Jazzed

I got some good news today. We are planning - Lord willing and the creek don't rise - to make a trip to WV after co-op ends here in May. It was looking a little disappointing because if we leave after all the stuff that we're involved with here in the Lone Star state - the Country Roads won't be able to take us home where we belong for some very important events, such as the graduation of some of my most favorite people in the world, the formal, and "The Night", a youth gathering. It looks like we'll be able to get there for the graduation and "The Night", but we probably won't make it there for the formal since it is early in May. We are bummed about the formal, but two out of three ain't bad. Not bad at all.
We can't wait to see you guys!!!!!!!! Can you believe it will have been a WHOLE YEAR? Somebody has to come home with me! Any takers?

A "Formal" Picture

I just wanted to share this picture that my friend Carol took at her house on the night of the formal of my girls and me. Kendra 16 is on the left and Kaitlyn 13 is on the right.
I still haven't really blogged about the formal which was the guise under which we made the trip here to WV! I will later. I have a few scrapbook pages that I am working on of pictures taken that night. Keep your eyes on the Scrap Happy meme!

Hodge Podge Happenings

I don't even know what to title this hodge-podge post. There is so much that has happened. The three days of driving wiped me out - and we have been on the go ever since we arrived. On our way we were blessed to stop in Alabama and meet up with the Woodwards. Karen and I have been blogging buddies for going on two years now and I have felt very connected to her family- even when they were far away in Romania. Our visit with them was way too brief, but it was awesome to stop and have a nice meal, stimulating conversation, and share some laughs. They are a precious family.
The night before the formal, my children talked their half-crazy mother into attending the first viewing of Spiderman 3 - which was at midnight! Ugh. And it seems that no matter what time I go to bed, I wake routinely around 7:30-8:00. The formal was wonderful. Here is a picture of my beautiful girls. It has all been great fun, but the lack of rest is catching up with me.
We were very blessed to be able to stay in a house - and have the whole thing to ourselves. Our friends have a home next door to theirs that they bought to host missionary families in transit. It is awesome. Fortunately for us it was currently empty. That has been a tremendous blessing - being able to use a kitchen and do laundry. Awesome. More about this later!
I went tonight to have dinner and play cards with some girlfriends. We met at Helen's house because her husband is out of town. She grilled steaks and made baked potatoes, salad, and had fresh strawberries to serve over pound-cake with whipped cream. Afterwards she made everyone cappuccino that we drank while we played cards. Our favorite game is Golf - nine cards for nine rounds. It is really fun. I always do so-so. We laughed so much and I realize how much this is missing from my life. The friendship, the being yourself and still being loved, the not always having to be "on" so that you can get acquainted with new people.
On my way home I had a good cry. I was thankful for the time in the car by myself. I am SO homesick - this place is my home. Travis and I were talking on the phone yesterday morning, and he was expressing some distress that I might speak badly of Texas. I am not sure when I became the P.R. rep for the "Lone Star" state. I don't have any animosity towards the state of Texas, but it.is.not.my.home. This beautiful place with the river that runs through it, the craggy hills, where I know every back road - this place is my home. I may come to love things about Texas, but for me these "country roads" will always lead the way home.
I may come to feel differently in time - but right now I am so homesick I can hardly enjoy being here.

No. Huh uh. I Don't Think So.

The above is pretty much what my day looked like yesterday in a picture. Kullen and I sat outside of dressing rooms looking at two sets of feet and any various color and texture and much fluff over and under the dressing room stalls. Whew! Wore me out. There was the good. the bad. and the ugly. Most of what they have out there for teenage girls to consider wearing to these formal events is not fit to wear out in public. Thankfully they each found a very tastefully beautiful dress that they were in love with. Here are some other random photos of the day, none of which include THE dresses. Those will be unveiled at the formal on May 4th. They are gorgeous - Kaitlyn's has a Cinderella flair to it - and Kendra chose a vintage look. I will post more pictures here when I am allowed! I can't wait to see them all gussied up!

I was thinking how interesting it would be to see their mom's old "prom" picture. I don't know if y'all could handle the 80s hair - but hey it might be good for a laugh. This is a picture of me with my high school boyfriend, Bret taken at our Jr. Prom in 1987. My mom procrastinated in taking me shopping and since I wore a size 11 (boy wouldn't I LOVE to see that now!) - there weren't many dresses available. The yellow went very nicely with the gray tux. It was a fun night. Hope you enjoy the laugh - hey I am only thinking of you my audience in much need of entertainment.
PS - The guy I married is much cuter!

Formal Shopping

Today we are going shopping for formal dresses. My girls are pretty excited. I am too except for the fact that the place they want to go is in a mall that is almost 2 hours away! When some of our friends first started talking about hosting a "formal" Spring Fling for the homeschooled kids in our area (in WV) the hubby and I weren't sure what we thought of that. One of the reasons we homeschooled our kids was to keep them from some of the dating standards of the public schools, the social pressure of the boy/girl thing, etc. Not that in any way we thought they would not have an interest in the opposite sex but that it wouldn't be driven by peers or the social pressure to fit in. But of course, the idea of dressing up and having a fun evening with your best friends is always irresistible. As far as I can remember there was only one official couple at this formal dance. The rest of the kids kicked off their shoes and danced their socks off! There was a great meal, and very little of the drama I remember at my high school proms. It was a blast - so we are headed back for another "formal" this year! We can't wait. Now if only we could just get this dress shopping over with!
Oh yeah, and to appease my frugal friend , the dresses in the picture at the top (which mortifies my daughters now to look at because they had the "same color") were purchased after most of the local school formals, and therefore discounted. Kaitlyn's dress (L) cost $18 and Kendra's dress (R) cost $40. I don't remember who picked their dress first - but this year they have both decided that they will have different color dresses.