Not so long ago...

This is my little man on his first day of Kindergarten. He was so excited to be in Mrs. McCormack's class, and to finally be in school! He insisted on riding the bus that morning, even though I had to be there for his Kindergarten Open House. I made him cinnamon rolls for breakfast and he burned his chin on the pan because he couldn't wait to get into them.

This is my not-so-little man on  his last day of high school. It doesn't seem possible that he is already through. Where did the time go? I made him cinnamon rolls again for breakfast... he didn't burn himself this time!

He graduates on Tuesday. I'm so proud of him and all of the things he has accomplished. He will be 19 by the end of the year, and leaving for his mission. He plans to work this summer to help pay for his mission. After he gets home, he wants to be an actor, or a police detective... maybe the FBI. He might change his mind by the time he gets home. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Josh hates to have his picture made, but he was a good sport for me and let Shari K take some of him a few weeks ago.

Here are a couple of my favorites!

And a couple of Josh's favorites!

Love that kid! So grateful that he is mine!!

Flowergirl

My mom's nickname for me when I was little bitty was "flowergirl". She gave me this because I picked "flowers" for her from the woods behind our house. She would always put them in a vase, and never gave me grief for bringing in weeds!

I really loved that about my mom... she would see the good in things, and she made you feel proud of the littlest things you had done.

Momma would have loved to see all the flowers that were sent for her service. I picked several stems from each spray and brought them home with me. I sat a large vase of them on my desk at work the next week. Seeing and smelling them made me think of her and helped to brighten my day and the day of others around me.

Took a few pictures of them, but they were starting to get a little wilty. Wish I had done it sooner.

I also had a sweet friend bring me over a bouquet of tulip, my favorite! They brightened my attitude and living room for a while!

I miss Mom so much today, but I'm so grateful for her and the many things she taught me.

In Memory

Mary Ann Copeland Jean

Dec. 8, 1933

April 25, 2012

I miss her so much

I have so many things I want to say about my Mom. I want to record all the things that she taught me, the fun times we had together, the final moments we shared on this earth. The feelings in my heart. But I just can't seem to get them all out. Hopefully soon. Today I just miss her.

Signs of Spring

I am a warm weather kind of gal. No bones about it. I tend to complain when it's hot, hot, hot, but I overall enjoy it much more than freezing to death.

We didn't have a bad winter this year, but it was dreary. And depressing. And I'm glad that spring is arriving!!

A few weeks ago, the girls and I got bored one Sunday afternoon and went for a drive on the backroads. I love that we live where we do. We are minutes from the "city" and minutes from the middle of no-where, too. We are far enough out that it gets really dark here at night, and we can see the stars. That really has nothing to do with why we went for a drive, or what we saw, but I thought I would throw that in there, just because I think it's cool!

Anyway, back to the drive...

I took my camera, and snapped a few pictures of the fresh green-ness of the world. Seeing these simple things made me so happy. Just the breath of fresh air that I needed.

One of Kayti's favorite signs of spring is the fields of purple "flowers". These are nothing more than weeds growing, but she loves them. We snapped a few pictures of this field in Mooresville.

I had to pull over to the side of the road to get the next couple of pictures. I just love seeing the green fields and blue skies.

I even started noticing signs of life around my own house...

 My hydrangea is starting to bloom!

The strawberries are coming to life. Barry hopes he gets to eat more than the birds this year!

All the freshness outside made me want to get busy on the inside of the house. It was time to take down the Valentine's Day decor, and bring in some Spring!

The mantel. Not quite done with it, but I do love the simplicity of it. I have a "SPRING" banner that I made last year that I am thinking of hanging, but not sure if I'm going to yet or not.

I painted this all by myself this week. I went to a painting party a month ago for a friend's batchelorette party. It was so much fun, and I think I might have just fallen in love with it. I have been looking for something to put on the mantel, and decided to just be brave and daring and try to come up with something on my own. This is pretty much what I saw in my head, and I'm glad I was able to put it on cavas. Not that I don't see a ton of flaws in it, but I'm still pretty proud of it.

I got the bird cage on sale (need to still take that tag off... oops!), and I got the nest for free!! It was a home to a momma and babies last year, but it had been abandoned this year and I didn't feel guilty about borrowing it for my decor.

I saw this idea a lot at Christmas time... filling glassware with split peas and then inserting candles. I love the idea for spring. I think green is my favorite color right now, and love how it looks with everything else.

So... there is my little touch of freshness. I want to add fresh flowers everywhere, but guess I need to do that in moderation.  I'm anxious to get outside and start planting. What are your plans for spring?



Last but not least...

I LOVE my hubby!!

I was going to post this on Valentine's Day, but with everything else going on that day and week, I just didn't get it done.

And I won't make this super long or sappy... he would hate that! {insert evil laugh here!}

I'm blessed that he is my best friend, the calm to my storm, (or the storm to my calm - depending on the situation!), the logic to my emotion. The one I can go to and talk things out. The one that keeps me grounded.

We will celebrate our 21st anniversary this year. That seems so weird! Time really does fly, and I'm glad that I've been flying with him.

Love you, hun!

Today I LOVE... catch up!

I seriously have fallen behind on expressing my love! Last week was a bit crazy with everything going on.

I'm not sure who to use to catch up. The obvious thought is a big group... but I have several big groups of people in my family. Maybe I'll just use them all, and call this month done! I'm ready for it to be March, anyway!

First of all... My Sisters-In-Law!
I've been blessed with some pretty amazing ones! Being the first daughter/sister-in-law in the family wasn't easy, but the 3 original Mayfield girls welcomed me right away. As each brother-in-law married, I found myself holding my breath a bit, hoping that they would make a wise choice... and they each did! It amazes me how we all get along so well. We each have talents and strengths that compliment each other. What a great pool of resources we are to each other. Although, to be honest, I think they are all much more talented and have way more to share and offer than I do. I count myself lucky that I have them in my life, and I love each one of them!

Brothers-In-Law
I have 9 brothers-in-law total. They are each as unique and different as they can be. They each, though, would do anything to help a family member, and I am grateful for the service they have offered my little family at different times.

Nieces and Nephews
I have 36 nieces and nephews, with one more on the way, and 11 great-nieces and nephews, with one more on the way. I've been an aunt since I was 4 years old, and I LOVE it!! I've been able to spoil them at different times, and totally get away with it, because I'm "Aunty Kim". It's been awesome to watch the older kiddos grow up, get married and have families of their own. I've enjoyed playing with nieces and nephews, and being a part of their life.

I'm blessed to be part of such a big family! I did not grow up around my grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins. I'm so thankful that my kiddos have been able to have such a network of family around them. We might be loud and rowdy when we are all together, but there is so much love there, too, that it makes the noise level worth it!

Week of love

It's been a busy week around our house! Not only have we celebrated Valentine's Day and my birthday, but there was a wedding to plan, prepare and attend!

Our eventful week started out last Sunday, when the baking element burned up in my oven... while we were cooking dinner. Thankfully dinner was pretty much done by the time it happened.

Monday evening I headed to Sharon's house to work on wedding stuff. When I got home, I found these waiting for me:

So sweet! My favorite flowers!!

Before my element burned up, I had planned on doing lasagna, salad, garlic bread and brownies for our Valentine's Day dinner. My day was a little hectic, and I didn't have time to run to South Huntsville to grab a new element, so I had to come up with another idea. I thought about doing heart shaped hamburgers, but then I came up with another brilliant idea... something that would be even better and less stressful to me...

Best idea ever!! Kyle was at football workouts, so he missed being with us, but we brought some home to him. After he got home and ate, Kayti wanted to dress up the table for dessert. She wanted to continue with at least one tradition, so I let her go for it. We made rice krispy treats and added in some Valentine M&M's. We lit the candles, and enjoyed our treat with Sprite and Rose Grenadine syrup. Yummy!

Friday was my birthday and wedding day! Our day started early - we were at The Lodge at Monte Sano State Park by 7:30. I took Megan and Josh with me to help. Kyle was gone on a camp out all weekend, and Kayti was busy getting some other things done. They were a great help to me! I was also very blessed to have my friend, Dana, come up and help out. She not only ran errands for me, but she also was a great sounding board... and she brought some awesome decorating elements, too. And to top it all off, she brought me some Gigi's cupcakes for my birthday! What a friend!

I was home for about an hour and a half on Friday afternoon. While I was home, the kids (hubby included in that statement) gave me my birthday presents:

Absolutely LOVE her voice! We listed to this on the way back to the wedding, on the way home, and while we were out running errands on Saturday. Great album!

And...

My very own Nerf Gun! This was Kyle's idea... and it was about time that I had one!

The wedding went off without a hitch! Sharon was such a beautiful bride, and so excited to "get the party started"! The place was packed with friends and family, and everything turned out so beautiful. I can't believe, though, that I didn't take any pictures. I even had my camera with me, but never pulled it out. Hopefully the photographer will have some up on the blog soon, and I can link up and share. BTW... the photographer was Amy Boston, and she is wonderful! So creative and sweet as she can be! I've known her for years, and would recommend her to anyone.

I didn't get home until very late on Friday night, and really wanted to sleep in on Saturday. My body was very willing, but my mind kept thinking of all the things that needed to get done, and wouldn't let me. While I was working on wedding stuff on Friday, Barry went and grabbed a heating element for me! This allowed my sweet daughter to bake me a birthday cake while I was out on Saturday. She used my favorite red velvet cake recipe. She made a double layer cake, and added a little something extra to the top. She also made up my favorite frosting recipe to decorate it with. This got a little messy, and we had to tease her about it just a little. She was feeling a little sensitive, though, and didn't appreciate our laughter at all... or my attempts to document the mess.

Powdered sugar EVERYWHERE... check out the floor, cabinet doors, clothes... even some on the stove top.

The tears!

The final product... notice the little heart on top!

And just in case you are wondering why it's green, I am really into green right now.

We took the kids to the stake dance on Saturday night, and Barry took me out on a date. We went to the movies and saw, "This Means War". It was a cute, funny chick flick - just what I needed!

I've had lots of people asking me if I had a good birthday, and I really did! Maybe it was because I spent the day helping a dear friend, and celebrating her special day, instead of thinking about myself. Maybe it was because I saw my daughter make something special for me. Maybe it was because my hubby was so willing to do what he could to help me out, even though he has been sick most of the week and really only wanted to stay in bed. I'm betting that it was all of those things wrapped up together.