Christmas 2008

The chaos at Meme's has begun.

Abby & Anna sporting their new vests &

side pony tails:)

Santa aka "Quenna Quas" visited the girls

at Grandpa Stevie's

Derek helped Anna Grace open her gifts..

she is So Not a Morning Person:(

Abby has been begging for a

Digital Camera

Santa was a hungry man!

Derek, Anna Grace, Abby, Seth, & Landen

on Christmas Eve.

It has been forever since my last post.....with school and all I have little time for anything. I decided I would make my cousin Christy happy and start posting again. She fussed at me the whole time she was in town. Which, by the way, Christy is an "Army Wife" and her husband is currently serving in Iraq. That is where he spent Christmas:( She is an amazing mom & wife, I don't know how she does it. But her spirit never changes, she stays the same person through it all. She is still that same little girl at heart that we have always adored~We Love You Cousin Christy.....this post is for YoU!

We had a great Christmas.....it lasted several days:) Needless to say we are all exhausted and stuffed! We visited several different houses full of different parts of our family. The girls really enjoyed spending time with their cousins and were sad to see them go. Abby and Anna also really missed their Papa-Doo. They really thought he would be back by Christmas :( but he was with us. I know he was wathcing us~we miss you dad! Anyway, check back in....I'll try and update at least once a week!!!

Catch Up

It has been a long 3 weeks.....(since my last post). The first week we moved out of our house, second week I had VACATION, and third was my first week of school! Which by the way, I survived it.....it was the longest week of my life, but I made it and loved every minute of it!

My Girls are doing great! Ab is doing well in school, made a 95 on her very first big test.....missed one question! Anna Grace has just been her cute typical self~she has been ill this weekend, so we are headed to the doctor:(

Abby has been wanting her pic made in a cotton field for the longest, she has figured out that her clothes come from "a field" and she is so fascinated. I have been so busy, I had forgotten all about it and most of the fields near our house had already been picked. Thank goodness there was one in front of Mom's house just waiting to be picked.

The pic of Abby in the pumpkin suit was hand painted by my friend Monica. I worked with her at the CU and she had made her little girl one and offered to make my girls a suit. Of course I was thrilled~she did a fantastic job!! Anna Grace has one also, but everytime she wears it she has an accident in it :( Not sure what the problem is, but that is the reason she isn't in the pic!! **Maybe it won't take so long for my next post! Until then.............

Anna Talk

Anna Grace is a tiny little ball of energy....and she has the cutest little voice you have ever heard. However, some things she says are hard to understand~well for everyone but me. Last night Eric, Anna, & I were at mom's and as Eric was heading out the door Anna said "Daddy wheragoi"....Eric just stared at her. I was in the kitchen and said "What, you don't understand Bobby Ray Talk?" My dad Bobby had this way of running all of his words together, making one big word and somehow Anna Grace has inherited that bad habit. She actually said "Daddy where are you going?"~I knew exactly what she said. She isn't even blood related to my Dad, but she sure does act like him.

Then, this morning my sister picked Anna Grace up to keep her for the day. Somewhere in the midst of Anna's conversation, she said we have Trucity. Mandi thought she was talking about a cat or something and asked her if Trucity was a cat. Anna Grace said "No, it works the TV".......'Electricity'. Duh Aunt Mandi, you should have just known that :) We think Anna Grace is a hoot...she keeps us going with her eyebrow movements and her talk; and occasionally a few little temper tantrums here and there. That is why we love her though!!

The Small Things

Okay, so God really let me have it this morning. First, let's go back to yesterday. We are moving and I come home from work and I have no furniture, no washer or dryer, and no refrigerator. I knew this was going to happen, but we are still staying the night there; well for 2 more nights. Anyway, I was asking Eric "how am I suppose to feed my kids, or do laundry, and where are they suppose to sit while I feed them oats". It hit me today, how many times do I acutally thank God for little things like my refrigerator or my couch or food~how selfish have I been? Most of the time when I pray, I thank God for everything I have in general, not really noting specifics. With so much reading of other blogs and talk about Ethiopia and such places, I can't help but to stop and Thank God for everything around me; because I truly am blessed. Some don't have the luxury of appliances, furniture, clothing, or even food-basic things that I think I can't live without. I am so Thankful that God spared my family and my children of those heartaches, but also saddened and heartbroken. All I can do for others now is pray to end poverty, hunger, and even abuse. From now on, I will stop and notice the small things and be thankful for them.

Lunch with Grandma Brumley

Okay....so if you don't already know, Bobby (papa-doo) is not my bio-father. He married my mom when I was 5. Grandma Brumley is his mother and she is a go-getter. My girls haven't been around her a lot, as we don't live that close (that is no excuse, but we are making things better now). Anyhoo, yesterday we had lunch with Grandma Brumley after church and she just amazes Abby & Anna Grace. She fixed a big spread of food.....too much...and it was all delicious. Then after lunch, we all kicked back to relax. Well, here go the kids running thru the house, instead of fussing at them for running, she starts running with them. She has to be at least late 70's early 80's. When she finishes running, she falls in the living room floor and starts kicking like a horse. She tried to get Abby in the floor to show her how to do this, but Ab was a little shy. My girls just stood there in total shock that a G-ma could do this. I think they thought she was a little crazy, but funny too. She might be, but that is why we love her.....she is so much fun. Reminds me so much of my Dad. They really did attach themselves to her very quickly though. Last night in bed Anna Grace was talking about her and giggling. Someday I hope that I will be a fun Great-Grandma like her :)

Princess Anna & Princess Abby

Abby & Anna Grace were in my cousin Deanna's wedding in August. They were flower girls as you can see. I think they looked absolutely beautiful :) Deanna & Caleb's wedding was gorgeous and we were so honored they asked our little angels to be a part of their big day! Thanks Deanna & Caleb.

PS...I did their hair, can you believe it! I was amazed at my work..lol!

School

Abby started Kindergarten 4 weeks ago. All summer long she had this fear of school and cried everytime the word was mentioned. Turns out, she loves it....she thinks it is the best thing since Uncrustables..lol! I told Melba that God must have worked this one in my favor, I couldn't have handled her crying about school, on top of my dad's illness & death. Thank the Lord! She says it is Great, Fantastic, and Super. Her favorite subject is 'Libary' & she thinks 'Coach' (P.E.) is okay. Takes her lunch everyday, just like I did. So far so good, but who knew K was so much work? She told me what a rhombus was, I guess in Arkansas where I went to school they don't call it that. She also teaches her class all night and reads her 'kids' books, and she is a little bossy. Her cousin Jake Ryan is still her BFF...nothing could change that. She plays with him everyday at recess. She is a smart little girl though and already seems eager to learn......makes me so proud! Anna Grace on the other hand has NO interest in learning. However, she does want to ride the 'Cool Bus' (school bus) and is ready to start taking her lunch.

In about 3 weeks, I will be joining Abby in the whole 'school' thing. Well, not her school, but on October 14th I will be starting Cosmetology school in Paragould. Yay!!!!! I can hardly wait, this has been a dream of mine for about 8 or 9 years now. Eric is finally allowing me to leave my job and take the plunge..hah! He is ready for me to make the big money so he can retire early....lol! So say a prayer for me as I venture out into a whole new world. I haven't been to school in a long time and I am a little nervous about leaving my comfort zone. Abby and I will get thru this together ;)

Happy Birthday Ronda

Today is my BFF Ronda's birthday. She is the big 27~she won't mind me telling her age..hah! Happy Birthday Ronda~I'm not far behind you!!

SOLD

So as most of you know, we listed our house with a realtor a few months ago......3 to be exact. So Saturday morning as Eric was getting ready to pull in our driveway, we were in conversation back and forth, and we both stopped talking at the exact same time and said "sold". Their it was, that bright red sign that said 'SOLD'. This was a moment of excitement and sadness for me. Excitement: we would be getting a bigger and newer home~almost like a new chapter; Sadness: this was the first home Anna Grace ever lived in & this was the home where my mom & dad would come to on Sunday afternoons to relax between services (don't want to lose those memories). This being our 2nd home, I have experienced this feeling before. Abby and Anna Grace are thrilled; we will be living with Meme until we find a new home. Poor Meme, she might not be so thrilled...hah! No, I think she will-they will liven up her house for a while & she usually loves anything that has to do with Grandkids. We'll see.......

Papa-Doo

Okay, so I told you that you would be hearing more about my dad, Bobby, or Papa-Doo as Abby & Anna Grace call him. This is him and my Mom, Hope. It has been 4 weeks and still doesn't seem real. One day he was a healthy man, chasing after his grandkids and then 31 days later we were morning the loss of a parent. It hasn't gotten any easier. As soon as I pull up in my my parents driveway, it hits me~he will never pull up in that driveway again or walk into the home we grew up in. Now it seems everywhere I look I see him; someone mowing their lawn, a Ford F150 truck, men carrying their grandchildren. While I may never understand why he was taken so early, God has a plan for everyone. I don't doubt his plan at all. All I have to do is live my life for God, and one day it will be my turn to take that long awaited trip and be reunited with my Dad, Bobby. I love and miss you Dad, life will never be the same without you here. love your daughter, Chasity

The Start of Something New

I decided it was time to start the wonderful world of Blog. My sister Mandi inspired me, she recently created a blog for my Dad, Bobby, who was battling ARDS. She did this so everyone could keep up with his progress. However, my Dad didn't progress the way we had hoped. We hoped to keep him with us forever, but that just wasn't God's plan. He decided to take him at the age of 53. To me, that is way too young; but death has no age. This has been the hardest time of my life, my poor Mother, my poor little Girls & my nephews. Although my girls are small, they loved their 'Papa-Doo'~he was their world and they were his. I will never let them forget about him and what an impact he had on their little lives. There is a story behind 'Papa-Doo'....when Abby was little, she called him Papa. He would tease her and say Abby-Dabby-Doooooooo; of course she would cry to Mom and mom would say "call him Papa-Doo". Well, it stuck. That is what she has called him since that day. Even little Anna Grace picked it up, hers sounded more like 'Pada-Doo' though. My Dad will never be forgotten, he will live on in those precious little smiles and laughs. Everytime I hear them laugh or see them smile, I will think of him. He made them smile when he entered the room and that smile never faded. You will probably hear a lot more about him in the future, as he was a great part of my life. So, until next time..............