So...What Does a Country Girl Get For Her Birthday?

What DOES a country girl get for her birthday? Well in my case, it was quite a combination.....one that probably was a pretty accurate description of things I love...things that sum up ME...(except there were no decorating things involved but I can fix that with the birthday money, right?).

First of all, the best thing was just the time spent with my family beginning Thursday evening and lasting through the weekend. Thursday evening, we had dinner at El Porton's. Mexican is my favorite, so it's almost-always Mexican food for my birthday dinner. My mom and dad, Aunt Jo and Uncle Wayne, and my father-in-law, joined our family for the dinner.

Friday, Jason took the day off to spend with me on my birthday. He, Joy, and I, just spent the day out and about doing whatever we wanted...including a trip to the mall...and where else but Lowe's? We had lunch at another place I love.....Jason's Deli. Love that place! That evening, I received my big gift from Jason.....wanna see?



That's a Springfield XD 9 mm! Can you tell I'm excited? I was able to try out several handguns of my choosing (with the gun dealer) that felt the best in my hand, and I knew when I shot this one, that it was THE one!

So here's where the title of this post comes in.....how's this for a combination of what a country girl gets for her birthday....and couldn't be happier! Let's see...



That's a handgun, high heels, a belt, a necklace, a gift certificate to have my nails done, and money to go shopping! (Maybe I should try shooting in the high heels)! :)

Saturday, we went to the mall again, and to see a movie (which I recommend), Up.



But I have to tell you that I was so close to tears, not one but three different times during this animated movie! If you get a chance to see it, it really is worth it! Very sweet!

Look at the dry erase board Joy made up and had sitting out for me!



She also made me this!



Colt made me this one!



Jason made me this! (He saw this design on the front of one of Colt's college textbooks)! lol!



I LOVE handmade cards! They are so special to me...especially what's written inside!

And more cards from family and friends....



I also received some email birthday wishes and an e-card from friends too!

Thank you to my my family and friends for making my birthday special! :)

And now, Jason and I have a fun hobby to do together....we've already enjoyed target shooting a couple of times this weekend! (Jason has a Smith & Wesson .40 Sigma). And I have to show you our target practice....



Jason saved it and wrote the date on it.....I guess he was impressed....and maybe a little sentimental??? :) How funny!



So as you see, I had a wonderful birthday....and thanks for all of those that wished me a happy 25th or 29th birthday! You are great! For those wondering, I don't mind telling how old I really am....I just turned 46! Since I don't like the alternative, I'll take every year that the good Lord gives me! :)

And I haven't forgotten about the giveaway I mentioned on my last post! I'm trying to decide for sure what I want to give away...so it will be announced on my very next post! I am so anxious to get around to visiting your blogs too....so don't give up on me! I'll, hopefully, be by soon!

Have a great day! Thank you for stopping by! :)

A Golden Anniversary Celebration

My absence from blogworld can be explained....really! Between homeschool planning and planning my parents' 50th anniversary, and everything else sandwiched in between, it's been really hard to keep up! But as always, I thank everyone who stops by and those that leave comments! I really enjoy and appreciate each one!

My parents married very young. Mama was 15 and Daddy was 17. I think everyone was skeptical as to how they would fare! Well here it is 50 years later, 2 kids (plus twins in heaven) and 5 grandchildren later, and they're still together! In this world, that is a huge accomplishment and I'm so proud to call them my parents. If you didn't read last year's tribute to them, and would like to, you can click here.

The 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration took place in Alabama this past Saturday, where my brother lives and most of my dad's family. The church where we held the reception is our church away from home....the church where most of our family there attend! There was so much family there that would have to travel that it just made more sense to have it there! My mama's brother and sister were able to come there from Texas and Tennessee to attend! Her best friend came from Missouri. In all there was about 65 people in attendance and it turned out beautiful! My sister in law, Missy, and I were able to pull this thing off by planning long distance (from each other). I guess we worked well together because it went smoothly. There were lots of laughs and even a few tears as Mama and Daddy gave a little speech, which then led to many more including family and friends. Even I, who is definitely not a speak-in-public-type-of-person had a few words to say.

I'm going to share pictures with you from that special day. We had a very simple decor, yet it suited our family perfectly. I hope you enjoy them!

Colt had my camera first and took several black and white photos (which I love by the way). There were so many pictures that I had to pick and choose!



The punch table:



The cake, nuts and mints table:



The cake:



Missy and I posed for a minute while preparing the food: (a little blurry I think..don't know why):



Okay, here's a better one I just found:



Love this one!



An overview of the tables and set-up before the drop-by reception:



Picture collages through the years...





The guest book and welcome table: (That's my nephew, Kemper, signing in. I just noticed Joy left her brush laying there....oh well!) Here everyone signed the guest book and could pick up a memory sheet to write something special for Mama and Daddy to be placed in a special scrapbook that I am compiling for their celebration, as well as a keepsake bookmark from the special day.



A special place for the guests of honor:



Mama and Daddy:



A sweet kiss:



Our family:



The grandkids:



Joy and Pop:



Daddy with his two ladies (his mom and wife): Isn't that sweet?



My mom with her brother and sister:



Daddy and mama with his mom (my grandma) and his brothers and sisters:



Mama and daddy with mama's best friend, Shelia, through the years, along with her husband, Wayne:



Mama giving her little speech:



Daddy giving his speech:



A kiss from their kids (My brother, Richie, and me):



Beautiful flowers for a beautiful day:



Joy and Laci (the two granddaughters):





After the party, Joy and Laci went outside with Grandmama and Pop and released the balloons! What a sight that was to see 50 balloons released in their honor!



Happy 50th Anniversary, Mama and Daddy!



And Jason and I are more than halfway to the 50 mark (since we just had our 27th)...what a wonderful example we have......I hope we are just as blessed as my parents have been with 50 years together!




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Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm thinking about a giveaway real soon...maybe this weekend or possibly Monday....this would be a fall one....so check back! Hopefully tomorrow sometime I will get in a Faithful Fridays post too.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my parents' special day with us!

Blessings to you all!
~ Tammy ~

Airplane Day & A Birthday Too

It's hard to believe that it is already August 24th again! I realize that I probably have some new readers since last year at this time, so I wanted to share it again as this is an important day for us to remember. Twenty years ago today, Jason and I became parents for the first time......a day that changed our lives forever.

I wrote a special post last year about our Airplane Day. It pretty much sums up how I feel about this day and being a mom. I am going to copy and paste that post below. I hope you enjoy it! (Happy Airplane Day, Colt)!

Today....August 24th.....is what we call our Airplane Day (it also happens to be my neice Laci's birthday too). What is an Airplane Day? Well, it's the day that our son, Colt, came home to us on an airplane all the way from South Korea with six other babies (all boys) being escorted to their families anxiously and lovingly awaiting their arrival! How excited we were to become parents!

Jason and I had been married for seven years. It was four days before my 26th birthday. Colt was five and a half months old. The wait seemed like forever to get him here! We thought he was coming home to us at three months, but he got sick and had to stay there until he was well. Then the next time he was scheduled to come home to us, the babies were bumped from their flight, thus delaying it all again! You can just imagine how it felt to have a picture of your baby boy and know he's that far away from you and to yearn to hold him in your arms! It helped some to keep a journal for him during this time.

(His airplane....we were watching through the window knowing he was inside...see the sun rising on a new, very exciting day for us!)



Then finally on this day, August 24th early in the morning, nineteen years ago, his escort, a very nice elderly gentleman, walked off that plane, called out our last name and placed our beautiful little blessing of a baby boy into my arms! I just knew I would cry when they did (NOW I'm all teared up as I write this), but I couldn't cry then. All I could do was smile...and then smile some more (as we all did that day!) Colt leaned back, looked at my face and gave me the biggest smile ever as if to say, "It's you..I know you..I'm here." And that boy has kept us smiling and laughing ever since! (And on our toes, I might add). As a matter of fact, he was nicknamed "Smiley" on the plane by the adults because he could turn the smile and charm on, and then go back to a straight solid face just as quickly as he turned it on!

(They had just placed him in my arms...right after the big smile from him...and notice the gentleman in the lower left corner....that's his escort looking on smiling!)



Told you I was all smiles....he would smile really big and cut it off, then repeat the whole process all over again!)



Our lives changed that day (obviously) after 7 years of marriage, but I wouldn't trade it for anything or any feeling in the world! I became a mom that day....being a mom is THE best, most rewarding job in the world!

(Jason was beaming all day too!)



And for anyone that thinks even for a second that it feels different to become a family through adoption versus becoming a family by birth......let me tell you first hand (having it both ways)....there is NO difference in the way you feel!

(My mom and dad were there with us, along with a few other family and friends....it was quite an experience for everyone!)



The day they placed Colt in my arms and the day they placed Joy in my arms were the days my world changed. I've been blessed to be a mom to two special kids...both my miracle babies....and I wouldn't trade either experience for anything. I once read a remark that sums it up for me, "One of my kids is adopted they say, but I can't seem to remember which one."



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In addition to today being our Airplane Day, it is also the birthday of my niece, Laci. She turns 6 today. This hardly seems possible! Since she is at my house today for a brief visit, she posed for her picture to share on here today!



And of course, she and Joy had to pose together too!



Happy Birthday, Laci!

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Coming up on my next post, I will share my parents' special 50th Anniversary celebration that took place this past Saturday! Everything went really well and they really had a good time! So stay tuned...

Have a great Monday!
~ Tammy ~

This Makes Me Smile

Yesterday morning as I was upstairs in the loft exercising on my gazelle (my morning routine) with headphones in ears and my mind in motion, I glanced over at one of the toyboxes to see the dry erase board with a school lesson on it. When I got off, I went and took a closer look at exactly what was written on it.



Now this does make me smile, because we haven't started school yet, but this is what Joy likes to do in her spare time. She plays with her dolls and they have school. Isn't that so much better than TV? She really can entertain herself for hours upstairs in that loft with her dry erase board, dolls, figurines, and barbies.



Notice what subject is NOT on that board? If you said math, you would be correct! There's no science there either, but science rates much better than math in her book. I have to remind her that math is necessary, although she doesn't always agree. She is all about reading and writing and all that goes along with words! Could it be because her mom is the same way???



When we get in the car, this little pink book goes just about everywhere with her! This is where she writes her stories as they pop in her head. I have to get past the not-so-neat handwriting because I know her mind works faster than her hands can get it down neatly. I'm the same way....sometimes only I can read what I wrote.



She has a couple of ongoing "books" that she is writing....and don't you know I encourage it BIG TIME? :) And something else I've learned.....wide reading = wide vocabulary. It's amazing how that works, but it really does and it shows in the writing. Do you have a budding writer on your hand? Encourage it!



Don't you just love it when your kids use their free time to do something creative and use their imaginations? I know it warms this mother's heart and puts a big smile on my face! :)