Major Makeovers

I have two new clients who have been asking me for a "total makeover". I was a little worried about taking them on. After months of conversations we were able to make things work. Tell me what you think of the outcome.... (you can click on the pictures to make them larger.)

Client #1:










Client #2:









It was all I could do to not cry when I did the first cut, but their excitement helped. I've noticed over the years that *most* mothers have their girls hair like their own...if a mom's hair is short usually their daughter's is too. I guess I may have to cut mine now too....j/k! They look so cute that I'm glad I did it. (No, no I am not a hairstylist but I thought a bob wouldn't be that hard to take on. I think they turned out darling but definitely in need of a professional's touch! I'll have to schedule with someone next week to straighten things out. Where are you Ruth?!!!) Anyway, they are sooo excited about it. Allie thinks no one will recognize her because she "looks so grown up! Kate keeps going into the bathroom to look in the mirror.

Texas, Our Texas, All Hail The Mighty State

Texas, our Texas! All hail the mighty State!
Texas, our Texas! So wonderful so great!
Boldest and grandest, Withstanding ev'ry test;
O Empire wide and glorious, You stand supremely blest....and so forth

(You need to turn up the volume while you read this post!)

So, I went home for my 14th Year High School Reunion. What? You've NEVER heard of a 14th year reunion? Well, you must not be from Rogers, Texas. This was actually my little sister's 10th Year Reunion but her class realized that most of the previous classes had never celebrated and being that it was a VERY small school, they invited everyone from the previous 5 years. BTW, Holy Crap I'm old! 14 years is a very long time!

Here are some interesting facts before I give you the full update:
42 - Number of students in my graduating class.
8 - Number of people from my class that attended the reunion. I think we are the only ones who moved away...the others see each other often enough.(probably around 100 combined attended)
1200 - Number of people in Rogers
100 - Number of people in Davilla, where I actually lived
3 - Number of Years I lived there, moved there my sophomore year
30 - Number of pounds I gained in one summer while living there!
10 - Number of years since I've been back, I went back for Jill's graduation and that was it. My family lives in Vidor again which is 5 hours away.
1095 - Number of days I counted down until I got to move away from there. So sad, I know! My family loved the country life, I just wasn't cut out for it. :(

Did you see the movie "Sweet Home Alabama"? My reunion felt a little like that. I reconnected with my inner Texan, while still realizing that I'm not meant to live there anymore. It was a really great visit. It was so nice to see people that I haven't seen since the day I graduated. I like what age does to us...especially me. I think I'm a much nicer yet more confidant person today. I thought everyone looked great, a couple of the guys looked like they just stepped out of the yearbook! I was surprised that soooo many of them are teachers, married to teachers. Most everyone had 2 or 3 kids. They were more surprised that I only have 3 kids, than that my younger sister Jill has 5!

K, so who was I in High School? LOL Hmmmm...I would describe myself as a "goody two-shoes". I was the only Mormon in my school, aside from siblings. It's sufficient to say that no one there had ever met a Mormon before and my family was very peculiar to them for many reasons.(don't drink, smoke, swear, and even as a high schooler I didn't tolerate swearing from others...see goody-two-shoes.) My best friend, Trina, was my saving grace after Charlotte (my older sister/best friend)moved off to BYU. Looking back, I mostly regret that I "lived to leave". The reunion reminded me that I could have made better, and closer friendships had I tried. If anyone from Rogers reads this, please accept my apology for any stupid things I may have done as a teenager!

I also got to spend precious time with my family. I only took Roman with me. It was wonderful to spend a day alone with my mom and sister Jill. We had a great time reminiscing about the fun times we had in Davilla....which you can see in the pictures. It is the small brown town that looks like the set of a Western.

I could blog about Vidor vs. Davilla all day but I'll save it for another post. Enjoy the pics!

Happy Fatners Day (typo intended)

When I was a little girl, my sister Cari made my dad a Father's Day card. I still remember when she gave it to him and he read the cover out loud, "Happy Fatner's Day!" She must have been five and her "h" looked like an "n" - ever since my family has called it Fatner's Day....and we definitely make lots of treats to justify the name!

To celebrate this year my girls came up with LOTS of fun ideas. Their dad must be the most loved and adored because I had to reign the girls in with some of their ideas. They have been making plans since Mother's Day...no joke! Here are a few highlights of the day (well, it has turned into a Father's Weekend):

1. Friday Darin came home to his VERY OWN art gallery. Allie made a sign that mostly reads, "Dad's Gallery."

2. Breakfast in bed. Allie and Kate LOVE to have breakfast in bed and to serve it. Nothing starts the day like Krispy Kreme's and O.J.

3. Gifts. The girls wanted to give Darin gifts first thing this morning. Allie and Kate gave Darin ties and socks and Roman gave him a shirt...very original I know. I thought I was pretty original by giving him a really nice steamer but I don't think he was excited as I was. This will cut down on ironing time! It takes Darin like 30 minutes to iron a shirt...sure it only takes me a 2 or 3 but ever since baby no. 3 I can't seem to get ironing in. I'm hoping this steamer will increase Darin's wardrobe, he won't have to avoid some of his shirts because of ironing time.

4. Well, the day is only half-way through. We have a very yummy dinner planned and the missionaries are joining us for it.

My Hubby: I can't complete this post without expressing my gratitude for having such a great father to my children. Right now while I'm typing this, he is reading the girls stories from The Friend (kids church magazine). They are all cuddled up so cute! I joke with Darin that he would be a better stay-at-home parent than I would. While many women complain that their husbands never clean up or pay attention to the kids, I have the opposite *problem*. Darin actually makes me look bad because when I get home from work the house is always cleaner than when I left it and the kids are just as happy as can be! (No, their hair isn't done as cute as when I'm here but I really can't complain about that.) Last weekend when I was in Texas, I called Darin on Saturday morning to see what they were up to. Since I had Roman with me, he took the girls to Home Depot at 9 am for their kid's workshop and then they were off to the zoo! While most dad's would have looked at that weekend as an opportunity to sleep in and let the kids zone in front of the tv all day, Darin was up early enjoying time with "his girls". I hope he knows how important he is to our family....and he doesn't even bring home a paycheck yet! (just kidding!)

My Daddy: In Texas you don't have a Dad or a Father, but a Daddy; even if you are 32! I have to say how grateful I am for him. Many of you may have read my post about my mom on Mother's Day and you may have wondered, what kind of man is lucky enough to marry a woman like that?! Well, my dad is equally wonderful. I'm always amazed at what a loving father he is and was to me when he never had a father figure himself. My dad was born into a very abusive home. He saw many violent things by the time he was 5. Without going into too many details, my dad and his five siblings were abandoned when he was 6. For seven years my dad grew up in a boy's home (like a large orphanage). He told me that he somehow knew to pray and every night he would pray that God would send him a family to love him. Well, God answers prayers! My dad is now loved and adored by his wife, two sons and nine daughters! I know that because my dad loves the Lord, he has been blessed. When I was twelve we found out that my dad had a genetic eye disease and he was going blind. I can't imagine how my parents felt, they had 9 kids at the time and were planning a life that while not filled with earthly riches would be comfortable. My dad was an electrician; there's not a lot of work for a blind electrician. I can still remember the day my parents told us the news. It was a Saturday morning, we gathered for family prayer which was something we did daily. After prayer, my parents asked us to stay in the room for some news. I love the way they did it. My mom said, "What would you kids think if your dad got to stay home every day?" A cheer filled the room, Saturdays were the best day of the week because Daddy got to play with us. A lifetime full of Saturdays sounded terrific! They explained that my dad was losing his eyesight and wasn't able to work at the plant anymore, so he was now "retired." You're probably wondering, "Holy cow, how did your parents feed and clothe you?" Well, that's where the Lord comes in. My parents never went on welfare or any other assistance program. My mom was a genius at budgeting, cooking good but inexpensive meals, and sewing. My dad hadn't lost all of his sight and could fix ANYTHING that was broken. We all babysat too and paid for our own clothes. I never thought we were poor, my parents did a nice job of hiding that fact from us....and growing up in Vidor I have to say that WE were not poor! There is so much more I could say about the amazing life my father has had. This really is only a small part of his life and trials....many people have compared him to Job! lol I've told him before that I think the Lord has given him so many trials so that it would benefit his family. We have all grown up to be very humble and grateful people, we also have the faith that our parents have shown us. While our family is not perfect, we do love each other and try to see the intents of each others heart. I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for my father. His love, support, humility, honesty, and faith play a role in who I am daily. I love you Daddy!

Roman is awake so I'd better call it quits. I hope you all have a very Happy Fatner's Day!

Big News from Allie and Kate

We got a really fun email from a girl from church. She organized a bike parade at a local park. Allie counted and it's only 11 days away! Needless to say, my girls are VERY excited. Immediately Allie started to think about decorations - so far she wants her theme to be 'Red, White, and Blue.' I told them that they needed to practice riding their bikes every day so they could ride on their own since I'll need to push Roman in the stroller.

First thing this morning the girls were ready to practice. It was hot and humid but we went out anyway. Sadly Allie got pretty frustrated early on. She was about ready to give up when I suggested we add some music to her bike, and I ran to get my Shuffle and speakers. She was so excited about this idea....and within a minute or two she was riding all by herself! I never realized how that moment would feel as a parent. For me, this felt as proud a moment as when I potty-trained her! lol She still needs a little practice but by the parade she should be on her own. Allie was so excited that she did it, she jumped up and down and gave us all high-fives, then she was off to call Dad (so cute)!

Kate had a major milestone this week. She has been terrified of swimming (even with a float on) despite five months of swimming lessons! Well, this week I took the girls to the pool and worked with Kate on this issue. Finally, after LOTS of tears I let go of her swim ring and let her cry it out. After just a minute she saw that she was safe. She then started to kick around and play with Allie. She was sooooo proud of herself that she wanted to call Darin to tell him all about it. I think that courage has spilled over into other areas because today she surprised me and said she didn't need any help on her bike from the get-go. She is still riding with training wheels but in the past she wanted me to hang on, well not today. I'm so proud of the girls for sticking with it. (Pics will be added tonight.)

Oh...less we forget Roman...he is VERY determined to learn to crawl this week. He is rocking on all fours and bouncing on his bum (I need to add video of this) and he is oh so close to getting it down.

k, I still need to write my high school reunion update but this news was too big to wait!

Bye-Bye Buxtons...

If you are a friend of the Buxtons, please visit http://kendalltookruthaway.blogspot.com to say goodbye!

Columbus Dispatch

Let me start by saying that I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. We had an awesome trip to Denver a few weeks ago but we took soooo many pictures that I haven't had time to go through them...so keep an eye out for that post later this week. I have to say a big thank you to Paul and Katherine for letting us come and visit them, we had the BEST time and wish we could live closer...like, next door.

So last week was full of big things, Allie graduated from kindergarten..pictures will be added soon! My client who is/was engaged got married..that was a big deal and also requires a complete post later. Also a reporter from the Columbus Dispatch, which is our big paper, called me last Wednesday to see if she could do an interview. She wanted to do it the very next day and at my house! No biggie, right? I've met Kristie, the style and fashion reporter, before and have given her quotes for stories in the past but this was my first feature article. You can imagine the whirlwind that happened to get everything in order! Kristie said they also wanted to do a photoshoot of some of my favorite outfits too. Luckily I had a hair appointment scheduled for Friday and so I asked if we could take the pictures on Friday, luckily that worked out! So Thursday was a lot of fun. Kristie came to the house and Roman was napping, Kate watching a show so we had some peace and quiet to just visit. It probably took about an hour and a half for the interview and the next day the photoshoot took almost two hours.

So...last night I started getting nervous about the article and didn't sleep that well. I ironed Darin's shirt this morning so he would have time to run and get the paper...but sadly he only had time to buy the paper and couldn't drop it back off at the house. He did say that it's a big story that takes about 2/3 of the page....and luckily I did find it online.
If you care to read the article... http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/flipside/stories/2008/06/03/3_STYLE3.ART_ART_06-03-08_E8_QMABNQD.html?sid=101

PS. I'm sorry if I'm bragging, this is just big stuff for a little girl from Vidor, TX!