A long ride home

This happened in July , but it can't be forgotten...

Neno took Ava Grace to Uncle MeMe's to saddle up the horses for a ride from his house to ours, a little over 4 miles. They set out about 10 and made it to our house at 11:30 or so. It was a long, hot ride home, but I am pretty sure they all enjoyed it. They did decide not to make the trip back and instead went and picked up a trailer and came back for the horses.

I should also mention that Annabelle started the trip with them, but not long into it, I got a call to come pick her up. I found the most precious thing on the side of the dirt road (Neno was about 30 yards away), just waving me down. She didn't want to ride anymore. I thought maybe it was because it was too long or hot, but no, she wanted her own horse. Of course!!

What a great memory made!

Sassy 6 year old

Like so many times before, this should have been posted long ago. Oh well, at least I am getting to it now.

Ava Grace turned 6 on July 30. I CANNOT believe my baby girl is 6 - WOW! We had talked about what kind of party she wanted to have to celebrate her birthday. I suggested swimming, roller skating and some others that are escaping me now, but she had her heart set on a Sweet & Sassy Party. Sweet & Sassy is this perfectly girly salon for kids. They do hair, nails, dress-up... you name it! So fun!

So, the two of us put our heads together and came up with a plan to celebrate her, all day!!! We decided to go to the movies (Tinseltown has a summer movie club for $1 a movie), Chick-fil A for lunch and Sweet & Sassy to cap off the day. Then we needed to invite friends. She chose 3 girlfriends to share her day with, Keeley, Kourtney and Chloe. When she decided on her friends she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I am the only one who's name doesn't start with the 'kuh' sound." Smart girl, if I do say so myself.

Our fabulous friend, Monica, created these perfect invitations with a day's notice. She is the best and can be found here at You're Invited.

We set out early to pick up friends and make the movie at 9:30. Here are the precious girls in the car before the movie.

At Chick-fil A we played, ate lunch and had ice cream and cupcakes. It was so fun to just have a few friends and really get to see the interaction between the girls. They were funny!!

We even had a little time to kill before Sweet & Sassy so we played at Legacy Play Village and opened AG's presents from her precious friends.

Then it was on to get pampered. The girls were all set to get manis, pedis and dance and play a bit on the runway. Well, wouldn't you know it that the birthday girl opens the door across the top of her foot and cuts her big toe and rips part of the nail. She held it together so well until it really started bleeding. I think she was more upset that she couldn't have that toe painted than from pain. Once we were over that, the girls had a blast. They all have such unique personalities and had definite opinions about their nails. When that was all done, they hit the runway. We have some hams in the group. My daughter definitely is one of them. Check them out...

Wallpaper Removal

In order to remove this fabulous ivy wallpaper in my laundry room, I needed....

two of these..

each equiped with one of these.

How cute are my little laborers???

With their help, we managed to get all the wallpaper down. Now, I am left with the border to tackle. If only I trusted my kids on a ladder. Oh well, I appreciate them getting all the low stuff so that I didn't have to bend over.

Kitchen Remodel and a Little Fun Too!!

So here are some current views of our kitchen...


Entire kitchen



Eating Area (former owners furniture, etc) 

 The wall to the left will be gone and the window will be covered with cabinets and my new double oven. Our island will extend into this area also.

View of current kitchen from the dining room

 The peninsula that can be seen on the left will be gone and the island will run across here into the above eating area. The sink area will stay where it is, but we will repurpose the current oven space and lose the fan. Everything will be replaced or refaced as far as the cabinets and appliances. Now for the fun...

 The cabinets have remained empty since we moved into the house in anticipation for demo/remodel, but it has provided for hours of fun for the girls. Adalyn especially LOVES them!!

 And then here is my dream...

 This kitchen has the same layout (once the wall is removed) that I am trying to achieve. I love the whole thing. The colors, the church pew and table (Neno isn't sold) and the fact that it is a huge open room all appeal to me. I just know it would be perfect for us forever or at least for a really long time!

 Here is a view of the family room that it opens into just because. I love it too. If only I had the budget to achieve all of this. One day at a time; one project at a time. We will get there and it will have our own spin on it. But, this is great inspiration.

 I think I might if start my own spin with a different color on the island. I love green!! I also love these floors.

These too!! I just love the antique pine look. It can just take a beating and look like it has been there forever. We will have something like this everywhere but the bedrooms, laundry and bathrooms. I cannot wait!! I was ready to start the day we moved in here. This is all just another lesson in patience.

Out of touch...

We moved into this house almost three weeks ago...

in Meadow, Texas. It is Neno's great grandparents' farmhouse they built in 1965. It is 3 bedroom, 3 bath, with a basement and closed in backporch.

In this short time, I have been subject what rural life can hold, a scorpion, lots of bugs, well water (the things it can do to your kids - that is a whole other blog), quiet (I love it), hit or miss cell service and no internet for 3 weeks. I think the internet part is where I struggled the most (well, maybe Adalyn's bowel problems - thanks well water). I felt so out of touch - no blogging, no Facebook. Truth be told it was great for me, but I did miss it!

Anyway, in the meantime, we have been trying to settle in. We moved in bedroom essentials - beds; clothes. I am still grabbing stuff, as needed, out of kitchen boxes and we have our living room furniture in the house. We haven't done any other furniture due to the fact that we will soon be under construction and carpet still needs to be replaced, but here is where we are living...

Soon-to-be great room/kitchen - that wall will be knocked out in construction. YAY!



Will-be formal living, front room of the house. Currently serving as our TV room.



Dining room - we do have all the chairs around the table now


Neno on the other hand has busied himself with ALL of the outdoor to-dos (believe me there are a lot). To each there own, but sadly the previous owners neglected our beloved family home. We have heard plenty of what Daddy Barron (Neno's great grandfather) put into this house and now it needs lots of love again. Perfect, for my do-it-yourselfer husband. Here he is tackling the sprinkler system that hasn't been used in 12 years. BTW - he got it working!!! Only after he put a hole in our pressure tank - OOPS! Thanks to family and some welding, it is fixed (at least temporarily).





Neno digging for sprinkler heads



We have a long way to go, but we love a challenge and we love this family house. I never tire of hearing everyone's memories that they made here and I promise to do my best to make it our home, but preserve some of the most precious things about this house. What can I say, I am sentimental. I got excited about finding an old Folgers can that I know was Mother Barron's and the guys found the poles and discs to the shuffle board court that is under our patio. They will be displayed somehow in our home.

Just thought I would share a few extra pics...





Our backyard. Well, not really, but it is Barron family farmland that surrounds our house. Give it a little longer and the cotton will be taller and it will be much greener out there.

Cutest thing I have ever unpacked



 

In blogs to come, I will share about our kitchen remodel and things that I would love to do to this house. I welcome any and all suggestions and comments.Plus, I will do something on our bedrooms since this post deleted what I put up and wouldn't let me get it back (BOO). 









One Year Old

Is this the cutest thing you have ever seen? Okay, so I am biased, but I did and still do think that Adalyn's invitations turned out so well. I shared the front in my last post, but this was the back. LOVE IT!!

As for my baby girl, she has been one for almost 2 weeks. I cannot believe it. Has it really been a year since we, Neno and I, delivered this precious child at home, by ourselves. Crazy!!

The midwives told me before I had her that she would be my atypical child and boy has she been.

She was 2 days late.

She crawled before the other 2.

She had teeth before her sisters did.

She doesn't look like Ava Grace or Annabelle. She IS Neno.

She cuddles and the other two weren't big cuddlers.

She is a thumbsucker.

She is really blonde.

She is our RUNT...

At her one year appointment:

Weight: 19lbs. 5oz. - 25%

Height: 30.5 in - 90%

Head: 18.?? - 95%

Just this week, she started taking steps. Out of no where, she let go of the chair in the kitchen and took 6 steps toward me. I was so excited!! Since then, she has taken steps here and there. It will be no time and she will be off and running with her sisters.

Oh, I almost forgot... though she has been babbling for a while now, this week, she was calling me Mama Mama. Melts my heart.

We adore you Adalyn Mae and our lives wouldn't be the same without. I look forward to watching your personality continue to develop. You definitely have you own way and are starting to hold your own with your sisters. I can't wait for all the years to come.

One Wild and Crazy Weekend

Not last weekend, though it was pretty crazy too, but the weekend before was NUTS! There was way too much going on, way too many places to be at once and way too much family to be able to catch up with. Family in town is never a bad thing, but I don’t think I really got to visit with anyone. That makes me sad.

On to the crazy run down… waterslides, branding, dancing and a birthday.

Family arrived Thursday and Friday for the festivities. This was the first year that we had our parents in town for branding weekend. Usually, it is reserved for friends and siblings/cousins (those our age), but this year we included the parents so that they were here for Ava Grace’s recital and Addie Mae’s first birthday.

My parents arrived on Thursday. So on Friday, I was able to go to Ava Grace’s end of the year party at school. They ate a picnic lunch and then spent the rest of the day in the water.

The boys got busy on Friday with their cows in Borden County and then started early on Saturday with all the cows in Ropes. Though it was their first year, my dad and Jerry (Neno's dad) jumped right in to help out the boys.

Branding the calves

Dad was in charge of the squirt bottle

Best line of the weekend- Annabelle: I lost my horny! (her horny toad)

Ava Grace and I, unfortunately, had to leave all the fun to go to her dress rehearsal for her recital. Can you say BEATING. I have participated in plenty of them in my life and I am pretty sure they are supposed to run just like the show. If that were the case, the dress rehearsal would have lasted 2.5 hours. At almost 4 hours we called it quits. Ava Grace was a trooper, but this momma was done. My sweet mom was at my house the whole time packing and watching the other girls while they napped.  Love her!!

Sunday, it was time to party. We celebrated Adalyn’s first birthday and from the time she woke up, it was like she knew it was her special day. She smiled and danced (bounced) every time we sang Happy Birthday to her. She ate it up!

Addie Mae's Invitation made by sweet friend Monica

The Birthday Girl with her Uncle MiMi

Sadly, the party had to come to an end so that we could watch Ava Grace do her thing. She hadn’t been real sure about dance, but after being on the stage Saturday, she loved it and was ready to go! I think she had the largest crowd there.  Her sweet teacher Mrs. Wood even came to watch her.  It was so fun to see her up on that stage. But we already knew she was a STAR!

Our Star!

AG's cheering section minus the 4 that left early. I told you she had the biggest one there.

We packed in a lot, even a little bit of packing. It was an amazing weekend.

On an exciting, yet sad note, we said good-bye to our sweet brother-in-law and sister-in-law, the girls Uncle Seff and Aunt MA, during the intermission at Ava Grace’s recital. They are off to do God’s work in Africa, where they met.  They are such a wonderful couple and God has great things in store for them.  I am so excited to hear about it all. Seth took a job with Samaritan’s Purse and has already started working in Uganda. MariAnne will join him at the end of this month.  Please help us send up prayers for them. Seth and MA, we love you very much and will miss you tons!!! You will be in our prayers everyday!!! You amaze me!

Seth and MariAnne