First Time for Cereal with Milk! :)

This was Sammy's first time to eat cereal with milk and a spoon. He loved it....all 4 bowls! Being the "Super Mom" that I am, I was sure to only give him a "nutritious" cereal like Cap 'n' Crunch Berries. He loved using his spoon but quickly grew tired of chasing down each little "berry" so he just did what anyone else would do...he stuck his hand in his bowl and placed each berry on his spoon and ate them one at a time.

Guess who doesn't like the yellow ones!

The Sky Angel Cowboy

A remarkable phone call from a 12-yr old boy was made to a Houston radio station
KSBJ FM 89.3. So profound, the station posted on their website and it has since been sent all over the world. This is one of the sweetest things I have heard in a long time. Simple and pure. Get your kleenex ready!

The Zoo with my buddy Cooper

Sam and I went to the zoo with our friends April and Cooper House. The Houses' are great friends of ours. Cooper's dad works for Edward Jones with Matt. They live in Decatur. Sam and Cooper are only a few weeks apart in age and are both very active! Their favorite part was the petting zoo. I think Sam was more excited about the Goldfish snack I kept pumping him full of so that he would stay content in his stroller. He is everywhere lately. If he's not running, he's climbing. We have strapped or bolted every tall piece of furniture we have to the wall "just in case".
*First Time Alert :)* I asked him to smile and he turned to me and actually said "Cheese!" I about croaked!

Did I mention that he is climbing a lot lately?

Cooper is a bit of a wild man himself. They just couldn't get enough of the baby "moo".

KC & 2-Dad

KC & 2Dad came in for a visit this past weekend. Sam had so much fun! We watched a ton of football. KC is trying to brainwash Sam into becoming an Alabama fan but as you can see in the picture below, Matt has beat her to it. It's "War Eagle" for the Clay family :)!

House Redo Phase 1 :)

Ok...I have been in major project mode for a while now. I'm finally doing things that I have been wanting to do for the past 3 years but switched to baby mode once I got pregnant. Now, I'm itchin' to do all the things I have had in my head all this time! So far, I (with they help of Matt and my mom) have only completed the dining room and living room. There are before and after pictures below.

Before:

After:

The Dining RoomThe Living Room This room was really tricky because the ceiling heights are so different. I wanted something that would be unique, cozy, & modern. Sooooo, I decided that I wanted to blow up some pictures from different important moments in our lives.

In the recessed nook, I painted a darker color of green/grey and added a canvas painted by Mister Sam. To the left of the painting, I framed pictures of him creating his "masterpiece". They make it look like he was enjoying himself when actually he thought I was torturing him!

This is one of my favorite things. It is a painting created by an elephant at a conservation center in Thiland. Matt got it for me for my birthday a few years ago. I painted a square around it with the same green/grey color I used in the other rooms to make it seem a little larger.

These cabinets have been glazed with a black glaze. I plan on using the same glaze in the kitchen and up the staircase. UGH! What a job! I added a punch of the brick red used in other parts of the room as well as square (diamond) mirrors from Ikea.

On this wall, I glazed the fireplace with the black glaze and used chocolate brown scarves to serve as panels. Then, I hung an old ladder from a broken down deer stand at my parent's ranch over the mantle. Once again, I painted a square behind it to give it more umph. I added rings to the bottom 1/3 of the panels to give them a more modern feel. On the mantle, I used large clear vases filled with mulch and sticks to add height.

That's it....next is the kitchen!

Grandaddy turns 95!

This past Sunday, 9/14/08, my Grandaddy (my dad's dad) turned 95. He is such a strong person and believer (he has an old Bible that is held together with silver Duck Tape. It is completely worn out and I love it). It's so wonderful for Sam to know him and for us to be able to celebrate this day with him.

Shower for Baby Cade

As many of you know, some friends or ours, the Vander Arks, are having a baby boy named Cade in October. Cade has a condition that is causing his intestines to grow where his lungs should be so his lungs are not able to form properly. Upon delivery, Cade will have surgery to correct the problem. They are such a strong, wonderful couple and Cade couldn't be more blessed by two parents. Please keep them in your prayers. Below you will see some pictures of the shower.

Since I was in charge of decorations, that is all I have pictures of. Our friend Melissa is the official photographer of the group. To see her pics, click on the link......

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/detail.sfly?sid=2EcNHDZo1YtLw&imageIndex=0&fid=7cb62a8c445211529a16dcf07a6807f9

The Best Show EVER!

Most of you know but I am a huge fan of The Biggest Loser. This season will be particularly great because 2 of the contestants are from DFW, one of which goes to Fellowship! Her name is Renee. Please watch this FANTASTIC show!!!

Remember

Labor Day at the Ranch

Last weekend we went to my parent's ranch for opening weekend of dove season. Sam has been to the ranch several times but this is the first time that I think he "got it". When we got there, he ran around from the toybox to the windows where the longhorns are and from porch to porch like he remembered his last visit and where he left everything. While we were there, he got his first pair of boots. He thought he was big stuff. He had to wear 2 pairs of socks to keep them on but he didn't care. It was hot so he had to wear shorts but lots of cactus so the boots weren't just a fashion statement.

Matt took him on a 4-Wheel ride and they picked flowers for me. When they got back, Sam came running down the porch flowers in hand. It was precious!

When Sam wasn't playing outside ("Ya Ya"), he was playing cars.

We had an extra traveler on the trip, "Meow Meow". He is Sam's new friend. Matt and I make it no secret that we are not cat lovers but low and behold, Sam found a stuffed cat at Ikea and fell madly in love. He goes everywhere with him. Matt is hoping it is just a phase!