Flashback Friday!

I steal all my ideas from friends! Page has started posting old pictures and I think it's a great idea. Though I've known her husband's family for many, many years, there were several years when I didn't see or talk to them, and I've only known Page for about 5 years now, so I love seeing all her old pics. So I'm stealing the idea, and I would love for all of you to do the same. I love looking at peoples' old pictures. Here's my first flashback, Cameron and I in high school...of course not at the same time!



He looks like such a baby, and I was so skinny!

Grab a tissue

I just saw this on Oprah and bawled my eyes out. Thank the good Lord for the health of my baby and the babies of those I love.

http://www.oprah.com/media/20081001_tows_99balloons

Eliot's parents are about to welcome a second child who, as far as they can tell, is perfectly healthy.

My little Picasso

Didn't she do a good job? I found some triangular crayons, which are great for little fingers, and sat her down with some paper. I was pretty impressed that she just picked them up and knew exactly what to do with them. I didn't help her at all, she did it all on her own. Cameron laughed that I labeled the picture and put it on the fridge. He'll really bust a gut if he knew that I put it on here, but I set this blog up for the exclusive use of bragging on my daughter. My sister-in-law Amy is ridiculously talented when it comes to art, and my dad and uncle Levi are pretty talented too. Maybe D'Laney will pick up on some of that.

feels like saturday

The oil show is in town this week, and apparently it's a pretty big deal. I'd never heard of it, but it's huge in this area. Cameron's company has had a lot going on with the show, and had two very different parties this week which we were required to attend. Tuesday night we went to the Hog Pit Pub and Grub, and it was exactly like it sounds, pretty much a biker bar. But Stallion had rented the whole place for the night, and we had some great bbq. There was a lot of drinking and smoking and a couple live bands, but we were able to stay in the back out of the way. I got to meet some of the guys that Cam works with and the bands were great. Last night was about a 180 from the night before. It was a banquet at the Hilton in downtown Midland with the owners of the company who were up from Houston. It was a much more formal atmosphere. We just ate and listened to the head safety man talk about how well all the employees were doing, and then they gave away door prizes and we left. Because they've been so busy with everything, Cameron's office shut down until Monday. I don't remember the last time he had a 3 day weekend, much less a 4 day weekend. He did have to run to a rig at lunch today, but he was only gone for a couple hours. We slept late, ate breakfast, then laid around watching westerns for most of the day. It was wonderful! But it sure felt like saturday, and I kept thinking, when does the game start? Tomorrow we're going to try to go to Lubbock for the day, but other than that, we have absolutely no plans for the rest of the weekend. I bet we'll find something to do, maybe we'll finally get the buggy shed cleaned out. The buggy shed is what we call the garage. I don't think it's 100 years old like the house, but it's pretty close. I guess it's supposed to be a garage, but there is no way a car could fit in it. As soon as we can afford it, we're tearing it down and putting a real garage and storage room in it's place, hopefully with a covered patio attached as well! We have a long list of things like that we'll probably never get to, but at least we have an idea of how we'd like the house to look. Wow this post has been all over the place, but you're brain isn't supposed to work on saturday, right;)

some pictures and videos

Pumpkin patch and hay ride with the Sheffield church. Not a fantastic picture of us (the photography is good, just not the subjects!), but I can't remember the last time the three of us had a pic of any kind taken. You might notice that Cameron is having a difficult time quitting dipping, lol. But it's ok, I'm having a hard time getting off my butt so I can lose weight.

This girl loves to dance! Any time any music comes on, and I mean any music, be it on the radio or just a little commercial, she starts to boogie. Right now it's cute, but there is some serious shimmying going on that we're going to have to have discussions about in a few years.

D'Laney has begun trying to say her name. It sounds an awful lot like daddy, but the majority of what she says sounds like daddy. We're also starting with the please and thank yous. Please sounds like, you guessed it, daddy, but she's beginning to get thank you down. Just a minute ago she said it without being prompted when I handed her some juice. Cameron and I really make an effort to say things like to each other so that our kids will hear it on a daily basis and it just becomes second nature. We'll see how that works...

And finally, today I let D'Laney try to feed herself completely on her own. She did really well, only about 1/4 of the food ended up on her, the chair, floor, me, etc...the rest went in her mouth. When she was done, I did the cold weather version of hosing her down, naked in the sink with the sprayer. As she's learning new things, so am I. Like don't wear socks when she's eating something mushy, because no matter how careful you tiptoe around, your feet will find the food on the floor. And that not only will the kiddo need to change clothes, so will I. Do they make bibs for moms? And I'm going to have to break down and get a swiffer. My old fashioned broom and mop is not very practical with what I've got to clean up on a daily basis. I need a little hand vac too, maybe one of those cute cones or curves.

And when it was all said and done...

Reminder: two carbon monoxide detectors!

I love the smell of running the heater for the first time in a while! Not really, it's pretty bad, but I'm just so excited it's finally cold enough. I'm just going to have to remember carbon monoxide detectors next time I go to WalMart. I've never had a gas heater before, it makes me a little nervous. And it is cold! Well, OK, not that cold, maybe 65, but it's freezing in this house, so I decided to try out the heater. It works great, the house was a lot warmer almost immediately, but it sure stinks. I have candles burning all over the house, which, by the way Mom, I'm running low on all of them;) I love a good candle. Circle E is my favorite, and not just because they last so long. They are so seasonal. Nothing makes me think of Christmas more than their Christmas Spirit candle, and the country morning (Cinnamon and pumpkin spice) is thanksgiving in a sniff. *Sigh* I love this time of year! My husband makes fun of me because I smell everything. But it seems like I have to assign a smell to something for it to stick in my head. I can think of baseball, and automatically I can smell the grass or the leather of a glove. Or a new baby and smell Johnson's lotion. My MamaDeere's house will always have the same smell, and I can even smell it on blankets that she gave my mom years ago, the smell is still there. I'm beginning to understand why my husband calls me a freak...

Meet Eli and Landon

I just wanted to share a picture of D'Laney's two new cousins with everyone. I know a lot of y'all have been praying for these little guys. They were born Wed. and are in really good health. Both are breathing on their own and they're able to share a bed. I'm so glad D'Laney will have these two cousins close to her own age. Technically they're 2nd or 3rd cousins, I'm not sure how it goes... Cameron and Dustin, the boys' daddy, are 1st cousins, but in our family it doesn't matter. D'Laney, Eli, and Landon will be around each other so much growing up they won't know the difference. All of Cameron's nephews and his niece are a lot older than D'Laney, and she probably won't have any cousins on my side for a while either, so she's stuck right in the middle. Thank goodness for large, close extended families. I stole this pic from Amy, we actually haven't seen the boys yet, they're still in the NICU, but I just wanted to show them off. They're so beautiful and so healthy, and we just love them so much already, never mind that they're 2nd or 3rd cousins-in-law or whatever!

Eli on the left, Landon on the right. Dustin said that he's glad one is a little bigger than the other...it's the only way to tell them apart! Isn't it funny how their hands are exactly the same?!

New little boys!

I just found out that D'Laney's two newest cousins, Landon and Eli, will be born tomorrow! Amy is scheduled for a C section tomorrow afternoon, and I ask all of you for your prayers for Landon, Eli, Amy and Dustin. Dustin especially will need your prayers during the operation. Cameron said that going through my C section was one of the most emotional, difficult things he's ever had to endure. I'll let you all know how things went, and Amy's sister Kristin will be updating throughout the day tomorrow, so if you'd like to check in there, here is Amy's blog.

Halloween

While halloween is probably my absolute least favorite holiday ever, it is, none the less, a holiday. And I love holidays if only for the decorating and a reason to socialize. I haven't dressed up for halloween since I was about 7, but I get to come up with costumes for D'Laney now. Last year, she was a chili pepper, but she was only a couple months old, so the costume swallowed her and all we did was put it on her, take a couple pictures and take it off. I'm debating just using the same costume this year, it will still fit her, and it saves me from having to buy or make her another one. We'll see, I still have a few weeks to think about it. Here's some pics from last year in her costume and at the pumpkin patch: