hair today...

my daughter was born bald. i mean totally completely free of all peach fuzz on top of her head. i got her ears pierced at 4 months because i was tired of people saying "what a cute little boy you have" even though she would be dressed from head to toe in pink. i don't know when it happened, but she woke up one day and had hair. and i don't mean she had a little bit of fuzz, she now has ringlets. strawberry blonde, beautiful ,curly, ringlets. ringlets so tight that i now own stock in detangler. i love her hair. i know she will hate it, but i love it. and i love that she now has enough to hold barrettes. so, i put my favorite new barrette in her hair, and she sure hammed it up for me :)

three's are the new two's...

or at least that is what i keep telling myself. we totally skipped the terrible two's with my oldest daughter. she was a perfect angel, til her 3rd birthday. then she grew horns... some say that she is as hard headed as her mother, however i don't believe i am hard headed, I'M NOT I TELL YA! and if i was this "set in my ways" when i was her age, then my mom is even more of a saint than i thought. big a's new favorite book is "are you my mother" .... i secretly think she is hoping the answer to that question is "no".....

but i will take them. terrible 3's and all, i will take them. at the end of the day, its mama she wants to lay down with her, say her night time grace with, and tuck her into bed. i love my little hard headed punkin.

VIVA LAS VEGAS

what happens when you get a group of moms together, no husbands, no kids, to celebrate a 30th birthday?? vegas happens baby!!! last friday, charise, my s-i-l christy and i surprised our friend tabitha for a weekend trip to vegas for her 30th birthday. her loving husband planned the whole thing, and of course us girls were PUMPED to get out of the house to try and recapture our youth (we later found out that we just aren't as young as we use to be). 5 minutes into our girls trip, we took a wrong turn. half way to vegas, we see a horrible accident. just up the road from that accident, we see a car on fire. we were sure that it was a sign of the apocalypse! the universe was all in a tizzy because we were actually on a girls trip!

we made it, and we painted the town red (or maybe that was just the view through my bloodshot eyes)... i even managed to win some ca$hola (thank you MGM majestic lions)

since i was the nominated purse carrier (everyone threw their stuff in my purse) i didn't take any pictures. but never you fear, charise took SCADS!!! she actually took one of me that i actually like!!! so, take a peek at her pic of me, then hop on over to her blog http://www.photographybychariseblog.com/ to see the shenanigans that went on during our trip....

"VEGAS OR BUST"

sometimes i ask God why?

there are moments when my faith falters. and its in these moments that i realize i need God more. at the same time i am questioning him as to why he has allowed things to happen, i am falling on my knees praying that he can fix it. and, i believe he can fix it. i believe in the power of prayer. i believe in happy endings. and its because i believe in this, i know that sweet Gavin is going to be ok.

Gavin is a little sweetheart that i had the pleasure of taking his 3 week old pics. his dad and i are really good friends, so good in fact, that i often call Kelly my brother. i never would have expected kelly to be a dad, but to see him with Gavin, a dad is what he was always meant to be.

a couple of weeks ago, Gavin was diagnosed with melanoma on his lungs and his liver. doctors were not sure how to treat this type of cancer in such a young child. melanoma is diagnosed in approximately 55,000 people each year. Of these cases, 400 are in people under 20. children under one year of age account for only .03% of these cases. after much research and talking with other oncologists across the United States, Gavin’s doctor determined chemotherapy would be the best starting point for treatment. on august 13, Gavin had surgery to put an intravenous line into his body which will administer the chemo. august 14 was the starting date for treatment,and this will be given for four consecutive days at a california hospital. Gavin will be given chemotherapy each month for a year following the same pattern.

this poor little precious baby will be in for the fight of his life... and if he is anything like his mom or his dad, he is gonna kick cancers hiney.

if you would please say a prayer for Gavin and his family, i know they would greatly appreciate it, as would i.

there is also a website that is dedicated to Gavin, hop on over and take a peek! http://www.babygavinroark.com/

here are some of the pictures I got to take of Gavin, when he was only 3 weeks old.

happy birthday big brother...

today is my big brother's 35th birthday. its just a few days after his sons birthday (as you can tell from the previous post). my brother doesn't get to have a fun filled party today. he is stationed in iraq. i can't even call him to wish him a happy birthday. i don't get to sing off key to him. i just have to hope that his birthday package made it to him on time.

my brother and i have always been pretty good friends. now, don't get me wrong, there have been times where i have wanted to strangle him, or throw his GI JOE'S in the trash after he hit the whiffle ball right at my face, but all in all, we have always got along. i always envied my brother. he was the popular guy in school, played every sport imaginable and rocked at every sport, didn't have to wear glasses or braces.... to me, he was everything. he still is everything. he still is someone i look up to. he still is someone i strive to be like daily. he is a strong soldier who keeps me and my family safe at night.

doyle, i hope you have as good a birthday as you can have... we all love you, pray for you every night, and can't wait to see you!!!

happy birthday donavon!!!

wow, i can't believe 10 years ago my nephew was born. he was born at around 4 lbs. he was a tiny little thing, i like to say he resembled a little spider monkey. but, he was perfect. he was gorgeous. i remember my brother said his hair was "crinkley" when he was born.

i remember his little laugh when he was a toddler. how he would crack up while he "tried" to sneak up on you, except you heard him laugh for 10 minutes before he could manage to say "boo".

i remember teaching him to tie his shoes and him telling me "auntie, you need to have patience"

and now, he is a little man. he is a handsome little man. he is a strong little man. he is the man of the house, while his father is in Iraq.

donavon, we love you! hope you have a wonderful birthday!

are my eyes playing tricks on me??

or did I just see that gas was UNDER $4???

bff's

today is one of my bff's 30th birthday. she is finally joining our senior citizen club :)

rabbit, i remember the first day i met you. and i can remember what i told mike too. im glad he listened to me :) you are one of my best friends and my life would be so dull without you in it.

here are a few pics of "the tricycle" that we are.... charise, tabitha, and myself.

happy birthday crazy!!!