Laughter is good for the soul.

Today was a great day! I always enjoy my Fridays because they are my choir day. My choir kids are those kids who love to sing, who want to be there, are hard workers, and are just GREAT kids! And, everything has been falling into place in preparation for their choir concert that is coming up on December 20th. My school day ended with an e-mail from my principal stating how impressed he is that every time he comes into my classroom, the kids are always engaged and learning, and seem to be enjoying whatever task they are working on.

Once I left work, I proceeded to go get movie tickets for Kayla, Sarah M, and I to go watch the movie "Rise of the Guardians". Then, I picked up Kayla and we went to Olive Garden for dinner. On our way inside, I snapped these pictures of the sunset and of Kayla blowing bubbles which she got from the treasure box (positive behavior incentive in her class).

 

Once we were seated inside, I also took a picture of our movie tickets. The reason I did this is for posterity sake. It cost $26.50 for two adults and one child to go to a movie now. I remember when it cost that for a family of five to go to the movies.

 

 

After dinner, we went to the mall to walk around and purchase our candy from the Candy Craze.

 

 

Anytime Kayla Grace sees a water fountain, she wants to stick her hands in...her pants are a little big since she's currently growing into her 3Ts. :)

 

 

My favorite part of our evening was the movie. Not because it was that fabulous of a movie, but because of the circumstances we faced once we arrived in the theater. Since we went to see the non-3D version of the film, we were in a fairly small theater so naturally EVERY seat was full. Let me paint the picture for you...Kayla wanted to sit in Sarah's lap because she's afraid the seat will swallow her. DIRECTLY to my right was this chubby little thing that I swear stole my bag of M & M's. One minute my purple and blue M & M's were there, the next minute they were gone. Suddenly, Fatty McFatFat next door began smacking on something that sounded similar to the chocolate that "melts in your mouth, not in your hand"...or should I say in "her mouth"?!  DIRECTLY to Sarah's left was a mom with about four or five kids all under the age of 6. She had a newborn baby in her arms, and as soon as she sat down, she and the 36 week pregnant lady next to her started talking fairly loudly about the consistency of the different fluids that come out of their...well...you know. We knew it was downhill from there! Let me just say that I am much more comfortable with breast-feeding than Sarah, since I've gone through it with Kayla. However as comfortable as I have been with it, there was NEVER a time when I was in public that I whipped one of my boobs out during feeding time without some sort of a cover. One minute the lady next to Sarah was wearing a low cut, black shirt, and then the next minute, her white breast was hanging out for the world to see. The baby boy was super happy after he was finished though, and wouldn't stop staring at Sarah which I think traumatized her even more. The movie really was fantastic. I was laughing so hard during it I was crying, not so much at the movie, however, but the commentary Sarah and I had while the movie was occurring because of the circumstances surrounding it. I guess that's what we get for going to a kid's movie. There's nothing like a Friday night with a great friend! Our adventure gave me a new appreciation for laughter. I think God placed me in the hilarious situation we were in to remind me that it's much easier to love than hate. It's much easier to laugh than cry. It's much easier to have joy than to find sorrow. We just have to "always look on the bright side of life" as they sing in Monte Python's "Spamelot". Sometimes, we just need a reminder.

 

 

 

The full moon works every time!

Mom always said that you can tell when there's a full moon. It's when your students who are normally sane and calm begin swinging from the rafters during class. That's one way to tell, but I have recently acquired an additional way....when all the pregnant women you know start delivering their babies.

I have three friends who are very dear to me, and they all had their babies within the past 5 weeks. What do all three of their deliveries have in common? They all happened when there was a full moon. Melanie -a coworker and good friend- gave birth to her baby boy, L.J. on a Monday night about four weeks ago. That same Monday night, my college roommate, Elisabeth, gave birth to her son Collin. Wednesday of this week, my friend Kate went in and delivered her baby girl Elliette. I don't believe in werewolves, but I do believe in the power of a full moon to affect the activity of all children...be it in their mother's wombs, or in the classroom. :)

Family Time

The older I get, the more I realize the most precious moments in our lives are those spent with our family. As I've mentioned before, my family has been through quite a lot in the past couple of years. This weekend, it just seemed like everyone came together and we just surrounded one another with love and laughter. It was so awesome to just be together, as cheezy as that sounds.

One of our Shirley family traditions has been a big breakfast on Saturday mornings. It started at Hazel and Paul Shirley's home in Dallas, Texas in the early 90s. I used to wake up to the sound of crackling bacon and the smell of homemade biscuits baking in the oven. I can still see Grandma Shirley in her pink mumu cooking away.

Anyhoo, Dad continued that tradition. He would cook for us (and make Grandma's gravy) and we would sit around in our P.J.'s and just spend time together. We had our Shirley breakfast this morning - complete with biscuits, bacon, and gravy. I had to capture this moment (and Dad's crazy bed hair, or lack thereof).

 

Brian's parents also live in the Little Rock area so after breakfast, Kayla and I headed for Maumelle. Here's a picture of her and Brian's dad, Jerry. Kayla calls him Papa as well.

 

Patty (Nana) and Kayla...and I'm not sure what they're looking at.

 

One of the things we told them Kayla needs for Christmas is clothes. They decided to give her this gift early so she could wear it now.

 

So cute!!

 

Kayla and I finally arrived back home tonight. Before we left Mom and Dad's today, I had this feeling of fullness and true happiness in my heart. We have overcome SO MUCH as a family and I feel we finally have a new beginning; that all the pieces of our messed up puzzle have come together. I had a reminder this weekend that God is always there, has His perfect hands in everything, and He always has a plan for us, for the people we love. He reminded me that as much as we love our family, our parents, our children, He loves us that much more. Wow. I've said this before, but I am truly grateful for my family...not just now, but always.

Dress Shopping

On Friday, the Shirley girls went dress shopping at David's Bridal.

 

 

Josh (Christina's fiance), Cherish (Josh's sister), and Gavin (Cherish's son) met us there. Here are Christina and Cherish looking for the dress that will fit all of her bridesmaids.

Mother of the bride

 

We're keeping this design, and going with black instead of red.

 

Once we found the dress, we went back to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Gavin, Cherish, and Josh joined us and Kayla was really excited to have a new playmate.

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving, 2012

On Thanksgiving morning, we headed over to Dad and Helen's house. They have a patio home that includes a back yard with a fence. We don't have that luxury at home since we have a townhouse, so I took Kayla outside so she could run amuck. While we were out there, I took this shot. One of my favorite things about Texas is that everything really is bigger...including the sky.

 

The stinker wouldn't look at the camera, but I did manage to get the stickers she covered her clothes with earlier that morning.

 

 

I took some shots of everyone prepping for our Thanksgiving meal.

 

This is Helen's mom making her famous dressing and mashed potatoes. She and Helen are both amazing cooks!!

 

Kayla did an awesome job of setting the table.

 

Kayla and Papa

 

Ralph (Helen's brother) and Helen

 

At about 1:30, Kayla and I headed for the Shirley home in Little Rock, Arkansas and we arrived at about 6:30 that night. (Yes, we completed a trip that should have taken six hours in about five, and I do have a history of speeding tickets, and once had a warrant out for my arrest, but have always been extremely careful when Kayla is in the car with me and that all happened before she was even born!)

 

The first thing we did once we arrived is have Kayla try on her flower girl dress for Christina's wedding. Kayla calls it her princess dress.

 

 

Mom and Kayla making a grilled cheese sandwich. There is nothing quite as great as Nene's cooking after a long day of driving!

Here's Papaw taking a picture of Mom and Kayla.

 



 

Here's my sister Christina -AKA bridezilla- giving Rhyan and I VERY precise instructions on how to assemble her wedding invitations. In all seriousness, Chrissy isn't really bridezilla (cough, cough), and it was fun having some sister time...even if it meant Rhyan and I were free slave labor for Thanksgiving weekend.

We had an assembly line going...Rhyan did the clear wrap, I did the ribbon and adhesive around the wrap, and Christina added the bows. We finished all 125 invites during one showing of "Brave". I bet you can guess who picked out the movie.

 



 

For those of you who haven't seen me in awhile, yes I do have belly rolls in this picture. And yes, Rhyan and I made a bet today to see who can lose 20 pounds by the wedding on January 19th. I can't wait to win and told Rhyan, "It's on like white on rice."

 

 

Dallas Zoo and Papa Taylor

I woke up at 6:00 this morning so I could catch up on my blog. Monday night Brian and I packed Kayla and my things for our trip to Dallas for the holidays. My biological dad, Ronnie Taylor lives there with his wife Helen. Of course Kayla had to help, so her contribution was putting on my running shoes and surveying the items on our bed. And did I mention she normally likes to put my shoes on when she's buck naked?

Tuesday evening, Kayla and I made the trip to Dallas from northwest Arkansas. The trip took about 6 1/2 hours, and I was worried about a three-year-old sitting in a car seat for that long, but Kayla was great as usual. We left right after school and arrived at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Desoto, Texas at around 9:30. I REALLY wanted to take some pictures of downtown Dallas when we passed it because it is so beautiful at night. However, Kayla was asleep and I was in 6 lanes of traffic, so I decided that was probably a bad idea.

 

Wednesday, Dad and I took Kayla to the zoo. The first thing we saw once we entered the park was a carousel...or in Kayla's terms a "spinning wheel".

Of course she HAD to ride it!!

 

The next thing we did was ride the tram, which was elevated. We got to see the northwest corner of the zoo which were all of the African exhibits.

 

 

There was this really cool part of the train ride where we got to go under a waterfall. Here's a video...

 

 

One of our favorite exhibits was the giraffes.

 

 

Kayla's favorite part of the day was when she got to ride a real pony. She LOVES horses!

 

 

In the children's zoo they had several animals for the kids to pet and view. Kayla was one of the only kids who actually sat down and watched the fish. I think they moved a little too slowly for most of the tykes running around, but she liked them.

 

Before we left the zoo, Kayla wanted to ride the spinning wheel -AKA carousel- again. This time, Dad and I styed on the side lines because we got sick the first time we rode it with her.

 

 

  Once we returned to Dad and Helen's, we ran errands for the remainder of the day. My favorite place we went was an authentic Mexican restaurant called Ojeda's. Their cheese and chicken enchiladas and refried beans were AMAZING!!!

 

 

It was nice to get back to our hotel room that night. I was exhausted!!! Kayla, however, was ready to watch "Brave". 

 

 

That night, we stayed up until about 9:00 to watch the end of "Brave" together in our bed. While we were sad Brian couldn't come with us because he had to work, it was so nice to have some great mother-daughter time on this trip! I love that girl so much.

 

 

 

Bachelorette Party Planning

Essentially, I spent the better part of today working on my latest project. That would be the invitation to Christina's bachelorette party and lingerie shower. Here is the finished product.

 

We're planning on meeting at my mom's house, having appetizers, and opening gifts. Then we'll all head to downtown Little Rock for dinner and dancing. It's such a quaint city and is so beautiful at night! I'm really excited!!