twister

if you know me at all you know i'm beyond TERRIFIED of tornadic weather! this afternoon i gathered my children and headed to the tub for the 3rd time this year! i was just getting ready to head over to my sisters when i heard the tornado siren and i immediately started shaking, sweating and having the feeling that i was about to mess my pants...seriously! i'm sure it would be quiet amusing to see this taking place. i threw clothes and shoes on myself and all the kids so that we could run for help after the twister blew our house away. amelia, is not yet one and is completely oblivious. she was just wanting her green beans and apple sauce i had grabbed to feed her in case we lost the house and dinner was late. kaiden, on the other hand, knows exactly whats going on. with the 'wizard of oz' being on his regular movie rotation, along with(as mentioned before) him going through this routine with his scared momma before, he was gathering pillows and helping me pull the ottoman into the hallway. "momma, they said stay away from the windows" he was screaming as he shut all the bedroom doors. when we settled down into the hall, with radio in hand, he immediately started praying, "Lord, don't let the tornado come to our house." i know this may sound like i had a terrified little boy on my hands, but trust me, he's loving every minute of it. he was so excited and would NOT stop talking! yes, this is the little boy that i had to spank twice during the last tornado because he kept running out into the back yard, sirens blaring, rain pouring and trees bending so low to the ground. he was screaming, "i wanna touch the lightening momma!!" he's gonna be the death of me!:) and then there's grace. my sweet, calm, deep voiced little princess. if she asked once she asked 65 times. "da tomato comin' momma?"
we live less than 2 miles from where the tornado touched down but we all escaped alive, unscathed and with the house still standing. thank goodness we're ok and as far as i can tell we had no tomato damage either:)

Who's your daddy??

if you've driven I40w in the past 4 months and been anywhere near the 240 interchange you couldn't have missed the billboard with my hunk of a husband on it! yeah, the big, hot, 20 foot tall kelley head! i get excited just thinking about it...i mean, nearly 7 yards of the the love of my life! dang! but as crazy as i am about him i wish you could hear kaiden and grace go nuts every time we drive by. the first few times that we drove by, of course i made a HUGE deal! "look, there's daddy!!" "everyone wave at daddy!" "everyone say 'daddy we love you'!" kaiden had one minor melt down because he wanted HIS face on the billboard, but the promise that he would get a billboard when he was older settled him down for now:) now they just start screaming, almost before we can even see it. "hey daddy, HEY DADDY, daddy, daddy!" then the back and forth starts..."he's my daddy!" NO, he's MY daddy!" they're pretty funny...at least they crack me up.
the billboard has been up since march and is a reminder for me, each time i see it, just how blessed i am to have such a FABULOUS baby's daddy. how happy it makes me to have such a wonderful hubby and fantastic father and to have babes that adore their daddy. what a relief to not ever have to worry about my kids because they have a man they can look up to, that will love them unconditionally, take care of and protect them and set the example of what a true man of integrity should look like. as far as i'm concerned, when you have a dad like that, all is right with the world.
to hear kelley's billboard story go to http://www.imperfecttv.com/

Bonus Mom!

every wednesday nite since mom died i've cooked dinner over at my dads and we've had a great big family fun nite! tonite's dinner is a little different...it's special. we're celebrating leslies's birthday! leslie is dad's fiance' that i helped set him up on a blind date with. as i finished up the key lime pies (leslie's favorite) and covered the spaghetti sauce as it simmers on the stove (she requested anything with angel hair pasta) i just smiled thinking about how blessed we are to have leslie in our lives. as much as i miss my mom and as horrible as losing her was, is it not just so sweet of God to give us someone to fill the gap? how awesome! there are so many marriages that fall apart and end horribly and there are sooo many people that have terrible relationships with their mom. but, twice in one lifetime my dad has been able to love with all his heart and my siblings and i have had a mom that we adored and now this bonus mom! wow! i hate saying "step mom" it sounds so evil and wicked. but i'm really kind of loving the back-up mom, leslie.
just know that no one EVER needs to worry if i'm "ok" with my dad moving on. we are all more than ok! we are elated! our life is fabulous! my love for leslie and the excitement i have for my dad and seeing him act like a teenager again don't lessen the hurt that i still carry in my heart and always will until i see mom my again. i miss her so much. but they are 2 totally different things that really have nothing to do with each other. those emotions have to stay seperate. i'm very confident that when we all meet again it will be one huge family reunion and i'm certain that my mom will hug leslie with all her might and thank her for stepping in and taking care of my dad, seth and ellie and for loving all of us.
happy birthday leslie!!!

On your mark, get set, BLOG!

well, i wanted my first post to be something REALLY exciting, but today has been pretty dull in my household. we did some yardwork, i washed and vacuumed my car and i'm planning on having an uneventful evening. after viewing my brand new blog and getting ready to announce it to the world...at least the facebook world, i wanted to have at least one post. so, here's numero uno and i have no doubt there will be some excitement to blog about in the days to come! after talking to my good friend emily a little while ago and hearing that she has close to 200 blog viewers a day i'm really feeling the pressure to be viewed. so please don't let my first blog bore you and y'all come back now!