Over the Weekend

Brian and I decided it was only fitting to eat at Georgia's for our anniversary. It's a little known spot that actually handled the catering for our wedding (yum, yum food!). We love it because it's rarely too crowded on Friday nights and the same people have been working there for years.

Saturday night we went to Whitney and Taylor's swimming party:

But unfortunately, this is what the pool looked like for most of the party:

There was a storm brewing with thunder and eventually we saw lightning. We got to swim just a little bit before going home so it wasn't a total bust--but there's no doubt that a pool party is the best kind of party to have in the middle of an Arkansas summer!

Vacation Bible School started last night and will go until Wednesday night. Clayton's favorite part is the music of course, I had to beg him to work on his crafts project! He was more into throwing the paper than coloring, although Vicki did get him to color for a few seconds for this picture:

Eleven Years

Today Brian and I celebrate our eleventh wedding anniversary. It's so hard to believe that in the summer of 1996 I drove off to Yellowstone National Park to find freedom and ended up meeting my future husband as soon as I got there! I'm such a rule follower and NON-risk taker that I really can't believe that I called my parents at the end of the summer to see if he could come home with me to meet them! Totally out of character for me to bring a complete stranger home from a summer in Wyoming! But it was definitely all in God's plan--my parents loved him from the start and knew there was something special between us. We spent a few months flying between Florida and Arkansas and Brian proposed to me on December 28, 1996. Definitely a whirlwind romance, but when you know, you JUST KNOW!

No Green Thumb

But I have actually managed to keep some flowers alive this summer! In years past since we have moved in this house, I've basically ignored the outside just because I didn't have time to worry about one more thing. But since Clayton has gotten better and better, I find I have more and more "free" time on my hands. So at the beginning of the summer I actually planted flowers and filled my porch with plants. I'm so glad I did because it's amazing how much homier a porch can fill by just adding some greenery! I'm certainly no gardener, but I'm doing my best to keep them going in this heat--so far, so good!

Old Friends

We had some extra time at the hospital today so I thought I would visit the NICU to see some old friends. These two ladies helped take excellent care of Clayton (and his family!). Amelia (on the left) holds such a special place in my heart--she was one of Shawn's primary nurses and was taking care of him the morning he died. I eventually talked her into being a primary nurse for Clayton and she helped nurse my hurts just as much as she did his. I learned a lot about grieving and dealing with heartache from her--and definitely a lot about "rising from the ashes" in spite of your circumstances. Peggy (on the right) was a superwoman of a nurse! She is now a nurse practitioner in the NICU and I've never learned so much about preemies and other NICU issues as I did from this woman. I also gained a lot of confidence from Peggy--it was hard to be the mom when so many people were involved in my baby's care, but she pushed me to just take the bull by the horns. And because of that I learned early that I was Clayton's parent, advocate, and ultimately the one in charge. She spent many an hour taping ventilator tubes and IV lines so that I could hold Clayton even though he was in such a fragile condition. She was determined to help me bond with my baby as much as possible despite the circumstances.

I was so glad they got to see Clayton "all grown up." He didn't really talk much, but he did want to hug them and did say a few words after he got used to them. He showed them how well he could stand up and even tried to take a few steps. He never was completely settled though because he had a lot of people to watch and keep tabs on since we were standing by the door and main desk of the unit. But he was all smiles when Amelia brought her camera out--too bad he wouldn't look at me with my camera!

It was because of these women and Clayton's other primary nurses that we were able to leave the NICU each day knowing full well he had the best care. It's amazing to think that my baby lived at the hospital for 6 1/2 months---THANK GOD for special nurses and doctors who take such a personal interest in their patients and families! We couldn't have made it without them!

Random Friday

**Why has Katie lost about 20 pounds of hair and still continue to have enough to shed all over the place?

**Our house seems to do lots more settling in the middle of the night than most other houses. I know this because I am ALWAYS the last one asleep. I lay there forever listening to Brian, Clayton and Katie snore away while my mind is racing!

**Why do I see people from high school and try my best to walk the other way to keep from talking to them? A simple hi wouldn't be so hard I don't think . . . but it's always much more than a hi in this town.

**Will they ever be finished building this house next door??

**And most important: who really was singing on the MilliVanilli songs and why didn't he become famous in his own right??

Had to Share

This was in the text message I received from Clayton's therapist yesterday:

They said he kept them on almost the whole pool session and didn't want to take them off once he got out! He's lovin' the water more than ever and I'm thinking he's going to be swimming by himself before he even walks!!

Too Hot to Scrap

My creativity level is at zero right now, but here's a couple of layouts I did a while back that I haven't shared here yet. One for Clayton:

And one for Shawn:

(The lyrics on this page are from the song by Keith Anderson).

Summertime

(Clayton and my dad)

Yardwork

This boy loves to watch people mow! And it's quite the treat when Daddy has the energy to hold him and push the mower! These days, he talks about it all the time--"watch Daddy mow," "watch Pop mow," "watch Tommy mow." (Tommy's the neighbor). Or when he hears a mower, "Momma, go outside!" And his favorite is "ME MOW!" And with that, Brian can't resist letting him have a little bit of fun that only little boys seem to get . . .

Holiday Weekend

Had a good weekend . . . spent yesterday at the lake and I actually remembered my camera this time! My cousin, his son and son's girlfriend came along with my parents. Here's a few pics from the day:

Skiing at sunset is the best . . . it's too bad my hands couldn't have lasted longer!

Independence Day

Hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July!

One Less Thing!!!

Good news! Clayton was discharged from the ENT doctor today! His ears looked "perfect" and he passed his hearing test with flying colors (even though he was trying his best to cry during the whole thing!). Dr. Bower has been seeing Clayton since his discharge from the NICU. He's performed two or three surgeries on him, and he's watched him go from "failure to thrive" to FULLY THRIVING! He was laughing today about how Clayton was SOOOO far from looking like the micro-preemie he had once been. He's like the rest of us, so proud of the progress Clayton's made over these few years. I almost got a little teary over the whole thing--we've never heard a doctor say "discharged" before--we're usually adding doctors instead. Definitely a reason to celebrate around here!

Fire Run

Clayton went to a birthday party yesterday that was at the Fire Department! All of the kids loved the tour they got of the fire station, and I'm pretty sure the adults liked looking around as well! Clayton left with a hat, safety certificate, and a badge that made him a junior firefighter. Pretty good idea for a party . . . thanks Matt and Tanya!

Audio/Visual

Here's a snippet of the video of our last concert . . . a blues song called "Reservations." Big thanks to Danny and Christy for taping this for us--I know the sun was harsh!

Fleeting Thought

For a couple of years now I've had so many people saying "you ought to go for American Idol" and I just smile and say "NO CAN DO." That's because American Idol now has this little thing called an age limit which prevents us old people from trying out. And so after the demise of our current band and after watching "Can You Duet" on CMT, I started looking into Nashville Star. Of course they had already chosen the finalists for this season, but I was just researching for info on the next season. Three, five, or ten years ago I would have never thought about it, but I've gained a lot more confidence and I'm to the point of "why the heck not?" And then I got my answer! I was listening to the Nashville Star talk show on XM and learned that the contestants are COMPLETELY shut off from their world. No contact WITH ANYONE. (Now see, in my mind I was thinking that if I was chosen that Brian and Clayton could be right there with me). Your family isn't even allowed in the audience! I knew contestants were under lock and key, but I assumed that didn't include immediate family. Who do they think inspires me the most???? The very people I wouldn't be able to see! Now this is all just speculation, a dream really . . . but I'm glad I found out now instead of trying out and then having to make some major decision! Guess I'll have to get famous some other way!

A Trio

Here's a few cards that I got done a couple of days ago. Thanks to my parents for entertaning Clayton while I scrapped!

Let's Face It

It's a boring blog week. Doctor's appointment on Monday, trips to the clinic for therapy, cleaning house, and birthday party this weekend. Life as usual around here, nothing spectacular really happening. Hopefully I'll get some layouts and cards done soon and I'll at least be able to share them . . . but until then, I got nothing!

Back Online

After the storm last Friday night, we lost power to all things electronic in our office. Finally got back online last night and I'm trying to catch up on my message board and blogging buddies. I feel so out of the loop!

More interesting post to come later . . .

Ready.Set.Create!

I haven't shared any of my work in quite a while, so I thought I'd post a bunch of random stuff I've done since I got back from Nashville. I've finally figured out why I've never made it in scrapbooking. All the "big names" seem to have a certain style they stick too, but not me! The only thing I tend to stay with is a linear style. But you never know if my pages will be all inked and distressed or neat and tidy. Just depends on my mood I guess! Or the mood I'm trying to convey I suppose . . .

I'll start with the cards. The butterfly card was done for an online "cards that POP" challenge and I actually won!
This summer card was done for a stamp challenge:

And this last one was a color challenge:

And now for the layouts. These first two are from our trip and I still have lots more to come from Nashville!


One of Clayton with his new speech therapist:



I started a "He" book about Brian. I figured I never really scrap about him and I'd hate for our great-great grandkids to look at my scrapbooks and think "where's the hubby?"

These next two were inspired by my sister-in-law's blog. She keeps the great pics coming, and I just print them off and scrap!! Hope you like these, Nicole!

This layout was done for a "clustering" challenge:

And this one for a layering challenge:

Another one for my "She" book:

And this last one was done for a personal challenge. Someone found out I never use glitter or "bling" on my layouts and they dared me to get glammed up a bit. And this is what happened!

High Water

We made our first trip to the lake this weekend! YAY for cooling off! But the lake just isn't the same since the water is so high. And it's come down A LOT! Can't tell by these pics though! Our boat barely fit under the bridge. It probably wouldn't have if we had gone up there a couple of weeks ago. Absolutely amazing how much rain we've had . . .

Yes, that boat is parked by a picnic table!

(Couldn't post without sharing a pic of Clayton). He was extremely excited to get back on the boat!