What Do Daisies Say?To me they say:

"I love you."
"I was thinking about you on my way home."
"I know they will brighten your day."
"I appreciate you."

My sweet hubby brought me two beautiful bouquets of my favorite flowers yesterday! I loved waking up this morning with fresh lavender daisies by my bed and walking into the kitchen and seeing my cheery white daisies in front of my window!

Thanks, honey! =)

Ahhh...Long Weekends

Long weekends are definitely something I look forward to. I love the thought of having an extra day to spend as a family. This past weekend was one had been anticipating for a little while! Steve came home early on Friday to mow the yard so we could spend the entire weekend playing! While we did play a lot, we also realized that long weekends tend to lend themselves as great times to engage in conflicts as well. We figure it's usually the first time we have had in probably months to really talk and be around each other more than doing what is routine. So, while we did have a lot of fun this past weekend, we are also hoping that the Lord is maturing us and drawing us closer together as we work through a couple =) of conflicts! After this past weekend I can tell you I stand even more amazed at the grace of our Savior and how He so faithfully cares for us!

So, back to the fun stuff! Here's what we were able to do this weekend!

Saturday:
We met Keith, Amanda, Isaac and Samantha at the beach. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day at the beach and I guess because of all of the warnings about the rip currents and such, people were sparse which was great for us! Even with all the work it took to get there, hang out there, and clean up, it was still so much fun and relaxing! Later that night we went to our dinner club and Derek and Dena's and ate wonderful Cuban food and laughed and talked and laughed and talked some more!

Sunday:
We went to church (I heard almost my first full message in a year!!) and then had most of our homegroup over for a cookout. It was cool being able to just hang out and talk and enjoy each other! Sunday night we headed over to Mom and Dad's to hangout with Grandma. She is a hoot, that's for sure!

Monday:
Oh, how fun Monday was!! Mia turned 4 and we went to the Walleys out to Deleon Springs. I had never been out there before so I wasn't sure what to expect! We took the girls on a paddle boat ride and Steve spotted a gator! It was so funny to see fish jumping out of the water. When Steve asked Reagan what she would do if a fish jumped our boat she said "I would LAUGH!" Then we went to the restaurant there and made our own pancakes. The lady even brought out a cookie with a candle for Mia! The girls and Steve and Derek tried out the water, although it was FREEZING. By early afternoon the girls were so wore out so we headed home for long naps and we were able to watch a couple more episodes of 24! That evening we headed over to my mom's for dinner and played a round of pinochle in which Steve won without any challenge at all!

Today there were mounds and mounds of laundry. Sand in the van, garage, clothes, blankets, etc. I'm still not sure what happened in the cooler and can we say love bugs covered the van! Oh, and our van truly looked like a family van by the end of this weekend! But cleaning up was a lot more fun today than usual. I guess because as I washed and cleaned remembered how they got so messy - they got so messy because we were able to go and have fun and spend time as a family and laugh (and cry) and make more memories over 3 very full days!

Growing Girls!

This past week both girls grew a little more!! Reagan decided to go potty several more times in the "big girl potty". Praise the Lord!! Hopefully she will keep on going, and going and going! She was doing really well until this weekend and then we were gone most of the weekend, so we will start trying again tomorrow. Sydney has been going up and down our stairs and boy, is she getting speedy! Reagan is great at loudly alerting me when her sister is doing something she's not supposed to be doing, so she usually doesn't get to far up or down before I catch her =). She has also started walking behind one of her little toys and she is hilarious to watch.

Below are pictures of Reagan playing the piano with her Daddy, Sydney walking behind her toy, and Reagan and Mia!

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday dear Steve!

Steve turned 27 on May 19. Finally, we are the same age again =)! With the crazy week we had before his birthday, I wasn't able to plan much, but we had a great time! Saturday night we grilled steaks at Mom and Dad's and my mom and Amy and Grandma Deaton were able to be there, too! Reagan was so excited all day about the party and couldn't wait to see her dad open up his gifts. It's so much fun being able to shop for him and look for things that are fun for him to do! He works so hard, so I'm excited when we are able to get him something he can relax with for a little while. So, you say, what did we get him?? Well, we all went in together and for his big gift we got him Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360. I do have to say it is a lot of fun. In fact, I better wrap it up here so we can get our work done so we can play it some tonight! =)

Hey Ya'll!

Last week I took the girls to Louisiana to see my dad and to go to Curt's high school graduation! Thankfully my mom went too, so I had lots of help on the plane! I couldn't have done that without her. Reagan has flown before, so she was so excited to be able to fly again. She even carried her own suitcase through the airport! Sydney did great on both flights. She was 90% recovered from an ear infection, so I was a little concerned that she may scream the whole time, but she didn't! They kept us busy, but they were great!

The girls and I went to my Aunt Pat's as soon as we got off the plane and my dad was waiting for us. The girls just loved on him, and to my delight Sydney even went to him and giggled and laughed and played with him! She's been quite a "Mommy's Girl" these days, so I was expecting the worst and hoping for the best. By God's grace she did wonderful! She did scream almost every time my poor Aunt Pat tried to pick her up! We spent a couple of days with my dad and Aunt Pat and then headed to Alexandria for Curt's graduation and Mother's Day.

Saturday we had a super yummy crawfish boil for Mother's Day. Oh my! I ate until I couldn't eat any more! Reagan tried them, but I think I enjoyed them more than she did. Thank goodness for microwavable hamburger helper! Chantelle and Rodney have a couple of horses and it was so cute - while we were eating crawfish and visiting, Reagan ran over to swing over by the fence where the horses were and one of them came over and grabbed the back of the swing and started swinging Reagan!

Sunday we went to Curt's Baccalaureate (which was at 8 AM) and we had to try to control ourselves when Reagan tooted really loud on the wooden bleacher. Thankfully she belted out a sweet "excuse me" for if she hadn't no one would have believed it was a child. She also couldn't wait to tell Curt how beautiful she thought his purple dress (robe) was! We spent the rest of the afternoon celebrating his graduation with a party at their house and then the girls and I went out to Aunt Patti's and Uncle Mickey's for the evening!

Monday Telle and I took the girls to Chuckee Cheese's for lunch. Reagan had never been before so she was quite amazed! It took me a while to explain to her the name of the place is Chuckee Cheese's NOT Chuckee Jesus'!! She and Harley played and were so cute to watch. Sydney had fun riding in the little cars, too! That night Aunt Patti and Uncle Mickey watched my girls so I could go to graduation. It's still hard for me to believe that Curt has graduated. He is doing so well! I'm so grateful I was able to be there to celebrate with him and see him take another step in growing up!

Tuesday we headed back up to Shreveport and we were able to visit with my cousin Lindsey and Aunt Bertha and Uncle Wayne as well as with my Dad and Aunt Pat some more. Oh, and Aunt Pat has a sweet friend named Charlene who has an adorable little girl and they came to play, too! It was a good trip and I was totally exhausted when I got back home - the girls and I slept until almost 10 AM Friday morning!

Steve had a business trip the same week we were gone and he flew back in on Friday afternoon and boy, were we glad to see him!

Here are some pictures from our trip!

May Update: Sydney

Sydney has been changing so much! I guess since she turned one a couple of weeks ago she thinks she can do all kinds of things! She has started humming the Barney "I Love You" song, she has gone up the stairs at our house all by herself, she is walking from object to object - no steps by herself yet, but I'm sure it won't be long - she had her very first ice cream cone (minus the ice cream!) and she has been responding to her mommy and daddy much better! She also had her first bubble bath not so long ago and she loves splashing everyone and everything while she is in the tub!

Since she has a mouth full of teeth and is over her ear infection, she has been so much more pleasant and she smiles so much more. She still isn't saying much. She'll say "Mama" and "Uh-Oh", but that's about it right now!

May Update: Reagan

Well, I know it's been a while since I've updated, but we've had a very busy couple of weeks! I'll post on our trip soon, but here's a quick update on each of the girlies!

Reagan has had fun the past couple of weeks! A couple of weeks ago we went to Baskin Robbins and she had her very first ice cream cone that was actually filled with ice cream. She was able to pick her very own flavor and she chose cherry! She loved it! She only dripped one little drop. Now we know it's not because she's messy at dinner that the spinach ends up on the floor it's that she doesn't like it as much as the yummy cherry ice cream!

Reagan has been putting together more puzzles all by herself and she is also beginning to be a pro at Candyland!

Today we played baby dolls and she just wanted to pretend like the baby needed to go to the doctor. She was so cute. I was the doctor and she was the mommy and every time I'd give the baby a shot she would just love on the baby and then take her to McDonald's for a Happy Meal. I'm not sure if she was totally playing, or if she was hinting around!!

Oh, the picture below of her in the dress is a dress my Mom gave to her. She calls it her "lady" dress!

It's a Must!

If you have children (or are planning on it), you've just got to check out the last two weeks worth of posts on the Metro Mom's Blog. The advice is priceless!

Here's the link:

Metro Mom's Blog

It's Been 6 Years!

Last Saturday Steve and I celebrated 6 wonderful, blissful, grace-filled, beautiful years together! It's hard for me to grasp that we've been married for 6 years already; but when I reminisce about all that has happened since we were married, I believe it! Steve has worked at 4 (?) different jobs. (the Lord so graciously provides all we need!) I was able to stop working right before Reagan was born. We've been blessed with two beautiful, healthy, fun baby girls! We have been able to go on fun get-aways (like California!) and family vacations (mountains, beach, etc.). We've been able to experience so many changes together! We've worked through many conflicts and have shared countless laughs together!

So, Saturday Steve took me to my favorite restaurant - Samba Room - for a wonderful dinner! Even though he was sick all day, he was so sweet! We had great conversation and have a beautiful view of the lake. Sunday we skipped church which is something we very rarely do, but thought it would be a rare opportunity for us to spend some more quality time together! So we biked to Baldwin Park, had smoothies and laughed at this silly little dog and then headed home. Steve still wasn't feeling well, so we just relaxed until late in the afternoon! I just love spending time with him!

I am so amazed that I get to spend my life with this man! 6 years down, many more to come!

Where in the World (or should I say U.S. =)!) have I Been?

Here's where I've been able to travel too! Hopefully Steve and I will be able to fill in many more countries and cities as we travel together!

Where in the World has Steve Been?

I found this cool mapping sight through a friend's blog! Here are all the places Steve has been so far!