Daddy's Girls

 "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." - Abraham Lincoln "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."- Abraham Lincoln Me and my baby girl Yaya and her "baby boy" My Mom with her family, June 2010 My Nana after Lilli's baptism.   Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms, stepmoms, grandmas, aunts and anyone that is "like a Mom" to someone out there.  Today is your day and I hope you are able to enjoy every minute of it. 

Yesterday I got a text from my friend, Rebecca, asking if me, Matt and Lilli wanted to join her, Brian, Sophie and Brian's family for the Poke Salad Festival in Blanchard.  Before yesterday I had never heard of the Poke Salad Festival or had any clue what Poke Salad was.  I'd seen the sign in Blanchard that said "This is Poke Salad Country" plenty of times but never thought much of it.  After today I now know that poke salad is grown as an ornamental plant, is used for folk medicine and has been a staple in U.S. Southern cuisine for decades. Who knew?! And Blanchard has had a festival named after it for 38 years now.  It was a small festival with a few rides and fair food but lots of fun! It was the first time Lilli had ridden rides other than a carousel and it made it even better that there were other kids there she knew.  It was also really nice to get to catch up some with Rebecca.  We both seem to go out of town a lot and alw...

We just got back from a great weekend at the deer camp.  It's always fun to go but I especially love it when the weekend is centered around crawfish! Friday night Matt peeled crawfish to fry.  This is what 15 pounds looks like when it's just tails.  You wonder why you have to eat so much to fill up.  Saturday morning Uncle Josh drove us to the site where the new house will be built.  I really wish I would have gotten a picture of that.   It's really going to be amazing.  Here are a couple I took a couple of weeks ago when we had a picnic there but there's been a lot more done since.  You can't tell but it's on the top of a hill and you'll be able to look out over all of the property when it's done.  Then we all went for a ride to go catch more crawfish to boil that night.    All morning Lilli had been saying she was ready to go.  That's because her Daddy and "Uncle Shanny" let her do t...

Yesterday went from a normal Thursday to a very fun day! Lilli and I got up and went to work/school just like normal.  I was actually trying to think of something we could do after because I thought we were going to be bored.  Matt stayed at the deer camp because he was working there yesterday and today so I wanted to do something to take up the afternoon.  Turns out I didn't have to think of anything.  I got a call from Yaya in the morning asking us to lunch so me met her at Jason's Deli and then went to play at the park by the duck pond.  While we were there, Hailey called and asked if we wanted to get dinner because Josh was at the deer camp too.  We went to Nicky's and Lilli had a blast dancing on the patio and then went back to our house to hang out a while longer.  We were very excited to get to visit with "Hay Hay" because it doesn't get to happen as often as we'd like while she's in school.  What nice treats for wh...

This first picture is of me at 2 years old holding my little sister (notice the teddy bear).  This 2nd picture is of Lilli today.  She also has a "Teddy." It is not the same one that was my favorite as a child but it is about 30 years old.  Everyone always tells me she looks just like me but I can really see it today. And here is a picture of her in the backyard today.  I did not ask her to pose for this.  The other is me and Matt in Mexico last year.  Anyone that knows us well knows that Matt and I are definitely beach people.  We can sit in a chair looking at the ocean all day and not get bored.  Looks like she's a child after our own heart! Really looking forward to our beach vacation in a month! 

This was my "daily pic" from a few days ago.  For those of you that don't know, I send out a picture of Lilli to 18 of her closest admirers everyday. :)  It started out as just going to her grandmas and Dad when she was first born but as other people heard about it, they asked to be included in the daily text. She hates it, and I know I won't be able to do it forever, but I'm going to keep it up as long as she cooperates.  I thought this dress was too cute on her and her outfit was complete when she asked me to put her hair in pig tails.  I made her a deal that I would do her hair if she would actually smile for her pic that day.  Oh how I wish my camera was back from being repaired and I could have gotten a better one but it's still one of my favorites even thought it's only camera phone quality.  Not much new at our house this week.  We had a nice visit with Pops on Monday and a pretty unev...

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Mom!  She would have been 61 today.  If you read my blog around my birthday, you know that my family has always made a big deal out of each one and today is no different.  Even though she is not here to celebrate with us, I am still cooking one of her favorite meals that I make and of course there is cake.  Lilli is excited that she'll get to blow out the candle.  Pops will be here soon to celebrate with us too.  You are truly missed, Mom, but I hope you and Papa are having a glass of wine and saying a toast to the day.  We'll be doing the same.  We love you!