A Thorn Among Roses

one thing for sure...ice cream can cure what ails you...just ask jada! when you have ice cream on your face, it's all good...because it's ICE CREAM!! it's not broccoli or chicken. in fact, you can totally sport the "lovin it/peace sign" and look even more adorable. so, here's jada's super fab tribute to ice cream...and summer time! woo0 hooo!

a few things me and the fam totally DID NOT do this last week... i DID NOT have my hs girls bible study on wednesday night...and we totally DID NOT have a great study and super fun times! at the end, the hs girlies DID NOT take turns riding down the driveway in the barbie lamborghini with b pushing them. brooke DID NOT tell me "mom, we have to go home now...my underpants are totally not fitting and i think you can see my pee-jine-ah. sofia DID NOT finally grow enough hair to see her curls!!! paige DID NOT hide herself under a blanket, cell phone ready to dial and remote in hand {for a weapon, of course} when she heard someone walking down the basement steps while i was out one night visiting a friend in the hospital. it was NOT brooke, who was NOT sleep walking...and had no clue how freaked out paige was in the matter. jada DID NOT spend the night with a family friend to only freak out at 11pm and want to come home. i DID NOT tell my friend to lay her down, kiss her and tell he...

somehow, i don't think paige is quite getting it sometimes... she told me she was eating strawberries for a snack, but this is what i see... so i say, "i'll have a big honking pile of sugar and a few strawberries, please! seriously paige." somehow i don't think she gets the whole fruit serving credit when the sugars outweigh {in mass and content} the actual fruit... oh well...she's eating fruit. right? i have way bigger fish to fry...but i still love to make fun of her...and yes, i am THAT mom!

on vacation...well, if you call 60 high school students and 8 adults "vacation". remember when summer camp meant cabins in the mosquito infested woods with no electricity and a walk to the shower house in the middle of the night for a potty? no more... big stuf 09 is on the beach...yes, i said beach. panama city beach to be exact and well, god works on the beach too...and the kids like it better than the woods. {it's also easier to get leaders to go to the beach!} i love this opportunity...and thank god for working in and thru this ministry. so say a prayer for us...and the kids, too...just kidding!! {and yes, that really is my foot and flip flop...love them} big stuf ...here we come!!!!

we had an emergency trip to missouri last week and it got me thinking, you should know what to pack in your emergency car trip supply kit... look...i even got a shot of paige's face!!! ok, now, on to the kit! french fries for the baby...look at the chub in those cheeks! fries are a very serious part of travel! candy...it even keeps the teens happy! extra straws! because they can easily become a trumpet, a spit ball launcher or a chew toy...it's a great idea for all ages...the games are endless!! and lest i forget...blankets! bc when you run into a wicked crazy storm, the kids will want the blankets to cover their heads...and you will spend a good hour trying to get a picture of the one big white patch in the midst of utter darkness... ...which reminds me, bring the camera too!

my convo with jada outside earlier... j: "mom...take a picture of this. i look soooo beautiful." me: "u got it. u are so beautiful. what makes you so beautiful?" j: "hmmmm. well, i can do yoga. see? oh, take a picture of this too." me: "so what makes you so beautiful?" j: "my brown skin. it's so, well, brown and stuff. it's silky and it's kinda like chocolate. you like chocolate, mommy." me: "yes, i do like chocolate. and YOU are what makes you so beautiful, baby girl." to quote my fav nicole c. mullen ... and that girl can sing, ya'all!!! " Baby girl, don't you know your wealth? you're a diamond hiding on a shelf!! baby girl baby girl baby girl, dont you know who you are? God has made you a shining star! a little light is brighter than the dark baby girl baby girl"

there were some major emergencies going on this afternoon in the foyer...so a make shift hospital had to be set up. {note the other patients...scattered all around too} i discovered the hospital when i heard a big harfing sound...a dry heave, if you will...and i went running to catch the vomit in mid air as any good mother would do. but much to my surprise, my kids had it all handled...brooke was the doctor and the nurse {wonder if that pays double too}...jada was the patient {the harfer, if you will} and sofia was the baby {not a stretch, but she played it well} who was also icky sicky. b must be like miracle worker, bc jada and sofia were healed quickly and a tickle fest quickly broke out...with sofia being the receiver. and then a little more tickling, until... ...the sickness returned. i'm told it was that she was now having a baby. so nurse/doctor got her all settled in and took quick action to "have" the baby. ...and as you would expect, there was way more harfin...

look what's back in style??? wayfarer's!!!! ...guess who has done this before??? oh yeah...me!!! this may be one of those times that i wish i had actually kept something {other than my body} from 1986...i love the shades! wayfarer's for those of you born that year... {and this is waht you might look like now if you were in high school in 1986} i have fond memories of those years... tom cruise was a super awesome teenager...not a freaky, couch jumping idiot that he is in my mind today. {and i wasn't allowed to see risky business bc it was about hookers. terrible stuff} remember when madonna came out??? oh yeah. the anti christ. she wore a, dare i say it, a BRA as a shirt. moritified! motely crue was my fav band...yep...they def wore more makeup than me! {and after looking at this picture now, i can see why my mother was FREAKED out} and it's all okay having , but when the spandex and leotards come back in style...i'm checking out, again! so for now, i'll...

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this week... we DID NOT pack up and drive to MO for grandma's emergency surgery on wednesday. i DID NOT pack 5 peeps in 45 minutes, get the oil changed, fill the hooptie with gas and fill up a food bag in less than 2 hours. oh, i was NOT that good! grandma DID NOT wave her toes in uncle pete's face and say "these are my toes, waving goodbye" right before she was getting her last leg amputated...grandma DID NOT laugh hysterically and then say, "i bet that's never happened to you before". ryan DID NOT fly to france on saturday to only get stuck in newark {shocking, i know} for the night and the whole next day. ryan DID NOT spend fathers day, alone in newark, at the airport...all day. brooke DID NOT buy roley poley's from the neighbor girl for 25 cents...to which i DID NOT explain tom sawyer and the white washing story to b....telling her she needed to be the seller and not the buyer! i DID NOT go to one of my fa...

happy father's day to the world's hottest hubs and best daddy EVER!!! {yes, i intentionally picked this pic...bc it's totally ryan and the way he is...silly and fun, but always close and protective of his girls...all his girls!!} so here's some shots of his daddy-esque times! so in spite of you being in france {or newark or in the air} we miss you terribly. happy father's day dpbjs

"this poster is illegal in 51 countries restricted hostile nations: 40 areas: 11" just thought you should know...

grandma daisy...one of THE most precious women in the world, had emergency surgery today...to amputate her left leg...the only one she had left. we packed up and headed out yesterday afternoon...so we could see her and spend time with her before hand. in the midst of major surgery, at 96 years old, grandma is the uplifter. she always smiles. always loves. always encourages. last night, before she went to bed, she waved her toes and said, "my toes are waving goodbye. i bet you've never had that happen before." that's a woman. a woman who is totally awesome and passionate about her lord, her savior and her god, jesus. you'd think in the light of losign both your legs in a year and moving into a nursing home, she would be down...not her. she's making lemonade, sister!!! in the nursing home, she has a bible study and snack time in her room with her friends...no moping here! so grab the lemons, and get squeezing! {{grandma daisy came through surgery...and w...

necessity is the mother of invention... thus, when my bro brought over a barbie lamborghini, battery not included, brooke discovered a way to make it work...{shocking, i know} and jada went along for the ride. love that they are having fun with what they have!!! what good girls...now, if i can just hve b invent a way to get it back up the hill without her needing to push it. i am feeling a ski lift type thing beign built very, very soon. i'm playing along today at angie's , 5 minutes for mom , and wordless wednesday .