A BOY!!

No, no, no, I'm NOT having a baby. Those baby-having days are over for me. But my little sister is having a BOY after having 3 girls!!! We are so excited for them!! We need more boys in this family. Congratulations Amber and Reed!!!!!

The Part-ay!!

About a year or so ago, Macy checked out some Fancy Nancy books from the library. She fell in love with that fancy little girl. Probably because they are so much a like. Macy has always loved everything fancy. She loves to play dress up and she loves anything PINK ! She decided months ago that she wanted a Fancy Nancy Tea party for her Birthday.

So, that's what we did. It was so much fun to plan! My sister found Fancy Nancy invitations at Target on clearance. I found exactly what I needed at Goodwill in one trip (that is totally luck). I found a china tea cup and saucer for each girl (.49 ea). They were all different but it added character. We served pink lemonade in them. I also found long stemmed parfait glasses(also .49 ea) for everybody. We had parfaits (fancy ice cream sundaes). I made cupcakes with white icing that I sprayed pink and purple with icing spray(sooo cool). I already had a cupcake stand which made it really cute. I made little triangle sandwiches with fancy toothpicks in each one (with the crust cut off of course). Also cheese cubes with toothpicks in them and a little plate with fancy chocolate chip cookies( a must according to Macy).

I hung tulle strips and curly ribbon from our chandelier over the table. I bought pink and purple table cloths, napkins, plates, forks and spoons all from Walmart really cheap. We tied purple ribbon in a bow around each pink napkin to make them a little more fancy.

I bought 3 plastic white table cloths from the Dollar store and cut them to fit over each chair as chair covers. I took some of the tulle that I bought and tied a big bow around each chair with a plastic flower in the middle(also from the dollar store). The left over flowers were put in a vase on the table along with pink rose petals and white doilies I picked up from the dollar store.

I had 2 stations set up and made my twins help with them. Tyler was in charge of the "Fancy station". She painted their nails, gave them lip gloss, and shimmer powder. I had them each a crown and a boa. The boas were from Hobby Lobby and were really long so I cut them in half to make them shorter for the little girls and help cut costs as well. She also let them pick sticker earrings. The other station was a craft. I picked up pink hand mirrors from the Dollar Store and some jewel stickers and Riley helped the girls make them fancy. They turned out cute!

For party favors I got most everything from the Dollar store. I found candy jewelry, ring pops, necklaces, and even little plumes(fancy pens with feathers on the end). They also got to take home their boas, crowns, and tea cups and saucers.

Macy had so much fun and the other girls seemed to as well. I had fun decorating and planning myself! Now I can start planning the next party...the twins birthday in July!

The little princess had a birthday

My baby girl turned 6 years old this month. I can't believe it. She is such a sweetheart. She is so much fun and we love her so much!! She loves music, singing and dancing. She is a great reader and loves to go to school and play with her friends.

The day of her birthday we celebrated with presents and her choice of dessert...brownie sundaes. Since her birthday was on a Sunday we chose to have her party on a different day.

What a little diva this girl is. About a year ago when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up she would say "a teenager". Her answer has changed now to "I want to be on the TV". I'm not sure which one is worse! This girl will most likely give me a heart attack!!

I try so hard to keep her a little girl but she wants to grow up so fast. So I'm cherishing every minute!! We love you Macy!! Happy Birthday!!!!

It's finaly here!!!!!!!

This is what's its all about... just chillin'. We are so excited that summer is here!!!!!! No homework, no school, no dance classes, no getting up EARLY, no schedules. We were so ready for a break. We don't have big summer plans, just a whole lot of nothing!

This picture was taken at the sprinkler park. Georgia, Riley, Lucas, Tyler, Carly, Jenna, Gage, and Macy all sat still for about one minute so that I could get a picture.

Mysterious Mustash Man

Lucas got to pick a treat at the Dollar store for being good(yes, I bribe my kids sometimes) and this is what he chose. He calls it a "dithgithe". So he wore it all day. He wore it into the kids' school to take something to Macy. He wore it to his Nana's house. He wore it all the way to eat lunch with daddy. Although he got too embarrassed to wear it into the restaurant (thanks goodness, right!), he wasn't too embarrassed to show his uncle Reed when we were leaving. He had so much fun with them until they got broken. But that's ok, I bought him another pair the next time we went to the dollar store. He's such a jokester!

You might be a redneck if...

... you sit in camp-chairs on the curb while eating pop-corn.

Yes, that would be my children enjoying the afternoon sun and a snack. They asked if they could have popcorn and before I knew it this is what they were doing. Honestly I'm surprised that almost all of them have shoes on! I have to say...they come by it honestly I guess.

The Decoration

Every year on the fourth Sunday of May we travel to Finger, TN for "The Decoration". I'm not sure if other parts of the country do this as well but here in the south its also called "Homecoming" because this is the day when even the people who moved away come back to visit. I have been doing this my entire life, or at least as long as I remember. Now I do it with my children.

My great grandfather Albert Plunk helped build a very small Methodist church in Finger a very long time ago. It was there that he was a preacher and filled the small chapel every Sunday. Some days, especially on "Homecoming" people would even stand in the open windows to hear his sermons or the hymns. Afterwards they would have "dinner on the grounds" which is a pot luck dinner outside on make-shift tables stretching across the church yard.

At the decoration we go back to that same small church that my great-grandpa built. Even though we don't share the same faith, on that day we participate in the traditions of my family. It starts with a sermon from the preacher. Afterwards is the "dinner on the grounds". This potluck dinner could easily feed a group 3 times as many as are in attendance. It includes good southern favorites like fried chicken, butter beans, fresh veggies, pecan pie, and cornbread dressing. If you're lucky, you might even come across some fried Bologna or okra.

After the dinner we gather back in the chapel for "the singing" or what most of us call around those parts "the sangin'. (Macy and my niece Carly pictured above during the singing. They love sitting on those old pews together) Together we sing classic old hymns. There are also volunteers to sing solo or with a small group. Some people play the guitar or maybe another musical instrument. My mom's cousin Retha is always playing the antique piano. Just hearing the sound of that old piano almost seems to take me back in time. We always marvel at her talent. I love hearing the twang in the voices of these people expressing their love for God and the Savior.

Across the street from the old church is the cemetery where the graves are decorated on this special day. Many of my relatives are buried there including my great grandpa Albert and great grandma Ollie. Their graves sit under a little awning. Behind them is the grave of Buford Brock and will someday be my grandmother June Brock or "Nanny". Buford was only my grandfather by marriage but I loved him like my own.

When we leave the old church we drive about a mile down the country road to an old house that my great-grandparents once lived with their children. The extended family gathers together to visit.

Here is Nanny tickling Lucas' nose as they sit in the porch swing on that old porch. Tyler is sitting beside Lucas and my niece Georgia is examining her chicken leg.


Wade, Lucas and Riley enjoying the porch.

Gage, Tyler, and nieces Jenna and Carly playing in the yard.

What a great day! I am so grateful for the heritage that I have. I am thankful for my family and our southern roots. I love that my kids get to take part in that, even for just a day. They get to sit in an old church that has so much family history. Sit on the pews that their ancestors sat on and sing songs that have been sung for generations. They get to meet extended family that they would normally never meet and play with them in the yard of a home where their great- grandmother was raised. They can sit in a porch swing with her and make memories with her. I wouldn't have it any other way.