My daughter an author, makes me an illustrator....

My daughter, Lauren, decided she would take her writing to another level and write a baby book for her very best friend and soul sister, Tiffany. Tiffany is expecting her first baby the middle of July and we are all just thrilled. Lauren is an incredible blogger (briansinbritain.blogspot.com) so writing a book seemed like an easy task! So with her becoming a children's author, I became an illustrator.
Our joint effo, "Maybe Milo", was born and our book was a hit with Tiffany and her sweet husband David. Their precious bundle of joy will be named Milo, a long-standing family name. We ordered 4 books, one for Tiff, one for the author, the illustrator and the grandma/mom of the 2 who did the book. She likes to brag on us, so thought we'd give her something tangible with which to brag.

January ..... Changes

Taylor heading to school and REALLY leaving Clovis to make changes in his life and start making decisions and planning for the future. It's a good thing. I think it's scary for him and a parent never wants to see their child uncomfortable, and on the other hand, as Uncle Buck used to say "No pain, no gain". Now it's time for Taylor to have some gain and jump ahead into the real world.....So far, lots of obstacles--no job, no money, which classes to take, room mate issues...this to shall come to pass (as my mama always says...) and God will provide, He always does.


And then there is me................

My changes? I got a Body Bugg for Christmas. My little beauty will keep account of my daily calorie burn. I enter the foods/calories i consume into the program on the computer and plug my Bugg into the computer to download.
At the end of the day---VOILA! did i burn more than i consumed? so far, it's been 7 days, and it's been a great reminder on my left arm to keep the calorie intake low. The scale is showing progress! Hallelujah! Weight is coming off a little at a time... I should meet my goal in June of this year. Stay tuned for weekly updates!

Lauren's new bicycle!

I think of the days that as a child, not only myself,
but many friends and family
members (that were children, such as I)
asked Santa for a bicycle.


This is exactly what my daughter did and
lo and behold!
she received a bicycle
much to her surprise and amazement.

Since her hubby has a bicycle at home,
these two will be able to have some 2-wheeled
fun in Bentonville Arkansas!
How cute does she look??

“When I was a kid I used to pray every night
for a new bicycle.
Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way
so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.”

“Life is like riding a bicycle.
To keep your balance you must keep moving”

“The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles.
A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time
needs both support and freedom.
The realization that this is what the child
will always need can hit hard.”

Christmas 2009

Today is Friday, Christmas 2009--I've decided that I shall attempt to blog, not only from a family perspective, but also for my crafty business "2 Shabby Divas". So here goes with the fam!
Dustin flew in from San Francisco on Monday around 8 a.m. into Lubbock. Taylor was in Levelland for Sunday night so he went to pick him up from the airport to bring him home.
Lauren and Rusty drove in on the late afternoon of December 23rd. Leal's was for dinner Wed evening with Rusty & Lauren treating. So sweet!
Early rising on Christmas Eve morning where Lauren and I made goodies to deliver to friends and family in town and then Christmas Eve festivities at mother's where we played BINGO, counted M & M's (we now know that there are 1120 in a full bag) and had a Chinese Gift Exchange.
This brings us to Christmas morning. Cinnamon rolls and a wonderful breakfast casserole made from scratch by "Santa Bryan". Alot of wonderful gifts, lots of surprises and just a heartwarming time of family spending the moment together. Mom was here, of course, with her 2 tag-along puppies, Suzi and Fonz, and then our mascot, Oliver Winston had to get in on the action that was happening in grandma's chair:

As usual, I had to "bother" my children to have them trail into the yard to get some sibling pictures. Lauren and Rusty love it (and you can see why--the camera loves them!)

and Dustin and Taylor (my handsome sons) obliged but were not thrilled at the prospect of having their pictures snapped.
Truth be told they will hunt them
down and tell themselves
just how incredible they look!
Took one more snap as they
were running out the door,
caffeine in hand...



and then there is my hubby, Bryan, who was totally stoked with the Christmas present that I got him. Every guy needs an automatic rifle, right??