26th Birthday

Today would have been Amber's 26th birthday.... so it's been a somber day. I went out to her grave and placed some photographs of her and her friends. Yesterday, Susie and I went out there to clean up the area and spruce it up with bright pink flowers, her favorite.

It's hard to believe it's been four months since our friend passed away. I remember her memorial like it was yesterday... but as time goes on - we continue to heal. I pray for Eric. Kennedy prays for Eric every night, for God to give him a big hug.

Eric has become part of our family. Susie, Ford, Eric, Chris and I are like brothers and sisters, spending all our spare time together. My kids love their "extended family" and now I know that God's plan for me is to be here, in Shreveport.

When Susie and I were at Amber's grave, we talked about each other's funerals. It sounds morbid, but honestly - we were giving each other a check list. We told each other to make sure we looked good in our final moments on earth. We agreed to make sure we were dressed our best, wearing our sorority pins (Phi Mu and Sigma Kappa) and flattering colors. We also agreed that even though it would be extremely difficult to visit each other's graves - we will force ourselves to go and "visit" each other. It will be our duty to make sure our final resting place is always well-kept and dressed with flowers.

This is what best friends do. It's what Susie, Shelley and I will do for each other. It's how you honor the memory of someone you love. And while we know the physical being will no longer with us, but the spirit will always be...

Tee ball

Nina and Papa bought Kennedy a tee ball set for her 4th birthday last summer. It's been hanging out at their house, just waiting for K to come play. My parents finally brought it over to our house so she could actually use it this spring and last weekend provided the perfect weather for learning to play. Her sweet daddy showed her how to hold the bat and explained in detail how to stand, how to "keep your eye on the ball"... and Little Miss Adventurous hit the ball the first try!

I hope she plays outdoor sports in school because it's great activity and she will learn sportsmanship - something she is already having a very time with. I played a little softball, but definitely played tee ball. I remember the pictures of me playing and poor Kennedy looks a little like me then.

But she most definitely needs to learn sportsmanship. She must win every race; she must beat us at every game; she is already extremely competitive. Now I don't know where she gets that from. Ha!

I think it's time she learn what it feels like to lose. I'm betting her little brother will give her a run for her money when the time comes!

Hannah Montana concert

Now don't get the wrong idea from the title of this post... I did not take Kennedy to a Hannah Montana concert, although I'm sure she would like it. SHE put on her own Hannah Montana concert at home! We got her all dressed up, microphone in hand, Hannah music blaring and she rocked it out!

But before the concert could begin, she gave me specific instructions:

Kennedy: "Now mom, you have to do what Papa did when I gave a concert."

Mom: "What's that?"

Kennedy: "You have to scream for me to throw my jacket."

Mom: "Oh... okay."

Kennedy: "And then when I throw it to you, you have to do what Papa did... hold the jacket up to your face, smell it and yell, 'I'll never wash this JACKET!'"

The Wedding

It's funny how I view weddings differently now, in my 30s as a mom of two children, than I did when I was in my 20s. I haven't been to a wedding since being the matron of honor in Susie's wedding, which was five years ago. Ironic really, since the wedding I was in this weekend, Susie and I were both co-matrons of honor for our best friend Shelley.

She was radiant. Completely... totally... blissfully happy. Her new step-daughter Kate Douglas was thrilled to be a junior bridesmaid. Susie and I were honored to be by her side.

Rick beamed when his bride walked down the aisle. He "got low" with his daughter and new wife at the kickin' reception. It was a fun-filled weekend and I will never forget it.

Too Busy to Blog!

I love blogging, but these past few weeks... I have just been too busy to blog! I have so much to talk about, but no time right now. I hope to have a lengthy post this weekend. On the agenda? Shelley's wedding, St. Patrick's Day parade coming, Team in Training fundraising, big changes at work, Brady's growth, Kennedy's behavior, spring in the air... I could keep going... but like I said, no time.

Mardi Gras 2009

Brady's first Mardi Gras and Kennedy's second was a lot of fun. We started with the 1st birthday party for Queen Audrey and King Hank and the mini-parade. Each family was asked to bring a kid-sized float for a contest and if you know me, then you know I take these challenges seriously.

We were the Krewe of LSU with my kids and the float decked out in purple and gold. Kennedy and Brady both wore LSU jerseys and the entire group paraded around Emily's street on the corner of Kings and Albany. (Thank you Laura Weego for letting us borrow your wagon!) People who were lined up to see the Krewe of Gemini parade that evening thoroughly enjoyed our little parade. And you'll be happy to know - we won THIRD place for our float! There were probably 10 floats there, so I felt pretty good for my ... uh, I mean our ... win.

Brady, sporting his cute little bottom teeth, wasn't sure what to make of all this parade business. He liked people watching, but mostly wanted to be held. I did, however, get a good arm workout out of the deal. Would you believe that he slept through the entire parade? We were all standing about 10 feet away from the floats and he just snoozed away wrapped up in a blanket. He was so tired from all the action.

We were able to get a quick family picture in. The kids are smiling and laughing at Eric who is making funny faces off to the side.

And just like last year, Kennedy managed to get more beads than she could carry. After just a few minutes of walking around with these beads on, she looked at me with the saddest most defeated face and said, "Mommy, could you please take these off?"

We were all so tired on Sunday that we didn't make it to the Krewe of Highland parade. The kids slept right through it. But it was just as well because I enjoyed a quiet afternoon with the kids. Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

Childhood memories of reading

There is a blog I follow called the One Minute Writer. Being someone with a Journalism degree, who writes a lot for a living, blogs, journals, etc.... I like to see what others are writing about. So I check this blog often. I don't always take "one minute" to write about the subject of the day, but today I saw a topic that got me thinking.

"Write about a childhood memory related to reading."

I love books. I don't get to read as much as I'd like to, but I absolutely LOVE the way books smell... they way they look on a bookshelf. I refuse to turn down the corners of the pages because I like to keep my books in pristine condition. I think Chris may love books more than I do. I think he averages two books a month. He reads very fast.

But I don't have a lot of childhood memories related to reading. I do remember being in high school reading "She's Come Undone" on my bed and crying through the last several chapters. I remember being forced to read literature and writing book reports. Right now, I'm on the third book of the Twilight series. But I don't remember being very young and reading with my parents. It may have happened, but I just have a terrible memory.

In our house, story time is very important. Kennedy loves books as much as Chris and I do. We read a story every night before bedtime. That's part of our routine. When Brady gets older, no doubt we'll ALL pile in the bed together and read stories before bed.

I hope it will be one of their favorite memories.