We may be ghetto, but I promise you'll like us!

A few weeks ago, I headed down to the big BG to visit Gretchen. It's so crazy to me that they have been gone almost 4 years! Nowadays, it's just like a second nature to me to head down and visit for a weekend. I'm so thankful for a friendship that has not only changed, but gotten stronger since she moved! Love my G & T time!!

I was pretty excited because I made it in time for one of Pierce's baseball games. Sweet boy!  

It's a little weird that when we first became best friends, we were changing diapers and wiping spit up off our clothes (and floor, and furniture...). And now, we watch them play ball and FaceTime with them...

Sheesh! They're getting so big!

One of the best things about our friendship (I know I've mentioned this 8,302 times) is that we just "are". There are no expectations. There is no pressure to impress. Sometimes on our visits, all we do is...well, visit. Literally, just sit and talk. 

And sometimes she cooks for me. You know you've arrived when you get homemade muffins! ;-)

We also did a few of our favorite things - the things we do best - shop...

...and eat. For real, we like to eat!

And, I can't forget that I laughed (for hours!) when we pulled up and I asked G, "Is that a Netti Pot...and are you watering flowers with it?" Seriously...ghetto!

Love my girl and the time we get to hang together! 

Even better than when I go to visit is when she comes H.O.M.E. She's here for a week or so and we've already gotten to make some more ghetto memories!

It's pretty awesome to get a text and see "Wanna meet for lunch...now?" :-)

Of course, when they are home, it is customary to plan a day of swimming! (Hope, on the very left...I die!)

A slumber party is also a must! (I hope these two little girls will grow up to have a super special relationship!)

Hold onto your britches, cuz I'm not done yet! My sister got tickets to the Lionel Richie concert and invited mom, Jenny and me to go. She called A FEW HOURS before the concert and had one more ticket to get rid of, so we invited Gretchen.

It was a hoot! We had dinner before the concert and then followed the line of Buick's headed over to the YUM Center. 

We gave mom a little warning about the opening act -- CeeLo Green. She didn't know who he was or what his hit song is really called. ;-) He has a great voice but I was more concerned that he was going to have a heart attack on stage whenever he moved! 

We survived CeeLo, and it was time for some Dancing on the Ceiling...

Gretchen has made fun of me numerous times for looking like a grandma and keeping my "bag" on my lap when we go out. Now you see why...Like mother, like daughter. 

 Super fun night! (I won't mention how we left the concert early to beat the crowd and then got lost IN THE PARKING GARAGE trying to find our car. Oy.)

Such a good week having G home! And it isn't even over yet. :-)

So, if you see us out and about taking dumb selfies, just ignore us. We're ghetto and just having too much fun! 

Father's Day always makes me sappy

When any holiday approaches, I start looking through old photos. Obviously, last weekend was a great time to look for photos of my dad. Most of the wedding photos I have are just in an album. :-( We weren't cool WAY back then to get a whole CD of pictures! 

Just an FYI: It's never a good idea to start looking through old photos when you are PMSing. Ugh!

I believe that God truly blessed me in the dad department! My dad is a pretty incredible man. 

On Saturday, Eric was in Lexington all day. When Levi woke up, he asked me if he could try and mow our grass. We don't have a huge yard, but it does take over an hour to push mow. He hasn't mowed the yard before, but I decided to let him try. I showed him how the mower works and he took to it right away. I walked the entire yard with him, but he mowed it himself. He could not have been more proud and couldn't wait to call Eric and tell him! I love his heart and how he wants to please his dad. 

We got together with my grandpa that evening. It's hard to watch your grandparents get older and start fading in their health. I love this sweet picture of him and the great-grandkids. 

Eric has a few nicknames. His first one was Rainman. Our college friends gave him that one because he could pretty much remember anything. Another one is Mayor because he knows anyone and everyone. He would do really well as a politician. Ha! ;-) And the most recent one is OMR - Old Man Reid. Sometimes, he is like a grouch old man and my brother proudly nicknamed him this on vacation several years ago. He's that old man that yells "Get off my grass!" to young children in the neighborhood. Okay, maybe that's exaggerating a little... or not! Travis brought him this sign on Sunday:

I don't think there could be any more love in the world (other than Jesus!) than this...

4 generations of Miller's

And, in true Travis fashion, he knows how to make a picture special. 

These people with me are some of the funniest people I know. Seriously...funny. I love them.

I can't say enough how much I love my family! Especially these three.

Eric is the most incredible dad! There are times when we look at each other and think "what in the world did we do?" but we would not change a thing!

Happy father's day to all the dads out there, biological fathers and spiritual fathers. You are loved.

You guys, I made a cake. Okay, so I helped make a cake.

May is an incredibly busy month for us, but it is SO MUCH fun!  Eric's birthday was the first of four.  Since it was on a Wednesday and he played drums at church that night, we just did a small gift time with the kids before he left for work.  

I got the bright idea that I wanted to make a cake for Levi and Maggie's party this year.  We decided to celebrate their birthdays the weekend of Mother's Day...you know, because it isn't hectic enough already!  Back in the day, my mom used to be quite the bomb diggity cake maker!  She had this cake making kit with all the bells and whistles and used to make all of our cakes growing up.  When I told her I wanted to give it a try, her old instincts kicked in and she put me to work.  

Okay, see that shell border?  Her exact words were, "we can do a simple sheet cake with a simple shell border..."  Ain't nothin' about a shell border simple.  Just sayin'.

I tried all of two little shell bumps and then told her I would just get a diet coke and keep her company while she finished the simple shell border.  

Once she finished the border, I added the purple and green dots.  Yes, I did dots and am taking credit for it!  They were harder than they looked.  Kind of.  Ha!  And, I wrote the kids names on the top.  My swirls needed some help, but HEY, it was made with LOVE!  ;-)  And it tasted like heaven!!

We decided on a Scooby Doo party because my kids are both infatuated with Scooby right now.  They love all the old episodes and can't get enough!  Eric rented this bouncer for them.  Genius, right?  We thought so!  Was supposed to keep all the kids busy outside so that I had less mess inside.  

About an hour before the party started, this happened:

The weather forecast called for 20% scattered showers.  Um, it was more like a MONSOON!!  I'm talking, hail, 300 mph wind, crazy lightning and thunder...the whole shebang!  Luckily, it only lasted a couple hours and the kids were still able to jump their little hearts out.

How hilarious is my husband?!  His OCD kicked in and he labeled the coolers.  Woe to the person who messed them up!  

Elmer (we were on a first name basis with the man who rented us the bouncer. He acted like he was our long lost cousin!) threw in a snow cone machine for free when we rented the bouncer!  It was a major hit!  We had almost all of the cousins there for the party.  LOVE IT!!

My babies are now 8 and 4 years old!  Where has the time gone?  They had such a great day celebrating with our family.  I could not have asked for a better day!  

On Sunday, there was no time for cake hangover -- we had to jump right in and celebrate Mother's Day.  More food and cake...twist my arm!!  After lots of hugs, kisses and cute little gifts, we headed to church and then to my aunt's house for lunch.  I love it because the dads take care of the kids and their needs while the moms sit back, eat and relax!  

I am so blessed to be their mommy.  Some days, I have no idea what I am doing and wonder why God gave me such a big responsibility.  I have to sit back, breathe, and remember that God gives me grace and unconditional love and those are two things I need to pass on to my children.  I adore them so much.

I know that Mother's Day is not always a happy day of celebrating for some people and it isn't full of wonderful memories.  My heart breaks when I think about that.  My prayer is that God will provide His grace, love, peace and comfort to women who are hurting.  For me, my family is my rock, and I remember every day how blessed I am.  Love these women. :-)

John Deere Green

We live for milestones.  Throughout our school years, we look forward to our senior year.  Prom - Graduation - College - Graduating college - Getting married...

Then, if you become a parent, you celebrate a whole new set of milestones through your child.  First crawl - First tooth - Walking - Talking - First day of school... the list goes on and on.  

A new milestone for us was the first time Papa let Levi drive one of the tractors.  Yes, DRIVE the tractor!  

My kids love tractor rides.  A couple weeks ago, my dad was mowing grass and they begged asked for a ride.  Dad told Levi to get in the seat and he gave him instructions.  Oh my stars...if he didn't already think Papa hung the moon, he sure did now!

As he started to take off, I choked back some tears (because I'm crazy sensitive like that!) realizing how big Levi is getting.

I would like to point out he is still KIND OF little because the tractor kept shutting off.  Levi didn't weigh enough to keep the seat down (safety feature!) so my dad had to help apply enough pressure.  Cute!  

Off they went.  I swear, I want to keep them little, but I love each new stage that they reach.

Not much better than watching your son learn to love John Deere Green.