HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA

Today is my daughter-in-law's birthday. I don't know about everyone reading this blog - but have you noticed all the birthdays we celebrate in the summer in my family?

Laura has been a part of our lives now for 6 years. She met Jacob when they both were working at the Riverbend Baptist Camp. They have been married for the last two years. I don't think I would describe Laura's first impression of Jacob's family as shock. It was more of a slow immersion of acceptance (or tolerance) on her part. Kind of like someone easing into the cold water instead of jumping in head first. I mean, she didn't even flinch this year when Robert gave her a muzzle loader as a graduation present in May. Wow! What a trooper she is!

Happy Birthday Laura and thanks for everything you bring to our family!

Walk Down Memory Lane

Robert and I celebrated our 27th year of marriage this month. The above picture taken by Brian Franklin shows that I am still am deeply in love with Robert after all this time. I went through our pictures and tried to put them in chronological order. I used two things to help me. Number one: the place we were living, because we have moved more than our fair share. Number two: the length of Robert's mustache - notice how it seems to get longer with age.

In Good Hands

Happy 24th Birthday Heath

We were living in Mt Pleasant and in the process of moving to Comstock when this picture was taken. Robert had gone ahead of us to start a new job leaving myself and the kids behind to pack up and sell the house.

Because this house was located right off the highway, I felt uneasy about being alone with three small children. I soon realized that I had no need to worry, when one night the dogs started barking outside. Before I knew what was happening, Heath jumped up off the couch, grabbed his toy rifle from the corner, and headed out the door to check things out! Even at three, he was ready to protect us against all odds.

Who could have known at that time that we all would trust him to protect us when he volunteered for the Marine Corps. Many people have asked me how I could sleep at night when he was in Afghanistan. It was not always easy, but I would remind myself that I was in good hands.

"Courage, above all things is the first quality of a warrior."
Karl von Clausewitz

Happy B-day Ma

I love this picture of my mom.

When I think of birthdays and Mom, I immediately think about birthday cake and ice cream. Mom makes the best buttermilk pound cake ever. The texture is sinfully dense, and the crust that forms on the bottom is crunchy and sweet. Yummmmm!!! She also makes the best homemade vanilla ice cream on the planet. I love it when it first comes out of the ice cream machine, when it is semi-soft and melts the minute it touches your tongue.

If I could Mom, I would make both your buttermilk pound cake and homemade vanilla ice cream and send it in the mail to you for your birthday. But even if I hand delivered them to your doorstep, they still wouldn't be the same because you wouldn't have made them yourself.

Thanks for being my mom. Nobody but you can even begin to understand the magnitude of this statement. So, take it easy today --- and spurge on some cake and ice cream!!!

"I Told You So!"

Twenty-one years ago today, I gave birth to a tiny adorable baby girl. After having two rambunctious sons, I was so excited to have a daughter!!!

But as much as I wanted her to be "sugar and spice and all things nice", she was into "frogs and snails and puppy dog tails. She pulled out all the bows I put in her hair. When I put a dress on her, she would hold it up over her head and scream.

When she was three, she told me that she was going to be a boy when she grew up. I tried to explain that God made her a girl. "Well", she said, "I was a boy when I was born, so why can't I be a boy when I grow up?" I asked her why she thought she was born a boy and she promptly brought me this picture from the dresser, and said, "SEE!"

Well, I could not convince her any different no matter how I tried.










So, I take great pleasure in saying, "I told you so Corey Lynn!" You are now all grown up and nobody will argue with the fact that you have become a beautiful, creative, intelligent, independent, opinionated woman!

But, to me, you will ALWAYS be my baby girl!

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy Birthday Christina

Happy Birthday to my sweet daughter-in law, Christina, from the Georgia coast.

I still remember her first trip to Texas to meet the parents about 3 years ago.

I am not sure if she was more shocked by the barrenness of the West Texas landscape or the overbearingness of Heath's family. Kind of like a Blue Collar version of "The Family Stone". Except, of course, we think she is just perfect for Heath.


She definitely has a great sense of humor because she agreed to marry Heath two years ago EVEN after meeting the family.

Happy Birthday Christina!

We love you and appreciate all the love and laughter you bring to our clan.

ROBERT'S SURVIVAL OF HIS FIRST FIFTY YEARS

Robert turned the big “5 – 0” this year. No one was as surprised as he was to actually make it to this milestone. He told me when we were married that he would not live past 30. This was probably one of the factors that helped me decide to marry him. He was 23 at the time, so I figured I would only have to put up with him for a maximum of seven years. The little trickster.

On the first weekend in May, I rented the Wink Community Center and invited some of our close friends and family. His brother Mark smoked some brisket and BBQ some chicken. Everyone else brought a side dish.

Now anyone who knows Robert should understand how HARD it is to keep a secret from him. He is so nosey, I mean observant, that it was nearly impossible to pull this off. We scheduled the party for 3:00 in the afternoon because Robert had to work on this Saturday. He got off work early and decided to drive around town to see what was going instead of heading for home like he should have done. So of course he spoiled his own surprise.

But, I had an even better surprise waiting for him. Corey had spent the spring semester in Spain through a Texas Tech program, and had been abroad since January. She was not scheduled to come home until the middle May. We flew her in early. Jacob & Laura picked her up in Dallas earlier in the week, and drove her down to Wink for the weekend. He was so happy to see her that he almost cried.

He told me a week before that all he really wanted for his birthday was for Corey to be back home safe and sound. Well, what do you know? I finally got him a present he actually wanted!!!