ALLIGATOR KISSES

Either I am credibly CRAZY, or just brave!!

Bailee and I had an AMAZING field trip today!

We went to Baton Rouge and visited many places, her favorite, the Alligator Swap place.

Several teachers were asked to "kiss" this little alligator.

So after teachers did so, I decided that I would!

Crazy, yes, maybe, but I believe We have only one chance to live life to the fullest, so, I thought it would be neat to "kiss" this adorable alligator.

What was amazing was that I was scared at first, but somewhat felt comfortable when my lips touched it!

MY MOTHER'S DAY

What a blessing it is to be called "MOM". My Mother's Day was not spent with breakfast in bed, flowers, or a gift of my own, but a gift of being with the ones I love most in this life. It is so amazing to me how God allows certain situations and circumstances in our life to bring us closer to the ones we love, more than that,closer to him! Since my brother moved away, I have not has the same relationship with him. I love him so much and so miss him being only 20 minutes away,now 8 hours away. I am so blessed to have such a loving and caring brother and sister. My brother just received one of the greatest blessings in life, a newborn baby, a son, and his baby boy was having some problems. But by the Grace of God, he is doing great! My WONDERFUL mom, has been through a lot this last week, and has made sure she was there for my brother and his family. With her dad just having surgery, she was trying to hard to be there for everyone. One of our jobs as a mother is the need to take care of any situation and everyone involved in that situation. Yes, sometimes it feels like a burden, but as a mother, we thrive and act on situations that involve our family, and seek guidance from the Lord and loves ones to make their life the best it can be. I think about the saying, "God could not be everywhere, that's why he created Mothers," But God is everywhere, and involved in every aspect of our lives. He gives us a choice in how we respond to these hardships and sees us through them so others can see His amazing Grace! The Lord can take any situation good and bad and use it so other's can see love, unconditional love, the love of a mother and child. Nothing illustrates this better than God giving his ONLY son, for us! I thank God everyday, for my family, for being able to wake up, and seeing my children grow. I thank Him for being able to bear children, and most of all, being blessed with raising them under His leadership! For my children are not my own, they belong to God. This was very hard for me to do, praying to God and saying to Him, they are yours not mine, let your Will be Done. Ultimately, my children belong to Him. I love being a mother! When I was younger, I often dreamed about my life and how it would be. I have made LOTS of mistakes, but I have learned so much, and I am glad that God allowed them, for it has forever changed me as a person, a mother, but more as a child of God. I imagined a life of bliss and a perfect family centered around the dinner table! My life is far from this, but I love my life, and have learned to be "content" with what I have. What a wonderful realization to have!! Being content is a humbling experience! I thank God for my mother! I thank him for her dedication to her children, for always putting us before her. I thank Him most of all, for raising us in a Christan home! I have so many wonderful memories of my mom and all the things she did and sacrificed or us! So in honor of my mom, I write these things I LOVE most about her! Love you mom, you are the greatest!
1. Thank you for always making sure I was in church! I truly believe in this verse,"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will never depart from it." Proverbs 22:6. I have strayed MANY times, but by you making sure I was was a Child Of God, He always takes me as I am!
2. Thank you for always being there for every event I had in school, you were always the best "room mother" in every grade! You were so great about cooking for every event and sending great snacks for me and my friends!
3. I thank you for ALL the money you spent on my eyes, teeth, and Drill Team! You always has such wonderful fund raising ideas for us to go to Competition!We could not have done it without you!
4. Thank you for allowing friends to ALWAYS come over to swim in the pool, even though you were the one always cleaning it and making sure the levels were SAFE, for us!
5. Thank you for allowing Jerry and I to date, He was the best date I ever had, and turned out to be such a blessing!! And the BEST father to your grandchildren!
6. Thank you for being there in the delivery room for the birth of your first grandchild, Caiden , he loves you soo much! What a awesome blessing we have!
7. Thank you for trying to be there for Bailee Graces Birth, she just came into this world to quick!
8. Most of all, Thank you for raising 3 GREAT kids on your own, Daddy is so proud of you, Chad, Erin and I are so BLESSED to have you!! I love you mom!!
9. You are my HERO, you have lived and been through so much and I admire you, I want to be just like you !!

BAILEE'S CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION

Bailee's class had a great and fun party in celebration for Cinco De Mayo Day!
We had Mexican dishes to eat, and watched a great video!

After all the eating, the class also got to dance to the Maharani song and I so enjoyed watching Bailee dance and her friends!

I am so blessed that I am able to attend these class celebrations! Thanks Mimi for the Sombrero hat! She was very grateful!!

ULM BASEBALL

This weekend we got to watch some great baseball games.
Our family loves baseball in general, and we try to watch it or play it every chance we get!

Jerry,Caiden,me, and his best friend Bo caught a ULM game Friday night. Bailee Grace spent the evening at her friend's house.

Caiden and Bo had a great time and even got some foul balls at the game. They were very proud of them!

Not only did they play some baseball at the game, but also enjoyed sitting with friends and talking baseball.

Caiden also got to see his cousin Carter, who likes and plays baseball too!

The Baseball boys!

Before the game, we went to a great little place called the FieldHouse to eat. It is a great place for Sports fans across the area. Caiden and Bo got to talk baseball with the Owner of the restaurant and got baseball tickets from him! Thanks Joey for talking and visiting with Caiden and Bo and for the tickets!

Watching the game.

Saturday afternoon, Caiden and Bailee went to their cousins house to swim and Jerry and I caught a game with just the two of us! We had a great time and even got our pictures made with Ace!

GO WARHAWK BASEBALL!

BASEBALL DAD AND SON

How amazing it is to me that a father and son can look so much alike!

LEAP INTO SPRING PARTY

This past week has been a busy and stressful week! Caiden and Bailee had LEAP and ILEAP testing.We have been preparing for these tests for weeks.
I am very proud of both of my children for their preparation for these tests. Especially Bailee, she has gone through various tutoring for LEAP. Bailee had a Spring day at school in celebration of LEAP being done and over with Wednesday. They got to bring various things to school to play with and share with friends. They played outside, played with Ipods, and even played with curling irons and make-up!

I spent 2 hours with her and her friends, and ate lunch with them!

I really enjoyed the time with her and I am so proud of her for working hard in school!

BAILEE'S HOMEMADE BARBIE DRESS

Bailee has TONS of Barbie outfits and accessories for her dolls. One day she decided to create her own Barbie outfit. She took simple Aluminium foil and made her own dress. I love her imagination and her simplicity for life, She never demands expensive gifts. She simply enjoys the "simple" things in life!!

OUR NEW FAMILY SUV

Our family got a new vehicle last week!
Our family is so excited and blessed with this new purchase. We got a 2009 Tahoe and we are enjoying riding around in it. Jerry and I have been praying very hard about this decision. Buying a car is very stressful and we wanted to make the right choice based on what was best for our entire family. Our other car was not very safe to be in and we travel so much. The kids and I try very hard to go to as many places as we can to see Jerry when is working out of town.
We are so blessed that we were able to get the car that was best for our family of four!

The kids were very excited about seeing it for the 1st time and they are looking forward to taking many trips in it to see their daddy!

I was also very proud to be able to FINALLY put Caiden's ALL STAR decal on display. I have had this decal since June of 2008. I was waiting patiently to put in on a new car. This is how long we have been looking at cars!

We are thankful for so much, mostly for having safety and security when traveling to see Jerry!