Ten days of Thanks

It has occurred to me that there are ten days until Thanksgiving. I thought perhaps it would be fun to do a couple blog posts on what I am thankful for. It's looking like it's going to be an impossibly long and busy week at work and I could use the release.

Monday's No. 1 Thing I'm Thankful For: (and the most obvious) MY FAMILY

I have an amazing family. A fantastic family. A loving and caring until it hurts kind of family.

My Mom- not always my favorite person, but I love her all the same! My mom is a great and classy lady. She is the one that found me 30 years ago, fell in love with me and brought me home. She is the one that put up with my random teenage outbursts and range of emotions. She is the one that taught me to be comfortable with myself. She is the one that gave me a little brother to pick on and love with my whole heart. She is the one I go to and the one I will always trust.

My Dad- like most dads, he was always the worker bee in the family, but he is definitely who I inherited my off-beat sense of humor from. I have learned all my hardest life lessons from him. It is through my dad that I have learned what Faith is. He is the strongest person I know, and always able to calm down this hot head of mine.

My parents have also taught me what it is to love and I will be forever grateful for that.

My brother- My younger brother by 16 months, he is the biggest pest and strongest ally a big sister could ever have. Our childhood was fantastic. Our teenage years even better. You rock, lil bro!
Best of all, you gave me the greatest gift. You allowed me to be an aunt.

Lola- Be still my heart. Lola-bug, you are The. Most. AMAZING. little girl in the world. You are bright, loving, caring, beautiful and, unfortunately for your mother, remind me a little bit of me!
I hope we stay close as you grow and thrive. I love you with my whole heart, bug.

April's Trenches

What an exciting month this has been! PoV turns three and Bonnie up and had her baby a full two weeks early!

The Monday after we welcomed Wyatt into our growing family, I sat at my new, big girl desk a little overwhelmed. I was greeted that morning with, “Well, I guess it’s time to sink or swim.” I felt like I was in the deep end of the pool with no floaties on. Could I really do this? Run a magazine while Bonnie is on leave? I know we had been preparing for this day. After all, I had a nine month fair warning! But, it still seemed surreal that this was happening.

In a way, PoV is Bonnie and Brian’s real first born. And they want to leave me in charge?

My own sister-in-law still can’t believe I let my niece Lola teeth on the leg of a chair. (I figured if my puppy had done it...) My brother called a billion times the day I had to pick Lola up from school, worried I would be late, forget or perhaps be abducted by aliens.

I have a generally laid-back attitude when it comes to baby-sitting and raising kids. Could this style work for PoV? Will it need more guidance? Stricter rules?

After my own version of labor including many sleepless nights, a few bottles of Strawberry Harvest, a couple 12-hour days and passing the thought that I needed to bring in an air mattress and forward my mail, my first solo issue is born. I truly hope you enjoy our three-year anniversary edition. This month, we are all the proud parents of this genius brain child!

Back tracking...

For the last 4 years, John has hosted a Crawfish Boil on Good Friday. The guys play golf in the early A.M., then John boils the crawfish. He has his own special blend of spices guaranteed to give you heartburn! We also boil plenty veggies like potatoes, corn, mushrooms, garlic, and cauliflower. Delicious!
I'm sure most of you saw these pics already on Facebook, but I wanted to post them here as well!

Me and Lola

Sunny and Grandma

Nanny, Grandma and Sunny

Aaron, Riley and Dad


Mark and Aaron

John doing his thing!

Me and John

LUNCH!!

John and Aaron

Dad and his first platter

CHEESE!! (Actually, CRACKER!!!!)

Chad

Nicholas

Of course, a baseball game broke out!

The leftovers!

So Lola likes to take pictures now. She says "Ok, yet me do it." "I taka you pitcha."

Its adorable. And with a digital camera she actually takes some decent shots.

These are by Lola.

Mark's dog Marley. Lola likes her tongue!

Ashliegh

Maddux

"Hey John, I taka you pitcha, say cheeeeeeeese!!!"

"Cheese May-ee"

Life of the Party

My brother's little 2 yr old daughter Lola is such the life of the party! She LOVES birthday parties. She sings very loudly and loves cake and ice cream. Well, like most kids, she REALLY likes the icing!!

My cousins Ashley and Michael had their bithday parties during March and these are a few pictures of them, my dad and Lola. Oh and Max the dog. Lola wanted to take him home.