Laurie's Life

Emily thinks she is really big stuff now that she is five years old. She thought that she was going to kindergarten the day after her birthday. She said before she went to bed on her birthday, "my friends at pre-school are really going to miss tomorrow, but I will be at kindergarten." I have not let her watch Hannah Montana or I-Carley, but now she is wanting to watch it because she is 5. Little Harper and her mama came over on Emily's B-day to bring her a present. She loves her Mary Poppins and Alice and Wonderland movies from Aunt Kelly. My Little Pony was her party theme. She has wanted this theme for about 11 months now! These are her best friends. Sarah Grace, Emily, Emory, Alex, Summer and Korbyn. This is the first party that we have not invited boys. We had Taco Bell for lunch. Emily LOVES taco Bell! She LOVES their nachos. Sister enjoyed being with all the big girls. The families were in town for Emily's birthday. We spent the evening at Chuck-E Cheese

December 29th is one of THE best and most exciting days of my life!!!!!!!!!! Emily was born on this day! She did and still does bring so much joy and happiness to our lives. Happy Birthday Sweet Emily! We LOVE you soooooo VERY much!

I have always loved Amy Grant's "Tennessee Christmas." I sang that song over and over in my head as we watched the beautiful snow fall in Collierville, TN. I was wanting my guitar and my big Amy Grant songbook so I could play it. But, I might have spent Christmas alone if I had done that. I guitar skills are not to great these days. Christmas morning. My SIL got our children matching p.j.s to have on Christmas morning. I LOVE them! I thought that was a great idea! I think it needs to be a new tradition. I enjoyed holding the newest member of the family. This is Carrington being held by her sweet cousin, Sarah Anne. Give me a newborn to hold and I am a happy woman. When I was holding Carrington, Steve looked and me and said, "THE ANSWER IS NO!" Christmas Eve at Granny's house. Here we are with Granny. This seems to be a real slenderizing pose for me. Maybe I should start standing and walking this way. On the eve of Christmas eve, we went to Steve

Emily had a dentist appointment this morning. I don't know if she was anxious about her appointment or what, but she woke up EVERY TWO hours last night. As you can imagine, we were all feeling good this morning. Ha! I felt like we had a newborn again. Every two hours, I would sense these presence beside my face. Fun times! The last few dentists appointments Emily has had, she has stood up the whole time. What in the world????? The child would not sit or lay on the exam table. They did what they could with her standing up. Today, she was WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was well-behaved, friendly, cooperative, She was near perfect! (Don't you know the people there thought I was nuts for taking pictures?) We found out she has her first cavity. I was sad to hear this. I was the same way as a child. I think I had a filling in every tooth. But, I never had to wear braces! But the really bad news: Emily fell in our entry way while Steve and I were in the Bahamas.

Saturday night I got out this sweet little book to read the girls before bed. The pictures in the book look old. I was thinking how sweet the pictures were and then a wave of depression swept over me. Notice how the child's room is so neat and clean. Look at the neat sheets and bedspread. Checkout the slippers and the perfectly tucked in child and teddy bear. Picture perfect wouldn't you say? Then I gazed upon Emily's room. Oh the reality! It actually looked really good this night!!!!! Tell me.......ARE WE NORMAL???????????????? I try so hard to keep our house nice and clean. My girls just mess up as fast as I clean up. Any answers?????????????? And......here is a classy touch to Sarah Kate's wall. This was great "how do you do?" the other morning when I went to get her out of her crib.

I often share stories about Kristen , my crazy cat. There is one craziness I have never shared. Kristen will not put her head in a cat bowl or dish to eat. She paws out a bite or two onto the floor and then eats it. Emily has been able to pet Kristen a little more lately. Emily has to be very very quite and just pet her a few times and then walk away. Kristen does not like the girls talking or moving around her. A friend asked me recently," who watches Kristen when ya'll travel?" I replied, "the Lord." That is the truth. We can leave her days on end and she is fine.

From the survey I have conducted among my friends, NOBODY likes pumpkin. I LOVE it! If you like pumpkin, you may be one of the three people around who would want to remember this recipe. Every year at the girls school, they serve this dessert at the Thanksgiving dinner. I have gone nuts over it. ( I am usually the only soul there who eats it.) One large can of pumpkin pie mix One large box of vanilla pudding mix Half a container of Cool Whip Mix these together and pour into graham cracker pie crust. Put remaining Cool Whip over the top. The first time I made this, I made a terrible mistake. Make sure you buy PUMPKIN PIE MIX. I bought 100 % real pumpkin. It was terrible. It was like eating an old bitter root or something. The pumpkin pie mix already has tons of sugar and spices in it. I can just stand there and eat it out of the can! I hope two or three of you out there can join me in the love of this recipe. On to other things....... When Emily sings "Jingle Bells&qu

My Aunt and Uncle got the girls matching outfits for Christmas. I love them to wear matching clothes. It just makes life a little easier that way! Emily had her Christmas play this morning at school. She was in the "heavenly host of angels." Pretty fitting for Emily . She is a very sweet child. She did a fantastic job! She looked so pleasant on stage. I think she smiled the whole time! Friday night our neighborhood hosted Santa. Sarah Kate was NOT scared at all this time. In fact, she walked right up to him all by herself. Emily was too busy coloring a Christmas color sheet. We also found out that Emily was afraid Santa might ask her if she had been good or bad and she did not know what to say. Haha! I later talked Emily into talking to Santa. In the busy time this season, with all the activities, remember Jesus. He is the reason for our celebration!

I feel like the Lord has prompted me to encourage a single girl or two today. I remember when I was single that the holiday time was usually the hardest for me. I always wanted a man at Christmas time! I want to remind you today that God loves you more than you can ever imagine. Have patience in waiting for God's very best for you! I promise that waiting on HIS CHOICE will be better than you can ever imagine. I always wanted to make something work out when I was lonely and that is never the wise thing to do. Let the man pursue you! Enjoy the life God has given you today! Don't look to your future with anxiety. Rest in the fact that you have lots of wonderful things to look forward to. I can never have that first date with Steve again or our engagement,etc. The verse that I have said over and over this week is James 4:8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." He is the cure to your loneliness. You can have the best husband in the world and still be

We had Christmas with my parents on Saturday night. We had a good time and we loved watching the girls get so excited about opening their gifts. Emily really loved GIVING the gifts to Meme and Granddaddy. Sarah Kate got a "PUTER" as Emily calls it. I think Emily was more excited about it than her sister. My Daddy I really think their favorite gifts were the umbrellas Meme got them. They have played with them non-stop. Emily says she is Mary Poppins. They were also thrilled with their candy canes. Emily calls those "candy cans" Emily's choir sang on Sunday morning. They did fabulous! They also sang on Sunday night and then had a party. Special friends!!!! Here is Emily's elf that she drew the other day. I thought it was great work. My girls do not know what stockings are. I asked Emily if she had seen Frankie today and she said, "oh yes, he is in the foot thing." I heard Steve ask Sarah Kate if she had seen Frankie and she said, "he