Laurie's Life

I made a stop at a QT (Quick Trip).  But, my trip was not quick.  I have never ever seen so many lids.  This is all I could fit in my camera lens.  There were many more.  I have to say it stressed me out a bit.  Which lid did I need?  Everyone I was with was back in the car and buckled up and I was still trying to find the appropriate lid.  I went with the purple, super high quality lid for my tea.  Decisions, decisions. Sarah Kate's new clothing crisis. Well, we have finally gotten to a place that she will wear more than dresses.  She LOVES leggings.  Will wear shorts now and will once in a blue moon wear pants with not too much crying.  BUT, we have a new problem:  Clothes with words.  She is NOT having it.  This started about two weeks ago.  Steve picked her up from school one day this week and she came out with her backpack on her back and her hands covering up the front of this shirt.  Sh...

Saturday morning our friend Kristin was in town.  We had a wonderful time eating and visiting at Cracker Barrel.  Kristin is one of the sweetest most likeable girls you could ever meet.  So glad to have her as my friend.   I took Sarah Kate to a birthday party at Build a Bear for her friend Madaline.  She had the best time!    SK and Harper both picked cats.  Makes me laugh because Kelly can't stand cats. SK with the Birthday girl.  They got to be good friends in AWANA this year.  We ended Saturday night by going out to eat with Kelly and Scott.  We always enjoy their company!    

 On Saturday Sarah Kate went to a birthday party for her friend Caroline.  The party was American Girl themed. It was so very cute!  SK had a gret time!  They all had their picture made posing as an American Girl doll in a box. An artist was there to teach the girls how to paint a hot air balloon.  Sarah Kate did GREAT!!!!!  I LOVED her painting.  I hung it on the wall the second we got home.  She is so proud of her work!

Last Febuary, I went with some of my best friends to the dot.mom conference in Frisco,Tx.  It was one of the very best events I have EVER been to.  I would go again in a heartbeat.  I ordered the flashdrive from the conference and I have been listening to it while the girls are at school. I just want to share some of the things that stuck with me and I hope they will be as helpful to you as they have been to me: Don't ask your daughter if she is dating a Christian, ask her if she is dating a Godly man. Most of the time, it is not good to rescue your child.  When they go through very difficult situations, it makes them cling to Jesus. Train their heart, not their behavior. Facebook and cell phones can cause a whole lot of trouble for kids and their parents, but technology is not really the problem.  It is a heart issue. Moving slow is not a character flaw. For the the single girl:  The only thing worse than waiting is wishing ...

It is here!  School!  BOTH girls are officially in school.  Emily is in second grade and Sarah Kate is in Kindergarten.  Seems crazy that they are this old.  The girls both got great teachers.  I started praying last Spring that they would get just the teacher they need.  God answered our prayers.  The girls LOVE their teachers!  They also seem to have some really sweet kids in their classes. Sarah Kate did not want us to walk her into her room.  After I took this picture, she said,"Now just go!" GO!"  I am so happy she loves school.  I hope this will continue.

Steve asked me yesterday if I was going to ever blog again.  I said, "well yes, I just have not had anything interesting to write about." I have a question. My girls are 5 and 7 and they can get extremely jealous of one another.  The biggest cause for this comes with birthday parties.  If Emily is invited to a party SK cries and cries and cries that she can't go.  If Sarah Kate is the one invited and Emily is not, Emily will cry and cry and talk about it and talk about it. Yesterday Sarah Kate got invited to a party at Build -a- Bear.  Emily cried her eyes out and talked about how unfair it was and so forth. I try to sit them down and explain that they are always going to have different friends and get invited to parties for the next several years and most of the time BOTH of them will not go.  They understand that and accept it until party day comes and it always makes a miserable time the girl not going and for ME! Is it just ou...

 This morning I got the wonderful priviledge to keep my friend Erin's baby.  I LOVE babies.  So does Sarah Kate.   Kate is five months old and she is such a sweet baby.  She got plenty of attention this morning, maybe too much!  I spotted Sarah Kate watching t.v. with my glasses on her head. One year ago today, a little gray cat showed up on our front porch.  The girls named her Graycee.  She was with us for seven weeks before she went to her forever family. TODAY.......ONE YEAR TO THE DAY, we have had a cat on our front porch most of the day.  Emily has been going crazy asking if we can keep it.  I CAN NOT take on another cat.  It is not here right now, thank goodness.  I think she may belong to a neighbor.  I sure hope she does!

One of my all time favorite Christian artists, Wayne Watson, wrote a song over twenty years ago called "When God's People Pray."  I fell in love with the song when I was a senior in highschool and I am often reminded of the song from time to time. When God's people pray and take the pains of earth to the doors of heaven When God's people pray there is hope retored there is sin forgiven And miracles you can't explain a way when God's people pray Last week, a wonderful, YOUNG lady in our Sunday School class was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Very soon after she out an email telling her diagnoses another email was sent from a from friend suggesting we meet at her house the night before her surgery and pray.  I LOVED this idea.  The whole day I kept singing the Wayne Watson song.  It was so neat to have a great turnout at our friend's house as we gathered around her in her living room and prayed for her, her family and the doctors. Do you ...

 I have wanted the girls to have a kitten that they could love and play with.  Kristen will not have anything to do with the girls.  Emily has prayed and prayed to have a kitten to love.  I think we got one! Emily yelled for me to come see "something cute!"  I found Frisco pinned down in a doll highchair eating Kitten Chow.  I feel like Sarah Kate is SOOOO rough with him, but he seems okay with it.  He purrs during it all.  I always thought purring was a sign of a happy cat.  Although SK nearly squeezes him to death and he closes his eye he still purrs. I read a couple of weeks ago on the internet that cats often purr as they are dying or are in great pain.  This explains a lot!!!!!

This weekend we traveled to Memphis to visit friends and family.  Most every Summer I get to spend time with two of my best college friends.  Kim and Sara.  Sara and I were college roommates for a year.  It was a super fun year!  I love these girls so much.  I should have taken notes on all the deep, wise and funny things these girls said.  We enjoyed a good steak dinner and then shopping.  Saturday we went to a family reunion in Mississippi.  We were happy to see Steve's brother, Justin and his family. Reid loved playing with my girls.  They had the best time together! After the reunion, we went to visit Granny.  This is Pop's mother.  She raised 8 wonderful children.  We always enjoy going to visit Granny! My beautiful niece, Meg.

I have always liked a good before and after.  SK got her hair cut this week.  It had been a long time and her hair needed it- big time!  Bek is wonderful!!!!!!!  She has done my hair for about eleven years and I don't know what I would do without her!  My girls LOVE her too!

Saturday afternoon brought the blessing of wonderful friends.  SO happpy to have Kathy, Kelly, Logan and Lauren spend Saturday afternoon with us.  They are like family to us!   Kelly and I have been friends since we were two.  I love this girl!   We passed Frisco around like he was a human newborn baby.  Everyone got their turn to hold him. Notice the shirt he is wearing.  It used to be on the girl's Elmo doll.  They have proudly named the new kitten Frisco Elmo.

We had a really good and relaxing 4th of July!!!!  Steve took the girls to swimming lessons and I did some house straightening while they were away.  I made a fruit pizza to take to Kelly and Scott's house.  Steve grilled some bacon wrapped deer steak to have as an appetizer for our hamburgers.  We had a great time with our friends and family!!! I am so thankful to live as a free American!!!!!  I am very thankful for the people that have fought for our freedom!

I have not blogged lately.  No real reason except we have just been lazy and boring the past few days.  I am not complaining...just saying. The girls have been taking swimming lessons.  They have loved it.  My girls seem to struggle with swimming.  Emily does pretty good, but little sister seems to struggle.  They must have missed the swimming gene.  We are thankful for a great teacher and I am hoping it will click with SK soon. We had a photographer friend take the girls pictures Monday.  They wore these dresses.  I am so excited to get the pictures back.  I LOVE the few I have seen in a sneak peek.