3rd birthday that Jill is having a boy!  A boy!  Our very own BOY!  In case you didn't hear me the first 3 times............... WE'RE GETTING A BOY!  27 years and 5 girls later.... we are getting a boy!

He will not be spoiled.  I can promise you that, after all, Violet isn't spoiled either.  If you believe that,  let me see what else I can sell you.

To say the least, we are excited.  But, I was excited already at the idea of having another grandbaby around.  Everyone said, I bet you want a boy, don't you?  But, I had already decided that surely one of my girls would eventually have a son, so I was prepared to just sit back and enjoy the ride.  And even if I have only grandgirls I will be happy all the days of my life!  I just want happy, healthy grandbabies, that live their lives for Jesus.  Truly, that's all I want in the world.  My prayer for our baby boy is the same prayer I have prayed for Violet since she was in the womb.  That he would be happy and healthy, that God would write His name upon his heart, that he would follow Jesus and be found pure and righteous and holy in His sight.  A tall order to be sure, but isn't that what we all really want?  To find favor with God and honor Him all the days of our lives.  Amen.

ps - Violet is going to be the best big sister Ev-ah!

Violet is 3!

Violet Soleil
07.07.07

Dear God, thank you for choosing me to be her grandmother!

"You must really like that grandbaby"

I do, I do!

Recently at my class reunion, a classmate said that to me. She was referring to my facebook wall where I post quite a few of Violet's pictures and escapades.  It kind of bothered me.  I mean, of course I really like her.  I adore her.  In fact, Jeff and I are madly in love with her.  Aren't we suppose to be?  I mean we are her grandparents. At the time I wish I had some witty come-back to throw at her, but I didn't.  I just said "of course I do."

Later, I thought about what she had said to me and then I considered her facebook wall.  It has pictures of her dog all over it.  Her dog on the bed, her dog in a dress, her dog in the yard, you get the picture. It's a very nice dog, but it's a dog. It's not like she doesn't have children, because she does.  And it's not like I don't love Mr. Colby, because I do, but he's a dog.

I know, I know.... what if she sees this?  I am not too worried about that.  Because anyone that thinks their dog is better than my grandgirl doesn't care about what I think or even read my silly, little blog.

Violet's Gigi...

 

Little Garden

We have been so busy at home these days.  One of our many Summer projects was to build a garden.  Just one problem, Olive.  Olive likes to dig, she digs about 10 holes per day, but has slowed some because of the heat.  So, our solution... vintage gates.  We have over the past 7-8 years been collecting these vintage gates and not doing anything with them.  We knew we would think of something sooner or later, but truthfully I was beginning to have real doubt about them.  We were trying to find a spot for a little garden, I had an idea.  What if we only made the garden large enough to be surrounded by the gates?  A plan was born.

Jeff spent a good deal of time building boxes, having to terrace them on the side yard and making a path down the middle to service the rows.  And then he put the gates up, with .... zip ties.  That's right, the entire thing is attached with zip ties.  Southern ingenuity at it's finest.

We pretty much planted everything from seed, with the exception of the tomato plants, shown hanging in the baskets and in the vintage washing tub.

These pictures were taken about a month ago.  We have already harvested quite a bit of summer squash, tomatoes and enough cucumbers to make pickles. Our little garden has more than doubled in size.

Of course, we couldn't have done it with the help of our Violet girl!

She told her mommy, "I'm working!"  Gardening is hard work.  That's for sure, even when it's as small as a postage stamp.  We are amazed at all the bugs that have found our little garden already. 

Violet is taking very good care of her watermelon & cantaloupe plants.  Can't wait until they are ready..... Yum!

Happy Summer!



Update:  A few pics from today... see how our little garden has grown!

A whole lotta nuttin'

I know, I know....... I need to post something, but I just ain't feelin' it. I have begun 4 or 5 posts but haven't finished any of them. At least two of them involve photos which have been removed from my camera by one of my children and loaded onto a computer which I do not have the password to retrieve. Hmmm, whose bright idea was that?

We have been busy putting in a garden, planning and attending my 30th high school reunion and work, work, work. It was great to see old friends and I do mean old! Here is a pic of some of my oldest & dearest... then & now... life just wouldn't be the same without them.

Then... 1980

Now.... 2010

We are looking forward to a wonderful Summer, even if we haven't a clue what we shall do yet. We thought we were going to a family event, but they have pretty much 'priced' us out of it. Asking a family with 3 full time college students to take a 4 day trip to Colorado costing 5K is just too steep for us. Jeff and I were planning on taking a trip abroad for our anniversary, but we have decided to wait until 2011 since we will be welcoming a new grandbaby into the world before the end of the year. We will however be taking a few trips along the way.

We recently traveled to Kansas City for Baseball & BBQ. KC has a gorgeous downtown area and we enjoyed our trip immensely. Let me just say that Arthur Bryant's has the absolute best bbq. Here is my sandwich, there is not way I could eat all of it. Fries are their specialty, yum!

We have begun to make plans for a trip to Arkansas in July & Las Vegas in September with Tara and Darrell. We had such a great time on our last adventure we can't wait to do it again.

So, here's wishing you a wonderful Summer filled with great friends, old & new. Simple times like building a garden and exciting trips near & far.

We'll talk again soon, this time I promise it won't be so long.

Violet's Fairy Garden

Ok, so I posted a while back that I wanted to make a fairy garden with Violet.  Jeff got the entire 3 day weekend off and we decided to make the fairy garden on Easter Sunday while Violet was here.  We did most of our shopping on Friday and I picked up a few more things on Saturday.  And later in the day Jill and Violet made a surprise visit. So, even though Jeff was tilling up a section in the backyard for our new garden, he took time off to come and help with Violet's Fairy Garden.

First, we rounded up a container.  I had this very, very old galvanized wash tub that we had just taking up space in on the back porch.  Then we thought it needed to be up a bit higher, so we used the stand to a broken chiminea.  And voila',  perfect!

Next, we started planting.  We used Scottish moss and a low growing,creeping Thyme for the lawn.  A Rosemary tree, some spiney grass, and a fern for the bushes.  A few other small plants to finish it out.

Then we used pebbles and river rocks for the path around the pond.  Which was Violet's favorite part.

Then it was time for a popsicle break!  Gardening is hard work.

Then we needed to add a garden shed and water well.  Just the right size for fairies.

Violet loved tossing pebbles into the pond.  She said can we go swimming now?  Then she said the funniest thing... I fink I need a water fairy.  So, you know what happened then.  Gigi took off to Wal-mart to find some fairies.  I found a set of 5 including Tink (Violet's favorite) that are just the perfect size.  First thing, she took them all swimming in the pond!

We played and played until the evening bugs drove us inside.  So how much did this little project cost?
Plants:  $36 - Green's Produce
Container:  Free
Pebbles & Stones:  $3 - on sale @ Michael's
House, wheelbarrow & well:  $16 - Hobby Lobby
Fairies:  $10 - Wal-mart
I am sure I could have saved that $16 and made the house and such, but... I knew I didn't have time for that, so the convenience for me to go ahead and purchase the items was worth it.

First home improvement project:  A fence.  Made from twigs and a glue gun.We are now working on a toadstool and a very tiny garden gnome.

Violet's Fairy Garden!

We had soooo much fun creating this little garden for and with our precious grandgirl, who by the way is going to be a big sister! Some of my friends have started calling me Super G.  I love it.  That is my goal, to be the best Grandmother I could possibly be. I am very blessed.

Magic & Whimsy

Ok, I really don't believe in magic, but I that doesn't mean I don't think things need to be magical.  Like weddings, childhood & love stories.  We didn't have lots of money when our children were small (still don't for that matter), but I tried my best to make things special & maybe even magical for our girls.

I remember the first time Jill, Jordan & Justine saw Willie Wonka.  I bought each of them a giant chocolate bar and gave it to them and told them they couldn't open it until Charlie found the golden ticket.  They sat there anxiously awaiting the moment that Charlie found the golden ticket.  Their bars were beginning to melt because they held them so tightly.  With each bar that Charlie opened they would begin to tear theirs open only to be disappointed that he hadn't yet found the ticket.  Then when he did, their excitedly opened their bars.  They were so cute.

Then there was the first time we took them to Disney World.  I remember asking Jeff, if I can make enough money can we go to Disney World for New Years?  It was late September at the time.  He said sure, I mean seriously... I didn't have a real job, only my little craft business, so there really wasn't much chance I could do it.  I don't even think we even knew anyone personally who had ever been to Disney World, it seemed like such a far off dream.  But, I worked hard, planned and scrimped and on a shoestring budget of $1200, we took 6 people for 6 days to WDW and stayed in a Disney park!  I remember watching Justine at the tender age of 5 staring up at Minnie in the Light Parade, her eyes as big as saucers... "I love you Minnie", she said. Jill & Jordan watched wide-eyed as Beauty danced with the Beast and of course Jaley toddling along mostly afraid of every character, but the trip was precious & priceless & magical.

One year my brother, dressed as Saint Nick banged on their window and they screamed with excitement and that visit convinced them to believe for several more years.  There are lots of little memories including birthdays and picnics and many of the magical moments moments are the ones the girls created for us and each other. 

What started this whole magic post?  I found this little blog it has directions for making a magical fairy garden.

It reminded me of the time  Jordan made and painted a fairy door for Jaley.  She wanted to put it in her room.  It was so cute and magical and full of whimsy.   I think I am definitely going to have to make one for Violet.  I am excited to share fun times with her and then she can be my little partner when more grandbabies are added to the family.  My goal:  to be the world's best, funnest and most magical GiGi!  Sounds kinda selfish when I put it like that.... doesn't it?  It's all about making magic and whimsy and happiness for those same four little red head girls....and their children!  So really, not much has changed.

Gigi, don't go!

That's what my girl said to me as I hugged and kissed her goodbye last night as we left her at her new house. It just tore my heart right out of my chest. She just kept sobbing, Gigi, don't go! Jill texted me on the ride home and said she had finally calmed down, her Mommy had given her milk & tunes. That's my girl.

Violet's Gigi~

btw, I am still swaying from my cruise! pics coming soon.

Elephants and Tigers and Horsies, oh my!

Last night BumBum and I took Violet to the Greatest Show on Earth... The Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. You might remember that we also took the whole gang last year to the Shrine Circus. This year however, it was only the three of us. Violet is crazy about elephants and horses right now. She was such fun. She was in sensory overload... so were we.

There are two major differences between the Shrine Circus that we attended last year and this one. Costumes & price! That lovely little light up thingy cost me a whopping $22 bucks. I bought a slightly smaller version last year at the Shine Circus for $8. Snowcones and cotton candy were $12 each last night. But our girl only had eyes for... corn dog, popcorn, nachos (note the cheese still on her sweet face) & sugared pecans. This girl loves nuts. Yes, dinner at the circus set us back about $65 bucks. But when you only have one grand girl, it's worth it. Someday when I have a truck loads of these babies, I'm gonna have to rethink my spending habits. But somthing tells me they aren't going to suffer any. This Gigi is gonna spoil them all rotten..... and then quietly send them back to their mommies!

House WORK!

It's a beautiful Saturday morning and I want to play outside, work in the yard. Something, anything but...NO I must do housework. I have been avoiding it for sometime now. I had 6 light bulbs that were burned out in the kitchen, living room and hallway. When I replaced those this morning , oh my goodness I saw the dust. It is everywhere. You see, my street has been under construction since April. That's 6 months of a dirt road, complete with a backhoe that literally sat in my front yard for almost a month. They are almost finished with the construction, all that remains is to put our grass back in. But all that dirt from the street has traveled into my house. So today is the day. I went to Target and bought a new mop and I am going to clean this floor. I have forgotten what color it really is. I better get a move on because My Violet Girl is coming over and when she gets here the cleaning will cease. No time for that when the girl is in the house! And today we have a surprise for her. Aunt Jaley & Jawjie bought her a pair of Cinderella Twinkle Slippers from the Disney Store. They are adorable. They even have light up heels. Can't wait to see our little Princess wearing them. But for now, I am Cinderella and I gotta get to work!

Violet Spends the Night

Our grandgirl finally got to spend the night without her Mommy. She was such a good girl. GiGi (that's me) bought her a ball pit with 175 balls! She loved it. We played and ate Cheetos and then played and ate Cheetos again. Grandpa took her out to play in the rain for a bit, she loved that too. Her Grandma K bought her some rain boots and she wore them. Adorable. On Sunday we took her to eat at Captain D's for lunch. We would eat at Cap'n D's almost every Sunday after church when the girls were growing up. It was a fun walk down memory lane with our new little girl. Can't wait until next time.
PS-Aunt Jaley says that NO house should have 175+ balls in it! It was her job to pick them all up. Jaley is a good aunt. :)

Foot Fetish?

I am starting to think that my husband has a foot fetish.

These are the two cards that I received from him recently, in fact just 8 days apart. One for my birthday the other for our anniversary. Coincidence?

I think it has more to do with the fact that our little grandgirl is obsessed with shoes! She checks out your feet before she lets you pick her up. It's like... I don't know if you can hold me, are you wearing cute shoes?

Oh my goodness, are we in trouble! She loves shoes. But she comes by it honestly, her mother and aunts are shoe crazy, too. I can remember one time we went on vacation and I counted more than 30 pairs of shoes in the hotel room!

Watch out Imelda Marcos, here comes VK!

ps - do you think I will get any unusual visitors to my blog because of the title of this post? :)
(PSS- yes I did! see previous ps.)

Feeling Blue

VK looks how I feel. Blue.

Today I am just feeling blue. Why? Lots of reasons. I know that God is in control of all things. I know that He knows that I am blue, I know that He cares, so why am I still blue?

I am disappointed in someone and that really stinks. Someone that should be behaving better, but isn't. I was reminded by a couple of friends that we all make mistakes. That people will disappoint us, but God never will. That is encouraging, that is life changing, but, I am still blue. When I am like this it takes more than just a little pep talk to bring me around. I have had a problem with severe depression in my past and some days are just harder than others to shake stuff off. This is one of those days. Right now I feel pretty weary and exhausted from it. I just really want to tell this person off, but alas... I cannot. So, this will be a lesson in self-control for me. Just let it go, say a prayer for that person. And let it go. That is easier said than done, afterall I am a person that makes mistakes and disappoints, too. I am glad that Jesus doesn't, aren't you?