shock

in two days, my oldest daughter will be 14.  How the CRAP did that happen????  Man, o man....I am excited for her, and happy that she is a healthy, thriving, sweet, sensitive, smart, capable young lady.....but....what happened to my baby????
I'm gonna go cry now.  More later..............

~sigh~

Life is crazy these days....full of chores, making sure the girls read enough, fixing dinner, working, laundry, running too and fro.....I drove 100 miles today alone for work.  I'm tired.  So, I actually sat down this evening for the first time in weeks to do nothing.  I stole a book from my daughter's bookshelf and tuned out the craziness around me for a while.  It was great.  Cant forget to take a little time for yourself, or your life will whiz by you in an instant and you will be too tired to remember it.  ~this is a reminder to me.  Love, Me~

What must it be like???

To be in heaven, singing with the angels....that is where my sweet, sweet uncle Ray is now.  As of today, his suffering here on this earth is over, and he is singing songs with Jesus.  How sweet that must be! 

I have some wonderful memories of this man.  I've know him forever.  He was a father figure to my own father, and many, many of my childhood memories include him and my aunt Jessie. 

First and foremost, he was a pastor ~ in my lifetime, I've sat under his ministry, I've worshiped with him.  Learned from him, laughed with him...even laughed at him!  2 things I will always remember about him.  1.  He loved RC cola!  That was his "drink of choice"  he LOVED it.  2.  I used to get the biggest kick out of him, sitting on the platform at church, leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, mic in hand, and just worshiping.  He loved to worship the Lord.  I loved to watch him.

  His worship was always so very sincere.  And I dont care how well you sing, if your worship is not sincere, what is the point of it? 

He was also a very loving, and caring man....and funny.  My dad and I used to go eat breakfast with him in the mornings at this tiny little cafe in a small town in Oklahoma where he pastored a church.  Until that point, I did not know just how funny he was.  But, this guy....he had a sense of humor.  Oh yes....if my dad or my brother reads this....all I am gonna say is "melon".  HA!  You will know what that means!  Those early morning breakfasts let me in on a side of him that, as a child, I did not know before, and I will cherish those memories forever ~ I almost feel like I was let in on a secret, as most of the time, it was just me, dad, and uncle Ray. 

It also feels strange calling him uncle Ray, since for most of my life to me, he was uncle Maynard.  But, no matter the name, he was always the same.  Strong, masculine, gentle, loving, giving, kind, protective, christ-like.  That is who he was to me.  I will always love you Uncle Maynard  Ray Pugh!  Party it up in heaven with your brand new body!  ~kimberly

its sad but true....

Working from home has it's advantages, and disadvantages.

Advantage: I get to work in my pj's
Disadvantage: I pretty much work in my pj's every day.

Advantage: Brushing my hair and putting on makeup is optional
Disadvantage: I usually pull my hair into a ponytail or a clip and I never wear makeup

Advantage: I always get to be here when my kids get home from school
Disadvantage: I am ALWAYS here when my kids get home from school (hehehe)

you get the point.

what the poo is happening here?????

Holy bifocals! what the heck is happening to me????

first: my kid will be in high school next year (refer to my last post)

second: I am starting to hold things away from my face to be able to see!! What?!? I just laughed at my daddy for doing that like, I dont know...yesterday!!!

Seriously folks. I have not been able to see since the 6Th grade. I sat in the back of the class and my friend wrote down what was on the board every single day. It never even occurred to me to ask why she could see it and I couldn't, until Mrs. Teacher caught her passing me "notes" in class. We were just about to get our hands smacked with the ruler until she realized it was the assignments. Promptly was I taken to the good ole' eye doc who looked at me like I was nuts. "uh, you didn't realize that your BLIND???" nope. until he gave me those gloriously hideous glasses. Great balls of fire! I didn't even realize that trees had individual leaves! I thought they were all just big lumps of green like my 7 year old draws. So, for years I have worn glasses and contacts, and now all of a sudden, I am taking my glasses off to read things up close, and with my contacts....yep...out the arm goes and I am making those crazy faces you see the "older folks" make, trying my darnedest to read that tiny writing.

I will never laugh at you again dad. This is me....crying in my bifocals.....

dance like theres no tomorrow

so....my oldest is going to try out for the drill team....yikes!

A) I'm having a hard time with the fact that she is STARTING HIGH SCHOOL!!!!

B) hello! i am NOT old enough to have a highschooler!!!!

C) Hello! I am NOT OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE A HIGH SCHOOLER!!!!

actually, that statement is far from the truth because my mom was 30 when I started high school and I am, well.....uh.....definately older than that!
But still......high school? really? already?? Add to that my youngest will be starting kindergarten! I will have no kids home! (yay!)...not really. I am actually sad about that. for now. we will see if that changes once I am free to run naked thru the house between the hours of 7:15 and 3:15!! heheh....

Anyway...back to drill team. Did you know that it is ridiculously expensive to entertain crowds of people at football games using the medium of dance? yes....it is $835.50 to be a part of the drill team. And DO NOT forget that .50....because that is one less can of coke I get to purchase. Is it me or is this just nuts?? I get it. they need costumes, boots, hats, gobs of makeup, etc....i know! But dang! it is either....I take up a second job and my hubster gets a few more jobs to pay for this, or she does not get the experience. SUCKS! And, I will do whatever it takes to come up with that money, because, well, thats what we do. But ok...again. DANG! $835.50????? Can I get a detailed summary of exactly what our taxes pay for?????

snow!

Hello Dallas! I am snow! Nice to meet you!

Yes, yes....I know that you up north of us are sick, sick, sick of snow....but....I am going to enjoy this beautiful, pure, white-ness called snow until its gone!

We had so.much.fun!

The dog even gave up her usual lazieness to actually run. Yes, she ran in the snow. over and over and over! Chased the kids, did some laps around the yard...crazy!

Can you tell that my J loves this dog? She is crazy about her, and will take any and every opportunity to seize a photo op with the pooch!

We built a snowman....twice! We built him first thing that morning, but he fell over. So, my sis in law and the nephews came over to play and we rebuilt him. The medal on the nose was their idea! The kids also built a "Patrick" snowman in the back yard! They are so creative!


My kiddos are crazy about the snow, and apparently, we had record snowfalls in a single storm here in the DFW area! I can tell you this much....this is the most snow I can ever remember seeing here! I have seen more snow in Kansas, but only a few times, although I know they have gotten alot of snow this year. But, here is my thought. I live in Texas. You know....the south....warm climate....super-duper hot summers....ya, you get the idea. If we have to endure the cold....we might as well get some snow. It is way better than just cold rain! So....I intend to fully enjoy all the snow I can get!

So, the last few pictures on this post are the views out of my bedroom windows and from my backyard. This is what we woke up to yesterday, after we played in the snow 3 different times the day before....we had the yard all torn up with our playing, and as it kept snowing, it was beautiful again!

I see such beauty in the snow. Pure, fresh, clean. How could anyone deny the love our God has for us in this beauty. Yes, outside of our "little world" terrible things are happening. I know this. But in the midst of the terrible, we can find beauty. Even if the beauty is fleeting....like the snow.