Sonic Ice

I can't believe how hot it has gotten over the last week. The heat has been teasing us for several weeks now. We would have one really warm day followed by days of coolness. All the weather changes wreaked havoc on the many allergies in my household. Tobey's asthma has really hit him hard this last month. We have been doing breathing treatments everyday now for over a month. We tried stopping and he had another flare up in less than a week so we are back to everyday for a while. Our pedi said he would have trouble until the weather changed completely. I think the heat is here to stay so maybe we will see some improvements with the Tobester. While we old folks are groaning and complaining about the sweltering degrees Tobey does not seem to be bothered. He still wants to go outside and play, he still wants to take walks around the neighbor hood, he still wants to go to the park and all I want to do is stay near an air conditioner. His energy seems to have no end at times and if he is hot he just strips his clothes off which has become an evening ritual and munches on Sonic Ice. 

"Singing"

Tobey's KDO had an end of the year program and here he is "singing". His facial expressions were so cute. He had a mix of stage fright and amusement on his face. He found us out in the audience quickly and was shouting there's Mimi at the beginning of the program. Once the singing started he looked like he might start crying but he held it in. He is so brave. The rest of the time he just seemed amused by the whole thing. He never sang one word but at least he didn't run from the stage. 

And here he is hanging out with some very cute little girls before the program started.

Just Because....

I dug through our old pictures and found the one from our first date to the zoo along with some others. There is one from a homecoming. Can you believe that Mum? I remember it being kind of heavy. I love the last one. We are on a mission trip out in W. Texas I believe. Suzanne, do you remember these shirts and how much we all "loved" them? Especially the guys. But we wore them anyway... even if it was only the one time. Tonight we are celebrating our anniversary. Rodney has a had a really long week so I hope he is ready for a night out. And I hope his flight gets in on time this evening. The plan is to eat dinner at Celebration in Dallas. We have never been but have heard really good things about this place. Then we will probably head over to Northpark and see the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Tobey is spending the night with his Mimi and PawPaw and is very excited. I am so very excited about sleeping in tomorrow morning! Yay for sweet slumber!

Happy Anniversary to My Endless Love

Yesterday was my 7 year anniversary to my wonderful husband. I can't believe we have been married for 7 years. We dated for 7 years before that so in all we have been together for 14 YEARS! We started dating when I was 15. I had just moved to Texas so I was the new girl. I remember my girlfriend Lori came up to me in the hallway at school and told me this boy liked me. When she told me who I instantly knew his face. I had seen him my first day at school. When I moved to Texas the school year had already begun so I did not know anyone. That first day I remember sitting down in my new art class and when I looked up there was a boy staring at me from across the room. The desks were arranged so we kind of faced each other. I remember thinking he was cute and that he looked really nice. Then my schedule got switched around when I moved up to a honors English class. I saw him again a few weeks later though when my family attended First Baptist. My step mom knew his mom and they introduced us briefly and that was that. So it was months later when Lori came to me and I told her to tell him that I would go on a date but I didn't want anything serious. I never imagined that I would end up marrying that boy. We were both really shy and the first year or two we dated we did most of our talking via telephone or notes. We still have all the notes we wrote each other in a box in the top of our closet. They are really corny love sappy high school notes. But I cherish them. Most of our dates revolved around church gatherings or school functions. Our first date was a trip to the zoo with our youth group. I have a picture of us from that day that I wanted to post but I can't find it. We both look so young. My hair was so long and pretty and I was much thinner. Those were the days. So we survived high school and then college in separate towns. We married a year after Rodney graduated from college and I still had one more year of Nursing school to complete. I love having all that history with my husband. Youth camps, mission trips, proms, graduation, homecomings, etc... But I much prefer our married life. I have LOVED the last 7 years with Rodney. We got to grow up together, become best friends, marry, and start a family together. So when times get tough I don't have to look very far to see the blessings that God has poured over my life. When we started dating Mariah Carey was really popular. Rodney was already a big R&B fan so it's not surprising that "Endless Love" became our song and ended up in our wedding. To this day I can not listen to this song without tearing up and imagining our wedding day. 

Rodney, I am so glad you are my love. There is no one else I would rather share my life and my heart with. Thank you for being a wonderful husband and father. Thank you for being patient with me the last several years as I have adapted to my new role as a mom. But most of all thank you for being my very best friend. For listening and dragging the words out of me when you know I need to talk but don't know where to begin. I love you!

A Conversation with Foxy Granny

Foxy Granny is coming to our house tonight. Yay!!! I called her last night and this is how the conversation went:

Granny: Hello? (speaking over the answer machine)

Me: Hi Grandma. It is me ...Cassi

Granny: Well I was just thinking about ya'll today. I bet that is why you called.

Me: I bet so. (laughing) What are you doing?

Granny: Oh just watching some TV with your aunt and sewing some quilts for the auction at the family reunion. I am one of the elders so I need to contribute to these things. I was just thinking about you today.

Me: Well, are you up for a visit this week or next week. 

Granny: Oh yes (and then quietly) but I don't think I can drive. 

Me: (my heart breaks) I will come and get you of course. How about tomorrow morning?

Granny: Well okay then. I can't wait!

It's funny but when I talk about her she is Foxy Granny but when I speak to her she is Grandma. I guess because I grew up calling her Grandma. She did not inherit the Foxy Granny nickname until years later after my cousin's little boy Maison was born. Foxy Granny is an amazing woman although she would humbly deny it. Growing up she was the best Grandma. She would always get down in the floor with us to play. Even now she will sit and play with Tobey. As I got older she was always slipping money into my pockets or buying me books because I loved to read. I was such a bookworm. I always had my nose in a book. I probably have the complete collection of Nancy Drew in my attic. And I was addicted to grandma's homemade plum jelly. She hasn't made it in years and I refuse to buy it because nothing in the store can even compare to hers. Whenever I would visit her I can remember her cleaning and straightening the house everyday and she would hum or whistle under her breath. She still does the whistling thing. It is so soft, almost like a whisper. She will probably never read this so I feel comfortable in telling you that she is also the gassiest person I know. She can walk around and let out a toot with every step. We laugh alot about that. I guess as you get older it is harder to hold it in. She is simple and quiet and always tries to find the good in others. She had some rough years after my Dad passed away and then my grandpa only a few years later. She was bitter for a while. I still remember the day that she took my face in her hands and told me she was done with the bitterness and she let go of it and never went back. But what I admire her the most for is her love for my grandpa. When he got sick with Alzheimer's she took care of him completely even when he became bedridden. She tried a nursing home for about a month but ended up bringing him back home because she could not bear him being there. So she kept him at home and cared for him. She did have help. A nurse aide came out everyday for an hour or so. But my grandma did everything for him for almost two years before he passed away. That is one of the many reasons that she is an amazing woman to me. I could go on and on about her but I need to get ready so we can go and pick her up. Tobey is excited about seeing his Foxy Granny and I am too!

Visiting Nana

Last week we took a little day trip to Oklahoma to see Nana. I had not seen my Mom in several months and she had the day off so at the spur of the moment we decided to drive up and spend the day with her. Tobey and I left as soon as we got up and ate doughnuts in the car. I love my boy. He loves getting out of the house and going. We arrived at Nana's around 11am and just had ourselves a good little visit. We went out for lunch and then drove to an area called Little Niagara in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. It is a cold water spring and I had not been there since I was a kid. My mom humored me even though it was her day off and I am sure she would rather have relaxed at home. She was a really good sport and we made some nice memories that day.

This is the falls. It is rather pretty and the water was icy cold. 

I just love this picture of my son. He looks so grown up and handsome.

My mom was so cute as she searched the water for arrowheads and then tried to skip rocks on the water. Neither one of us was very good at it. Of course Tobey just enjoyed throwing rocks in the water.

We walked for a while on this path and the lighting was so beautiful. I love how this picture turned out. It was such a gorgeous day.

I couldn't resist just hanging back and snapping some shots of Tobey and his Nana.