The Things I Miss....

For Labor Day weekend we were able to drive to Shreveport to check on our rent house and spend time with family. Every time I go back home, I remember all the things I love about my hometown. If you've ever been to Shreveport, chances are you thought it wasn't much to look at. It isn't really a touristy place so you probably just drove through - unless you wanted to frequent the casinos of course. Maybe you wondered what the heck people do around there all day. But if you grew up there, then you know all the sights and smells that you can't experience just driving through. Shreveport has it's problems of course - poverty, failing schools etc. But here are some of the things I really miss:

1. Strawn's strawberry pie - it has been too long since I tasted your soft, flaky
crust
2. The Red River Revel - every year in the fall, vendors sell food and crafts on
the riverfront/ lots of great music
3. The fact that every time I go into a store or restaurant, I see someone I knew
from high school, college, church, or a student I taught.
4. The riverfront - where Brent and I had many many dates/ where he first told me
he wanted to marry me.....sigh....
5. Humphrey's from Counter Culture - when music theory with Dr. Rust proved too
much for the day, we walked across the street to get these little pieces of
heaven. The perfect medicine for a crap day at school.
6. College buddies and professors. Loved that I had such a close network of
colleagues that all graduated with me.
7. Family - hands down, the thing I miss the most is being able to see my parents,
grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. Also - most of Brent's family lives
here so I miss my in-laws, too.
8. Church family - growing up in Louisiana means you know pretty much everyone in
the stake. It's fun to see all the faces that taught me as a youth.
9. Easy commute - Living outside of Dallas means everything is at least 20-30
minutes away, sometimes more. Our last home was about 10 minutes from
entertainment.
10. Fried Food - really just my dad's fried catfish. Even if you don't care for
fried food, you would like his because it's made with love just the way I
remember it as a kid. Even better when we helped to catch the fish.
11. King Cakes from Julie Ann's Bakery - Cream Cheese...so so so good. I shipped
one to Brent on his mission because he loved them so much.
12. Mardi Gras
13. Southern Maid Donuts - Referred to by my sister simply as SMD's. Krispy Kreme
doesn't stand a chance against these althogh Brent would beg to differ.

Don't get me wrong. We love where we live! We've been blessed to be part of a great neighborhood and wonderful church family. But sometimes when we visit, we toy with the idea of moving back to Shreveport one day in the future. For now - we love being Texans. But when people ask me where I'm from, I'm proud to say I'm from the great state of Louisiana.

Orange Beach 2011

She looked so darn cute in this swimsuit!

Shelley and Ryan

Building sandcastles with daddy

Mom and dad sitting under the gazebo they brought. It was so great to have shade for the baby.

Annabeth, me, Brent, and Camilla
She was pretty terrified of going into the water but agreed to walk along the edge holding Brent's hand.
My little beach bum.
The kids pretty much dug in the sand the entire time we were at the beach. Erin didn't care too much for the water either.
Camilla and her cousin Ava. Hopefully these two will be friends just like Brooke and Annabeth.

Freckle Face

Lately, I have noticed freckles showing up on Annabeth's face. So I've been putting sunscreen on her every time we go outside because I didn't want her face to look like mine. It doesn't seem to be helping though because they keep showing up. I will admit that they are much cuter on her than me. You will also notice her unibrow in this photo. ( She gets that from her daddy.) I can't believe how big she is getting. She has been such a great big sister. When I hold Camilla, it makes me sad to think that just 3 years ago, Annabeth was that tiny. Now she is turning into a little girl right before my eyes. I love this little girl so much. She is the reason I get up every morning ...literally. She comes into our bedroom and says "Mommy get up! I'm hungry." Even when she does something that drives me crazy, she makes up for it by doing something so sweet. She is the most forgiving person I know and makes me want to be a better person every day. I worry sometimes that I don't spend as much time with her since Camilla was born. I hope she knows how much I love her.

Little Ballerina

Recently, Annabeth has discovered Angelina Ballerina. She loves to turn on her music and twirl around the house in circles nonstop. I finally gave in and enrolled her in a ballet class at a local rec. center. The class only lasted 6 weeks but she had tons of fun doing it. She was the youngest and smallest but she really did try her best to keep up with the other girls. Albeit, she did spend a lot of time stealing glances of herself in the mirrors and hanging on the bars. The video below is of their "Kitten Dance." So cute!

our little ballerina on her last day of ballet

Lazy Mornings

Love waking up in the mornings to these two. Camilla usually ends up in our bed after her 2nd feeding (Brent has told me that this has to stop, but I can't resist). Annabeth usually comes in around 7. I wake up to her talking to Camilla. Sweetest thing ever. I hope they will always stay close as I am with my sisters.

Family Resemblance

Lately, I've been looking through Annabeth's baby pictures. I can't believe she was ever so tiny! The biggest difference I notice between her and Camilla is the nose. Annabeth has always had this little upturned nose (looks like Cindy-Lou-Who) while Camilla's is a little flatter. Also, Camilla has much chubbier cheeks (I just wanna bite them...and sometimes I do) Both were born with tons of hair, and not just on their heads. Their little backs were covered in black hair. In case you are wondering, they get that from Brent - not me. The top picture is Camilla and the bottom is Annabeth around the same age. Love those first smiles!

Camilla's Blessing Weekend

This weekend, we were able to see all of Brent's family and almost all of mine (we missed you Mandy and Andrew!). I still can't believe we fit all these people in our tiny house to take these pictures! We went swimming on Saturday with the kids while Brent and Scott played golf with their dad. Then went to Gatti Town where we ate lots of pizza and let the kids play some games.

On Sunday, Camilla received her blessing from her Daddy. I loved being able to hear him bless her with so many wonderful things to look forward to in her life. I think it is one of the sweetest traditions of our faith for a baby to be encircled by her dad, grandpas and uncles. She looked so adorable in her white dress and didn't make a peep during the blessing. Looking at Camilla wearing the same little dress that Annabeth wore for her blessing made me realize how fast time flies and how much she has grown in such a short time. This time with them now is so precious and there isn't anything else in the world I'd rather be doing. I love my babies more than anything. Sometimes I think they are going to drive me crazy, ezpecially Annabeth. But when I lose my temper with her, she is always so quick to forgive and forget. They are little pieces of heaven and I think a great example to me of how our Savior loves us unconditionally. I feel grateful every day that He has entrustred them to us. Family is the best!

Camilla Kay

All my side (love my sisters! Mandy's family is in Vienna)

All Brent's side (22 0f us!)

Love these 3 more than anything!