Hit on by a College Dude

Well, my 16-year-old baby was hit on by a college dude that she estimates to be around 23-25. She walked inside in an absolute downpour and was soaked, so I’m sure she was looking extra awesome. He made small talk in the classroom and then went to the hallway when she went to the bathroom to dry off. He caught up with her in the hallway and told her that he thought she was really pretty and wondered if she would want to hang out sometime. She told him that she was very flattered but thought he probably didn’t realize how old she was. He asked her age and basically flipped out when she told him she was 16. I wish I could have been there to see his face. That just cracks me up. If he was cute and she didn’t have a boyfriend, I would be a little flipped out. Under the circumstances, I think it’s hilarious!

All Weather Wear

Only Andi could make this work. This fancy little number is actually a pair of soft, fuzzy leggings I bought Sami a few years ago. Andi is sure rocking the one- piece look. Kinda reminds me of the outfit Olivia Newton John wore at the end of Grease. She never fails to make me laugh. I should have gotten a picture of her in the sunglasses she was wearing. That was even funnier.

There’s no damage!

Dani and Andi are wrestling. We heard Dani yell, “Ouch! Stop kicking me!” We told Andi to stop kicking her. Dani never wants her to get in trouble so she yelled, “It’s ok! There’s no damage!”

World’s Biggest Animal Lover

Dani has the softest heart for animals of all kinds. She always talks so sweet to the cats like they understand every word she says to them. She thinks about them even when we aren’t home. When we were in Disney World, and she was having the time of her life, she talked about the cats several times a day. She wondered what they were doing and just missed them. It was sweet how she thought about them so much. She’s always loving on them and talking to them. Tonight I caught her cuddling up with Zack. It was funny because she was using him as a pillow. She sat up more when she saw me, but she was using him as a furry pillow before she noticed me. So funny. They were just chillin’ and watching tv. Zack and Cody are sure lucky to have Dani. She’s just awesome!

Happy Father’s Day, Papa Egg!

For Father’s Day, Dani and Andi created a family of decorated eggs to represent everyone in our family. They painted them and even added yarn hair on some. Today was the big show! They made a tent stage and performed an egg puppet show. At church, Andi also made a big card for daddy. My favorite part is her drawing of him. She was so excited to show us that she even drew his white spot. Sure enough, she used a black marker to color in all of the hair except a patch that she left uncolored. How perfect!

I CAN’T FEEL MYSELF!

Andi was sleeping peacefully next to me. All of a sudden, she let out a loud cry and yelled with a whine, “I can’t feel myself!” She got a huge pouty lip and rolled over. I asked her if her arm went numb, and she made the funniest face ever. I wish I could have a video camera on her at all times because I never get the funniest things on video. I can’t even describe her expression. This one wasn’t a pout. It was absolutely hilarious. I don’t understand how she’s so charismatic even in her sleep. I laughed so loud that I woke her up! And it’s pretty hard to wake her up when she’s talking in her sleep. She confirmed that her arm had fallen asleep and started the drama.

Break her fear of snakes? Say what?

Andi and Delaney are going to art camp at school all week. We all went to Chick fil A afterward, and then the girls conned her mom into letting Andi come over to hang out. They went fishing, swimming, and skating. Delaney’s mom, Billie, said that Andi was pretty flipped out about walking through the tall grass when they went fishing. She was worried about snakes like I taught her. Good girl! Billie texted me and said she was going to break her of her fear of snakes and spiders. My response? “Don’t do that, woman!” Every kid in this area needs a healthy fear of snakes for sure. Billie said when Andi was flipping out, she asked, “Does your mom baby you at home?” She said Andi said, “YES!” I cracked up. Andi was so excited to cast a fishing line for the first time. She was willing to add sausage for bait, but she thought Delaney was gross for baiting with live tadpoles. She said she couldn’t do that to a baby frog. Ha! But she had fun fishing and hanging out.

Peace out!

Andi is at Sydney’s bday party chillin’ with Sydney (in back) and Delaney (in front). Her personality shines through in everything she does. This picture cracks me up because it really captures the personality of all the girls perfectly. They’re the sweetest of friends. I love them dearly!

Welcome home from World Changers, Sami!

This is my first post of all-time! I plan to make many entries for past years. At some point, hopefully you’ll see hundreds of posts listed before this. But this one will always be my official first post. It seems perfect that it’s about welcoming one of my babies home. That’s really what this blog is all about. Cherishing my family. So no matter how far they go or how long they’re away, I’ll be looking forward to the day they’re home. I will say in no uncertain terms that, when I talk about being away, I’m talking about mission trips, church camp, college, and other worthy endeavors. I’m NOT talking about moving away for anything other than college. I would let you all live at home for the rest of your lives. So, let’s be clear. (Queue creepy voice giving subliminal messages now.) “I will live within 30 minutes of my mama for the rest of my life. I will visit her regularly because she’s awesome, and I love her. I will never betray her. I will not move away and destroy her.” Wait, what was I saying? Oh, yes, you were saying that you don’t ever want to leave me. Glad we agree.

Sooo, this is the day that Sami came home from her 2nd World Changers trip. The kids from Crossroads Baptist youth group joined kids from other churches in Little Rock, Arkansas. They were divided into multiple groups to do work projects around the city. Last year, most groups did completely different type projects. Sami’s group built a porch onto an elderly lady’s home. This year, all of the groups had painting projects. Sami’s group included two seniors from Crossroads (a boy and a girl that she didn’t know well before but she said were very nice). They were grouped with kids from churches in other cities, and they worked together to paint an entire house. It’s so exciting to think about the difference they made in someone’s life. But it’s even bigger than that. The people in the neighborhood tend to ask questions about why they’re there and if they’re being paid. When they find out that the kids actually paid for the honor of helping, they want to know more. It gives the kids the opportunity to tell people about the love of God. When I talked to Sami on Wednesday, she said that 5 people had already come to Christ based on interactions with her group. Imagine what all of the groups accomplished together. I’m so proud of Sami for wanting to be a part of it! She’s definitely the coolest teenager I know. I can’t wait to hear all about her trip. I love you Sami, and I missed you!

Even though the timing worked out so that I’m welcoming Sami home in my first post, this message is for all of my babies. I love you all dearly and feel so blessed to be your mama. I can’t wait to welcome you home time after time. God bless you!