Merritt the Daredevil!

Merritt attended her best friend's birthday party this afternoon! It warms my heart because her best friend, Lauryn's mom and I are friends! It was a great birthday party because Lauryn's mom and I realized we have many of the same friends through the years! I saw on of my first best friends today with her two children as well as high school friends and their children! It was so wonderful to see 6 degrees of separation in the works! Merritt had a great time with her best friend! When I asked her why Lauryn was her best friend she replied, "Because I like to hang out with her!" Pretty good reason, I think!

Soccer Season Begins!

Soccer Season began today and oh what a day it was! Yesterday the mercury hit 80 degrees and this morning it topped out at 47, wind chill probably made it 30! The girls had a grand time despite the temperature! Merritt scored 2 goals in her game and Morgan scored 1! By the time Morgan played the wind had picked up and she gave me permission to wait until next weekend for pictures! Morgan scoring goals will follow next week! Merritt is #34 in the above photos!

Merritt's Entourage

en·tou·rage (on-too-räzh)
noun
1. A group of attendants or associates; a retinue.
2. One's environment or surroundings.

In celebration of Construction Week, Merritt's class took a field trip to Lowe's to construct a coin bank. When Scott heard that Merritt would be accompanied by Momma, Poppy, GranMe, Poppa and Mumsie, he taught her a new word ~ entourage! We all had a lot of fun and enjoyed helping Merritt and her classmates construct!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

You can't help but experience Mardi Gras if you grow up in Louisiana but it wasn't until my parents moved to South Louisiana that Mardi Gras became a special holiday for me and my family! I have many great memories of bringing college friends home to celebrate Fat Tuesday in the French Quarter. Remember....what happens in the Quarter, stays in the Quarter!

Now that my parents have retired and moved to North Louisiana, I'm sure my traditional Mardi Gras days are over. The fact that I'm a responsible wife and mother has put a damper on my French Quarter days as well! I'm sure the jury is still out on how responsible I am! With great parades held here locally and good friends and family to celebrate with, I'm looking forward to new Mardi Gras traditions!

Scott and Merritt on David's porch enjoying

Spanish Town parade post-Katrina.

Same fence... but look how much she's grown!


Morgan waiting for her school parade to begin.

Sisters enjoying Leapster downtown before the Spanish Town parade begins.

Look who found the baby!

Until next year.....Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Dear God, Let the Tooth Fairy Have A Vacation!

I have spent 3 hours out of the last 48 hours trying to convince a 7 year old why it's in her best interest to let her momma pull her teeth! What a weekend! Being a mother is definitely the best job I've ever had but also the most difficult! I prayed without ceasing for two healthy children and God blessed us with both! I never thought about the years following birth. As we continue to hit the milestones in both girls' lives, I am reminded that the worrying and praying don't end at birth. In fact, they never end!

I've also realized that as a mother you do many things for your children that you never even did for yourself! How can the little girl who went to the dentist to have every tooth pulled now be the expert tooth puller in her home? By the grace of God and because of the love for a child is the only way I can explain it!

Dear God, thank you for the patience this weekend and the strength to do the unthinkable! But please, no more loose teeth for awhile! Amen!

Throw Me Something Mister, Pull a Tooth Sister!

We had a great time this weekend, Mardi Gras style! We started out Friday afternoon at Morgan's school with a Mardi Gras parade and then headed to Baton Rouge for Poppy's side of the family's annual Spanish Town Parade at cousin David's house. This was the grand finale as David's house is on the market! He's only moving down the street but it was bittersweet remembering the many fun times we have had with friends and family! Thanks for putting together a last minute mini-reunion!

We had lots of delicious food and many fun swings on our favorite porch! We sure will miss this porch, David!

Morgan decided to have an apple Friday night and in all the excitement forgot how she usually gingerly eats an apple due to her loose top teeth. The apple trick really works! Momma had to perform the final tug which was a little traumatic but once again, we survived! Where is that Daddy when we need him?

Home Is Where My Family Is

Thanks to my aunt's mailing mishap, I got to stop by our first home to pick up some mail. The newest couple to start their lives in that home invited me in for a tour. The girls were in the car and truth be told, I'm not sure my heart could have handled it so I declined. What I could see of the house though was beautiful! I thought about our old house alot that night wondering if we should have ever moved! The history that we made there; kind of made me sad until I realized it doesn't matter where we live as long as we are together!

The next day after realizing I hadn't shared with Merritt that she was sitting in the driveway of our first home, I started telling her about it. How it was the home Momma and Daddy bought before they were even married. How Morgan came home from the hospital to that house just 2 days after she was born. She wanted to know if she came home from the hospital to that house too. I explained that no, we had moved into GranMe and Poppy's house for a few years and that's where she was born. She said, "then we moved to the White and Black house, right?" I told her she was correct (our house is white with black shutters). She went on to say, "then when Morgan and I are bigger, we will move to a different house, right?" I told her that we hope not. "When Momma and Daddy bought this house we planned to stay! We might make the house bigger but we plan to stay!" She thought about that for a few minutes and then replied, "yes, but when we get old like Ms. Jo we move into an apartment, right?" If we're lucky and healthy, yes, Merritt, we will live in an apartment just like Ms. Jo!

Note: Ms. Jo is my grandmother who has lived in our town for four years. I am so blessed to share the same city with 4 generations of my family! My children are so blessed to grow up surrounded by parents, 2 sets of grandparents and 1 great-grandmother! Morgan is blessed to have memories of her other great-grandmother, Great Gran who passed away this past summer.