If you were my BFF you would know

I could almost bet money that my BFF knows me better than anyone in my life, probably even better than my own mom. My BFF loves me so unconditionally and never places judgement on my heart and I feel the exact same way towards her. Fate has made it so that we live pretty far away from each other but even that has not kept our friendship from growing over the years. I know that if I need anything she is just a phone call away and if I needed her here she would come no matter the sacrifice. How can two people that did not grow up anywhere near each other and didn't meet until we were 22 years old have such an amazing connection? Neither one of us can understand it. When we do get to see each other we have soooo much fun!! We laugh until we pee, we cry until we make the ugly face. We talk until the sun comes up. We even sleep together (inside joke)!! And we have kicked our husbands out of bed so we can ;) I love her babies as if they were my very own. She loves my babies as if they were her very own. We both have the same taste in fashion, decorating and even food. We both have the same struggles with ourselves, the exact same! If you know me, you'll know her!

If you were my BFF these are some things you would know about me (or you could ask Leslie because she could probably tell you everyone of these things)---

1. I love Jesus!! I know that I am not deserving of His love and sacrifice and especially His mercy.

2. My kids are EVERYTHING to me!!!

3. I worry way to much about what other people think about me. So much so that it holds me back from my own happiness a lot of the time.

4. I struggle daily with my self image.

5. I want to take more mission trips to try in some small way to make a difference in God's kingdom and to make a difference in my own heart.

6. I LOVE MUSIC!! It soothes my soul in a powerful way. My all time fave female voice is Eva Cassidy. LOVE HER!!!

7. I cry.... a lot!

8. I pee... a lot!!

9. I love shoes!!! Especially BOOTS!!

10. I have 4 major fears-

-that someone I love will not make it to heaven,

-that something terrible would happen to one of my babies,

-Fire!! I hate fire! Not just a camp fire but a major burn your house down fire. The very

thought of it chills me to the bone,

- that I will not have made a difference.

11. I'm kind of a dare devil, on a girly level that is. I want to jump out of a plane. I LOVE roller coasters. I like to go fast enough that my hair is a mess. OK maybe that's not so girly but you get what I mean.

12. I love to dance! I might not be the best but I think it's soooo fun. Maybe that goes with my love of music.

13.I love makeup and can not go without my lip gloss. Seriously if I have nothing else I have to have my lip gloss.

14. I love jewelry!! Cheap or expensive makes no difference to me. It's girly and prissy and I like it!

15. I have a lot of dreams and my bucket list is getting bigger as I get older. I'm pretty sure that it's supposed to get smaller as you age but why? As I grow older I see so much more that I want to be a part of. One thing on my bucket list is the Great Barrier Reef. I want to see what my son witnessed when he was only 16 and I can almost guarantee that I would feel like I was 16 when I do see it.

There you have it, just a few things you would know about me if you were my BFF.

Leslie, I love you and thank god for putting you in my path everyday!! You are truly what every girl should have for a BFF. I feel sorry for those that never have the friendship in their lives like we do!!

Texas..... our second home

The best thing about turning 40 was the gift that came from my hubby.... a trip to Texas to see our best friends. We met 18 years ago and have grown closer over the years than we probably ever imagined. Even though we only get to see each other around once a year now, we pick right back up where we left off. The amazing thing is that our children (we now have 6 between us!!!!) feel the connection that we have as well. Their kids act like we are around all the time when we see them and so do our kids to them. We will never understand why the Lord has separated us for all these years but we know it is His will and we have to live with it. We just have to do our part by staying in touch and visiting when we can. We will take them in our lives however we can get them!!

Me and hubby had a 5:30 a.m. flight which meant we had to be there at 4:30 which meant we had to leave our house at 3:30 which meant I had to get up at 2:30...... you get the picture right? It was a looonnnnggg day but all of that disappeared when we walked around the corner at DFW airport and they were standing there waiting for us.

Leslie had to work 1/2 day so we went by her office to see/surprise her. Let the weekend begin!!!!!!!

After we left her office we went to their beautiful home to unload our bags and then Jason had to go pick up the older boys from football camp. We waited at the house and this is what hubby and Conner did until they returned, PS3. I'm pretty sure W.B. got his tail whooped!!
Once the boys returned home and showered, we headed out for lunch and to meet up with Leslie. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and chowed down. From there Jason had to return to his office, which by the way is in his house now, to finish up a project since he had the morning off. The rest of us headed to the mall and a couple of AWESOME stores. Ladies I have been to Sam Moon and I am forever changed!!!! Holy cow!!!! Leslie had not been before but I can bet you she will be a regular customer from now on!! This is all of the loot we gathered while there. See the cow hide purses? They will forever be known as "moose purses" thanks to Colton. He was looking thru the bags while in the vehicle and announced, "who's moose purses are these?" So we now have moose purses!!

After returning to their house we hung out and had so much fun with the kids. While we were hanging with the kids, Leslie was working hard on dinner. This is the famous lasagna!!!!! It has a reputation among anyone that knows her and it was worth the price of tickets alone!! Hubby has an obsession with it.. possibly even a love affair I'm afraid.

Hanging out with the kids upstairs in the game room. We played Wii and ping pong for hours.

A little ping pong in action.
Kaleb took on the challenge and of course I lost :(

This is Colton sporting his new Liberty University shirt. He was in the kitchen at this point waiting on the killer lasagna!!

After the kids go to bed, the challenge begins!!!! IT"S SKIP-BO TIME PEOPLE!!!We stay up until all hours of the morning playing guys against girls and all I'm gonna say is....it's gets UGLY!!! There is always dessert involved and by the time we are finished someone is begging for mercy because we are so tired. This night was no different I do believe it was 3 a.m. before we wrapped up.

For the rest of the weekend this is where Conner spent his time, on my lap or curled up beside me somewhere. I LOVED IT!!!! This was Saturday after me and Leslie had spent some time in their town visiting some of the cutest shops ever. One of them was called the Chubby Cherub. You just had to know it was gonna be filled with some adorable items. Even signs about "ripening" right Les?

After our day of hanging out and just being together, the adults got ready for dinner out. OH MY DEAR GOODNESS it was DIVINE!!! If you have never been to a Brazilian Steakhouse.... find one now and go!!! This one is in Addison, Texas (A#2 loved that). Jason knew we would love it and he was right. We will go there again someday I can promise you that!!
Texas De Brazil you rocked my world!!!!!!!!!

Had to prove to A#2 that's where we were. I have never seen so many restaurants in all my life.

Outside we took a few pictures.

They will never know how dear they are to us!

The first picture where hubby did not smile.

Until Jason gave him a hard time......
Then he smiled.

Even the paper towels in the bathroom were wonderful!!! So much so that hubby and Leslie took a few for me ;)

After dinner we headed to Jason's brothers house. We have known Christopher all these years and have prayed for him while he was serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is newly married and we had never met his bride. It was sooo great to see him and see his beautiful home. He has grown up since the first time he came to Virginia and spent the summer with Leslie and Jason on Qauntico Marine base. It is so fun to talk about those memories we all have. We did play a game of The Battle of the Sexes while there and let's just say the males STUNK!!!!

After that we stayed up until 3 a.m. playing skip-bo and eating our traditional chocolate thunders from down under. We were up Sunday and planning our last few hours together. I gave Leslie a big ole haircut and them we headed out to downtown Dallas.

As much as I hate to, we'll just title this picture.....

SKIP-BO CHAMPS 2009

UGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! That's all I'm gonna say about that!

This is their gorgeous home!! We think we will just retire to that big room over the garage when the time comes.

Downtown Dallas was as beautiful as I remember. We had our history lesson while there and visited Dealey Plaza. The X's mark where JFK was shot.

Beautiful!!

The courthouse where Lee Harvey Oswald was held.

Texas flag!

I really like Dallas!! Have I told you that lately?

The grassy knoll. While here we met the man that wrote the movie JFK. Boy oh boy did I learn A LOT!!!!! I could go on and on about this but let's just say, there's a lot we Americans have never been told.

The Texas Schoolhouse Book Depository. The window beside the first arched window is where they say Lee Harvey was.

A reflecting pool looking toward the book depository.

Dealey Plaza.

A closer shot of the courthouse.

After Dealey Plaza we headed for a late lunch before time to go to the airport. BBQ Texas style!!!!

I had warned the boys that while I was there I was gonna kiss their faces off. Well I had been nice long enough!!!! Gotcha Conner!

We love these boys!!!!!!

We even treat them just like our own ;-)

This one came from Leslie's i-phone. Gotcha Jason!!!

And then there was one for Colton!

And I think Kaleb ended up with several.

Somewhere in there I had to give one to hubby. I guess he was feeling left out.

I really stinks to have to say goodbye to your best friends over and over again. They hung out with us for awhile in the airport which made it a little easier but it JUST STINKS!!!!

I will miss your heart Kaleb and those eyes!!! You're a good boy!!!

I will miss your crazy sense of humor Colton and how you are that middle child and don't won't to miss out on a thing.

I will miss your hugs and your cuddles little man Conner. I hope you will never outgrow that because the next time I see you I expect the same.

Leslie and Jason I will miss everything about you both. You have been such a support system to us even when you didn't realize it. I will miss praying with your gorgeous family and just knowing that we can hang out and not have to go anywhere or do anything to have sooo much fun. I will miss our late night games and late night desserts, although my butt can do without the desserts. I will miss the laughing so hard we almost pee our pants.... and that's just the men ;-) I miss everything!!!! But I know we will get to do all again...... soon.

July.... so far!

How awesome is this!! The day sweet Lily girl came home from the hospital, this was in our pond. Ever heard of a "God thing"? Well I believe that's exactly what this is. We've been waiting all summer for it to bloom and on that very morning that we received the call that she was coming home, I walked outside to witness this beauty.
These next pictures might not be in order but it's just a glimpse of what we've been up to. We have had company which has been so fun.

Mr Mason didn't like the pool like we thought he would.

Lily was home and I went for a visit. Aunt Tinie needed to hold her again.

We got to spend some time with Lily's 2 big brother's and we had so much fun. They were with us all day on the 4Th of July and they swam their hearts out! They were so glad to get home though and to have their new sister with them.

We invaded Lake Anna with the family! It was a wonderful day of swimming, boat riding, tubing and PLENTY of eating.

A#3 thought her lake... "Lake Anna" was so much fun. She was wore out by the time we left.

Have I mentioned how many babies we are surrounded by? Mr Mason is just one of them.

And then there is Mr Cole. Doesn't he look like a little man?

Oops, this one is out of order. July 4Th we had some friends over. The men folk decided to play an "old man game", croquet. The competition was fierce!

And then one day Miss Lily got to come to our house. This was the first time my girls got to meet her. A#2 didn't know what to do and A#3 just wants to touch her feet.

So as usual, busy, busy. busy!! Hubby surprised me with a trip to Texas for my big birthday to see our very bestest friends. We are leaving this week for a few days and I can't even begin to tell you just how excited I am. Watch out Dallas!!!! The Blaine's are heading to town. YIIPPPEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!