Kimberly turns 8 years old!!

I can't believe my little Kimberly has turned 8 years old. It seems like yesterday that she was laying in the NICU fighting for her life. She only hada 10% survial rate and here she is 8 years later. And many, many, grey hairs later for me and her dad. She definitely has shown us she is is a fighter! She has such an excitement for everything...sometimes too much for the rest of us!! But the fun and innocence of everything she experiences is greatness.

We had a little family party at my sister's house on New Year's for her and Uncle Ron's birthday. She gots lots of gifts..but if you know Kimberly, she was looking for more and more gifts.

She is in second grade now and her best friend is Taylor Cave who lives next to us. She was born 9 days after Kimberly. They are like soul sisters, they just love each other so much. We are so blessed!!

Happy Birthday to our little Kimbo!!! We love you sweetie!!

Me & Susan

This is my friend Susan from Atlanta. She is a sweetie and I love her. I have not seen her in many many years, so it was extra special when I got to see her in December. This is probably the first picture we have had taken together in over 14 or 15 years...yikes. Love ya Susie Q!!!

Santa Pictures 2009

Thankful

There has been many things going on lately in my life that has made me realize even more how blessed I am. I am so very Thankful for my family, as crazy as we can be sometimes, we all love eachother and are there for eachother. I am Thankful for Good friends who stand by me and support me in all the good and bad times. I am Thankful that I know I am a Child of God and I pray for those who do not know that wonderful feeling.

I am especially Thankful for my wonderful husband of 22 years, Jay. He is my best friend and always there for me and loves me no matter what!

New Addition to the Family

We are so excited about the opportunity we had to sponsor a child from a village in West Africa. The ESI (Every Soul's Important) Organization is looking for sponsors for children in the Village of Maamakrome. The story of how this wonderful foundation was started you can read on their website.
http://www.esifoundation.org

Spread the word!! This is a great opportunity to help someone across the globe. This organization has built schools, library, wells and bought uniforms, food, provided medical treatment for so many in this area. But most important they are spreading the word of God. Most of these kids and parents had never heard about Jesus.

Here is the little boy we are sponsoring...he is so cute. My girls are so excited to be part of this as well.

Richard's pretty smile

Richard standing in the library

Richard showing his name and dob


Richard's sad faces


If you are interested in sponsoring a child, please go to their website

Happy Birthday Jay!!!

Today is Jay's 42nd Birthday!! He does not like to celebrate his birthdays, I keep telling him he should be happy he is still having them!!

Andrea, Kimberly and I don't know what we would do without you. We love you very much and thank you for being such a wonderful father, husband and my best friend ever. I hope you have a great day!!

I will miss you Toni...

Today I am saddened by the news that my dear friend Anne's, mom Toni, has passed away. At the same time, I am happy that she is now in with our Heavenly Father and will be reunited with Anne's dad Max. I am so thankful, and so blessed for knowing this family.

Anne and I became friends about 8-9th grade. We quickly enjoyed being with eachother even though she was a year older than myself. We would spend many weekends hanging out together and spending the night at eachother's houses. Her family always treated me as if I were just another one of their children. Max always had a great sense of humor and loved to give me hard time. Ben, her brother, liked to call me (still does sometimes) "Bo"linda. He just knew how much it aggravated me at the time and now it is just a great memory of how they all loved me and I loved them. I remembered Toni's Pimento Cheese and Max's Pecan Tassies. They took me on vacation with them, introduced me to some Bluegrass music, always ate some great meals together.I could go on and on about the adventures together.

Anne and I went and led our separate lives, but always kept in touch. Anytime we would see eachother it was as if nothing had ever changed. I want to say Thanks Anne, for letting me be a part of your life.

I wished that I had dug out some old pictures to put up on my blog. All of I have hand are some recent photos. I am so Thankful that I was able to see Toni in July when she was doing well.



Here is picture of Anne with her mom


Beautiful Toni..


"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15

Toni, We will miss you greatly.

Girls in a Fashion Show

The girls were recently in a Back to School Fashion Show that benefited a local charity...they loved being models for a day!


Kimberly walking the runway...watch out!!!





Andrea walking the runway at the fashion show...Isn't she gorgeous!!!

Follow Me to Tennessee.....

Over Vacation we went to Tennessee to visit family. We had such a great time. It was so nice to be able to see family and friends that I have not seen in so long. We have tons of pictures, thanks to Jay's sister, Jan. I did not hardly take any at all. She took about 400, everytime you turned around there she was with the camera. I loved it that she did that!!!

We got to spend some time at my parent's house with my siblings. It was great fun. You could really tell my Dad and Mom really enjoyed having all of us there together having a great time.

We played some backyard games there too..see pictures below.

Sharing Scriptures & Stories

I am sharing these scriptures because they have spoken to me in one way or another recently. I hope that they speak to those of you looking for guidance or purpose. Remember God has plans for all of us and we just need to take the time to trust in Him and listen to what He is saying...

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have receivd it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in Heaven may forgive you your sins." - Mark 11:24-25

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5


My sister Barbara, and Nephew Micah are leaving for Africa on Friday on their mission trip. As I tell my girls, they going to tell other kids about Jesus. Kimberly is like "why?" She does not understand that everyone does not know who Jesus is and although I know she is still learning (as we all are) , she knows that "Jesus loves her".

Recently at a 4th of July firework show, as we watched the loud booms and crackling in the sky..she said "that is waking up Jesus!". I never thought about that - I don't think he sleeps though.

Please remember all my sister Barbara and Micah in your prayers as they go off to Africa and teach children what it means to have Jesus in their hearts and what it means to have Hope.

Memory of Lil Wil

Lil Wil has now gone to be with the Lord. This precious child touched so many hearts. Please remember his faithful parents, Sequita & William, in your prayers.

To Sequita & William - Thank you so much for sharing his life and your walk in faith with all of us. You will probably never know how much sharing your journey has brought so many others closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

We Love You,
Belinda,Jay, Andrea, and Kimberly

Lil Wil and his Momma


Lil Wil & his parents

Summer is definitely in Texas

Can I just say that it is way too hot in Texas this summer!! Every summer I think I am not going to make it. Little did I know that this summer was the hottest one yet since I moved here almost 9 years ago. (Wow time flies doesn't it) I have always been more of the indoor type anyway, but I have found myself not wanting to even get out in the middle of the day unless I have to. I want some rain to cool things off. Does anyone know a rain dance??

I hope when we go visit family in Tennessee that it is much cooler. Andrea is so looking forward to going to TN. She never gets to spend time alone with grandparents and she is really looking forward to it and has talked about it a great deal. She has her special moments planned with both sets of grandparents. Memaw & Bullett and Mimi & Papa. These are the kind of memories she will always treasure.

I can remember spending time in the summer with my Grandpa Glynn in Alabama. I have very few memories of him because he died when I was very young. It was never the same at his house after that. I remember just being heart broken when he was gone. I loved snuggling up with him in his chair and his breath always smelled like a mixture of coffee and cigarette smoke (sounds gross I know), but a memory nonetheless. He always wore coveralls and owned a pawn shop. He had a big heart!

I also remember going to Mississippi to spend a week with my Grandma Willie. I loved going to her house. It always smelled like a Grandma's house should smell. She had this huge stuffed toy dog in her floor that almost looked real. It was for "show not play". She had the prettiest yard and we would run and play hide n seek in her bushes. She made us yummy southern cooking and you never left her house hungry. I spent many summers at her house until I got older. Now Grandma is in a nursing facility in Mississippi with Alzheimer's. We don't get to see her very often any more.

I just hope that my girls get to have some of these memories like I had growing up. With the way times have changed and how busy we all get - it is hard to do. I know Andrea will enjoy every minute that she gets to be alone with her grandparents. We don't live close so her visits are few and far between, but I know she will treasure it even more because of that.

To Memaw, Bullett, Papa and Mimi, we love you very much and thank you for being such wonderful grand parents to Andrea and Kimberly!!

PS - Next Summer BOTH girls are coming for a month!! Ha Ha Ha

Love you!!

Andrea's Fish

Jay was so excited to take his girls out fishing this morning. He has been talking about it all week. The girls were excited too. They did not even complain about getting up at 5 am to go fishing with their daddy!! They were on the water by 6:20. Andrea caught a couple little fish and then she caught the biggest one of the day!!

Here she is with her hybrid...


Now she is trying to kiss the fish!!


Now she finally talked her friend Morgan into touching it!!



Kimberly was not as interested in fishing as she was in getting wet!! Jay finally stopped and let them swim for awhile. They were all so tired when they got home, but Kimberly still had lots of energy to go swimming again with her friend Taylor. After swimming they ate lunch and then more playing together. They love each other so much!! Here is a cute picture of them snuggled up together on the sofa watching a movie.


Hope you all have a great Independence Day!!

Happenings..

Okay so lately I have been a little distracted with FACEBOOK!!! Yes I finally broke down and got one. I have been on there much more than I care to admit. I really do enjoy blogging much better.

The good thing is I found out things about my family that they never told me or Jay. We all communicate so well don't we!!! I think because we live outside the circle we are forgotten some times. But that's okay, I know life gets busy we all forget to share information.

Some of the things that have been happening lately...

BIG NEWS!! Andrea auditioned for a local ballet company and she made it!!! It was the most stressful day ever!! I had 25 people at my house for a brunch while Andrea was at Auditions! I was soooo distracted. When Jay called and told me she made it I was so excited for her. She has worked extremely hard for this - it will help her in so many ways. She really wants to pursue dance as a career one day. This is her biggest step yet!!! We are so proud of her and the dedication she shows!!

Kimberly is finishing up Summer School and ready to go to her Aunt Barbara's day care starting next week. She loves going there and seeing all her friends and going on all the fun field trips!!

Here is the girls latest school pictures from this spring!!

Graduation Time

My nephew graduated from High School over the weekend. We had a lot of family in town and plenty of celebrations. I am posting some pictures of the many events. There was a private dinner with family and close friends on Friday night. A brunch at my house for him with all the out of town friends and family on Saturday. Graduation was Saturday night. Then on Sunday a Back yard graduation party at his house in his honor.

The Graduate - "Fish" with Johnny, Barbara and Micah


Grandpa "Bullett" and Grandma Gandy


Garrett one week before graduation - buying ice cream from the ice cream truck!!
You never outgrow that!! Jamie, Kimberly & Andrea were chasing it too!!



Graduation Dinner Photos...

Hannah, Andrea, Katie, Jamie


All the "cousins"




The girls with Aunt Barbara








While it was great that all of the family came together for this occasion.
It was really strange realizing that Garrett is all grown up now. I got a litte choked up a few times just thinking about it. I feel sooooo old. He has turned into such the nicest young man, very considerate of others, and has the patience of a saint with his little cousins, and the love of God in his heart.

His nickname is "Fish" because when he was little he loved the Dr. Seuss book "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue fish...I think that is how it goes.

Fishy, We are so proud of you!!!!!!

The Past and Present

Recently all of the siblings in my family were together for my nephew's graduation. We had a picture taken of all of us since we do not get together very often. I thought it was hilarious how we looked in the 70's and now....

All six kids in 1973.


All six kids in 2009


Love to all my brothers and sisters and we had lots of fun this past weekend. How my parents put up with all of us I will never know!!!

Andrea's Choreography Performed

Friday night, Andrea's Choreography was performed by her Ballet Company. It is absolutely beautiful. I loved it!! I am soooo proud of my little girl!! She did such a great job!! I hope you can view and enjoy. She is actually in this dance but hard to tell when they are all dressed alike which one is her. She does come out from the right about 4th one back. She wasn't suppose to perform in her own dance, but ended up filling in for someone that could not make it. Enjoy the video - it is the best I could get sitting on the front row.

Bird, Cat, and Dogs...OH MY!!

This past weekend you could tell springtime was everywhere. Everything is so green from all the rain we had recently. Flowers are blooming all over the place. And there are signs of new life all around. We have seen baby ponies, baby bunnies, baby chicks, baby cows..all over our area. We have a nest of baby Blue Jay's in a tree in our front yard. One of them fell out of the tree and was hopping all over the place trying to figure out how to get back to its momma. The momma bird is swooping over head making sure we did not hurt her baby. The little birdie ended up jumping on Jay's truck tire and then fell asleep. Jay of course is waiting for it to get back in that tree so he can mow the yard. Well you'll be glad to know, he did figure it out and climb right up the trunk of that tree to its momma. It was so cute and fuzzy. I took a picture...



As most of you know, since our dog Baylor died last year we have been on the search for another Weimaraner. It has to be one that will get along with kids, other dogs, and cats, housetrained, adult (no puppy) and otherwise perfect!! We have been fostering for the Weim Rescue off and on just trying to find the right one. Well, when you get a call from them you have to be prepared to go get the dog right away. We got the call this past Monday. This owner had passed away and had TWO Weims, yes I said TWO!!! They are brothers and have never been apart, so they have to be adopted together! They also meet all of my criteria listed above. But there is TWO!! There names are Beaudreaux and Thibideaux (Boo & Tibbs for short). They are HUGE, probably at least 90-100 lbs a piece. They love people and want to be loved. They do everything together and it is so sweet. They are great with the girls. They don't seem to bark a lot. They love to play catch and get Kimberly's stuff animals and play tug of war. These dogs do mind very well and obviously were trained well by their previous owner. I would keep them in hearbeat if we live out in the country and had bigger house and yard. There is suppose to be a family wanting to adopt them in June. I hope so...


Kimberly has been guarding her little babies for dear life!! She is so afraid the dogs are going to get them. These are the babies that she has had since she was in the NICU and they look pretty bad now, one of them has had "brain surgery" once.

Paris, Andrea's cat, she is part persian. She has been Queen of the house for awhile now and she is NOT happy with us bringing in these two king sized dogs. They are very curious about her and have been pretty good about not chasing her. They just want to get close enough to check her out, and she does not like that at all. She hisses and growls at them, arches her back and the hair stands straight up. She has been living on top of the kitchen cabinets, where is very close to 16 feet up from these monsters. She comes down during the day while we are at work and at night to sleep with Andrea.


On top of all this action going on in my house, I am suppose to be preparing for a graduation brunch for my nephew in June. I have started painting and need floor work done, organizing and all sorts of stuff and now I have the miniature ponies in my house!! Jay swears he will do whatever he can to help me. Time will tell!!!

Oh my oh my it is going to be a crazy three weeks at our house....