Happy Birthday, David!

Today is my dear husband's birthday. I love you, honey! I know we've entered the phase of not wanting talk about "how many" we are, but it's still fun to have a birthday.

Love to the Mommas

The clocks were striking midnight, and the rooms were very still, as a figure glided quietly from bed to bed, smoothing a coverlid here, settling a pillow there, and pausing to look long and tenderly at each unconscious face, to kiss each with lips that mutely blessed, and to pray the fervent prayers which only mothers utter. As she lifted the curtain to look out into the dreary night, the moon broke suddenly from behind the clouds, and shone upon her like a bright benignant face, which seemed to whisper in the silence, "Be comforted, dear heart! there is always light behind the clouds."

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I want to wish a giant Happy Mother's Day to my Mom tomorrow! I love you, Mom, and we're so excited to have you over for family dinner Tuesday. I hope you have a wonderful day.

I also need to wish a Happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law, Debby Johnson. I don't think I brag enough here about how extremely blessed I am to have the most amazing mother-in-law in the world! You will never hear me utter MIL horror stories...never, because I seriously don't have any!

Happy Mother's Day as well to all the other moms and grandmothers in my life. I love you all, and as always...you are all perpetual examples of beautiful motherhood! Should I ever be blessed to be a mother I will have no shortage of women to look to for guidance.

Checking In

Just checking in with a little update. Everything's going along fine...just not much interesting going on.

One exception: My Mama Dugan's birthday was Saturday. She turned 101! We had the party at my Mom and Dad's here in M'boro. There was a great turnout of family! It was nice to see and visit with some family that I rarely see.

Things are just pretty quiet right now. Working and wishing all this rain would stop. Here are a couple of pictures to show how much the water's up at the lake. The first one is from Mama's birthday party in '07, and the second was taken just a day or so ago (it's courtesy of my Dad's facebook page). A good way to compare is to look at the poles on each end of the last section of dock. Also you normally have to walk down to the dock. Now it appears as if we'd have to walk up. At least we won't be praying for the water to be up this year by Memorial Day. I actually hope it goes down, and some of that junk clears out!

Observation

I just got home from the tanning bed. It's soooo spring-y outside. The air is damp, a little warm, and smells sweet. Beautiful night!

Sorry

Okay, no, my blisters from last weekend weren't so bad that I couldn't blog all week. It was just a pretty average week. This weekend isn't so average, though...it's a little weird.

I'm here by myself this weekend. That's highly unusual. I mean, not for me to be here by myself a little, but all weekend. I don't mind at all. It's just very rare. I gallivant all the time without David, and he's totally supportive. However, he just doesn't possess that gallivanting gene. He usually doesn't have much of a desire to go and run around at all, much less without me. However, he's away this weekend in Maryville, TN with a buddy from work. Totally good guy, and I'm totally supportive of him going. I hope he's having fun.

Mackenzie and Taylor spent the night with me last night, and we had a blast. We ate pizza, made red velvet cupcakes and watched Clueless (something from my generation) and Harry Potter #4 to ogle something from their generation (Robert Pattinson who plays Edward Cullen in Twilight). Today was errands (Martin's Nursery and the dry cleaner), book club, and then the girls and I went to see 17 Again (great movie by the way...LOL'ed a lot and cried a little).

Now, it's just home sweet home and me and Lucy-cat here by ourselves. Interesting!

So Unbelievably Tired

My generous parents declared this year that there would be 2 work days at the lake...one in the spring and one in the fall. Today was the spring work day. I can't believe the work we did. All 8 of us plus AbiLyn and Lex were there. We started around 9:30, and we've been going non-stop. I took on the task of pulling weeds in the flowerbeds and clearing out a lot of stuff. I found some stepping stones, and a barrel flowerpot hiding in all the underbrush. My mom and sisters and I made a trip to Lowe's (muddy kneees and all...I can't believe I went out looking like I did.) to get mulch, geraniums, potting mix, and Liz and Carla talked my mom into some gorgeous pink calla lilies for the flower box out front. Liz scrubbed and cleaned all the decks. The guys mowed and weed-eated (weed-eated? weed-ate?) and spread mulch and washed/cleaned the boat. The house looks great! It was so nice to spend almost an entire day outside. My hands are covered with blisters, and I can even feel them as I type. I'm sure I'll be sore tonight, but I feel so good for some reason!

Liz and I were talking about how much more we will appreciate coming here this summer after all the work we did. We are able to know the lake house more intimately now and love it all the more!

Oh, and we have all been coveting one of those inflatable trampolines that float out in the water ever since we started coming here. Well, the next-door neighbors had a yard sale this morning and they had one for sale that they had only used like once. It was only $25. Liz and Carla went in together to buy it! Yay! Memorial Day weekend here we come!!!!

Easter 2009

Let me just preface all the pics and stuff by saying how much I enjoy Easter! It's a truly happy holiday. There's the joy of what we're celebrating, it sort of marks the beginning of a new season, and you get to spend time with family...it's all so great!

Here are some pics of us at church with my in-laws in Smyrna...and Mackenzie and Taylor (Aren't our nieces total knockouts?!). Pardon David's scowl...he wasn't mad, just blinded by the sun. We should have gotten his sunglasses out of the car.



After we went to church with the Johnsons, we headed up to M'boro for dinner with my family. We had to pass some of the tornado damage on the way there. Sunday morning was my first time to be more than just a couple of miles away from our house since the tornado, and wow...the damage is so much more astounding in person. I still can't wrap my mind around all of it. Anyway, on to Easter dinner. I made a Rachael Ray potato salad that was a hit. Click here for the recipe, and keep in mind that I didn't do the three-bean salad part, just the potato part. It was pretty good. Unfortunately, Liz was suffering from a terrible case of strep throat this weekend, but we made her and Eric get in the pictures anyway!






Liz made the most adorable Easter version of one of our favorite family desserts, and Lex just couldn't get enough. He was running around from person to person getting bites.


So, that was our Easter in a nutshell. I hope everyone else had a good one!