A Year in the Life

Harry oozes personality.  He has a kind heart and an easy smile.  He can argue his point like a seasoned attorney, and if you give him any hope that he can win said argument he doubles his effort.  He is good at what ever he puts his mind to!  He draws people to him where ever he goes; he makes me laugh.  He likes to be called El Jefe, which means, 'The Boss' in Spanish.  And I don't think Harry has ever met a stranger.  What you see with Harry is what you get. Harry's birthday is very interesting.  Hopson and I are both late December babies, and we always said we didn't want a child to  have a Christmas/New Year's birthday.  We may not have wanted a December baby, but as usual, God knew exactly what He was doing in bringing us Harry on New Year's Eve.  Harry's birthday strattles the day my mom passed away & her birthday.  I never have a chance to be sad because I am too busy being happy about my sweet Harry...

Hopson right before he left to go hunting today I am thankful for my husband for many reasons.  He is a great friend and father; teacher and worker; he is very smart and has a passion for life; and when something needs to be handled, his shoulders are broad enough to carry a very heavy load.  When I woke up this morning the first thing I thought of was:  "it's honey daddy's birthday!"  Hoppy gave him the name honey daddy when he could barely talk & it stuck.  (my sister even calls him that too.)  It will probably be his grandfather name when we're lucky enough to be grands...but that should be a long time in the future. Some very hard things for me have happened on Hopson's birthday.  He never complained when they happened, he just rolled with it.  I was scheduled to be induced with Harry 12*31*96 and on 12*30*96 they put my mom in the hospital.  Her cancer had metastasized into her brain.  Selfishly I wanted her with me....

I love my children.  I love almost everything about them.  (except when they make a huge mess & fight)  I am one of their biggest fans, but it's also part of my job to call them out when they've done something wrong.  But I've noticed something.  Something about grandparents....  In a grandparent's eyes, their grandchildren are the brightest and the best.  They can do no wrong.  You want to make a mess, and not have to worry about cleaning it up?  Sure, you just have a fun time playing sweet baby.  You want to eat 3 chocolate doughnuts for breakfast?  Well sure, who doesn't want 3 doughnuts?! I love how Bill Cosby talks about his parents as grandparents in his monologue:  'Bill Cosby:  Himself'.  Classic!  I tend to think, since I'm raising four children, that grandparents earn every happy experience they get with their grandchildren.  It's hard raising children.  Don't get me wro...

Today, Elizabeth and I went to see the movie 'We Bought a Zoo'.  I highly recommend it, but make sure you take Kleenex!  Also be prepared, there are few bad words uttered, and they talk about 'the seven year old who still believes in the Easter Bunny'.  So glad I didn't have to explain that one, but it is a heart warming story. us in our great looking wet suits In honor of animals and children I have posted the picture of us in our wetsuits when we went swimming with manatees last week.  If you are ever in the Tampa area, I highly recommend it.  Henry was not too crazy about petting a 2000 pound animal, and I have to admit, the female was a little too pushy for my taste.  She made me nervous, but the male was too cute.  He followed us around to get us to scratch him & would do barrel rolls so we could scratch his tummy.  It was a once in a lifetime experience. Here is a picture of the two manatees we were petting.  The fem...

I have the most unselfish daughter of all time.  (She's not whiny or high maintenance either.)  She is the kind of sweet I wish I was.  She is caring and beautiful not only outwardly, but most important inwardly.  She can hang out with boys just as well as with girls.  She is the child you would give a paper sack to and she would say:  "Oh, you thought of me!  I think I'll go make a puppet."  And she would be truly grateful.  She brings grace and beauty to our family. All the boys left today to go hunting.  I had them strip their beds so I could put clean sheets on them.  I didn't ask Elizabeth to help me, but she jumped in and didn't complain one bit when we straightened up all the rooms as well.  How she blessed me today!  To be honest, she blesses me everyday ! I love you Pitty Pat.  You are so precious to me!!! Celebrating Life! ~ashley

Well, today is the day.  I'm 40.  I don't feel any different than I did when I was 18.  A little chubbier and a knee that had surgery in college & creaks a bit, but that is really all.  Not too much to complain about. I don't need glasses.  I have 4 crazy, healthy & beautiful children.  I have a husband to loves me, and just shakes his head when I start acting a little nutty.  I am not perfect, but am greatly forgiven;  I am blessed beyond measure .  Sunrise December 26, 2011 Because I was born at 6:20 am, I wanted one of my first pictures to be of today's sunrise.  I'm glad to see it because it rained all day yesterday & more rain is coming through today.  I love sunrise.  For me it is the possibility of new opportunities where anything can happen.  It is a beautiful time of day.  My 40th birthday cake I love birthday cake.  It's yummy & it makes me happy.  I told my mom ...

In honor of my 40th birthday I am going to be posting 365 days (acutally 366 days because of Leap Year) of pictures.  It will begin December 26th...11 days away.  Make sure to check back starting the 26th. 11 days and counting, ~ashley