Western Days... I am so behind!

Jillian had her Western Days program at school. Sorry the video is so bad. Andrew was not there, and I was trying to get video and stills! Hope you all enjoy!! The pictures were taken with the video camera, so they are not that great!!

Jillian's first swim of 2008!

Jillian decided the other day that she was ready to swim! It was a nice warm day, and the pool water is getting warmer! I actually got in all the to my knees! That is huge for me! I was hardly past that in July of last year!! She had so much fun, and getting better about being confident in the pool! I cannot wait until summer!!

San Antonio Final Four

Lowe's sent Andrew and I to San Antonio for the Men's NCAA Final Four! It was amazing! Our tickets were in the first row, corner on the floor! We watched some of the best basketball I have ever seen. I was pulling for Memphis. (I guess because that was the closest team to us!) By the final game, I felt like I had been a fan since I was born! I was devastated when they lost! Andrew was laughing at me!! We enjoyed the River Walk... I kept seeing people and thinking I knew them from somewhere. There was a ton of people from television, old college players, and NBA players. Penny Hardaway was there with his Memphis Blues!! We enjoyed great food and drink! We had Landry's Seafood, Pat O'Briens, Tia Mia Mexican, Ruth's Chris (my favorite), and CBS fajitas! Since we were with Lowe's we got into the CBS Sports Party. They had Barenaked Ladies and Hootie & the Blowfish to perform. There were maybe 200 people total there! It was very neat!! It was a great little vacation! Thanks Lowe's!

Hootie!!
Andrew & Me at the CBS Concert





This one I took with my cell phone... for hose of you who love Bobby!

Late Happy Easter!

John had Jillian for Easter, and I didn't have my camera! So, Sarah sent me some pictures!Hope you all enjoy, and Happy Belated Easter!!

Monroe Trip

Andrew had to go to Monroe for the night. Jillian was really missing him, so we went to Monroe to stay with him. Jillian brushed up on her swimming so she would be ready for summer. She did really good. After she was swimming for a couple of hours, she decided that we would be coming to Monroe every time Andrew did! The pictures are not very good because I took them with my cell phone. Sorry!!

Reality Check...

Tonight, it was the Oprah show. It was the episode of the "Mistaken Identity". I don't know if any of you saw it, but it was definitely a reality check for me. The show was about two girls that were in the same van. The van was hit by a truck, and killed five people. A girl survived, and was giving the wrong identity at the accident. The other family was contacted and told their daughter was dead. For five weeks the wrong family took care of whom they thought was their daughter. They found out their daughter was the one that was already buried.

The families wrote a book titled "Mistaken Identity". Oprah read an excerpt from the book... do not quote me, but it went something like this... It was a year later and the families were all to unite. The mother of the surviving daughter felt ashamed because she was the one living the fairytale ending. How could she face the other family? When that was told to family that buried their daughter, the father simply replied, "We have a fairytale ending too, we just haven't witnessed it yet." it really struck a cord in me.

It takes great courage to keep your faith in an event such as he faced. Most people would feel that their life had been ripped apart at the seams. I couldn't even imagine what they went through and what they are still going through.

Please take an extra moment today and pray for all the families that have lost their children of what we might feel as too early. Please also pray that yours, as well as my family, will keep strong faith throughout our lives.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Our family found out three weeks ago that my brother-in-law's cancer had returned. He had surgery on the left side of his neck 14 months ago. He now has two masses on his left side. He had a biopsy taken of those a few weeks ago, and it came back cancerous. He just had some spots show up on the back of his tongue. Sandi, Judy, and I went to Baylor with Robert this past Wednesday to take a biopsy of his tongue. We got wonderful news from the doctor yesterday! They are 80% sure the spots of the tongue that they biopsied are NOT CANCER! They are doing more extensive lab work on them, and we should know for sure by Monday. This changes so much; the surgery he will have on his neck will be very minimal, and not much down time. He will most likely not have radiation, and if he needs chemo, it will be very minimal compared to last time.


As Robert woke up from his anesthesia, we were all ready to tell him the good news... When Judy told him tears of joy were flowing from all of us. You could see the worry and fear just fall to the ground. We (meaning the sisters) had a big meal planned for us. I mean, we had worked hard that day! We just knew Robert would be ready for Fried chicken, mashed tators, mac and cheese, and green beans... Uhhh, we got a huge NO!

You know the books, "Chicken Soup for the Soul..." well,the title just became a little more meaningful to me. Robert was wanting something warm to soothe his throat, so the nurse brought some chicken noodle soup. As Robert ate the soup, you definately saw him connect with his soul. He was the happiest person in Dallas, Texas.

I have asked most of you to put Robert on your prayer lists, and it is amazing to see the power of prayer. I will keep everyone updated... if you want to see Robert's progress... they have a blog that they update regularly. Just click on the link below. Judy & Robert's Blog

Mimi's Snow Bunnies

Well, we live over 200 miles away from each other, but this huge snow storm got us on the same day!So, all of Mimi's little cuties got to play in the snow! In one of the pictures... instead of Where's Waldo?... Where's Nelson? He pretty much blends into the snow! See if you can spot him!

When Andrew got up at 6 this morning we didn't have a snowflake on the ground. Once Jillian got up around 8, this is what it looked like! By my eye, we have about 2 inches and it is still snowing huge flakes here. Jillian went out and had a snowball fight with Jack and Morgan! She came in drenched head to toe! SHe hopped into a warm bath, and we are in our warm jammies sitting by the cozy fireplace!

In Arkansas, it snowed last night and I think it is done now! April said they got about 4 inches. Although we were not all together we all have had an exciting morning! (Their snowman is bigger because they had more peolpe to help!! I guess that is a plus to having three kids!! hahaha!)

For those of you that didn't get any snow... It is pretty, but I am still cold!!

Long time... no post!

It has been a while from my last post. We have all been crazy busy! So, I am going to give an update on all of us.
Andrew has been really busy with his job. Late last year he got a new boss,and he is adjusting to him. Andrew has a new manager in one of his stores. He is going to be spending a large amount of time there to get him on the right track. He has a store in Monroe, Louisiana. It is about 3 hours away. He spends the night there about 3 times a month. As of today, Andrew is in Las Vegas at the National Sales Meeting! He is having fun, but did say he was ready to get home! The Spring season is upon us, so that means lots of hours in a Lowe's store for him. Spring is their biggest time of the year.
Jillian is getting so tall! Her face hasn't changed much, but I am having the hardest time with pants this year! They stop at her ankles to fit her waist, and they show her panties if they fit her length. I have decided that I would much rather see her ankles then her panties!! She is loving PREP school, and learning so much. It is amazing how good she can draw! She includes so much detail. Coloring in the lines is still a huge effort! She has been practicing on writing her ABC's. She can write her own name, and with help can write others! This Fall, she will begin going to PREP everyday. I wanted her to get familiar with getting ready and being away from home before she starts kindergarten. She is ready for summer and wants a horse for her birthday... A REAL ONE!! Good luck!! Andrew and I will be in Jackson, MS the day of her birthday. Andrew is in a wedding the 17th. (This will be the first birthday I miss:()Jillian wants to have a pool party, so we are going to have it in June. That might work out better for the pool to be a little warmer!
I am busy trying to get my photography business started. I have been so blessed. It really has kept me busy, and I love every minute of it. I cannot wait for warm weather so I can start taking pictures outside. I am going to a workshop for a week in April at College Station. I cannot wait to learn more! I am also ready for summer! I would even just take a few warm days to be able to sit by the pool!Of course I already have just about every weekend booked full of stuff until the last week of June!
I guess this has updated everyone for a while! I will try to keep up the pictures!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Shreveport Boardwalk Pictures

Well, lots of pictures! I decided to put these on the blog so they would be easier to view! We went to Shreveport Boardwalk and took some pictures the other day. If you want to order any, let me know! Julie

Superbowl Sunday

Andrew and Bryan were trying to gather energy after their all night Wii playing. Amber and I went to eat and watch the 9:55 showing of 27 Dresses Saturday night! So, we were all tired while the kids were ready to go!! Here is a few pictures of their trampoline time!!